Letters for December 14, 2017

Public art

Re “Don’t use art as troll bait” (editorial, Nov. 30) and “In transit” (Art of the State, Nov. 30):

I just wanted to express my gratitude for your two articles on my new Transition Portal sculpture that was just unveiled at the TRI center.

Josie Glassberg’s was well written except for the comment about the “waiting for the light” was really my referring to the sky being not dark enough to show off the lights yet, it had nothing to do with the lights not working! So I said we should wait a bit. Unfortunately, she characterized it as a faulty sculpture, which was definitely not the case. When we did hit the switch and turn on the lights, it was a great moment! I was also a bit dismayed that she compared my sculpture to a phallus. It’s pretty clear my intent was for it to look inspiring like futuristic gothic arches, or an emerging cathedral doorway. But as Georgia O’Keefe said about her paintings of flowers: “People see what they want to see;” Roger Norman thought it looked “too feminine!” Anyhow, the rest of Josie’s article was great.

Your recent editorial about not using art for troll bait was incredibly thoughtful and intelligent. Although I didn’t witness the so-called “reporter’s” ignorant screed about something he knew nothing about, his lack of curiosity about the sculpture’s real meaning reveals him to be a hack, desperate for any kind of media attention. That’s pretty pathetic. You communicated that elegantly in your editorial, and I so appreciate that.

I do wish there was someplace I could actually share the meaning of the sculpture, and why public art is important to society, and take the guess work out of this artwork. I think many of us take for granted the beauty and sanity that creativity adds to our communities and to our identities—let alone the joy that it gives to see something beautiful.

Kate Raudenbush

New York

Public taxes

Our Constitution protects us from government including our financial freedom by preventing “direct taxation”. The Founding Fathers of our Constitution recognized the evil nature of taxing productivity and specifically forbade direct taxation in Article I Sections 2, 8 and 9. It all changed in February 1913 with the passage of the 16th Amendment that enables direct taxation and without limits. Six months late came the first legal income tax, then the IRS, payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare and tax withholding. The 16th Amendment gave the federal government huge new taxing power and we lost freedom, liberty and civil rights. The 16th Amendment enables a graduated income tax, the second requirement for a communist state per The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx. The 16th Amendment makes us all slaves to our government.

The big issues of tax reform are tax evasion, moving the tax base from production to consumption, and ending direct taxation with the repeal of the 16th Amendment. The Ways and Means Committee is ignoring these three problems. The FAIRtax bill HR25/S18 solves these problems plus the 31 reasons presented by the Ways and Means Committee.

Paul Livingston

Jacksonville, Fl.

Public jerks

To all males living in this country I issue a collective statement: enough already! Who are you to impose your sexual desires on someone because they did not give you their consent? Once again we are witnessing those in authority positions taking advantage of the situation. Resignation is the least you can do. Prosecution is the best we can do. And we will. What did you expect to gain from making sexual advances on a human being? If this isn’t an indication of the failure to grow up, I don’t know what is. Those men who have permeated this transgression must seek counseling before they destroy more lives executing their perverted conquest. Otherwise time spent in prison will allow them to dwell on their evil actions while trying to survive an environment which is the closest equivalent to hell on earth.

Perhaps I had the advantage of growing up with four sisters in my family which some say predispositions males to be kinder to females throughout all stages of their life. Frankly I remember times when I was embarrassed for making incidental contact with a female followed by an immediate apology.

Joe Bialek

Cleveland, Oh.