Support The War, Not the Actors

[icallmedan]

Support our soldiers, and our freedom, sign the petition...

http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/hollywoodceleb/

[glc]

Received in e-mail today:

Who's Smarter?

The Hollywood group is at it again. Holding anti-war rallies, screaming about
the Bush Administration, running ads in major newspapers, defaming the President
and his Cabinet every chance they get, to anyone and everyone who will listen.
They publicly defile them and call them names like "stupid." "morons", and
"idiots". Jessica Lange went so far as to tell a crowd in Spain that she hates
President Bush and is embarrassed to be an American.

So, just how ignorant are these people who are running the country? Let's look
at the biographies of these "stupid," "ignorant," "moronic" leaders, and then at
the celebrities who are castigating them:

President George W. Bush: Received a Bachelors Degree from Yale University and
an MBA from Harvard Business School. He served as an F-102 pilot for the Texas
Air National Guard. He began his career in the oil and gas business in Midland
in 1975 and worked in the energy industry until 1986. He was elected Governor
on November 8, 1994, with 53.5 percent of the vote. In a historic re-election
victory, he became the first Texas Governor to be elected to consecutive
four-year terms on November 3, 1998 winning 68.6 percent of the vote. In 1998
Governor Bush won 49 percent of the Hispanic vote, 27 percent of the African-
American vote, 27 percent of Democrats and 65 percent of women. He won more
Texas counties, 240 of 254, than any modern Republican other than Richard Nixon
in 1972 and is the first Republican gubernatorial candidate to win the heavily
Hispanic and Democratic border counties of El Paso, Cameron and Hidalgo.
(Someone began circulating a false story about his I.Q. being lower than any
other President. If you believed it, you might want to go to URBANLEGENDS.COM
and see the truth.)

Vice President Dick Cheney: Earned a B.A. in 1965 and a M.A. in 1966, both in
political science. Two years later, he won an American Political Science
Association congressional fellowship. One of Vice President Cheney's primary
duties is to share with individuals, members of Congress and foreign leaders,
President Bush's vision to strengthen our economy, secure our home land and win
the War on Terrorism. In his official role as President of the Senate, Vice
President Cheney regularly goes to Capital Hill to meet with Senators and
members of the House of Representatives to work on the Administration's
legislative goals. In his travels as Vice President, he has seen first hand the
great demands the war on terrorism is placing on the men and women of our
military, and he is proud of the tremendous job they are doing for the United
States of America.

Secretary of State Colin Powell: Educated in the New York City public schools,
graduating from the City College of New York (CCNY), where he earned a
Bachelor's Degree in geology. He also participated in ROTC at CCNY and received
a commission as an Army second lieutenant upon graduation in June 1958. His
further academic achievements include a Master of Business Administration Degree
from George Washington University. Secretary Powell is the recipient of
numerous U.S. and foreign military awards and decorations. Secretary Powell's
civilian awards include two Presidential Medals of Freedom, the President's
Citizens Medal, the Congressional Gold Medal, the Secretary of State
Distinguished Service Medal, and the Secretary of Energy Distinguished Service
Medal. Several schools and other institutions have been named in his honor and
he holds honorary degrees from universities and colleges across the country.
(Note: He retired as Four Star General in the United States Army)

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld: Attended Princeton University on
Scholarship (AB, 1954) and served in the U.S. Navy (1954-57) as a Naval aviator;
Congressional Assistant to Rep. Robert Griffin (R-MI), 1957-59; U.S.
Representative, Illinois, 1962-69; Assistant to the President, Director of the
Office of Economic Opportunity, Director of the Cost of Living Council, 1969-74;
U.S. Ambassador to NATO, 1973-74; head of Presidential Transition Team, 1974;
Assistant to the President, Director of White House Office of Operations, White
House Chief of Staff, 1974-77; Secretary of Defense, 1975-77.

Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge: Raised in a working class family in
veterans' public housing in Erie. He earned a scholarship to Harvard, graduating
with honors in 1967. After his first year at The Dickinson School of Law, he
was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served as an infantry staff sergeant in
Vietnam, earning the Bronze Star for Valor. After returning to Pennsylvania, he
earned his Law Degree and was in private practice before becoming Assistant
District Attorney in Erie County. He was elected to Congress in 1982. He was
the first enlisted Vietnam combat veteran elected to the U.S. House, and was
overwhelmingly re-elected six times.

National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice: Earned her Bachelor's Degree in
Political Science, Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Denver
in 1974; her Master's from the University of Notre Dame in 1975; and her Ph.D.
from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in
1981. (Note: Rice enrolled at the University of Denver at the age of 15,
graduating at 19 with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science (Cum Laude). She
earned a Master's Degree at the University of Notre Dame and a Doctorate from
the University of Denver's Graduate School of International Studies. Both of
her advanced degrees are also in Political Science.) She is a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has been awarded Honorary Doctorates
from Morehouse College in 1991, the University of Alabama in 1994, and the
University of Notre Dame in 1995. At Stanford, she has been a member of the
Center for International Security and Arms Control, a Senior Fellow of the
Institute for International Studies, and a Fellow (by courtesy) of the Hoover
Institution. Her books include Germany Unified and Europe Transformed (1995)
with Philip Zelikow, The Gorbachev Era (1986) with Alexander Dallin, and
Uncertain Allegiance: The Soviet Union and the Czechoslovak Army (1984). She
also has written numerous articles on Soviet and East European foreign and
defense policy, and has addressed audiences in settings ranging from the U.S.
Ambassador's Residence in Moscow to the Commonwealth Club to the 1992 and 2000
Republican National Conventions. From 1989 through March 1991, the period of
German reunification and the final days of the Soviet Union, she served in the
Bush Administration as Director, and then Senior Director, of Soviet and East
European Affairs in the National Security Council, and a Special Assistant to
the President for National Security Affairs. In 1986, while an international
affairs fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, she served as Special
Assistant to the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 1997, she served on
the Federal Advisory Committee on Gender -- Integrated Training in the Military.
She was a member of the boards of directors for the Chevron Corporation, the
Charles Schwab Corporation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the
University of Notre Dame, the International Advisory Council of J.P. Morgan and
the San Francisco Symphony Board of Governors. She was a Founding Board member
of the Center for a New Generation, an educational support fund for schools in
East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park, California and was Vice President of the
Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula. In addition, her past board service has
encompassed such organizations as Transamerica Corporation, Hewlett Packard, the
Carnegie Corporation, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, The Rand
Corporation, the National Council for Soviet and East European Studies, the
Mid-Peninsula Urban Coalition and KQED, public broadcasting for San Francisco.
Born November 14, 1954 in Birmingham, Alabama, she resides in Washington, D.C.

So who are these celebrities? What is their education? What is their experience
in affairs of State or in National Security? While I will defend to the death
their right to express their opinions, I think that if they are going to call
into question the intelligence of our leaders, we should also have all the facts
on their educations and background:

Barbra Streisand: Completed high school Career: Singing and acting
Cher: Dropped out of school in 9th grade. Career: Singing and acting
Martin Sheen: Flunked exam to enter University of Dayton. Career: Acting
Jessica Lange: Dropped out college mid-freshman year. Career: Acting
Alec Baldwin: Dropped out of George Washington U. after scandal. Career: Acting
Julia Roberts: Completed high school. Career: Acting Sean Penn: Completed High
school. Career: Acting Susan Sarandon: Degree in Drama from Catholic University
in Washington, D.C. Career: Acting
Ed Asner; Completed High school. Career: Acting George Clooney: Dropped out of
University of Kentucky. Career: Acting
Michael Moore: Dropped out first year University of Michigan. Career: Movie
Director
Sarah Jessica Parker: Completed High School. Career: Acting
Jennifer Anniston: Completed High School. Career: Acting
Mike Farrell: Completed High school. Career: Acting Janeane Garofelo: Dropped
out of College. Career: Stand up comedienne
Larry Hagman: Attended Bard College for one year. Career: Acting

While comparing the education and experience of these two groups, we should also
remember that President Bush and his cabinet are briefed daily, even hourly, on
the War on Terror and threats to our security. They are privy to information
gathered around the world concerning the Middle East, the threats to America,
the intentions of terrorists and terrorist-supporting governments. They are in
constant communication with the CIA, the FBI, Interpol, NATO, The United
Nations, our own military, and that of our allies around the world. We cannot
simply believe that we have full knowledge of the threats because we watch CNN!!
We cannot believe that we are in any way as informed as our leaders.

These celebrities have no intelligence-gathering agents, no fact-finding groups,
no insight into the minds of those who would destroy our country. They only
have a deep-seated hatred for all things Republican. By nature, and no one
knows quite why, the Hollywood elitists detest Conservative views and anything
that supports or uplifts the United States of America. The silence was
deafening from the Left when Bill Clinton bombed a pharmaceutical factory
outside of Khartoum, or when he attacked the Bosnian Serbs in 1995 and 1999. He
bombed Serbia itself to get Slobodan Milosevic out of Kosovo, and not a single
peace rally was held. When our Rangers were ambushed in Somalia and 18 young
American lives were lost, not a peep was heard from Hollywood. Yet now, after
our nation has been attacked on its own soil, after 3,000 Americans were killed,
by freedom-hating terrorists, while going about their routine lives, they want
to hold rallies against the war.

Why the change? Because an honest, God-fearing Republican sits in the White
House.

Another irony is that in 1987, when Ronald Reagan was in office, the Hollywood
group aligned themselves with disarmament groups like SANE, FREEZE and PEACE
ACTION, urging our own government to disarm and freeze the manufacturing of any
further nuclear weapons, in order to promote world peace. It is curious that
now, even after we have heard all the evidence that Saddam Hussein has chemical,
biological and is very close to obtaining nuclear weapons, their is no cry from
this group for HIM to disarm. They believe we should leave him alone in his
quest for these weapons of mass destruction, even though it is certain that
these deadly weapons will eventually be used against us in our own cities.

So why the hype out of Hollywood? Could these celebrities believe that since
they draw such astronomical salaries, they are entitled to also determine the
course of our Nation? That they can make viable decisions concerning war and
peace? Did Michael Moore have the backing of the Nation when he recently
thanked France, on our behalf, for being a "good enough friend to tell us we
were wrong"? I know for certain he was not speaking for me. Does Sean Penn
fancy himself a Diplomat, in going to Iraq when we are just weeks away from war?
Does he believe that his High School Diploma gives him the knowledge (and the
right) to go to a country that is controlled by a maniacal dictator, and speak
on behalf of the American people? Or is it the fact that he pulls in more money
per year than the average American worker will see in a lifetime? Does his bank
account give him clout?

The ultimate irony is that many of these celebrities have made a shambles of
their own lives, with drug abuse, alcoholism, numerous marriages and divorces,
scrapes with the law, publicized temper tantrums, etc. How dare they pretend to
know what is best for an entire nation! What is even more bizarre is how many
people in this country will listen and accept their views, simply because they
liked them in a certain movie, or have fond memories of an old television
sitcom!

It is time for us, as citizens of the United States, to educate ourselves about
the world around us. If future generations are going to enjoy the freedoms that
our forefathers bequeathed us, if they are ever to know peace in their own
country and their world, to live without fear of terrorism striking in their own
cities, we must assure that this nation remains strong. We must make certain
that those who would destroy us are made aware of the severe consequences that
will befall them.

Yes, it is a wonderful dream to sit down with dictators and terrorists and join
hands, singing Cumbaya and talking of world peace. But it is not real.

We did not stop Adolf Hitler from taking over the entire continent of Europe by
simply talking to him. We sent our best and brightest, with the strength and
determination that this Country is known for, and defeated the Nazi regime.
President John F. Kennedy did not stop the Soviet ships from unloading their
nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962 with mere words. He stopped them with action,
and threat of immediate war if the ships did not turn around. We did not end
the Cold War with conferences. It ended with the strong belief of President
Ronald Reagan... PEACE through STRENGTH

[icallmedan]

My cousin sent me this email....


Subject: Alabama State Auditor Beth Chapman.


>
>
> Bravo!!
>
> Alabama State Auditor Beth Chapman
>
> Following is a copy of Mrs. Chapman's speech, which resulted in five
> standing ovations, tremendous applause and an encore. It's a short read
> and well
> worth it.
>
> Stand Up for America Rally Speech
> By: Beth Chapman
>
> I'm here tonight because men and women of the United States military have
> given their lives for my freedom. I am not here tonight because Sheryl
> Crowe, Rosie O'Donnell, Martin Sheen, George Clooney, Jane Fonda or Phil
> Donahue, sacrificed their lives for me.
>
> If my memory serves me correctly, it was not movie stars or musicians,
> but
> the United States Military who fought on the shores of Iwo Jima, the
> jungles
> of Vietnam, and the beaches of Normandy. Tonight, I say we should support
> the President of the United States and the U.S. Military and tell the
> liberal, tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing, hippy, tie-dyed liberals to
> go
> make their movies and music and whine somewhere else.
>
> After all, if they lived in Iraq, they wouldn't be allowed the freedom of
> speech they're being given here today. Ironically, they would be put to
> death at the hands of Sadam Husssein or Osama Bin Laden. I want to know
> how
> the very people who are against war because of the loss of life, can
> possibly be the same people who are for abortion? They are the same
> people
> who are for animal rights but against the rights of the unborn.
> The movie stars say they want to go to Iraq and serve as "human shields"
> for
> the Iraqis. I say let them buy a one-way ticket and go.
>
> No one likes war. I hate war! But the one thing I hate more is the fact
> that
> this country has been forced into war-innocent people have lost their
> lives
> - - and there but for the grace of God, it could have been my brother, my
> husband, or even worse my own son.
>
> On December 7, 1941, there are no records of movie stars treading the
> blazing waters of Pearl Harbor.
>
> On September 11, 2001; there are no photos of movie stars standing as
> "human shields" against the debris and falling bodies ascending from the
> World
> Trade Center. There were only policemen and firemen - -underpaid civil
> servants who gave their all with nothing expected in return.
>
> When the USS Cole was bombed, there were no movie stars guarding the ship
> -
> - where were the human shields then?
>
> If America's movie stars want to be human shields, let them shield the
> gang-ridden streets of Los Angeles, or New York City, let them shield the
> lives of the children of North Birmingham whose mothers lay them down to
> sleep on the floor each night to shelter them from stray bullets.
>
> If they want to be human shields, I say let them shield the men and women
> of honesty and integrity that epitomizes courage and embody the spirit of
> freedom by wearing the proud uniforms of the United States Military.
> Those
> are the people who have earned and deserve shielding!
>
> Throughout the course of history, this country has remained free, not
> because of movie stars and liberal activists, but because of brave men
> and
> women who hated war too. However, they lay down their lives so that we
> all
> may live in freedom. After all - "What greater love hath no man, that he
> lay
> down his life for his friend," or in this case a country.
>
> We should give our military honor and acknowledgement and not let their
> lives be in vain. If you want to see true human shields, walk through
> Arlington Cemetery. There lie human shields, heroes, and the BRAVE
> Americans who didn't get on television and talk about being a human
> shield -
> they were human shields.
>
> I thank God tonight for freedom - - those who bought and paid for it with
> their lives in the past - - those who will protect it in the present and
> defend it in the future.
>
> America has remained silent too long! God-fearing people have remained
> silent too long!
>
> We must lift our voices united in a humble prayer to God for guidance and
> the strength and courage to sustain us throughout whatever the future may
> hold.
>
> After the tragic events of Sept. 11th, my then eleven -year-old son said
> terrorism is a war against them and us and if you're not one of us, then
> you're one of them.
>
> So in closing tonight, let us be of one accord, let us stand proud, and
> let
> us be the human shields of prayer, encouragement and support for the
> President, our troops and their families and our country.
>
> May God bless America, the land of the free, the home of the brave and
> the
> greatest country on the face of this earth!

[icallmedan]

The only reason people know or even care about these celebs are because simply that they are famous...They have done nothing more than to provide entertainment. They can run ads and hold protests because they are rich and they can. I think they should be the first people drafted if it ever comes to that, so they know why they can run ads, and hold protests. And they can know the realization of what our soldiers are going through protecting our freedoms.

[glc]

Well, I don't wish death on *anyone* if there is *any* alternative. I spent 8 years on active duty and 16 years in the Reserves with the full knowledge and realization that I may be called upon for the ultimate sacrifice, but I sure didn't *want* that to happen.

[icallmedan]

Yeah, I am not wishing death as in I want them to die, but I want them like you said ahve a full realization and knowledge about why they can protest and run ads, and such... I am going to edit my previous post. I want to go into the Army as soon as I get out of High School, and I look up to people like you, anyone who has served in any branch or our armed forces.

[glc]

I will never try to discourage any young person from joining the armed forces, but if at all possible look at officer programs, I look back and wish I had stayed in college and in the ROTC program.

[icallmedan]

Yeah, I want to take college courses in Computer Analysis or Info Analysis, and do that in the army. Maybe an ROTC program is in the mix.

[Paul Victorey]

Well, one point, and this is coming from someone who is in college and around college students, don't confuse education with intelligence.

I will require proof of some solid strategic thinking on the part of Bush and his advisors before I believe it.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not antiwar in general, nor am I necessarily against this war. I tend to be Republican in ideals, too, so it's not a partisan thing. I think, though, that Bush, although he wants the right ends, screws up in huge ways on the means.

One example being that Bush's speeches, as far back as a year ago, undermined any chance he really had of working with the UN. Frankly, given the speeches he made, I was amazed that 1441 was even accepted. I also believe that had he changed his speeches on Iraq just slightly, he could have had UN support, as well as having better support domestically and internationally. France and Russia would probably not have voted yes on a resolution of force, but they probably could have been convinced to abstain, but I think Bush shot himself in the foot, repeatedly, on this front.

I do think that Bush, and his father, were reasonably good presidents in terms of their ideals; certainly they are far better than Reagan, and they're willing to be more proactive than Clinton. Maybe a little too proactive in this case, though.