Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma is more than just a politician. He is also an MD and an ordained deacon in the Southern Baptist church, and something of a controversial figure. In the past, he opposed the regulation of tobacco by the FDA and referred to the prime time screening of Schindler’s List, saying that TV had been taken “to an all-time low, with full-frontal nudity, violence and profanity.”
That latter statement should give some insights into why Coburn has picked his latest target, UCSC’s Grateful Dead Archive. In his most recent publication, Wastebook 2010: A Guide to Some of the Most Wasteful Government Spending of 2010, he ranked the archive in fourth place after it received a $615,000 federal grant. According to his director of communications, “The number one thing is that it is not a federal responsibility to archive the materials of a rock band.” Inevitably, the Heritage Foundation picked up on the report’s target and called on Baby Boomers to finance the archive from their own money.
The archive is firing back. Officials say it’s highlighting a major cultural institution, as well as the band’s unique business approach. Furthermore, it is advancing the whole science of archival practice and creating an innovative new approach to “socially constructed” archiving.
Then again, perhaps Coburn is taking a lesson from Jerry Garcia, who once said, “I’m shopping around for something to do that no one will like.” If so, Coburn is a huge success: as of this writing, he was singlehandedly holding up a bill to provide health care for 9/11 first responders. Read more at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
