A long read, but good.
Subject: Who's Smarter?
Folks, I personally think this says it all about the Hollywood
types. Ms. Osborne has hit the nail on the head and brings to
focus our world situation. It is well written. I don't
particularly agree with the past politics mentioned, but I do
believe her article is well researched and factual.
Who's Smarter?
by Cindy Osborne
The Hollywood group is at it again. Holding anti-war rallies,
screaming about the Bush Administration, running ads in major
newspapers, defaming the President and his Cabinet every chance
they get, to anyone and everyone who will listen. They publicly
defile them and call them names like "stupid" , "morons", and
"idiots". Jessica Lange went so far as to tell a crowd in Spain
that she hates President Bush and is embarrassed to be an
American.
So, just how ignorant are these people who are running the
country?
Let's look at the biographies of these "stupid", "ignorant" ,
"moronic" leaders, and then at the celebrities who are
castigating
them:
President George W. Bush: Received a Bachelors Degree from Yale
University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He served
as an
F-102 pilot for the Texas Air National Guard. He began his
career
in the oil and gas business in Midland in 1975 and worked in
the
energy industry until 1986. He was elected Governor on November
8,
1994, with
53.5 percent of the vote. In a historic re-election victory, he
became the first Texas Governor to be elected to consecutive
four-year terms on November 3, 1998 winning 68.6 percent of the
vote. In 1998 Governor Bush won 49 percent of the Hispanic
vote, 27
percent of the African-American vote, 27 percent of Democrats
and
65 percent of women. He won more Texas counties, 240 of 254,
than
any modern Republican other than Richard Nixon in 1972 and is
the
first Republican gubernatorial candidate to win the heavily
Hispanic and Democratic border counties of El Paso, Cameron and
Hidalgo. (Someone began circulating a false story about his
I.Q.
being lower than any other President. If you believed it, you
might want to go to URBANLEGENDS.COM and see the truth.)
Vice President ****** Cheney: Earned a B.A. in 1965 and a M.A. in
1966, both in political science. Two years later, he won an
American Political Science Association congressional
fellowship.
One of Vice President Cheney's primary duties is to share with
individuals, members of Congress and foreign leaders, President
Bush's vision to strengthen our
economy, secure our homeland and win the War on Terrorism. In
his
official role as President of the Senate, Vice President Cheney
regularly goes to Capital Hill to meet with Senators and
members of
the House of Representatives to work on the Administration's
legislative goals. In his travels as Vice President, he has
seen
first hand the great demands the war on terrorism is placing on
the
men and women of our military, and he is proud of the
tremendous
job they are doing for the United States of America.
Secretary of State Colin Powell: Educated in the New York City
public schools, graduating from the City College of New York
(CCNY), where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in geology. He also
participated in ROTC at CCNY and received a commission as an
Army
second lieutenant upon graduation in June 1958. His further
academic achievements include a Master of Business
Administration
Degree from George Washington University. Secretary Powell is
the
recipient of numerous U.S. and foreign military awards and
decorations. Secretary Powell's civilian
awards include two Presidential Medals of Freedom, the
President's
Citizens Medal, the Congressional Gold Medal, the Secretary of
State Distinguished Service Medal, and the Secretary of Energy
Distinguished Service Medal. Several schools and other
institutions
have been named in his honor and he holds honorary degrees from
universities and colleges across the country. (Note: He retired
as
Four Star General in the United States Army)
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld: Attended Princeton
University
on Scholarship (AB, 1954) and served in the U.S. Navy (1954-57)
as
a Naval aviator; Congressional Assistant to Rep. Robert Griffin
(R-MI), 1957-59; U.S. Representative, Illinois, 1962-69;
Assistant
to the President, Director of the Office of Economic
Opportunity,
Director of the Cost of Living Council, 1969-74; U.S.
Ambassador to
NATO, 1973-74; head of Presidential Transition Team, 1974;
Assistant to the President, Director of White House Office of
Operations, White House Chief of Staff, 1974-77; Secretary of
Defense, 1975-77.
Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge: Raised in a working
class
family in veterans' public housing in Erie. He earned a
scholarship
to Harvard, graduating with honors in 1967. After his first
year at
The Dickinson School of Law, he was drafted into the U.S. Army,
where he served as an infantry staff sergeant in Vietnam,
earning
the Bronze Star
for Valor. After returning to Pennsylvania, he earned his Law
Degree and was in private practice before becoming Assistant
District Attorney in Erie County. He was elected to Congress in
1982. He was the first enlisted Vietnam combat veteran elected
to
the U.S. House, and was overwhelmingly re-elected six times.
National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice: Earned her
Bachelor's
Degree in Political Science, **** Laude and
Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Denver in 1974; her
Master's
from the University of Notre Dame in 1975; and her Ph.D. from
the
Graduate School of International Studies at the University of
Denver in 1981. (Note: Rice enrolled at the University of
Denver
at the age of 15, graduating at 19 with a Bachelor's Degree in
Political Science (**** Laude). She earned a Master's Degree at
the
University of Notre Dame and a Doctorate from the University of
Denver's Graduate School of International Studies. Both of her
advanced degrees are also in Political Science.) She is a
Fellow
of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has been
awarded
Honorary Doctorates from Morehouse College in 1991, the
University
of Alabama in 1994, and the University of Notre Dame in 1995.
At
Stanford, she has been a member of the Center for International
Security and Arms Control, a Senior Fellow of the Institute for
International Studies, and a Fellow (by courtesy) of the Hoover
Institution. Her books include Germany Unified and Europe
Transformed (1995) with Philip Zelikow, The Gorbachev Era
(1986)
with Alexander Dallin, and Uncertain Allegiance: The Soviet
Union
and the Czechoslovak Army (1984). She also has written numerous
articles on Soviet and East European foreign and defense
policy,
and has addressed audiences in settings ranging from the U.S.
Ambassador's Residence in Moscow to the
Commonwealth Club to the 1992 and 2000 Republican National
Conventions. From 1989 through March 1991, the period of German
reunification and the final days of the Soviet Union, she
served in
the Bush Administration as
Director, and then Senior Director, of Soviet and East European
Affairs in the National Security Council, and a Special
Assistant
to the President for National Security Affairs. In 1986, while
an
international affairs fellow of the Council on Foreign
Relations,
she served as Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint
Chiefs
of Staff. In 1997, she served on the Federal Advisory Committee
on
Gender -- Integrated Training in the Military. She was a member
of
the boards of directors for the Chevron Corporation, the
Charles
Schwab Corporation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation,
the
University of Notre Dame, the International Advisory Council of
J.P. Morgan and the San Francisco Symphony Board of Governors.
She
was a Founding Board member of the Center for a New Generation,
an
educational support fund for schools in East Palo Alto and East
Menlo Park, California and was Vice President of the Boys and
Girls
Club of the Peninsula. In addition, her past board service has
encompassed such organizations as Transamerica Corporation,
Hewlett Packard, the Carnegie Corporation, Carnegie Endowment
for
International Peace, The Rand Corporation, the National Council
for
Soviet and East European Studies, the Mid-Peninsula Urban
Coalition
and KQED, public broadcasting for San Francisco. Born November
14,
1954 in Birmingham, Alabama, she resides in Washington, D.C.
So who are these celebrities? What is their education? What is
their experience in affairs of State or in National Security?
While I will defend to the death their right to express their
opinions, I think that if they are going to call into question
the
intelligence of our leaders, we should also have all the facts
on
their educations and background:
Barbra Streisand : Completed high school Career: Singing and
acting
Cher: Dropped out of school in 9th grade. Career: Singing
and acting
Martin Sheen: Flunked exam to enter University of Dayton.
Career: Acting
Jessica Lange: Dropped out college mid-freshman year. Career:
Acting
Alec Baldwin: Dropped out of George Washington U. after
scandal.
Career: Acting
Julia Roberts: Completed high school. Career: Acting
Sean Penn: Completed High school. Career: Acting
Susan Sarandon: Degree in Drama from Catholic University of
America
in Washington, D.C. Career: Acting
Ed Asner; Completed High school. Career: Acting
George Clooney: Dropped out of University of Kentucky. Career:
Acting
Michael Moore: Dropped out first year University of Michigan.
Career: Movie Director
Sarah Jessica Parker: Completed High School. Career: Acting
Jennifer Anniston: Completed High School. Career: Acting
Mike Farrell: Completed High school. Career: Acting
Janeane Garofelo: Dropped out of College. Career: Stand up
comedienne
Larry Hagman: Attended Bard College for one year. Career:
Acting
While comparing the education and experience of these two
groups,
we should also remember that President Bush and his cabinet are
briefed daily, even hourly, on the War on Terror and threats to
our
security. They are privy to information gathered around the
world
concerning the Middle East, the threats to America, the
intentions
of terrorists and terrorist-supporting governments. They are in
constant communication with the CIA, the FBI, Interpol, NATO,
The
United Nations, our own military, and that of our allies around
the world. We cannot simply believe that we have full knowledge
of
the threats because we watch CNN!! We cannot believe that we
are
in any way as informed as our
leaders.
These celebrities have no intelligence-gathering agents, no
fact-finding groups, no insight into the minds of those who
would
destroy our country. They only have a deep seated hatred for
all
things Republican. By nature, and no one knows quite why, the
Hollywood elitists detest Conservative views and anything that
supports or uplifts the United
States of America. The silence was deafening from the Left when
Bill Clinton bombed a pharmaceutical factory outside of
Khartoum,
or when he attacked the Bosnian Serbs in 1995 and 1999. He
bombed
Serbia itself to get Slobodan Milosevic out of Kosovo, and not
a
single peace rally was held. When our Rangers were ambushed in
Somalia and 18 young American lives were lost, not a peep was
heard
from Hollywood. Yet now, after our nation has been attacked on
its
own soil, after 3,000 Americans were killed, by freedom-hating
terrorists, while going about
their routine lives, they want to hold rallies against the war.
Why the change? Because an honest, God-fearing Republican sits
in
the White House.
Another irony is that in 1987, when Ronald Reagan was in
office,
the Hollywood group aligned themselves with disarmament groups
like
SANE, FREEZE and PEACE ACTION, urging our own government to
disarm
and freeze
the manufacturing of any further nuclear weapons, in order to
promote world peace. It is curious that now, even after we have
heard all the evidence that Saddam Hussein has chemical,
biological
and is very close to obtaining nuclear weapons, their is no cry
from this group for HIM to disarm. They believe we should leave
him alone in his quest for these weapons of mass destruction,
even
though it is certain that these deadly weapons will eventually
be
used against us in our own cities.
So why the hype out of Hollywood? Could these celebrities
believe
that since they draw such astronomical salaries, they are
entitled
to also determine the course of our Nation? That they can make
viable decisions concerning war and peace? Did Michael Moore
have
the backing of the Nation when he recently thanked France, on
our
behalf, for being a "good enough friend to tell us we were
wrong"?
I know for certain he was not speaking for me. Does Sean Penn
fancy himself a Diplomat, in going to Iraq when we are just
weeks
away from war? Does he believe that his High School Diploma
gives
him the knowledge (and the right) to go to a country that is
controlled by a maniacal dictator, and speak on behalf of the
American people? Or is it the fact that he pulls in more money
per
year than the average American worker will see in a lifetime?
Does
his bank account give him clout?
The ultimate irony is that many of these celebrities have made
a
shambles of their own lives, with drug abuse, alcoholism,
numerous
marriages and divorces, scrapes with the law, publicized temper
tantrums, etc. How dare they pretend to know what is best for
an
entire nation! What is even more bizarre is how many people in
this country will listen and accept their views, simply because
they liked them in a certain movie, or have fond memories of an
old
television sitcom!
It is time for us, as citizens of the United States, to educate
ourselves about the world around us. If future generations are
going to enjoy the freedoms that our forefathers bequeathed us,
if
they are ever to know peace in their own country and their
world,
to live without fear of terrorism striking in their own cities,
we
must assure that this
nation remains strong. We must make certain that those who
would
destroy us are made aware of the severe consequences that will
befall them.
Yes, it is a wonderful dream to sit down with dictators and
terrorists and join hands, singing Cumbaya and talking of world
peace. But it is not real. We did not stop Adolf Hitler from
taking over the entire continent of Europe by simply talking to
him. We sent our best and brightest, with the strength and
determination that this Country is
known for, and defeated the Nazi regime. President John F.
Kennedy did not stop the Soviet ships from unloading their
nuclear
missiles in Cuba in 1962 with mere words. He stopped them with
action, and threat of immediate war if the ships did not turn
around. We did not end the Cold War with conferences. It ended
with the strong belief of
President Ronald Reagan... PEACE through STRENGTH.
