NEWLY REVEALED DOCUMENTS Contradict NEA Chairman Landesman

“The former NEA Director of Communications acted unilaterally and without the approval or authorization of then-Acting Chairman Patrice Walker Powell.” – Rocco Landesman, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, on September 22, 2009

Chairman Landesman’s claim that Yosi Sergant, the former NEA Communications Director, acted “unilaterally” on the controversial August 10th conference call is not only beginning to erode, but new documents obtained by Judicial Watch under the Freedom of Information Act show that another federal employee thought the arts effort was entering murky legal waters.

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In an email dated July 30, 2009, Nellie Abernathy, a representative of the federal program United We Serve, sent an email to Sergant to inquire of his interest in attending a meeting regarding 9/11 events – the culmination day of the United We Serve campaign. In the email Abernathy states (emphasis added):

“Just got off the phone with [redacted]. They’re interested in helping produce some 9/11 events and will be in DC next week. Any chance you could join us for a meeting Tuesday morning? Or does this fall into that sketchy grey we might get arrested area?”

Sergant responded, “I’d love to.” (more…)

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Tags: Buffy Wicks, national endowment for the arts, nea, Nell Abernathy, rocco landesman
Posted Nov 12th 2009 at 5:03 am in Art, Featured Story, Politics | 261522192 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pcourrielche/2009/11/12/newly-released-emails-appear-to-contradict-nea-chair-landesmans-statement/NEWLY+REVEALED+DOCUMENTS+Contradict+NEA+Chairman+Landesman2009-11-12+13%3A03%3A19Patrick+Courrielche

INTRODUCING: ‘Yosi Needs a Hug’ by Gary Eaton

Fellow Big Hollywood contributor Moxie and I have been in the process of developing a radio show over the past couple of months.  Over the course of the development and rehearsal process, we’ve been focusing much attention on the NEA Conference Call story and the fall-out associated with it.

One of our ongoing segments has been to read aloud (in suitably dramatic fashion) Yosi Sergant’s twitter feed.  (It really is quite entertaining).  It became such a popular segment with the handful of friends who listen to our practice shows that Moxie decided we needed a “Yosi Update” theme song.  She “Volun-Told” our friend and musician, Gary Eaton to write the diddy and within twenty four hours he had completed his masterpiece.

We hope that you, our the loyal readers of Big Hollywood, who are well-versed with the players involved in this story, will appreciate our “Yosi Update” song:   (more…)

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Tags: Gary Eaton, Moxie, Stage Right, Yosi Sergant
Posted Nov 5th 2009 at 10:03 am in Art, Music, Political Humor, Politics | 25817836 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/sright/2009/11/05/introducing-yosi-needs-a-hug-by-gary-eaton/INTRODUCING%3A+%27Yosi+Needs+a+Hug%27+by+Gary+Eaton2009-11-05+18%3A03%3A02Stage+Right

Judicial Watch: ‘NEA Propaganda Effort Grew Out of Obama Campaign’

President Obama with Yosi Sergant

Press release from Judicial Watch:

“(Washington, DC) — Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it obtained more documents from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests related to the NEA’s controversial August 10 conference call encouraging artists to create work that promotes the Obama agenda.  The documents consist of internal NEA emails indicating the idea for the NEA propaganda effort grew out the Obama campaign while also providing new details regarding White House involvement.  The Corporation for National and Community Service, which runs the AmeriCorps program, was represented during the call.  The agencies and the White House were supposedly promoting the administration’s United We Serve political initiative.  The emails include the actual conference call invitation, which details the controversial policy agenda that was being promoted.  (The controversial call was first uncovered by www.BigGovernment.com. Other documents about the call were first released last week by Judicial Watch.) 

“The following are email excerpts:  (more…)

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Tags: Barack Obama, FOIA, Judicial Watch, nea, Obama
Posted Nov 2nd 2009 at 10:35 am in Art, Politics | 25671083 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bighollywood/2009/11/02/judicial-watch-nea-propaganda-effort-grew-out-of-obama-campaign/Judicial+Watch%3A+%27NEA+Propaganda+Effort+Grew+Out+of+Obama+Campaign%272009-11-02+17%3A35%3A54Big+Hollywood

Big Hollywood Report Card: NEA Chairman Landesman’s First 12 Weeks

When Broadway Producer/Theatre Owner Rocco Landesman took the reins of the National Endowment of the Arts last August, he told the NY Times:

“I wouldn’t have come to the N.E.A. if it was just about padding around in the agency,” he said, and worrying about which nonprofits deserve more funds. “We need to have a seat at the big table with the grown-ups. Art should be part of the plans to come out of this recession.  If we’re going to have any traction at all, there has to be a place for us in domestic policy.”

An odd assertion considering the job description of the role he’s filling at this non-partisan, independent, government agency is, basically to “Worry about which nonprofits deserve more funds“.  Seriously, that’s the job, always has been.  And when one reads the original legislation creating the agency Landesman now runs, there is nothing to be found about being a part of domestic policy.  But, the same party who can read “Promote the General Welfare” in our Constitution and re-interpret it to mean that Barbara Boxer can decide which doctor I can visit, can easily over-reach with the NEA legislation too, I suppose. (more…)

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Tags: health care, nea, Obama, rocco landesman, Yosi Sergant
Posted Nov 2nd 2009 at 9:12 am in Art, Politics | 25617017 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/sright/2009/11/02/a-big-hollywood-report-card-nea-chairman-landesmans-first-12-weeks/Big+Hollywood+Report+Card%3A+NEA+Chairman+Landesman%27s+First+12+Weeks2009-11-02+16%3A12%3A36Stage+Right

NEA Chair Rocco Landesman Mocks Critics

About ten days ago, in a widely ridiculed address to the 2009 Grantmakers in the Arts Conference – so widely ridiculed he had to walk his Obama-Caesar gushing back some – embattled NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman took a moment to launch a shot at his critics:

Am I starting to sound like an advocate? Well, that seems to be a touchy subject. Some quote-unquote “journalists” have recently accused this agency of losing its independence and becoming a propaganda machine.

Ooh, ouch, that stings: “quote-unquote journalists.” I would have responded sooner but the insult went over my head. You see, in the world where I reside — the land of Where Decent People Try To Do The Right Thing –  accusing someone of “not being a real journalist” is like accusing them of “not being a dishonest left-wing poseur with more affectations than a washed-up Shakespearean stage actor.”

But what a punk thing for Landesman to do; acting like the big mouth kid who after a well-deserved playground thumping runs home to talk big in front his fat, fawning Aunts. Gee, Rocco, if you and yours hold so much contempt for your critics, why respond to their criticisms in such dramatic ways: (more…)

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Tags: Caesar, Culture Future, Lee Rosenbaum, nea, Obama
Posted Nov 2nd 2009 at 6:43 am in Art, Politics | 25637035 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/11/02/nea-chair-rocco-landesman-mocks-critics/NEA+Chair+Rocco+Landesman+Mocks+Critics2009-11-02+13%3A43%3A32John+Nolte

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

Patrick Courrilche on ‘Glenn Beck’

Patrick Courrielche discussed his pieces here and here with Glenn Beck on Monday. For those of you who missed it, or those of you who want to relive the magic once more:

Part II after the jump. (more…)

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Tags: Buffy, Buffy Wicks, Glenn Beck, Michael Skolnik, nea
Posted Oct 8th 2009 at 12:01 am in Politics, Video | 2428864 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bighollywood/2009/10/08/patrick-courrilche-on-glenn-beck/Patrick+Courrilche+on+%27Glenn+Beck%272009-10-08+07%3A01%3A13Big+Hollywood

Why Wasn’t I Invited to the NEA Conference Call?

This whole flap over at the NEA has a lot of folks’ underwear in a bunch.  Sure, the idea of the White House using the NEA as the “Hope and Change Department of Propaganda” is disturbing.  But even more troubling is the fact that I didn’t get an invitation to the goddamn conference call!

And I quote: “It’s time for us as a group of artists, producers, promoters, organizers, influencers, marketers, tastemakers, leaders or just plain cool people to join together…”

I’m a producer and an artist.  I’m even a leader at times.  And anyone who’s ever had one of my patented kick-ass margaritas (SeizureRitas®) can attest to my tastemaking abilities!  Just to prove my worth to the cause, I’d like to submit the below painting, an homage to German artist Hubert Lanzinger, I call “Obama, the Standard Bearer.” (more…)

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Tags: "Bacon Wagon", Hubert Lanzinger, nea, NEA Scandal, Obama
Posted Sep 27th 2009 at 3:03 pm in Art, Featured Story, Politics | 23395029 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bigx/2009/09/27/why-wasnt-i-invited-to-the-nea-conference-call/Why+Wasn%27t+I+Invited+to+the+NEA+Conference+Call%3F2009-09-27+22%3A03%3A20Big+X

Art Will Not Be Silenced! — Win a $33.18 Grant From the Iowahawk Endowment for the Arts

Like you, when I read that a cabal of art-hating reactionary philistines had forced the resignation of Yosi Sergant from the National Endowment for the Arts, I was sickened. This was followed by shame, then fear. And then, finally, the realization that here was a golden opportunity for cheap blog traffic.

As a renowned collector of dumpster art and pork industry commemorative plates, I made a solemn vow to myself: this injustice will not stand. If these radicals are allowed to bring down the NEA’s Assistant Liaison for Art Community Outreach — for merely organizing an innocent devotional art program — who is next on their dangerous anti-culture agenda? The NEA Undersecretary for Public Engagement? Western Civilization itself?

No, my friends, the stakes are too high. We in the Arts community must confront these vulgarian bullies and let them know that ART WILL NOT BE SILENCED. To show my personal commitment to this important cause, last night I dug deep into my kid’s sock drawer and found $33.18, which I am now fully dedicating to an endowment to fund creative art aimed at promoting me and my agenda.  (more…)

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Tags: Art, grant, nea, Yosi Sergant
Posted Sep 25th 2009 at 5:39 pm in Art, Political Humor | 23599441 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/dburge/2009/09/25/art-will-not-be-silenced-win-a-33-18-grant-from-the-iowahawk-endowment-for-the-arts/Art+Will+Not+Be+Silenced%21+--+Win+a+%2433.18+Grant+From+the+Iowahawk+Endowment+for+the+Arts2009-09-26+00%3A39%3A48Iowahawk

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

WSJ to NEA: Where’s Yosi?

James Taranto, WSJ’s Best of the Web:

What we found peculiar about [Chairman Rocco Landesman's] statement, however, was its punctiliousness in referring to the NEA man involved. His name is Yosi Sergant, but you wouldn’t know it from the Landesman statement, which refers to him only as an “employee” (twice) and as “the former NEA Director of Communications” (three times). The statement also asserts: “This employee has been relieved of his duties as director of communications.”

Where’s Yosi?

Wow, Yosi Sergant must really be persona non grata at the NEA! Well, not exactly. We wrote back to Hutter, and the following email exchange–quoted in full–ensued:

Taranto: Thanks. What happened to “the former NEA Director of Communications”? I’ve read that he was reassigned, but what was he reassigned to?

Hutter: James: He remains in the communications office but that’s all the information I have. Thanks.

(more…)

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Tags: NEA. James Taranto, WSJ, Yosi Sergant
Posted Sep 23rd 2009 at 4:35 pm in Art, Politics | 23409025 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bighollywood/2009/09/23/wsj-to-nea-wheres-yosi/WSJ+to+NEA%3A+Where%27s+Yosi%3F2009-09-23+23%3A35%3A48Big+Hollywood

BREAKING: NEA Chairman Addresses Aug 10 Conf. Call

The former NEA Director of Communications acted unilaterally and without the approval or authorization of then-Acting Chairman Patrice Walker Powell.

Washington Times:

STATEMENT FROM NEA CHAIRMAN ROCCO LANDESMAN

September 22, 2009

As chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, I would like to clarify the issues concerning an August conference call in which an NEA employee participated.

Here are the facts.

Fact 1:             The former NEA Director of Communications helped organize and participated in an August 10th conference call to introduce members of the arts community to United We Serve and to provide them with information on how the Corporation for National and Community Service can assist groups interested in sponsoring service projects or having their members volunteer on other projects.   

Fact 2:             The former NEA Director of Communications acted unilaterally and without the approval or authorization of then-Acting Chairman Patrice Walker Powell.

Fact 3:             This call was not a means to promote any legislative agenda and any suggestions to that end are simply false.   Rather, the call was to inform members of the arts community of an opportunity to become involved in volunteerism. (more…)

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Tags: nea, rocco landesman, Yosi Sergant
Posted Sep 22nd 2009 at 2:55 pm in Art, Politics | 233270110 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bighollywood/2009/09/22/breaking-nea-chairman-addresses-aug-10-conf-call/BREAKING%3A+NEA+Chairman+Addresses+Aug+10+Conf.+Call+2009-09-22+21%3A55%3A51Big+Hollywood

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

Radical: Who is Yosi Sergant, Why Did the NEA ‘Reassign’ Him?

Other than the National Endowment for the Arts’ already tenuous reputation, the only casualty in the NEA conference call episode has been Yosi Sergant, the former Director of Communications for the public agency charged with funding arts organizations in America.

On September 10, the NEA announced that Sergant would be re-assigned with this curious statement accompanying the move:

“On August tenth, the National Endowment for the Arts participated in a call with arts organizations to inform them of the president’s call to national service. The White House office of public engagement also participated in the call, which provided information on how the Corporation for National and Community Service can assist groups interested in sponsoring service projects or having their members volunteer on other projects. This call was not a means to promote any legislative agenda and any suggestions to that end are simply false. The NEA regularly does outreach to various organizations to inform of the work we are doing and the resources available to them.”

This statement leads any objective and reasonable observer to wonder why Mr. Sergant would be “re-assigned” if there was nothing wrong with this purely “information/outreach” conference call. As has often been the case with this, the most open and transparent administration in history, it is very difficult to get a straight answer. We can’t even learn WHAT Sergant’s new position is, let alone why he was asked to step down from his role as Communications Director. (more…)

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Tags: manifest hope, national endowment for the arts, nea, Shepard Fairey, Spike Lee
Posted Sep 22nd 2009 at 5:03 am in Art, Featured Story, Politics | 23059451 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/sright/2009/09/22/radical-who-is-yosi-sergant-why-did-the-nea-reassign-him/Radical%3A+Who+is+Yosi+Sergant%2C+Why+Did+the+NEA+%27Reassign%27+Him%3F2009-09-22+12%3A03%3A29Stage+Right

Serve.gov Somebody: NEA’s ‘Onramp for Agents of Change’

“It may be the Devil, or it may be the Lord. But, you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” – Bob Dylan

“Rule #7: A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.” – Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals

For a presidential candidate to dispatch his agents of Change® to recruit artists & entertainers into his campaign is one thing. He understandably wished to avoid becoming old news. Heck, even radical activists get bored. So, to maintain their excitement and involvement, professional community organizers must constantly devise new tactics. And, as so many enjoy smugly reminding us all, “the ‘One’ won!”

Poli-end-zone-dances notwithstanding, for the President of the United States of America to use the power of his Office and the lure of his NEA’s favor, potential grant funds and the ideological “yes, we-can-change-the-world” Hope® & prestige for artists to create promotional propaganda for his Serve.gov & Corporation for National & Community Service partisan political agenda, produces an entirely different pattern and data set. (more…)

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Tags: Buffy Wicks, Corporation for National & Community Service, healthcare, healthcare reform, National Endowment for the Arts (NEW)
Posted Sep 21st 2009 at 5:58 pm in Culture, Law, News, Politics | 23191432 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/abaldwin/2009/09/21/serve-gov-somebody-neas-onramp-for-agents-of-change/Serve.gov+Somebody%3A+NEA%E2%80%99s+%27Onramp+for+Agents+of+Change%272009-09-22+00%3A58%3A36Adam+Baldwin

Taxpayer-Funded Propaganda: The ABC’s of the NEA Conference Call

Today, Big Hollywood released a full audio recording and transcript of the NEA conference call. A full review of the call reveals several new and more troubling aspects to what transpired on the August 10^th phone call. What is inescapable is that the origin of the call reaches into the highest offices of the White House. It is clear, from the transcript, that the call was orchestrated by the Office of Public Engagement, whose Director, Valerie Jarrett, is among the closest advisors to President and First Lady Obama. It is also apparent that Ms. Jarrett’s office directed the involvement of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Corporation for National and Community Service, two independent federal agencies. (This is important, as neither is officially part of the executive branch.)

At the very beginning of the call, the general ‘moderator’ of the call, Michael Skolnik, political director for Hip-Hop mogul Russell Simmons, explains the genesis of the call:

I have been asked by people in the White House and folks in the NEA about a month ago in a conversation that was had. We had the idea that I would help bring together the independent artists community around the country.

This is important, because in the immediate aftermath of the breaking story, the NEA has tried to state that a ‘third party’ organized the call. This clearly isn’t true. The e-mail invitation to the call was sent from Mr. Sargent’s government-provided NEA e-mail address. In addition, as the transcript reveals, Mr. Sloknik was “asked” by the White House and NEA to organize the call.

(more…)

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Tags: ACORN, Americans for the Arts, Barack Obama, Buffy Wicks, Corporation for National and Community Service
Posted Sep 21st 2009 at 3:31 pm in Art, Culture, Politics | 231738No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mikeflynn/2009/09/21/taxpayer-funded-propaganda-the-abcs-of-the-nea-conference-call/Taxpayer-Funded+Propaganda%3A+The+ABC%E2%80%99s+of+the+NEA+Conference+Call+2009-09-21+22%3A31%3A56Mike+Flynn

ANOTHER White House/Artist Meeting?: ‘Department of Alternative Thinking’ Proposed

Kerry Picket at the Washington Times reports today:

The Obama administration apparently met with 60 artists and creative organizers as early as May 12 according to an online document  (downloadable)by the Pratt Center for Community Development, State Voices, Arlene Goldbard, and the Nathan Cummings Foundation.  Other artists(link1 link 2)have corroborated this meeting happened. (h/t machogirl from FR)

Here are the bullet points from an online document called a “White House Briefing” report, though that has not yet been confirmed: (more…)

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Tags: arts, Department of Alternative Thinking, nea, Obama, Yosi Sergant
Posted Sep 21st 2009 at 2:52 pm in Art, Politics | 23161051 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bighollywood/2009/09/21/another-white-houseartist-meeting-department-of-alternative-thinking-proposed/ANOTHER+White+House%2FArtist+Meeting%3F%3A+%27Department+of+Alternative+Thinking%27+Proposed2009-09-21+21%3A52%3A00Big+Hollywood

The NEA, The White House, The Lies and The Cover-Up

Big Hollywood today reveals the extensive proof that shows the White House used the National Endowment for the Arts to push a political agenda favorable to President Obama. But it gets worse: the Administration lied about it, and tried to cover it up.

You already know the background: an NEA spokesman participated in a conference call designed to encourage artists to further Obama’s legislative agenda. This was revealed back in August at Big Hollywood. What is new today is the full transcript of the call — and how clearly the NEA was involved in urging artists to propagandize for Obama.

Naturally, the NEA and the Obama administration denied this. According to the Los Angeles Times (in a blog post, of course, and not an actual newsprint story), the NEA denied any purpose to further a legislative agenda:

The NEA issued a statement saying that it took part in the conference to help inform arts organizations about opportunities to sponsor volunteer service projects themselves, or have their members take part in other volunteer efforts. “This call was not a means to promote any legislative agenda, and any suggestions to that end are simply false,” the statement said. (more…)

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Tags: ACORN, Buffy Wicks, Def-Jam, health care, Michael Skolnik
Posted Sep 21st 2009 at 1:00 pm in Art, Law, News, Politics | 23093873 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/patterico/2009/09/21/the-nea-the-white-house-the-lies-and-the-cover-up/The+NEA%2C+The+White+House%2C+The+Lies+and+The+Cover-Up2009-09-21+20%3A00%3A32Patterico

Demand Congressional Investigation: NEA Conference Call Broke Laws

In the aftermath of the Andrew Breitbart/James O’Keefe/Hannah Giles-broken ACORN scandal, President Obama and his allies in Congress have distanced themselves from the community organizing goliath.  Congress has cut off funds, and Obama has refused to speak about the matter.  End of story, right?

Wrong.

There’s only one problem: the ACORN mentality – pinpointing and mobilizing particular groups in support of a radical-left agenda – is no longer restricted to government-funded private non-profits like ACORN.  The ACORN mentality now dominates the government itself.  Taxpayer dollars are being used by elected officials to encourage the deification of President Obama and his agenda.  And one of the chief organs of the government propaganda machine is the National Endowment for the Arts.

Let’s start from the beginning.  On August 25, artist Patrick Courrielche told the story of a conference call he attended on August 10.  That conference call was hosted by the NEA, the White House Office of Public Engagement, and United We Serve.  The goal of the conference call: “to help lay a new foundation for growth, focusing on core areas of the recovery agenda – health care, energy and environment, safety and security, education, community renewal.”  The call would push “a group of artists, producers, promoters, organizers, influencers, marketers, taste-makers, leaders or just plain cool people to join together and work together to promote a more civically engaged America and celebrate how the arts can be used for a positive change!” (more…)

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Tags: "Scrubs", ACORN, Americans for the Arts, Americans for the Arts Artists Committee, Anti-Lobbying Act
Posted Sep 21st 2009 at 11:11 am in Art, Law, News, Politics | 231114116 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bshapiro/2009/09/21/demand-congressional-investigation-nea-conference-call-broke-laws/Demand+Congressional+Investigation%3A+NEA+Conference+Call+Broke+Laws2009-09-21+18%3A11%3A00Ben+Shapiro

Propaganda, Health Care and ACORN: Full Context of NEA Conference Call Reveals Disturbing Pattern

At first glance, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) conference call of August 10th, 2009 sounds innocent enough because it’s supposedly been organized by Michael Skolnik, political director for Russell Simmons and someone not officially associated with any government agency. Skolnik appears to be acting independently as a concerned citizen and to have taken it upon himself to gather together a group of artists and art organizations hoping to move them towards “national service.” And how nice of the White House, the federal government and the NEA to make the time to participate in the call and aid this group of American artists motivated to help their country and community.

But this is only how things appear.

All evidence points to the fact that the conference call was a ruse, a front for a White House using Skolnik as a kind of beard in order to put an innocent spin on their abuse of the NEA and two non-partisan volunteer organizations (United We Serve – an initiative overseen by The Corporation for National and Community Service – a federal agency, and the White House’ Office of Public Engagement).

The goal: To motivate a group of hand-picked pro-Obama artists (grant recipients or those wanting grants) to push the President’s flagging agenda, especially health care — and to funnel this promotion through the ACORN related- Serve.gov website. 

***

Documentation gathered by Big Hollywood’s Patrick Courrielche and the Washington Times, coupled with a newly revealed audio recording of the full conference call, points to eight troubling facts that put the full context of the call in a very disturbing light. (more…)

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Tags: ACORN, Buffy Wicks, health care, Michael Skolnik, national endowment for the arts
Posted Sep 21st 2009 at 9:29 am in Art, Politics | 22996691 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/09/21/propaganda-health-care-and-acorn-full-context-of-nea-conference-call-reveals-disturbing-pattern/Propaganda%2C+Health+Care+and+ACORN%3A+Full+Context+of+NEA+Conference+Call+Reveals+Disturbing+Pattern2009-09-21+16%3A29%3A33John+Nolte

EXPLOSIVE NEW AUDIO Reveals White House Using NEA to Push Partisan Agenda

**NEA conference call full audio and transcript here**

Should the National Endowment for the Arts encourage artists to create art on issues being vehemently debated nationally?

That is the question that I set out to discuss a little over three weeks ago when I wrote an article on Big Hollywood entitled The National Endowment for the Art of Persuasion?”

The question still requires debate but the facts do not.

The NEA and the White House did encourage a handpicked, pro-Obama arts group to address politically controversial issues under contentious national debate. That fact is irrefutable.

President Obama with the NEA’s Yosi Sergant

But some have claimed that the invite and passages, pulled from the conference call that inspired the article, were taken out of context. Context is what I intend to establish here.

On August 10th, the National Endowment for the Arts, the White House Office of Public Engagement, and the Corporation for National and Community Service hosted a conference call with a handpicked arts group. This arts group played a key role in Obama’s arts effort during his election campaign, as declared by the organizers of the call, and many on the call played a role in the now famous Obama Hope poster. (more…)

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Tags: Americans for the Arts, Barack Obama, Corporation for National and Community Service, health care, Hope poster
Posted Sep 21st 2009 at 8:34 am in Art, Featured Story, Politics | 227610590 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pcourrielche/2009/09/21/explosive-new-audio-reveals-white-house-using-nea-to-push-partisan-agenda/EXPLOSIVE+NEW+AUDIO+Reveals+White+House+Using+NEA+to+Push+Partisan+Agenda2009-09-21+15%3A34%3A22Patrick+Courrielche

Full NEA Conference Call Transcript and Audio

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Full NEA Conference Call Transcript and Audio –

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Tags: Americans for the Arts, Barack Obama, Corporation for National and Community Service, health care, Hope poster
Posted Sep 21st 2009 at 8:31 am in Art, Politics | 231094154 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pcourrielche/2009/09/21/full-nea-conference-call-transcript-and-audio/Full+NEA+Conference+Call+Transcript+and+Audio2009-09-21+15%3A31%3A46Patrick+Courrielche

Pregame Report: The NEA Conference Call

On August 25th 2009, Big Hollywood’s Patrick Courrielche broke the story of a conference call he attended with other “rising artist and art community luminaries”:

On Thursday August 6th, I was invited by the National Endowment for the Arts to attend a conference call scheduled for Monday August 10th hosted by the NEA, the White House Office of Public Engagement, and United We Serve. The call would include “a group of artists, producers, promoters, organizers, influencers, marketers, taste-makers, leaders or just plain cool people to join together and work together to promote a more civically engaged America and celebrate how the arts can be used for a positive change!” 

The email invite came directly from Yosi Sergant, then-Director of Communications at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and it advised this hand-picked group that the call was about laying “a new foundation for growth, focusing on core areas of the recovery agenda – health care, energy and environment, safety and security, education, community renewal.” 

Courrielche describes the call this way: (more…)

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Tags: 'Health Care Reform, big government, Buffy Wicks, Dana Loesch, George Will
Posted Sep 20th 2009 at 6:43 pm in Art, Politics | 230454221 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mflynnjnolte/2009/09/20/pregame-report-the-nea-conference-call/Pregame+Report%3A+The+NEA+Conference+Call2009-09-21+01%3A43%3A02Mike+Flynn+and+John+Nolte

Mainstream Media: The Devil Wears Pravda

From the riots and chaos of the 1960s to the anti-war rallies of the Bush years, the American Left’s revolution has been widely televised. In fact, the Big Three and Dead Tree Press played a major part in that revolution. From negative field reporting during the Vietnam War to negative reporting on McCain/Palin and the beatification and election of Barack Obama, the MSM has been marching in lockstep and waving the banner for the American Left all the way. RatherGate, anyone? Doesn’t get much more lockstep than a reporter trying to subvert a presidential election to the Left’s advantage.

But there’s another revolution underway in America today, and you sure as hell won’t see it televised or reported on by our new fourth branch of government. It’s not in their interest to do so. Nothing new there. For a long time now, political corruption has been rampant in the Leftist ‘mainstream’ media. In 1998, Matt Drudge made his big mark breaking the Monica Lewinsky scandal, which Newsweek had buried to protect President Clinton. Think Obama’s Tiger Beat would have done that for Bush? (more…)

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Tags: ACORN, American Left, Animal Farm, Barack Obama, child prostitution
Posted Sep 19th 2009 at 5:31 pm in Featured Story, Media Criticism, Politics, Television | 22600676 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jtsimpson/2009/09/19/mainstream-media-the-devil-wears-pravda/Mainstream+Media%3A+The+Devil+Wears+Pravda2009-09-20+00%3A31%3A21John+T.+Simpson

Wash Times: NEA Crossed Line From Persuasion to Coercion

Washington Times Editorial:

National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman owes American taxpayers an explanation.

Last month, a top NEA official gathered artists and arts organizations in a conference call that also included a White House official and clearly asked the arts community to get behind the administration’s agenda, including the current top priority, health care. A mere 48 hours after the request, 21 art organizations led by an arts lobbying organization, Americans for the Arts, released the first of two public statements endorsing health care reform and urging Congress to act.

Rocco Landesman

Such a meeting would be disturbing enough — a grant-maker backed by the White House asking grant recipients to support the administration agenda crosses the line from persuasion to coercion. Artists and arts groups that want funding from the NEA to continue cannot help but feel pressure to comply with the administration’s wishes. That alone is wrong.

Health reform backers get seven-figure grants

However, when you add in the nearly $2 million the NEA handed out to those very arts organizations in the four months before the conference call — including more than $1 million in stimulus funds — it is time to start wondering whether a line has been crossed from merely unethical into the land of special prosecutors. Such an investigation might be the only way to get straight answers. (more…)

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Tags: nea, rocco landesman, White House, Yosi Sergant
Posted Sep 15th 2009 at 9:49 am in Art, Politics | 22543032 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bighollywood/2009/09/15/wash-times-nea-crossed-line-from-persuasion-to-coercion/Wash+Times%3A+NEA+Crossed+Line+From+Persuasion+to+Coercion2009-09-15+16%3A49%3A37Big+Hollywood

NEA SCANDAL: The Public Still Deserves Answers From the NEA

The Washington Times is reporting that Yosi Sergant is no longer Communications Director of the National Endowment for the Arts.
 
I find this troubling on several fronts. First, it is always unfortunate when someone loses their job and I do not celebrate in the news of Mr. Sergant’s removal from his Communications Director position. However, he is a public servant and there are consequences for the behavior he displayed once the news of the conference call was released.

Yosi Sergant

But more troubling has been the National Endowment for the Arts’ reaction to conference call inquiries. The position that the National Endowment for the Arts is taking is that the agency was solely a participant on the call and any suggestion that the call was meant to promote a legislative agenda is “simply false.” I believe further review of the invite and audio recordings from the conference call will lead to a different conclusion – clearly revealing the intent of the call as well as the NEA’s role in initiating the meeting.

(more…)

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Tags: nea, Obama, ObamaCare, Yosi Sergant
Posted Sep 10th 2009 at 12:04 pm in Art, Featured Story, Politics | 22190262 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pcourrielche/2009/09/10/the-public-deserves-answers-from-the-nea/NEA+SCANDAL%3A+The+Public+Still+Deserves+Answers+From+the+NEA2009-09-10+19%3A04%3A56Patrick+Courrielche

A Head Rolls at the NEA: Communications Director Asked to Resign — UPDATE: ‘Reassigned’ Not ‘Resigned’

UPDATE: Wash. Times is reporting Sergant has not resigned from the NEA, but was reassigned. He “is no longer Director of Communications.”  END UPDATE. 

From the Washington Times:

Yosi Sergant has been asked to resign from his post as Communications Director for the National Endowment for the Arts[.]

Big Hollywood’s  Partrick Courrielche broke the story of these – to say the least – controversial NEA conference calls on August 25th, calls obviously designed to promote President Obama’s domestic agenda, especially health care.  

The Washington Times picked up on the story, contacted NEA Communications Director Sergant and asked him about the calls. He denied the NEA was responsible for sending out the conference call email invitations: (more…)

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Tags: culture war, George Will, Glenn Beck, Huffington Post, Michael Skolnick
Posted Sep 10th 2009 at 10:18 am in Art, Featured Story, News, Politics | 22182630 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/09/10/breaking-nea-asks-communications-director-yosi-sergant-to-resign/A+Head+Rolls+at+the+NEA%3A+Communications+Director+Asked+to+Resign+--+UPDATE%3A+%27Reassigned%27+Not+%27Resigned%272009-09-10+17%3A18%3A24John+Nolte

UPDATE: What the NEA Says Vs. Documented Facts

What does it mean when a government official evades the truth?

On August 25th, I published an article discussing a conference call hosted by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the White House Office of Public Engagement, and United We Serve that invited a group of art community luminaries “to help lay a new foundation for growth, focusing on core areas of the recovery agenda – health care, energy and environment, safety and security, education, community renewal.”

In the article I argued that it was not the role of the National Endowment for the Arts to use the arts to address specific issues, especially those of “health care” and “energy and environment” that are being vehemently debated nationally. I also clearly indicated that I was invited by the NEA and questioned their involvement in a meeting of this nature.

Two days later an article was published in the Washington Times that referenced my account of the conference call. Kerry Picket reported in the article that she “asked the NEA for a copy of the invitation to the conference call, but Communications Director for the NEA Yosi Sergant told us that they were not the ones who sent out the invitations for the conference call.” Picket continues, “Mr. Sergant directed us to the Corporation for National and Community Service as the body that sent out the invitations.”  (more…)

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Tags: Corporation for National and Community Service, Foxnews.com, health care, Johsua Miller, Kerry Picket
Posted Aug 31st 2009 at 11:34 am in Art, Featured Story, Media Criticism, Politics | 214754162 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pcourrielche/2009/08/31/contradictions-are-revealing-politicizing-the-nea/UPDATE%3A+What+the+NEA+Says+Vs.+Documented+Facts2009-08-31+18%3A34%3A59Patrick+Courrielche

The National Endowment for the Art of Persuasion?

I recently wrote a critique of the art community’s lack of dissent in the face of many controversial decisions made by the current administration. Entitled “The Artist Formerly Known as Dissident,” one of the key points argued in the article was the potential danger associated with the use of the art community as a tool of the state. Little did I know how quickly this concern would be elevated to an outright probability. 

Sometime between when I finished the critique and when it went live online, I was invited by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to take part in a conference call that invited a group of rising artist and art community luminaries “to help lay a new foundation for growth, focusing on core areas of the recovery agenda – health care, energy and environment, safety and security, education, community renewal.”  (more…)

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Tags: "The Artist Formerly Known as Dissident", 'Health Care Reform, Buffy Wicks, Cap and Trade, Lyndon B. Johnson
Posted Aug 25th 2009 at 12:44 pm in Art, Culture, Featured Story, Politics | 209182602 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pcourrielche/2009/08/25/the-national-endowment-for-the-art-of-persuasion-patrick-courrielche/The+National+Endowment+for+the+Art+of+Persuasion%3F2009-08-25+19%3A44%3A51Patrick+Courrielche