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Momenta Art in Williamsburg has its annual benefit coming up and I'm donating a piece. Jeez, the last time I did this was four years ago, shortly after I started this blog. Here's to both of us still being around in the world o'ephemera that is the art scene. I tried something new with the piece above, which is gluing the paper--many little cut out pieces printed with "drawn elements" from my home computer--directly onto a piece of plywood. I was expecting to struggle more but this came together fairly quickly--I'm happy not to drag out the process. Now, if I was Fred Tomaselli I'd collector-ify the piece by pouring polyurethane goo all over it, but I kind of hate that restaurant table decoupage look so I think I'll just give it a light coat of matte fixative and call it done. I like seeing the texture of the paper clinging to the wood--I also left some wood showing on the front, which I didn't expect to do. All this could change tomorrow but I only have a few more days to screw with it.
Tom DeLay Is Declasse
The New York Times tastefully summarized a recent paranoid speech by Tom DeLay, the former bug exterminator who was "mad about gummint regulation" and pretty much took over the US House of Representatives. Investigations are finally closing in on him so he's been desperately demagoguing on the "right not to die" issue. Here's more of his speech to the Family Research Council:
And so it’s bigger than any one of us, and we have to do everything that is in our power to save Terri Schiavo and anybody else that may be in this kind of position.The residents of DeLay's Congressional district--Missouri City, Sugarland, Rosenberg, Texas--may be happy to have someone in Congress making speeches like this. (I like to think the people I know from there aren't so simplistic.) But he doesn't just represent a minority bloc of home-schooled Christians, he has been the main power in the House since the late '90s, largely by turning on and off a spigot of corporate cash. What I don't get is how somewhat more urbane, well-educated Congressmen, Hill staffers, even smooth corporate lobbyist types, let this creature gain so much control. It recalls the rise of Joe McCarthy--there's something inherently weak in our Congressional system that allows ign'ant monsters to flourish. The good news is the poll numbers are overwhelming against DeLay on the Schiavo issue. We should all pray to Beelzebub and Madelyn Murray O'Hair that his reign will soon be ending. (Hat tip to mark for the speech link--there's also video but I don't think I can stand to watch it.)
And let me just finish with this: This is exactly the issue that’s going on in America. That attacks against the conservative movement, against me, and against many others. The point is, it’s, the other side has figured out how to win and defeat the conservative movement. And that is to go after people, personally charge them with frivolous charges, and link that up with all these do-gooder organizations funded by George Soros, and then, and then get the national media on their side. That whole syndicate that they have going on right now is for one purpose and one purpose only and that’s to destroy the conservative movement. It’s to destroy conservative leaders and it’s, uh, not just in elected office but leading. I mean Ed Feulner, today at the Heritage Foundation, was under attack in the National Journal. I mean they, they, this is a huge nationwide concerted effort to destroy everything we believe in, and, and you need to look at this and what’s going on and participate in fighting back.
Don’t, you know, the one way they stopped churches from getting into politics was Lyndon Johnson, who passed a law that said you couldn’t get in politics or you’re going to lose your tax exempt status because they were all opposed to him when he was running for president. [And before that, the US Constitution, which mandates separation of church and state.] That law we’re trying to repeal; it’s very difficult to do that. But the point is, is when they can knock out a leader then no other leader will step forward for awhile because they don’t want to go through the same thing. When, if they go after and get a pastor then other pastors shrink from what they should be doing. It forces Christians back into the church and that’s what’s going on in America: “The world is too bad. I’m going to go get inside this building and I’m not going to play in the world.” Uh, that’s not what Christ asked us to do. And, and so this, they understand that it is a political maneuver, and, and they are, uh, going to try to destroy the conservative movement and we have to fight back. [Just a reminder: the "conservative movement" controls all three branches of government plus the press.]
So, please, this afternoon, each and every one of you, if you know a senator give him a call. Tell him, they’ll say, “Our bill can pass in the House.” Tell him, “That’s fine. Your bill’s okay but the House bill is better and, uh, I want the House bill.” Particularly if you know Democrats, uh, don’t let them get off the hook, um, by hiding behind one House and the other is adjourned. We can do anything we need to do to pass any bill that we need to pass. So I appreciate what you’re doing. God bless you and thank you for the Family Research Council.