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The Emperor Fabulous
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Apolyton's Resident Actor-in-Training
Aug 1999
time: 00:21
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quote:
Ashcroft Gone, Justice Statues Disrobe
By MARK SHERMAN
The Associated Press
Friday, June 24, 2005; 7:24 PM
WASHINGTON -- With barely a word about it, workers at the Justice Department Friday removed the blue drapes that have famously covered two scantily clad statues for the past 3 1/2 years.
Spirit of Justice, with her one breast exposed and her arms raised, and the bare-chested male Majesty of Law basked in the late afternoon light of Justice's ceremonial Great Hall.
The drapes, installed in 2002 at a cost of $8,000, allowed then-Attorney General John Ashcroft to speak in the Great Hall without fear of a breast showing up behind him in television or newspaper pictures. They also provoked jokes about and criticism of the deeply religious Ashcroft.
The 12-foot, 6-inch aluminum statues were installed shortly after the building opened in the 1930s.
With a change in leadership at Justice, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales faced the question: Would they stay or would they go?
He regularly deflected the question, saying he had weightier issues before him.
Paul R. Corts, the assistant attorney general for administration, recommended the drapes be removed and Gonzales signed off on it, spokesman Kevin Madden said, while refusing to allow The Associated Press to photograph the statues Friday.
In the past, snagging a photo of the attorney general in front of the statues has been somewhat of a sport for photographers.
When former Attorney General Edwin Meese released a report on pornography in the 1980s, photographers dived to the floor to capture the image of him raising the report in the air, with the partially nude female statue behind him.
The first attorney general to use the blue drapery was Republican Richard Thornburgh, attorney general under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He had the drapery put up only for a few occasions when he was appearing in the Great Hall, rather than permanently installed as it was under Ashcroft.
Most news conferences now are held in a state-of-the-art conference room, although the Great Hall still hosts speeches and other special events.
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I think we should charge Ashcroft $8,000 for his pointless display of puritanism.
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shawnmmcc
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And Imran, if he is using his real name, could very well be of Christian background. I never asked if he or his family is Moslem - and if they are Sunni, Shia, Sufi (and which variant) or if they are Christian, and which flavor, or even if the name is Middle Eastern, though it appears that way. Conversely, I know just enough culturally about that part of the world to shove my foot up my a***e, so I haven't asked though I am curious.
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Lefty Scaevola
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San Antonio TX USA
Oct 2000
time: 23:21
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quote:
Originally posted by The Emperor Fabulous I think we should charge Ashcroft $8,000 for his pointless display of puritanism. |
Stupid twit. Keeping them REUALARLY robed during senior officail appearances began in the Clinton adminnistration, under Janet Reno, with rented drapes (from a connected contrator) at a cost of about $5000 per event, What Ashcroft change was to save tens of thousand of taxpayer dollars by buying the drapes, instead of renting them. Buying them was to cut off a boondoggle to a Clinton crony.
The impetus to thus robbed them came from some the behavior of some ******* photogs (statered When Meese was AG, but the First few occasion with drapes was when Thornburg was AG). The stature are so high, that to even get them and the speaker in the picture, they had to dive out of their seat and lie on the floor in front of the podium. It was to stop this disruptive behavior that the practice began, rather than excessive modesty by the various AGs in differnet admins. I think it would have been better simply to ban any press member who pulled the stupid stunt (and one that makes the security personel a bit nervous), but I guess they the AGs did not want to open that can of worms and take the heat for that.
And yes all htis info was readily available in stories from major news services, even as the Urban Legend of Ashcroft and the drapes was evolving.
Last edited by Lefty Scaevola on 25-06-2005 at 20:11
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Lefty Scaevola
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San Antonio TX USA
Oct 2000
time: 23:21
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quote:
Originally posted by Spiffor
Unless the workers get paid in the hundreds/thousands for doing the job (which I doubt), the money goes mostly to the drape itself and to the administrative stuff for that kind of crap. What kind of drape can cost so many thousands? |
For low end party rentals (not spetecalar chairs, tables, table cloths, decorations) it is mostly service charge, the cost of buying the equivilent all the stuff (remember it is typically well used and depreciated) would typically on a SMALL mulitple (maybe 2 to 4 times) of the rental. The ratio would be diffent for high end stuff like you would have at a fancy ball or recpetion.
As for top quality drapes they are pricey, particularly in unusual sizes. Good standard size window drapes for a small house can runs to several thousands. I have seen over $1000 for just one room.
Top quality material and workmnaship for windows drapes is one of those status things (I get along fine with mini-blinds, myself)
Last edited by Lefty Scaevola on 25-06-2005 at 20:30
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The Emperor Fabulous
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Apolyton's Resident Actor-in-Training
Aug 1999
time: 00:21
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Lefty: Thanks for the insult. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find anything on that, apart from some conservative rantings on blogs and message boards. Doesn't even seem like you guys can get the numbers straight, as I've seen $2,000, $3,000, $5,000, and $8,000 being thrown around.
A qualified source would be nice.
Some things that followed Ashcroft:
quote:
POLICE IN TEXAS TOWN FORCE GALLERY TO COVER BREASTS OF CLASSIC NUDE
PILOT POINT, TEXAS
Wes Miller, who owns the gallery containing a mural of a nude woman, was told by police officers that unless the nude's breasts were covered he would be in violation of Texas Penal Code 43.24 which bans the sale, distribution and display of material "harmful to minors."
The artist, who painted the nude, draped a bright yellow strip of canvas with the words "crime scene" across Eve's bare breasts. Next to the mock crime scene was a black banner stating: "Temporarily censored." The police are satisfied that the strip of canvas across the bare breasts complies with the law.
The Texas office of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) have come to the gallery's and artist's defense.
The mural is reminiscent of Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam" fresco in the Sistine Chapel. It depicts a large hand pointing to an apple and a classical female nude on the other side contemplating the same apple.
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quote:
TENNESSEE ARTS COMMISSION ESTABLISHES 'NO NUDES' POLICY AT ITS GALLERY
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
The Tennessee Arts Commission and its gallery, which are funded by the state of Tennessee and the National Endowment for the Arts, established a "no nudes" policy recently
The gallery had accepted an exhibition proposal from artist Ernie Sandidge in November 2001. After he submitted his work, he was told via a telephone call about the policy. However, after numerous requests, neither the gallery nor the arts commission would produce the policy in writing.
Svetlana Mintcheva, Arts Advocacy Coordinator for the National Coalition Against Censorship said the arts commission's "alleged policy is ridiculously short-sighted and does a great disservice to not only artists but also the many art lovers in Tennessee."
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Last edited by The Emperor Fabulous on 25-06-2005 at 20:48
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Lefty Scaevola
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San Antonio TX USA
Oct 2000
time: 23:21
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quote:
Originally posted by The Emperor Fabulous
Lefty: Thanks for the insult. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find anything on that, apart from some conservative rantings on blogs and message boards. Doesn't even seem like you guys can get the numbers straight, as I've seen $2,000, $3,000, $5,000, and $8,000 being thrown around.
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I see a lot of variance on the rent costs as well, from 2000 to 5000, (and 7900 to 8650 on the purchase) with the best figure seeming to bee about 2100. could have been different amounts at different times over the 7 and a fraction years Reno was there, with perhaps an extra cost on some sort of rush job or mulitple invoices for different parts of the cost on each rental (maybe separte of for just the rent part and for the delivery, install, uninstall, and take home).
The major news sites do not seem to keep older news, but it was regular news sites I saw the story back then (and before, since I can recall the first or the Meese + *** pictures from the Reagan admin).
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25-06-2005 04:57
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