Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Bring Back the Golden Fleece! | Power Line

Bring Back the Golden Fleece! | Power Line
"Back in the days when some Democrats actually cared about government waste, Senator William Proxmire of Wisconsin became famous for his “Golden Fleece” award, which exposed absurd federal spending boondoggles. 
Since then, the government’s hemorrhaging of our tax dollars has only gotten worse.
The same thing is going on at the state level. 
Democrats consider all spending, no matter how stupid, to be an “investment” and therefore desirable. My home state of Minnesota is even worse than most, which is why our State Arts Board hands out an unbelievable amount of money to “artists” for just about anything. 
In 2018, the Arts Board gave Jim Denomie a $10,000 grant:
Denomie will create a series of large paintings in response to Standing Rock and other contemporary events from a Native American perspective.
“Standing Rock” refers to left-wing protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline..
In any event, Mr. Denomie has now produced his Standing Rock painting. 
It was hailed by the Minneapolis Star Tribune
This is it; click to enlarge:
The painting is so poorly executed that it is hard to tell what is going on. 
We know that it depicts President Trump groping Lady Liberty only because the Strib’s news story tells us so. 
The painter is so inept that he can’t render a recognizable image of Donald Trump, one of the most easily recognizable people in the world. 
Similarly, the news story tells us that “Barack Obama is portrayed as a sitting duck.” 
Can you find him? 
My only candidate is a guy who appears to be seated on a toilet and bears little apparent resemblance to Obama. 
Is he a “sitting duck”? 
Beats me.
The real question, of course, is why Minnesota’s taxpayers should be forced, against their will, to support inept left-wing artists...
This particular painting is not alone, of course. The Minnesota State Arts Board also approved contributions like these:
Rosy Simas, Minneapolis $9,875
“Weave” honors the interwoven, interdependent nature of our world in an intersectional Indigenous dance project that envelops the audience in an immersive experience of story, dance, moving image, and quadrophonic sound.
***
Deborah Thayer, Saint Paul $10,000
Thayer will choreograph “All Hail the Queen,” using somatic explorations to unearth experiences of the female voice and vagina. The piece will be presented as an evening length dance installation in Minneapolis.
***
Cecilia M. Cornejo, Northfield $10,000
In collaboration with the Mexican community of Northfield. Cornejo will complete Ways of Being Home, a poetic documentary that addresses issues of marginalization and belonging as experienced by that community.
This one is hilarious:
Jason Coyle, Minneapolis $10,000
Coyle will complete and distribute the documentary short Charlie, Bella, Cooper, which examines the deaths of three domestic pets whose lives were ended by law enforcement.
Furry lives matter! The list goes on and on, this is just a sampling:
Diana M. Fraser, Saint Paul $10,000
Across the course of the 2017-2018 project year, I will produce a broadcast length documentary about queer women’s access to safe medical spaces in the Twin Cities.
Some of the grants make no sense. 
See if you can figure out what this is all about:
Jennifer Glaws, Mound $10,000
Glaws will exhibit The Collectiveness (Of Ourselves), an interactive, multimedia performance installation investigating acts of belonging. A work in progress presentation will be shown at the Art Attack event in the Northrup King Building...
Cello concerts “reflecting global racial injustice and genocide”
Seriously?..."
Incredibly, there is more.
Much more.
Read all.

No comments: