You wouldn’t think a guy with a name like Cuccinelli would be uptight about bare breasts in art. I mean, there was this thing called the Renaissance that was kind of big in Italy.
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli apparently isn’t fond of wardrobe malfunctions, even when Virginia’s state seal is involved.
The seal depicts the Roman goddess Virtus, or virtue, wearing a blue tunic draped over one shoulder, her left breast exposed. But on the new lapel pins Cuccinelli recently handed out to his staff, Virtus’ bosom is covered by an armored breastplate.
When the new design came up at a staff meeting, workers in attendance said Cuccinelli joked that it converts a risqué image into a PG one.
And Larry Sabato is correct that Cuccinelli has no excuse for setting himself up for ridicule. Everyone remembers when U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft put drapes over the boobies at the Justice Department.
When even Italian-American Republicans start exhibiting prudishness about nudity in art, you know something has gone badly wrong with the psychology of that party.
The Great Seal of the Commonwealth is a two-sided image that dates to 1776.
The side depicted on the state flag features Virtus standing victoriously over Tyranny, a male figure prone on the ground in defeat, his crown fallen from his head. Beneath him is the motto Sic Semper Tyrannis: Thus Always to Tyrants.
Three Roman goddesses – Libertas, Aeternitas and Ceres – grace the reverse side of the seal. Cuccinelli isn’t the first to have less-revealing garments placed on Virtus.
Multiple varieties of the seal have been used over the years, said State Capitol historian Mark Greenough. The modern version is based on language added to the state code in 1930, which specifies that Virtus is “dressed as an Amazon” while clutching a spear in one hand and a sword in the other.
The secretary of the commonwealth, Janet Polarek, is charged by law with being the keeper of the seal. Asked for an assessment of Cuccinelli’s interpretation, she declined to offer an opinion. When Virtus was fighting Tyranny, Polarek said, “a dress code was probably not her first concern.”
Maybe we should go back to making everyone learn Latin and Greek. Too many people learn the Judeo-Christian part of our culture without learning the Greco-Roman part. And, no, I am not talking about wrestling.
You knew this was coming. It was just a matter of time. Then again, in a way, Democrats let this happen.
You knew this was coming.
Really. No one expects the Spanish Inquisition. <smirk>
It was just a matter of time.
Indeed. History shows recurrent cycles of perversity/prudery in human society. Eventually an outbreak of hedonism will also occur.
Then again, in a way, Democrats let this happen.
Wha– huh? Please expand upon and explain this statement. As it stands, it just looks absurd and ridiculous.
you are forgetting that everything is good news for Republicans and nothing can happen that isn’t the Democrats’ fault.
Boo:
I think you know damn well what I meant. People like Mark Critz or Creigh Deeds(or most Blue Dogs for that matter). Why should Democrats GOTV for asshats like that?
when are whiny-ass firebaggers like you gonna get it through your heads that it is the responsibility of EVERY citizen to vote in EVERY election, no matter how “disappointed,” “disillusioned,” or other whiny-ass adjective you are about the Democratic candidate?? There was a HUGE fucking difference in the choice between Deeds-McDonnell and Shannon-Cuccinelli that was VERY FUCKING OBVIOUS to anyone with more than three brain cells and a head that wasn’t lodged up their ass. Equally obvious was the ONE side was going to win.
Every person in this state who voted for Obama in ’08 and didn’t drag their ass to the polls in ’09 is responsible for this outcome — EVERY ONE.
Also: if you don’t vote in an election, you REALLY need to shut the fuck up about what happens after.
Listen, I vote. Every damn election. Primaries and general. Firebagger, huh? Glad to see you treat fellow Democrats that way. But you are forgetting rule # 1 of politics. You gotta give voters a reason to come out and vote for you. And doing shit like Deeds did only dampens turn out. Or are you too damn think to realize that. I suppose you like eating a shit sandwich all the time. I don’t. Why should I vote for someone, like Critz or Deeds, that’s going to spit in my face? They are basically disrespecting the voters of their party. Maybe you eat that up like Apple Pie on the 4th of July. However, a lot of people don’t.
Indeed. History shows recurrent cycles of perversity/prudery in human society. Eventually an outbreak of hedonism will also occur.
Unfortunately, in the minds of those like Cuccinelli and all those simple minded puritans who think like him, hedonism is not cyclical, it is ever present and widely practiced (mostly by Democrats, of course). Believing this to be true is the only way to perpetuate their movement and keep uninformed idiots motivated to fight the good Christian fight against the forces of Satan and his minions (again, and coincidentally, those would be mostly Democrats).
I am rarely disappointed by people like this. They never fail to keep me shaking my head in disbelief.
Indeed. History shows recurrent cycles of perversity/prudery in human society. Eventually an outbreak of hedonism will also occur.
I didn’t mean that. There were all sorts of stories before the election about the AG and Taliban Bob and their love of Chief Talibangelical Robertson. And once they won, I knew they’d try and turn back the clock.
Wha– huh? Please expand upon and explain this statement. As it stands, it just looks absurd and ridiculous.
You forget so soon? Nominating a candidate for Governor that said he’d be open to repealing(or otherwise trying to opt out of) HCR. How fuckin’ stupid is that? It’s like Mark Critz in Western PA. Why should Democrats be enthused to vote for someone(meaning a supposed fellow Democrat) that shits all over the main goal of Democrats for the past 40(or more) years?
Iunno, why don’t you ask the Democrats who voted in the primary for Creigh Deeds? I voted for Moran.
That’s all well and good, but the Democrats of PA-12 are stuck with Critz as their nominee with no say in the matter. And didn’t anyone ask Deeds about HCR during the primary?
Maybe, I don’t remember. The primary was focused on transportation and jobs. Deeds lost before in an election against McDonnell in 2005 for the AG seat, and only lost by less than 1,000 votes. Moran stood a better chance, but McDonnell was just able to portray himself as a moderate. That’s all there was to it. I don’t think anyone would have taken him out unless it was Mark Warner. McDonnell even won the youth vote.
Of course, because only like half of the voters(if that) voted in the VA election, compared to the previous year’s Presidential election. Did Deeds do any outreach to colleges? And it just goes to show you that College Democratic clubs are a joke. Does the DNC even fund any college clubs?
Hey, don’t call the college Democratic clubs “jokes.” We turned a county that was once red to blue in 2008. In 2004 it went 19k-14k to Bush, 2008 it went 21k-19k to Obama.
Deeds didn’t show up here at all, but neither did Obama. I don’t know if he did much youth outreach. However, Obama did have an office down here. Bill Clinton came here during the primary. Max and Ethel Kennedy knocked on doors with me in late October:
No, the Young Democrats severed ties with the DNC back in 2002 over the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. Everything we do is us and us alone. Obama’s office down here had like 5 official employees, but everyone else was man-power of volunteers and Young Democrats. I don’t know how many people we registered, but I registered well over 400 people alone. Take those forms to parties and kids sign them. Easy as pie.
Is there a guest list for the outbreak of hedonism? I’d like to be sure that I’m on it.
When! When! In time for my birthday?
Before the election, people kept trying to tell me that the Cooch and McDonnell were moderates. Everyday around here, I see people regretting their vote for these religious fascists. I warned them.
enough buyer’s remorse for a recall?
Lol, nah, not yet at least. However, our newspaper is pretty conservative (WSJ editorial conservative, except with people who can’t write worth a shit) and there’s been a lot of angry op-eds.
He needs his fingers broken and a paper with the word “IDIOT” stapled to his forehead.
about the pic… so was Virtus a hermaphrodite?
or is this the new UniSex version?
what a twit… no doubt worships at the altar of Epimetheus, the Titan god of afterthought, the father of excuses.
Well, well. Virginia can’t hold a candle to South Carolina. After the Civil War, Henry Timrod wrote a state song with very graphic rape imagery.
In 1984, the state song became embarrassing enough that the Legislature authorized a second state song, which is just a snoozy cliche from end to end.
Note that none of the Smoky Mountains are in South Carolina although there are mountains that occasionally get snow.