The hopes for democracy in Iran live on spite of the brutal crackdown on dissent, but the tactics of the dissidents appears to be changing. The image of the young girl killed by assassination will live on and will be an iconic image of the oppression of the population by the right wing fundamentalist theocracy that currently rules in Iran. I have been trying to use a pun I thought of about chadors, those veils that women choose or are sometimes forced to wear by the religious police in Iran and other Muslim countries. "The chador of your smile." How Iranic. Neda was a lovely young girl. According to one of Martin Luther King's speeches, "The arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice...." For a credible discussion of tactics see: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/30/dabashi.us.iran/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

I've been studying Raoul Dufy's art; he was a French fauvist painter whose free brush work and muted pastel colors appeal to me. I've done a couple of paintings in the last week in his style.

And I also attended the Nebraska State High School Rodeo championship on Thursday in Hastings, Ne. A nephew of my Elizabeth was in the top of the rankings and should qualify for the Nationals in New Mexico. I watched steer roping, and goat tying, and "cutting" with its subtle nuances, and bronco riding. The only event I think I could do would be the bucking bronco riding. Like many of the young boys in the event, I could be bucked on a horse easily. I might not get up quite so quickly, if at all, but I could surely be thrown off in quick fashion.

And Michael Jackson's death appears to be more important to the media than the events in Iran or Iraq. Live coverage of a helicopter flying to the LA coroner filled quite a chunk of air time. He was a child star, who lived a troubled life, was accused and acquitted of child molestation, but lived with an evident attraction to young boys, lived in incredible luxury while sinking further and further in debt, and died young of an apparent heart attack. That he should get so much news coverage and attention says something about our culture.

So, there you go. Neda, the young symbol of Iran's quest for a democratic election process, assassinated by Iranian secret police it appears, gets bumped off the news by Michael Jackson. We all too often have strange priorities and values. But I suspect, the media's attention will wane regarding Jackson and Iran's autocratic government will do something else provocative and repressive and will capture the news cycle for a while. Or North Korea. Or something in Afghanistan.

At any rate, here's a couple of Dufy-esque floral pictures.

Bud