Stirring The Pot – Taking The Plunge

It has been a little over 100 days since the KC Chiefs won Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas and those days have been just a tad tumultuous for the Chiefs’ roster.  In alphabetical order:

• Defensive lineman Isiah Buggs stands accused in Alabama with cruelty to dogs.  His attorney says that this is a scam by the authorities in Tuscaloosa who only want Buggs to renounce his business license to operate an establishment called Kings Hookah Lounge in that city.
• Kicker Harrison Butker kicked up a storm giving a commencement address that got lots of knickers tied up in knots when he suggested that women might find happiness and fulfillment in the home.
• Offensive lineman Chukwuebuka Godrick was arrested on marijuana charges in Kansas.
• Offensive lineman Wanya Morris was arrested along with Godrick on marijuana charges in Kansas.
• Wide receiver Rashee Rice double dipped in off-season troubles:
  • • First Rice was involved in alleged street racing in Dallas, TX that ended in a multi-vehicle pileup injuring about a half-dozen people and then he left the scene.
    • A few weeks later, Rice stands accused of assaulting a photographer in a nightclub in Miami, FL.

When FDR was inaugurated as President, he called the Congress into a special session and in 100 days 15 new laws came into being for the purpose of combatting The Great Depression.  Whether or not you agree with FDR’s politics, you have to concede that he had a better “100 days” than the Chiefs have had this off-season.  The good news for the Chiefs is that there seems to have been teamwork in these off-season shenanigans:

• Godrick and Morris were arrested together.
• There has been pot-stirring by offense, defense and special teams.

Moving on …  I admire French people and the way that they exhibit completely over-the-top behaviors when they decide to protest something – – and they do find lots of things to protest about.  For example, when the French government suggested some increased regulations for farmers and agricultural endeavors, the farmers protested by delivering tons of manure to the front steps of government buildings.  Point made…

Protests may be spontaneous, but some are planned in advance and may even be announced in advance to let folks anticipate what might be happening.  Such is the case with what seems to be a protest aimed at June 23^rd of this year.  Let me set the stage.

Paris will be the site of the Olympic Games starting on July 26^th; recall that Olympic organizing officials plan to use the Seine River as the means to conduct the Opening Ceremony by parading country athletes down the river on barges.  [Aside:  As noted before, there are some security concerns with that plan so it might be scrapped.]  In addition, the plan is to use the Seine River as the venue for the distance swimming events and the water portion of the triathlon.  However, the rub there is that the Seine is not sufficiently hygienic to make that a safe environment for the swimmers.

Not to worry, the organizers and some engineers have a plan to clean the river to a level where it will be safe; the plan could cost about $1.5B and some folks think that money might be better spent elsewhere.  That is the perfect backdrop for a protest – – but the French challenge there is find a way to put this protest into orbit.

To the rescue of the protesters come French President, Emmanuel Macron, and Paris Mayor, Anne Hidalgo.  These two political leaders said that they would personally swim in the Seine to demonstrate its suitability as the swimming venue.  M. Macron did not say when he would take a dip; Mme Hidalgo said she would take the plunge on June 23^rd.

So here is the planned protest: [Warning:  What follows cannot be described as “in good taste” or in “polite language”.  Be forewarned …]

• The protesters will organize a flashmob of people who surge to the river on June 23^rd to take a dump in the river presumably upstream from where the mayor is swimming.
• They have created a hashtag on social media – –  “JeChieDansLaSeineLe23Juin” – – which translates to “I Sh*t In the Seine On June 23^rd”.
• They have set up a website where one can learn about the timing and the precise location of the flashmob – – reported to be at Pont Marie.

Lest you think I am making all this up, here is a link to a report in the Washington Times on this planned protest.  As I said, you gotta love French protesters…

Finally, the closing thought today comes from author Wayne Dyer:

“If all you do is follow the herd, you’ll just be stepping in poop all day.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………