Where Does The NEA Money Go? II: Quick Update

Hey everyone, just a quick note: I haven't forgotten the NEA data project. I've filed a FOIA request with the NEA from a very helpful woman at their FOIA office, and I should be hearing back from them soon. For the State Arts agencies, I'm giving a call to the National Association of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) today to get the state numbers. As soon as I get the NEA numbers, I'll begin.

The Incredible Transparency of our Government

Sometimes, our government has some incredible transparency. Not always, of course. But I've spent this morning reading through declassified CIA documents regarding the use of torture that make it really, really clear that the CIA's abusive policies began in the 1960s in the School of the Americas, and eventually were brought to the desk of Richard Cheney (exactly 8 years ago yesterday). You can read the manual yourself -- and you can see where someone tried to edit the manual at some point to be in line with international law, and you can see where not only did Cheney agree that these methods should be corrected, but so did his chief of staff Addington. The paper trail is incredible, and all of these documents are in the sunlight.