Who is smarter?

[Eagle Keeper]

Who is smarter?

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 that 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

Vice President Dick 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

Secretary of State Colin Powell was 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.

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 was 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, Cum
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 (Cum
Laude). (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 Garofalo: Dropped out of College.
Career: Stand up comedienne

Larry Hagman: Attended Bard College for one year.
Career: Acting

***********************************************

[Eagle Keeper]

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.

[nostatic]

While I won't defend the educational background (or lack thereof) for the hollywood set, Bush's background while impressive on paper, is in reality rather weak. His performance at school was average at best, and he would not have gotten into any of those schools if he had not been George's son. His record as a business man is laughable, having been a failure at most things he tried. His "military" record was the result of daddy getting him a cush assignment to keep him out of any real conflict.

He has however been a sucessful politician. He does have some skills. But that's about it.

As far as the other people, again, things can sound great on paper, but a lot of the things cited are the result of "who you know" and have almost nothing to do with real skills. I've worked in academia for a lot of years now, and for the last three had gained experience in the hollywood way of doing things, along with how the money set works. There is a lot of back slapping and helping your buddy, and very little critical analysis and it is far from a meritocracy.

Again, I'm not disagreeing with all your points, but don't be overly impressed by what connected people are able to "accomplish". A fair amount of it is smoke and mirrors...

[Eagle Keeper]

I think G. Bush's true gift is that he places very good people around himself. Just look at them and then I think we start to see the big picture. Just so you know I'm a big Condoleezza Rice fan!!

[rcecale]

Originally posted by Eagle Keeper
These celebrities have no intelligence-gathering agents, no fact-finding groups, no insight into the minds of those who would destroy our country.

You have got to be kidding me!!!! Sean Penn went over to Iraq on his own "fact finding" mission. He found out the real deal and passed it on to all of his Hollywood buddies.

Our President has never set foot in Iraq!



Randy

[URY914]

rcecale,
You really think Sean Penn found out "the real deal"? The "human shields" found out the real deal, thats why most of them came home.

And what does the Pres not having gone to Iraq have to do with anything? The UN has been there for 12 years and couldn't find the nose on thier face.

[rcecale]

Ury,

Relax, buddy! I was being sarcastic. SHEESH!

Personally, I am so sick and tired of all these celebrities with their "I know best" attitude. Actually, I agree whole-heartedly with EagleKeeper. Us military types tend to stick together!

Randy

[URY914]

I was so pissed when I read your post I just jumped on it.
Sorry.

I say "America, love it or leave it"

[speeder]

Jason, Just to be fair, you would have to admit that Al Gore could drink a quart of tequila plus a six-pack and still beat Bush in Jeopardy like a red-headed stepchild.

PLUS he's a real Viet Nam vet, didn't take a powder in the Natl. Guard like he could have w/ his powerful dad. Just keep it fair, buddy. Take care,

[dd74]

Nostatic makes a good point: education does not give the full story with the cabinet. I've heard Bush was a C student and his highest achievement in college was ordering keggers for his fraternity's weekend parties. For all the education Rumsfeld met with at Princeton, he certainly missed the class on public speaking and tact.

Hollywood is famous for people dropping out of college. But Hollywood has its share of performers who are also very academic . Jodie Foster went to Yale and studied, I believe, comparative literature. James Woods went to MIT and was a math/engineering major. Tommy Lee Jones went to Yale (though I can't recall what he studied). I think Arnold Schwarzenneger has an MBA from University of Missourri.

In Hollywood, there's a lot of talent that is very highly educated, and in DC, a lot of so-called highly educated that has absolutely no talent.

For my sheepskin, Rice and Powell are the real deal. I don't think either had many connections to pave their way for them.

[speeder]

And BTW, GWB is looking smarter all the time as the war goes well, but he is definitely 'learning on the job'. It's amazing that by all accounts, he never took much interest in world affairs for a guy whose father was POTUS.

[speeder]

Can't argue about the smarts of Powell and Rice, I wish that Powell was president. I think, (as do many people smarter than me), that he has made some pretty big personal compromises to be on the current team. But he is a military man through and through, so being a team player once you sign on, (loyalty), is at the core of his very being.

My brother knows Rice quite well from Stanford, and although they are polar opposites politically, they were good friends and he says that she is really smart.

[island911]

Originally posted by speeder
Jason, Just to be fair, you would have to admit that Al Gore could drink a quart of tequila plus a six-pack and still beat Bush in Jeopardy like a red-headed stepchild.

PLUS he's a real Viet Nam vet, didn't take a powder in the Natl. Guard like he could have w/ his powerful dad. Just keep it fair, buddy. Take care,

Geez Seeder, have a heart. It's just not fair to compare GW to .. . the guy who invented the internet!"

I can't believe you're extreme enough to slight GW for being in the Air National Gaurd . .. this was back before GHW Bush was anyone.
And yet, Al Gore was the "senetors son" . . .wasn't there a song about that then? . .. i aint no senetors son ...

So GW was given an multi-million $ piece of equipment to pilot by the Air National Guard.
Contrast that with what the "senetors son" was trusted with . . a pad of paper!

I suppose it was because, Al showed early as a child, his affection for all things paper related. . .
Though I believe the Army forced this "Army journalist"/"senetors son" to wear gloves so he wouldn't cut himself.
YeeeAh . . Al Gore is a real winner . .or is it winer?

[nostatic]

Originally posted by island911
So GW was given an multi-million $ piece of equipment to pilot by the Air National Guard.

Yeah, but they were just hoping that he'd corkscrew it into the tarmack...sometimes you gotta spend money to make money.

[BGCarrera32]

PLUS he's a real Viet Nam vet, didn't take a powder in the Natl. Guard...

Boy if that isn't disrespectful. I'd challenge you to go up to a guardsman, tell him he has a "powder" job, and then when you're picking your rear end up off the pavement tell us what you think then...

[speeder]

BG, During the Viet Nam war, the National Guard was a legal way to stay out of the war. Wasn't real easy to get into in those days. Helped to have some connections. Maybe you're not old enough to be aware of this.

As for your challenge, tough guy, I'd gladly tell Bush what I think of him, given the chance.

[BMWME]

I'm sure those protesters don't appreciate a soldier until the enemies at the gate!

Damm chicken-sh__s.

I'm retired now but I'd do it again if I had to.

Big Jake