Fools Wanted: A Lesson from ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington’

In the 1939 classic film “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” the newly-appointed Senator Jefferson Smith is told by his secretary how important “fools” can be in Washington D.C.  Her support and admiration for fools is not an endorsement of sending uneducated persons to our nation’s capital. Fools, she believes, include honorable people who have faith in their convictions against political opposition and harsh criticism. The movie “Mr. Smith” and its message about “fools” serve as a reminder about what public service is really about and what integrity really means.

Even though I have lived in the D.C. area for a little less than three years, I recently watched  “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” for the first time. The movie revolves around an appointed Senator who brings his hopefulness and his integrity to Washington D.C. James Stewart plays Mr. Smith, the head of a boy’s organization, who is surprisingly given a chance to serve his country in the United States Senate. He is a Governor’s political appointee who some believe will cave to political pressure and make his voting decisions on the advice of a corrupt but highly-respected Senate colleague. Mr. Smith refuses to accommodate that fellow Senator and the demands of the political machine in his state that fights against him and he eventually loses confidence in the entire political system. (more…)

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Tags: health care, healthcare, James Stewart, Joe Lieberman, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Posted Nov 22nd 2009 at 6:55 am in Featured Story, Film, Political Humor | 26430241 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jhanlon/2009/11/22/fools-wanted-a-lesson-from-mr-smith-goes-to-washington/Fools+Wanted%3A+A+Lesson+from+%27Mr.+Smith+Goes+to+Washington%272009-11-22+14%3A55%3A15John+P.+Hanlon

It’s Morning-After In America

I awoke this morning with a splitting headache.  As I staggered to the bathroom I blew past the mirror without a glance, fearful of the report.  I hadn’t felt this awful since I can’t remember when.  Though memory eluded me as to the details, I was certain that I had tied on the Mother of All Benders.  As I stared blearily into the commode bowl, I studied it disinterestedly for any and all evidence my stomach contents may have divulged as to just what the hell had happened the previous night.   

Nothing came to me but more questions.  Satisfied that no further gastric contributions could tell the tale, I rose from the bathroom floor, shrugged unconvincingly and hit the flusher.   What a perfect way to end unseemly encounters.  Flush them. 

I proceeded to weave an unsteady trail down the hallway in the general direction of a coffee pot.  My daughter had arisen before me and FOX News was already drifting in from the other room; Bill Hemmer recounting the latest on the decision to move the admitted 911 terrorists to NYC for trial. 

And then it struck me like a wet trout.  (more…)

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Tags: Barack Obama, bush, Congress, george w. bush, health care
Posted Nov 20th 2009 at 2:02 pm in Featured Story, Politics | 26610267 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ggraham/2009/11/20/its-morning-after-in-america/It%27s+Morning-After+In+America2009-11-20+22%3A02%3A55Gary+Graham

‘So Stoned’ Director’s Health-Care Ad Selected By Obama Celeb Panel

A health-care ad, featuring cute little children on a playground reading lines like “I’ll be diagnosed with leukemia and I’ll die,” was winner of a nation-wide competition of ads launched by Obama’s Organizing for America.  The ad was produced and directed by Eric Hurt, a former contestant on the trashy reality show “Temptation Island.”  Hurt’s previous directorial work includes a short film entitled “So Stoned” about 5 drugged-out friends smoking a bong and recounting disgusting stories from their past.  ”So Stoned” suddenly vanished from both Vimeo and FunnyOrDie.com after Obama consultant David Plouffe, announced Hurt’s selection..

–

The ad was selected out of 1,000 entries, as part of Obama’s “Health Care Reform Video Challenge.”  Ironically, instead of showcasing real people who suffer under the current health-care structure, the judges hand picked an ad that is all showbiz and zero substance.  They chose to go with fake health-care horror stories read by adorable but soppy kid actors — pawns in a political high-stakes game of shocksploitation. These kids obviously don’t have dire health care problems;  they just have showbiz parents who hooked them up with a gig. (more…)

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Tags: Barack Obama, health care, healthcare, hollywood, Obama
Posted Nov 20th 2009 at 6:53 am in Celebrity News, Politics | 26458642 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jmeath/2009/11/20/so-stoned-directors-dying-kid-health-care-ad-selected-by-obama-panel/%27So+Stoned%27+Director%27s+Health-Care+Ad+Selected+By+Obama+Celeb+Panel2009-11-20+14%3A53%3A43Jason+Killian+Meath

ZoNation: What Conservatives Are For

(more…)

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Tags: abortion, Barack Obama, biden, Freedom, health care
Posted Nov 16th 2009 at 5:35 pm in Uncategorized | 26307059 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/arachel/2009/11/16/zonation-what-conservatives-are-for/ZoNation%3A+What+Conservatives+Are+For+2009-11-17+01%3A35%3A26Alfonzo+Rachel

Jon Voight: Like the Tea Party People, Left Dismisses Me With Slurs

Today’s Variety:

“Shortly after Jon Voight addressed health care protesters on Capitol Hill last week, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs dismissed the event by saying rather glibly, ‘I’m sure there’s a Jon Voight joke in here somewhere, given he was one of the featured speakers.’

“Over the weekend, when a clip of Voight was played on ‘The Week with George Stephanopoulos,’ where the actor asked of Obama, ‘Could it be he has had 20 years of subconscious programming by Reverend Wright to damn America?’ Cokie Roberts called it a ‘cringemaking’ moment. …

“When I asked about the criticism of his speech, Voight said, ‘Listen, there’s no telling what people will say.’

“What concerned him, he says, was the notion that the protesters on Capitol Hill were being dismissed by some lawmakers. ‘It is unfortunate that people will not take seriously the response of informed citizens.’ (more…)

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Tags: Cokie Roberts, Jon Voight, Obama, ObamaCare, Rev. Wright
Posted Nov 10th 2009 at 8:09 am in Entertainment, Politics | 26094664 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bighollywood/2009/11/10/jon-voight-like-the-tea-party-people-left-dismisses-me-with-slurs/Jon+Voight%3A+Like+the+Tea+Party+People%2C+Left+Dismisses+Me+With+Slurs2009-11-10+16%3A09%3A18Big+Hollywood

‘Washington Post’ Endorses Plagiarism to Defend Obama

Yesterday, the White House announced that it was removing Alma Thomas’ plagiaristic piece “Watusi (Hard Edge)” from its walls.  The White House announced that the painting was moved “because it didn’t fit the space right.”  The Washington Post pointed out that posters at FreeRepublic.com had examined the similarity between “Watusi (Hard Edge)” and Henri Matisse’s “The Snail” (1953), ignoring the fact that Big Hollywood actually broke the story.  The Washington Post covered for the White House, explaining, “Stephens’s explanation makes sense because it is inconceivable that the White House’s art experts would imagine Thomas’s painting was fraudulent or a copy … Elaborations on earlier artists’ work, even full appropriation, have been common practice in art for hundreds of years.”  

Andrew Breitbart immediately emailed the author of the piece, Blake Gopnik, to point out that Big Hollywood had not been properly attributed on criticism of the piece.  Here’s Andrew’s email: 

“Ben Shapiro at Big Hollywood broke this story with a legitimate report. Not blog opinion. To credit Free Republic or conservative opinion sites is either bad journalism or… bad journalism. Even at Free Republic they cite Shapiro and Big Hollywood. The story was cited properly all over the Internet, why the Washington Post breach? We have been at the forefront of reporting on what the MSM won’t regarding this admin. We had the ACORN story, the NEA propaganda conference call. All hard news stories. And so is this. Shapiro is a Harvard law grad. He is hardly worthy of this kind of brush off. We’d like to see a correction as soon as possible.” 

And here is Gopnik’s response:   (more…)

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Tags: Alma Thomas, Andrew Breitbart, Blake Gopnik, Matisse, Obama
Posted Nov 6th 2009 at 11:49 am in Art, Featured Story, Media Criticism, Politics | 259302124 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bshapiro/2009/11/06/washington-post-endorses-plagiarism-to-defend-obama/%27Washington+Post%27+Endorses+Plagiarism+to+Defend+Obama2009-11-06+19%3A49%3A26Ben+Shapiro

Burt’s Eye View: Mother Nature and the Left

When Barack Obama was campaigning — not that he’s ever stopped — back in 2008, he made a number of promises.  As we all know, like a cad on the make, he was only trying to get us in the sack.  Once he had his way with us, he barely remembered our name, let alone his various vows.

Some of the things he swore to included keeping lobbyists out of his administration, providing five days for the public to review pending legislation and a bi-partisan approach to problem-solving.  Instead, lobbyists, particularly those representing unions, have freer access to the Oval Office than Michelle and the kids.  Not only is the public not given time to digest major legislation, neither are the legislators.  Early on, you may recall, Congress was given less than 24 hours to vote on an 1100-page, trillion dollar, so-called stimulus bill; more recently, when it came to health care, Obama was telling the sheep on Capitol Hill to vote even before an actual bill was written!

So far, as bi-partisanship is concerned, the Republicans have been banished to Washington’s equivalent of Siberia.  These days, bi-partisanship simply means that  David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel are in agreement.

There is one promise, however, that Obama has kept.  He vowed transparency, and anyone who can’t plainly see what the rock star and his left-wing groupies (Axelrod, Emanuel, Jeff Jones, Valerie Jarrett, Cass Sunstein, Anita Dunn) are up to is simply spending too much time watching “American Idol” and college football. (more…)

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Tags: Barack Obama, Congress, Global warming, health care, hollywood
Posted Nov 5th 2009 at 8:22 am in Politics | 25558642 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bprelutsky/2009/11/05/burts-eye-view-mother-nature-and-the-left/Burt%27s+Eye+View%3A+Mother+Nature+and+the+Left2009-11-05+16%3A22%3A49Burt+Prelutsky

NEWLY UNCOVERED EMAILS REVEAL: Federal Volunteer Agency Misrepresented Involvement in White House, NEA Conference Call

Recently revealed documents obtained by Judicial Watch from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) show a few interesting facts and supports the claims made in my earlier articles– namely, Yosi Sergant, the former NEA Communications Director, did not work alone in organizing the controversial August 10th conference call; that the White House Office of Public Engagement was fully aware of his efforts; and most importantly, that The Corporation for National and Community Service misrepresented who actually initiated the meeting.

On August 28th, Josh Miller of Foxnews.com reported “Siobhan Dugan, a spokeswoman for [The Corporation for National and Community Service], said the call was organized by an ‘individual interested’ in the group…”

This statement does not correspond with the facts.

The FOIA documents clearly show that on July 29th at 3:39pm, Nell Abernathy, a representative of The Corporation, emailed Yosi Sergant, former Communications Director of the National Endowment for the Arts, indicating that she was the person behind the content of the meeting when she stated (emphasis added):

Thanks for chatting yesterday – I’m attaching a few docs and running through what I think are my next steps.

She goes on to discuss the “Art event coordination” and provides an invite and draft of the meeting agenda to Sergant. Abernathy also states, “What is a reasonable time frame for getting together a list and recruiting some of your friends to lead?” This is in direct contradiction to the above claim by Siobhan Dugan of The Corporation. (more…)

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Tags: arts, August 10th, conference call, Corporation, emails
Posted Nov 2nd 2009 at 4:24 am in Art, Featured Story, Politics | 25645083 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pcourrielche/2009/11/02/newly-uncovered-emails-reveal-federal-volunteer-agency-misrepresented-involvement-in-white-house-nea-conference-call/NEWLY+UNCOVERED+EMAILS+REVEAL%3A+Federal+Volunteer+Agency+Misrepresented+Involvement+in+White+House%2C+NEA+Conference+Call2009-11-02+11%3A24%3A26Patrick+Courrielche

Daily Gut: Valerie Jarrett’s B.S.

So Valerie Jarrett was interviewed by CNN’s delightful Campbell Brown at something called “the Women’s Conference.” There Jarrett rags on Fox News for distortions, which is her word for “bringing up stuff that we wish you wouldn’t bring up.”

Now VJ could have listed some of these false statements, but instead she barked a lazy “of course they’re biased”– a statement you’d expect from a pierced Greenpeace volunteer, not a White House adviser.

But let’s focus on what she really said:

She claims America doesn’t have time for such “distortions.” Replace “distortions” with “debate,” and you’ve got the real truth. The administration wanted to push health care reform like a hot knife through butter, but the public wised up and said, “hold on there, pal.” Jarrett also said Americans should be allowed to reach their own judgment – which is odd since it was the Dems, not Fox News, who were trying to preempt the conversation. I mean, let’s not also forget their take on the global warming debate: the debate is over! But you can bet when the debate does start over the climate change bill –VJ will blame Fox News for preventing the debate!

By starting it!

You follow?

Cuz I sure don’t! (more…)

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Tags: Campbell Brown, CNN, Fox News, George Soros, Greenpeace
Posted Oct 28th 2009 at 12:44 pm in Daily Gut | 254470107 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ggutfeld/2009/10/28/daily-gut-valerie-jarretts-b-s/Daily+Gut%3A+Valerie+Jarrett%27s+B.S.2009-10-28+19%3A44%3A30Greg+Gutfeld

ObamaVision: What (4th Place) CNN Chose Not to Report

Which network was it that was accused of broadcasting opinion journalism masquerading as news? 

On Friday, during the “CNN Newsroom” hour, the network broadcast a story of the White House’s use of Hollywood to promote national service. Your humble Big Hollywood contributor was interviewed for this “news” segment. 

–

Their conclusion: 1) promoting volunteerism is a pretty benign message, and 2) Presidents throughout history have also promoted volunteerism so this White House Hollywood effort is nothing new. 

After coming to these two conclusions, the host Rick Sanchez asked the reporter Brooke Anderson, “What is the threshold then…at what point do we get past that slippery slope when now we’re going to be taking orders from the Commander-in-Chief and we in Hollywood have to be the ones that deliver that order?”  (more…)

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Tags: Brooke Anderson, CNN Newsroom, Corporation for National and Community Service, EIF, Glenn Beck
Posted Oct 28th 2009 at 8:27 am in Art, Politics, Television | 25407878 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pcourrielche/2009/10/28/obamavision-what-cnn-chose-not-to-report/ObamaVision%3A+What+%284th+Place%29+CNN+Chose+Not+to+Report2009-10-28+15%3A27%3A15Patrick+Courrielche

The ‘Me Generation’: A Generation of Thieves

My generation – the “Me Generation” – and those like us have stolen every last penny from our parent’s savings accounts (Social Security).   We’ve used that money to make ourselves appear successful and to vote ourselves more and more things we claimed to be “entitled” to.

When that money ran out, those of us who followed the mantra we were taught in the Leftist run public schools, “If it feels good, do it,” simply stole our children’s money, mortgaging their future for our personal comforts.  We’ve borrowed so much against their account that the numbers now are written in trillions – with each child born burdened with tens of thousands of dollars in debt – money we spent on ourselves — the moment they enter the world.

Now, with no more to steal from our parents or our children, many of us are demanding that we receive deeply discounted health-care services.  It’s something, we argue that we’re entitled to (for no other reason than that we’ve graced the world with our presence. )

The problem is that, forcing insurance companies to write bad policies – to take in in premiums far less than what they’ll have to dole out for the aging Boomers’ growing medical conditions – is untenable.  In fact, it is exactly the same formula these same Leftists used to force banks to make bad loans because they felt that everyone of their generation was “entitled” to own a house.

But the Boomers have a plan! (more…)

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Tags: baby boomers, Barack Obama, bush, Congress, deficit
Posted Oct 27th 2009 at 5:03 am in Politics | 251118114 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/esayet/2009/10/27/the-me-generation-a-generation-of-thieves/The+%27Me+Generation%27%3A+A+Generation+of+Thieves2009-10-27+12%3A03%3A10Evan+Sayet

2012

In the meantime….

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Tags: 2012, 2012 election, Barack Obama, cartoon, change
Posted Oct 25th 2009 at 11:41 am in Art, Politics | 25159431 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bfawstin/2009/10/25/2012/20122009-10-25+18%3A41%3A00Bosch+Fawstin

Polanski Might Not Fight Extradition

Out of options?

Considering the shocking ineptitude and counterintuitive moves by the White House lately, I was starting to wonder if they might add to their woes, cave to their Leftist Hollywood friends and quietly let the deadline pass to request Roman Polanski’s extradition — effectively letting him off the hook. Thankfully, word comes today that the U.S. has made a formal request to the Swiss to hand the child-rapist over. Better yet, Polanski’s lawyers are floating the idea that Polanski is considering a voluntary surrender to U.S. authorities:

Polanski’s legal team has sent out mixed messages on its strategy. Temime has insisted the Oscar-winning director will fight extradition. But earlier this week, Georges Kiejman, another of Polanski’s lawyers, told French radio that, instead of spending years in a Swiss jail, Polanski might voluntarily decide to face justice in the U.S.

The 76 year old child-rapist is pretty much out of options. The court battle over extradition could take years, and with no hope of bail that means those years would be spent in prison. If he then loses that fight he’ll still have to face whatever penalty awaits him here in the States. At his age, there aren’t many years to waste. Taking his chances here is probably the wise move. (more…)

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Tags: extradition, Obama, Polanski, prison, Swiss
Posted Oct 23rd 2009 at 7:50 am in Celebrity News, Politics | 25139812 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/10/23/polanski-might-not-fight-extradition/Polanski+Might+Not+Fight+Extradition2009-10-23+14%3A50%3A39John+Nolte

What is Pornographic? What is Hip?

What exactly does “affordable” mean?

A very good friend of mine has lately taken me to task for my opposition to a single payer, universal medical coverage. She argues that she is one of those the president speaks of when describing Americans that do not have “affordable” health insurance. She has a pre-existing condition and coverage is expensive. When I point out that while the cost of her coverage may be high it is certainly affordable (in that she is managing to pay for it) she rejects the argument on the basis that the high cost eats into other equally important expenses. When pressed to define exactly how much an affordable health insurance plan would cost her answer sounds an awful lot like what some folks refer to as free. Like many Americans her ideal is that she should receive the most comprehensive coverage – care for illnesses minor and major — for little or nothing; health coverage is, after all, a right.

Former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart wrote of hard-core pornography: “I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it.”  The position that policy and law should not be based on reason, fact and/or moral certainty, but on the infallible conclusions of judges or political leaders was later rejected by Stewart as untenable; no surprise, then, that it has been adopted as a cornerstone of progressive politics. (more…)

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Tags: Barack Obama, health care, healthcare, Obama, ObamaCare
Posted Oct 19th 2009 at 12:03 pm in Politics | 24925090 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jphillips/2009/10/19/what-is-pornographic-what-is-hip/What+is+Pornographic%3F+What+is+Hip%3F2009-10-19+19%3A03%3A29Joseph+C.+Phillips

Part II: Obama Controls Your Televison Set — Search and Ye Shall Find…Left-Wing Advocacy

My ten-year-old daughter loves “So You Think You Can Dance.” I suspect most eight to eighteen-year-old girls do.  So, my question to the producers of this hit show is: “Why are you pointing my daughter to a web page asking her to work at Planned Parenthood?”

Next week the networks will coordinate their shows’ story-lines to promote volunteerism.  At the September 10 press conference in New York announcing this unprecedented message coordination, Ashton Kutcher got his famous Twitter feed displayed on the Times Square jumbo screen.  It said:  “2Day, I activate my citizenship by participating. I Participate! Do u? www.iparticipate.org.”  (Damn he’s good at this whole “Under 14o characters” thing.)

In the press release announcing the initiative, all four network execs were positively boastful about their ability to inspire their viewers to ask “How high” when told to jump: (more…)

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Tags: 9/11, ACORN, Barack Obama, EIF, healthcare
Posted Oct 15th 2009 at 3:03 am in Entertainment, Politics | 246730295 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/sright/2009/10/15/part-ii-search-and-ye-shall-find-left-wing-advocacy/Part+II%3A+Obama+Controls+Your+Televison+Set+--+Search+and+Ye+Shall+Find...Left-Wing+Advocacy2009-10-15+10%3A03%3A40Stage+Right

Debating Leftists is Like Debating Charles Manson

Keith Olbermann’s recent hour-long commentary was quite revealing.  Like Michael Moore’s “capitalism hasn’t done anything for me” comment, the outpouring of support and sympathy for serial pedophile and admitted rapist Roman Polanski, and President Obama’s shenanigans at the U.N. and G-20, it drove home a simple, powerful point…

These people don’t know what they are talking about.

They do not know their kiesters from a hole in the ground.  They are a few fries short of a happy meal and a few cards short of a full deck.  Their phasers are permanently set on “clueless.”

Once you come to this realization, as many of us have, you are forced to approach their ideas and spokespeople from a position of reality.  Not from some sanctimonious position of civility and “debate.” (more…)

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Tags: Barack Obama, Charles Manson, Congress, health care, michael moore
Posted Oct 12th 2009 at 5:04 am in Entertainment, Featured Story, Politics | 242858329 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/lscott/2009/10/12/debating-leftists-is-like-debating-charles-manson/Debating+Leftists+is+Like+Debating+Charles+Manson2009-10-12+12%3A04%3A58Leigh+Scott

Hopefully ObamaCare Will ‘Die Quickly’

Representative Joe Wilson shouts in the House Chamber to President Obama during a speech on Health Care Reform, “You lie,” and is forced to apologize to the President directly and compelled to apologize in the House where the incident occurred.  He chooses only to apologize to the President.  This did not make him many friends in the Democratic Caucus.  They could not bully him into a formal apology in the Chamber.  What happens next, the Democrat House votes to rebuke him in a meaningless resolution.  Of course, the vote is along party lines.

A few weeks later, Representative Alay Grayson of Florida, who also happens to be a Democrat, says while debating health hare reform on the House Floor:

“If you get sick, America, the Republican health care plan is this: Die quickly. That’s right. The Republicans want you to die quickly if you get sick.”  (more…)

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Tags: Barack Obama, Congress, health care, healthcare, nancy pelosi
Posted Oct 11th 2009 at 5:43 pm in Politics | 24231463 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/fdemartini/2009/10/11/die-quickly/Hopefully+ObamaCare+Will+%27Die+Quickly%272009-10-12+00%3A43%3A24Frank+DeMartini

Politicizing the Arts Community: What Did the White House Do Wrong?

The allegations raised in “White House Creates ACORN for the Arts” and prior stories about the NEA enlisting artists who receive government grants to support President Obama’s political goals certainly raise a number of issues.  Foremost among them is whether such actions violate White House policy and potentially federal law.  The White House Counsel was concerned enough about the conference call that it was compelled to issue new guidelines for public outreach meetings, noting that some of the comments on the call may have been “misunderstood as seeking to inappropriately politicize activities of the NEA.”  But beyond violating these White House guidelines, which could result in further forced resignations but little else, what is really at issue with the alleged conduct?

By seeking to enlist the private sector in lobbying for the President’s agenda, the alleged conduct may have violated the Anti-Lobbying Act (18 U.S.C. §1913), which as Ben Shapiro pointed out in a previous piece, explicitly provides:

No part of the money appropriated by any enactment of Congress shall, in the absence of express authorization by Congress, be used directly or indirectly to pay for any personal service, advertisement, telegram, telephone, letter, printed or written matter, or other device, intended or designed to influence in any manner a Member of Congress, a jurisdiction, or an official of any government, to favor, adopt, or oppose by vote or otherwise, any legislation, law, ratification, policy, or appropriation, whether before or after the introduction of any bill, measure or resolution proposing such legislation, law, ratification, policy or appropriation.

The Anti-Lobbying Act, according to government handbooks, prevents government employees from engaging in “substantial ‘grass roots’ lobbying campaigns … expressly urging individuals to contact government officials in support of or opposition to legislation …. Provid[ing] administrative support for lobbing activities of private organizations”

(more…)

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Tags: Anti-Lobbying Act, Ben Shapiro, Buffy Wicks, Hatch Act, henry waxman
Posted Oct 8th 2009 at 10:01 am in Art, Politics | 243346No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/spakovskyberke/2009/10/08/politicizing-the-arts-community-what-did-the-white-house-do-wrong/Politicizing+the+Arts+Community%3A+What+Did+the+White+House+Do+Wrong%3F2009-10-08+17%3A01%3A06Hans+von+Spakovsky+and+Elliot+S.+Berke

Olympian Fail: Valerie Jarrett’s Third Strike?

Valerie Jarrett, Barack Obama’s long-time Chicago crony and current White House special advisor, may have just struck out with her ill advice for the president’s IOC blunder in Copenhagen. 

As LA Examiner’s Kelli Kobor noted yesterday: 

It is unlikely that the Obamas will eject a close and trusted friend from their inner circle over a relatively minor (as these things go) political embarrassment.  But it is an open question whether Jarrett can withstand a steady string of scandals, of which her handling of the Olympics is only the most recent.  Just two months ago she was wounded by her association with “Green Jobs Czar” Van Jones, who had to resign when it was revealed that he had signed more than one petition accusing George W. Bush’s White House of complicity in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  

Ms. Kobor wisely notes strikes 1 & 3.  (more…)

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Tags: nea, Obama, Olympics, Valeri Jarrett, White House
Posted Oct 5th 2009 at 1:55 pm in Politics | 24108274 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/abaldwin/2009/10/05/olympian-fail-valerie-jarretts-third-strike/Olympian+Fail%3A+Valerie+Jarrett%E2%80%99s+Third+Strike%3F2009-10-05+20%3A55%3A20Adam+Baldwin

Open Letter to Congress Regarding NEA Chairman’s Statement

I’m writing in regards to Chairman Landesman’s response to Senator Enzi’s National Endowment for the Arts inquiry (below). I want to first thank Senator Enzi and the other Senators for taking the time to compose the inquiry. I also want to thank Senator Cornyn for his early inquiry on the August 10th conference call.

NEA_Statement –

–

Although I appreciate Chairman Landesman’s actions in adding additional safeguards to protect the integrity of the NEA mission, I thought you should be aware of some of the details not mentioned in his response.

Chairman Landesman made no mention of a NEA grantee, Americans for the Arts, which was on the August 10th conference call and within 2 days of the meeting sent out a press release, endorsed by 16 other NEA grantees, urging Congress to pass legislation creating universal health care. That fact was first reported by the Washington Times. (more…)

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Tags: nea, rocco landesman, Senator Enzi, White House
Posted Oct 5th 2009 at 12:35 pm in Art, Politics | 24070626 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pcourrielche/2009/10/05/open-letter-to-congress-regarding-nea-chairmans-statement/Open+Letter+to+Congress+Regarding+NEA+Chairman%27s+Statement2009-10-05+19%3A35%3A12Patrick+Courrielche

The Big Truth: Selling White House Policy Through Art

A few days ago I received a call from my cousin. He’d been hearing some chatter from the family about something happening with a series of NEA articles that I’d written for Big Hollywood and wanted to find out from the horse’s mouth what was going on. His question was simple and concise.

“What did the White House do wrong?” he asked.

“The White House attempted to use federal agencies for political gain,” I blurted out.

President Obama with former NEA Communications Director Yosi Sergant

And that is The Big Truth in a nutshell. A moment of clarity hit me, and as with most eureka moments, a path of how to explain this big truth came into sight. The full story needed to be told – including possible collusion, the White House’s novel mode of operation, and the eventual cover-up – to fully understand and illuminate the government’s intention with their arts effort.

Up until now, I have not discussed Sergant’s former job in the White House Office of Public Engagement, where Buffy Wicks currently resides, because the story had to develop to understand the significance. I also haven’t discussed the email that I received from Michael Skolnik, the moderator of the call, immediately after the publication of the original conference call article – an email that attempted to revise history and the role of the NEA and the White House in the meeting. And what has yet to be discussed is the White House’s recent ability to set up an ArtistCorps, brought into existence with less than 20 words in the Serve America Act. (more…)

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Tags: Buffy Wicks, Michael Skolnik, nea, Nell Abernathy, Obama
Posted Oct 5th 2009 at 12:34 pm in Art, Featured Story, Politics | 24014674 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pcourrielche/2009/10/05/the-big-truth-selling-white-house-policy-through-art/The+Big+Truth%3A+Selling+White+House+Policy+Through+Art2009-10-05+19%3A34%3A16Patrick+Courrielche

Beck/Courrielche on The White House’s Politicization of Art: Today on FNC 5pm ET/2pm PST

Patrick Courrielche will appear on Glenn Beck’s FNC show today to discuss his latest article, “The Big Truth: Selling White House Policy Through Art.”

Make sure to tune in.

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Tags: Fox News, Glenn Beck, nea, Patrick Courrielche, White House
Posted Oct 5th 2009 at 12:30 pm in Art, Politics | 24084217 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bighollywood/2009/10/05/courrielche-to-appear-on-glenn-beck-today-fnc-5pm-et2pm-pst/Beck%2FCourrielche+on+The+White+House%27s+Politicization+of+Art%3A+Today+on+FNC+5pm+ET%2F2pm+PST2009-10-05+19%3A30%3A05Big+Hollywood

White House Creates ACORN for the Arts

Over the last week, Big Hollywood and Big Government have been extensively covering the August 10 conference call between the National Endowment for the Arts and a group of artists – a call on which the artists were encouraged to support President Obama’s agenda, with the tacit promise that they would be handsomely rewarded with government grants.  The NEA representative on the call was then-Communications Director of the NEA Yosi Sergant.

Now we have new evidence that the White House itself has been using its sway to recruit artists – not just to support President Obama’s “volunteerism” initiatives, but to support basic planks of his political agenda, including health care.  In fact, the White House has been tapping its extragovernmental political allies to work with artists with the tacit promise that NEA funds will be in the offing for those who join the Obama Administration political program. (more…)

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Tags: ACORN, Barack Obama, Congress, health care, healthcare
Posted Oct 5th 2009 at 9:53 am in Art, Politics | 240798One Commenthttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bshapiro/2009/10/05/white-house-creates-acorn-for-the-arts/White+House+Creates+ACORN+for+the+Arts2009-10-05+16%3A53%3A14Ben+Shapiro

New White House ‘Guidelines’ Are Pathetic Revisionist History

In the aftermath of the revelations that the NEA sponsored a conference call with artists across the country in order to promote President Obama’s political agenda, the NEA and White House are running scared. Yesterday, Yosi Sargent, the NEA Director of Communications who headed the call, resigned. Also yesterday, the White House Counsel’s Office released what it called a “memorandum” designed to create “guidelines regarding our vitally important outreach efforts.”

Ready? Here we go.

WH_COUNSEL_MEMO_GUIDELINES_FOR_PUBLIC_OUTREACH_MEETINGS

First, the White House suggests that all NEA employees “avoid even the appearance of impropriety.” According to the White House, “President Obama has pledged to restore Americans’ trust in their government. Strict adherence to the rules is not enough – we need to avoid even the appearance of politicization in order to ensure people’s faith in the actions of the Administration. This means always asking whether an action under consideration could be construed as inappropriate.” Good advice, to be sure. But this would be too little too late – and it also conflicts with the facts. The clear implication here is that no laws were violated. (more…)

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Tags: Guidelines, nea, Obama, Skolnik, White House
Posted Sep 25th 2009 at 5:06 am in Art, Featured Story, Politics | 23532248 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bshapiro/2009/09/25/new-white-house-guidelines-are-pathetic-revisionist-history/New+White+House+%27Guidelines%27+Are+Pathetic+Revisionist+History2009-09-25+12%3A06%3A57Ben+Shapiro

Fox News: Months Prior to NEA Conf. Call White House Met With 60 Artists ‘to promote the administration’s agenda’

On Monday the 21st, Big Hollywood reported on a May 12 meeting of 60 artists with the NEA and the White House to help “promote the administration’s agenda” — the one where The Department of Alternative Thinking was proposed…

Today, the Washington Times compiled a long list of the invited artists who are grant recipients, and…

Fox News followed up with this report:

“Rappers, dancers, writers and other activists from around the country were invited to a May 12 session next door to the White House where they were “challenged to come up with promising and attractive ideas about how artists can work to promote the administration’s agenda.” (more…)

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Tags: Art, artists, Department of Alternative Thinking, Fox News, May 12
Posted Sep 24th 2009 at 5:47 pm in Art, Politics | 23527859 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bighollywood/2009/09/24/fox-news-months-prior-to-nea-conf-call-white-house-met-with-60-artists-to-promote-the-administrations-agenda/Fox+News%3A+Months+Prior+to+NEA+Conf.+Call+White+House+Met+With+60+Artists+%27to+promote+the+administration%27s+agenda%272009-09-25+00%3A47%3A05Big+Hollywood

RESPONSE TO NEA CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT: Throwing Yosi Sergant Under the Bus Isn’t an Answer

“Senate confirmed my boss today…and we’re off!” — As posted by Yosi Sergant on Twitter August 7th. 

Those were the words of the former Communications Director of the National Endowment for the Arts three days before the conference call. However Rocco Landesman, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), in a recent statement declared that Yosi Sergant acted “unilaterally and without the approval or authorization” from his superior.

NEA Chair Rocco Landesman 

Taking the Chairman’s statement at face value and moving on would be the easy thing to do. However, the details of the Chairman’s statement need to be addressed. 

First, if the former Communications Director “acted unilaterally and without approval or authorization” from his superior, why is he still working for the NEA? Wouldn’t an act as rogue as bringing together a pro-Obama arts group and encouraging them to create art on health care have triggered an immediate dismissal if it was actually without authorization?  (more…)

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Tags: Buffy Wicks, Kalpen Modi, nea, rocco landesman, White House
Posted Sep 24th 2009 at 10:53 am in Art, Featured Story, Politics | 23479066 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pcourrielche/2009/09/24/response-to-nea-chairmans-statement-throwing-yosi-sergant-under-the-bus-isnt-an-answer/RESPONSE+TO+NEA+CHAIRMAN%27S+STATEMENT%3A+Throwing+Yosi+Sergant+Under+the+Bus+Isn%27t+an+Answer2009-09-24+17%3A53%3A57Patrick+Courrielche

Breitbart Uses Netroots Tricks to Take Down ACORN

From The Washington Independent:

On September 10, Andrew Breitbart launched his new site, BigGovernment, with hidden-video camera footage of two young conservative activists who’d gotten Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) employees to advise them on hiding prostitution profits from the IRS. Within hours, Breitbart was doing interviews with reporters who wanted to know how, exactly, the story had come about, and why Big Government was releasing the videos and the identity of the muckrackers — 25-year-old James O’Keefe III and 20-year-old Hannah Giles — so slowly.

“It was strategized,” Breitbart told TWI this week, so “that they would be deprived of the type of information that a defense attorney would try to gather in order to create a defense.”

Who were “these people?” They were not just the leaders or members of ACORN itself. “They” were the Democratic Party, the White House, the progressive Center for American Progress and its president John Podesta. The “Democrat-media complex” is Breitbart’s name for the whole apparatus. “We deprived them of information,” Breitbart explained, “so that they couldn’t come up with a vile, kill-the-messenger attack with the media doing the groundwork for them.”

The success of Breitbart’s strategy was immediate, stunning, and is still ricocheting around the political world. Five days after the story broke, the U.S. Senate voted 83-7 to prevent ACORN from receiving any federal funding. Two days later, the House of Representatives did the same. Meanwhile, Breitbart was talking to more reporters, amused at how the “kill-the-messenger attack” was playing out. When one report from The Washington Post called him for a story about O’Keefe and Giles, Breitbart compared their tape to the photos of Abu Ghraib prison released in April 2004. (more…)

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Tags: Abu Ghraib, ACORN, breitbart, Hannah Giles, James O'Keefe
Posted Sep 24th 2009 at 9:49 am in Media Criticism | 23474615 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bighollywood/2009/09/24/breitbart-uses-netroots-tricks-to-take-down-acorn/Breitbart+Uses+Netroots+Tricks+to+Take+Down+ACORN2009-09-24+16%3A49%3A29Big+Hollywood

NEA Call Not Meant to ‘Promote Any Legislative Agenda’?

Rocco Landesman

Reiterating the NEA’s denial about the purpose of the notorious August 10, 2009 teleconference, Chairman Rocco Landesman doubled-down Tuesday:

 “Fact 3: ‘This call was not a means to promote any legislative agenda and any suggestions to that end are simply false.”

Two weeks ago, the NEA’s initial denial stated:

“This call was not a means to promote any legislative agenda and any suggestions to that end are simply false.“

 The White House issued its denial on September 9:  (more…)

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Tags: Buffy Wicks, conference call, nea, rocco landesman, White House
Posted Sep 24th 2009 at 8:08 am in Art, Politics | 23461460 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/abaldwin/2009/09/24/nea-call-not-meant-to-promote-any-legislative-agenda/NEA+Call+Not+Meant+to+%27Promote+Any+Legislative+Agenda%27%3F2009-09-24+15%3A08%3A40Adam+Baldwin

BREAKING: White House Officials to Make Sure ‘Inappropriate’ NEA Conference Call ‘Never Happens Again’

Jake Tapper of ABC News:

White House officials say they are enacting specific steps to make sure such a call never happens again.

Today White House officials are meeting with the chiefs of staff of the executive branch agencies to discuss rules and best practices in this area, a conversation during which they will be told that that while White House lawyers do not believe that the NEA call violated the law, “the appearance issues troubled some participants,” Burton said. “It is the policy of the administration that grant decisions should be on the merits and that government officials should avoid even creating the incorrect appearance that politics has anything to do with these decisions.”

After listening to the transcript and the audio posted at the conservative website BigHollywood.Breitbart.com — secretly recorded by Los Angeles filmmaker Patrick Couriellech — Melanie Sloan, executive director of the good-government group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), told ABC News that the call was “disturbing.” (more…)

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Tags: ABC News, Bill Burton, Jake Tapper, nea, White House
Posted Sep 22nd 2009 at 10:49 am in Art, Featured Story, Politics | 23303098 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bighollywood/2009/09/22/breaking-white-house-officials-enact-steps-to-make-sure-inappropriate-nea-conference-call-never-happens-again/BREAKING%3A+White+House+Officials+to+Make+Sure+%27Inappropriate%27+NEA+Conference+Call+%27Never+Happens+Again%272009-09-22+17%3A49%3A19Big+Hollywood