When an intrepid mind in the Missouri Department of Social Services looked at the state-subsidized Show Me Social Justice film festival, he or she must have asked the same questions we did yesterday - because the DSS is now going to attempt to recover its $100,000 grant.
Department spokesman Scott Rowson told the Kansas City Star "The event has kind of exceeded the extent of the original grant proposal . . . it's not really something that can be permissible". The event organizers seemed to act surprised that you don't get to use Federal money for things like this, which isn’t believable to us.Why Congressman Ike Skelton believed that participating in a state subsidized liberal film festival featuring alcohol and criticism of religion is appropriate isn't clear. Ike Skelton can still take a constructive role in this process, by calling on the event organizers to return the $100,000 and trying to find a way to make sure the funds get returned.
In the event that the event organizers either refuse or are unable to return the funds, he should refuse to participate in this outrageous waste of taxpayer money. The Federal stimulus was never intended to pay for prime rib, liberal political documentaries or wine and cheese tastings.
It's past time for Skelton to assume some responsibility for his role in this. If $100,000 of Federal money misappropriated right under his nose isn't worth a moment of his attention, we shudder to think about his attitude when it comes to balancing the budget or getting spending back under control.
Someone else who should be thinking long and hard about this is Jay Nixon, who vetoed a bill in 2009 that would have created more oversight for spending of stimulus funds.
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