In case you’re filled with too much holiday cheer this Christmas season, the latest edition of Sen. Tom Coburn’s “Wastebook”, chronicling wasteful federal spending, is now available. You might just want to spike the egg nog and take a look. The dollar amounts aren’t always shocking, but the blatant waste of taxpayers’ money is. Number 9 on the list:
Our nation currently faces many challenges; a shortage of poetry in our nation’s zoos, however, is rarely cited as one of them. It is not widely viewed as an example of our nation’s crumbling infrastructure or a contributor to our national economic crisis. Nor is it a dangerous disease in need of curing.
Nevertheless, a federal grant program has directed a million dollars from the public coffers to infuse zoos around the United States with snippets of poetry.
Hence, the Little Rock (Ark.) Zoo now touts a sign sharing a bit of wisdom from Hans Christian Andersen: ―Just living is not enough, said the butterfly. One must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower. Zoos in Chicago, New Orleans, Milwaukee, and Jacksonville, Florida, will also sport bits of poetry, thanks to the U.S. taxpayer.
Poets House, the New York-based organization administering the multi-year program, says its goal is to ―deepen public awareness of environmental issues through poetry.
For projects like these, taxpayers may prefer to hear from Edgar Allen Poe’s raven:―Nevermore.
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