Actor Robbins slams critics of his opposition to war

[MORTARDUDE]

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030416-17948772.htm

Actor Robbins slams critics of his opposition to war
By Julia Duin
THE WASHINGTON TIMES


Actor Tim Robbins pleaded with listeners at the National Press Club yesterday to "defy the intimidation that is visited upon us daily in the name of national security and warped notions of patriotism", after calling some members of the press "Aussie gossip rags" and "talk-radio patriots."


Mr. Robbins took special aim at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, whose president canceled his appearance at an April 26 anniversary fete in Cooperstown, N.Y., for the 1988 movie "Bull Durham" because of antiwar remarks made by him and his live-in partner, actress Susan Sarandon. The Hall received 5,000 e-mail messages from people for and against its decision.
"Major League Baseball disavowed any connection to the actions of the Hall's president," the actor said. "A bully can be stopped. So can a mob."
He thanked various sportswriters for defending him.
"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," Mr. Robbins said.
Speaking alongside Mr. Robbins, Win Without War National Director Tom Edwards called for a "citizens movement" to identify members of Congress who supported the Bush administration's $62 billion appropriation for the Iraq war.
His coalition of 40 groups is debating how to respond to the U.S. victory in Iraq, he said, but it has agreed on a "wave of political activism in every state across this country and in every congressional district."
Mr. Robbins dodged a question about news reports accusing him of physically threatening a Washington Post columnist at a post-Academy Awards party last month. The Post reporter had interviewed Miss Sarandon's mother, a Republican who said the couple had "brainwashed" her grandson about the war.
In his speech yesterday, Mr. Robbins called the writer a "sadistic creep."
"Quite frankly, I don't know the guy and don't want to know him," the actor said. "He has a right [to report] but it irritates me people use that right to pick on 13-year-olds."
Outside the National Press Building, four demonstrators with FreeRepublic.com, a pro-war group, hoisted signs such as: "Iraq has been liberated. Get over it already."
"We're protesting Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon and all the other Hollywood leftists," said Kathy Wood of Burke. "They are all hypocrites."
Mr. Edwards said his coalition wants to "bury the Bush doctrine" of preventive war, "which holds that the United States has the right to attack any country that it claims to be a potential threat ? not an actual threat, not an imminent threat, but a potential threat."
Syria, Iran and North Korea, he said, are already in the cross hairs of the Pentagon because the present conflict is a "trial run."
One member of his coalition, the National Council of Churches, has raised $400,000 in the past six months to position itself as a force in the antiwar movement. It has slated an interfaith summit with Muslims, Christians and Jews on postwar issues April 29-30 in Chicago.
"We hope this will begin a major process of engaging the Abrahamic faiths on policy initiatives," General Secretary Bob Edgar said. "The faith communities are getting together to talk. There may or may not be a statement. Only God knows."

[Seascamp]

Sarandon and her boo-boo lip squeeze pal have run into the dichotomy/buzz saw between free speech and a free market economy. Whether we?re talking about a bar of soap or play acting, if ya piss off your customers your market segment is redefined, period. I picked up on Sarandon?s speech and commercial just to see if there was something new under the sun. And no, nothing new at all as it was the same old timeworn Asner U rhetoric, bombast, spin and bald-faced lies. My take is that it is the same old speech but with blanks filled in to match current events.

So they can whine all they want and have their conniption fits but that doesn?t change the fact that they willfully jumped into the grinder and went through the reality sausage machine. They aren?t liking the sausage machine but hard darts I say and observe that the Hollywood front bumper has a lot of room for a bunch more bug splats. What really pisses me off is that Sarandon didn?t care enough to gain a studied and learned opinion but just mindlessly went with obviously scripted, levered, and tainted material. I can handle differences of opinion but not this ?in crowd? Hollywood BS. But then the sausage machine has a lot of capacity and those people seem hell bent for election to destroy their credibility and careers. Go for it I say and the more the merrier.

Scamp

[Keith_Hixson]

Any one who has ever participated in a strike, organized protest against anything that tries to persuade ones economic or political views must realize that in a free market society it may backfire. The epitomy of Hypocricy. I thought it was funny, but sad at the same time.

Keith

[39mto39g]

AMERICANS, don't take shit well. If they say something I don't like, do they realy think that I wont say back the only way they will listen. $.
Its there freedum to say whatever they wish, Its mine to buy what ever I wish, or in this case not buy. Big Business understands that and thats why Sony and Lipton and others have pulled the plug on these , ah, ah ---People?
The people that own French restaurants beter start changing there name of the restaurant and the food. I don't know how anyone can eat that crap anyway.
This whole think has shaken up the entire world. Some Canadians don't like us, Frech, German, Russan, Mexico.
I say screw em, there economy will dive into the crapper without our aid. I heard the other day that France still owes us for WW2.
Lets see, 60+ years at 18%X 1,000,000 American lives, carrie the naught, = you ain't got enough.

Ron

[Seascamp]

You bet big business understands that, absolutely. I?m associated with an outfit that has partial ownership of a news media organization and I thought they were going to blow a head gasket and everything else when Peter Arnett did his pro-Saddam propaganda deal. Zow, talk about carpet pealing, high intensity action right now. Damn, it was hunker down time for sure.

Personally, I think it?s OK for Companies, stockholders and customers to holler back the Hollywood chant ?not in my name? and holler it right back at Hollywood. But I believe this hollering needs to come in the form financial pounding and that works as well as anything I reckon.

About all that went missing from the Hollywood bunch was the Saddam chant. My interpretation of this chant is/was ?Saddam, Saddam, you have our blood and soul Saddam?. Now that is some sick stuff for sure and I?m surprised the Hollywood ?elite? didn?t get into it as kind of a new wave, way cool kind of status deal.


Scamp

[reconeil]

Though, what else would you expect from ANY of the wild-eyed and fanatically religious Liberal/Democrat Sect?
In "Their" minds, everything "They" pontificate is UNARGUABLY Good. Therefore, ANYONE not agreeing with "Them",...are UNARGUABLY Bad People.

I know that the above displays a pretty-sick Moral Superioty, which is so common to The Dem/Lib Sect (both leaders and duped followers alike). But, that's how it is Ron.

In fact, I've no doubt whatsoever, in that if: "Slick-Willy" and/or Clinton had decided to bomb Serbia into The Stone Age,...narry-a-peep would have been heard from the anti-war crowd, or even The Womens' Organizations. After all, Dems only fight: "Just Wars". Yeah,...and I'm The Tooth Fairy and Monica is going into a Monastery to live a life of poverty and chastity for repentence.

Yeah, I know I'm being a bit unfair to America's Favorite Couple. But, since one of: "We The (Schnooks)" paying the salaries of both horny working-hour deviants,...I figure that any disgust displayed regarding Bill & Monica, has more than already been paid for. So, why not?

Neil

[grunt66]

I guess I'm just slow. I thought Baseball Hall of Fame was about baseball !
There is a couple more who I won't watch acting.

[Andy]

I'm glad Ms. Sarandon spoke out as she did. I never liked her acting on or off the screen. She looses a few roles, she looses some money, less donations to anti-war groups and PETA. It all works for me.

Stay healthy,
Andy

[phuloi]

I`d be willing to wager that Tinsletown is in for a rude awakening.Hell.if conservative Middle Americans are using Dixie Chick`s CDs for coasters,they certainly won`t support these morons at the box office.I love to watch them shoot themselves in the foot.

[frisco-kid]

Jaysus, I'm tired of these people whining everytime someone confronts them about, and disgrees with, their political views. First of all, what makes them think that we give a rat's ass about their opinions? Or that we appreciate them using their celebrity status to jam it down our throats? I'm also tired of these academic midgets trying to give the impression that they have a better overview of the situation, or are privy to some kind of inside info. And then they're aghast and disbelieving when they're told that they don't represent the sentiments of the bulk of the masses, and feel the backlash of people not paying to see them, or not buying the products that they're pushing. The first thing they squeal is "McCarthyism." Well, if you're going to continuously give your opinion, whether it's solicited or not, you had better be prepared for the reaction, good or bad. Just like your actions, you should be responsible for your own words.