Obama's Hollywood Money Flow

I know this is a couple of weeks late, but I wanted to put this up.

Hollywood is once again opening their wallets for Barack Obama.

According to Politico:
 

President Barack Obama’s latest fundraising report resembles an A-list of Hollywood stars, with donations from some of the top celebrities in the entertainment industry.

Among the more than 550,000 donors to the president’s 2012 reelection bid were big-name movie stars including actors George Clooney, Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, Michael Keaton, Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson. Filmmaker Steven Spielberg and his wife, actress Kate Capshaw, also gave to the 2012 campaign, according to the latest Federal Election Commission report. Jennifer Garner and Gwyneth Paltrow both contributed under their married names —Affleck and Martin, respectively.

30 Rock” actor Alec Baldwin, who has often toyed with a potential political run, also shelled out cash for Obama’s second-quarter fundraising haul. And several other TV actors — such as “Monk”’s Tony Shalhoub, “Glee”’s Jane Lynch, “24”’s president Dennis Haysbert and sci-fi stars Scott Bakula and Richard Dean Anderson — joined Baldwin in contributing to the president’s reelection bid.

Comedians Will Ferrell, Carl Reiner and “The Simpsons”’s Yeardley Smith also doled out money for Obama, whose campaign attracted a record-breaking $86 million in donations.

According to the July quarterly report, the president’s reelection campaign raised $47 million, while the Democratic National Committee raised $38 million through Obama’s joint committee.

About 40 percent of the president’s record-breaking take came from big-money bundlers, according to a POLITICO analysis of donors listed on Obama’s campaign web site. Among those bundlers were top Hollywood insiders Andy Spahn, Ari Emanuel and Jeffrey Katzenberg.

Spahn — an entertainment consultant who was appointed in 2008 to the President’s Commission on Arts and Humanities —brought in over $500,000 in the last quarter. Katzenberg, a Hollywood mogul and DreamWorks Animation CEO, also appears in the group of bundlers who’ve raised over $500,000.

Emanuel, who served as the inspiration for “Entourage”’s movie agent Ari Gold, raised between $50,000-$100,000 for his brother Rahm’s former boss.

Obama’s campaign also pulled in a number of other actors and familiar faces, such as Vanessa Williams, Anthony Edwards of “ER”, “Star Trek”’s John Cho, “House”’s Jennifer Morrison, “Cougar Town”’s Christa Miller, Brenda Strong of “Desperate Housewives” and Wayne Wilderson, the actor who portrays the grapes in Fruit of the Loom commercials.

• Along with Politico's findings, other donors and supporters in the entertainment industry include, singer and actress Beyonce, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and actor Neil Patrick Harris.

• Some industry power players have been critical of Obama, but have said they'll still support him, include actor Matt Damon and rapper Jay-Z.

Beck the Buffoon

Just days after the horrific massacre of nearly 80 individuals at a camp in Norway, the always unpredictable and insensitive Glenn Beck suggested that the children at the camp were comparable to the Hitler Youth. Just hours after the tragic incident occurred, the media revealed that the camp  was run by Norway's leading center-left party, the Labor Party, and that it was preparing young adults for the political arena. During his radio show, Beck said:
"...sounds a little like the Hitler Youth. I mean, who does a camp for kids that's all about politics? Disturbing."

First of all, really Glenn? In this day of age, is it ever appropriate to compare...anything to Hitler or the Nazis? Never. It just kindles the fire of hate.

Second, for someone who is so "knowledgeable" and "in-touch" with the political scene, you would think he would know that both major political parties hold "camps" in most states around the U.S. for youth that are interested or looking to get involved in politics.

Third: Glenn, you have no soul. 80 people lost their lives to a terrorist who went on a killing rampage for nearly two hours. He expressed a FAR RIGHT point of view and wanted to provoke a war against the European Muslim immigrants. You owe an apology to the victims and their families for your toxic rhetoric that only insinuates more hate.

The Undeserving Pie

I can't say I'm surprised that Rupert Murdoch's News of the World was hacking into voice mails of royalty, celebrity and ...murder victims. However I was put a bit out of place today when I saw the video of 80 year old media power-player getting pied in the face during his hearing in Britain today. Although many of his controlled media outlets have conservative and extreme conservative stances, I was a little upset seeing him pied. I don't think of him as evil, but rather genius. He has transformed NewsCorps. into a competitive media conglomerate over the last few decades. If he is found guilty of "knowing" or authorizing such sleazy tactics within his media empire, my opinion of him will shift from negative to disgusting.
Yet, to pie an 80 year old man seems a little ridiculous. I'd rather see Rebekah Brooks get it. Unless other hacking scandals surface from other NewsCorps. media outlets, I don't believe Murdoch knew about the hacking dilemma at News of the World.

Big Hollywood Is Crying...Again

Those liberals in Hollywood just keep getting Andrew Breitbart's right-wing Big Hollywood contributors all bent out of shape.
Conan O'Brien tweeted:


The Big Hollywood post was furious that he would say such a thing.
A. He is a comedian. B. These two women have got more historical facts and dates wrong than all democrats combined. If there were individuals on the left making similar catastrophically wrong historical mishaps, then I'm sure Conan would crack a joke about them. Come on people.

The post also went by pointing out the education both of these women have had. This makes them....smart. Ok. Right. Let me point out the obvious. It doesn't really matter what sort of education you've had or what degrees you hold....it's what came out of your mouth. I'm sure both of these women are smart....deep ...deep down.

Big Hollywood's Big Obsession

After skimming through Andrew Breitbart's Big Hollywood extreme right leaning blog, I came across a scathing review of the new film "Bad Teacher" starring Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, and Jason Segel. One thing this far right blog focuses on are the conservative films, players and values in Hollywood and the entertainment industry. It is no secret the vast majority in the entertainment industry lean left and are quite active in the political arena. This blog pathetically attempts to pick out right wing values from the handful of republicans in Hollywood and from films that depict conservative values.
After recently seeing the film "Bad Teacher", I was interested in reading what Big Hollywood contributor John P. Hanlon had to say about it. In his post ‘Bad Teacher’ Review: Hey Teacher, Leave Us Moviegoers Alone, Hanlon summarizes and critiques the film in a mostly fair way. I'll be honest, I respect opinions of others, especially when reviewing film, however what gets me about this post is how these right wing nuts latch onto ANY "conservative" point within a film. In the film there is a pro-life reference which goes along with Justin Timberlake's hilarious character. Hanlon implicates this point into his review of the film. Most people reviewing films would care less about such a "reference", however the people over at Big Hollywood are obsessed with any sort of reference to their passionate beliefs of abortion. You're probably thinking "Why does he care so much?" I care because it is a pointless implication into the review and the far right at that blog are obsessed with having a conservative reference or voice in Hollywood. The fact of the matter is, Hollywood is liberal and it will most likely continue to be liberal. So if that's what those people want to waste their time on....searching and picking out conservative messages and references in film and the entertainment industry, then life is quite boring for them. Find another hobby.