Dragons in Greek mythology guarded the Golden Fleece at Colchis. It was said to never sleep, rest, or lower its vigilance. According to Ovid's "Metamorphoses", the monster had a crest and three tongues. When Jason went to retrieve the Fleece, the witch Medea put the dragon to sleep with her magic and drugs, or perhaps Orpheus lulled it to sleep with his lyre. Afterwards, Medea herself had dragons pull her chariot. The Ismenian Serpent, of the spring of Ismene at Thebes, Greece, was slain by the hero Cadmus. It was the offspring of Ares, who later turned the hero into a serpent. According to
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