Golden Fleece the serpent guarding the golden fleece to sleep. The snake is coiled around a column at the base of which is a ram and on top of which is a bird. The following are the chief among the various interpretations of the fleece, with notes on sources and major critical discussions: Golden Fleece In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece ( "chrysómallon déras") is the fleece of the gold-haired winged ram, which was held in Colchis. The fleece is a symbol of authority and kingship. It figures in the tale of the hero Jason and his crew of Argonauts, who set
Golden Fleece Award Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan federal budget watchdog organization, gave Proxmire their lifetime achievement award in 1999, and revived the Golden Fleece Award in 2000. Proxmire served as an honorary chairman of the organization. One winner of the Golden Fleece Award, behavioral scientist Ronald Hutchinson, sued Proxmire for libel, requesting $8 million in damages, in 1976. Proxmire claimed that his statements about Hutchinson's research were protected by the Speech or Debate Clause of the United States Constitution. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled, in "Hutchinson v. Proxmire", that the protection of speech and debate of lawmakers in