Ben Affleck and Matt Damon know something

[Swede Atlanta]

34. I couldn't disagree more with your criticism of Matt and Ben......

Both are outspoken individuals who, for the most part, support progressive causes and the Democratic Party. They can effectively use their celebrity to promote causes and raise awareness of issues (similar to what George Clooney did with respect to Sudan).

They can exercise their 1st Amendment rights to support and champion causes and issues the same as any other citizen. They are under no obligation to run for office but I would not be opposed to seeing either one launch a political career.

There are many, many wealthy progressives from the Kennedys to many of the Hollywood elite. They are wealthy. They don't give away all their wealth to those in need. But they also don't fight to keep their taxes at rock bottom or support stripping the social safety net. They support causes that help people.

I'm not aware there was a tactical decision to delay release of Zero Dark Thirty until after the election. I saw a similar movie on cable television a couple of months ago. I would be curious to know if there was political or other pressure to delay the release of the movie. If we weren't living in a hyper-charged political atmosphere the movie itself might not have even raised any concerns. But I can see where release of the movie anywhere near election could be seen as political grand-standing. But I think Obama communicated the actions he has taken to protect the American people, including taking out BL during the debates.

As for Argo, those events were more than 30 years ago. There were no current political issues or candidates that would have been affected one way or another by its release. I was a young man when the events took place but I did not recall the story about the escaped Americans and their anything-but-conventional escape from Iran. it was a great movie from that perspective.