hollywood vs. our government leaders

[vanbasten]

The Hollywood group is at it again. Holding antiwar 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
reelection 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
homeland 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
reelected 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 forNational 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 of America 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

 

[vanbasten]

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.