YES!!! JUDGE BLOCKS CLOSING OF KENNEDY CENTER *AND* SAYS “YOU CAN’T ADD TRUMP’S NAME”!
by Anne P. Mitchell, Esq. – bringing you the facts and truth about this administration and the law, in plain English
Just now a Federal court *blocked* Trump’s effort to close the Kennedy Center *and* basically said “You want to add WHOSE name next to President Kennedy’s? Talk to the hand, buddy!”
In a 94-page opinion, as well as two separate short orders (all included for Notes from the Front members) Judge Christopher Cooper slams every bit of Trump’s tomfoolery (which shall hereinafter in this post be called “Trumpfoolery”), reminding him and the board of the Kennedy Center that what Congress hath wrought, only Congress can unwrought (er.. you know what I mean).
The Opinion is a work of art – fitting for the subject – and starts by describing the history of the Kennedy Center:
“In November 1962, President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy presided over “An American Pageant of the Arts,” a televised fundraiser for what was then known as the National Cultural Center. The event boasted an impressive slate of performers, including poet Robert Frost, singer Harry Belafonte, and a seven-year-old cellist by the name of Yo-Yo Ma, among other famed (or soon-to-be-famous) artists. Addressing the gathering, President Kennedy expounded:
‘[A]rt knows no national boundaries. Genius can speak in any tongue, and the entire world will hear it and listen. Behind the storm of daily conflict and crisis, the dramatic confrontations, the tumult of political struggle, the poet, the artist, the musician continues the quiet work of centuries, building bridges and experience between peoples, reminding man of the universality of his feelings and desires and despairs, and reminding him that the forces that unite are deeper than those that divide . . . I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered, not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics but for our contribution to the human spirit.’
Congress chose to honor President Kennedy’s commitment to the arts – reflected in his lyrical remarks at the American Pageant – following his assassination a year later. It enacted legislation that formally designated the National Cultural Center as the “John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.” Congress made clear that the Kennedy Center would serve as both the nation’s premier performing arts center and a living memorial, the sole one dedicated to the late President in the Washington, D.C. area. The Center has played those roles for over five decades.”
I hope that you read and heard that middle section, the quote from President Kennedy, in his unique, broad accent. I certainly did.
You may remember I told you about the whole kerfuffle (yes, a legal term) over the board of the Kennedy Center muzzling the one board member who was all “The Emperor’s not wearing any clothes!”, while the others were all doing Trump’s bidding, and pushing for Trump’s closure. And I told you then that the Court ordered Trump to turn over whatever documents he and the board were relying on for that closure. This is the same case. (If you want to refresh your memory you can read my earlier post about that here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GyvPF8Afh/
There are three different issues in this case: the closure of the Kennedy Center for two years for “necessary renovation”, the renaming of the Kennedy Center to the “Trump Kennedy Center” (retch), and then the matter of the board muzzling Representative Beatty (D-Ohio) so she couldn’t vote, even though she was on the board.
Of the renaming matter, the Court says “The Kennedy Center’s organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial based on the Board’s unilateral say-so. Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.”
I’m not going to go into the very in-depth analysis that Judge Cooper does for either the closure or the vote-muzzling issue (but of course you can read it for yourself as I’m including that 94-page opinion). But I will point out that Judge Cooper includes such delightful statements as:
“As an important aside, the exercise of the Board’s statutory duties involves legal questions, complex ones at that. Which naturally raises the question: Where were the lawyers? The answer appears to be “nowhere.” ”
(snort)
And footnote 31 (!) of 35 (!!) footnotes starts out:
“The Court does not pull this conclusion out of thin air.”
Heh.
I don’t usually quote from footnotes and now I’ve done it twice in one day – which means these are footnotes of..er.. note.
Then the Court ordered that the Kennedy Center cannot be renamed, that any signage or printed material bearing Trump’s name along with Kennedy’s be removed and the website updated accordingly; that the board is preliminarily enjoined from closing the Center; and that the Kennedy Center board is *permanently* enjoined from enforcing the by-law they adopted that disallowed ex-officio board members such as Beatty from voting (for a fuller explanation of that read my post here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GyvPF8Afh/ )
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P.S. If you actually read all the way to the bottom please leave a comment that includes the word “Trumpfoolery”. It will show me that my efforts aren’t in vain and that people actually *do* read these things, and it will drive those who just skim crazy wondering just what everyone is talking about! ;~)
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