The New Republican War on Art!
By louisehartmann
Who’s screwed? Artists! Besides the Republican war on women – and the Republican war on the working class – there’s a new war that’s receiving some attention around the nation – the Republican war on art! As ThinkProgress noted – Republican lawmakers in Kansas – South Carolina – Arizona – Florida – New Hampshire – Virginia – Maine – and New Jersey – are pushing legislation that cuts deep into school art budgets – and public radio and television outlets. Governors Bob McDonnell in Virginia – Chris Christie in New Jersey – and Paul LePage in Maine – are cutting off funding and privatizing their states' public broadcasting networks – torching TV of for and by the people and replacing it with corporate infotainment.
These Republicans claim it’s necessary to cut funding for the arts because of huge budget deficits – but in reality these cuts are nickels and dimes compared to the amount of revenue that’s wasted on tax cuts for transnational corporations and the uber-rich. I guess we’re supposed to expect billionaire Oligarchs like the Murdoch and the Koch brothers to fund our nation’s art projects now.
Expect “post-modern, anti-global warming” to be the newest emerging art theme.
Comments
#2
Damnit! I just got excited for Thom when he started talking about his sds days. Then he went up to the threshold of saying we need Civil Protest now. But he instead fell back onto: Vote Democratic. Unreal!
Cornell West says "I don’t think in good conscience I could tell anybody to vote for Obama." Progressive Intellectuals like Chris Hedges, Cornell West, Robert Scheer all say we've lost our democracy and the only thing we have left is Civil Action.
The Obama Deception: Why Cornel West Went Ballistic
http://www.truthdig.com/report/print/the_obama_deception_why_cornel_west_went_ballistic_20110516/
“We have got to attempt to tell the truth, and that truth is painful,” he says. “It is a truth that is against the thick lies of the mainstream. In telling that truth we become so maladjusted to the prevailing injustice that the Democratic Party, more and more, is not just milquetoast and spineless, as it was before, but thoroughly complicitous with some of the worst things in the American empire. I don’t think in good conscience I could tell anybody to vote for Obama. If it turns out in the end that we have a crypto-fascist movement and the only thing standing between us and fascism is Barack Obama, then we have to put our foot on the brake. But we’ve got to think seriously of third-party candidates, third formations, third parties."
“Our last hope is to generate a democratic awakening among our fellow citizens. This means raising our voices, very loud and strong, bearing witness, individually and collectively. Tavis [Smiley] and I have talked about ways of civil disobedience, beginning with ways for both of us to get arrested, to galvanize attention to the plight of those in prisons, in the hoods, in poor white communities. We must never give up. We must never allow hope to be eliminated or suffocated.”
#3
I wish you could be consistent with what war you're trying to fight. Cuomo in NY went on the record last year and the Mayor this year regarding cutting teachers from the payroll, yet somehow the Governors in both NJ and WI are evil and Cuomo is not?
#4
Goldman-Sachs has created the food crisis!!!
http://www.opednews.com/articles/America-s-Appalling-Human-by-Stephen-Lendman-110518-701.html
The Anti-Christ’s appalling human rights record!!! Stephen Lendman’s article is eight pages but it is worth the read!
http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/112754/recession-lost-generation-cnnmoney
The Anti-Christ’s college graduates will experience lost generations for at least two hundred years. But, there is no guarantee that the Anti-Christ will be here in two hundred years.
#5
Politically driven programs usually get comprimised results at best and complete disasters at worst. Welcome to to the ugly side of big corrupt government, working for those who got the connections.
#6
Fascists don't like Art or artists, unless it's the old masters they can make $$$ off of.
As Joeseph Campbell says in his "Masks of God" series, artists are the creators of the new mythologies and can push shamanistic messages. Because, we're, like, tuned into the cosmos, baby.
I could also wish Thom woudl cease his "the Democrats are good" or "the democrats are better" meme when I haven't seen a sinlge thing Obma has managed to change from the trajectory of Bush. In fact, thing sahve gotten worse.
Obama will be re-elected as he's beena good corporate henchman. Expect the velevet glove to come off in his last four years and all the New Deal programs to disolve und er his watch.
Heck, he's even said he's a "New Democrat". What's the deal? Is it team sprots or democracy?
The Supreme Court just shredded more privacy rights a couple of days ago:
#7
I agree with Thom. The very idea that the rich don't want to pay for our civilization is horrible. What kind of commons can we have if the rich can't be expected to pay for it.
#8
Why are you people ragging on about voting democrat?
What the hell other choices do you have?
You have to vote for someone. I think the alternative is....well....we already had the alternative from 2000 to 2008. I, for one, DO NOT want to go back to THAT! Do any of those republican jerks suit your fancy?
Until we demand that money be taken out of the elections, we are going to have this monkey corporate business crap on both sides--much worst from the republicans.
Get up off your asses and TELL President Obama what he's doing wrong--quit lamenting and complaining on blogs--do something!
#9
On Thom's show he said something to the effect that...if more oligarchs win in the 2012 election then there may very well be some violence....that is not to say that Thom advocates violence which he obviously does not.
He also said that in America we have a political revolution every two years. Well, that may be so but it is a meaningless revolution when the Democrat President, the Democrat Senate, and the Democrat House votes Republican or loses most of what they say they stand for in their terrible bargaining process. The Repubs and the Demos are two almost identical sides of the Business Party and very few actually represent the majority of Americans because our political system is corrupt and bought out by the ruling elite.
Thom also tried to use the logic that because about 40 years has passed since the Israelis stole the land of Palestine from the Palestinians (maybe because of guilt for having done a lot less and too late to make a real difference in the holocaust, self-fulfilling biblical prophecy, and that Americans or the British sure didn't want to welcome the hordes of Jews to our countries) that the Palestinians should just get over it and move on....just like the Mexicans should just get over losing the Southwestern US. That "just get over it" sounds a lot like what right-wingers have said about a lot of things.
I wonder....if the Arab countries all pulled together and invaded and occupied "Israel" for 40 years ....would the Israelis or American Israeli supporters "just get over it"? It is easy to say that other people who lost their homeland to invaders and occupiers should just get over it. I don't think many Americans, for a long time, will just get over the criminal exploitation of our economy and the underhanded schemes that the wealthy used to bankrupt Americans.
I heard that plain-clothes policemen may be walking around with video cameras to spy on people. But if civilians take videos of police beating someone the civilian can be sued by the police for violating their rights of privacy....even though it is in a public place.
And the marine that got shot 60 times by police just because he thought he was being burglarized and picked up a weapon just in case....goes hand in hand with so many other police abuses whether one is armed or not. So we all might as well be heavily armed just in case we have to "defend ourselves". The police gestapo are probably going to beat or kill us anyway. And when our government is looking more and more like countries we have berated for things like arresting and torturing or killing people then, without weapons, you are just a lamb ripe for the slaughter. If everyone had weapons the government might tread more gingerly on the issue of human rights of their own citizens. If you look and act like pushovers and couldn't present a threat then no one will take you seriously. Stalin, Hitler, and other dictators didn't allow personal ownership of guns and it helped keep the citizenry cowering and subservient to the dictators.
Since many cities are laying off so many police it would be a lot easier for criminals to get away with, say, robbing banks. The rich just shoot themselves in the foot when they try to scare the people out of more taxes by laying off policemen...or firemen...etc. Another scare tactic they use is that they release prisoners....just more people to attack and rob...hopefully they go after the wealthy Republican who thought it was beneath them to pay their fair share of taxes.
The caller from Mexico said that there are 36 wealthy ruling-elite families who have most of the wealth of Mexico. And, he said, they don't allow gun ownership in Mexico...and their Police and government is extremely corrupt. We're getting there....or, depending on how you look at it, we have already surpassed Mexico.
By the way...has anyone seen the movie Eraserhead? I know it is a cheap shot but compare Grassley to the whining baby in Eraserhead. He sure acts and looks like that little creature and every time I see a picture of Grassley I think of that baby in Eraserhead.
#10
My understanding is that Politicians after serving one term do get full retirement? We have No money, "Well just Who funds the IMF the most money >http://dailybail.com/home/chart-who-funds-the-imf.html
#11
They already pay 81% of the taxes. Are you a freeloader?
#12
Elioflight: In Obama's speech today he mentioned something about what "the lone blogger" says. He most likely will never read any of our posts...there are zillions...but with the wonders of dictionary computers in the NSA spy systems like Echelon and probably others on lower levels are used to sample the general attitude electronically. Obama may have many aides, as well, who scan the more interesting ones...and just might shoot them up to Obama from time to time. And I wouldn't be surprised if Obama sometimes actually reads some blogs and posts. But I believe that it would be quite impossible for Obama, himself, to even read all of the messages that people send directly to the White House....and even more people don't know the difference between WhiteHouse.gov and WhiteHouse.com
Incidentally, many people are now aware that their cell phones can give away their location at any particular time and logs can be kept. They are also now becoming quite aware that our 3 letter government agencies, or any other law-enforcement agencies, can gather very personal data about anyone who uses Facebook and Google and just about anything you do or say on the computer. I'd venture to say that they also have computers that can analyze what we say and how we say it in order to get a profile of people they might pigeon-hole into various categories.
Everything you type here at Thom Hartmann blog, or any other blog is analyzed and anyone fitting certain profiles could easily find themselves as a target of investigation.
If you carry a credit or bank card that has an imbedded RFID chip and antenna you can also be easily tracked....of course these chips can be destroyed if you never use that particular function...it shouldn't affect the magnetic swipe strip. If you have the "radiation icon" on the back of your card then hold your card at an angle to the light and view the back near (maybe just above) the icon and you can see the little square indentation in the plastic. It's about 1/8" in diameter. The antenna runs along the outer periphery of the card and can't be seen. But it is only necessary to destroy the chip and not the antenna. This can be done with an exacto knife from the back..cut out the back layer of plastic around the chip and then scrape out the chip. Usually, you can't even tell from the front that this has been done. If you only use the swipe strip and don't use the wave over method to pay for things then you don't need the RFID chip.
Why get rid of it? Because anyone close to you with a receiver can steal your data and your account will be automatically debited for whatever amount the crook wants. It is also feasible that if you pass through store theft stations that they may be able to know who you are and your sensitive data. A network run by intelligence agencies connecting all of these locations along with CCTV can conceivably allow them to track you wherever you go.
So don't think that these politicians, like Obama, are not getting the message. I think they are keenly aware of what the majority of the people think...and they are not very happy at all. But the question is... does it even matter what the people think? It's a rigged system...a corrupt system...and the politicians might love it if we were all fawning all over them and making their larceny seem undetectable...and believing in their bullsh!t.
So yes we are all bitching, for all the good it will do....but voting won't make any difference either because no matter who is put into office will still be bending over for the ruling elite...the oligarchs...plutocrats...corporatocrats (you have to be drunk to pronounce that one..probably not even a word).
#13
Re " But we've got to think seriously of third-party candidates,third formations, third parties".
The election for president of the United States, is going to be between Barack Obama and a Republican candidate. Whether we like it or not. Third parties can win in local races at best, and even then it's so unlikely that it's a surprise. Taking your vote away from President Obama ensures Republican victory. And as poor of a progressive Barack Obama has turned out to be, when a Republican president is in power, there is nothing stopping the radical right wing agenda. Have we already forgotten the incredible damage that George Bush did to us just within these past 10 years? Look at the dire consequences of the victories by Republicans at the state level even. Taking away cities' rights to choose their own representatives as Rick Snyder is doing in Michigan. Taking away workers right as Scott Walker is doing in Wisconsin. This is not something to be taking lightly. And the president decides who is on the supreme court when a justice leaves. We need Barack Obama in there, to pick at least a moderate, rather than a right wing president, picking a corporate lawyer. Is Obama everything I've hoped for? No. But ensuring republican victory, which is what you're doing, is going to have dire consequences, for us all (the 99ners).
#14
Berry: Good Web Site!
I especially liked the video of Max Keiser accusing Goldman Sachs of being an economic terrorist....I watched it before at another Web Site as well.
#15
The decline in knowledge and/or appreciation of the fine arts in America among citizens parallels the advent of the Tea Part movement and the election of right-wing Republicans throughout the country who go against the basic economic and human rights interests of the vast majority of people.
The Republicans are shrewd and aggressive, but are not interested in asthetics or in creativity as it relates to emotions, character, or a sense of justice. Talented people may have genius; right-wingers generally are less able and less developed both emotionally and intellectually than are artists or those who those who understand various forms of art. Artists and writers are sometimes on the cutting edge of expressing thoughts about social issues. In a musuem of modern art, I once saw a whole room that contained photos and documents on the war in Iraq, collected and arranged by one artist. Art often goes against covention. Conservatives are the epitome of the conventional and the status quo. There are no doubt some conservative rich people who admire or even collect art. But for the most part, I don't see conservatives hanging out at art gallaries and museums, or even spending much time at the theater or at the symphony. Like William Bennett, they seem likely to engage in more vulgar pursuits, like gambling at a casino, or what Thorsten Veblen referred to as that which is "pecuniary." After all, conservatives believe life is merely a gamble, with winners and losers. The conservative philosophy, athough followers will deny it to the living end, is based on dragging most people down while only promoting the interests of the super-rich. Art of all kinds is designed to inspire and even uplift people, and to make them think in new ways. That goes against the conservative screed of going backwards instead of forward on various issues.
#16
But, Gurjeet....Obama IS a Republican! He ran on the Democratic ticket, pretends to be a Democrat, and calls himself a Democrat..and a lot of people have been fooled into thinking he is a Democrat....but he ACTS more like a Republican. If he acts like a Republican no matter what suave drivel comes out of his mouth he is a Republican. He is a covert Republican.
The Republicans don't want us to know that Obama is a Republican and will continue to try to convince us by berating him and pretending he is "the enemy". The actual Republican politicians would rather have "their" man with an overt title of "Republican" but the ruling elite calls the shots and they win because the political system (Republican or Democrat) is controlled by them. But this is all part of the act to get us to believe Obama is on our side even while he sells us out to the Republicans (or more accurately...to the ruling elite).
I'd venture that had Obama not been elected the first time and an overt Republican had won the Presidency...like McCain/and whats her name...then it would have been a whole lot tougher to have bailed out the economic crooks that got the $700 billion.
I have heard some economists say that Americans were so sick, and distrustful, of Bush and the Republicans that the (originally Bush...pushed through by Obama) bailout may not have gone through without rioting in the streets. Obama was the slick tongue devil that pretended to be on our side with slogans like "hope we can believe in"....so people went along hoping that Obama, et al , knew what he was doing....and that what he was doing was in the best interest of the people....supposedly avoiding a catastrophic collapse of the banking system...uh, yeah! ...saved the a$$e$ of the criminal banksters and other big time gambler/swindlers...those of us who, wisely, may not have trusted the Wall Street slot machine who kept our money in savings accounts, or other low risk accounts, that were FDIC insured would get their money.
If they can work overtime printing more money to inject into the current failed Wall Street in their vain and stupid attempt to create yet another bubble..and ..making the numbers look high in their attempt to sucker more Americans, and foreign investors to pry open their savings accounts to risk in the market again.....they could print more money to pay FDIC demands. So big time market gamblers would have lost, as they should have lost, but others of us would still be backed by the US government and the money printing machines...and those with gold probably would have been in the best shape.
And that is another issue....if we can waste trillions of dollars on stupid wars in the Middle East and print more money to cover that they should have no problem doing the same thing with the Social Security and Medicare.
#17
Watch PBS Frontline Tuesday 24, May
Entire show on Wikileaks and Bradley Manning.
#18
The right wing extremist partys war on art comes as no surprise. Creative minds have always been a threat to those seeking total control over a population they wish to dominate for personal gain.
Look where Galileo's validation of Copernican theory got him! The Catholic church dogma that the Earth was the center of the universe was not to be challenged. Galileo's creative mind was a very serious threat to the church and the power it held over the people.
I went through a 4 year design school in the late 70's and can assure you we were all liberal and progressive thinkers. Creative minds by the very definition are progressive. I still keep in touch with many classmates and guess what, we all still share similiar political sentiment, no surprise!
So in conclusion, unless the Republicans legalize lobotomys on all creative minded people, their war on art is doomed to fail and only reflects more idiocy on their part.
#19
Here's a video where Eliot Spitzer and Dylan Ratigan explains, with a garbage bag and play money, what transpired during the "bailout".
http://dailybail.com/home/eliot-spitzer-the-federal-reserve-is-a-ponzi-s...
There will be more "bailouts" to come...just wait! American taxpayers will get garbage in exchange for making the banks richer just like the last time. American taxpayers got stuck with the bill but got nothing but worthless garbage in return. As Eliot Spitzer said...the Federal Reserve is a giant Ponzi Scheme. The Federal Reserve is touted as an independent quasi-government entity supposedly controlled by no one but itself...but as Spitzer shows it was/is controlled by the very banks who created the garbage that made them rich initially and then got wealthier by being "bailed out" by the tax payer, and future tax payers, who got worthless garbage in return.
#20
Watched Lisa Jackson, head of EPA, on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and felt like sharing some thoughts on the regulation vs no regulation debate.
1. When someone complains about to much regulation, the responce is always "well dont you want food without poisen, or clean water, ect..." Of coarse people want these things at least to some level, but everything we do has some effect that could be minimized if we were willing take the protection or oversight farther. For example, the presence of roads has negative effects on wildlife, sediment into streams, ect... It makes sense to regulate the number of roads to some degree but we as a society would agree we need roads. However we are excepting a level of negative effects to the environment to have the roads we need to funtion as a society. My point is I have heard the term cost benifit analysis brought up on the program when used to assess regulations as always a negative thing, but it is conducted for everything and is useful.
2. Lisa Jacksons comments on the additional regulations on Boilers, she stated that it would create jobs because someone would have to build the new cleaning technology. However, she does not recognize that we do not live in a protected economy and rather than spend that extra money to build the cleaning technology, the company may choose to go over seas instead. If we were a closed economy, then yes, an additional regulation would add jobs, cost would be passed on, and society would pay for the rules it wants. Forestry in California is an excellent example. State forest practices add high costs that the landowner has to take on societies behalf, good or bad, but the 2X4 does not go up in price due to wood products from other countries filling the store shelf. I have been witness to plywood being used from China on a job where a us plywood mill is 5 miles away.
It makes sense to have land use planning to ensure protection of property and to ensure my actions do not negatively effect my neihbor. But do I really need to pay 15000 dollars in developmental fees to build a house on my property or need specifics that tell me how far apart the rails on my deck need to be. I believe in land use planning oversight but it gets rediculous!
Just some thoughts,
Judd
#21
I am for the arts, crafts, plays, films, music, dance, and concerts. Personally, I believe that art and culture give us a better lifestyle. With that said I oppose watching human beings who are displayed in films as freaks. These so-called actors come across as grotesque. The human body is beautiful and the body is marvel in God’s creation.
#22
I have for some time come to dislike professionals sports. Professional sports remind me of the gladiators during the Roman Empire. In our Anti-Christ nation these athletes are overpaid, pampered, spoiled, and disgusting.
#23
As a person who has been in the arts and made my living from designing and creating for 30 years, I am deeply saddened, but not surprised. Those who mainly use their left brains just don't understand because they haven't experienced the freedom and joy that art expression gives those who are more right brained. Art and music and dance and theater help to broaden the experiences of all, just as sports do. I was horrified when I was watching a great program on the Universe on PBS and saw it was a David Koch production. I was wondering what the angle was, because there is always an angle - now I know. I'm convinced the goal is to control all media input, including the internet, so they may control the minds of the people. The country is so confused right now because they hear rhetoric from Fox and the right-wing talk shows that's false and misleading. They even hear falsehoods coming from the Senate floor. Then they're expected to figure out who is right when they may read or hear something completely different form another source. We are so screwed. This is how the Tea Party got so many of their puppets in office in 2010 - they simply lied and blasted their lies all over their media. Nobody knew when they were electing a Walker or Scott or any of the Tea Party Congress people that they were going to have the agenda they are executing. I also don't believe the GOP is all that concerned about the Presidential election of 2012. They are doing all their dirty work on a state level and if challenged - they'll go right up to SCOTUS, where they will be ratified. In fact, they are doing as much as they can to render the Presidency ineffective by working to take over the House and the Senate... they already have the judges. The most important thing we have to do in 2012 is get people to vote. The GOP wants Dems to know Obama is a shoe-in and stay home. People must vote for the Congressional and Senatorial races - they are what really counts right now. Soon, with no regulation to stop them - the right will be feeding us propaganda all day long and that may be the only form of entertainment left as people get poorer and sadder and more ignorant and give-up hope.
#24
I think the war on art is just another version of the war on people who think for themselves. Most artists I know are very open minded and tend to view the world in "Republicon non-acceptable" ways. Art is also a form of communication and community. The wealthy want us detached from each other and stupid. So far we are showing them we are beyond stupid by our unwillingness to see things for what they really are. Why change your tack when you are getting everything you want? From uninformed idiot Americans to a bought and paid for president, the wealthy and their congressional whores have it all. It is hard for most of us to realize these people are psychopaths and they literally have NO conscience. It is one thing to say, "psychopath" it is another to grasp the full meaning of the illness. If you have no conscience you don't give a damn about anyone else and you are unlimited in what you will do to another human being. Because psychopaths know they are supposed to have a conscience and realize they do not, I believe they turn to greed to to try and satisfy that which cannot be satisfied. Until we unite and fight back we will remain on the slippery slope to fascism led by people who should be in mental institutions.
#25
I totally agree with you. It is time we had some hutzpah like others around the world. We sit here, like they did, expecting some knight in shinning armor to come along and save us. We are the ones who will save ourselves. We can either wait until we are all half dead or we can hit the streets now. I am for living in the NOW. To heck with this vote Democratic crap. It hasn't worked in 30 years so why do we think the wealthy will all of a sudden have pitty on the 98% of us and do what is best for all? I have been a pacifist all of my life but if violence is what the wealthy want, I believe they will push us to the breaking point and they will get it. When people have nothing, they have nothing to loose. The thought of leaving this kind of America for my grandchildren to deal with it not acceptable.
#26
For you to think most of us are sitting on our asses it total BS. For myself, I have been to so many protests I cannot count them all. I have written a library full of letters to my congressional members and the president and only get a canned response. I have made countless phone calls to all of them. It is the same old crap that goes on and on. Why it is that the American people are supposed to give their hard earned tax dollars to "foreign aid" so we can bring democracy to the world when we don't have a democracy here in the United States of America? Why is it Americans are to be satisfied with the "lesser of two evils"? I am sick of the "lesser of two evils" and I will no longer vote for either EVIL.
I am also involved in trying to get Citizens United overturned. What are you doing to make that happen?????
#27
"Fascists don't like art, or artists"---Exactly!
The Renaissance followed freedom from the coercive belief it is right to suffer here,--to find happiness after death. When the people reached agreement NOW is the time for happiness--our capacity to love-- became expressed in art, architecture and music---and progressive social changes began to move all toward 'heaven on earth'.
Fascists don't like artists because they can't be programmed. An artist is authentic,--and the art reaches a common place deep in personal thought,--our humanity. The 'new' republicans are robotic,--their minds are synthetic,--manufactured by their leaders,--corporations who were obviously not endowed by nature with a sense of responsibility for the welfare of other people.
Life is an art! There was no blueprint for our ancestors to follow. Those who made a difference in our world,--moved human facts toward truth,--and human laws toward justice.
Art is a threat to fascists who are dependent on enhanced individual reliance on physical senses for success in their endeavor to control. Physical structure allows us to observe and be observed,--to copy what we see. Unfortunately we are in a reality where the 'person' is encapsulated in this physical barrier to thought. We can only FEEL our own existence,--our humanity. Those who break through, who follow personal convictions have overcome all obstacles, and effected our ascent.
#28
Complacency is the enemy of democracy. Democracy can't work if the people sit on their duffs and complain but DO nothing. Legislation like this, as a appalling and outrageous as it is, is a true indicator of the Republicans' confidence that there will be little to no opposition...
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I live in Kansas. After all of the budget slashing, the budget is expected to be in surplus. Still, the governor fired the Arts Commission on the grounds of no money for it. Dare I say, Sam Brownback does not speak the truth? In other words, he's a big fat (metaphorically speaking) liar.