Koch, suckers!
Cher public, you may be interested or alarmed (as the case may be) to glean a little more information about the namesake of the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, home to, among others, the New York City Opera.
Mr. Koch is chairman of the board of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, which finances such right-wing front groups as the Tax Day Tea Party (AKA “Teabagging”) and Patients United Now, an “AstroTurfing” shell organization dedicated to the prevention of health care reform.
So, cher public, come November, as you lean back in your plush red velvet seats and regale your ears with the dulcet tones of Weisgall’s Esther, just do keep in mind that those dulcet strains are brought to you by David H. Koch, co-author (at several removes) of this recent performance piece:
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#43 whatever the resemblances between Koch and Hitler and there may be none or some (I won’t go into all that), there is no excuse for his money going to incite rioters to SHUT DOWN meetings where the facts of the medical legislation are being discussed. His good deeds don’t excuse that. So we agree that he does some good things and is doing some bad things. We have to leave it at that unless we want to tax away more of his money so he can’t make these decisions himself.
It may surprise some to know that a lot of the major donors to the arts are conservatives. They are typically people who believe in less govn’t spending and the power and responsiblity of the private sector to make charitable contributions.
There is enough of this political right wingnut fucking shit on the news and blogs, including such stuff as the idiot “C” (to be nice), Palin’s calling part of Obama’s health plan a “death panel.”
This country has gone out of its mind!!!!!~
I just wish this crap didn’t appear on opera blogs, etc. It’s sickening enough reading about this stuff on a daily basis.
kashania(52#)Point taken but….It is those whimsical private charitable contributions rather than legislated ‘ongoing’ Govt monies in times of financial crisis (such as now)…that evaporate more quickly and bring the likes of opera companies to their knees. At least governments have to answer to the public, private donors do not.
Rich people are not imbeciles otherwise they would not have their wealth for long. Taking that tack, one must always ask ‘why did they take the decision to contribute’(large amounts)? They never spend their money unless there is a considered personal investment benefit. Is it just a pure love of Art or simply buying influence? Knowing to what degree : is their sheer separated and unfettered detachment between those two points, is the real answer.
All you people are sorry NOW that you complained about Marie Antoinette and King Ludwig when THEY were in charge of funding opera.
Harry: Sometimes it’s out of genuine generosity (yes, even from conservatives
) but the driving factor for making major gifts is usually personal legacy. Donors love having their names attached to a building or a fund or a production.
Harry: The government has to answer to the public??? If that were the case the government wouldn’t be able to have the prerogative to dismiss lawsuits against itself.
When was the last time you audited the government to find out what the hell they were doing with your tax money, anyways? That’s the rub, though- the government *can’t* be audited, and it has no competition. Private donors can be pressured, specially if they own businesses, by voting with your money. When it comes to government, you can’t suddenly support another government- sorry, babe, but you’ve got it toosh-backwards here.
BOO!
Hans lick (Commnent 55#) Can I be cheeky and a little bit wicked, reflecting about the loss of Ludwig-like benefactors funding Opera, today? ‘Where are the Wagner types today, willing to drop and get into the pants of the ‘Ludwigs’ for the money to mount lavish productions continuously ? Perhaps opera companies should employ a team of money – enabling ‘extra-service providers’ to achieve the aim, for them. A project that could be called : “On a roll, providing a roll to get a money roll”
#59, Harry: I’ll be further wicked and suggest a rough estimate is that half the present day opera managers “drop pants” all the time for money, either they or their surrogates. Sometimes for music critics, too.
I have always assumed that’s how certain
companies get such consistently excellent reviews. Now now…..I was just
joking!