There's more than one way to be "responsible". See my blog for details.

" ... I think the delicacy with which it's dealt with allows that to sort of creep in".

Well, I think the stupidity with which Maggie is endowed allows her ass-hattery to sort of gallop down the road in full view. Chucklehead . . .

Call Huffington! Page One!

Stupid is as stupid does.
No big surprise that once again a Hollywood asshat comes to the front of the line with foot in mouth affliction trying to make a name for themselves.
Clearly a proud moment for her parents I would think

What a maroon. Americans take a comment like this in stride yet if she said Jews were some what responsible for the holocaust or that blacks were some how responsible for thier slavery in the americas the world would turn upside down.

Hey Kevin, check out this 7 minute "illigal" Star Wars video clip. click here

American culpability for 9/11 rattles in a peanut shell, not unlike Ms. Gyllenhaall's brain.

When the "Lifetime" or "Oxygen" networks decided to make "The Katie Couric Story", they'll have their actress!

http://www.strangepolitics.com/images/content/819.jpg

If we're all evil and stuff, how would attacking us make us think rethink our evil ways? That's one rationale for attacking that would be irrational regardless of our moral standing. If we're bad, we don't care that it's our fault, so we'll kick their asses. If we're good, we've been wronged, and we'll kick their asses. Either way, somebody is getting an ass-kicking.

On the other hand, if the idea was to provoke a clash of civilizations, I guess it worked.

If we're all evil and stuff, how would attacking us make us think rethink our evil ways? That's one rationale for attacking that would be irrational regardless of our moral standing. If we're bad, we don't care that it's our fault, so we'll kick their asses. If we're good, we've been wronged, and we'll kick their asses.

It's easy to find flaws in reasoning you just make up, especially when it pretty much boils down to which side of the force we are aligned with, light or dark. Things must look mighty simple in your world.

On the other hand, if the idea was to provoke a clash of civilizations, I guess it worked.

Or maybe our military presence in the middle east and support for various dictators over the years provoked the clash. 911 was part of the clash, not its provocation.

Or maybe, Mantis, it wasn't about us at all and was actually all about them? You know, bad men doing evil things in order to accumulate more power over others? Someone like a bin Laden who wants to restore an Islamic Caliphate (with guess who! starring as the new Caliph?) A Hussein who fashions his rule off of the examples provided by Europe's bloodiest fiends from its darkest century and whose delusions of grandeur led him into wars of conquest against his neighbors?

Perhaps it is about dictators, tyrants and the rest who fan hate against the 'other' in order to contain the discontent at home, all the while looting their countries into utter ruin?

Nah. It's gotta be the fault of those damned Americans. How dare those pig American dogs keep the sealanes open, keep the locals from slaughtering one another, and actually pay market price for the one product (besides corruption and hate) that the region produces.

Yeah, it's all America's fault. Those evil Yanks.

Maybe she should see how much they like her movie where she pissed in her pants and sat in it in Saudi?

Perhaps it is about dictators, tyrants and the rest who fan hate against the 'other' in order to contain the discontent at home, all the while looting their countries into utter ruin?

I wouldn't say that this isn't part of it as well. My point is that things like this are more complicated than "good and evil". And I would never say that the attacks on 911 were America's fault; they are the fault of those who planned and executed them. However, the impetus to do such things does have something to do with the actions of this country, though not exclusively.

As far as keeping the locals from slaughtering each other, I've never seen that being very high on our priorities, and many products other than oil are produced in the ME besides corruption and hate, which, of course, we don't need to import. We have plenty already.

mantis

America is as responsible for 9/11 as Rebecca Shaeffer was for her own murder.

I mean, according to your "things are more complicated than good and evil" meme, Shaeffer HAS to share responsibility for her own death seeing she deliberately sought a career as an actress, thereby flaunting herself to a vulnerable stalker who had no choice but to believe she was ignoring him. Yes, he was responsible for the act but obviously the impetus came from her actions, right?

Mantis - Glad to hear that you are one of those who puts the blame on the perpetrator, not the victim. I've read too many people over the past three years who blame the victim for the terrorist's actions. It is a moral outrage to do that, and it also insults the terrorist - he/she is denied the capacity to have free will and make choices. The terrorist is reduced to a puppet that only responds to the stimuli provided by others. Rather a condescending attitude, in my opinion.

Keeping the locals from slaughtering each other? Kinda low, sometimes. Containment is/was part of the mix especially after the Gulf War I thing. The idea that someone with verifiable muscle was in the area tends to bring another factor to the "who shall I invade today?" calculus. And it was to keep those sealanes open.

The ME doesn't produce much more than oil and corruption and hate. That Arab Developemnt report from the UN was a shocker (I think that was 2002). Other than oil the Arab world had a GNP less than Finland.

We produce corruption and hate? Well, we are human so we have failings, but the American system is surprisingly free of those things - shockingly free of that.

Mantis-
Actually, things aren't so simple in my world. It was a feeble attempt at irony. A poke at the illogic of the 'blame America first' arguments that assume that we did something in the middle east for which we are being punished.

I am sincere in ridiculing the idea that this was 'payback'. I can think of no scenario in which any sane person would kick a hornet's nest to punish the hornets. It would lead to something far worse.

Seen as a symbolic act, a clarion call to a clash of wills between civilizations, it made its point.

Very, very stupid circular nonsensical attempt at reason by Maggie Gnotgoingtomemorizehowtospellhername.

I also found her rendition in "Secretary" uber creepy. Not the role but the performer in the role. So there.

I also found her work in "The Secretary" to be uber creepy. Not the role, but the performer. Creepy. Great role, creepy actor. I think it was one film that worked well becuase of the outrage, unlike the events of 09/11.

On the other hand, blaming the United States for the events of 09/11 is beyond creepy. Insane, perhaps, but out of sympathy for those with mental illness, I'll withhold deeming insanity as being "creepy."

Her comment are insane, indicate to my read as someone alleging that "you made me hit you!" and similar.

This is very troubled psychology, what Ms. Gnotgoingtomemorizehowtospellhername indicates. Very troubled.

(Kevin: second comment up ^^ was deleted by network glitch after "post" was selected...refresh of browser, comment wasn't here, so I recommented [latest comment up ^^], sorry...)

' because I think America has done reprehensible things and is responsible in some way

I'm glad she endorses this line of reasoning, because if someone ever reads that comment and gets so angry with her that they attack her, or even worse, a family member, at least she would have the sense to remember that she's the one responsible for whatever happens.

So is Maggie all tired and, like, over all that money-coming-from-the-US thing she had going on? Another one for the list.

Pretty soon the only movies I'll watch will be the ones with actors who have died. A decade ago I crossed off the Susan Sarandon Hollywood Axis (last saw her in "Atlantic City", when her pseudohyperthyroidism hadn't bugged her eyes to her nose, and her boobs were somewhere in her chest area), meaning anyone who loves her views and makes a big deal out of parroting them. As far as new actors and actresses (it is what they are, dammit - women actors, its not unisex word!), I don't care what they're views are they keep their trap shut about the glee they felt when all those evil American men, women and children died.

Sounds like an effort to drum up some controversy for a movie that's going to flop.

You can post on her fan site guest book here:

http://www.maggie-gyllenhaal.net/cgi-bin/guestbook.cgi

I'm comment #233: Maggie, I whacked off to your Secretary movie... James Spader is hot, while you're just an idiot.