"I think religion has always tried to turn hatred toward gay people. . .Religion promotes the hatred and spite against gays. . .From my point of view, I would ban religion completely. Organized religion doesn't seem to work. It turns people into really hateful lemmings and it's not really compassionate." - Sir Elton John in the UK Observer's Music Monthly Magazine.

James Taranto reports that Morgan Freeman is a man.

Every now and then, a celebrity says something intelligent. Here's a report from the Associated Press:

Morgan Freeman says the concept of a month dedicated to black history is "ridiculous."

"You're going to relegate my history to a month?" the 68-year-old actor says in an interview on CBS' "60 Minutes" to air Sunday. . . . "I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history." . . .

Freeman notes there is no "white history month," and says the only way to get rid of racism is to "stop talking about it."

The actor says he believes the labels "black" and "white" are an obstacle to beating racism.

"I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man," Freeman says.

Morgan Freeman is a man.

In an interview with NBC's Jamie Gangel, rapper 50-Cent defends his constant use of the N-word.

Gangel: You use the N-word constantly.

50 Cent: Oh, see, but that � that is not �

Gangel: That makes parents crazy. I'd kill my kids �

50 Cent: Oh, if they said that.

Gangel: If that ever came out of their mouths.

50 Cent: Well, I understand that, 'cause your culture is different. Like when I'm saying that it isn't � I'm not using that as a racial slur. You know, in � in the neighborhood, they'll say, �What's up? That's my n-----. Yo, come here.� They're not offended by it when you say that. You just � it's just the slang that we use where we're from.

Gangel: Isn't it demeaning to use that slang?

50 Cent: No, I � it depends on the actual person and how they actually using it.

Gangel: You can get away with it.

50 Cent: I do. All the time. [Laughter]

Here's something else I haven't heard in the American Press, although the foreign press is all over it. Actor Sean 'Spicoli' Penn attempted to rescue people from New Orleans, with his entourage and personal photographer in tow, of course.

AN ATTEMPT by Sean Penn, the outspoken Hollywood actor, to stage a personal mission to help victims of Hurricane Katrina descended into farce when his rescue boat sprang a leak.

The activist star headed to New Orleans with a photographer and entourage to rescue victims clinging to roofs and attics in the wake of the deadly storm. But he forgot to plug a hole in the bottom of his small vessel which began to take in water almost immediately.

Reports said the 45-year-old Oscar winner was seen frantically bailing water from the boat with a red plastic cup. When the boat's motor failed to start, those aboard were forced to use paddles to propel themselves down the flooded street. It is not known how far the boat then travelled.

Earlier Penn, who has visited Iraq to campaign against the war, said that once in the city he would do "whatever I can do to help".

But according to reports, one bystander, referring to the actor's large entourage on board, taunted Penn, saying: "How are you going to get any people in that?"

"George Bush doesn't care about black people. . .I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says they're looting. See a white family, it says they're looking for food." -- Grammy winning rapper Kanye West, during a Hurricane Katrina aid concert.

In case you missed it, here's the video (780k).

Richard Dreyfuss not only thinks that wars are fought with children, but that they're kidnapped from their parents in the middle of the night (ala Elian Gonzalez?). Dreyfuss bloviated, "No one should come for my son and tell my son to go and kill someone or put himself in harm's way unless I understand and agree to the need." I wonder if he agrees with parental consent for abortions?

The Washington Times reports that during a screening of a 1964 Ronald Reagan movie, The Killers, "a prestigious crowd of actors, actresses, writers, reviewers, scholars, researchers and film preservationists. . .erupted in cheers when Mr. Reagan 'the actor' was shot and killed."

Absent the applause, it was already an eerie scene to relive, considering Mr. Reagan, later as president, was shot and nearly killed in 1981 by John Hinckley Jr.

But that's not all. The audience also broke into "malicious cheers," one man in attendance tells Inside the Beltway, when Mr. Reagan was threatened at gunpoint and pushed out of a speeding car.

According to the plot summary, Reagan did play a "rich double-crossing bad guy", so maybe it wasn't personal.

Ben Jones, the former congressman and actor who played Cooter on TV's Dukes of Hazzard, is urging moviegoers to boycott the feature film.

"From all I have seen and heard, the 'Dukes' movie is a sleazy insult to all of us who have cared about the "Dukes of Hazzard" for so long." [...]

"Sure it bothers me that they wanted nothing to do with the cast of our show, but what bothers me much more is the profanity laced script with blatant sexual situations that mocks the good clean family values of our series," he declares. "Now, anybody who knows me knows that I'm not a prude. But this kind of toilet humor has no place in Hazzard County. Rather than honoring our legendary show, they have chosen to degrade it."

I haven't seen the script, but I don't think Jones has much to worry about. Moviegoers are likely to boycott the flick out of sheer good taste. On the other hand, fans of Coy and Vance are likely to show up in droves.

A little prodding by Sean Hannity was all it took to send Rosie O'Donnell into a mental meltdown on ABC. The MRC reports and has an MP3 of the event:

Amongst O'Donnell's outlandish allegations, she claimed that "Christopher Reeve died without hope because of the religious -- separation -- lack of separation of church and state by this administration. . .

She repeatedly yelled that Hannity was "delusional" in denying widespread "torture" by the U.S. of prisoners and re-affirmed her charge that George Bush is "a war criminal," arguing that "he should be tried at the Hague." When Hannity pointed out how "50 million people are free because George W. Bush is President today," O'Donnell fired back: "And how many American poor children are dead, fighting a war that was never needed?" And when Hannity suggested Condoleezza Rice as a presidential candidate, O'Donnell clenched her teeth with her eyes bulging as she explained: "That's my head almost exploding. I think she's going to unzip herself and it's going to be Dick Cheney's twin brother."

Why can't Hollyweird liberals just let their artwork stand on it's own merit, without trying to interject their political world views? The latest is George Lucas, who is trying to take advantage of the Star Wars hype by comparing the movie saga to the Iraq and Vietnam wars. The media even claims that 'Revenge of the Sith' is a huge jab at President Bush.

"In terms of evil, one of the original concepts was how does a democracy turn itself into a dictatorship," Lucas told a news conference at Cannes, where his final episode had its world premiere.

"The parallels between what we did in Vietnam and what we're doing in Iraq now are unbelievable.

"On the personal level it was how does a good person turn into a bad person, and part of the observation of that is that most bad people think they are good people, they are doing it for the right reasons," he added.

Lucas is, of course, referring to when the Communist Empire spread from China to Northern Vietnam, and the Rebel Alliance enlisted the help of some furry Ewoks to beat back the Communist agressors. The death star battle is actually just a retelling of the famous battle at Margaret Cho.

I'm sure this also means Lucas is a gun rights advocate. After all, the Rebellion wasn't won using gaffi sticks.

Arianna Huffington's new blog launched on Monday and it is already being called a flop. L.A. Weekly says we shouldn't blame the B-list of celebrities who are group blogging. Instead we should blame Huffington for convincing them that they have something to say.

I implore you: Forgive them, because they know not what they do. Not Seinfeld has-been Julia Louis-Dreyfus and her untalented TV-hyphenate husband, Brad Hall, making unfunny shtick of the anti-gay-marriage movement. Not has-been director Mike Nichols, using the forum to parade his high school grasp of U.S. history by mentioning "de Tocqueville" and "Dr. King" in the same paragraph. Not has-been brat-packer John Cusack, penning the 459,308th remembrance of Hunter Thompson for the sole purpose of letting the world know that the actor scored an invite to the writer's intimate memorial service.

For instance Jim Lampley. Now I used to have nothing but respect for Lampley. I love HBO boxing, and he's a good "Real Sports" reporter too. But this diatribe is laughable as well as absurd. He contends that Kerry actually won the election, and as proof points to not only exit poll data (which has been analyzed time and time again and shown to be defective), but to the Las Vegas oddsmakers who relied on that to set odds for the election.

At 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on Election Day, I checked the sportsbook odds in Las Vegas and via the offshore bookmakers to see the odds as of that moment on the Presidential election. John Kerry was a two-to-one favorite. You can look it up.

People who have lived in the sports world as I have, bettors in particular, have a feel for what I am about to say about this: these people are extremely scientific in their assessments. These people understand which information to trust and which indicators to consult in determining where to place a dividing line to influence bets, and they are not in the business of being completely wrong. Oddsmakers consulted exit polling and knew what it meant and acknowledged in their oddsmaking at that moment that John Kerry was winning the election.

Has Lampley forgotten Buster Douglas already? Douglas was a 42-1 longshot for beating Mike Tyson, the undefeated - undisputed - Heavyweight Champion of the World. Tyson wasn't just undefeated, he routinely savaged opponents. Only four of his 37 fights had ever gone the distance. Many of his fights never made it out of the first round. Douglas meanwhile wasn't even viewed as a contender. He was meat for the lion. Spectators thought it would take a miracle for him to win.

What's more, Lampley doesn't seem to even grasp the concept of giving odds. Odds have little to do with the actual chance of winning. Bookies give odds in order to even out the bets on each side of the event. You see, bookies don't care if you win or lose. They live off the vig; which is the price people pay to place bets. Odds are put into place so that the payout for bets on one side equals the payout for bets on the other. If the odds were 1-1, nobody would bet on Douglas. But a 42-1 payoff entices people to bet on the underdog so that the bets for the favorite are covered should he walk away with it as expected. So odds have more to do with people's perception of who is going to win more than the actual chance of winning. You would think that a boxing sportscaster would know that.

But even if odds accurately represent the chance of winning, so what. Would Lampley have them not even bother fighting? If the contest goes 12 rounds should they look at the score cards or just trust the Vegas oddsmakers and Harold Lederman's prediction of the score? Last time I checked they actually counted the votes of the judges to see who wins. You would think Lampley would know that, and give George Bush the same courtesy.

Godwin's Law: "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one."

And when that happens, the person who invoked the comparison loses by default. Case in point, entertainer and part-time foreign policy expert, Barbra Streisand:

Bush's actions remind me of Herman Goering's quote during the Nuremberg Trials, where he stated: "...it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders...all you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism..."

"[President Bush] invaded a sovereign nation in defiance of the UN, he is basically a war criminal. Honestly. He should be tried at The Hague." -- Actress, lesbian, and foreign policy expert Rosie O'Donnell.

Germany was also a sovereign nation when we invaded them in 1945.

"To show you how radical I am, I want carjackers dead. I want rapists dead. I want burglars dead. I want child molesters dead. I want the bad guys dead. No court case. No parole. No early release. I want 'em dead. Get a gun and when they attack you, shoot 'em." -- Rocker Ted Nugent.

This doesn't seem as radical as people who defend murderers and rapists, claiming they are a victim of society.

Hollywood celebrities are used to getting things for free. But some celebs live their daily lives completely on the tabs of others, reports the New York Post.

WE all know celebrities get free stuff - swag - just for being famous. But did you know that there are some stars who eat, fly, sleep, party, do virtually everything in their day-to-day life for free? All they do is demand it, take it, or simply walk out on the tab. The Hollywood "gimme!" syndrome has run amuck.

They go on to detail how stars like Britney Spears, Sharon Stone, Andy Dick and others try to con people out of free stuff or just walk out without paying. Many companies give up the stuff willingly in exchange for publicity, while others are forced to chase them down for payment or return.

[Rachel] Hunter, says one event publicist, never met a gift bag she didn't like. In fact, she likes them so much she often takes four or five at a time.

She's so determined that, a few years ago, at a Maxim Magazine party in Los Angeles, she left the party but came back to collect a few more bags.

Unluckily for her, the police had shut down the event due to overcrowding and were attempting to clear the area. Hunter gamely ignored them, until finally a policeman was forced to yell over a megaphone: "Ma'am! Step away from the goodie bags!"

Entertainment Weekly has more. They say that the cost of perks is about 5% of a studio's film budget. So for a $100 Million movie, about $5 Million of that is just for perks.

Every time you accede to a star's demands, you need to take money from somewhere else. One action star, for example, requires a basketball court wherever he's shooting, even if it means spending $35,000 to build one. Such extravagance, says one production executive, inevitably comes out of someone else's paycheck: "People who work below the line get squeezed: the director of photography, the editor."

Ultimately, of course, anything that drives up the cost of any entertainment product eventually trickles down to the audience. "The consumer ends up paying for it," one studio chief says flatly. If the 5 percent estimate is roughly accurate across the entertainment industry, when you fork over $10 for a movie ticket or $18 for a CD, bear in mind that anywhere from 50 cents to a dollar of your hard-earned cash may be going to pay for a star's dog to fly first-class. Fido thanks you.

All of this self-aggrandizement certainly explains why some celebrities flock to entitlement politics.

But studios are fighting back. Following the dot-com bust of 2000, bottom lines are a lot leaner. With shrinking profitability, many studios are now balking at celebrities outlandish demands, and enduring the resulting temper tantrum.

I can only speak for myself, but in Chris Rock's defense I think there is a lot of truth to what he says.

Chris Rock wants to clarify what he meant when he said straight men don't watch the Oscars.

"I did not say that. I said only gay people watch the Tonys," he joked Monday during an appearance on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno."

But later he stuck to his guns.

"I really don't know any straight men who aren't in show business that have ever watched the Oscars," he said.

I am both straight and don't watch the Oscars. In fact, I have never watched the Oscars, Emmys, Tonys, or any other self-aggrandizing award show.

While I have every intention of not watching them again this year, I think his off the cuff remarks can only help their sagging ratings. They probably won't hurt his career either.

Rock on.

Now this is funny.

"Sexuality is a large issue in America right now, but it isn't so much in other countries. There's a raging fundamentalism in morality in the United States. From day one audiences didn't show up. They didn't even read the reviews in the [American] south because the media was using the words: 'Alex is Gay'." -- Oliver Stone, blaming the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy for the flop of his multimillion dollar failure, Alexander.

Did you go see Alexander? No? You must be a raging moral fundamentalist then.

"Hi, I'm Richard Gere and I'm speaking for the entire world. We're with you during this election time. It's really important: Get out and vote." -- Richard Gere, urging Palestinians to get out the vote.

Bob Dylan may not be the man you thought he was.

In stumping for his latest movie, "Christmas with the Kranks", MSNBC has this hilarious account from Dan Aykroyd.

"Greetings and death to our enemies," Aykroyd began the interview. When one reporter asked what enemy the star was referring to, Aykroyd replied: "Well, the common enemy in North America is the Western consumer. The consumer has driven oil up to $50 a barrel so we have to have these wars."

Regarding George Bush's re-election, Aykroyd said, "We've got to support [Bush] as the commander in chief and we've got to support those young men and women who are out there protecting our big, fat, bloated lifestyle." ...

Then the "Ghostbusters" star got into the subject of extra-terrestrials, saying "I'm the Hollywood consultant for mufon.com, which is the mutual UFO network and I have in the past two weeks have been sent just astounding home video of these objects that are just winking in and out or our atmosphere, coming and going like taxis. . . . You've been hearing of these sightings in [Canada's Yukon Territory] with these ships 200 feet across. 200-300 people have seen them Mounties have seen them. There's huge, massive motherships going up to the Yukon."

In related news, oil prices fell to less than $43 a barrel.

Sean Penn is none too happy about being ripped in "Team America", reports Matt Drudge. He is so upset that he sent a rambling, incoherent memo to creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

Celebrities are lining up to support he anti-Bush campaign of Moveon.org. The "A-list" includes: Benny Boom, Moby, the Roots, Natalie Merchant, Kevin Bacon, Al Franken, Janeane Garofalo, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Norman Mailer's son, Woody Harrelson, Martin Sheen, John Sayles, Margaret Cho, Matt Damon, Rob Reiner, Illeana Douglas, Ione Skye, and Scarlett Johanssen.

Whew.

Silly me. All this time I've thought the First Amendment protected people's personal expression or beliefs from government persecution or retribution. It even starts out "Congress shall make no law..."

Apparently I missed the part where it says you have to put up with useful idiots like Linda Ronstadt. She can use your property to praise Michael Moore all she wants and you can't do anything about it. Or so says Michael Moore, whom apparently has never even read the First Amendment:

"What country do you live in?" Moore asked. "Last time I checked, Las Vegas is still in the United States. And in the United States, we have something called, 'The First Amendment.'...For you to throw Linda Ronstadt off the premises because she dared to say a few words in support of me and my film, is simply stupid and Un-American."

Of all people, Michael Moore knows what Un-American is.

I think I'll track down ol' Mikey. I want to stand in his living room and praise George W. Bush, Colin Powell, and of course Rummy. After all, Moore lives in the United States and in the U.S. we have something called 'The First Amendment'. That means I can go over to Mikey's place and say whatever I want and he can't kick me out or anything. If I call myself an artist, I could even charge him $50 for the priviledge.

Meanwhile, the New York Times says that Alladin should have booted their paying customers.

A New York Times editorial published Tuesday said the disgruntled audience members should have been booted.

"Perhaps her praise for Mr. Moore, even at the very end of her show, did ruin the performance for some people," the editorial read.

"They have a right to voice their disapproval — to express their opinion as Ms. Ronstadt expressed hers and to ask for a refund. But if their intemperate behavior began to worry the management, then they were the ones who should have been thrown out and told never to return, not Ms. Ronstadt, who threatened, after all, only to sing."

Hmm.. Your employee offends your paying customers, (perhaps even incites a riot) and you are supposed to boot your paying customers. Now that's a business plan.

Country singer Linda Ronstadt praised propagandist Michael Moore as a "great American patriot" and "someone who is spreading the truth." Her words had predictable results with the conservative country music base.

Ronstadt's comments drew loud boos and some of the 4,500 people in attendance stormed out of the theater. People also tore down concert posters and tossed cocktails into the air.

"It was a very ugly scene," Aladdin President Bill Timmins told The Associated Press. "She praised him and all of a sudden all bedlam broke loose."

Timmins, who is British and was watching the show, decided Ronstadt had to go - for good. Timmins said he didn't allow Ronstadt back in her luxury suite and she was escorted off the property.

Timmins also said Ronstadt will not be welcome back at the property, and kudos for him in listening to his customers.

This happened just days after Whoopi Goldberg got similar treatment from her employer, Slim-Fast, over her anti-Bush tirade.

Undoubtedly the useful fools will be screaming censorship, as if the VRWC has that long of reach or President Bush himself ordered the President of Alladin Casino to fire Ronstadt.

The absolute worst song I've ever heard is William Shatner's rendition of Mr. Tambourine Man. Suddenly, there is a new contender. Barbra Streisand sings for John Kerry.

PEOPLE
I MEAN G - O - P - EOPLE -
WHO'D BELIEVE THERE'S SUCH PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD?
BUSH SEEZA
LOTTA CONDOLEEZA,
THEY'RE DIVIDING THE PLANET'S OIL
ACCORDING TO RICHARD "POIL"
AND THEY'RE ALL JUST TRAINEES
OF CHENEY'S.

RUMSFELD,
WE MUST GET RID OF RUMSFELD -
HE'S THE SPOOKIEST PERSON IN THE WORLD.
AS FOR POWELL -
HE'S NEITHER FISH NOR FOWL.
HE'S IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM,
WHILE THEY'RE ALL FIDDLING WITH DOOM.
NO ONE'S MINDING THE STORE.
WHAT'S MORE,
LET'S DISCUSS THIS WAR WE'RE LOST IN,
DON'T ASK WHAT IT'S COSTIN' -
WHAT'S A TRILLION OR TWO TO RULE THE WORLD?

It goes on and on for several more verses. And of course, there's plenty more moonbattery posted proudly on the rest of her site.

UPDATE: Fixed the Shatner link.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal. These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids - $500 sneakers for what? And won't spend $200 for 'Hooked on Phonics.' They're standing on the corner and they can't speak English. I can't even talk the way these people talk: 'Why you ain't,' 'Where you is' ... And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. And then I heard the father talk. ... Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads. ... You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth!" -- Comedian Bill Cosby.

On Wednesday, Michael Moore blamed Disney and the Bush Family for censoring him. He claimed that Disney had caved to political pressure in blocking his film, and that he had just found out this week. Here are his words from his own web site.

Yesterday I was told that Disney, the studio that owns Miramax, has officially decided to prohibit our producer, Miramax, from distributing my new film, "Fahrenheit 9/11." The reason? According to today's (May 5) New York Times, it might "endanger" millions of dollars of tax breaks Disney receives from the state of Florida because the film will "anger" the Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush.

Now Michael Moore has admitted lying about being "censored" by Disney. He's known all along that Miramax wasn't going to distribute his film. (Of course you have to go to New Zealand to hear about it.) Perhaps he was hoping another distributor would step up to the plate.

Also, Brent Bozell says Michael Moore's smear tactics are nothing new, and nothing to be surprised about.

When I lived in Atlanta, you couldn't rent a passenger van on election day. The reason being, Democrats would rent all the vans in town to drive people to and from the polls. The core of their no Democrat left behind strategy was to get as many potentially Democrat voters to polls as possible. That said, rocker and Democrat campaigner, Moby, offers up a different strategy.

"No one's talking about how to keep the other side home on Election Day," Moby tells us. "It's a lot easier than you think and it doesn't cost that much. This election can be won by 200,000 votes."
Moby suggests that it's possible to seed doubt among Bush's far-right supporters on the Web.

"You target his natural constituencies," says the Grammy-nominated techno-wizard. "For example, you can go on all the pro-life chat rooms and say you're an outraged right-wing voter and that you know that George Bush drove an ex-girlfriend to an abortion clinic and paid for her to get an abortion.

"Then you go to an anti-immigration Web site chat room and ask, 'What's all this about George Bush proposing amnesty for illegal aliens?'"

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but if I went on the web and started posting lies about Moby in an attempt to lower sales of his next album, that would be slander. If proven, I could be sued for damages.

"I don't think the biggest problem ...two biggest problems in America are that too many people want to commit their lives to one another till death do us part and steroids in sports. I don't think those are our two biggest problems." -- Meryl Streep, taking pot shots at the President's State of the Union address during her acceptance speech for Best Actress in a Mini Series or Movie. She received a luke cold response.

Meryl Streep thinks the State of the Union Address is like an awards ceremony, with all the important goodies coming at the very end of the night.

What surprises me most is that she actually stayed awake for the whole thing.

Another Hollyweird self-aggrandizement awards ceremony is almost upon us. The Golden Globes (a/k/a Oscar jr.) will be on NBC in a few hours, and I cannot help but wonder what anti-capitalist, anti-Bush, anti-American tripe they will be shoveling tonight. No matter what the "liberal elite" have to say, remember that you cannot criticize them. That would have a "chilling effect" on their freedom of speech, which we all know was intended by James Madison to be the right to make a complete ass of yourself without facing any consequences what-so-ever.

In observance of tonight's festivities, I want to point out something I said back in October of 2002.

My overall thoughts are that celebrities need to know when to keep their fucking mouths shut. Many celebrities never even finished high school, and their greatest achievement is looking pretty, or learning to read a cue card. Sure, you may have a good set of lungs, but your fame and fortune don't lend credence to the garbage you spew. In fact, I think just the opposite. Your incoherent ramblings and off-stage antics actually detract from any acting/singing/looking-pretty ability that you may possess.

Now shut the hell up and dance for me, you trained monkey.

As if you had any doubts about Hollywood intellect, Lay Lines and King of Fools, offer us some evidence.

Okay, so perhaps I went a little overboard with the graphics...

"I worry about bringing up a child in America. At the moment there's a weird, over-patriotic atmosphere over there, like, 'We're No. 1 and the rest of the world doesn't matter.'" -- Gwyneth Paltrow, who likes to rudely park on the sidewalk, on her decision to raise her child in "gun-free" London, where even the Mayor doesn't feel safe.

I'd much rather wave an American flag than a white one.

"I hate to see the American flag hanging out of every bloody station wagon, out of every SUV, every little Midwestern house in some residential area. It's easy to confuse patriotism with nationalism. Flag waving ain't gonna do it." -- Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson in an interview published Sunday in the Asbury Park Press. The remarks got him banned "forever" from WCHR-FM in New Jersey.

The station took a poll of listeners and the verdict was in favor of banning them. Of course there will probably the gratuitious calls of censorship and McCarthyism, because everyone knows that freedom of speech means you can say unpopular things and people still have to buy what you're selling.

When hubby, James Brolin's movie The Reagans was cancelled on CBS, Barbra Streisand suddenly became an amateur Constitutional scholar. Many of those observing the flap surrounding the controversial movie knew that invariably someone would scream "censorship" when CBS decided to yank the mini-series. Barbra was more than happy to step forward to carry the torch for the black helicopter crowd.

This is censorship, pure and simple. Well, maybe not all that pure. Censorship never is. Due to their experience with the restrictive English government, the framers of our constitution specifically included a ban on prior restraint in the First Amendment, which is an attempt to stop information from getting out there before the public has a chance to see it at all - exactly what is going on in this case.

Of course, this case really has very little to do with the First Amendment or censorship. CBS was, and still is, free to air the movie. That right is protected by the First Amendment, and the government has made no attempts to violate it. CBS has the right to air the "biopic" just like television viewers have the right to boycott The Reagans, CBS, and their advertiser's products.

Now, Barbra Streisand doesn't really believe that there is government censorship at work, or at least that is what she freely admits in the very next sentence.

Of course, CBS as a company has the legal right to make decisions about what they do and do not air. However, these important decisions should be based on artistic integrity rather than an attempt to appease a small group of vocal dissidents. Indeed, today marks a sad day for artistic freedom - one of the most important elements of an open and democratic society.

So, just who is it that Barbra is mad at? First she blames the government for censoring CBS, when in fact it is merely the American viewing public who she tries to characterize as a small targeted arm of the VRWC, for putting pressure on CBS not to air the hit piece. Of course that is factually incorrect. There were no federal agents in black suits who showed up at CBS headquarters and forced them not to air the mini-series. No, it was the threat of losing advertising dollars during the November sweeps that got CBS to change it's mind.

Of course Streisand also recognizes this as she blames CBS for not basing their decisions purely on "artistic integrity" when deciding what they want to put on the air. Streisand may have a right to be mad at CBS for caving to market pressure, however since she isn't the one that has to answer to CBS/Viacom shareholders, she really doesn't have a dog in the fight. As a publicly traded company, the shareholders rule the roost and they are primarily interested in money.

If Streisand really thinks that CBS' motive is "artistic integrity" (instead of money) she is dumber than was previously thought. Barbra and her boy toy James Brolin are just the window dressing used to bring in the viewers who pay the bills. When they fail to capture the attention of the masses, they put themselves in jeopardy of being fired; which is exactly what happened to the producers of Brolin's film. She can be mad at CBS for shit-canning him if she wants, but in the end, it was the artists and their "artistic integrity" who failed CBS by producing an un-marketable product. They have no one to blame but themselves.

"I don't know if we'll marry, I find it romantic bearing his illegitimate child and living next door." -- Helena Bonham Carter, commenting (fourth item) on the birth of her baby boy with next door neighbor and director Tim Burton.

"If I had to predict, the way things are going, I'd say the chances are about 50-50 that humanity will be extinct or nearly extinct within 50 years. Weapons of mass destruction, disease, I mean this global warming is scaring the living daylights out of me." -- Ted Turner, in an interview with the AJC.

So Ted sleeps next to a communist for 10 years, but its global warming that he's losing sleep over.

"I'm very troubled by the proliferation of arms, at the fact so many people in the United States carry guns. It obviously contributes greatly to the crime problems we have. I'm sure gun laws should be strengthened in the United States. I just don't know the correct mechanism." -- Harrison Ford, lamenting that law abiding citizens are permitted to own firearms.

For the record, Harrison Ford has used firearms in one form or another in all six Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies, as well as Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, Witness, Air Force One, Six Days Seven Nights, and the Fugitive, among others.

Harrison Ford also complained about the U.S. led war in Iraq, and about how Hollywood is always cashing in. "It seems everybody [in Hollywood] is only going for the big hit, for the most return," said Ford. By the way, Indiana Jones IV is being planned for 2005.

"We're supposed to evolve from frontier justice. You have to be a citizen of the world. ... These are difficult waters to negotiate, and you have to be a pretty evolved person to be able to do it. I think that [the Old West mythology] is a good thing to have in your spine. But it shouldn't operate your brain. It's nice to know that you're willing to fight. But it's good to know how smart you are about not fighting." -- B-movie actor Kevin Costner, known for such Hollywood hits as Sizzle Beach, USA, and Waterworld.

Who the hell cares what this man of a thousand boring baseball movies thinks? I guess Costner's roles in Wyatt Earp and JFK (each a mind numbing four or five hours long) all of a sudden qualify him to be an expert on Old West Mythology and international diplomacy.

"In France, it's a very healthy protest scene and very common for people to take to the streets to air their grievances. We went to a police station, we filled out a form, we'll pay a fine. That's it." -- Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, isn't "Back on the Chain Gang". She's expressing praise for the French police who arrested her and other PETA protesters for vandalizing a Paris KFC.

Hynde and other PETA protesters blocked traffic and vandalized the facade of the restaurant to protest the inhumane treatment of chickens. She was released after spending less than an hour in jail.

I wonder if she's interested in supporting Americans for Chicken Safety.

"...that same flag that took me so long to love, respect, and protect, threatens to become a haunting banner of murder, greed, and treason against our principles, honored history, Constitution, and our own mothers and fathers. To become a vulgar billboard, advertising our disloyalty to ourselves and our allies." -- Actor Sean Penn, telling everyone what he thinks of the Stars and Stripes.

Nod to the MRC, who is showing quite the intestinal fortitude by wading through Penn's 4000-plus word incoherent babbling.

"So what Jefferson was saying was "Hey! You know, we left this England place because it was bogus. So if we don't get some cool rules ourselves, pronto, we'll just be bogus too." Yeah?" -- Sean Penn as Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

"When we allow pridefull killers to define our value as presumption, then only murder can live in our dreams." -- Sean Penn, full page ad in the NY Times, which cost an estimated $150,000.

"I was all too aware that on the night of the Academy Awards, 15 Marines had been killed - kids my son's age. And their families, I'm sure, did not have the Academy Awards turned on that night. I am not comfortable with adding to their misery, and so I prefer to keep my liberal-a**, left-wing limousine-liberal mouth shut until these lives are no longer being spent." -- Dustin Hoffman, on why he kept his mouth shut at the Academy Awards this year.

What? No cries of censorship, or McCarthyism?

"In time of war, to aid and give comfort to the enemy on foreign soil, on stage and in a public forum is perfect fodder for anybody's press overseas that has a slightly different agenda, and I think it's reprehensible. And just because you're cute and have D-cups doesn't mean it's any less reprehensible." -- Gene Simmons, of KISS, speaking about Dixie Chick, Natalie Maines.

(link via Neal)

"Any obstacles for individuals of proper reputation -- in other words, nonfelons -- to ever need any kind of permit for the right to keep and bear arms is an indication of a cultural deprivation at the hands of an apathetic sheeplike society that embarrasses me, angers me. To think that some man can tell this man if, where or when I may be able to defend myself is absolutely repugnant to me. ... I find that spiritually, intellectually and constitutionally offensive. And I'm fighting with all my might to rectify that." -- Ted Nugent, speaking out in favor of a person's right to keep and bear arms for their defense and liberty.

Today's Cyberalert captures these statements by Ed Asner on Wednesday's Buchanan & Press on MSNBC. Host, Pat Buchanan was discussing Fidel Castro, and the Hollywood infatuation with the Cuban dictator. Asner was asked for his thoughts on Castro's recent execution of three hijackers, who were found guilty of attempting to flee the communist island nation to the United States. Asner justifies Castro's actions, even though he is a staunch opponent of the death penalty.

"I am opposed to capital punishment by any country, by any persons. I disapprove of Mr. Castro's executing. I understand that the trial was very fair, that the death penalty is exercised in Cuba and therefore, by Cuban standards, the trial was fair and judicious even though I abhor the death penalty."

Justice is swift in Cuba, which is also known for it's top notch health care system. It takes the United States years of trials and mandatory appeals before we execute anyone. Castro managed to wrap the whole thing up in a matter of weeks.

The MRC notes that later in the show, Buchanan pointed out: "He has persecuted his own people, he has denied them free elections for 40 years. He's an unelected dictator who puts people in prison on his own whim. What is the infatuation-"

Asner interjected: "We didn't have a free election in 2002."

The Boycott Hollywood website is to be no more. The famed Hollywood pundit that exercised their First Amendment freedoms by criticizing anti-war, anti-Bush, and anti-American celebrities and countering the left-wing rhetoric coming out of Hollywood has been squelched, by none other than Hollywood itself. Apparently, the William Morris agency, representing several Hollywood actors and actresses has pressed legal action against the domain registrar. Cold Fury and Instapundit have some of the details, but this boils down to raw censorship of Indymedia.

Imagine if a big Hollywood agency went to your webhost or domain registrar and demanded that they shut you down? Who would win the legal battle? Would you even have the resources to wage such a war?

The folks at Boycott Hollywood offered some parting words.

Well, folks - it's been a blast and it's been fun.

Apparently, our domain registrar (namesdirect.com - subsidiary of Dotster.com) have caved to the pressures of the William Morris Agency giant. On April 29, 2003, Dotster.com received a letter from the William Morris Agency in regards to this website. Their complaint accused us of liable and potentially other civil and criminal offenses.

This is another fine example of how Hollywood feels that their opinion and view is the only one that matters. Average citizens are disallowed the free expression of our point of view because they don't like being challenged for their views. I stand firm on the belief that we have done nothing wrong at this website - - The celebrities have expressed their views, and we have responded in kind by expressing our views regarding the thoughts and ideas that they have, publicly, expressed.

...I can say only this - - the fact that we're being shut down because of the William Morris Agency tells me that we truly touched a raw nerve in someone, somewhere. At the very least, it tells me that our message was recieved by the people that it was intended for. The very fact that we cannot express our opinions regarding the views of these stars/celebs shows me, yet again, the double standard that exists in Follywood.

They continue into more detail, and offer up a scan of the letter their domain registrar received from the William Morris Agency. Another website, Hollywood Halfwits also has a cached copy of their final statements.

This irritates my last nerve. As someone who has been quantifying celebrity nonsense, could I be a target? What about others like me. The hypocritical left never ceases to amaze me. Are these not the same people who cried censorship and blacklisting? Are these not the same people that said they have the right to say whatever they want with no consequences?

I don't think I can get over this. Although I have not previously participated in any boycotts, I'm going to start now by refusing to see any movies this summer. I had plans to go see the new X-men movie on Sunday, but I will cancel them. It may not be much. My ten bucks may be insignificant, but they will get no more of my money for a while.

Robert Duvall, Kelsey Grammer, Jason Priestly, Ron Silver and other 'Pro-War' celebrities are starting to come out of their shell, according to CNS News, by blasting 'Anti-War' celebrities using their status as a bully pulpit.

Ron Silver claims, "I don't listen to Michael Moore...I didn't agree with him." On his boycotting of the Oscar ceremony, Kelsey Grammer added, "I wasn't interested. I knew that that kind of crap was going to be there and I thought, I am not interested."

"They should keep their mouths shut," said Robert Duvall.

That's the best idea I've heard in a long time.

William F. Buckley notes that Oliver Stone recently spoke of his encounter with Fidel Castro in preparation for an upcoming HBO film. Stone claimed that, "we should look to (Castro) as one of the Earth's wisest people, one of the people we should consult."

Stone's documentary, which was equally gushing in it's support of the dictator, has been indefinitely shelved by HBO, who deemed the film to be "somewhat dated, or incomplete". Apparently HBO had second thoughts after Castro executed 3 hijackers who attempted to defect, and rounded up 75 'dissenters' and threw them in jail for speaking out against his regime.

Who wants to bet that Stone will be the next celebrity to join the 'quit censoring me' crowd in Hollywood?

Every now and then, I mosey on over to see what Wil Wheaton is up to. I know he's a Hollywood liberal, or as he puts it "progressive", but we share some of the same views, and he's definitely not 'in your face' about his opinions like some celebs. He also seems to respect other peoples views, and doesn't cry 'censorship' when people disagree with him. He seems to be somewhat pro-gun and anti-DMCA, but he's a little too 'green' for my tastes. He also uses a lot of words like 'neo-conservative' and seems to be quite anti-republican. In this particular post, he humorously talks about the recent wooing from the DNC, coming in the form of a survey. What really bothers me about the post, are his anti-corporate comments. (emphasis his)

There was also a section for comments, where I wrote: "To earn my vote, the Democrats need to offer strong, clear, different alternatives to the neoconservative agenda which is currenly (sic) driving White House policy. Democrats in Congress need to shun coporate (sic) money, and return to representing The American People, when the two interests collide.

Wasn't it Paramount Corporation that was popping out all those Star Trek shows and movies? And just what is so wrong with corporations any way? Corporations are people too.

Corporations don't have an income, hold assets, or pay taxes; people do. Corporate money is money that belongs to the shareholders. Taxes a corporation 'pays' are actually collected from customers in the form of higher prices, employees in the form of lower wages, or shareholders in the form of lower income and shareholder equity. In turn, a corporation's interests are the interests of all of those major stakeholders. What's good for a corporation is good for the customers, employees, and shareholders alike.

Commercial transactions are mutually beneficial. When Steve buys a computer, he does so because he wants a computer. The corporation, on the other hand, wants Steve's money. Both Steve and the corporation walk away from the transaction happy. Now I realize that not every transaction ends up being a happy one, as people do have returns, refunds, and need service after the sale. But from the outset, the transaction is mutually beneficial. Customer satisfaction is a different issue, that determines the longevity of a corporation. Only the government and government regulated monopolies are able to shirk customer satisfaction and not feel the economic impact. (Ok, and maybe Microsoft.)

Personally, I'm a little fed up with the demonization of corporations, as large uncaring behemoths, with overpaid, tyrannical CEOs. As a shareholder, I take it personally, and if you own individual stocks, mutual funds, or have a 401k, you probably should too.

UPDATE: Richard Tallent gives my article a pretty good fisking over on his website. I figure, I've spoken my peace, and he's spoken his, so I'm only going to respond to parts of his essay. Richard laments that he's "fed up with individual stockholders whose only metric for buying or selling is the share price, without consideration of that company's ability to do business in an ethical manner."

I cannot attest as to why Richard buys stock, but I buy stock to make money, not to feel like a better person. After the Worldcom scandal, Worldcom's stock plummeted to $0.06 a share, before rising back up to $0.25 a share before being delisted. Is a savvy investor unethical for taking advantage of the opportunity? Are people that invested in Napster guilty of violating ethics or laws relating to music sharing? I don't think so, but apparently the music companies do.

Richard mainly addresses the issue of corporate money in politics, which I never even ranted about. I'm just sick and tired of the anti-corporate attitude I'm hearing lately. As for corporate money in politics, I don't see where it's any different than union money or special interests. It just seems like people lobbying for a common interest to me.

He also touches on mandating controls on CEOs and executives, like tying CEO pay to employee pay. Actually, that's already been tried, and failed. Ben and Jerry's (the ice cream hippies) did that when they first opened up shop. What they found was that they could not attract top talent to run the company. They ultimately ended up raising the bar for executive pay, while leaving the ice cream scoopers far behind, and eventually, got rid of the ties altogether. Mandating an across the board pay ceiling would only serve to put American companies at even more of a handicap against international firms.

Tim Robbins, of Howard the Duck fame, notes that the VRWC is doing it's job.

"A message is being sent through the White House and its allies in talk radio...[that] if you oppose this administration, there can and will be ramifications," Robbins claimed. "Every day, the airwaves are filled with warnings, veiled and unveiled threats, spewed invective and hatred directed at any voice of dissent."

Robbins went on to claim that the Baseball Hall of Fame has a Constitutional responsibility to provide him with a forum to speak.

"While the journalists' outrage at the cancellation of our appearance in [Hall of Fame headquarters at] Cooperstown is not about my views; it is about my right to express those views. I am extremely grateful that there are those of you out there still with a fierce belief in constitutionally guaranteed rights."

Now I'm no Constitutional scholar, but I do know a thing or two about Amendments. The First Amendment clearly states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

I don't see one damn word in there about Cooperstown being responsible to provide Tim Robbins with a forum. I also don't see anything about American consumers being morally or legally bound to patronize Tim's body of work even if we strongly disagree with his blatant anti-American and anti-Bush remarks.

But then, I'm probably not as smart as Tim, who graduated with honors from UCLA (as a drama major). Also, if you've heard Tim's sound bytes, than you've heard Tim putting that drama degree to good use. His inflection and preaching can only be topped by the likes of Sharpton or Jackson. I hope I'm the first to say, Tim Robbins for President!