RDC

in the movie he played a frightened man who like thousands of other deserted because they could not handle the killing. he was selected as the one guy to be executed. he was a sad little man overwhelmed by everything.

he had already been making movies for 14 years.

usahog

i don't think he is getting paid to protest. so much for "anything for a buck."

adgrant

welcome.

this is of course the kiss of death when rick welcomes you, but the kisses will come from a small but vocal group of misguided people who in fact not only like bushet, but think he is a real smart, down home, kind of fella.

maybe he is in their eyes.

DrMaddVibe

if you start with the premise that saddam is not only a bad person, but that he is getting ready to attack us, and that he was directly or indirectly involved with 9/11, then you are correct.

prove your premise.

Rick? I think this picture proves my following point, "everybody likes a little ass, nobody likes a smartass..." heh, GUILTY yes... You too? Perhaps we should form a support group?

Why do rightwing people care so much about celebrity politics? You all are more insane than I thought. Get an enemy that matters.

John

John

For once you and I can agree. I do not care one damn about those characters and will not support their film, music, or arts careers either.

Yes, our country was founded based on the right to disagree and voice your opinions, but it would help to know what the Hell you are talking about, and most of the members of ASS are ill informed to say the least.

Charlie

Rick,
"anything for a buck." was in Refrence to him Narrating "War Documentories" when he shows how he feels about the Military and even the Government...
That My Friend is "Anything for a Buck"

Hog

Charlie,

We do agree about celebrities being a non-issue, maybe, but you make a pretty huge assumption when you say they don't know what they are talking about. How do you know that? I think they in fact DO know what they are talking about. It ain't that complex, whatever side you stand on. Just because you disagree doesn't mean the otherside has no clue.

Antiwar people have no corner on so-called ignorance. I've read some pretty far-fetched nonsense on these boards by war supporters, who can't seem to clarify if the war in Iraq is about terrorism, 9/11, disarmament, or other theories. And that is just getting the facts wrong. The war is about conformance with terms of agreement in '91. This terrorism stuff is just rhetoric. Why isn't 9/11 and al-Qaeda a part of the U.S. case to the UN? Because it IS NOT what this war is about. The president has severely mislead his citizens, and that is a reprehensible act. But I wonder if he even knows...

John

JOHN, You Sir are WRONG... he has not mislead his people.. just the one's who do not want to wake up to the Coffee when its bruing right under there very nose!!!! do these shoe's fit yourself??

I have posted Facts about the connections and still you did not believe...

While I was Still Stationed Over Sea's there was a Broadcasting of Saddam Hussain Boasting that he will pay $25,000 dollars to the Family's of these Suicide Bombers Directing them to Attack Isrealies and Americans.... Did you ever catch a glimps of the footage??? do you ever recall hearing any of this?
if that is Not Directly Supporting Terrorists then Kiss my A$$ and Call me Ireen!!!!!!!

and other facts I have in previous posts of the Al'Quida and another Terrorist Group working in Northern Iraq and who frequently met with Saddam Hussain on different Ocassions from I believe it read 1994-1998 and as recent as 2000 and 2002 of last year...

Bottom Line Saddam's A$$ is going Down... the Game Playing is Over... Ticket is Punched!!!!!!!!
you can live in your fantasy world of "Everybody's Out to Get You" but the world will still go on

Hog

usahog

ok, you are correct about "anything for a buck"

this is possibly or probably too long, but i don't care. we are about to embark on a war because we are no longer a democracy we are a corporation looking at the bottom line. your president, not voted in by a majority, but appointed to be "king of fools", a man who had the highest execution rate in his state, and i mean his state, not one he was elected to serve, but to own and screw up, like a practice test for his handlers, a man who without the CC, and the money spent by corporations to give this nitwit the appearance of rationality, a man who would not qualify as an adoptive parent, could not qualify as a driver for some truck companies because of his past dui's,
is going to be able to kill a bunch of people all at once, destroy iraq,and have it rebuilt. halliburton has already been awarded the prize of putting out the oil well fires we will start. i haven't read anything about who will awarded the prize of rebuilding the cities, or burying the dead, now no longer under the "yoke" of saddam.

here is a much more eloquent discussion then i could write:

remember what dorothy parker said
"you can lead a horticullter,
but you can't make her think.

Tough gritty American soldiers protect freedom of liberal S.F. columnist? Or the other way
around?

I get this a lot: Hey Mark, you know what you should do, you pathetic piece of liberal S.F. scum?
You should kneel down right now and thank our angry God there's a hard-ass non-pussified non-
wimpy U.S. military out there protecting your pathetic little butt, baby. Isn't that thoughtful?

You should be damn grateful, they scowl, that these fine men and women are risking their lives to
ensure your right of free speech, your contemptible ability to scribble these pansy liberal words, to
call Shrub a smirking daddy's boy, to suggest that God doesn't exist or that Lynne Cheney
frightens small children and makes paint peel, all while remaining safe and cozy in your little
hippie-happy tofu-licking gay-friendly S.F. cocoon, all protected and insulated and smug.

I get this a lot, too, in response to columns about, say, alternative religion, or spirituality, or
progressive politics, or sex, or open mindedness or anything that rubs conservatives the wrong
way, which is, of course, just about anything: How can you write such typical lefty liberal drivel
while "real" men and women are out there making "real" decisions about "real" issues?

When people are dying from poison gas and are having their fingernails ripped out by evildoers,
and you just wait until your pathetic little ****gy S.F. and granola Berkeley get "hit" and your family
and friends are screaming and burning to death and we'll see how you feel then, won't we, when
Dubya tried to warn you and where will your hippie crap be then huh? Huh?

It's touching, truly.


And there are many more, most filled with flaming bile, with a rabid pro-military lust, homophobia
like a calling card, aimed at me, at S.F, at progressives, at gays -- anyone, really, who is not in
blind lockstep support of everything ShrubCo spins their way, and never failing to leverage the
rather inane "be grateful you live in this country" argument, much like saying, be grateful you
weren't born in 1347 and suffered serfdom and had boils all over your face and died toothless at
age 24. Yes, I am grateful. Every day. Thank you.

Let us now speak blasphemy. Let us point up something no one seems to be mentioning, as
Shrub sends in 300,000 of our youth to blast a cheap thug who is, by every account, no serious
threat to the U.S., and never has been, and who had nothing to do with 9/11, and whose ties to
terrorism are tenuous at best, all while rabid North Korea happily buys more nuke technology from
desperate Pakistan and sells the finished product to the highest bidder.

Here it is: The military does not protect my freedom. Our soldiers are not out there right now
safeguarding me, or you, or us, from some sort of total, '50s-era, Red Scare-esque dictatorial
overthrow of our nation; nor is the military guaranteeing I have the right to write this column any
more than it is protecting your right to read it, or to protest the war and speak freely and smoke
imported French cigarettes and watch porn and drive really fast. Not anymore, they're not. Not this
time.

More than ever before in recent history, the otherwise worthy U.S. military is right now in service
not of the people, not of the national security, but of the current government regime and its
corporate interests. Has it always been this way? Of course. But this time, with our smirky Enron
president and cash-hungry CEO administration, it's never been so flagrant, or insulting, or
invidious.


Our soldiers are not protecting our freedoms. They are not preventing more terrorism. They are
not guaranteeing continued free speech. Because the only true threat to such freedoms is coming
from within.

There is every indication that our own government, more than any other in the Western world, is
the one that would like our free speech quelled, dissenting voices silenced, proofs of wrongdoing
or proofs of corporate greedmongering that are used as a cheap excuse to massacre an
estimated half-million Iraqis, eliminated.

There is every indication that John Ashcroft would love nothing more than to shut down
independent thought and snuff out all those dirty pictures and turn off the whole gol-durn Internet
once and for all.

There is every flagrant sign that Rummy and Ari Fleischer think the media would do good to shut
the hell up and be grateful they're even allowed on the White House grounds. "If you're not with
us, you're with the terrorists," they glower, as if everyone were 5 years old, and drugged, and
stupid.

There is every indication that BushCo would love nothing more than to fire truckfuls of tear gas
into those crowds of 11 million protesters a few weeks ago, clamp down all those millions of
negative voices causing him such a global headache, brainwash the media and the populace,
continue to turn attention away from that pesky unfindable Osama to that evil easily annihilated
Saddam, make you think the two are somehow connected, one and the same, and that if you
disagree you are a traitorous baby-killing communist, how dare you, don't you value your
freedom?

Of course I do. Which is exactly why this war is so inane, and vile.

This war was never about your safety, or the safety of this nation, or protecting freedom. It is
about strategic power bases, oil reserves and control. It is about regional supremacy first,
petroleum and military supply industries second, humanitarian and domestic-security concerns,
well, about 147th.

It was never about WMD. It was never about terrorism. It was never about Saddam, except
insofar as Saddam is a threat to those same corporate concerns. The U.S. military is right now
serving ExxonMobil. And Lockheed Martin. And is protecting, unbeknownst to it, our grip on power
brokering in the Middle East.

Which naturally might raise the question, What, then, is actually protecting America's freedom?
What forces are guaranteeing free speech? Protecting your civil liberties?

It's you. It's millions of independent, resistant voices, in chat rooms and e-mail boxes and
magazines and on Web sites all over the nation and the world.

It is staggering and potent protests like the all-time largest global rally of Feb. 15. It is artists and
actors and musicians, writers and renegades and thinkers, professors and pundits and op-ed
columnists and daring newspaper editors.

Do you see? It is these people, these voices, that are right now keeping the doors of personal
freedom from swinging shut. It is those who push back, refusing to be misled, resisting the
crackdown. What is keeping America free is not the military -- it is independent thought. It is the
progressive provocative evil "hippie vibe" that refuses to let Bush completely molest the nation.

Because BushCo would love nothing more than for everyone to shut the hell up so it can bomb in
peace. And they are trying. E-mail snooping, Homeland Security, the draconian Patriot Act, new
wiretap laws, the (failed) Total Information Awareness mega-database, expanded powers for the
police and FBI, immigrant detention, a raging international blanket campaign to forcibly convince
everyone of their warmongering cause, as most of the world just stands there, appalled, insulted,
and says no way.

Here's another irony: Major newspapers and TV and magazines, despite regular GOP puling
about the "damn liberal media," is largely in lockstep support of the war, giving scant coverage to
ongoing world protests, painting Chirac like the ogre Shrub wants you to think he is, hyping up
biotoxic threats and downplaying the pathetic meagerness of the Iraqi military, or the hundreds of
thousands of estimated civilian casualties and refugees this war will generate, the hundreds of
billions it will cost us.

Look. We possess a potent, world-class military. Dedicated and serious and no one questions
their ability, their commitment, despite how the vast majority of wary soldiers signed up during
peacetime, for the quick money, to help pay for college, or because they couldn't find decent jobs,
and not for some noble patriotic cause. But no matter.

Was I supportive of quick, aggressive military action against the largely fragmented and
untraceable al Qaeda? Was I glad to see undercover air marshals on civilian aircraft shortly after
9/11? Do I support our military in times of true crisis and need, when there is an actual viable
threat? Absolutely. Is this one of those times? No way. Here's how I support them now -- get them
out before a single one is killed.

Because here is the freedom our military is currently protecting: The freedom of cheap gas for the
next decade. The freedom of expanded power in the Middle East. The freedom of continued
American gluttony abroad, of a foreign policy that reeks of isolationism and corporate greed and
preemptive fist-to-face threats. It ain't worth it.

Is the military protecting us from terrorism? Doubtful. By most every estimate, Shrub's war will
only ignite more anti-U.S. hatred, spark more countries to fuel up and prepare for America's
random attack. We are not pouring water on the dying embers of U.S. revulsion -- we are kicking
them. As hard as we can.

I understand and value the need for a strong military. I appreciate the necessity. But the war in
Iraq does nothing but denigrate the value and integrity of our military. Note to conservatives:
Those soldiers aren't out there dying for you, they're dying for strategic political power, for some
oil exec's portfolio. They're protecting the American oligarchy. Does that make you feel proud?

This war, then, is a direct slap in the face, an insult not just to progressives and liberals but to the
country, and to the very soldiers themselves. I hereby kneel down in my liberal hippie gay-friendly
S.F. cocoon and pray to my godless tofu-lovin' universe that they don't die in oily vain.

here it comes

Blaa blaa blaa !!!! Same old crap about oil! Now the republicans are trying to take all our freedoms? I thought it was the dems!! most are anti-gun,welfare state creating, I know what is best for you, blowhards! I don't know what news this guy is watching but around these parts all I hear about is the anti-war protests.

But if we do end up getting some real cheap gas along with ridding the world of Saddam then so be it. This whole mess has lasted long enough. Time to fish or cut bait.

God bless,

Mike

Rick,

Did you write this? I’m sure you believe it, but did you write it? Or is it cut and pissed? There are several ridiculous statements, it’s mostly a rant.

1. Not voted in by a majority? Define majority? Have you seen a map county by county of the counties in the country that voted for Bush (in one color) as opposed to the voters who voted for Gore (another color)? Virtually the whole country voted for Bush! Surely you’re not naïve enough to question the system on which our government is based? I did encounter many people who were genuinely confused after the election, “how did he win if he didn’t have more votes?” they would ask. I would then have to explain that 100 % of the people in one state could vote for one candidate and they would get n electoral votes from that state. 30% of people from another could vote for the same candidate and they would get zero votes… You’d be surprised how many people REALLY don’t understand this. And I believe it was put in place to provide for representative government so that big majority states with huge populations could not make the decision for everyone else.

2. What does the execution rate in Texas have to do with the price of tea in china? Or Our President? Killers are killed deservingly so. Texas is a big state, right? Lots of killers?

3. DUIs? You did vote for Clinton didn’t you? What about his DUIs? Driving While Inhaling? Why would a former drinking problem bother you, but a former drug problem, rapist problem, shady land deal problem, cronyism, pardons for cash problem, etc. etc. etc. ad-nauseam “bother you?” **Note, ad-nauseam because the innumerable scandals of the aforementioned administration who claimed to be “the most ethical in history are demonstrably if not THE worst, clearly one of the worst records in history.

4. Kill a bunch of people all at once? Carpet-bombing? Like we did the last time? That is an emotional ploy intended to be evocative of pictures like that infamous picture of the young Vietnamese girl running through the streets crying and badly burned. Surely this is an emotional artifice. No one in their right mind would believe that Bush is sitting in the White House like Dr. Strangelove eagerly rubbing his hands together in gleeful anticipation of the death of innocent Iraqi civilians. I hated Clinton, I mean I REALLY HATED CLINTON and still do (both of them, not Chelsea), but I would not portend that he had a penchant for indiscriminant killing of civilians en-masse for his pure financial or political gain. Who would you pick to put out the Oil fires? Is there a better company? I’m sure research was done and if someone was selected they were done so based on merit, but if you have proof of malfeasance, I would like to hear it.

5. What does homophobia have to do with the war? I did ask, so you should tell.

6. “a cheap thug who is, by every account, no serious threat to the U.S” I like this one. Was Papa Doc a “serious threat to the U.S.? Was he developing chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons? Did he have an affinity for and direct ties to international terrorist organizations bent on razing this country both at home and abroad?

7. We’ll deal with North Korea in due time, but this really grinds my grits… What is up with this argument? Are you and other that foist it upon us insinuating that since we’re not attacking North Korea (now) that we shouldn’t attack Iraq? Does that mean we SHOULD attack North Korea? Does anyone understand the geopolitical dynamic at work here? I.e., Seoul is 30 miles from the DMZ? They can literally shell the city from their present fortified locations? Our troops stationed there are admittedly “a speed bump”. So is the argument that we should wait for Sadam to become a nuclear power like North Korea so then we have a different set of problems? I just don’t get this point but it’s a continuous tired but untrue smokescreen put up by the left.

8. Oh and this one is rich “The military does not protect my freedom.”. I think I’m seeing now that this is some sort of newspaper communist and not a personal post. This statement boarders on insanity and requires no defense. It’s like trying to argue that gravity exists…

9. “Our soldiers are not protecting our freedoms. They are not preventing more terrorism.”
What intelligence resources do you or this individual have to prove the point here? And I use the word “intelligence” VERY loosely…

10. “corporate greed mongering” this is code. This person is an unabashed communist/Marxist, in other words, From each according to his means, to each according to his needs… It’s been tried. We fought against that, didn’t we?

11. “Which is exactly why this war is so inane, and vile”, yeah, it never accomplished anything, right? War never accomplished anything. It is always a bad idea, right? Right? Does anyone really believe this? Do you? I’ll spare you the linty of obvious reasons and examples of just war going all the way back through the Old Testament. Oh yes, war is ugly, undesirable, untidy, a last resort, but undeniably effective… When push comes to shove, you damn well better be ready to shove or be shoved.

12. No war for oil? What about France? Don’t they have huge oil interests in Iraq? MUCH larger than ours. We get a fraction of our oil from there. France on the other hand has MUCH to loose if Sadam and his despotic regime goes down. No war for oil, that’s the French mantra. They want the oil, therefore they want no war, so there you have it, “no war, for oil…” Yes, that’s a heinous position to take and I wish the French, Germans, and Russians would kindly stand down from their Petrochemical motivated prognostications of pedantic patriots gone awry in the US.

13. Oh and this one, “It is staggering and potent protests like the all-time largest global rally of Feb. 15. It is artists and actors and musicians, writers and renegades and thinkers, professors and pundits and op-ed columnists and daring newspaper editors.” In a word? ASS!

14. I think they call this one “the big lie”. That’s an old communist technique, tell the lie, tell it over and over, keep telling it, and through repeated, relentless, rapid fire regurgitation of “the message” at some point, the lines between reality and “the lie” begin to blur, here you go, “Here's another irony: Major newspapers and TV and magazines, despite regular GOP puling about the "damn liberal media," is largely in lockstep support of the war” Yeah, I agree, Peter Jennings? Dan Rather? Tom Brokaw? Yeaup. All Bush supporters… Yeaup. Yeaup… Big time givers to the G.O.P… yeaup… Did the pharmacy loose your medication again?

I could go on, and on, this post certainly did. But it’s absurd. There is not a single salient cogent point made here. It reads as the lunatic ravings of a mad man.

P.S., I wrote this, I know it by rote, cause I wrote it. I didn't cut and pissed it, my thoughts, my beliefs, not a conservative columnist.

Well Put Robby!!!

Ditto what he said Rick,John and whoever else Believes the BS Rick Posted above Robby's counter post...
Everything You Said can be backed up by Facts and Intelligence reports released to the Public...

Hog

It sure didn't take long for somebody to whine about "he wasn't voted in by the majority" line. Boy, if I had a nickel for everytime I've heard this from some whiny demo I'd be a wealthy man!

All I have to say is thank God that George W. Bush is in office right now and not Al Gore!!!!

I hesitated to respond to Ricks rant but I cannot help myself. He makes so many idiotic points that it would be a novel if I covered them all. Maybe he is taking the hard liberal stance to try and arouse thoughts, I have no idea. The idea that any action outside of our shores is not protecting our citizens is simple and stupid. The idea that Saddam is no threat to us, and has little ties to terrorists is wrong. Where are you getting this misinformation? Do you think he would not gladly finance or instigate an attack on the USA or our allies if he had half a chance? Yes, Korea is a problem, but my guess is, that if Bush would aggressively move towards conflict with them, you would have paragraphs of why we are so wrong in attacking them. It is sad that the USA is now in the position of the worlds cops. I guess it comes from being one of the few countries somewhat capable of approaching the task, and yes, we are an agressive lot. But, what would things be like all over the world if we did not throw in our big american foot? I have a feeling things would be much worse. We supply the world with huge amounts of charity, so it is not crazy that we should protect our interests. This country is not perfect, never will be, our leaders never will be... but we do great things all over this planet. If you can, imagine what the world would be like if we did not take such aggressive stances with countries like Iraq? I guarantee there would be major problems. And yes, the problems maybe wouldn't touch our shores, and we wouldn't lose thousands of people when planes crash into our cities, but many more people would be dying, suffering all over the world. I guess my points don't gel very well either. But, my final point is that knee-jerk left or right wing responses are idiotic. We don't do everything for oil, not everyone who opposes the waring is liberal scum that should be thrown out of the country. However, I keep thinking back to 9-11, and I know that even if Saddam wasn't involved directly, he would have loved to be, and was likely cheering the destruction. Sometimes you have to fight, even if the world doesn't agree.

Rick

You are kind hearted type of guy who likes to cloud issues with pure BS. Nothing personal, just an observation, as I do in fact like you-regardless of your liberal leanings. As far as the election goes-- How many times do you want to recount the vote to prove that GWB did win? Over and done with and you can thank your lucky stars GWB won and not wishy washy Algore.

Post more liberal flack and we will enjoy laughing about the ridiculous claims they make.

Charlie

Gravity is a lie! Let's debate!!