Robert Smigel & A Pie in the face. (The Weaponization of Government)
“I’ve Jihad it up to here with you!”
In the late 1990s, Robert Smigel brought me into a political pie fight spoofing Benjamin “Netayahoo” during the Clinton-era Middle East peace process. I pushed the pie cart!
“Oh, Hezbollah…”
Smigel is best known for Triumph the Insult Comic Dog @triumphicdhq and @nbcsnl Saturday Night Live’s TV Funhouse. I’m looking to reconnect with Robert and welcome celebrity support. Who in my network can help?
I lived in NYC in the late 1990s, earned my RE license, and eventually brought those skills to Ludlow, Kentucky.
Since 2009, @circusmojo, Bircus Brewing Co., and the restoration of the Ludlow Theatre have attracted artists, visitors, businesses, and investment. @insurify named Ludlow Kentucky’s hottest real estate market from 2010 to 2020.
Yet for more than 11 years, Ludlow City Hall and Kenton County Planning and Development Services (PDS) have repeatedly attempted to shut down our businesses through enforcement actions and litigation.
They failed.
Police and fire services consume 49.7% of Ludlow’s 2025–2026 amended budget, nearly half of all city spending. Meanwhile, it took years, five figures in legal expenses, and a filing with the KY AG’s @andybeshearky to obtain police body-camera footage of one shutdown.
And what about fiscal accountability?
Ludlow is a town of roughly 4,000 people, yet its 2024–2025 financial audit documented more than $1.1 million in General Fund spending beyond approved appropriations. Even if the accounting is subsequently corrected, the original budget-control failure deserves an explanation. Every incumbent is responsible.
America won its independence through asymmetric warfare. The circus predates the United States by eight years. I’ve spent my life creating, building businesses, and challenging authority.
Now I’m running for mayor of Ludlow, Kentucky.
I’ll keep creating, keep challenging government waste, and keep throwing pies at the absurdity of it all.
Here are some people listed in the credits at the end…
Who can help me reach them for guidance/support on Circus Suites?
Robert Smigel
Dino Stamatopoulos
Suzanne Fagel
Danielle Perna
J. J. Sedelmaier Productions INC
Craig Anderson
Robert Hess
Lenny Deiner
Lena Callier
Joey Caravaglio
Stephen Colbert
Ricardo Cordero
Bob Flanagan
Jonathan Groff
Floyd Vivino
Chris “Mugsy’ Calam
Moose Vacante
Rich Goldman
Phil Alacabes
Jim Collier