Actors and other Useful Idiots for Empire by Cindy Sheehan



In 2005 while I was roasting for peace under the hot Texas sun at Camp Casey in Crawford, Tx, Rob Reiner sent his wife Michelle and a crew there to film a commercial with me.

Before the end of 2005, a lot of the people/groups who supported our antiwar effort kicked us to the curb when they figured out we really were against war and not just against Bush's wars. 

The Reiners were among the ones that I discovered didn't so much care about the wars, but cared more about getting Demo-quacks elected.

Soon after Camp Casey temporarily shut-down that summer, I was invited to the Reiner's house to have a meeting. I was never the kind of person who got all twittery over so-called celebrities, but if the Reiners could help our cause, I was anxious to further our collaboration.

Rob Reiner and his team had already offered to do the paperwork and pay for getting Gold Star Families for Peace (my organization at the time) non-profit (501c3) status which we gratefully accepted.

Anyway, at the meeting (which included billionaire, Demo-quack funder, Steve Bing), after the niceties were over, both Steve and Rob got down to the real brass-tacks of the meeting.  They wanted me to throw my influence (which was then pretty considerable) behind the presidential candidacy of Hillary Clinton. Bing looked me in the eye, with a serious face and said, "Mrs. Clinton is our only hope."

I gasped and averred how she had not only voted to support the very war that killed my son, but was the Bush regime's Demo-quack cover for war propaganda. Then Steve said this with a straight-face and no sense of how hurtful this statement could be to a mother whose oldest child was killed for these lies, "Mrs. Clinton is really against the wars and she will come out against them when it is politically expedient for her to do so." What?! People are still dying in Iraq and Afghanistan (and elsewhere) and how can mothers like me even understand a little about "political expediency" when our hearts are ripped out of our chests? Not just for one day, but for the rest of our lives.

The meeting didn't end really well, but I thanked them for their help and still refused to support Clinton for anything. When I wrote an article a couple of months later about how the antiwar movement should NOT support Clinton that was posted at Huffington Post, the attack dog of the Reiners called my sister and told her that they were pulling all support from me and Gold Star Families for Peace. In fact, Dede and CODEPINK, L.A. were protesting at a fundraiser for Clinton when Rob and Michelle pulled up and gave them the middle-finger.

The above is recounted for background on why the motives and credibility of Reiner should be viewed with suspicion. 

The Meathead goes full-Archie Bunker and Produces Tripe

Enter this week's outrage from Rob Reiner: A video (below) he made with Morgan Freeman as the "star," which is a complete, unabashed, total piece of lying propaganda against Vladimir Putin and Russia 

Interestingly enough, this video was posted about the same time that 41 Demo-quack US senators voted to give the regime tens of billions of dollars more in Pentagon funding: almost 700 billion. This amount is three times more than China spends and TEN times more than Russia spends on so-called defense.

Of course, Rob Reiner could use his considerable wealth and influence to talk about something real like election fraud, but, since the DNC and Clinton campaign stole the 2016 primaries from Bernie Sanders, that wouldn't be productive for doing what is his life work, getting his only "hope," in the Oval Office. 

The tens of thousands of people in Libya murdered by Clinton and Obama matter not to Reiner; the ongoing slaughters in Iraq and Afghanistan are not even in his remote consciousness. Rather, blaming Russia and Putin for the loss of one of the most (rightly) unpopular politicians in US history and fomenting for more war is what he wants to join with other neocons like David Frum and Max Boot, to do.

Besides the treacherous motivations behind this piece of rotting tripe, there is actually not one shred of proof that Russia had anything to do with Clinton's loss. I know she and her lackeys would like to blame everything from Putin to bad weather, but putting out a video like this is like playing with nuclear winter.

Other neoliberal/neoconservative idiots say, "Russia hacked" like it acceptable wisdom. "Russia hacked and in other news, water is wet." 

Reiner, Freeman, and their ilk are not only liars, but they are dangerous propagandists approaching the level of a Riefenstahl. 

Reiner and other useful idiots for Empire have formed a group called, "Committee to Investigate Russia," to, “help Americans recognize and understand the gravity of Russia’s continuing attacks on our democracy." Besides the fact that the USA has never been a democracy, and even if it were, elections here with one War Party under Wall Street have been compromised and invalid for decades, not just since his Grating Hope got creamed by a carnival huckster.

I challenge this "committee" to produce any hard evidence for their malignant horseshit. 


 Unpacking the Horseshit: Clump by Clump

Face it, Morgan Freeman's voice does have a nice, authoritative kind of benevolent principal tone to it, but in Reiner's irresponsible piece of doggerel, he uses it to unashamedly promote fearmongering.

We have been attacked

We are at war

That's how we begin.

From what I have been able to glean, the powers that be in Russia are treating this like an infantile joke, which on the surface it is. 

However, the video obviously was made to sink us back into the lowest depths of the McCarthy witch hunts and HUAC hysteria and as a Cold War Kid, "I don't find this stuff amusing anymore," (Paul Simon, Graceland).

I don't appreciate being dragged back into a time when I was abused into believing the the Soviet Union was the most evil entity on earth and as I study about the Bolshevik Revolution (Slogan: Peace Bread Land) on this 100th anniversary, I resent these Hollywood elites' participation in this skewed "history."

But, of course, the US is "at war," and the US has been at war for all but about two dozen years of its existence.

He (Putin) Uses Cyberwarfare to Attack Democracies

After going on with the video's undocumented "Putin for Dummies," (truly, one has to be a Dummy to believe any of this) we "learn" how this "KGB" agent uses his trickster wiles to "attack democracies around the world." We don't know which democracies Russia has "attacked" because this is a commercial to sell the commodity of fear, not a fact-based narrative.

Hmmm....The CIA was formed to be a bad actor on the world stage and here is a list of the Democracies the US has attacked and overthrown just since World War II:


Overthrowing other people’s governments: The Master List

By William Blum – Published February 2013
Instances of the United States overthrowing, or attempting to overthrow, a foreign government since the Second World War. (* indicates successful ouster of a government)
Original Post
  • China 1949 to early 1960s
  • Albania 1949-53
  • East Germany 1950s
  • Iran 1953 *
  • Guatemala 1954 *
  • Costa Rica mid-1950s
  • Syria 1956-7
  • Egypt 1957
  • Indonesia 1957-8
  • British Guiana 1953-64 *
  • Iraq 1963 *
  • North Vietnam 1945-73
  • Cambodia 1955-70 *
  • Laos 1958 *, 1959 *, 1960 *
  • Ecuador 1960-63 *
  • Congo 1960 *
  • France 1965
  • Brazil 1962-64 *
  • Dominican Republic 1963 *
  • Cuba 1959 to present
  • Bolivia 1964 *
  • Indonesia 1965 *
  • Ghana 1966 *
  • Chile 1964-73 *
  • Greece 1967 *
  • Costa Rica 1970-71
  • Bolivia 1971 *
  • Australia 1973-75 *
  • Angola 1975, 1980s
  • Zaire 1975
  • Portugal 1974-76 *
  • Jamaica 1976-80 *
  • Seychelles 1979-81
  • Chad 1981-82 *
  • Grenada 1983 *
  • South Yemen 1982-84
  • Suriname 1982-84
  • Fiji 1987 *
  • Libya 1980s
  • Nicaragua 1981-90 *
  • Panama 1989 *
  • Bulgaria 1990 *
  • Albania 1991 *
  • Iraq 1991
  • Afghanistan 1980s *
  • Somalia 1993
  • Yugoslavia 1999-2000 *
  • Ecuador 2000 *
  • Afghanistan 2001 *
  • Venezuela 2002 *
  • Iraq 2003 *
  • Haiti 2004 *
  • Somalia 2007 to present
  • Honduras 2009
  • Libya 2011 *
  • Syria 2012
  • Ukraine 2014 *
  • Syria
He (Putin) Convinces people in democratic societies to 
distrust their media

Do I even have to go there? Reiner and Freeman and the other neocons and Useful Idiots for Empire are aware that all the worldwide "mainstream" media are owned by a handful of very powerful people and entities and if we don't "distrust" our media, then we are the foolish ones.
It has been proven, just in the Iraq War that killed my son, that outlets like MSNBCia used paid Pentagon shills to sell that war to a seemingly gullible American population. The White House had a group to make up crap like, "Mushroom Clouds," that Hillary Clinton participated in. Garbage in, garbage out.

Morgan then sits behind a desk in what looks to be a bomb shelter and calls on Donald Trump to use the resources of the USG to determine "how this happened." As far as I can tell, it has not even been determined "if" it happened. Let's not skip any steps here. 

For 241 years, our democracy has been a shining example of what we can all aspire to

To me, this is the most dangerous and irresponsible lie of the entire video and I don't know how a black man can even utter those words without vomiting, because they make be throw up a little in my own mouth. Morgan Freeman is a sellout to the struggle for black emancipation and the struggle for people under the terrible yoke of US occupation and oppression around the world. 

The USA was one of the the last "democracies" to (allegedly) abandon slavery, and it took the lives of almost 700,000, mostly poor working-class young men, to do it. I say "allegedly," because if anyone thinks slavery has been abolished in the USA, I suggest you watch "13th," a most enlightening Netflix documentary on how the 13th Amendment to the US constitution just transferred slavery to the prison systems.

Like I pointed out above, the founders of the US didn't frame our government as a democracy and most of the founders owned black slaves that were stolen from their continent and forced to perform labor in this "shining example;" the "shining example" that also committed genocide on its native population and has worked overtime to overthrow many democracies---true democracies; not just the feeble representation of democracy propagated by this horseshit.

Paul Robeson was a black man who realized how oppressed his people were and how that oppression connected to the liberation and anti-colonial struggles around the world. He paid a price for his courage and integrity, saying, among other things "why should the Negroes fight against the only nations of the world where racial discrimination is prohibited, and where the people can live freely? Never! I can assure you they will never fight against the Soviet Union, or the peoples' democracies."

More than Reiner, who is just a tool for the demented Clinton wing of the Demo-quack party, Freeman should be ashamed of himself. I am sure Malcolm X would define him as a "house negro" always looking out for the interests and well-being of the master and not the enslaved masses.

And we owe it to the brave people who have fought and died to protect this great nation and save democracy

This bold declaration of exceptionalist horseshit is posted over young American troops being sent to slaughter and I know my son didn't die to "protect" this "great" nation or save democracy. Like every single troop sacrificed before and after him, he was a victim to capitalism and imperialism. 

It can be, and has been argued rather convincingly that the United States have never waged a war to "save democracy," and the Soviet Union bore the brunt of Nazi savagery in World War II, yet was the first to liberate the death camps.

Reiner, et al., are enemies of truth;

They are enemies of peace;

They are enemies of true democracy;

They should be exposed and shamed.


Watch the Horseshit Here:
(If you must)

 

Why should the Negroes ever fight against the only nations of the world where racial discrimination is prohibited, and where the people can live freely? Never! I can assure you, they will never fight against either the Soviet Union or the peoples' democracies.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/paulrobeso326905.html
Why should the Negroes ever fight against the only nations of the world where racial discrimination is prohibited, and where the people can live freely? Never! I can assure you, they will never fight against either the Soviet Union or the peoples' democracies. Paul Robeson
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/paulrobeso326905.html
Why should the Negroes ever fight against the only nations of the world where racial discrimination is prohibited, and where the people can live freely? Never! I can assure you, they will never fight against either the Soviet Union or the peoples' democracies.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/paul_robeson
Why should the Negroes ever fight against the only nations of the world where racial discrimination is prohibited, and where the people can live freely? Never! I can assure you, they will never fight against either the Soviet Union or the peoples' democracies.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/paul_robeson
Why should the Negroes ever fight against the only nations of the world where racial discrimination is prohibited, and where the people can live freely? Never! I can assure you, they will never fight against either the Soviet Union or the peoples' democracies.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/paul_robeson


CINDY SHEEHAN'S SOAPBOX 

http://cindysheehanssoapbox.blogspot.com/p/tax-deductible-donation.html



https://www.facebook.com/Cindy-Sheehans-Soapbox-Radio-Show-188031143274/

Comments

  1. My late husband used to say, and it seems apropos here, "Scratch a liberal, and find a fascist."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My great-aunt in former Yugoslavia used to say the same. Since she fought the fascists in WW2, she knew what she was talking about.

      Delete
  2. Well-said. Thank you.

    https://mawrgorshin.com/2017/04/03/the-big-club-we-arent-in/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Superb article. Thank you, Cindy.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Money in, money out. Pour enough money into them and you get the interests of money oozing out.

    ReplyDelete
  5. that was a most excellent rant. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The gist of your rant echoes my own reaction, and the background story provides highly pertinent context. Thanks.

    Oh, the irony of "Meathead" dropping the affable Mister Nice Guy mask, and exposing his reactionary, authoritarian-submissive politics. This "pitch" has all the intellectual heft of Archie Bunker's fictitious bigoted opinions.

    I haven't been able to bring myself to watch the entire video; I have a strong stomach, but I don't want to push the envelope. But I have seen snippets.

    It's probably not Morgan Freeman's fault that he's become typecast as an archtypal "paternalistic/authoritative character of color"; Hollywood is notorious for trapping actors in well-received roles. That voice!

    But here, Freeman's professional self-caricature is inexcusable.

    One can only wonder if Reiner, Freeman, and the rest of the show-biz glitterati truly buy into the Russophobic Putin-demonizing they preach. It would seem so.

    I'm reminded of a well-educated, supposedly well-informed (New York Times-reading) moderate progressive-liberal relative-- and disappointed Hillary supporter. He remarked not too long ago that there must be something to the Russian allegations, or Team Trump wouldn't be trying so hard to suppress the investigations.

    In other words, this would-be critical thinker mindlessly falls back on specious platitudes like "where there's smoke, there's fire".

    BTW, it's also ironic, but telling, that Reiner chose the same melodramatic approach as the right-wing National Organization for Marriage used in their "Gathering Storm" ads opposing same-sex marriage: a smarmy appeal to fear and ignorance.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Acting school isn't exactly the first step to a Masters in Political Science, but it seems Hollywood nepotism is.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Acting school is now a prerequisite for a Masters in Political Science. Hollywood was complicit before the talkies.

    ReplyDelete
  9. With military installations in 140+ countries the corporate-controlled Empire is the biggest ever. Empires never settle for anything less than total world domination. JFK was opting for peaceful coexistence so he had to go. Great post. Much respect!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have read from several sources that the United States has over 800 military bases overseas.

      Delete
    2. Except he clearly wasn't for anyone who's read his quotes and memoirs.

      Delete
    3. Once again this article brings up how Soviet Russia did the most to fight Nazi fascism all the while white washing the fact that it was in league with it during the first year of the war!

      Delete
  10. I really admire you Cindy, for not selling out and speaking out the truth. You are a true hero and I look up to you. Love and peace.

    ReplyDelete
  11. If meddling in other countries is wrong when we do it to other countries, then it's also wrong when another country does it to us. It's one thing to dislike Hillary Clinton, it's another thing to use hatred of Hillary to ignore or excuse what Trump and/or the Russians did or allegedly did. I suggest Ms. Sheehan study more about what is actually happening with the investigation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I have actually done a lot of study on this topic, Ms. Jensen, so that's why I am able to state that there is NO proof Russia meddled in US elections. I have also had many experts on the Soapbox making the same case. I suggest you do a little more studying. I know it's hard to believe Clinton could have lost on her own (de)merits, but, it's true.

      Delete
    2. You know what it's like to be on the wrong end of the toxic filth that often passes in the USA for political debate, and so do I. Arguing that there's "no proof" of Russian interference--as if unaware that investigations uncover "evidence," not the same as proof--simply means that no matter how much evidence is uncovered, you'll never be satisfied that there's "proof."

      Delete
  12. Finally, refreshing truth and articulation.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I couldn't agree more with your statement about the lies. However, the use of the word "horseshit" is just too nice. Horseshit is so much better to deal with than the humanshit!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Some writers share history and their opinions with us using intellectually-correct (and often hard-to-understand) English. I like them but I prefer Cindy's barnyard explanations, because we ALL can understand those. And, Cindy, thanks for pointing out that being a 'celebrity' does not qualify a person as a purveyor of truth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Horseshit is horseshit.

      I can be intellectually highbrow when I think it's necessary (I do belong to a humanity's honor society), but when it comes to people pimping for empire, it elicits a visceral response in me. Thanks for your comment, Linda!

      Delete
  15. You articulate my thoughts so well. Thank you Cindy. The bamboozling of the masses of which our PM is one, aligning Canada with the bully against Palestine at the UN.
    I've been following you forever and thank you and wish you taller and wider soapboxes in 2018.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Makes me want to puke. What a liar! I am going to read the 13th amendment. I have been saying for years the prison system is the new slavery,

    ReplyDelete

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