Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:12:59 +0900
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: [Puptcrit] Pulling U.S. Fed strings


>>> Quincy Jones has started a petition to ask President-Elect Obama to
>>> appoint a Secretary of the Arts.  While many other countries have  
>>> had
>>> Ministers of Art or Culture for centuries, The United States has
>>> never created such a position.  We in the arts need this and the
>>> country needs the arts--now more than ever.  Please take a moment to
>>> sign this important petition and then pass it on to your friends and
>>> colleagues.
>>>
>>> www.petitiononline.com/esnyc/petition.html
>>> <http://www.petitiononline.com/esnyc/petition.html
>>>
>
> A little more detail:
>
>> This links to Bill Ferris' editorial in the New York Times a  
>> couple of
>> weks ago on the point:
>>
>> http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/27/opinion/27ferris.html
>>
>> Dr Ferris wries in part: "Over the years, America has developed an
>> impressive array of federal cultural programs.... Each of these
>> organizations has helped preserve our nation's rich folklore,  its
>> music, stories and traditional arts,  as a uniquely powerful voice  
>> for
>> our culture.
>>
>> "But as chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities from  
>> 1997
>> to 2001, I learned firsthand that these institutions, though  
>> united by
>> a shared goal, can sometimes run into conflict with one another.  
>> There
>> were bureaucratic tangles, overlaps and missteps that, with  
>> foresight,
>> could have been avoided.
>>
>> "Which is why I believe the president should create a cabinet-level
>> position,  a secretary of culture, to provide more cohesive  
>> leadership
>> for these impressive programs and to assure that they receive the
>> recognition and financing they deserve."
>>
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