[guest post by Dana]

The Obama administration is planning to spend $400,000 to commission a camel staring through the eye of an over-sized needle sculpture from American artist, John Baldessari. The camel sculpture will be installed in front of the American Embassy in Pakistan. The art is called, “Camel Contemplating Needle.” It is reflective of the New Testament and Qur’an teachings about the difficulty those who are wealthy have in entering heaven

Buzzfeed posted a government document which described the sculpture as, “large 500lb fiberglass aluminum, stainless steel, acrylic and painted contemporary art piece.”

The “Camel Contemplating Needle” commission is being defended by the United States. The U.S. State Department is claiming that the price of the artwork was ‘reasonable’ and it reflected ‘the values of a predominantly Islamist country’.

From U.S State Department’s press spokeswoman, Christine Foushee,

‘The proposed purchase comes from the department’s Office of Art in Embassies.

‘In new construction projects, a small part of the total funds, about 0.5%, is spent on art purchases.’

Also, from the federal website, John Kerry explains,

“For fifty years, Art in Embassies has played an active diplomatic role by creating meaningful cultural exchange through the visual arts. The exhibitions, permanent collections and artist exchanges connect people from the farthest corners of an international community. Extending our reach, amplifying our voice, and demonstrating our inclusiveness are strategic imperatives for America.

Art in Embassies cultivates relationships that transcend boundaries, building trust, mutual respect and understanding among peoples. It is a fulcrum of America’s global leadership as we continue to work for freedom, human rights and peace around the world.”

Two points:

– The average annual income in Pakistan is $1,250.

– Last year, a comprehensive list of Government waste was posted by the NRCC. Should this latest project be posted on the list, perhaps after the $100,000 on taxpayer funded comedy group tour in India? Or maybe after the $697,177 on a climate change musical?

–Dana

Some grumps are calling this bad news?

The Republicans just got a big gift from the Congressional Budget Office: It’s going to be a lot easier for them to call Obamacare a “job killer.”

That’s because the budget office’s new economic report, released Tuesday, says the health care law will cause Americans to work fewer hours — enough to be the equivalent of 2 million fewer jobs in 2017.

The latest number is nearly three times as high as the budget office’s previous prediction, and it’s supposed to rise in later years to the equivalent of 2.5 million jobs in 2024.

Yay! People finally get to work fewer hours!

In a recent piece on immigration, Scott Martelle of the L.A. Times tacitly accepts the argument that all illegal immigrants should be deported. The piece begins:

Sometime over the past couple of weeks, officials for the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement division revised guidelines for how agents are to conduct themselves in and around courthouses.

The change came on the heels of complaints by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Poverty Law Center and immigrant rights groups that agents were targeting undocumented immigrants as they tended to unrelated court business. Unfortunately, ICE says that “due to law enforcement sensitivities, the specific details of that guidance are not being released.”

Although the piece addresses issues surrounding immigration, it does not reject the notion that all illegal immigrants should be deported. And as we all know, according to Scott Martelle, “to not reject is tacit acceptance.”

This post is the first in a series on surprising positions tacitly accepted by Scott Martelle.