Boycott 33 variations - Hanoi Jane Fonda

Some stars fade with time, some entertainers excel in their later years. Morgan Freeman didn't hit the A-list until after he was 50 years old. So it's no surprise that a celebrity is returning to the stage in 2009.

Except that this 'celebrity' is Jane Hanoi Fonda. After 40 years of exile from the stage, and slightly less time from movie screens, Hanoi Jane is returning to the stage to see if anyone remembers her actions during and since Viet Nam.

Well to be accurate, someone is betting that this traitor (in my opinion) still has fans somewhere and that they will see her perform. Obviously I am not one of those people. More likely I would be in front of the theater protesting and wishing for the play to fail.

The play is called 33 variations. It will be performed at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre from February 9th until May 24th. It is my sincere and ardent plea that none of my readers see it.

I do not like Hanoi Jane Fonda. I despise the actions she took in the 1970's that harmed American soldiers. I have never seen anything she has been in, and intend to stay that way until I die. My words and thoughts of Hanoi Jane are decidedly too graphic, dark, and vulgar for my blog - but I think you can understand what I would say in person.

I realize that Hanoi Jane apologized, 30 years after the fact, for her actions in Viet Nam. I also realize that she did this in a book as a means of gaining profit. I do not accept an apology decades after the fact where it is the means of soliciting a sale. That is not remorse. That is not sincere.

In the past decade there have been a couple of attempts by Hanoi Jane to re-enter Hollywood movies and the fame she once long ago enjoyed. Each movie she has been in over that period, and I believe in the last 30 years, has been a failure. The only exception I recall is the last film of her father, Henry Fonda, On Golden Pond. That film likely only succeeded due to his extreme age and death thereafter.

Hanoi Jane Fonda is a repugnant human being. I would happily pay a woman to hit her, in the face, with brass knuckles. I seriously don't like her, her performances, and her beliefs.

I feel bad for the other actors and actresses that have the sad obligation to perform with Hanoi Jane. I am sure many of them are good, and having this blot appear beside them sullies their abilities. I feel bad that I am asking for several people in front of and behind the stage to loose their jobs because of this woman. But that sadness is as nothing compared to the pain and suffering American men and women felt in this nation and in Viet Nam due to her actions.

If Hanoi Jane Fonda wants to make more movies or act on stage I suggest she go to an audience that likes her. North Viet Nam once welcomed her and I am sure they would do so again with open arms. Perhaps the Communists in Bejing would care to see 33 variations. And I'm sure Fidel and Raul Castro would force a packed house for anything she might do.

But here in America I say Hanoi Jane Fonda is an unwelcome eyesore. And I hope for the singularly worst reviews and absolute failure of this play while she performs in it.

Do let me know if you agree or not.

Tread softly, a hero has passed

Sad news for the nation today. We lost a true hero, John Ripley. He was 69.

Some may be wondering who was this man, what did he do you might be asking. He did more than what anyone could have been expected to do under circumstances that would cause many to fail.

John Ripley was a Retired Marine Colonel during Viet Nam. In 1972, under heavy enemy fire he blew up a bridge stopping the advance of 200 enemy tanks. Don’t underestimate what that means.

When I say under heavy fire, Col. Ripley had a mere 600 men that were tasked with stopping 20,000 North Vietnamese soldiers and the 200 tanks with them. The odds they were under were considered such that the orders given to them were hold and die.

Hold and die. Think about that. How many people today could ever consider living up to an order like that? How many could accept such an order?

I have an answer that many people today don’t want you to recognize. Virtually every single man and woman in our Armed Forces today. I would say that every Marine would and I have no doubt in all the other military forces of the nation, but I make exception of the brother Marines out there.

With all the noise of groups like MoveOn.org and Code Pink, and idiots like those in Berkley and San Francisco that want to hide our soldiers return home at their airports or refuse to let them perform their actions in their cities, you might miss the fact that America still has heroes. Some are older like Senator McCain, some have passed like Col. Ripley, but have no doubt that many are alive and serving our nation today.

I did not know Col. Ripley, but I am proud to know that my father and I have worn the same uniform as he once did. I am proud to know that there are others that love our nation enough to potentially receive orders as severe as hold and die.

It is because of men and women like that who allow me and all Americans the luxury of writing our blogs without fear of death or torture from Government secret police or worse. It is because of those in uniform today that on Tuesday we will elect a new leader of the nation for the next 4 years in peace.

I ask you all to honor the memory and actions of men like Col. Ripley, and the men and women serving our nation today, on Tuesday. Go out and vote. Exercise the Right they bleed and die for.

Because supporting our troops is not about just polispeak to get votes in my eyes. It’s an obligation we owe those that have held and died; and will do so tomorrow while the rest of us sit at home and gripe about cable television costing so much.

Stephen Colbert and the Yellow Ribbon Fund - 8.21.2007.1

Leave it to Mr. Stephen Colbert to bring attention to a serious issue by promoting himself. As many readers have noted, I am a fan of the Colbert Report (the T in Colbert is silent). It is a satirical spin on political news that is refreshing and often more informative than regular news reports.

One of the more recent items has been the injury to Mr. Colbert’s wrist. This has lead to his promotion of the WristStrong bracelet. Similar to the various ribbon campaigns, his red wrist band,

“made of the best plastic, red.”

Is a promotion of the wrist injuries in the nation. In a further step of shameless self-promotion, Mr. Colbert has made his wriststrong bracelet available for sale on his website (www.colbertnation.com).

But the reason I’m mentioning it is the serious part of this. For every band bought, the entire proceeds are going to the Yellow Ribbon Fund. That is for real and an issue that needs more attention.

The Yellow Ribbon Fund is dedicated to

...assist our injured service members and their families while they recuperate at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center.

While this only affects 2 military medical centers, serving some 940 of the roughly 24,000 injured American Armed Services members that have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is something. I am always happy to support any cause and organization that betters the lives of those that VOLUNTEERED to server this nation.

My reasons have been mentioned several times in this blog and at Vass, but I will say it again. My father, my sister, and I have all volunteered for military service. My father was a former Marine, who fought in Viet Nam. He suffered from Agent Orange, Post Traumatic Distress, and various wounds in the war. He returned from the war to protests, insults, and a VA medical treatment that I feel was piss poor at best. I would never wish this experience on anyone who has made the commitment to sacrifice everything for this nation and our freedom to do things like write this blog from the comfort of my office.

The Yellow Ribbon Fund may not be the largest organization, it may not reach every injured serviceman, but it is helping to improve the condition and lives of those that have served this nation and their families. I don’t need a better reason than that.

If you do, the WristStong bracelets are merely $5.

This is what I think, what do you think?

Hanoi Fonda back to old tricks - 1.30.2007.1

This is a post that deals with mostly one actress and politics. I have posted it on the entertainment blog due to that fact. I have let you know that it is political as opposed to most other posts. Also if you are a fan of Jane ‘Hanoi’ Fonda [I first commented on her in my post jul 26 2005], I’d advise you to skip this.

I just heard about the protest that occurred on Saturday. There were several celebrities there, including Mr. Tim Robbins, Mrs. Susan Sarandon (Mr. Robbins wife), Mr. Sean Penn, and someone I truly hate – Jane Fonda. Let me start off that I respect every person in the crowd that voiced their view on the war (except fonda). It’s a vital principle of American life that they can protest, and unlike other countries none of them were shot dead for it. The differing views are important to keep the balance of America and to attain the best for the nation.

I will mention that this is similar to the actions we saw during the Viet Nam war. Perhaps many of the youth today are too young to recall what happened. I was young when the protests were occurring myself. But I was old enough to see the result on my father, a Marine and veteran of Viet Nam. And that stuck with me for life.

I respect the actors that feel strongly enough about the actions of the government to risk their public images in protests. I respect the ordinary people that want the government to know that they disagree with the actions currently ongoing. But I think they are all wrong.

I do not feel they support the troops as their actions fail to match the definition of ‘support’. Anyone who disagrees with that should look up the definition of the word and explain to me how their actions fulfill that. That is my opinion, and it is no more or less worthwhile than theirs.

I do see this being the beginning of actions that will be similar to those of Viet Nam. Perhaps Democrats such as Senator Jim Webb had good memories of the return home, my father did not. And I will be extremely angry if anyone treats the young men and women returning from Iraq as they did my father. Some need to take a moment and recall that the only reason they can call names and not support the troops is because those same troops, and all those that have bled, sweat, and died before them, have made it possible.

As for Hanoi Jane, I agree with Mr. Danny Bonaduce in that I would be happy to have seen her shot for treason years ago. Protest all you want, but aiding the enemy of our nation and our troops is treason. I have no respect for the woman. Her (what I feel are) false and half-hearted apologies do not sway me. Some 30+ years later she has admitted remorse. Am I stupid? That is a political and economic response, timed perfectly to match a book and a movie release. I do not forget, nor will I forgive her. She had decades to apologize, or explain her thoughts. She was a grown woman, aware of her actions and their impact when she made them in the 70’s. Her hope, I feel, that the youth of the nation would not remember and thus forgive does not work with me. I am repulsed by violence against women, but I would pay to have a woman give Jane ‘Hanoi’ Fonda a beat down. I feel that strongly about her actions.

As for Deborah at News Hounds, Mr. Bonaduce is not perfect. There is no question of his well documented past. But I demand you find one instance where he sided with declared enemies of our nation, especially when our Armed Forces were fighting and dying. Hanoi Jane did do that, it is a fact. She posed for the photos and supported the enemies of the nation as our sons and fathers died. She was not forced. Mr. Bonaduce never did anything even close to that. Showing the photos she voluntarily posed for or mentioning the actions she did is not slander or nasty, it’s factual. The age that Mr. Bonaduce saw the photo has nothing to do with its impact. I was young as well and the repercussions made an impact on my family. Trauma is not restricted to an age group. Also the definition of treason during a time of war is what Hanoi Jane did, and should have been tried for. The punishment at the time was death, to remind those too young to remember this is not a false accusation. If it wasn’t true I’m sure some lawyer would be suing now. As for quoting 30,000 – that is tens of thousands, 3 x ten thousand to be exact – thus the estimate sounds accurate to the math I was taught.

Lastly, yes we all have made mistakes. Waiting 30 years to admit it is not a show of remorse to me. Consciously siding against your nation is not a mistake, no matter the time it takes to admit what was already documented in photos and other media. To remind people of the facts, and to express an opinion is not cowardly, nor a bully tactic. It’s little different than going to a war protest. If you can’t accept that, that is unforgivable.

This is what I think, what do you think?