Free Republic

Second Thoughts By: William W. Lawrence 04/15/2003 We hear so much about young Americans -- teenagers and early 20s -- who give Americans a bad name. Then we watch our young GIs and our chest swells with pride.They were freeing an oppressed people while naked women, transvestites, dogs, dancers and singers joined Harry Belafonte in an antiwar protest to "praise the patriotism of the demonstrators" and condemn the military action in Iraq."We denounce governments that act with tyranny," Mr. Belafonte told the crowd. He was talking about our government, not Saddam Hussein's. Listen, there were always war protesters.I was a...

Media Monitor Hooray For Hollywood By Jason Maoz Senior Editor This week the Monitor is intent on having a bit of fun, though the subject is a serious one — the tendency of actors to embrace left-wing causes in general and the current antiwar movement in particular, all the while spouting the sort of inanities that only a New York Times editorial writer would take even half seriously. This, of course, is hardly something new: Way back in 1917 H.L. Mencken described actors as “blatant and obnoxious posturers and windbags” who were “full of hot and rancid gases.” And to...

In Hollywood, apparently, celebrity equals expertise. Edward Norton: "Almost everyone in Germany and France is in sync with the governments. I almost forgot what it's like to be proud of my government. . . . It's dismaying to see the unilateralism the government is doing. There aren't enough rational steps." Robert Altman: "The present government in America I just find disgusting, the idea that George Bush could run a baseball team successfully -- he can't even speak! I just find him an embarrassment. I was over here when the election was on and I couldn't believe it -- and I'm...

Actor and left-wing activist Ed Asner put his blame America first views and contempt for President Bush on full display Friday on CNN. Asner mocked the idea that Iraq poses any nuclear threat, suggesting "they?d have to borrow atomic bombs from Israel," maintained the U.S. is no "moral authority," charged that Bush's policy is motivated by "a strong streak of racism? since "our whole history in regime change has been of people of different color," blamed the U.S. for "the starvation of Cuba," and when Silver said "I thank God that the President has the clarity and the vision" to...

TRIBUTE TO EDWARD ASNER Thursday October 10 Tribute Only $20 7PM Rafael TASN10R Tribute and Reception $45 Rafael/Piatti Restaurant TASN10P Reception at Piatti Restaurant follows Tribute 9PM Join us for an on-stage interview with TV's favorite boss, featuring large- and smallscreen career highlights. Afterward, relax, mingle and enjoy the great foot at Piatti Restaurant, which will be paired with wines from Frei Brothers Reserve. Sponsored by American Airlines A Tribute to Edward Asner Calling Edward Asner an important actor is like describing Mount Rushmore as a nifty stone carving. Name another television star able to play the same character convincingly...

A friend of mine told me last night that Ed Asner and a few other “Hollywood Commies” wrote an open letter criticizing America for striking back after 9/11. They also say that President Bush does not speak for all Americans and his decision to attack Afghanistan was a knee-jerk reaction. Supposedly the letter was published in an English newspaper. Did anyone else hear about this?