Criticizing Obama? In public? Who knew George Clooney was a racist?

From an editorial Clooney wrote with John Prendergast in the  USA Today:

The largest conventional war on the face of the earth in 2011 will occur in Sudan unless bold diplomacy led by the U.S. prevents it. The most dangerous tripwire will be in seven months, when southern Sudanese will vote to determine whether the South splits off and forms a new country. Some ruling party officials don’t want to give up the oil-rich South without a fight. Southerners spilled a great deal of blood to win the right to opt out of Sudan, and they will keep fighting until they have their own state.The last North/South war that ended in 2005 cost more than 2 million lives, and the Darfur conflict in Sudan’s West has claimed over 300,000 more. Massive death tolls are the result of war tactics — principally by the government — that target civilians. Communities throughout Sudan have fought an authoritarian government to share in the country’s power and wealth. 

The good news is that this path to all-out war is unfolding in slow motion, and there is time to prevent it. The U.S. has a history of leading international efforts in Sudan, including helping to broker the 2005 peace deal. But the Obama administration has not taken a direct, leading role in the negotiations to avert renewed war in the South or to end the Darfur conflict. Furthermore, some U.S. officials believe that the United States has no leverage in Sudan.

 Because of international sentiment that opposes sanctions and other forms of pressure, the U.S. shies away from creating any real consequences for Sudan’s war crimes. And because activists and Congress strongly favor imposing such consequences, U.S. officials avoid serious discussion of peace incentives. We know; we’ve been a couple of those activists.

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I suspect that because George Bush and Condoleezza Rice were so respectful of Muslims, constantly telling us that theirs is a religion of peace, some otherwise sensible Americans actually began to believe it.  Now we have a president who not only kowtows to a Saudi prince, but carries on as if Israeli homes are more threatening than Iranian nukes.

What is wrong with our leaders?  Are they worried that they won’t be invited to those cool Ramadan parties?  The Islamists have been actively at war with us for 30 years and generally at war with western civilization for well over a thousand years, and still we pay lip service to these people in a way we never did with Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan or the Soviet Union.  Is it because the Muslims commit sadism and murder in the name of religion and not country?  If anything, I would think that would make their evil acts all the more contemptible. (more…)

I’m putting the finishing touches on my feature film coming out later this year called “U.N. Me”  (unmemovie.com), a satirical documentary on the profound failures of the United Nations. Here’s the second of three clips that very much represent the flavor of my upcoming film. Hope you enjoy … ”Guns Don’t Kill People, Climate Change Does.”

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I have been a proud conservative Republican my entire life. My father and Jimmy Carter saw to that. My first vote ever was for Ronald Reagan in 1980, and I have never voted for a Democrat. Ever. Even today, the reasons for my being so have not changed, despite the media’s and liberal Democrats’ tireless efforts to discredit my belief system. Though the times may change, core principles never do. I have also served this nation proudly in uniform for six years, and don’t regret a minute of it.

In the early 1980s, my military service brought me to some of the darker corners of the world. I spent time in South Korea and Marcos’ Philippines when both countries were under martial law. Knowing I could be shot just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time really woke me up to what exactly it is we have here in America. Seeing a thousand Vietnamese Boat People pulled out of the South China Sea in one day only reinforced my belief in America, Sweet Land of Liberty.

Today, the Party of Lincoln and Reagan appears to be in political disarray, which is why I am writing this OpEd now. Yet many promising developments, along with some huge mistakes by Congress and the Obama Administration, have opened many new doors for us. If only we will enter. (more…)

At last, the long-suffering people of Darfur should rest easy.  The International Criminal Court (ICC) has finally issued an unenforceable, meaningless arrest warrant to bring Sudan’s murderer of a president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, to justice.  In case you did not get a chance to read the fine print, the indictment actually exonerates al-Bashir from charges of genocide but does subject him to arrest for war crimes and crimes against humanity.  This is the international community’s desperately awaited message that will send shivers down the spines of Sudanese thugs.  In fact, al-Bashir is already partying in public, mocking the ICC’s theatrics.  

Nonetheless, human rights groups and fashionable Darfur activists are heralding the development as a breakthrough.  And although I have yet to read any statements from actor George Clooney, he must be beaming with pride given his secret meeting with President Obama several weeks ago to discuss this issue.  While we do not know the exact contents of the Obama-Clooney discussion, al-Bashir’s indictment led me to speculate on how that conversation might have unfolded.  (more…)

If anyone wrote a script like this, no one would believe it.

But I already read the book.

That they even went to Iran in the first place was an abomination, especially given their three-hour gay rights infomercial called The Oscars just five days earlier.

And it only kept getting worse. (more…)

George Clooney wasn’t at the Oscars Sunday night.  Where was he?  Apparently, Clooney was in Darfur – and he was planning to report back to President Obama about his trip.  So far, so good; there are many issues in Darfur that need to be addressed right now.  There’s only one problem: Clooney and the Hollywood phonies don’t want to address the real problems in the region.

If you’ve ever heard my radio show (which is heard on 260+ radio stations as well as XM and Sirius), you know that I respect intellectual honesty.  If Harry Reid does something right, I praise him.  When George W. Bush was wrong, I showed little mercy.  But being fair-minded doesn’t mean spreading criticism equally.  When I watch the left engage in their politics, it is more often than not wrought with intellectual dishonesty, for which I have little patience.

Hollywood loves to spout off about Darfur.  They plaster “SAVE DARFUR!” bumper stickers on their Priuses.  They shout “SAVE DARFUR!” at rallies.  It’s become the battle cry of the left.  But do they really understand what saving Darfur entails?  Do they really understand what’s happening on the ground in Darfur?

Last year, I decided to find out the truth about Darfur.  I had the opportunity to go to the region to help with humanitarian aid.  It was an eye-opening, horrendous experience. (more…)

Several years ago, a ragtag group of internetizens decided to go to Darfur, then the subject of a good deal of hand-wringing and tutting by Concerned Important People – including, of course, a number of Hollywood celebrities of one or another of the alphabetical lists — to see what conditions were like in that genocide ground.  Their idea was that they would create a documentary – though none of them had any experience doing so – and so they scraped together whatever money they could by emptying bank accounts and begging from friends, family, and online for equipment and travelling money. Then, after convincing their wives they were going to attend a web technology conference in Vegas, they went first to Addis Ababa, then Chad.  There they visited refugee camps full of exotic people of color, and eventually met up with rebel fighters.  After a long struggle, and many, many apologies, they’ve managed to bring their documentary to the public.

It’s called Christmas in Darfur, though it could be called Lip Service.  And because that’s so, I thought it would be a perfect fit for Big Hollywood.  The introductory segment features some of the heroic exploits of actors and musicians in order to throw into relief the puny efforts of determined regular people to try to make a difference.  You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll come forcibly to the conclusion that only celebrities and high-profile policy wonks and UN diplomats are capable of focusing the world’s attention on such a problem in a way that will make any difference at all. (more…)