Reason magazine has been following The Washington Post’s investigation of W. Richard West Jr., who just retired as director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.
Records have shown that West has put a serious dent in the museum’s travel budget by spending $250,000 in the past four years on first-class tickets and five-star hotels in New Zealand, England, Sweden, Italy, Greece, and France — you know, places where there are just a ton of Native Americans.
Then just before West retired last month, he commissioned a portrait of himself that cost nearly $50,000 of the museum’s funds. That painter, by the way, was Polish.
And yes, it’s taxpayer money bankrolling all of this. Which wouldn’t necessarily be such a bad thing if he were halfway competent at doing his job.
So it’s all very curious that West is still on the executive search committee to find a replacement for Smithsonian head Lawrence Small, who was ousted last year for inappropriate spending. Who better to find a good ol’ boy than a good ol’ boy?
Last week’s news: Nicole Kidman is totally not pregnant with Keith Urban’s baby. According to her spokeswoman in Australia:
“It is incorrect… She must have had about 30 babies by now. As far as we’re concerned, it’s another rumour out of London.”
Today’s news: Nicole Kidman is totally pregnant, confirms rep.
Tomorrow’s news: Nicole Kidman is totally pregnant with 30 babies!
We don’t pay much attention to Canadian news here at Deceiver, because… well, why would we? But here’s a nice little item, courtesy of The Tyee:
The minister of state responsible for encouraging British Columbians to eat healthy food is also the part owner of a pair of pizzerias.
In August 2006, Premier Gordon Campbell appointed his former roommate and Surrey-White Rock MLA Gordon Hogg as the minister of state for Act Now B.C., the program that promotes healthy eating and exercise…
Now it appears while Hogg’s public job may be to trim British Columbian waist lines, he will benefit from other Canadians expanding theirs. Hogg has a five per cent interest in the Stavenger Drive Pizza Company and the Kelsey Drive Pizza Company, both of which own Boston Pizza Restaurant and Sports Bar franchises in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Hogg’s wife LaVerne has a five per cent share of another company that owns a Boston Pizza in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
If you don’t know anything about Canadian geography — and why would you? — British Columbia is clear across the continent from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. They’re about as far away from each other as you can get without swimming. So maybe he just figured “out of sight, out of mind.” Well, except when he’s depositing the checks.
Speaking of money, did you know the Canadian dollar is known as the “loonie”? So the health minister of British Columbia is a portly gentleman named Hogg who, when he’s not telling people what to eat, sells pizza to put loonies in the bank. Sometimes I wonder if Canada is even a real place. It’s made up, right? You can tell me.
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