Abruptly, the profanities are loaded up again, blazing from the muzzle, as Ozzie launches into a tirade against, of all people, Sean Penn.

I am oblivious to the context....

From The Associated Press, via Google News

Chavez thanks Sean Penn for slamming his critics

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is grateful that actor Sean Penn has defended him against his critics within the U.S. media. In an appearance on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" last week, Penn slammed Chavez critics who refer to the socialist leader as a dictator.

The Oscar-winning celebrity noted that Chavez has won repeated elections and suggested that media critics who call him a dictator should be jailed.

He says that "there should be a bar for which one goes to prison for these kinds of biases."

Penn has visited Chavez several times and frequently defends the president's leftist political policies.

Chavez welcomed Penn's comments Wednesday and thanked the actor for standing up to his detractors.

DB

I was wondering when Repoz would link to this...

I thought Guillen was a fan of Chavez?

Also, Sean Penn is a #########.

Bbtf is pretty good. I practice my writing on it... and I like to see how many ##### don’t do anything but read newsblog comments all day.

I thought Guillen was a fan of Chavez?

Not at all.

The only Venezuelan MLB'er that's a Chavez supporter that I'm aware of is Magglio Ordonez, and he is something of an outcast for it.

the 46-year-old manager stores his bleeps the way a bandito stores bullets across his chest.

Is there an emoticon for my jaw hitting the floor?

Guillen is a jackass but he is right about this.

Is there a case to be made for Sean Penn not being a clown?

Yes. Despite whatever dopey crap he says on various occasions, Penn has done a lot of charity work and given a lot of money to worthwhile causes. Even if he is a clown, he's a lot better than the infinite number of clowns who do nothing at all except consume and complain. (I don't mean you, Ray, I know you give to charity.)

Sean Penn is still a clown for thinking that Hugo Chavez deserves to rule Venezuela as long as possible. For a leftist like Penn, I don't understand why he thinks an Autocracy can only mean good for that country.

Hollywood's always been full of political idiots like Penn and Jon Voigt, or Vanessa Redgrave and Mel Gibson. What of it?

Hollywood's always been full of political idiots like Penn and Jon Voigt, or Vanessa Redgrave and Mel Gibson. What of it?

thanks god we don't have any of those types HERE

RE: jon voight

i thought it was quite hilarious how he reprized his role of jonas hodges from 24 for a john mccain attack commercial.

Yes. Despite whatever dopey crap he says on various occasions, Penn has done a lot of charity work and given a lot of money to worthwhile causes. Even if he is a clown, he's a lot better than the infinite number of clowns who do nothing at all except consume and complain.

Ok, I agree with you there.

Now, is there a case to be made that Penn does not say clownish things with some frequency?

I mean, saying that people should be jailed for saying that Chavez is a dictator? I watch Maher's program and was left scratching my head when Penn said this - it was out there even for him. Even putting aside whether Chavez is a "dictator," Penn thinks that someone should be jailed for saying it? Is that not all stripes of buffoonery?

Maher couldn't find it within himself to stop licking Penn's boots long enough to question him.

Now, is there a case to be made that Penn does not say clownish things with some frequency?

Not really. Sean Penn, while a person who does donate a ton of time and money to many worthwhile charities, is also an individual who says stupid things in public with remarkable frequency.

Not really. Sean Penn, while a person who does donate a ton of time and money to many worthwhile charities, is also an individual who says stupid things in public with remarkable frequency.

Now, is there a case to be made that liberals and people on the left should be criticizing Penn's buffoonish comments more, rather than leaving it to others to do it?

Now, is there a case to be made that liberals and people on the left should be criticizing Penn's buffoonish comments more, rather than leaving it to others to do it?

There is a case to be made that people of all political stripes should be paying little or no attention to Sean Penn's buffoonish pronouncements on political matters.

Now, is there a case to be made that liberals and people on the left should be criticizing Penn's buffoonish comments more, rather than leaving it to others to do it?

really? are you that much of a hack?


who the #### cares what sean penn thinks about venezuela? he's not making policy. he's not creating legal precedents. when sean penn nominates antonin scalia to the supreme court, or chooses sarah palin to be the vice president, maybe he'll be worthy of derision, but for this?


seriously, get a life.

really? are you that much of a hack?


who the #### cares what sean penn thinks about venezuela? he's not making policy. he's not creating legal precedents. when sean penn nominates antonin scalia to the supreme court, or chooses sarah palin to be the vice president, maybe he'll be worthy of derision, but for this?


seriously, get a life.

Tell that to Ozzie Guillen. Be sure to let us know how that works out.

DB

Whoa...I walked into an ESPN chat thread. Which way to BBTF, please?

Now, is there a case to be made that liberals and people on the left should be criticizing Penn's buffoonish comments more, rather than leaving it to others to do it?

Ray, your troll-fu is weak today. What happened, did the wind cut your power or something?

Ray, Ive criticized the left on these threads yesterday more than i've ever seen you criticize the right..so maybe you should not worry too much about what other people choose to comment upon.

Penn's comments were the perfect foil for Guillen, who said about all that needs to be said about Penn's comments.

Chavez follows in a long tradition of Latin American pols who have bucked Washington, and about the only way to do that and survive is to institute an autocratic government to insulate against overthrow. Washington already was behind one failed coup.

There is a case to be made that people of all political stripes should be paying little or no attention to Sean Penn's buffoonish pronouncements on political matters.

Ok. Now, is there a case to be made that everyone should always simply agree with me since they know I'm always right?

who the #### cares what sean penn thinks about venezuela? he's not making policy. he's not creating legal precedents. when sean penn nominates antonin scalia to the supreme court, or chooses sarah palin to be the vice president, maybe he'll be worthy of derision, but for this?

Last I checked, people like Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, and Rush Limbaugh aren't making policy, creating legal precedents, or choosing VP candidates or court nominees, but people on the left still freak out about them.

Ozzie Guillen is an individual who says stupid things in public with remarkable frequency.

And I, for one, enjoy it.

Guillen's comments isn't dumb here though. He's giving a honest reaction to Sean Penn's crap ass analysis of Hugo Chavez's rule.

Ok. Now, is there a case to be made that everyone should always simply agree with me since they know I'm always right?

Are you or are you not a Boston Red Sox supporter?

Case closed.

Guillen's comments isn't dumb here though. He's giving a honest reaction to Sean Penn's crap ass analysis of Hugo Chavez's rule.

Correct. Telander reveals himself to be totally shallow and dumb here.

Last I checked, people like Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, and Rush Limbaugh aren't making policy, creating legal precedents, or choosing VP candidates or court nominees, but people on the left still freak out about them.

They do determine who gets elected to public office, so that has some impact on public policy.

Last I checked, people like Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, and Rush Limbaugh aren't making policy, creating legal precedents, or choosing VP candidates or court nominees, but people on the left still freak out about them.

what does that have to do with this:

Now, is there a case to be made that liberals and people on the left should be criticizing Penn's buffoonish comments more, rather than leaving it to others to do it?

also, just for a frame of reference, when you have a left wing dictatorship, what you get is venezuela and cuba. what you get with a right wing dictatorship is north korea. for as much as you might like to bash venezuela as a proxy for democratic leadership, at least they seem to be able to provide the most basic of human services to their citizens.


also, hugo chavez can't be that bad. he gave new jersey an island for earth day.

North Korea isn't "left wing" or "right wing". It doesn't have any political parties. It's just a monarchy based on beliefs of genetic superiority to the rest of the world. What North Koreans believe

They do determine who gets elected to public office, so that has some impact on public policy.

Keith Olbermann balances out their idiocy, though.

Actually, he has no influence on who gets elected to public office.

North Korea isn't "left wing" or "right wing". It doesn't have any political parties. It's just a monarchy based on beliefs of genetic superiority to the rest of the world. What North Koreans believe

is that the racist dwarves article?

Don't forget that Sean Penn used to be with Madonna.

I figure we write off everything he says to tertiary syphilis.

That would also explain Canseco.

and A-Rod.

what you get with a right wing dictatorship is north korea. for as much as you might like to bash venezuela as a proxy for democratic leadership, at least they seem to be able to provide the most basic of human services to their citizens.

What the hell? Are you insane, Steagles? Am I supposed to feel bad because of that?

First, who the hell calls North Korea "right-wing"? Second, how the hell do you call it "right-wing"? Third, assuming it is right-wing for argument's sake (and ignoring that by labeling it as such we have completely blown up any possible meaning of "right-wing"), is its inferiority to Cuba and Venezuela supposed to prove something about the quality of your politics versus Ray's politics or, more importantly, my politics?

You are a crazy person.

Last I checked, people like Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, and Rush Limbaugh aren't making policy, creating legal precedents, or choosing VP candidates or court nominees, but people on the left still freak out about them.

Exactly! And, as we all know, a leftist celebrity, whose political opinions few if any leftists care about, is nothing if not perfectly equivalent to several right-wing political pundits who get paid millions of dollars each specifically to state their political opinions, each of whom has millions of right-wing followers hanging on their words.

Washington already was behind one failed coup.

I hope you are not talking about 2002 -- you know, where the public was pretty upset over the lousy policies of Chavez where Chavez had his thugs (Chavistas) fire on the protesters? That one?

Here's a very interesting book on the topic: The Silence and the Scorpion

That wasn't "the public" being upset, that was the economic elite and the military. The intended new president was the president of the national Chamber of Commerce, for goodness sake. Washington was certainly hoping it would happen, and the Bush administration had repeatedly met with the people behind it, though there's no evidence of encouraging anything other than "constitutional means".

Edmundo - thanks for challenging my contention. Considering Washington's history of nefarious meddling in Latin American affairs, its opposition to Chavez's economics more than his politics, and its apparent willingness to back Chavez's ouster, you'll have to forgive my willingness to believe Washington was behind it.

Just after a couple of hours of reading, the reality was much more complex, and Washington's role minor at best - if they had really plotted Chavez's ouster, he would have been ousted. Even the rigtwingers in the admin who wanted him out realized Carmona was screwing the pooch by suspending the constitution and disolving the elected government.

I'd love to read that book - apparently the key figurea in both the coup and the failure of Carmona's takeover were two high-ranking generals who opposed Chavez's military plans to confront the peaceful protests..and then Carmona's power grab. Not to parrot the Bush White Hoise, but Chavez is the one who appears to have nearly cooked his own goose in 2002.

Still, Chavez is no dictator and Venezuela is a democracy under his rule, however flawed. I agree in principal with the reforms he instituted upon his election, but his corruption and authoitarian ways undermine those reforms.

Again, thanks for pushing me to gain a more informed position on Chavez.

"Twitter has been pretty good. I practice my English on it. I like to see how many [bleeps] don’t do anything but read Twitters all day."

I'm just going to pretend that the bleeped out word here is "Cubs fans".