Posted on 03/16/2003 9:12:18 PM PST by Enemy Of The State
Edited on 03/16/2003 9:18:09 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
Hollywood Intellect
By Doug Patton
March 10, 2003
My last column, "Loony Clooney and the Hollywood Left Dishonor the Memory of Those Who Served" (www.gopusa.com/dougpatton/dp_0224.shtml), must have struck a nerve with readers, because I have received more mail on it than any other column I have written in the last two years.
The feedback on the piece was entirely positive. In it, I highlighted the distinguished service records of Hollywood stars during World War II.
One reader wrote to thank me for the column, then suggested I write a sequel, which would contrast the academic achievements of President George W. Bush with those of Hollywood's elite. This person even gave me a few choice bits of information about the educational background of a few of Hollywood's towering intellects.
The arrogance of the show-biz elite in their imperious attitude toward President Bush is astounding. They belittle him as an "idiot" and a "moron." Yet, this to a president who holds an undergraduate degree from Yale and an MBA from Harvard. I don't care who your father is. A pedigree might get you into these institutions, but a modicum of gray matter is required to remain there, let alone to graduate.
One might think that the Hollywood intellects who hurl their venom at the president must be very well educated themselves. Well, let's take a look:
Let's begin again with Hollywood's current number one bigmouth, George Clooney. Clooney, of course, is a self-appointed expert on American foreign policy. Mr. Clooney must be a true scholar, a man of letters, an intellect of stature. No, it seems that George Clooney "attended" Northern Kentucky University. ("Attended" or "educated" in a celebrity's biography is code for "dropped out.")
Then there is the wannabe president, Martin Sheen, who apparently has come to believe he holds a Ph.D. and is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize like the character he portrays on "The West Wing." But, alas, poor Martin flunked his college entrance exam to get into the University of Dayton.
Another outspoken critic of the Bush policy who has cast aspersions on the president's intelligence is former MASH star Mike Farrell. Mr. Farrell "attended" UCLA.
Barbara Streisand, one of the most vicious assailants of the president, "attended" high school. No mention of college in Bab's bio.
Susan Sarandon's official biography brags that she "graduated from Edison High School in Edison, New Jersey where she was a cheerleader." Feel free to make up your own jokes.
Sean Penn, who embarrassed himself so badly with his unintelligible verbal report upon his recent return from Baghdad, lists absolutely nothing for education among his credits. My guess is he dropped out.
Janeane Garofalo, another condescending critic of Mr. Bush's brainpower, "attended Madison High School in Madison, New Jersey." No word on whether she actually got a diploma.
Ben Affleck dropped out of the University of Vermont after one semester, then dropped out of Occidental College after one year. Interestingly, his bio says he studied Middle Eastern studies.
Cher dropped out of high school.
Michelle Pfeiffer "attended" one year at Golden West College.
This is not to say that one is required to have a list of degrees behind one's name in order to be considered a success in life. We all know people who have done very well in their chosen fields without a college degree or even a high school diploma.
The point here is that there is an entire group of pampered people who make their living pretending to be someone else, who belittle our president's intellect because they don't like his politics, and that is a disgrace.
Wrong from beginning to (almost) end:
It's Barbra, and that's been her professional name since 1961. (Why is this choice only disrespected in her case? Nothing justifies this. Even Janeane Garofalo got her parent-granted spelling tangle done correctly.)
Streisand has been either clueless or, at turns, partisan for its own sake in assailing Bush, but does not qualify as being "one of the most vicious." Clooney alone has outdone her in vitriol.
Streisand graduated from Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn in January 1959, as an honors student, at age 16. (One of her contemporaries there was Neil Diamond.)
Well, almost to the end: Yes, she didn't go to college. Anyone who knows about show business realizes that this is far from atypical, with promoters and producers wanting genuine talent used early, heavily, and thoroughly.
I don't like seeing misrepresentations here. I also don't like seeing some of those quoted above dumping on Bush's intelligence. I disagree with him on this war, but I'm not about to suggest he's stupid. His danger is in a lack of historical perspective, and in not realizing how our long train of interventions on one power's side or another has made enemies for Americans on all sides. That comes from a failure to look at facts, not from an inability to process them at all.
As long as we're free to express opinions (a privilege most leftists and some freepers would revoke), I respectfully disagree with you.
1. It may be the case that the president is privy to information of which he has not shared with the public, in the interest of national security. Since none can deny this possibility, it might be the case that the president knows something we do not.
2. Terrorism has neither head nor headquarters. Terroristic organizations are loosely connected, yet autonomous. They (Cuba, Iraq, the IRA, Libya, Columbia, et al,) share in financial resources and training facilities. It is going to be necessary, in the name of national security, to deal with terrorism whenever and wherever it rears its ugly head.
3. Saddam has demonstrated a willingness to use chemical and biological weapons on his own people. Do we honestly believe he will hesitate to use the same on Americans when (not, "if") he develops the capability to deliver a WMD on American soil? We either deal with it now, over there, or here, someday.
Question #1 Do Hollywood celebrities who actively promote their political opinions in public forums upset you? Yes No
Question #2 Do you think their views shape public opinions? Yes No
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