The Politics As Usual cover art is a set of two canvases painted by brilliant young visual artist and ceramicist Amalia Wills. She can be found on Instagram: @casthegreater. Maybe I'm biased but these paintings titled 'State Of The Union' could not be a more perfect visual representation of how I see the social fabric of the USA right now. I also can't imagine a more perfect visual representation of what I intended this record to sound like. While the elephant and donkey (representing the two major political parties) are facing off, the paint is bleeding to the bottom of the canvas, but they seem to be looking at each other with sorrow more than animosity. l overlaid a scan of images from the dollar bill that add to the depth of meaning: "E Pluribus Unum", meaning "from many, one". The bald eagle and shield on the reverse of the US dollar bill are part of the Great Seal of the United States. The eagle, holding an olive branch and arrows, is a symbol of both peace and the power of the nation. The shield, which is not supported, represents the nation's reliance on its own virtue, not foreign aid. The 13 stripes on the shield represent the original 13 colonies, and the 13 stars above the eagle symbolize the new nation's birth. And most importantly "In God We Trust." The 4th president James Madison said it simply and eloquently: "A watchful eye must be kept on ourselves lest while we are building ideal monuments of Renown and Bliss here we neglect to have our names enrolled in the Annals of Heaven."