Proving art is in the eye of the beholder

What is this picture? It is a painting by former Rep. James Traficant that just sold on Ebay for just under $2,000! You may remember that Traficant is now doing an eight-year sentence for racketeering and bribery. His almost daily trips to the floor of Congress for speeches that contained the phrase "Beam me up" were sometimes funny but always a reminder of why a professional should cut your hair.

According to the Washington Post though, the art world will have to wait for more pictures from the budding artist as his prison cardboard has been taken away.

Alas, the artist can paint no more. "As of January 14, 2006, Mr. Traficant is no longer permitted to partake in workshop activities, therefore he is not allowed to produce any more artwork," the Web site that sold his work reports. "The vast amount of publicity attributed to our website and ebay offerings has triggered the Authorities to further restrict his freedom and his ability to express his creativity.

The artwork can be found on www.beammeupart.com of course. I'm sure the Democrats in Congress were happy to have him beamed anywhere but Congress.