One of the mysteries surrounding the nearly trillion-dollar economic "recovery" bill that Congress and President Obama pushed through in February was the $50 million that was earmarked for the arts.

Not even a drop in the proverbial bucket, this line item looked more like a calculated insult by the perennial "no tax dollars for the arts" caucus — a thin dime cynically tossed into the cup of the National Endowment for the Arts as they rolled the wheelbarrows full of cash right by them and into the vaults of the corporate robber barons.

Or was it a mistake? Perhaps the NEA wasn't supposed to get any of the recovery money, but a typo resulted in "Zilch" being turned into "$50 million." Or maybe it was just a goof by some rube who thought it'd be a real kick to toss a bone to the NEA, like inviting someone no one likes to the party, just to see what will happen. Since no one read the bill before the vote, we may never know. But no matter how that thin, dull dime ended up in the weathered hands of the NEA, now the agency actually has to distribute the funds as quickly as possible.

To view the rest of this article, pick up a copy of Artillery Magazine your local art gallery or subscribe now for home delivery.