Saturday, September 06, 2008
Editorial: Short takes
Quick views on some of the week's news.
From the RoundTable blog
Read the latest entries
Sensitive artist
Talia Logan might not know art, but she knows what she likes.
No, that's not right. Logan knows art. She's the director of Roanoke College's Olin Gallery.
So did she ban a piece from an exhibit at the gallery because she didn't like it or because, as she claims, it clashed with the rest of the show?
The sculpture depicted a wedding dress made of feminine sanitary products.
The artist, Mary Tartaro of Blacksburg, calls the decision censorship and says Logan just didn't want a piece that might offend college students and locals. She cleared out her entire show.
Maybe Tartaro is branching into performance art with her tantrum.
Roanoke College is a private institution allowed to choose the art it displays. The curator is responsible for ensuring displays are cohesive and will interest visitors. That's not censorship, that's her job.
Bob Barr wins Texas
Republican congressman turned Libertarian candidate for president Bob Barr isn't afraid to pick a fight. This guy led the impeachment of Bill Clinton.
Now he's taking on America's bipartisan monolith.
Barr alleges that the Democratic and Republican parties missed the deadline to get their presidential candidates on the Texas ballot. State law requires parties provide the names of their candidates 70 days prior to an election. That was Aug. 26, and the two major parties appear to have missed the deadline.
Barr submitted his paperwork on time.
It's exceedingly unlikely Texas is going to keep Barack Obama and John McCain off the ballot. It's a red state, and if McCain wants a chance of winning in November, he needs its 34 electoral votes. Even if Barr is right, election officials will no doubt find some loophole.
Still, there's delightful irony in a third-party candidate making the case to keep the big boys off the ballot. Democrats and Republicans have done it to third parties for years.
In the interest of a peaceful election, we propose a compromise. Barr drops his challenge and he and Green Party candidate Ralph Nader get to participate in the debates.
