Five reasons Congress hates the arts

America's culture industry looks like it will by bypassed in the jobs bill to stimulate the collapsing economy, which is working its way through Congress this week.

Here are five reasons I believe Congress hates the arts:

• The culture industry is cosmopolitan, so flag-waving options are few.
• The culture industry is pluralistic, but Congress is only marginally so.
• As corporations, arts institutions are nonprofit, so there's no money to be made via lobbyists.
• Culture is girlie, not manly.
• The arts often look at sexual experience -- eek!

Got any others?

-- Christopher Knight