Hollywood MIA, No Blogger Credit, Janeane's Career

DITCHING THE TROOPS

Hollywood Stays Home, Plus: Tough Liberal Blogger Lessons



When even the socialist Guardian newspaper takes notice, Hollywood's now well-established pattern of ditching American troops overseas must be especially obvious. Isn't it strange, however, that one of the few on the left to buck the trend is none other than obnoxious Air America Radio host Al Franken?

In what must surely tick off many of his entertainment industry friends, Franken's repeatedly been to Iraq to visit with American troops.

Since we pick on Al pretty much nonstop here at the Radio Equalizer, we thought we'd point out this strange divergence from the rest of his social clique.

What's behind it? Can we properly give Franken credit for going where other elitists dare not travel, or does he have another motive? We have seen him throw his Iraq appearances in the faces of conservative critics, so however well-meaning, it's hard to make the case that Al does much of anything out of the kindness of his heart.

From the Guardian piece:

During world war two American troops away from home for Christmas were entertained by Marlene Dietrich, Bing Crosby and the Marx Brothers. Even in Vietnam Bob Hope was guaranteed to put in an appearance. But soldiers in Iraq are more likely to get a show from a Christian hip-hop group, a country singer you have probably never heard of and two cheerleaders for the Dallas Cowboys.

Just as the seemingly intractable nature of the war has led to a growing recruitment crisis, so the United Services Organisation, which has been putting on shows for the troops since the second world war, is struggling to get celebrities to sign up for even a short tour of duty.

Newton said many celebrities have been wary of going because they think it might be seen that they are endorsing the war. "And I say it's not. I tell them these men and women are over there because our country sent them, and we have the absolute necessity to try to bring them as much happiness as we can."

Fear is also a factor. "They're scared," country singer Craig Morton, who is in Iraq on the USO's Hope and Freedom Tour 2005, told USA Today. "It's understandable. It's not a safe and fun place and a lot of people don't want to take the chance."

Some of the entertainers still willing to travel are die-hard true believers - rock musician Ted Nugent carried a Glock handgun to shows in Iraq last year and said in a radio interview that he manned a machine gun on a Humvee. But many of the USO's regular performers are fierce critics of the war, among them the comic and star of Good Morning Vietnam, Robin Williams, who told USA Today he would like to return to the Middle East in the spring for what would be his fourth tour since 2002.

"I'm there for the [troops], not for W," he said in a reference to the president. "Go, man. You won't forget it. You'll meet amazing people," is his message to stars that ask him about the tours. But the comedian said he mostly tries to keep politics out of the show after he did a few jokes about Bush's brainpower at a base in 2003 and got a chilly reception.

Other critics of the war who regularly perform include the leftwing comedian Al Franken (who is headlining the current tour along with Christian hip-hop group Souljahz) and the punk legend and actor Henry Rollins, one of the Bush administrations most vocal critics.

How do other liberals feel about Franken's visits? Mostly, they seem to stay quiet. If we really wanted to ruin Al's "progressive" reputation, we could begin to shower him with praise.

Wouldn't that be cruel?

RedState has more here.


For Janeane Garofalo, has it been tough hosting an ignored Air America Radio program, with publicity this year arriving primarily for her West Wing television drama guest appearances?

It's taken especially angry outbursts on cable television to get anybody to write about her politics.

This pattern continues today.

Poor Janeane, there must be nothing worse than being ignored for all of that fringe moonbattery.



With news of liberal Seattle radio host Mike Webb's criminal charges finally hitting the AP wire, the leftist blogger who broke the story is still not getting proper credit. This appeared in the Tacoma News-Tribune:

A radio talk-show host has been charged with filing a false insurance claim after a June traffic accident.

Mike Webb, 50, host of an evening program on KIRO-AM, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in King County Superior Court to accusations that he forged a document indicating he bought a car-insurance policy from Geico before the June 28 accident.

Geico says Webb bought the policy online one day after the accident, according to charging papers. Webb says he bought the policy at the end of May.

The Seattle traffic accident caused $6,000 damage to Webb’s 2000 Lexus, according to court papers. Webb was not at fault, and the other driver did not have insurance.

Webb showed police a proof-of-insurance card from National Merit, but police say that company hasn’t insured Webb since 2001. Geico’s records indicate Webb bought a six-month policy online June 29, and the next day attempted to file a claim. Geico denied the claim.

For the record, it was "progressive" blogger Michael Hood of Blatherwatch who broke (and still owns) this story.

Even worse, as far as we can tell, Webb's story has still failed to appear in the ultraliberal Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Had this involved a conservative radio host, no doubt it would be splashed all over the front page.


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