We all have memories of childhood bullies. Of times, for example, like when you were in elementary school and answered a teacher’s question only to get made fun of. Or perhaps your memory is when you were captain of a sports team and had the one slacker making fun of what you were trying to accomplish as a team. Or perhaps you were part of the debate team and the bully decided it was easier to punch you than talk out a disagreement.

This is what the current political news feels like. We’ve got a candidate who is getting people to listen, a candidate who is drawing crowds of people who believe in him, a candidate putting forth good ideas and trying to communicate them. This candidate is a leader, someone who takes the time to thoughtfully answer the questions put forth by the public, someone who actually wants to create a national dialogue where we can all discuss our issues and debate policy. On the other side we have a bully, someone who makes fun of the person trying to answer the hard questions. A bully who would rather pull a punch and appear tough than debate real issues and participate in a dialogue that could actually help resolve the troubles of this nation. A bully who belittles good ideas, and seems to think broad support of “we the people” is a the same thing as celebrity.

In America we have a choice for who our leaders can be. We can choose a leader who answers our questions. We can choose a leader that has garnered the respect of an entire generation. We can choose a leader that will help change our image in the world. We can choose a leader who we admire and whom we think will further the very idea of what America *is* and can be for each and every one of us. Or, we can choose a bully who thinks that teasing and marginalizing others is the way to gain popularity. Who would you rather your children aspire to be? I want mine to be captain of the football team rather than the looser on the sideline making fun of others for their unique abilities. I want mine to be the child that answers questions in class no matter who is making fun of them. I want mine to put forth their ideas and participate in the world around them. Bullies are not leaders. They are lemmings without a true backbone or the intelligence lead a nation. No one should be proud of graduating at the bottom of their class. No one should be proud of not being able to use a computer. No one should ever loose their temper and call their wife a CUN+. Yet one of the candidates has done all three of these.

I’m asking for you to consider your vote in this election and vote for hope, vote for change, but most of all vote for the candidate you would like your children to emulate. Ya know… I’d also like my kid to go to Harvard. I wasn’t smart enough, but I think it is an amazing achievement and I’d love my kid to aspire to achieve it too!

Why? Well, I’m in the process of writing a book which is taking up a lot of my time at the moment. Don’t worry, I’m not giving up painting. I’m still available for commissions and am still making goofy videos etc. I’m just trying to finish up this little book so will be tied up with it for a few months. This will be the third book I’ve written. Strange the direction that life takes you.

Political art

This is a funny statement on what it is to be an American company like
Walmart. Although I think Walmart is just as guilty of exploiting the
Chinese as they are of destroying American towns, this image does make an
interesting point about where our money is going.

How we do thanksgiving in yerington.

Image of masks in Venice

Okay, It is no secret that I don’t like corporations getting too big. I am a capitalist at heart, but there is a limit to what I think is acceptable. I believe in much more competition that our current system allows for. I believe that when companies become so big that there is no room for mom and pop shops there is a problem. And, I also believe in universal health care. I believe that in this country, we all deserve free health care. And I believe that it is the moral responsibility of the government to make it happen for us. I don’t think that companies should have to bear the cost of health care, I believe that we the tax payers should pay for it for all of us. Health care should not be a for profit entity. In our current system I’m amazed that if a cure isn’t profitable we can’t pursue it.

Anyway, I don’t want to rant. But check out these two films. The High Price of Low Cost, and Sicko. Yes, they are both a little one sided, and I realize there are two sides to every story, but they do present compelling arguments. And over all I believe in their messages.

Okay, thankfully it looks like many others are also outraged with FEMA for their mock news event. They have called it “poor judgment” and said they are reviewing their press policies. I’m happy with that, but they also said that this was not meant to deceive. I’m having a hard time believing that. In fact, I call bull shit. Here is the latest:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency apologized for the event, but protested that it was not intended to deceive. FEMA announced the news conference with 15 minutes’ notice and provided an 800 number for reporters, but it was not set up to take questions. When no reporters showed up, FEMA provided stand-ins to ask questions and a video feed. Several channels broadcast parts of the event live.

Let’s look at this.
First, “FEMA provided an 800 number for reporters but it was not set up to take questions”.
– Are you kidding me? What was the damn number for if it wasn’t supposed to be for questions? Obviously it wasn’t for the conference or they could have used it for questions. This smells like spin to make us (the people) think “they tried.”

Next, “When no reporters showed up, FEMA provided stand-ins to ask questions and a video feed.”
– Really, no reporters showed up? They can arrive on que when Britney pops out of a club to show her crotch. And mind you, that is very short notice; but, they are no where near the FEMA folks during one of the worst disasters California has seen in recent history? Give me a break. Stop lying.

Last, “Several channels broadcast parts of the event live.”
– Yeah, they can send a camera crew to broadcast live but that crew didn’t have a reporter. Once again, I call bull shit.

This isn’t okay. Some one needs to step down over this. And stop spinning the PR crap. We ain’t buying.

Today while browsing the morning news like I do almost every day I found a link to an article suggesting that FEMA had staged a fake news conference and tried to pass it off as if it were real. This is incredibly scary and what is worse is that this type of behavior *IS* fascism at it’s finest.

Please take a moment to read the piece by Tim Dickinson from Rolling Stone

Real Fake News: FEMA Asks, FEMA Answers

And please also take a moment to write to your senators and congressmen to let them know that “we the people” are not okay with this.

Here is a link to do so right now. It only takes a few seconds. Please don’t let this moment pass. Our country may be on the verge of crossing a line if we don’t speak up.

Write your Congressman

Please note:
We depend on our media to be non partisan, critical, and real. Their job is to ask hard questions and try to dig for dirt. If they are not digging for dirt they are not doing their job.

I expect the media to try to find inconsistencies in stories, ask very hard questions, and do their best to insure they are working for the public good. If questions are all fielded with valid, real responses then I feel more confident putting my trust in the person/company/organization being covered.

What FEMA has done with this fake story is diminish my trust in our media. We need to ask ourselves, how can we trust our government when they deliberately try to manipulate our opinions with fake news?

We must demand that this not go without some consequence. It is simply unacceptable.

Wine tasting at jake.s

Mimosa and football

I ran to the supper market to see if my paintings made it in and yes! they made it. On page 78 my paintings are hanging in the bedroom that is featured. They are part of the Sunset Idea House project. This house was the Tahoe house. Check out the October issue of sunset magazine to see them.

Breakfast at just for you in the dog patch

I love what is happening in the neighborhood. This little corridor is just starting to show some life. The people are great and with the wine bar (Yield), The Dog Patch Bar, Just for You, Piccolo, and the little manny petty place we have the makings of a neighborhood!

You gotta check out the new portfolio I put together. You can feel the energy pop off the page from those paintings. It makes me happy each time I open it. my portfolio page.

Yep, it is that time again. Every few years I like to re-work my website. At the moment I am attracted to black and whites so I thought I’d start incorporating them into my site and go for an updated look that says something about my current thoughts about my own artwork. Essentially:

1. My art is mine to make and mine to do whatever I want with.

2. Love it or hate it just have a reaction. There is nothing worse than no reaction at all.

3. Call me Emo again and I’ll slash your tires (just kidding… Art is Emo so get over it).