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#133774 10/12/04 12:07 AM
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this artist ... could have saved herself a bit of embarrassment and the taxpayers a bit of money

We all agree, myself included, tsuwm, that the artist bears some responsibility for what happened, but why is everyone so inattentive to the larger share of responsibility here? That is what perplexes me, truly.

In law, there is a concept known as "contributory negligence". It recognizes that in the real world there is often a combination of mistakes or failures which leads to a particular pecuniary loss.

This is not a complex, legalistic notion. It is a common sense notion arising from ordinary, everyday experience.

If a traffic cop leaves his post at a intersection for an unauthorized coffee break during rush hour, and an accident occurs while he is absent, is the cop without blame for the accident?

If he had been doing his job as he was paid to do, there wouldn't have been an accident.

If the Livermore library adminstration had been doing its job in first approving and then overseeing Maria's work, or if they had just carried out one of these customary duties and not both, the spelling mistakes in question would never have occurred.

Their failures cost the taxpayers of Livermore $6,000.

Why are we so eager to make a scapegoat of Maria?

That's the part I just don't get, tsuwm.

Why turn a blind eye to the failures of the establishment?



#133775 10/12/04 02:13 AM
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I don't recall anyone here making arguments exonerating the administrators; but one person has gone way over the edge in attempting to forgive the Artiste.

see, that's a big problem in today's culture. no one is willing to take personal responsibility for anything. blame all problems on some invisible committee, cabal, cult or conspiracy.

oops, I had better add a , lest someone think I'm being serial.


#133776 10/12/04 09:04 AM
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but the people who should bear the primary responsibility for this are too busy dumping on Maria to accept any blame for themselves.

Well they are the ones footing the bill to have the corrections done.


#133777 10/12/04 09:04 AM
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In reply to:

see, that's a big problem in today's culture. no one is willing to take personal responsibility for anything. blame all problems on some invisible committee, cabal, cult or conspiracy.


Amen.


#133778 10/12/04 11:52 AM
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blame all problems on some invisible committee, cabal, cult or conspiracy

Exquisitely put. And indeed, a lesson to be learned.


#133779 10/12/04 12:50 PM
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blame all problems on some invisible committee, cabal, cult or conspiracy

Exquisitely put. And indeed, a lesson to be learned.

Hey, great idea! Where do I sign up? I love to blame others for my mistakes.


#133780 10/12/04 04:02 PM
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see, that's a big problem in today's culture. no one is willing to take personal responsibility for anything. blame all problems on some invisible committee, cabal, cult or conspiracy

Why, tsuwm, you must have been reading "Confessions of an Heirhead".

May I use you for a testimonial? Some people think it's just for "Heirheads".




#133781 10/12/04 07:10 PM
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Shoot. No one wants to address my question. Oh well, I guess I'll just tidy up some of the linguistic detritus left behind by some of the posters to this thread and then move on.

"To be perfectly frank, I'm glad themilum has found a new soundboard for her exotic opinions. But I don't want themilum to wear her new soundboard out too soon"

Exotic opinions? What's exotic about logical extensions , grapho? Repeat after me...

The government should not legislate language.
The government should not legislate culture.
The government should not legislate religion.
The government should legislate Art.

A strange sequence, huh, grapho, exotic even, but a sequence held only by a misguided few. Certainly not me.

And hey, while I've got you on the horn, what the heck did you mean by this?

(to jheen) " ...I'm glad themilum has found a new soundboard for her exotic opinions. But I don't want themilum to wear her new soundboard out too soon.

Is this just secret talk between you and jheem? If so I'll hang up. But if it was intended for the larger group can you please be a little more coherent and forthcoming and explain to we the other posters exactly what you meant. Thank you.



"themilum is maleum."

Dear Wordwind,
If you must expose my hidden maleness to the voyeuristic world at large please be klnd and say -
themilum is much maleum - instead. Thank you.


Now for a test...

Which of the four following words in blue is different from the other three words in blue and is included in this sequence only as an emotive buzz-word to rally the True Believers?

" ...blame all problems on some invisible committee, cabal, cult or conspiracy "

Right, gang, the knee-jerk word is conspiracy





#133782 10/12/04 09:09 PM
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Honestly, themilum, I don't see your point about government legislating art. How is that part of the argument? The issue is not the aesthetics of the artwork, and it isn't being legislated anyway. It was artwork commissioned by the city. The complaint about government imposing weird art that appeals to snobs only doesn't fly either. As far as art goes, it is a quite conventional, representative sort of artwork that depicts historical figures for the purpose of edifying viewers. That's not exactly avante garde stuff.


#133783 10/12/04 10:56 PM
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Alex said:
______________________________________________________

"Honestly, themilum, I don't see your point about government legislating art. How is that part of the argument? The issue is not the aesthetics of the artwork, and it isn't being legislated anyway. It was artwork commissioned by the city. The complaint about government imposing weird art that appeals to snobs only doesn't fly either. As far as art goes, it is a quite conventional, representative sort of artwork that depicts historical figures for the purpose of edifying viewers. That's not exactly avante garde stuff."
_____________________________________________________

Quite true, Alex, but I assumed that the thoughts exchanged here would go beyond assigning blame and lamenting the misspellings; discussing root cause of such hokey doings is what grown men and women do rather than laugh and whine.

To be clear - I like some of Maria's art and I consider myself a bit of a pretentious art snob, but go yourself and walk around any city of any size worthy of its two Wal-marts and check out the objets d' art scattered around and about the public buildings and then come back and tell me of your enthusiasm.

Yes, Alex, Maria's artwork wasn't legislated but rather it was commissioned by the city. "Commissioned" of course means "given the approval to undertake a particular act of art". Paid for, of course, by the hardworking taxpayers of the city.

Sadly, much of the art of today is a con game, and when that art is commissioned by the committees of our government, everyone's money supports the scam.


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