Let's talk about the Oscar nominations.

So the nominees for the Academy Awards were announced this morning.  I didn't even know; I just happened to look it up knowing they were coming soon.  Once again, I'm behind on seeing most of what are considered the best movies of the year.  The difference this year is that I actually have some real interest in catching some of them before the ceremony.  I still have plans to see several (La La Land and Hidden Figures primarily), but the only Best Picture nominee I have seen so far is Fences, which I thought was a fantastic adaptation of the play.  And while we're talking about that movie, will someone just give Viola Davis a damn Oscar, please??  I'm beginning to think she can do no wrong.  I might need to go watch her Shonda-verse show, I think she is that phenomenal. She was probably the best thing in Suicide Squad, although that's not saying much . . . try again DCEU.

But what I really want to discuss is The Arts in general.  The Tangerine Turd, in his infamous wisdom, has trotted out the old GOP standby of threatening to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.  According to a report on BroadwayWorld.com, some fuck blossom ironically named Brian Darling, formerly with something called the Heritage Foundation, said this:

"The Trump Administration needs to reform and cut spending dramatically, and targeting waste like the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities (emphasis mine) would be a good first step in showing that the Trump Administration is serious about radically reforming the federal budget." 

"Waste," you ass-wiping blowhard of a nobody??  How dare you?!  Not only do these programs take up less than 0.1% of the national budget, how many jobs will be eliminated if they are dropped?  I liken this to a part in stave three of A Christmas Carol:

``If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, none other of my race,'' returned the Ghost, ``will find him here. What then? If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.'' 

Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the Spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief. 

``Man,'' said the Ghost, ``if man you be in heart, not adamant, forbear that wicked cant until you have discovered What the surplus is, and Where it is. Will you decide what men shall live, what men shall die? It may be, that in the sight of Heaven, you are more worthless and less fit to live than millions like this poor man's child. Oh God! to hear the Insect on the leaf pronouncing on the too much life among his hungry brothers in the dust!''

This whole administration is going to be like this, and what gives HIM or any of his ilk the right to determine whose life and choices are better than another's?  All of his quick actions in the first four ghastly days have just been an attempt to prove that he is going to be a doer and make good on his campaign promises.  Well, I'll give him that: he sure has, arbitrarily signing anything that goes against what President Obama put in place just to say he did it in a selfish attempt to make himself look better and get a higher approval, because, again, all he is about is the attention.

So help save the NEA and the NEH!  Sign this whitehouse.gov petition before the entire petition page disappears from the site as quickly as everything else progressive did.  Tomorrow I'll have a Part 2 on this unless he and/or his cronies make another ridiculous statement or action that needs precedence.