the AWFUL awful truth about publicity monger Sean Penn in NO

[Gabi Hayes]

from Matt Taibbi, familiar to many here

I was on the boat with Sean Penn this weekend. That's me in the background of the above photo.

The article you wrote is completely mistaken. He did not bring a personal photographer. He came with me and his friend, a New Orleans writer named Douglas Brinkley, and the reason he came was because a friend of his had asked him to help him find a family member still stuck in her house. He did not consent to any photographs taken. The boat did spring a leak, but only at the end of the trip, after one of the people we pulled out of the water kicked the plug out by accident. The articles you probably based your reports on came from an Australian writer who was angry that Sean had declined an interview.

I don't understand why people like you insist on believing that kind of reporting. Probably because you want to believe it.

Sincerely,
M. Taibbi
Reporter
Rollling Stone Magazine

the virtue of Taibbi's work has been extolled here many times--see his piece on Crawford--and there's a picture of him in the boat at this hideous site, filled with freeper hypocrite/liars, if you choose to sully yourselves. it's a good lesson, though, in how these indescribable monsters cling to their fantasies, even when smacked with a faceful of truth

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/09/05/114155.php

[chalky]

1. Bookmarking. I'm going to need this handy.

n/t

[Gabi Hayes]

4. yeah...doesn't it inFURiate you? they're using this on TV all the time,

too. so easy to make fun of people when you can just make stuff up, isn't it?

one of the aholes on that site was speculating that he'd be using this for to aid his incipient run for political office

wonder where they got that

you should read some of the vile postings there, even after Taibbi's explanation. many, of course, refused to believe him, even after having it pointed out to them that it was HE in the picture

what does it take to get through to people like that?

at least the polls are showing some wising up among independent voters, so maybe there is hope for 06

[Gabi Hayes]

2. so this goes to show just how badly they have to lie about everything

he wasn't there at all, apparently, to do a photo-op hero trip

he was there on a personal request, to help a friend of a friend, had no personal photographer there, and, after helping said friend, stuck around to help other people

amazing how the far right will do anything/say anything, always with zero regard for the truth, to further their ends

[Triana]

7. Wow. Bless Sean Penn...

...we need to clone that dude.

[ComerPerro]

26. When the truth and facts don't support your assertion

just invent your own reality. That's how the GOP operates and continues to thrive

[William769]

3. I wish we had had more Sean Penns.

[w13rd0]

5. He saved lives...

...that's far more than Bush and his cronies can say. And THEY sure as HELL tried to drum up positive pr with their photo ops and fake food&water distributions and fake levee repairs...

[zulchzulu]

6. Aw c'mon...he showed up, did some work, contributed some money...

Give Sean on break on this. ferchrissakes. He was interviewed and made some good statements as well. He was there and did some work.

I think the author in the blog is jealous of Sean. He's a pretty private person for the most part.

ON EDIT: I'm speaking to the Sean Penn bashers...I wasn't sure if the thread was pro or con...my bad...I go outside now...

[robbedvoter]

8. Not so convinced of the virtues of Taibi's work - but I buy this one.

[Gabi Hayes]

10. so give examples of what you don't like: his "activist" stances?

his personal stake in what he writes?

pls let me know what it is to which you object.

I've read a few things of his, and had no problems with them whatsoever

if I missed something objectionable, I'm interested in having my consciousness raised

please

[FourStarDemocrat]

34. I remember that he did a hatchet job on Wesley Clark back in 2003

It was a jaded, dismissive, misinformed trash piece of an article that took one statement after another out of context and then attempted to present them in the worst light possible. What his intentions were I have no idea-- maybe to edge in his Primary candidate of choice at the expense of another? The Wesley Clark Taibbi decribed was exactly the opposite of what I experienced, and what dozens of people whom I know saw who supported and worked for the campaign.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20031215/taibbi

[Just Me]

9. The compassionate and giving have to be attacked by the takers.

Otherwise, the takers "look bad". Moreover, the takers don't believe in the capacity of people to serve others because the takers don't themselves engage in such compassionate activities unless they believe it will make them "look good".

[onecent]

11. I LOVE Sean Penn..ever since Mystic River I think he is a legend

or WILL BE in his own time.

[bluedawg12]

12. Usual rightwingnut slobber about Hollywood

dang can't they up date their hate talk on the right?

Liberal elite? yawn

Liberal media? old and trite cliche', come'on do better than this old Coulter-culture crapola.

Hollywood liberals? yada, yada...I'd didn't see Mr. Fallwell pull away long enough from the dinner table to set foot in the gulf coast.

Show me Buchanan, Robertson, Falwell, Kristol & Co. with swamp water up to their goonads trying to help and you will have my attention.

[Gabi Hayes]

13. of course.....I have a feeling this thread is going to come in handy,

cause this is the sort of thing the haters love to keep alive, regardless of the truth

wait a minute.....I almost forgot: the BIG LIE is the one that's most effective

the more outlandish it is, the more likely the gullible are to swallow it, cause they can't believe anybody would be so audacious to tell such a whopper

I heard on the Stephanie Miller show this morning (rerun) a caller refuse to believe that Newt Gingrich would lie about the date upon which Blanco submitted the request for Disaster Relief to the chimp

she kept asking over and over for proof from Miller, while being unable to accept the idea that Gingrich would say something so baldly untrue

don't you love it when the ones ACCUSED of perfidy are the ones upon whom the burden of truth is placed, rather than the accusers?

that's why it's vital to INSIST upon specific sources for the ludicrous assertions your RW friends make all the time.

Nancy Skinner was very good at forcing her callers to pinpoint the sourcing for their idiotic maunderings

[Catherine Vincent]

14. That is good to know. Thanks for posting this.

[cynatnite]

15. Did any of bush's photo-ops ever save lives?

When I hear local govt. officials say that Sean Penn walked the walk and saved lives, that says plenty to me. He's not out tooting his own horn or giving lip service. Sean Penn is a man of action and I respect him far more now than I did before Katrina.

[daninthemoon]

16. Thanks for the info. Also, thanks for your part in the boat rescues.

God Bless.

[GreenPartyVoter]

17. Thanks for clearing that up, Matt

------------------------------------------------------
Ditch Bu$h and save the Gulf: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=106&topic_id=22507&mesg_id=22507

Then save the nation!
http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/electionreform.htm

[Graf Orlok]

18. So people get pissed about Penn's "photo-ops"...

but they don't get pissed about Dubya's photo-opping? What kind of work did fuckface do when he was down in NO???? NONE!

Too bad NO don't have more people like Penn. They need people like him right now.

[Gabi Hayes]

20. it was NOT a photo op. he did NOT have a photographer

word got around that he was there, and they found him, including that Australian Ahole reporter, who apparently started the whole BS story

he made MANY trips while he was there. I've seen other pictures of him, dressed differently

as one person said on that blogcritic thread, he pulled out perhaps as many as 40 people

that's 40 more than ANY of his swinish detractors have pulled

[VOX]

19. Thank you so much for posting this. n/t

[Gabi Hayes]

21. yr wlcm.....it was total serendip. I was googling for info on:

levees vs. canals

the 17th Street Canal is WALLED in....no levee there

so I was trying to find out how the canal support situation fit in with the ACOE's problem funding levee construction.

did any levees actually fail?

was it just that failure that caused the flood, or was there another breech? I can't remember, but I thought there were two.

I know the whole area is sinking under the compaction of Mississippi River silting and the levees need to be raised several feet, a multibillion/multiyear task, but what effects do these facts have on what caused the failures, resulting in the flood.

did the water pour over levees that were simply not high enough?

[applegrove]

22. The WH tried to make the victims the "enemy" last week. Didn't work.

Dems are being very staid. Sean Penn is the enemy.

[Gabi Hayes]

23. you mean Karen Hughes' message to the world?

[applegrove]

31. No - I mean in the first few days. Conservatives were harping that

it was the fault of people who stayed behind..their choice. Even the kids & the elderly apparently had a cornucopia of choices they chose not to make.

Pentagon made a pity play on Wednesday night, complaining to CNN that everyone was feeling sorry for the victims and nobody felt sorry for them.

[blue agave]

24. thanks Matt n/t

[G_j]

25. desperately seeking a "Jane Fonda" to project hatred upon

and that traitor Sean has even been to Iraq! :sarcasm:

[Gabi Hayes]

27. Iran, too, and recently!

[WilliamPitt]

28. Brinkley wrote the Kerry biography

[Gabi Hayes]

29. he's a very busy guy

http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/thompson.html

among other projects

unfortunately, he had some sort of deal going where he wanted money to be qoted on JFK's death, or something along those lines

it may not be true, but it was out there for awhile

just for balance...ironic that it's on this thread, isn't it?

he was on Washington Journal yesterday, btw. taped it, haven't watched it

that was followed by an interesting interview with a guy who wrote a book on the 1927 flood in NO, during which the rich folks had a levee dynamited (unnecessarily) to save their property

some things never change, eh?

[melody]

30. Of course all the jerkoffs sneering didn't do a damned thing

Typical.

I don't care if Sean Penn (or any of the celebs) brought the King Family Singers with him. He was down there doing something -- with his face damned near that awful water. Lets see the wingnuts do that.

[West Coast Democrat]

32. I think Penn should run for public office

He's an American Hero who shows up the Bushies time and time again!

[CityZen-X]

33. Sean Rocks!

He was just in Iran running an account of his experience there. It was printed in many a news paper through out our country and abroad. How kool is it that a person of high exposure takes the vultures of paparazzi and print into the world of reality!

[cedahlia]

35. Okay, their HERO is the KING of tacky staged photo ops

Can we say "Mission Accomplished"???????

And these assholes have the GALL to attack Sean Penn??? And for, as Taibbi explained, absolutely no credible goddamn reason? They sit on their high and dry, cushy thrones, and throw stones at those caring enough to do what none of their ilk would dare. Sean Penn is a good man who went to NOLA and did a good thing. It's called HELPING PEOPLE. In the words of System of a Down...FREEPERS:

"WHERE. THE FUCK. ARE YOU??????!!!!!!!"

[Imagevision]

36. Anything to distract from Bush response fuck-up...!

http://downingstreetmemo.com/

[grace0418]

37. EVEN IF Sean Penn DID bring an entourage and

a photographer, he was still doing more to help than the fuckers mocking him. How about rolling your sleeves up and helping out before you make up lies about someone else and how well they're doing the job? God that pisses me off. I'm glad Sean doesn't care what they think and does the right thing anyway. Good for him!

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

38. Good to know, thanks for posting n/t

[LibraLiz1973]

39. I love Sean Penn for having the balls to do this

AND for having the balls to loudly decry this f'd up admin

[Doctor_J]

40. That's why * didn't go to NOLA!

He didn't want to seem like a glory hound! It's all crystal clear now! The golfing and guitar playing and excuse-catapulting and hiding were a perfect fit with his low-key, modest personality! What a man!

:puke::puke::puke::puke::puke::puke::puke: