Bogus Survey

American Express Cardholder Division recently announced that their poll showed that 87% of the respondents based their vacation destinations on their personal interests.*

The top 10 vacationer interests were as follows:

Culinary,/ Family events,/ Music/, Fitness and exercise/Education, Learning,/ History,/ The arts, Wine/champagnes/, Fashion, Shopping/Sporting events.

The press release did not indicate that this was a preferential order so we'll set aside our opinion on that. After the poll was completed the folks at Amex named 10 "surprising" destinations to go with each category, two of which were in the United States.St. Augustine Florida was named in the history category , accompanying a quote “Not many history buffs would consider St.Augustine, Florida their ultimate destination".

We are thrilled that our city was recognized by American Express. An editorial in the St. Augustine Record extolled "The news that American Express considers St. Augustine the most desirable place in the world for travelers interested in history should not surprise any of us. "

Now hold on here, American Express did not say this.....they said that our city would be a nice destination for those who liked history. They also wrote that Virginia's wine country is a destination for wine lovers(not California ,France or even Chile). Sports....here's their destination.........United Arab Emirates...What? .....Yes ,the pollsters decided that ...and we are serious........Camel Racing would be of interest to those vacationers interested in sports. The list goes on as follows:

Culinary –Vietnam; Family Events – Lake Garda, Italy; Music – Iceland; Fitness and Exercise – Madagascar; Education/Learning – Kerala, India; The Arts – Beirut, Lebanon; Fashion/Shopping – Durban, South Africa.

Read that list again. Is this some kind of joke from the hip young travel writers at American Express? Was it a situation where they held a meeting and said "We've got this poll that we do not believe for a minute so let's put some outrageous destinations to these silly responses. Hey...put down Madagascar under Fitness and Exercise ( Lemur chasing at 11 0'clock ) and go from there."

We do not feel that St. Augustine belongs on their ridiculous list and no do not find it surprising that someone interested in history would consider St. Augustine as a destination.

* We wonder what the other 13% based their vacation so if not their personal preferences. Our guess is : Whatever the wife and kids decide.

Memorial Day

The real crime are those pale skinny legs


"It is well settled that a speaker's rights are not lost merely because compensation is received; a speaker is no less a speaker because he or she is paid to speak." Riley v. Nat'l Fed'n of Blind of North Carolina, 487 U.S. 781, 801 (1988).

As a demonstration of First Amendment Rights, artist Suvo "offered for sale" (one dollar) 8"x 12" American flags in the Plaza on Saturday. The only flags purchased was by a naturalized citizen from Poland. Shortly thereafter Suvo was handcuffed and jailed. God Bless America ! Are you shocked? Complacency and apathy seems to rule here in America these days If you are not concerned that citizens American rights are being eroded, then you are not paying attention.

Does our small remaining group of artists have the resources to continue our protests? No! Sure, we hear everyone tell us how wrong this is. Frankly, we are uninterested in hearing this. We've heard it enough. Most will wait until their rights are violated on their front doorsteps.

George The Lame Duck

Left, Little Red Riding Hood , Right, Commissioner George Gardner

At one time we were told that city commissioner and former mayor George Gardner was sympathetic to the free speech rights of visual artists. Gardner has decided not to run for another term. As a former print reporter George was good at telling everybody what they wanted to hear but short on following through. Artist Suvo can tell you that Gardner rudely took three phone calls as he (Suvo) tried to discuss this issue with the commish. "The guy is a phony", says Suvo. "He was completely uninformed and it was clear that he had made up his mind, I was ushered out after only a few minutes."His vote to have artists expelled from the historic district was joined by the other four commissioners. Gardner sent out an e mail newsletter where he explained that this was done because County Judge Tinlin ruled that all vendors (sun glass merchants, flea market items etc.) must be permitted or the alternative would be to ban all vending in the historic district including First Amendment protected materials ( paintings, prints, sculpture and photographs) This fallacy was repeated in the press by Mayor Joe Boles and Erroll Jones. The St. Augustine Record also reported this as fact. City prosecutor Robin Upchurch included this as "fact" in her presentations to the commissioners.(See The Big Lie) Here is the truth:

"The Court finds that the ordinance 22-6 as applied to the defendants is an unconstitutional restriction "of their freedom of speech or expression as guaranteed under the First and Fourteenth amendments to the U.S. Constitution as well as Article One of the Florida Constitution." St. Johns County,St. Augustine FL. Heard 9/26/07 by County Court Judge Charles Tinlin. Decision rendered 10/10/08

Anyone following this case could read Tinlin's decision on this blog. Nothing in the judges decision states that the city must permit all merchandising or ban all merchandising. We do not agree with his entire interpretation some of which is faulty and flies in the face of the First Amendment. There is a substantial difference in what is protected speech guaranteed by the First Amendment and other "merchandise such as jewelry and beads.

So long Commissioner. We prefer to have those who disagree with us to be direct and say so. Go back to your "do nothing" committees and workshops.

Art In The Market Artist

Island Fine Art and Massage

presents

A collection of 57 Original Oil paintings by award winning artist

Charles Dickinson

Visit the gallery at 6279 A1A South, St. Augustine, Fl, just 1/2 mile north of the 206 Bridge

904-471-5808

Come see Dickinson's masterful wet into wet brushwork in oil paints that capture the life, color, and vibrancy in nature. Charles paints a variety of subjects aand locations and is an exciting and expressive visual artist.

The exhibit will hang through February 2008.

http://www.islandfineart.com/

http://charlesdickinson.net/

Will You Wait Until It Happens To You?

Which of these free speech activities is not permitted by The City Of St. Augustine, Florida?* The other three are considered "protected speech" by the City. Do we have equal protection as artists selling our works? No! The musicians (& news machine) received money for their service or product. The visual artist gets arrested for publicly protesting a bad, uneven and illegal ordinance. Yet read the Federal Court wording regarding the commercial aspect of artwork as protected speech. The City Commission disregards Federal rulings . Their predecessors did it in the bad old days of desegregation and they are doing it now.

See Lakewood v. Plain Dealer Pub. Co., 486 U.S. 750, 756 n.5 & 768 (1988). "It is well settled that a speaker's rights are not lost merely because compensation is received; a speaker is no less a speaker because he or she is paid to speak." This was invoked in BERY vs RUDOLPH GIULIANI IN 1996 affirming an artist's right to sell his works on public property. Art is Free Speech.

* Hint: You can see police shutting down Suvo's protest on St. George St. (December 2006) Verdict by Judge Tinlin ....Guilty.

Atty Tom Cushman's administrative assistant, Nadine Phelps ("Della Street" for those who are either old enough or are "Nick at Night" fans) tells us that street performance is alive and well in Jackson Square, New Orleans. Would you like to be a Silverman? (Mom would be proud!) Read this guy's mini bio and tell us when you' re ready. A Silverman does not always get respect . Here he is in Honolulu and they want to reign him in

The Crime of "Thinking About It"

Last Saturday three artists were set up near the canon by the Government House. At about 2PM two police officers approached asking Suvo what he was doing. "I' m thinking about selling some art". There was a small group of tourists looking at Suvo's work at the time. Sgt Mc Cully ordered the patrolman to arrest and handcuff Suvo. His art was confiscated and he went to the St. John's County jail where he was kept for twenty four hours.

We do not need to harp on this and get into the polemics of the U.S. Constitution. This is just plain WRONG.