Arkansas Blog

I dislike many of the business practices of Wal-Mart, but I can't criticize the Waltons too much over their art stuff. After all, the Philadelphia painting was offered for sale, as I understand it -- the Walton's didn't ask to buy it out of the blue. Art is bought and sold all the time. If it gets bought and ends up in Arkansas, good for us. I'd just as soon have it here as in the board room of some Japanese corporation.

Noted the new spin on NWA:

---- "America's heartland"------

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Oh boo hoo, the Waltons can pick up a copy from China for $3.95 (frame included).

This bid/out-bid process has produced a nice profit for the Medical School that owns The Gross Clinic.

Crystal Bridges Museum should launch a hostile takeover to purchase the Mona Lisa. Imagine how much the French would raise to keep that painting they stole from Italy!

Correction, Spirit. France did not steal the Mona Lisa any more than they stole Leonardo.

The Mona Lisa was taken to France by Leonardo himself when he voluntarily entered the service of the king of France, Francis I, in 1516. Before the artist died in 1519, the king bought the painting from Leonardo.

I agree with Albert...it was offered for sale and the Waltons responded. What's the big deal.

Philadelphians are just upset that 'new' monied upstarts from a hick state, like Arkansas, are upsetting the way things ought to be...upsetting their Billiken. Why Philadelphians were a part of some of the country's original robber baron gangs; they simply can't have some new robber baron family pillaging from their hoard.

And I hope the Waltons bring home to Arkansas all the great art their Chinese factories will allow.

Sure, it's a free market.

It doesn't change the fact that the money to buy this art came from the pockets of small business owners and walmart employees.

And it doesn't change the HUGE losses in sales tax the state is eating. We're taxing groceries for the lowest income families while little rich kids go play with their billions tax free.

And all for a vanity museum.

Unfortunately, the Waltons aren't any different than the robber barons (captains of industry?) of the early 20th century in both their pursuit of art and making a profit by abusing the working class (including children!).

In art, as in life, it appears that many people don't know what they have until its (almost) gone. Good for the people of Philadelphia for raising the money (and helping the medical school) to keep "The Gross Clinic" in their city. Putting your money where your mouth is IS the American way.

Oh my gosh, I'm so freaking sick of people bad mouthing the Waltons just because they each have 30 billion dollars to throw around. Is no one else a little proud that Arkansas produced this company? Do think Wal-mart is the only company cutting benefits and using the government subsidized healthcare mechanisms to off-set their overhead? And you know Wal-mart was once a Mom & Pop, small business, that grew and stayed competitvie, that's capitalism, you have to capitalize or you go out of buisness.

I think it's a good idea for them to start a museum in NW Arkansas with some culture and refinement, the good Lord knows they could use some up there. What would you do with your billions? They could be buying up precious art and putting it in their bathroom, at least this way the public (and one that doesn't get to the MOMA a lot) has the opportunity to take a day off from the deer woods and see something other than realtree camo.

Wal-mart serves a purpose in the economy and the job market, should their employees want to effect change, they will have to do so as so many before them have, at the risk of losing the crappy job they want to make better, i.e. the auto industry, steel industy, textile industry, etc., so forth and so on.

This is the Christmas blues talking I'm sure...

At least one Philadelphia newspaper blogger doesn't think this was the best civic way for his townspeople to spend $68 million. Will Bunch of the Philly Daily News says the following at http://www.attytood.com/2006/12/gross_error_in_judgment.html

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Mayor Street announced earlier in the day that the Thomas Eakins masterpiece (eh...it's OK), "The Gross Clinic," (at left, although we prefer Dan McQuade's version) has been rescued from Wal-Mart's evil clutches, thanks to some Philly millionaires and charitable trusts that just happened to have $68 million in change that apparently had fallen between the cushions of their sofas, after the media bruhaha inspired them to dig around a little. It's being hailed as a victory for...very rich people keeping paintings in Philadelphia.

A few of you know that most nights now, I produce a column for the DN called the Numbers Racket -- I don't post it here because I'm not really convinced this Internet thing will catch on...OK, I'm not sure why, although there's usually some overlap with what I blog about earlier in the day.

Anyway, by popular demand (from my boss), I did a special edition of the Numbers Racket inspired by the salvation of "The Gross Clinic." And it goes something like this:

68,000,000: Dollars that could hire 170 new Philadelphia police officers for five years, or 850 officers for one year, based on official estimates of $80,000 a cop for salary, benefits and training.

68,000,000: Dollars that could almost completely close the current yawning budget gap currently faced by the Philadelphia School District, estimated now at $73.3 million. The gap has led to a series of painful cutbacks, such as the elimination of 175 administrative jobs.

68,000,000: Dollars that could hire roughly 124 new social workers for 10 years in city's Department of Human Services (based on average city salary and benefits.) DHS has been under fire for its handling of several cases of alleged abuse or neglect in which children ultimately died.

68,000,000: Dollars that could buy a brand-new laptop computer for roughly one in three public school students in Philadelphia -- 63,000 of them, based on the average price the district now pays for laptops of $1,080.

68,000,000: Dollars that could provide outpatient drug- or alcohol-abuse treatment for some 47,500 people, based on the average cost (from 2002 statistics) of $1,433 per episode.

68,000,000: Dollars that could have brought free-agent slugger Alfonso Soriano (who signed with the Cubs for $17 million a year) to the Phillies for four years, to hit behind MVP Ryan Howard. (Hey, to some folks, a title is worth more than a painting, too.)

OK, that last one was a goof, because we don't think Leonore Annenberg and the Pew Charitable Trusts are allowed to purchase a new left-fielder under the current tax laws. But regardless, it was worth it to keep that painting away from Bentonville, wasn't it?

"Oh my gosh, I'm so freaking sick of people bad mouthing the Waltons just because they each have 30 billion dollars to throw around. Is no one else a little proud that Arkansas produced this company? Do think Wal-mart is the only company cutting benefits and using the government subsidized healthcare mechanisms to off-set their overhead? And you know Wal-mart was once a Mom & Pop, small business, that grew and stayed competitvie, that's capitalism, you have to capitalize or you go out of buisness." Mr. Ricky

Save the folksy crap for the lying rat bastards. The 30 billion dollars is not what they did wrong, it's the result of it. I admit that making deals with Godless dictators to destroy America is mighty Christian of them. I too stand in awe of the uber-rich, just like Christ did. It's not stiffing Arkansas on the taxes for the corporate jet that I object to; welfare for the wealthy is after all a tenant of the Good Book. And it's not hiring illegals, forcing employees to work off the clock, or any number of other criminal activities that passes as business as usual that makes me upset. It's the justifying this activity in the name profits that really sucks. Merry Christmas Scrooge!

"A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog." Jack London

Waltons, Pews or whoever, $68 million (more than half of it a bank loan for whose retirement money still must be raised) is a hell of a lot of money for a picture of a guy cutting open someone's leg. For that kind of dough there ought at least to be a couple of nekkid women in it.

I know the Philly old money is shaken with the mere possibilty that Arkies almost got the painting.They are among the most prejudiced in the world. But please, skip the cheerleading for Walmart. they don't really need it, and whether you realize it or not Walmart is leading the way for the future, and here it is. Poor quality goods, no warranty to speak of on items (45 days on most), and the like.Buy American!right, rather BUY Chinese! Mr. Sam would be appalled!

There sure are a lot of anti-capitalist types on this blog.