During world war two American troops away from home for Christmas were entertained by Marlene Dietrich, Bing Crosby and the Marx Brothers. Even in Vietnam Bob Hope was guaranteed to put in an appearance. But soldiers in Iraq are more likely to get a show from a Christian hip-hop group, a country singer you have probably never heard of and two cheerleaders for the Dallas Cowboys.
It is a far cry from the days following the September 11 2001 attacks, when some of the biggest names in show business, from Jennifer Lopez to Brad Pitt, rallied to the cause. “After 9/11 we couldn’t have had enough airplanes for the people who were volunteering to go,” Wayne Newton, the Las Vegas crooner who succeeded Bob Hope as head of USO’s talent recruiting effort, told USA Today. “Now with 9/11 being as far removed as it is, the war being up one day and down the next, it becomes increasingly difficult to get people to go.”
Newton said many celebrities have been wary of going because they think it might be seen that they are endorsing the war. “And I say it’s not. I tell them these men and women are over there because our country sent them, and we have the absolute necessity to try to bring them as much happiness as we can.”
Some of the entertainers still willing to travel are die-hard true believers – rock musician Ted Nugent carried a Glock handgun to shows in Iraq last year and said in a radio interview that he manned a machine gun on a Humvee. But many of the USO’s regular performers are fierce critics of the war, among them the comic and star of Good Morning Vietnam, Robin Williams, who told USA Today he would like to return to the Middle East in the spring for what would be his fourth tour since 2002. “I’m there for the [troops], not for W,” he said in a reference to the president. “Go, man. You won’t forget it. You’ll meet amazing people,” is his message to stars that ask him about the tours. But the comedian said he mostly tries to keep politics out of the show after he did a few jokes about Bush’s brainpower at a base in 2003 and got a chilly reception.
Some of Follywood’s finest ( I use the term lightly) are ridiculous – - It isn’t saying they support the war, but rather the troops. Isn’t that what they’ve been saying all along? Pity they don’t practice what they preach – - but then they never did.
Their all a bunch of traitors and that why hollywood is having such a rotten year i hope it gets worse for hollywood:lol:
Hollywood’s elite seem to be forgetting one very important point and it’s coming back at them at the box office. The majority of the people who buy movie tickets support the troops and the war. It costs less to make a trip to Blockbuster for a movie by someone who supports the troops than to go to the theaters to see someone who doesn’t. I buy DVDs in such quantity from Columbia House that I end up paying less to BUY a movie than to buy a ticket to a movie. Then if I don’t like the movie, or the star ends up being a putz, I can take the DVD skeet shooting (Throw it in the air and shoot it with my 2nd amendment protected shotgun. Yeah I know it’s a cheap thrill, but it’s my own little form of 1st amendment protected self expression and far more patriotic than burning a flag) without it costing me an arm and a leg.
FAO, yeah, it’s easier to throw a DVD than to try to throw Michael Moore in the air.
PCD That depends. I do medieval reenacting and know one or two guys with full sized trebuchets (Catapults) who would probably enjoy giving Michael Moore a toss. Hell some of them would use it as an excuse to make one the size of the one made by an English guy to toss Pianos and Renault cars.
I can just imagine the sight of having Michael Moore sit in a sling type director’s chair only to have the chair actually be a sling.
“Here Mr Moron err I mean Moore. We have a special leather director’s chair just for you. Sit right down, yeah that’s right. ” PULL SWOOSH off he goes into the Sonoran Desert. 
Rotten year for Hollywood? Have you even seen King Kong?
I think it is possible to support the troops and not the war, like those poor drafted young men in Vietnam. Or perhaps you are a pessimist and want to entertain them for the rest of their short lives. After all, Cindy Sheehan just wanted her son home.
Now, don’t think I’m endorsing Cindy Sheehan. Endorsing her is worse for a career than endorsing the Black Panthers.
Arcane, it has been a rotten year for hollywood. I believe they are just ending the worst year of profits in 20 years. Even King Kong can’t pull them out of it.
As for not supporting the troops…Try renting ‘The Hollywood Canteen’ or if it is on TCM, watch it for free.
“I think it is possible to support the troops and not the war, like those poor drafted young men in Vietnam.” Is this a joke? They were spit on, called baby killers etc. Just who in Hollywood supported them? Jane Fonda?
Not I. I respected them for doing what they thought was their duty, and others for quietly accepting the draft.
Arcane,,, as one those “troops” that you claim you can support, and still not support the war, I say that is false. I have yet to find statements from the left that show that. You can’t simply say,,, I support the troops and not the war, then go on the bandwagon,,, “we cannot win”, “violating the Geneva convention” “war-crimes” bullshit.
I understand why the left is this way. They have alot invested in our, the soldiers, failure. They have their eye on the one true goal in their hearts and nothing, I say again, nothing, will get in their way. Controlling America again and pursuing their socialist/communistic dreams.
Now, who would let the war, our national security, the lives of our countries warriors and defenders of freedom get in the way of their noble goal? The end justifies the means, isn’t that correct leftie?
And you should respect those who do and did what was their duty,,, or quietly accepted the draft. Their spit is worth more than these crazy leftist lives.
Sorry, but I cannot hold back any longer when I get a whiff of moonbat talk.
Don’t quote me for things I haven’t said. Let me put it in the simplest way possible. People want as few people to die as possible, and they also know that many troops are tired and want to go home.
Note that I said “People”. I do not enjoy the idea of pulling out of Iraq anytime soon. I just said that so you might understand what liberals want.
My favorite Howard Dean quote is, of course, “YEARGH!”. My second favorite, though, is when he said that although it was a bad idea to go to Iraq, we have to win now, or else there will be a Sunni/Shiite civil war, and/or terrorist recruitment will shoot up. I beleive I bought this up on another article about terrorists proclaiming victory over the U.S. in battle.
Howard Dean is a IDIOT,,, plain and simple. Happy New Year.
BTW, Arcane, you have no need to put thing in the “simplest way” for me. I understand exactly what you mean. Howard Dean would sell every Soldier, Airman, Marine, and Sailor out for a freakin vote. You can quote his single hawkish statement, but you cannot ignore the rest of the feces spewed from his mouth and the mouths of 95% of the elected Democrats in DC.
Correction: Howard Dean became an idiot after he became obssessed with winning, and saying stupid things. A big turn-on for people in the early primaries was the fact that Dean spoke his mind. Not his policies. Not his wisdom. What I quoted was when he was either one of two things:
1. Back when he wanted to win on policy
2. Or when he wanted to tailor to both Dems and Reps, back when he thought he was going to get to the main election.
All I’m saying was, no matter what his reasoning, he had the right idea.
Why tailor to who he HATES? He is a socialist,,,,PERIOD. Why whould he tailor to capitalist?
There is no true way to support the troops and come out vocally against the war. Any trivial comment made by the Democratic leadership is winding up in Al Jazeera as pro Al Queada propaganda. Is providing propaganda to the enemy supporting our troops? Even if our troops discount the babblings of the Democratic leadership for the tripe that it is, Al Quaeda leaders can use it as a recruiting tool to lead wannabe members to believe that the US is cutting and running just as Saddam and Bin Laden predicted would happen. It’s far easier to recruit someone to kick an enemy who is already down than one who’s going to stand there and knock your teeth down your throat. With that FACT in mind, do you REALLY think that Howard Dean with his comment about the war in Iraq being unwinnable is truly supporting the troops? Or John Kerry’s comment that US soldiers are terrorizing Iraqi women and children in the middle of the night is supporting the troops? Or how about Dick Durbin comparing the guards at Gitmo to Nazi Storm troopers? Was that being supportive of the troops? How about John Murtha, who has NEVER been to Iraq, commenting that the troops are broken down with worn out equipment despite the highest REENLISTMENT rate in history? Do you really think his comments were factual and supportive of the troops? Especially since they fly in direct conflict with Joe Lieberman who has actually been to Iraq 4 times and says that things are getting better on every trip.
In this fight there is no viable way to “Support the troops but not the war” The war is to prevent further terrorist attacks on the US, its interests, and its allies. THAT IS THE MISSION. How can ANYONE other than a member of Al Quaeda say that they support the troops without supporting the mission?
My main military specialty was artillery. My secondary specialty was nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare defense. I had an upper level history course on unconventional warfare in the 20th century in college. Combining that background knowledge with our enemy’s total lack of regard for human life, has me very afraid of what could happen if they smuggle chemical weapons into this country. Chemical weapons are not that hard to produce and in cold weather some aren’t even hard to handle. If you thought 9/11 was bad, it was nothing compared to what will happen if they are able to get WMDs and deploy them in New York or even worse LA or San Diego. In NYC the wind currents will carry the contamination out to sea eventually. In LA or San Diego, the contamination will be swept inland all the way to the mountains.
Most people don’t realize it, but the bombs we used in WWII were minimal by comparison to later models. We have artillery shells (about 195 lbs) that have as great or greater a yield than the bombs dropped on Japan. The security of these types of weapons in former Soviet repiblics is sometimes questionable. Al Quaeda will also NOT be detonating them in the air to minimize fallout. For those who are not up on nuclear weapon deployment, fallout is dust from the ground below the blast that has been irradiated by the blast. As long as the fireball doesn’t touch the ground fallout is minimized. A ground burst (think atomic truck bomb)would result in tons of dust being irradiated and blown miles into the atmosphere where it would drift with the winds for possibly hundreds of miles.
Still support the troops but not the war? If so than to quote General Honore’ “You are stuck on stupid.”