Yellow Car In Glass

 

 

Bursting Free

 

 

Solar Pac Man

 

 

Moon Totals Sun

 

 

Outlines

 

 

Smoke & Rim Light

Spring Behind One Hour?

 

An item from today's Press Republican newspaper:

 This item looked familiar.  Then I remembered (from March 10, 2012):

https://writog.blogspot.com/2013/03/did-you-fall-for-this-one.html

 Highest standards of journalistic excellence.

 

 

Hillbilly Heaven

 

 

My Eye As A Beholder

© 2024 Luke T. Bush

PLATTSBURGH CITY, NY  - 3/6/24

I was walking by one of the many thrift shops downtown when something caught my eye in a cardboard box.  The FREE box held items discarded because the shop thought they weren’t worth selling, no value.

Standing out from the miscellaneous debris was a small painting, a view of a lake with sunset colors over the mountains in the distance.  It piqued my attention so I picked it up for a closer examination. There was a $2.00 sticker on the back but apparently it wasn’t even worth that. Interesting but not enough for me to carry.  I put it back.

After making a visit to the bank I doubled back to the FREE box, the painting on my mind.  It was still there.  I took it home.

I liked the image, the colors, the view framed on three sides with silhouetted vines and grass.  Simple but effective.  Art snobs would sneer at this amateur painting and then go into an orgasmic thrall while viewing Andy Warhol’s stupid soup cans.

For me simple beats pretension.

Even an average person can be an art snob.

 

Tindo The Basenji

 

 

 

Dispairity

 

 

Hairy Berry

 

 

 

Flap

 

 

Core Meltdown

 

 

Through Her Work Aimee Baker Honors Women Victims

Aimee Baker reads her essay to twenty-one attendees at Chapter One.

 

© 2024 Luke Bush


PLATTSBURGH CITY, NY - 02/02/24

As a true crime writer Aimee Baker investigates cases of missing and unidentified women. From her research Aimee authored a book of poetry honoring these victims, Doe, the collection winning the Akron Prize in Poetry.

In 1999 Aimee read a news story about a woman who fell out from a speeding car. She died two days later, remaining unidentified for 9 years. The question was whether the victim fled or was pushed from the car. From this article Aimee started to research other cases of unidentified women victims.

She spoke this evening at Chapter One Coffee & Tea. She shared her essay about her research into the murder of Jennie Hemmingway, 14, during the early 1900s in St. Albans, VT.

Besides being a writer and poet Aimee is the co-host of the podcast She Goes By Jane, [https://evergreenpodcasts.com/she-goes-by-jane] the title referring to Jane Doe cases.

 

Aimee Baker responds during Q&A.

 

 

Through A Cup Darkly

 

 

Daydreamer

 

 

Window Washer

 

 

Enoying His Magazine

 

 

Feinberg Law Vs. Free Speech

 

 

© 2024 Luke T. Bush


PLATTSBURGH CITY, NY – 01-18-24

Colleges and libraries. Most are ramparts of free speech. Local politician Benjamin F. Feinberg was instrumental in the creation of the New York State university system. In his honor the Plattsburgh State University library bears his name.

How ironical.

Feinberg was a Republican member of the New York State Senate serving from 1933 through 1949 during the time of the second Red Scare. The Cold War followed World War II, great tension between the United States and the Soviet Union (Russia). Events like the Soviets occupying Eastern Europe produced fears of spreading communism.

The "commie" boogeyman helped a politician manipulate voters to rally around him. There was justified concern about Soviet spies operating in the United States but it lead to overreaction. Skeptics joked about checking for communist agents under a bed with a flashlight before falling asleep.

You didn’t like someone? Then besmirch them with the commie label. Many believed all communists and fellow travelers (people sympathetic to communism ideals) were involved in a vast conspiracy to overthrow US democracy. It didn’t matter if loyal Americans embraced communist beliefs, trying to work peacefully within the nation’s political structure for change.

And if a person advocated for socialism he was only partly red: they were a pinko.

In 1949 Feinberg sponsored a bill to stamp out communism in the public school system through the NYS regents. Under his proposal any individuals perceived not properly conforming to American values would be placed under surveillance, noting their reading materials and attendance at certain political gatherings. Also there was concern how teachers would affect impressionable young minds. They had to sign a loyalty oath or be fired.

This bill became law, leading to the ouster of some teachers. Thirty-three teachers in 1955 went to trial and were fired. Facing pressure from the law 277 teachers resigned.

In 1962 the University of Buffalo became part of the State University of New York. A new employment requirement meant teachers and other employees had to sign a loyalty oath under the Feinberg Law. Five UB employees opposed the oath requirement in federal court. In 1967 the Supreme Court struck down the Feinberg Law, citing individual rights.

My research hasn’t found any statements by Feinberg indicating he had second thoughts about the law. Either way the irony remains.




ADDENDUM: While riling up his base during his third run for the White House Republican Donald “The Big Lie” Trump used the terrifying term “communists.” Citizens who don’t learn from history are doomed.

Sunday Hangover