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Art and Politics
Here's another beloved old design of mine that I decided to bring back just for Etsy...
I call it my "Persian mask" because it was inspired by a favorite old Persian rug I used to own. I wonder what happened to it (it was a casualty of the divorce). You can see the mosque patterns in all the corners...
It has so many awesome colors in it...I hope it's a big hit in my shop.
In other, wonderful news; Obama won the nomination. This fills me with joy & fear at the same time. I'll tell you why; I have very little faith in the rationality of Americans, when it comes to the vote.
Thing is...Americans are gullible and opinionated. This is a dangerous combination when applied to the democratic process. Simply put, their precious vote can be bought. All the Republicans need to do is trot out some old favorites like gay marriage or abortion, & everyone's rational objectivity goes right out the window.
I'm not sure how to explain this any more concisely; voting based on ideological issues NEVER WORKS. Never. Eight years ago, conservatives were promised the same things; prayer in school, faith-based initiatives, no gay marriage & the ever amorphous "family values". You see the inevitable results of putting this godly, family-value oriented, oil-company friendly candidate into office...we have a war in the middle East with no exit strategy & gas prices out of control (read up on that sometime & you'll get a shocker...the current mess we're in is caused by greed & a corporate commodities de-regulation policy put in place by the Bush administration over six years ago. A ticking time bomb set to go off during the election cycle.).
The most disturbing thing I'm hearing is talk from other Democrats about how they intend to vote for McCain over Obama. How could they be so misguided? I don't understand whoring your vote out for ideological reasons...but I understand this crazy knee-jerk reaction from Democrats even less. I keep wondering just how BAD things have to get here before rationality reasserts itself (assuming, charitably, that rationality has ever been part of the equation when it comes to politics). At this point it's gone way beyond affecting just us...the global economy is reeling from these insane oil prices too (Britain is subsidising their truck drivers because of high fuel expenses, for instance). Airlines are cutting flights, in some places up to 45%, while air fares are going to practically double.
It's becoming VERY hard to live with the results that these ideologically-coerced voters have foisted upon the rest of us. Frankly I'm bloody sick of it. Hear this; not a DAMN thing will change, ideologically speaking, if you vote for a candidate based upon his position on gay marriage or abortion. Not. One. Thing. They just can't deliver on that kind of rhetoric because it's UNCONSTITUTIONAL to do so. All they can do is make sanctimonious promises & get you to whore out your vote. Based on hollow promises to ignorant masses of ideologically selfish voters (& don't even get me started on Florida & the stolen election in 2000...I don't have the stomach for it), we're embroiled in a war that was waged based on false pretenses (Scotty McClellan much?) & I'm getting really nervous about how I'm going to heat my house in October. Those are the issues that matter to me.
I feel adrift at sea today. Am I the only person that's seeing this clearly?? Sometimes I wonder.
I call it my "Persian mask" because it was inspired by a favorite old Persian rug I used to own. I wonder what happened to it (it was a casualty of the divorce). You can see the mosque patterns in all the corners...
It has so many awesome colors in it...I hope it's a big hit in my shop.
In other, wonderful news; Obama won the nomination. This fills me with joy & fear at the same time. I'll tell you why; I have very little faith in the rationality of Americans, when it comes to the vote.
Thing is...Americans are gullible and opinionated. This is a dangerous combination when applied to the democratic process. Simply put, their precious vote can be bought. All the Republicans need to do is trot out some old favorites like gay marriage or abortion, & everyone's rational objectivity goes right out the window.
I'm not sure how to explain this any more concisely; voting based on ideological issues NEVER WORKS. Never. Eight years ago, conservatives were promised the same things; prayer in school, faith-based initiatives, no gay marriage & the ever amorphous "family values". You see the inevitable results of putting this godly, family-value oriented, oil-company friendly candidate into office...we have a war in the middle East with no exit strategy & gas prices out of control (read up on that sometime & you'll get a shocker...the current mess we're in is caused by greed & a corporate commodities de-regulation policy put in place by the Bush administration over six years ago. A ticking time bomb set to go off during the election cycle.).
The most disturbing thing I'm hearing is talk from other Democrats about how they intend to vote for McCain over Obama. How could they be so misguided? I don't understand whoring your vote out for ideological reasons...but I understand this crazy knee-jerk reaction from Democrats even less. I keep wondering just how BAD things have to get here before rationality reasserts itself (assuming, charitably, that rationality has ever been part of the equation when it comes to politics). At this point it's gone way beyond affecting just us...the global economy is reeling from these insane oil prices too (Britain is subsidising their truck drivers because of high fuel expenses, for instance). Airlines are cutting flights, in some places up to 45%, while air fares are going to practically double.
It's becoming VERY hard to live with the results that these ideologically-coerced voters have foisted upon the rest of us. Frankly I'm bloody sick of it. Hear this; not a DAMN thing will change, ideologically speaking, if you vote for a candidate based upon his position on gay marriage or abortion. Not. One. Thing. They just can't deliver on that kind of rhetoric because it's UNCONSTITUTIONAL to do so. All they can do is make sanctimonious promises & get you to whore out your vote. Based on hollow promises to ignorant masses of ideologically selfish voters (& don't even get me started on Florida & the stolen election in 2000...I don't have the stomach for it), we're embroiled in a war that was waged based on false pretenses (Scotty McClellan much?) & I'm getting really nervous about how I'm going to heat my house in October. Those are the issues that matter to me.
I feel adrift at sea today. Am I the only person that's seeing this clearly?? Sometimes I wonder.
no subject
Then... 1) I read the book that the HBO series "John Adams" was based on. 2) I listened to McCain pimp himself to right-wing bible-thumpers who disgust me. 3) My cynical side pointed out that IT WAS CORRECT.... McCain = 4 More Years of the same insider crap.
I'm voting for Barack Obama. I'm very nervous that a) this country doesn't vote for someone with such a 'foreign' sounding name and b) the Clinton camp will do exactly as you mention and decamp to McCain out of SPITE.
Initially, I thought "Obama is a bad choice, he's not experienced enough, he's got no foreign policy experience at all..." and then I thought "Well, hell, how much experience did JFK have?" and HE at least kept us from having to pave over Cuba.... Now I'm thinking that it's probably EASIER to have Ideals and stick to them if you're not a long-time member of the Machine. So I'm voting Obama.
In addition, while at least all three of these people (Obama, Clinton, McCain) *appear* to have their own brains, and can speak coherently even when blindsided by non-pre-agreed questions from clever interviewers (god, I love George Stephanopolos!), McCain's been a little TOO slick for my tastes lately. Part of my decision is based on the fact that he's been turning me off all on his own, not just that Obama is looking better and better....
And good grief! Compared to illegal wars and thousands of dead american soldiers and an economy raging out of control, was Clinton getting a blowjob under the desk really that bad?!? Which is worse? A lie that pisses off a wife or a lie that kills thousands?!?
I do have to say that while I agree that "whoring" your vote when the issue is knee-jerk reactionism is sad... what else are we voting for if not the people whose ideology most resembles our own? I want someone who's intellegent, competent, strong-willed, not caring about popularity, who's more interested in doing the Right Thing. Someone who can make this country a better place to live. Someone who doesn't care what people are doing in their own bedrooms, someone who believes each person has a right to make the decisions in their own lives.
Well hell. Bartlett for President!
no subject
If you look at Republicans, historically speaking they bear NO resemblance to the neo-cons of today...I think all the obfuscation & corporate-pandering-crap began in the Nixon era & never really quit. Lincoln was a Republican but when you look at his policies & his philosophy, he really acted more like what you would call a "Liberal" today. It cheeses me off whenever Bush invokes Lincoln's name...he is NOTHING like Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln welcomed dissent & discourse from various sources...hell, his cabinet had people from EVERY party in it. Bush would rather chop off an arm than contemplate sharing power with the Dems. Uniter my ass.
John Adams was a freaking genius. I read that book when it came out & loved every minute of the HBO series. It should be required viewing/reading for everyone who ever aspires to public office.