Barack Obama presided over a glamorous gala of Hollywood stars at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC this weekend. The event was billed as an honor to five of the nation's top artists . Despite his fine words about the importance of "the Arts" it was all just part of the payback to his entertainment friends -- some of the wealthiest and loyalist Democrats around.
For years, conservatives have called for the government to ax the National Endowment for the Arts, the huge bureaucratic piggy bank for artists. Barack Obama disagrees and has appointed a valuable crony with socialist leanings to run the NEA at the taxpayer's expense.
Old Chicago buddy, Rocco Landesman, 62, is now head of the arts monolith. He is a theatrical producer with a good line in sucking up: “Whether in musical song or drama, the art of the theater helps us define and understand the dreams and debates of the nation. This, too, is what Obama is about and why this mutual celebration is so significant.”
Landesman is a vocal supporter of state-sponsorship for the arts, and once said that “nonprofit theater is subsidized to protect it from the exigencies of the marketplace: resident theaters and the artists who work in them must be able to develop their work outside the hit-or-flop, what’s-in-the-box-office-this-week tyranny of the commercial system.” He truly sees capitalism – markets where artists must compete to survive – as “tyranny”.
Naturally, Landesman is a part of the Obama money machine. In 2007, he co-sponsored a fundraiser for Obama called, “Barack on Broadway", and ultimately raised almost $100,000 for the presidential campaign; he himself donated $4,900.
It was money well-spent. Obama has rewarded him with the NEA – despite the fact that Landesman has virtually no administrative experience. Landesman has already called for another government bailout…of artists. “I wish I had [Federal Reserve Chairman] Ben Bernanke’s check-writing powers. I would bail them all out,” he bleated.
Notes:
On August 10th the NEA and the White House organized a conference call with 76 artists. The artists were encouraged to “make a stink” about issues like healthcare reform and the environment. As libertarian artist, Patrick Courrielche, reported on his blog, they were being called into “service”. In other words, the taxpayer-funded NEA was encouraging artists to create Obama propaganda. This is absolutely forbidden under the “Objectivity” terms of the NEA’s Charter, which defines it as: ensuring that information is accurate, reliable, and unbiased, and that disseminated information is presented in an accurate, clear, complete, and unbiased manner.
The NEA cited the campaign blue-and-red “HOPE” poster of Obama as a way artists had made a positive difference. Here’s the connection. Landesman’s wife, Debby, is the former executive director of the Levi Strauss Foundation, the owner of Levi Jeans who have heavily promoted the artist /vandal responsible for the HOPE poster, Shepard Fairey, since 2002. Fairey, by his own account, has been arrested at least 14 times on graffiti-related charges. But in Obama’s America, Fairey may as well be the next Picasso.
For years, conservatives have called for the government to ax the National Endowment for the Arts, the huge bureaucratic piggy bank for artists. Barack Obama disagrees and has appointed a valuable crony with socialist leanings to run the NEA at the taxpayer's expense.
Old Chicago buddy, Rocco Landesman, 62, is now head of the arts monolith. He is a theatrical producer with a good line in sucking up: “Whether in musical song or drama, the art of the theater helps us define and understand the dreams and debates of the nation. This, too, is what Obama is about and why this mutual celebration is so significant.”
Landesman is a vocal supporter of state-sponsorship for the arts, and once said that “nonprofit theater is subsidized to protect it from the exigencies of the marketplace: resident theaters and the artists who work in them must be able to develop their work outside the hit-or-flop, what’s-in-the-box-office-this-week tyranny of the commercial system.” He truly sees capitalism – markets where artists must compete to survive – as “tyranny”.
Naturally, Landesman is a part of the Obama money machine. In 2007, he co-sponsored a fundraiser for Obama called, “Barack on Broadway", and ultimately raised almost $100,000 for the presidential campaign; he himself donated $4,900.
It was money well-spent. Obama has rewarded him with the NEA – despite the fact that Landesman has virtually no administrative experience. Landesman has already called for another government bailout…of artists. “I wish I had [Federal Reserve Chairman] Ben Bernanke’s check-writing powers. I would bail them all out,” he bleated.
Notes:
On August 10th the NEA and the White House organized a conference call with 76 artists. The artists were encouraged to “make a stink” about issues like healthcare reform and the environment. As libertarian artist, Patrick Courrielche, reported on his blog, they were being called into “service”. In other words, the taxpayer-funded NEA was encouraging artists to create Obama propaganda. This is absolutely forbidden under the “Objectivity” terms of the NEA’s Charter, which defines it as: ensuring that information is accurate, reliable, and unbiased, and that disseminated information is presented in an accurate, clear, complete, and unbiased manner.
The NEA cited the campaign blue-and-red “HOPE” poster of Obama as a way artists had made a positive difference. Here’s the connection. Landesman’s wife, Debby, is the former executive director of the Levi Strauss Foundation, the owner of Levi Jeans who have heavily promoted the artist /vandal responsible for the HOPE poster, Shepard Fairey, since 2002. Fairey, by his own account, has been arrested at least 14 times on graffiti-related charges. But in Obama’s America, Fairey may as well be the next Picasso.
No comments:
Post a Comment