Typical, left-wing egotist

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Amen, savvydude! I just saw O'Reilly, and that is why I looked Modine up on here. I haven't heard of that guy since the 80s! What makes him an expert on politics? I've never understood what makes actors/actresses/singers think we want to hear their opinions. What makes their opinions any more significant than mine? I wonder if O'Reilly would book me on his show to impose my thoughts and opinions on everyone else. Oh right, I don't have "a name." I'm "a nobody." That's what makes my views unimportant and a person like Modine's so very vital to "the common man." Just because they have a platform, and we don't, we are supposed to sit back and drink their Kool-aid! Ugh, SHUT UP AND ACT/SING!

amsale1 DITTO to everything you said. I could not have said it better myself! You should send a short version of that to O'Reilly.

Actors go on t.v. to speak about their political beliefs because most normal Americans don't want to and are not able

No, actors employ agents, managers and publicists to get their mugs on TV for whatever reason. But, luckily for us, only a small percentage are so self-absorbed that they feel the need to preach political nonsense after the scripts and offers have started slowing down.

do you really think the major networks would let an unknown individual

You are missing the point. The issue isn't private persons vs. public persona - there are thousands of pundits and analysts of every political stripe who pontificate on TV every day. What we don't need is a gaggle of left-wing actors, mostly uneducated, wasting valuable screen-time just because they can.

In a roundabout way, they represent our views. Conservative and liberal. Like it or not

Hmmm . . . let's see. Danny Glover, Tim Robbins, Barbra Streisand, George Clooney, Madonna, Bette Midler, Kevin Spacey, Oprah, Julia Roberts - they might represent your views, but in a 50/50 country there are millions who disagree and are often offended. Conservative actors are highly unlikely to speak out publicly because the potential blacklisting by fascist liberals in Hollywood is a real threat.

[i[There is free speech in this country[/i]

Geez, I was waiting to see how quickly someone would lecture us on "free speech". Why is it that whenever a left-wing celeb is criticized the sycophants over-react? Odd. What we do is practice free speech by criticizing another's free speech. Nowhere is it suggested that Modine be denied his first amendment rights - okay?

You, however, can do something about what you choose to listen to and if you want to only listen to conservative viewpoints, then do so!!

Well, please explain this: the Oscar show is supposed to be a celebration of movies and acting, and it should be for everybody, right? Michael Moore was allowed to slander, attack and demonize the President and Republicans. Al Gore was lauded as the saviour of us all by Leo DeCaprio, and was awarded an Oscar for the biggest sham in recent history. Where is the balance?

Explain this: people bought tickets to a concert by the Dixie Chicks, thinking they were going to hear "Sin Wagon" and all of the other hit songs. But, Natalie Maines used the concert, and the captive audience, to rail against the President. As one of the concert goers sighted, nowhere on the ticket did it indicate that it was a concert and a political rally. And, he was denied a refund.

And there are many others: Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Cher, Bette Midler, Barbra Streisand, and Linda Ronstandt all use their concert venues to spout their politics without giving ticket buyers any warning.

So, your suggestion, though earnest, is hollow and nearly impossible to achieve with Hollywood's activist leanings.

Very true, savvy. And the Dixie Chicks were shown just how much their fans were NOT interested in their politics with the poor concert attendance and record sales for several years after that crap. Then the liberals that control the entertainment world gave them a Grammy for their next album. what a farce! That album did was barely promoted by their record label and did not sell well, not to mention that there were many more deserving artists that year. Even the predominantly liberal mainstream media called BS and saw it for what it was!! Then Maines, having NOT learned her lesson the first time, used that bogus Grammy as another platform to spout off even more, when she could of shown some maturity and humbleness. The other two Chicks publicly supported Maines, but in interviews you could hear in their voices and see in their faces and body language that Maines' antics were not very smart and how badly it effected not just Maines, but them and their families also!

He didn't say a word about his next film or his acting career

Probably because he doesn't have much of one to speak of these days, aside from his appearances on Weeds.

fascist liberals in Hollywood

I doubt you understand what fascism is about, but for a moment there, you sounded like Jonah Goldberg.