The US Senate has voted on an amendment to the economic recovery bill with a massive 73-24 majority. The amendment will make sure (bold italics are Opera Chic's) that
None of the amounts appropriated or otherwise made available by this
Act may be used for any casino or other gambling establishment,
aquarium, zoo, golf course, swimming pool, stadium, community park,
museum, theater, art center, and highway beautification project.
Three quarters of the Senate -- a legislative body that has as of late voted to bail out AIG with $85 billion, Bank of America and Citibank with $48 billion each, not to mention six years worth of votes in favor of the Iraq war expenditures -- think that arts are "wasteful" and/or "non-stimulative" (or better yet, in the quite Baudrillardian spelling invented by the Library of Congress, "non-simulative").
To see how your Senator voted, click here.