What is art?

OK, I admit it. I was one of those people who cringed when a friend or relative answered the question "Who is your favorite artist?" with "Thomas Kinkade".

After his death this past April, I felt properly saddened. Then, when I read that he was often depressed that a lot of people didn't consider him to be a "real artist", I felt guilty.

As an artist - a "fine artist" - I always thought of Kinkade as more of a craftsperson, not an artist. So, I was truly shocked when I heard that Kinkade was bothered because he was not assigned the title "artist" by .. well, by serious artists.

Honestly, I've never been fond of labels. I don't think any one descriptor can properly characterize anyone. Nor should it. We all wear many hats. We each have different gifts, different talents, different abilities. But to say that any one of those characteristics fully describes who we are? Well, I think that's folly.

Thomas Kinkade was a wonderful craftsman. He had a lot of talent and his works were loved - and bought! - by many. Was he an "artist"? I don't know. If his fans thought of him as such, who am I to argue?

I do know that I believe strongly that "Art is what you think it is.". (Yeah, I came up with that. All by myself.) And the more you think about that little saying, the more you realize that art is very much an individual preference. Heck, a leaf on the ground may be art to some people.

So, for me to say Kinkade wasn't an artist is nothing short of hypocritical. And, that's just another hat I wear far too often.

Four More Years!

Way to go, Mr. President!

I'm so glad Democrats got fed up and got out to vote yesterday! Way to show 'em we won't be intimidated, bought, or suppressed!

To freedom!!

How Republicans in Congress have Failed the American People

Since Barack Obama was elected, Republicans in Congress have been doing everything in their power to make him fail. When Democrats controlled Congress, the Senate Republicans constantly used the filibuster to block Democrat proposed legislation. And, the complete control of Congress Democrats supposedly had? In reality, because of delays in verifying election results for Al Franken, Teddy Kennedy's illness and "Blue Dog" Democrats who often sided with the obstructionist Republicans, Democrats only had total control for about 5 weeks. The rest of the time, Republicans in the Senate blocked a record number of proposed legislation by Democratic controlled House.

Before Obama was even sworn in, Rush Limbaugh said he hoped the the president would fail. When Republicans won the majority in the House of Representatives in 2010, one of the very first things Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said was that their first priority should be to make Barack Obama a one term president. Not "we want to help the economy". Not "we want to create jobs". No, they made it clear they were not going to cooperate with newly elected President Obama.

Most people know by now that this Congress has the lowest popularity of any Congress in history. What many may not know is that's because Republicans have gone out of their way to vote against things that the President was for, just to make sure it looked like he was failing. They voted against raising the debt ceiling, which caused our credit rating to fall for the first time in history. They voted against lowering student loan interest rates. They voted against a jobs bill. They voted against extending unemployment. They voted against a jobs bill for veterans! They voted against health care for 9-11 First Responders - those who put their health and lived on the line to save others! These are just some examples. Time and time again, Republicans have failed to act in the interest of the American people.

Remember that when you go to the polls on Tuesday.

Remember 2010?

Remember how, in 2010, people thought Obama wasn't solving all the countries problems fast enough so they thought the other side must be able to do better? So they voted for Republican governors and state and federal legislators? Then, remember how, as soon as they were voted in, Republicans sought to destroy unions and people in Wisconsin and Ohio and Michigan protested in huge numbers in State Capitols?

And, remember how Republicans also put forth every measure they could to restrict voting rights for people who largely vote for Democrats?

Yeah. Remember. And, let's not redo 2010. Vote for Democrats this election. They work for voters and to protect voting rights.

Voting and Voter Suppression - My Letter to the Edito

 I recently sent this letter about voter suppression to the editor of the Youngstown Vindicator:


You, person who is reading this? Did you know that potentially millions of people in the US won't be able to vote this presidential election? Most of these will be Democrats. Will you be one of them? 

When Republicans won the state governorship and House and Senate in Ohio and a significant number of other states, one of the first things they did was to try and make it more difficult for some people to vote. Under the false pretense that they were trying to eliminate "voter fraud" (which is extremely rare), Republicans tried to pass laws that would make everyone who wanted to vote have certain types of ID.

The problem is that a large (enough) number of people don't have the required documents to get these types of ID's. The poor and elderly - many of whom have voted their whole lives with no problem up until now - were told they'd have to pay for such documentation (state "approved" birth certificates) and they could only get the documentation at certain places.

Incidentally, the great majority of voters who would be affected tend to vote Democrat.

Republicans also have tried to pass measures that would greatly reduce early voting. Who tends to vote early? You guessed it. Democrats.

Don't be discouraged. In Ohio, you just need your drivers license, and, if the address on your license isn't current, a current utility bill or something showing your current address.

I voted early and all I needed was the last 4 digits of my Social Security number. It was very easy and now I don't have to worry about long lines on election day.

Check your county Board of Elections for more information, and whoever you vote for, get out and vote!