Moderation and Peace Celebrities

To watch "The Talking Points Memo" in the Screening Room click here.

I'm Bill O'Reilly.  Thanks for watching us tonight.

Moderation is a good thing, especially where the peace celebrities are concerned.  That is the subject of this evening's Talking Points Memo.

In just a few moments, we will show you the latest peace commercial.  It's interesting because the tone is much more moderate than a couple of weeks ago.

You may remember a few celebrities signed an advertisement put out by a radical group called "Not in Our Name."  That advertisement offended millions of Americans because it stated that the USA was a terrorists nation itself.

That kind of extremism makes many of us very angry.

Now celebrities like Kim Basinger, Matt Damon and David Duchovny want you to consider this point of view.  Quote: "We reject the doctrine -- a reversal of our long-held American tradition -- that our country, alone, has the right to launch first-strike attacks. The valid U.S. and U.N. objective of disarming Saddam Hussein can be achieved through legal, diplomatic means."

Well, that kind of reasoned argument is a long way from the irrational peace at any price appeasers and it's a reversal of the tone for left-wing Hollywood celebrities.

The problem is the thesis is wrong.

Talking Points has said it before.  After 9/11, we are living in a different world.  The old rules have changed, because now there are no rules.  Civilians are targets, anthrax and other deadly weapons are the arrows.

To put the protection of Americans into the hands of the United Nations is simply irresponsible.  The U.N. has demonstrated time and time again it cannot protect people at risk:  Rwanda, the Balkans, Somalia, on and on.

Now, we respect this kind of an advertisement by the celebrities, but we respectfully ask them to think outside their ideology, which may be impossible for them.

The world has tried for decades to reason with Saddam Hussein.  He remains a butcher.  And with biological weapons he admits he has, a threat to everyone.

America has a perfect right to disarm anyone in the world that has violated U.N. mandates, even if the United Nations will not it.  A lack of courage on the part of others should never, ever impact our own security.

Today, Turkey demanded $32 billion to cooperate with the United States.  France sold Saddam nuclear technology.  The Israelis were forced to destroy it.  And Germany has provided weapons of mass destruction for a price to Iraq.

And you Hollywood guys are telling me that we have to get the approval of those nations before disarming this dictator?  Come on.

Hollywood is a place of fantasy.  America on 9-11 was a place of reality.  I want my family and your family to be protected.  Even in the gilded world that is Hollywood, fantasy doesn't cut it anymore.

And that's The Memo .

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

Time now for "The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day"...

A woman named Norta Misaros is charged in Florida with indecent exposure.  So, when she appeared in court last week on a bond hearing, she re-enacted her crime in front of the judge.  Apparently, he wasn't too impressed, as Norta went to jail.

And maybe one of the reasons she doesn't wear clothes is that she couldn't put up with the hundred dollars bail.  As you know, clothing is very expensive these days, but this is ridiculous.