< Changing Worldviews.Commentary >

Words are powerful - Thoughts shape - Ideas have consequences

James Hirsen

Newsmax.com
Posted January 5, 2003

Best of the Left Coast Report 2003
A Political Look at Hollywood

Rob Reiner Picks a New Dean for Hollywood

It looks as if celebrity politics on the national front are getting bigger by the minute. In the 2002 election, guess who provided the fifth-largest source of dollars for federal candidates? It was none other than little old Hollywood. And as you might expect, 83 percent of Tinseltown’s cash went to Democrats. So says Center for Responsive Politics. Maybe this explains why there was such a big buzz when Rob Reiner announced he was placing his fund-raising talents behind East Coast presidential candidate and former Vermont governor Howard Dean. After all, Reiner raised more than $4.5 million for Al Gore in 2000. Meathead already hosted a power lunch for Dean with some of the largest contributors in Tinseltown, including film producer Steven Bing, producer Norman Lear, writer/filmmaker Nora Ephron and mogul Michael King. Martin Sheen has also thrown his support Dean’s way.

The Left Coast Report routinely hears the naive ask, why should we care about what a Hollywood star or starlet says or does? Well, here’s the big, fat moolah-soaked reason. When celebrities decide to lend their support to a candidate, the move can change a rarely recognized backbencher into a well-known front runner overnight.

Pistol-Packin’ Penn

Sean Penn’s car, a black 1987 Buick Grand National, was stolen in broad daylight while the actor was having lunch. The crime took place on a busy street a block away from U.C. Berkeley. His vehicle was found in Richmond, nine miles from where it was stolen. Interestingly, a couple of Penn’s guns were missing as well. Yeah, that’s right. This peace activist had a permit to keep a semi-automatic and a revolver. Inside the vehicle that was taken, Penn had a loaded 9mm Glock handgun and an unloaded .38-caliber Smith and Wesson revolver.

The Left Coast Report wonders aloud: Hmm … a Glock semi-automatic and an S & W revolver? These anti-war pacifists sure seem to have good taste in firearms.

Barbra Streisand Borrows Phrase From Michael Savage

Barbra Streisand might not have done it intentionally, but the title and theme of her latest Web site ditty was previously popularized by ace talk show host and master wordsmith Michael Savage. After a seething tirade about President Bush’s “lies,” Streisand explains on her site how the president’s action can “trickle down to the culture as a whole. Streisand writes: “The president is our leader, the figurehead of the country, a father figure. Are the ‘children’ supposed to follow his example? Are we in an era of trickle-down immorality, like trickle-down economics? The country sees their leader not telling the truth. These actions send a message that you don’t have to mean what you say, that you don’t have to care about other people, that you can do whatever you have to do or say whatever you have to say to get ahead. Is that the message we want to impart to our children? Is that the culture we want to live in?”

The Left Coast Report wonders whether Streisand inadvertently left out the word “former” in her description of the president. Not only does the tattered shoe fit the ex-prez perfectly, we’d feel better about Babs if she admitted that worrying about trickle-down immorality was warranted all those years when her favorite compartmentalizer was dropping drawers in the Oval Office.

Dennis Miller Is Just Right

Dennis Miller has slowly journeyed to the conservative side of the political spectrum. Now he has also become an important celebrity feature of President Bush’s re-election effort. In California, a state where in the 2000 presidential election he trailed Al Gore by 12 percentage points, Bush can use all the celebrity help he can get. As it turns out, he has gotten something else from the Golden State that every candidate dreams of: $5.1 million in campaign money. While Bush was on the stump in California, his supporters got to hear some choice words from Miller. He referred to himself as “a Rat Pack of one for the president in Hollywood.” He gave fuel to the recall Gray Davis forces when he observed that California was “now buying energy at mini-bar prices.” He teased earthquake-prone California by explaining that the state no longer had a San Andreas Fault. “It’s Gray Davis’ fault,” chimed the comedian. Applying some of his patented political humor to an appraisal of the Democrat slate of presidential wannabes, Miller said, “I haven’t seen a starting nine like that since the ’62 Mets.” His comment about Sen. Robert “KKK” Byrd of West Virginia drew a few moans. “I think he must be burning the cross at both ends,” Miller wisecracked. Proving the growing prominence of Howard Dean, Miller took a shot at the former Vermont governor. “He can roll up his sleeves all he wants at public events, but as long as we see that heart tattoo with Neville Chamberlain’s name on his right forearm, he’s never going anywhere,” Miller quipped.

The Left Coast Report thinks now more than ever, it’s Miller time.

Christina Aguilera Stymied by Styrofoam

Christine Aguilera has apparently acquired a new sense of eco-awareness. Known to be a bit of a temperamental diva, Aguilera had a run in with a glitzy Hollywood restaurant over some leftovers. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the singer had finished her meal at a trendy eatery and had requested that the waiters place her uneaten food into a doggy bag. When she was brought the leftover food in a Styrofoam box, Christina purportedly blew her cork. Aguilera was livid that this kind of environmentally unfriendly material was being used and began to give the waiter a lecture on the evils of the polystyrene plastic. Christina allegedly ended up storming out the door leaving her Styrofoam doggie box behind.

The Left Coast Report says Christina shouldn’t worry too much about the biodegradability of Styrofoam. After all, parts of her body could last several thousand years longer than the little plastic food box.

Liz Hurley and Johnny Depp Go Commie Chic

Ernesto Guevara, a.k.a. Che, is hardly associated with the powderpuff lifestyle of Hollywood’s rich and famous. No, Guevara is more often thought of as a guerilla warrior, ardent communist and advocate of the armed overthrow of the U.S. system. But as reported by the New York Post, Elizabeth Hurley was recently walking around the streets of London dressed in a shirt with Che Guevara’s face prominently displayed on it. There was a problem, though. Hurley had accessorized the commie attire with a $3,000 Louis Vuitton bag. How unrevolutionary of her. Johnny Depp, who says he no longer wishes to call America his domicile, apparently wears a medallion with an image of Guevara around his neck. If these two examples aren’t enough of a lefty love display, filmmaker Terrence Malick might direct Benicio Del Toro in a movie that’s unimaginatively called “Che.”

The Left Coast Report hears that some shops in Beverly Hills are now stocking up on Stalin shoes with matching Hitler handbags.

Yoko Ono’s Piece Plan

Yoko Ono planned to perform in Paris for the second time a conceptual work called “Cut Piece.” The last time Ono rendered the world indifferent with this particular form of art was 40 years ago. The 70-year-old plans to invite members of the audience to participate in cutting off her clothes one piece at a time until she’s naked. John Lennon’s widow explains, “‘Cut Piece’ is my hope for World Peace.”

The Left Coast Report contends that a fully disrobed Yoko might not bring about world peace, but the threat of a forced viewing may be helpful in getting some of the captured terrorists to talk.

Reprinted by permission by James Hirsen

James Hirsen is a New York Times best selling author, commentator, news analyst and law professor. He is sought after for his expertise on current events and cultural matters, and has appeared on the O’Reilly Factor, Weekend Live with Tony Snow, Scarborough Country, CNN’s People in the News, Fox and Friends, ABC’s Politically Incorrect and numerous other television programs. He is also a frequent radio guest of Sean Hannity, G. Gordon Liddy, Dennis Prager, Michael Reagan and hosts his own daily nationally syndicated radio program. Hirsen is author of the popular weekly column, “The Left Coast Report,” and the New York Times bestseller Tales from the Left Coast: True Stories of Hollywood Stars and Their Outrageous Politics . He teaches law at both Trinity Law School and Biola University in Southern California and is admitted to practice in the California and Washington, D.C. Bar Associations as well as the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of International Trade. Prior to this James Hirsen worked as a professional musician and for a number of years was keyboardist for one of the most legendary groups of all times, the Temptations.