How Did American Blacks Go From Trusted To Hated?

Sustainable Liberalism In a Box (Unsustainable)

[Click to enlarge.]

It's funny, how the timeliness of a subject can erupt in several places at once, making it seem like one of the prevailing issues of the moment.

For the last couple of days I've been discussing the sacrifices I've had to make, and some of the problems I've encountered, since revealing myself as a conservative artist. To the question of what would happen if a female conservative artist "came out" I wrote:

I think her experience would be much like mine:



She'd find herself standing alone, with a bunch of snarling Leftists - who know who she is - doing everything in their power to tear her down in any way possible.

And that's exactly how it's been. Now comes the tale of Steve DeQuattro's "Sustainable Liberalism In a Box" and New York's Pratt Institute:

You don’t have to be an art critic to see something tasteless going on at Pratt Institute. Since 1887, this venerable New York institution has been dedicated to educating “artists and creative professionals to be responsible contributors to society.” Yet teachers and administrators at Pratt have been nothing but irresponsible in their recent dealings with a fifth-year drawing student named Steve DeQuattro.

Mr. DeQuattro is a political artist. He uses his background in graphic design to illustrate the dominant political culture of his world. At Pratt, this means creating work that addresses, as he wrote to me, the “growing bureaucracy, higher tuition, new buildings for administration, new offices, and departments, and left-wing bias, all at the expense of the students.”

As part of his recent work, Mr. DeQuattro has designed a cereal-box-like sculpture that he calls, ironically, “Sustainable Liberalism in a Box” (the graphics are pictured above). He has developed a piece that takes the ubiquitous Apple iPod ad campaign to address abortion. He has designed a sobering five-foot-wide mural that tracks the Democratic Party’s record on race, from Jefferson’s slave-holding days up through the racially charged speeches of Senator Robert Byrd and Vice President Joe Biden.

As a senior in the school, Mr. DeQuattro has been working on this art in preparation for a group show for Pratt’s graduating students, which is scheduled to open on April 23. While his faculty advisor has been supporting him, his peers have not. Mr. DeQuattro says they recently wrote a letter to his professors, calling his work “offensive” and complaining about exhibiting alongside him. Last week, the chair of the fine arts department stepped in to prevent Mr. DeQuattro’s participation alongside the other students in the group show--an unprecedented move in the history of the department, says Mr. DeQuattro, despite the fact that none of his work is pornographic, libelous, or in violation of the laws of free speech. Mr. DeQuattro's advisor did not return a request for comment.

For the administrators and students at Pratt, the problem isn’t political art itself, says Mr. DeQuattro, but the nature of his politics, which are conservative. He says his school takes a liberal position on politicized discourse, just as long as that discourse does not deviate from a left-wing position. Pratt’s opposition to Mr. DeQuattro’s art only underscores the importance of his work. Mr. DeQuattro is asking for outside help in convincing the institution to support his exhibition.

I wish him luck and hope I'm doing my part by publicizing his plight. The way liberals "work" is as disgusting as how they "think" - any underhanded trick will do, whether it's going to DeQuattro's professors, or any of the many things that have happened to me - they're all discriminatory, wrong, and the height of liberal fascism. Especially in the world of art, where I have spent my entire life, there is no place for trying to silence anyone ideologically opposed to you. But silencing others is the liberal's stock in trade - just as we've seen in Wisconsin when the Democrat 14 ran away, rather than allow a vote on issues the people had voted for in the previous election. They're now trying to sell themselves as heroes for doing so, but the truth is they're cowards - cowards without the courage of their convictions to be "politicians" sent to serve.

Needless to say, it is my opinion Steve DeQuattro's fellow students are no more deserving of the title "artists" either.

Come One, Come All - Now Get Away From Me!

With all these visitors streaming in from all over, I have to say, if you're from one place and not visiting the blogs that I'm tight with, you're missing out on what's happening online. Here's a few of them:

The graphic, above, is from iOwnTheWorld, and it's typical of the ridicule they dish out to anyone who thinks we're the rubes. There aren't many conservative art blogs around, but with iOTW's head honcho, Big Fur Hat, on the case, there ain't gotta be. I'm not sure how he keeps the level of brilliance up day after day, but he does, and he and his crew even continue to top themselves, sometimes completely destroying whatever it is I thought they were able to accomplish. Personal note:

They've given me a lot of encouragement when I was feeling down, and, I'm sure, TMR wouldn't still be here without them.

I am honored to call iOwnTheWorld my friends.

[Click to enlarge: really, do it - it's funny!]

This next blog is new to me, but since they've started hanging out here, I've had ample opportunity to visit Flying Tiger Comics and, damn, I'm glad I did! I can't really explain it because (like TMR) it's too eclectic, but I know a kindred spirit when I see one and Flying Tiger Comics fits the bill.

Go, visit - enjoy!

Althouse is an online salon run by Ann Althouse. Right now, she and Laurence "New Media" Meade are making news in Madison, Wisconsin by covering the union battle with Gov. Scott Walker. There's a lot more that goes on over there, daily, because Ann's a pot-stirring educator with a loyal following of really smart readers, but the main reason I love it is because she's a fierce free speech advocate - as I am - as well as a fellow artist and, even though she voted for Obama and can show a squishy hippie center sometimes, her openness to other opinions more than compensates.

I'm hard on her, and Meade, but just for putting up with me, I love them both more than I can express with words. I mean that:

They're two wonderful people.

My sister blog is by Panda Bear, M.D., a former Iraq War vet who entered the medical profession. Like me, he doesn't mess around with BS, despises NewAge and quackery, and hold's the conservative's tragic view of life rather than the liberal's therapeutic, so - if you're looking for medical advice you can trust - he's the man. He hasn't posted in a while but so what?

He will when he's good and ready.

And finally, Mystic Bourgeoisie is where Chris Locke has been untangling the NewAge phenomena in preparation for a book of the same name. If you don't think TMR explains NewAge enough (as I prefer to speak as though understanding it is a given) then go and start at the beginning and let "Rageboy" lay it all out for you. Mystic Bourgeoisie is probably one of the most fun, well-laid out, and informative blogs on what's really troubling our present day culture I've ever read.

I'm not ashamed to say it saved my sanity.

It just might save yours, too - or, at least, will explain a lot of stuff you think you already understand - but you don't. Take my word for it:

When it comes to NewAge, you don't know nothin'!

It Looks Like We're The Chocolate-Covered Nut!

O.K., this is weird:

Along with a few of the others out there, our original Charlie Sheen post got quoted by an elegant blog called Right, Wing-Nut!

Here's what was written around our quote:

As a conservative, I should be horrified by Charlie Sheen. But as I said earlier, as a libertarian, I frankly don't give a f*ck about his wild behavior; he's nobody's role model save for his kids, and even that status is dubious.

But watching the flames fire out from his cocaine-fueled engine, I have to wonder: Are we so entranced by this spectacle because it is a "train wreck" in action, or because deep in our collective national subconscious, we respect a man who would rather burn out than fade away, a man who will live and die only on his terms, not "ours"?

...Some of us, sheep, willing to give up of freedoms for a little more security.

On the other hand, some of us have become...Tea Partiers. Another group of rebels, scorned by the media and loathed in polite society, who yet continue to push forward and succeed in their mission of taking our freedoms back. "Live Free or Die", and "Don't Tread on Me"....sentiments that Charlie Sheen espouses in his own sphere seemingly every five minutes.

And the media - despite their tongue-clucking at our imaginary excesses - cannot stop talking about us, even if only to vilify us. And our support within the nation, while not overwhelming, is strong - stronger than those who would dispose of us.

And maybe that is why I can't vilify Charlie. He may be dead by Christmas, but he went down fighting to be free, even if only to wallow in his own crapulence. We, too, are fighting every day - to avoid being part of a socialized nation ruled by scabby bureaucrats who will monitor our every move, but instead to be free men and women choosing to live and die as we choose.

Good luck, Chuck. You need it, as do we...

Ain't that the truth! So what's new? Well, after looking over some of Right, Wing-Nut!, we've found we agree with pretty much every political position it's blogger, The Jerseynut, has put out there! Which, even after seeing ourselves quoted positively, gave us a bit of culture shock - it's just never happened before.

So anyway, if anyone wants to see what our politics look like - without the artistic pretensions, crazy graphics, and swearing - we suggest you take a peek at The Jerseynut's site:

Right, Wing-Nut! was a real eye-opener, even to us.

UPDATE: We went back and changed the graphics on this post, because the Gene Wilder/Richard Pryor schtick seemed more appropriate.

Better Buy Something Before We Might Sell Out (Naw - There's No Risk: We're Gonna Sell Out!)

Yea - it's motherfucking shameless! - but there's a recession on, and a blog's gotta eat, so listen up:

You can now buy gobs of TMR shwag from The Macho Response Shop at Cafe Press!

Let everybody know that - whatever-the-fuck it is - you're probably not down with it until conservatism's in full political control, Oprah Winfrey and Arianna Huffington are in prison, and the word "cult" only refers to small films no one thought would have such staying power. And of course, by buying something with either our bad-assed logo on it - or our gorgeous leader's face - you're making a donation to the often-mentioned Crack Emcee Recording Fund to get him back in the studio where he belongs, so have at it!

Thank you in advance, and take our advice and be sure to get something for the whole family. You know, grandma and the dog and everybody! For Christmas! Birthdays! Holidays! Shit, because it's today! Because it's tonight! Because we say so! Now!

Do Smart Guys Just Seem Crazy - Or Are They?

Glenn Reynolds has a quote from Walter Russell Mead that got our attention:

We worry about the end of the world. The Greeks worried about seeing their city burned, the men killed, the women and children forced into slavery. Their culture, their identity, their dignity, their rights: gone with the wind. Our fear seems detached from daily life; theirs was part of it.

This raises two questions related to NewAge spiritual, and religious, beliefs:

Who is this apocalyptic "we", and what does Mead mean, that such irrational fear "seems" crazy?

Love the graphic by the way, very cool.

Crazy: We Know It When We See It (We See It)

Our Left-wing journalists, and Democrat Congress Critters, will come up with any harmful thing before entertaining the idea we can combat insanity (even theirs, which might be what they're avoiding) through teaching critical thinking in our schools and media:

On Sunday, Rep. Robert Brady, D-Pa., announced that he will draft a bill criminalizing the use of language or symbols that could be read as threats to members of Congress. His prime example of such "threats" was an electoral-map graphic that ran on Sarah Palin's "SarahPAC" Web site until it was taken down Saturday.

"You can't put bull's-eyes or cross hairs on a United States congressman," Brady fumed, even though that wasn't what Palin did. The graphic put cross hairs over 20 legislative districts McCain had carried where members had voted for Obamacare, urging voters to "take back the 20."

Common sense and First Amendment doctrine says that the Palin graphic isn't anywhere close to violent "incitement." It's one thing for a legislator to complain that "the rhetoric is just ramped up so negatively" (I often feel that way myself) -- but quite another when he threatens to use the force of law to "shut this down."

For his part, Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., called for beefed-up congressional security and special treatment by the Transportation Security Administration at airports (currently available only to top congressional officials, like the speaker). Clyburn complained that "we've had some incidents where TSA authorities think that congresspeople should be treated like everybody else" -- easily the most positive news I've heard about the TSA since its inception. Flexibility is in order here, Clyburn argued, because Congress is "held to a higher standard in so many areas."

Airports are "where we feel the most ill at ease," Clyburn stated, without explaining why congresspeople would feel especially threatened in areas where they're surrounded by security officials already on the lookout for hidden weapons.

And we thought it was only the CIA that had serious intelligence problems,...

Whenever You Hear NewAgers Declare "It's All Connected" - They Do Mean It Is All Connected!

Awww, look:

Fidel Castro has a logo for his new Wikipedia clone that,...looks,...suspiciously like Obama's!

Which is great because, much like cultism, we love to see traditions kept alive:

New Paradigms Used To Be 10¢

Getting Ready For The Democratic Par-tay?

Hat Tip: Instapundit

You Have GOT To Be Fucking Kidding!!!

Oh man, oh man, oh man!!! AMERICA: TURN BACK NOW!!! Forget what the newspapers say; forget what the "journalists" say; forget that shit about being concerned for whatever happened when Barack "was 8 years old" - just count up all the red flags, so far, and TURN BACK NOW!!!

Extra Special Hat Tip: Watchmen For America

Just A Whole Different Perspective

Hat Tip: Design In The Sociopolitical Arena