July 17, 2006
Dear Coalition Friends:
A Coalition friend in California pointed out that Tyler Green actually wrote the Op-Ed piece on the Smithsonian, "Save America's Museum," for the Los Angeles Times and that it ran on July 10th under the title "The Air and Space Museum is falling. Why is Congress ignoring neglect at the Smithsonian Institution?"
The Dallas Morning News version we sent out last week trimmed some material, in particular the closing paragraphs regarding Sen. Grassley:
The question Congress should be addressing isn't whether or not the Smithsonian could get away with an entry fee, or whether one TV deal is problematic, it is whether we're going to have a national museum at all in the future. If an institution that saves and shares the American story in history, science, art and culture is worth having, then Congress should make sure that the Smithsonian has the infrastructure - and the independence - necessary to safeguard the nation's heritage.
Recently, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) showed an important sign of concern. He wrote a letter to the White House pointedly asking the Bush administration whether it supports Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small, who has overseen the corporatization of the institution. Grassley is asking the right question. Even if the Smithsonian continued down the corporate-funding path, a series of $15-million donations (the amount Boeing recently gave the Air and Space Museum) is never going to cover the $2.3-billion bill coming due. Perhaps tellingly, the White House responded to Grassley's letter without mentioning Small - or expressing support for him.
The Smithsonian is the nation's museum. That means that funding it is the responsibility of the nation. We'd better do it quickly.
Here is the link to the LA Times story:
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Why is Congress ignoring neglect at the Smithsonian Institution?
By Tyler Green
TYLER GREEN writes and edits Modern Art Notes, a blog about art.
July 10, 2006
THE SMITHSONIAN Institution, our national museum and also a scientific research complex, is at a crisis point. Many of its 20 venues, such as the National Museum of Natural History and the National Air and Space Museum, need tens of millions of dollars in work. Desperate for funds, the Smithsonian has made arguably improper arrangements with big business, and it has accepted funding from corporations with an all-too-obvious interest in what goes on view in the institution's museums. But the real crisis is this: Congress seems to have barely noticed.
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