Idiot of the day, part 1
Well, that didn't take long. Only 6:45 a.m. and, via Pejman Pundit, I found my first Idiot of the Day: Mr. Sean Penn, who has embarked on a three day trip to Baghdad.
"By the invitation of the Institute for Public Accuracy, I have the privileged opportunity to pursue a deeper understanding of this frightening conflict," Penn said in a statement released in Washington and Baghdad on Friday. "I would hope that all Americans will embrace information available to them outside conventional channels. As a father, an actor, a filmmaker, and a patriot, my visit to Iraq is for me a natural extension of my obligation (at least attempt) to find my own voice on matters of conscience."
Dear Mr. Penn. As a father, you should not be in a place that is in danger of being bombed soon. You have to go to Baghdad to find your voice of conscience? Most people do that right in the very own homes. As for embracing information available outside conventional channels, I sure hope you do not think that when you arrive home, we are going to beg you for your newly found inside information regarding Iraq, which will probably be the standard The Iraqi regime is misunderstood, the people love Saddam, and the real bad guy is Bush. Heard it, ignored it, don't want to hear the drivel again, thanks.
You want a deeper understanding? Hang around Iraq awhile. The U.S. armed forces will give you real deep understanding.
Congrats on being today's first Idiot of the Day, Sean Penn!
Comments
Er, I think its a damn good idea to form your own opinions. Do you approve of all people being sheep? Its a sign that we can think for ourselves - having brains, not just spinal columns...
Are you sure you're not clutching at straws trying to find an idiot?
Posted by: Fadeout | December 13, 2002 07:31 AM
Clutching at straws? Hardly. There are enough useful idiots out there to top off a landfill.
As for forming our own opinions, that's just what I did. I formed my own opinion that Sean Penn is a Class-A idiot for going to a country that is in danger of being fired upon and claiming he is doing it in part because it is his duty as a parent.
No. It's his duty as a parent to not die in Darwinian fashion.
Posted by: michele | December 13, 2002 07:39 AM
Sorry, but I'm left with that nasty aftertaste that this is also just another way for Mr. Penn to get his name out there so that everybody won't forget about him. Sorry, but I still think of him as the Ex Mr. Madonna....and a totally forgetful actor. And to be honest, I just don't give a shit about what he thinks abut the war in Iraq. But hey...that's just the opinion of an average almost middle-aged female middle-American. (i.e. his key demographic)
Posted by: Tracy | December 13, 2002 08:54 AM
Did I say forgetful? I meant forgetable. Guess I forgot to use the right word.
dammit.
Posted by: Tracy | December 13, 2002 08:54 AM
"Hear that sound?That's my head,Dude!"......nuf said.
Posted by: mbruce | December 13, 2002 09:16 AM
I meant "skull" sorry(I'm goin' Spiccoli here.help me Rhonda!)
Posted by: mbruce | December 13, 2002 11:53 AM
Unless Sean plans to slip away from his keepers and do a Mission Improbable-type romp around the country, he will never see the true Iraq. This is a stupidly blatant publicity stunt, nothing more. If he truly felt like he needed to do something, how about buying (with his own money) and distributing food and medicines to these people instead of schmoozing high-muckety-mucks?
Posted by: Kat | December 13, 2002 01:57 PM
if i needed to go find my own "voice on matters of conscience," i'd never be home, and i'd surely be dead.
you can learn a lot from a dummy, people.
Posted by: shawn | December 13, 2002 02:02 PM
Armchair critics are a dime-a-dozen in the "home of the brave" and there's nothing easier than taking pot-shots at those who dare question the motives of our nation's collective alarm over the perceived Iraqi threat. Mr. Penn's choices at the very least reveal a man of courage to subject himself to the ridicule and abuse of a nation that typically assasinates those whose views become too challenging. You, his critics on the other hand, risk nothing. As far as his being a "forgettable actor"... Ronald Reagan was a forgettable actor, Sean Penn has always been extraordinary.
Posted by: john | December 16, 2002 04:00 PM
Isn't it interesting that this man Sean Penn returned from the so called "malignant area of Iraq under siege"? Well, I think he was courageous to go and would like to hear what he has to say. I like independence and especially at a time when war may be eminent. Sorry, I don't agree with your criticism. His role in "I AM SAM" was brillant and courageous. What have all of you done to compare. Give him a chance to speak and hold your judgements.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 16, 2002 06:39 PM
Isn't it interesting that this man Sean Penn returned from the so called "malignant area of Iraq under siege"? Well, I think he was courageous to go and would like to hear what he has to say. I like independence and especially at a time when war may be eminent. Sorry, I don't agree with your criticism. His role in "I AM SAM" was brillant and courageous. What have all of you done to compare. Give him a chance to speak and hold your judgements.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 16, 2002 06:39 PM
Isn't it interesting that this man Sean Penn returned from the so called "malignant area of Iraq under siege"? Well, I think he was courageous to go and would like to hear what he has to say. I like independence and especially at a time when war may be eminent. Sorry, I don't agree with your criticism. His role in "I AM SAM" was brillant and courageous. What have all of you done to compare. Give him a chance to speak and hold your judgements.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 16, 2002 06:40 PM
Isn't it interesting that this man Sean Penn returned from the so called "malignant area of Iraq under siege"? Well, I think he was courageous to go and would like to hear what he has to say. I like independence and especially at a time when war may be eminent. Sorry, I don't agree with your criticism. His role in "I AM SAM" was brillant and courageous. What have all of you done to compare. Give him a chance to speak and hold your judgements.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 16, 2002 06:41 PM
Isn't it interesting that this man Sean Penn returned from the so called "malignant area of Iraq under siege"? Well, I think he was courageous to go and would like to hear what he has to say. I like independence and especially at a time when war may be eminent. Sorry, I don't agree with your criticism. His role in "I AM SAM" was brillant and courageous. What have all of you done to compare. Give him a chance to speak and hold your judgements.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 16, 2002 06:41 PM
Isn't it interesting that this man Sean Penn returned from the so called "malignant area of Iraq under siege"? Well, I think he was courageous to go and would like to hear what he has to say. I like independence and especially at a time when war may be eminent. Sorry, I don't agree with your criticism. His role in "I AM SAM" was brillant and courageous. What have all of you done to compare. Give him a chance to speak and hold your judgements.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 16, 2002 06:41 PM
Isn't it interesting that this man Sean Penn returned from the so called "malignant area of Iraq under siege"? Well, I think he was courageous to go and would like to hear what he has to say. I like independence and especially at a time when war may be eminent. Sorry, I don't agree with your criticism. His role in "I AM SAM" was brillant and courageous. What have all of you done to compare. Give him a chance to speak and hold your judgements.
Posted by: debby | December 16, 2002 06:42 PM
I agree with John..4pm 12/16/02. I believe in heros and courageous people. "I AM SAM'S" star was Sean Penn. A brillant performanence and courageous. I expect nothing less from him. I would like to hear his story about his experience in Iraq. The sad thing is that you don't.
Posted by: mary | December 16, 2002 07:11 PM
Uh, oh. I’m not the mary above - guess I’m mary 2.
John is right, it is easy to take pot shots at Sean Penn - a violent guy preaching nonviolence – an actor who thinks his political opinions are so very important – it's too easy to make fun.
But the statement: - “Mr. Penn's choices at the very least reveal man of courage to subject himself to the ridicule and abuse of a nation that typically assasinates those whose views become too challenging.” is bizarre. First of all, is Sean Penn is no JFK – or Martin Luther King - and those assassinations were in no way ‘typical.’ Actors who think that their political opinions are more important than everyone else’s are usually teased or ignored (Jane Fonda, Alec Baldwin, etc.) That’s typical.
Sean is a decent actor, though.
Posted by: mary | December 16, 2002 08:17 PM