Support from Afar

I'll keep this one short since it's personal. I have a fan in Thailand who owns one of my Liberty drawings. He recently got it framed and sent me the photo and a short blog post. I just wanted to say thanks, and give a link to his blog which I find interesting. Last October, we did an interview, which you can find here.

I'm glad to know there are still people out there who understand what Liberty means and are helping spread the word. Thanks Gary Dale and good luck.

I've been busy lately

Here is a hodge podge of things I have been reading, writing, or working on the last week:

The Day Racism Died, by Jay @ The Break Room This is an editorial on President Obama's recent comments, which he later retracted to a degree, regarding the actions of a police officer doinghis job. Most of you here know how I feel about Obam, so I will leave you with the article.

A series of work @ Big Hollywood by Scott Graves: Warhol, Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 Let me say this: "I can't stand Warhol's work". However, this series of articles raises some good questions about art. marketing, philosophy, and our future as Conservatives (those of us who are) in the creative industries. If you have time, read the whole series and chip in on the comments. I found it worth the time.

A Contradictory Exhibit of Art in Search of Dialogue an article about an art show I attended recently. Those of you who are artists or members of the larger art community should be fore warned: I have very strict guidelines for what I consider art, particularly good art. You may be offended by my opinions. Keep in mind that art is subjective, and opinion is opinion. I definitely have a bias, given my treatment by the art community. When people start telling you to tone it down a bit so you can sell your work, you tend to get a little offensive.
To the rest of you, enjoy. This article is particularly appropriate in conjunction with the Warhol series.

Socialized Medicine, A Crisis We can't Afford to Ignore

I have been absent from the blog most of this week, because I have been trying to fight the upcoming Health Care 'Reform' bill. As many of you know, this bill will do nothing to improve the health care industry or curb costs. It is just as cumbersome, invasive, and regulatory as any other socialized program. With the programs in Cuba, England and Canada crashing down upon their heads, one has to wonder why our own government would attempt to foist the same monstrosity upon us. It amounts to the same thing that it always does with government programs - power. This is not about choices, options, improvement or the common good. It is about the government telling you what you can have, when you can have it, and at what point your life becomes economically unfeasible. Even the New York Times is giving some of the opposing information without their typical spin.
Yesterday, I attended a rally at my Senator's office. For those of you who don't live in my district, Saxby Chambliss is one of those worthless 'Conservative' turncoats who does enough to get re-elected, then leaves us twisting in the wind. I have yet to understand why he continues to win re-election after voting for the Medicare Prescription Entitlement bill, the Bush Stimulus that led to the Socialism of the banking and auto industries, and various affirmative action bills. He is also a proud proponent of Congressional pork and bi-partisan efforts to help the less fortunate. In short, he is a Blue Dog Democrat who signed up with the Republicans because he's too 'moderate' for the Progressives and Liberals running the Democrat Party. Even so, the old ladies at the rally yesterday were crooning about how 'he's got our backs on this one" because he's a 'Conservative'. I guess if you repeat a lie enough times, it becomes an acceptable imitation of the truth.
Chambliss's office sent a representative, Mr. Kendall, out to speak to us, so we wouldn't crowd the reception area. Although we met outside the building in the courtyard, we were informed by the representative and security, that we were to move from the area to a park across the street. We were not being loud or unruly, and there were not enough of us to crowd the space, but he was just doing his job so we complied. Conveniently, the park was not only across the street, but below street level, so we were effectively invisible at that point. When the representative from Chambliss's office came down with the security guard to speak to us they looked as though they were nervous. Maybe they're not used to protests, or they have an overblown perception of how people behave, because I don't find a crowd of senior citizens with two moms and a toddler threatening. Maybe the fact that they made us stand out in the sun for an hour before giving us 10 minutes to ask questions had something to do with it. Or perhaps, we looked like a bunch of homegrown terrorists. Your guess is as good as mine.
To be fair, Mr. Kendall, did offer to take us up to the office, but insisted there wouldn't be enough room for us all. He also brought us water - thanks. So, we finally put the question to Mr. Kendall: Does Senator Chambliss support or oppose this bill? Mr. Kendall's response was that he opposes it, but I suspect he is only giving us half the answer. That may be the true reason for his nervous demeanor - Chambliss's record does not support the assertion that he will oppose the bill if he is offered something he wants in return. The other reason I smell a rat on this is the lack of response I have received from their office on this issue. I have sent several letters recently on various issues, and health care is the only one they did not respond to.All of this is bad enough, but this morning I got an article from regarding the Health Care Bill. It says that Obama has given up his attempt to get 60 votes on the bill and instead has decided to use the budget reconciliation procedures to push it through with 50. I'm not an expert on how this works, so please do your homework and verify this claim. Then, do whatever you can to raise awareness of this new tactic to ram government health care we don't want down our throats.
For information on the body of the as well as those not yet up for a vote, please visit the Library of Congress
For information on the voting record of you Congressmen, please visit Project Vote Smart

My thoughts on Liberty

This article is my effort, on the 4th, to remind you why America is great, who fights for us, and what we need to do to preserve the founding principles for future generations.

Some New Drawings

I am working on a series of drawings for a show with my friend Alvaro. Hopefully we will be on display somewhere in Atlanta by the end of the year.
These drawings are from my Liberty Series and the photos were taken by Alvaro. We try to get together a few times a month to talk politics and art and inspire/push one another to get more art out into the world.
Alvaro has work going on display at MOCA GA soon. More details to come.

A Little Promotion for My Husband

As some of you may know, my husband recently launched The Break Room at Machine Politick to promote his writing. We are in the process of getting his first book ready to self-publish. I am currently working on ideas for the cover art, and we hope it will be out in time for Christmas. The link above is for his recent commentary on Ruth Bader Ginsburg. You may be able to guess that he will have something snarky to say. He is, after all, my husband.

An Unexpected Visit and the Encouragement it Brought

This article may not be interesting to those of you who enjoy my political posts, but it's nice to have something positive to write about. I had an unexpected visit yesterday, and I would like to take a minute to share the story.
Occaisionally, people contact me via email to let me know they like my artwork. At this point in my career, that is a huge encouragement. Better still, are the people who check in on me regularly to ask how I am doing and let me know they keep up with the blogs. In an age of computer driven anonymity, it is nice to know people care enough to reach out and encourage one another. This is how I first met Laura, who is a dance instructor from Brooklyn. The main focus of her program is to pass on family histories and personal experiences through the medium of dance.
As it turns out, she was on a road trip with her sister's family this week, from New Hampshire to Texas. I received an email from Laura on Monday night asking if my work was available for viewing. She wanted to 'stop off' in Atlanta on her way home if I didn't mind. Seeing as how my work is just hanging around the house, I said come on by. To be honest, I didn't expect her to call me. However, yesterday afternoon, Laura called to say she was heading to Atlanta, and would like directions to my house.I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to meet Laura, and not just because she likes my work. She is an interesting and intelligent woman who faces many of the same obstacles I do. Imagine being a dance instructor in the Northeast, surrounded by Liberals, while being politically Conservative in your views.
Needless to say, our common experiences led to a lengthy conversation on how we can make a place for like-minded people in the arts.Luckily, Christopher and I have already laid the groundwork here at Liberatchik. Being at the forefront of a movement is a very demanding, and sometimes lonely, endeavor. I spend long hours on the computer, away from my family and my art. However, meeting Laura, and seeing her enthusiasm for my work and ideas is all the encouragement I need to persevere. Who knows how many other people are out there, with the same passions and vision, who are afraid to be openly political with their Liberal friends.
I hope that I will soon have the opportunity to introduce Laura to you as well, through Liberatchik. I feel that she will be a wonderful addition to our team.

This article is cross posted @ Liberatchik