TRUMPS ANNOUNCEMENT: MORE BIRTHER BULLSHIT

Colonel Archie Taylor, a gruff aristocrat, has difficulty enjoying his men's club because of the constant chatter of fellow member Jamie Tennyson. Just as irritating is the content, which usually concludes with a transparent attempt to curry investors.

One evening, his lawyer-friend George Alfred arrives to discuss a message Taylor sent to him. The colonel has proposed a wager, which is illegal in their state, but Alfred has found nothing else particularly criminal about it. Taylor then has an attendant deliver a note to Tennyson, whose subsequent speechlessness amuses the other members.

Taylor explains to them that he has proposed a wager with Tennyson. He will bet $500,000 that the younger man cannot remain silent for one year. He tells Tennyson, "Your voice has become intolerable to me. I sit here each night, and the sound of it makes me wince."

If Tennyson accepts the wager, he will be enclosed in the club's game room, in which a small glass-walled apartment has been erected. There, Tennyson will be monitored by microphones so that he cannot speak without detection. Any requests he makes will be made in writing, and any member may come to visit him at any time. Tennyson is offended but agrees to the wager, requesting only that Taylor put a check on deposit in his name, and have a copy available for all members of the club to view.