NEA using tax dollars to promote President’s agenda
August 26, 2009 8 Comments
Big Hollywood: The National Endowment for the Art of Persuasion?
It sounded, how should I phrase it…unusual, that the NEA would invite the art community to a meeting to discuss issues currently under vehement national debate. I decided to call in, and what I heard concerned me.
The people running the conference call and rallying the group to get active on these issues were Yosi Sergant, the Director of Communications for the National Endowment for the Arts; Buffy Wicks, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement; Nell Abernathy, Director of Outreach for United We Serve; Thomas Bates, Vice President of Civic Engagement for Rock the Vote; and Michael Skolnik, Political Director for Russell Simmons.
We were encouraged to bring the same sense of enthusiasm to these “focus areas” as we had brought to Obama’s presidential campaign, and we were encouraged to create art and art initiatives that brought awareness to these issues. Throughout the conversation, we were reminded of our ability as artists and art professionals to “shape the lives” of those around us. The now famous Obama “Hope” poster, created by artist Shepard Fairey and promoted by many of those on the phone call, and will.i.am’s “Yes We Can” song and music video were presented as shining examples of our group’s clear role in the election.
Obama has a strong arts agenda, we were told, and has been very supportive of both using and supporting the arts in creative ways to talk about the issues facing the country. We were “selected for a reason,” they told us. We had played a key role in the election and now Obama was putting out the call of service to help create change. We knew “how to make a stink,” and were encouraged to do so.
Throughout the conversation my inner dialogue was firing away questions so fast that the NRA would’ve been envious. Is this truly the role of the NEA? Is building a message distribution network, for matters other than increasing access to the arts and arts education, the role of the National Endowment for the Arts? Is providing the art community issues to address, especially those that are currently being vehemently debated nationally, a legitimate role for the NEA? I found it highly unlikely that this was in their original charter, so I checked.
Read the whole thing.
With the propaganda unleashed about political ideology that is so confusing that it is amusing, I believe it becomes necessary to define what is so blatantly misrepresented so as to add light onto the ignorance of “IDEOLOGY”
The definition of “Fascism” ” The dictatorship of the Capitalist Class!”
When the threat of an overthrow of “Capitalism” becomes apparent it becomes necessary to do away with any pretense toward democracy.
“Fascism” signals the end of the right to freedom of speech! Freedom to assembly! The end of civil rights! , Etc. The strict enforcement of “Law and Order”
Nazi philosophy is that part of fascism that is “Racist and bigoted!
“Socialism” is defined by having a nation that is ruled by “The Dictatorship of the Working Class!” This “Proletariat dictatorship was regarded as necessary to keep the former capitalist class from regaining power and overthrowing the dictatorship of the Working Class!”
“Communism” is defined as that which is built on a foundation of socialism.
Under communism you have a planned economy that has created the material conditions of enough abundance to allow the distribution of goods and services to be equally distributed to all of it’s citizens without discrimination. “From each according to their ability! “To each according to their need!” Under communism cooperation replaces competition. Under a system of “material cooperative abundance” a new type of human nature will be born out of this type of secure environment. A social scientific being that becomes their own leader and their own follower and does not need a political government or state apparatus to tell them what to do. Consequently the “State Apparatus” withers away and you only have an administration of things, … not an administration of people.
http://despicable.wordpress.com/
I think you’ve been hoaxed. Can you corroborate that the phone call even took place?
Hoax this – Patrick Courrielche’s interview on the Dennis Miller show who was present for the call.
http://multimedia.play.it/m/audio/26131060/patrick-courrielche-interview.htm
Go tell him he’s imagining phone calls and save me the waste of time it is to deal with you.
This is the same guy who made the original allegation. 75 people on the phone call, and no one else can be found who was there?
It smells like a hoax to me.
I’ve listened to Glenn Beck’s stuff on it. I hear an agency confused about how to move in electronic media. I can’t imagine what y’all are worried about. It sounds to me as if NEA is inviting artists to do work that confronts modern issues.
How is that a problem?
Since NEA doesn’t fund artists, how could this possibly be a problem?
I hate it when hoaxes cause people to be reassigned to a new job.
http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pcourrielche/2009/08/31/contradictions-are-revealing-politicizing-the-nea/
http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/09/10/breaking-nea-asks-communications-director-yosi-sergant-to-resign/
http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pcourrielche/2009/09/10/the-public-deserves-answers-from-the-nea/
At a whiff of scandal, Obama’s administration acts.
As opposed to the Bush administration.
Still wondering, with 75 to 150 people supposedly on the call, why no corroboration? You’ve provided evidence of the higher ethical standards of the Obama adminsitration, but you still can’t show any harm from this conference call — other than to the guys you pillory.
So what you’re saying is that it is ok for the White House to ask artists to push their agenda with federal funds? Goebbels would be proud.
If you can find a plea for artists to push an agenda in that ramble, you’re reading stuff that isn’t there if you diagram the sentences in English.
Have you ever studied the WPA? Ever looked at the bas reliefs in the House of Representatives?