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Actor Sean Penn Lashes Bush over Iraq War Drums
Reuters ^ | 10-18-02 | Anon

Posted on 10/18/2002 10:00:10 AM PDT by Pharmboy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Actor Sean Penn (news) on Friday weighed in on the international debate over a possible war with Iraq, paying for a $56,000 advertisement in the Washington Post accusing President Bush (news - web sites) of stifling debate and threatening civil liberties.

Oscar nominated actor Sean Penn (news) on October
18, 2002 weighed in on possible war with Iraq, paying
for a $56,000 advertisement in the Washington
Post accusing President George W. Bush of stifling
debate and threatening civil liberties. The ad,
an open letter to Bush, urges the president to stop
a cycle where 'bombing is answered by bombing, mutilation
by mutilation, killing by killing.' Penn is
seen at a benefit film premiere in Washington in this
January 22, 2001 file photo. (Jeff Synder/Reuters)

In an open letter to Bush taking up most of a page in the main section of the daily newspaper, the Oscar-nominated star of "I Am Sam" and "Dead Man Walking," urged the president to stop a cycle where "bombing is answered by bombing, mutilation by mutilation, killing by killing."

"I beg you, help save America before yours is a legacy of shame and horror," Penn wrote, echoing voices of caution from around the world that have called for a measured response to allegations Iraq is developing weapons of mass destruction.

The letter was signed "Sincerely, Sean Penn, San Francisco, California." A spokesman for the Washington Post confirmed that it was placed by the Hollywood celebrity who has starred in more than 40 movies.

Quoting Bush's declaration that the world was either "with us or against us" in the war on terrorism launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Penn, 42, said Bush was marginalizing critics, manipulating the media and promoting fear.

Those actions and "your administration's deconstruction of civil liberties all contradict the very core of the patriotism you claim," wrote Penn, who is married to actress Robin Wright Penn (news), and was formerly married to pop star Madonna (news - web sites).

"Sacrificing American soldiers or innocent civilians in an unprecedented preemptive attack on a separate sovereign nation may well prove itself a most temporary medicine," he said.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: actors; anarchists; appeasement; communists; hollywood; idiocy; socialism; socialists
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To: Pharmboy
I guess he doesn't know that Bush bashing by hollywood is so common no one listens anymore. I would however like to go upside this punks head.
41 posted on 10/18/2002 10:28:57 AM PDT by KSCITYBOY
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To: duckbutt
I never questioned his right to speak freely, I'm just puzzled as to why anyone would care what Spicoli has to say? And just think of how many starving Iraqi people he could have fed with the $56,000 it cost him to place this ad, or how many trees he could have planted, etc., etc., etc.
42 posted on 10/18/2002 10:30:08 AM PDT by Olydawg
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To: Pharmboy
echoing voices of caution from around the world that have called for a measured response to allegations Iraq is developing weapons of mass destruction.

Our response will indeed be 'measured'......in megatons.

43 posted on 10/18/2002 10:30:35 AM PDT by Mr. Mojo
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To: Pharmboy
Dead assh*le talking.
44 posted on 10/18/2002 10:31:12 AM PDT by Consort
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To: Pharmboy
what if these assholes made comments and the media didn't cover it.....the same things would happen
45 posted on 10/18/2002 10:31:33 AM PDT by The Wizard
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To: zlala
Excellent point.
46 posted on 10/18/2002 10:31:49 AM PDT by Pharmboy
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To: mystery-ak
It's too bad that the terrorist didn't target Hollyweird on 911

And very telling.

47 posted on 10/18/2002 10:31:49 AM PDT by Olydawg
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To: Pharmboy
Sean Penn: Stupid Man Talking
48 posted on 10/18/2002 10:33:58 AM PDT by Lee'sGhost
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To: Pharmboy
WHAT JEFF SPICCOLI WOULD HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THE REAL SEAN PENN AND HIS LIBERAL BUDDIES

Spicolli ... "Ahhh, those guys are fags!"


49 posted on 10/18/2002 10:36:33 AM PDT by finnman69
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To: Pharmboy
All this recent Bush-bashing by Hollywood squares is no accident. It's coordinated and is being timed for effect. You can bet the Klintoons are orchestrating this with their degenerate tinseltown connections.

Leni

50 posted on 10/18/2002 10:36:36 AM PDT by MinuteGal
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To: Solamente
"Perhaps I'm immature, but once actors blather their political agenda, I find I cannot get immersed in their subsequent roles."

I'm about 10 when it comes to this garbage also.

51 posted on 10/18/2002 10:37:15 AM PDT by G.Mason
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To: Pharmboy
"Sacrificing American soldiers or innocent civilians in an unprecedented preemptive attack on a separate sovereign nation may well prove itself a most temporary medicine," he said.

Gosh Golly Gee Sean .. I guess you think we should just sit back and wait and be attack AGAIN huh??

You know .. I don't recall Sean Penn doing this while Cinton was President and bombing the daylights out other countries???

52 posted on 10/18/2002 10:39:21 AM PDT by Mo1
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To: Pharmboy
ANOTHER case of "projection".....these narcissists are so friggin transparent.....projecting THEIR beliefs (they are the ones who STIFLE debate).....that's the liberal mindset....only I AM RIGHT, and YOU are WRONG, so SHUT UP (or I'll ignore you, at least.) And....about that "legacy of shame and horror".....ooops ....you stepped in it....

Thanks, Sean, for SHOWING us again what a true narcissist is....and how you and your liberal friends continue to project your beliefs ...... it's really starting to get tiring, but telling.
53 posted on 10/18/2002 10:40:11 AM PDT by goodnesswins
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To: Pharmboy
Dear Mr. Penn,

When you stop attacking photographers and tying up your wives and holding them hostage for hours, and maybe, but hardly likely, we'll start to take you seriously.

'I Am Sam' is your 'legacy of shame and horror,' and you owe me $9.50 for that stinker.

And by the way, this silly 'in the name of patriotism' canard the left keeps throwing out is getting old. Bush has never said nor implied that dissenters are unpatriotic. Lord knows most of you Hollywood lefties are unpatriotic and would prefer Daniel Ortega in the White House, but that argument is pretty much is the sub-subtext of our problems with you guys. And you know it's the truth.

To your credit, you seem to be the only one who has had the guts to take your criticism stateside. In recent Tourettes-like political proclamations, your peers Jessica Lange, Robert Altman, Woody Harrelson, et al have taken to spewing their vile rhetoric to likeminded appeasers over bottles of Pellegrino in Europe.

Your 'sincere' tone, unfortunately, is the giveaway. There is nothing sincere about your criticism of Bush. I live here. Right near you and your Hollywood elite buddies. There is no such thing as a social get-together here where you all don't rip him to pieces, challenging even his basic humanity and mental acuity. And on top of it, you make anyone who thinks otherwise a pariah. (Usually they're the workers who get paid 1/100th what you get paid and quietly go about their business on the set.)

And if the society you guys have created out here in Hollywood is any preview of what you'd have in store for the rest of the nation if your politics were to be realized, I'd cross the 405 to take up arms for the other side and fight a bloody civil war-like battle against you elitist nightmares. Each and every one of you. That means your buddies, Julia and Eric Roberts, too.

Now, please, concentrate on picking decent flicks that don't patronize the audience. You are a good actor and your inflated sense of self has caused you to make too many tragic choices in recent times. Get off your soap box, stop doing Charlie Rose and Actor's Studio-like I-AM-AN-ARTIST crap, call your agent, and tell him to concentrate on getting you palatable work. Fast Times 2 sounds about right.

Sincerely,
Your Neighbor
54 posted on 10/18/2002 10:42:09 AM PDT by andrew
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To: All
Wait a minute Mr. Penn is good at pretending to be other people, therefore he MUST be an expert on America's foreign policy.

His experience clearly should cause us all to sit back in awe of his brilliant positions.

(/sarcasm)
55 posted on 10/18/2002 10:43:05 AM PDT by marktuoni
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To: Pharmboy
This is really pathetic, coming from someone who will only be remembered for his portrayal of an airhead in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
56 posted on 10/18/2002 10:43:26 AM PDT by Paul Atreides
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To: Pharmboy
"Am I hallucinating here? Just what in the hell do you think you're doing, Mister Penn?"
57 posted on 10/18/2002 10:47:27 AM PDT by RichInOC
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Comment #58 Removed by Moderator

To: avg_freeper
"Sacrificing American soldiers or innocent civilians in an unprecedented preemptive attack on a separate sovereign nation may well prove itself a most temporary medicine"

Quick. Somebody please tell this actor about the bombing of Kosovo. He apparently was in a drug haze or something while Clinton was bombing the cr*p out of them.

59 posted on 10/18/2002 10:54:42 AM PDT by PLK
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To: Jimer
RAOTFLMAO!
60 posted on 10/18/2002 10:58:04 AM PDT by STD
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