We spent an outsized amount of time on the topper. Of everything we’ve tested, the disco ball remains the sentimental favorite—but it didn’t survive the final cut.

Before Georgia, there was Ohio.

The Ohio Statehouse approved and hosted the Festivus display without incident. No drama. No hand-wringing. No constitutional gymnastics. The pole went up, the rules were followed, and viewpoint neutrality held—exactly as Pinette requires. Ohio worked the way the system is supposed to work.

That approval matters. It establishes baseline reality.

Originally, we planned to launch the VD Pole—Don’s Valentine’s Day Pole—as a February installation in Georgia. That plan died on a technicality: the Georgia Legislature was in session, and Capitol rules suspend temporary displays during session. Rather than litigate the calendar, we moved the installation to June 14.

June 14 does the job better anyway. It’s Flag Day, it’s Donald Trump’s birthday, and it sits well outside the “holiday décor” safe zone—precisely where a First Amendment stress test belongs.

With the date locked, the project evolved. The working title became the Erectivist Pole, with a deliberate modifier: the Flaccidus Edition. Same structure. Same lawful compliance. Less pretense.

The topper evolved with it. Out went the disco ball. In its place: a neon heart—a deliberate callback to Valentine’s Day—paired with a message that doesn’t attempt subtlety.

Don ♥ Jeffrey.

That’s the piece.
That’s the joke.
That’s the test.

Ohio already demonstrated that the rules can be applied neutrally. Georgia now gets to show whether it will do the same.

The pole doesn’t accuse. It doesn’t editorialize. It simply exists—fully permitted, fully compliant—inside a public forum that claims to tolerate all viewpoints.

If it stands, the Constitution still works.
If it doesn’t, the failure is already documented.

Either way, the audit is complete.