May the Beast Fall Down Soon …

““I’m not anti-Bush; I’m anti-Bush behavior,” Mortensen told Progressive magazine. “In other words, I’m against cheating, greed, cruelty, racism, imperialism, religious fundamentalism, treason, and the seemingly limitless capacity for hypocrisy shown by Bush and his administration.” — from Jeannette Walls’ MSNBC column.


Jeannette — who recently wrote an intensely moving book about her difficult, unusual childhood, “The Glass Castle: A Memoir” — didn’t link Progressive magazine, so I searched for it. Wow. Hell of a rag! Check it out. Besides the Viggo interview, there are interviews with Bernie Sanders, Howard Zinn, and more.


“Mortensen also blasted the administration’s handling of Hurricane Katrina and discussed why he supported anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, who has protested the war in Iraq since her son was killed there,” Jeannette Walls continues. “’Cindy Sheehan and how badly Katrina was bungled are two shots to the heart,’ he said.

“I hope the beast does fall down soon.”


As you all know here, Viggo visited Cindy at Camp Casey last summer. I’ve never forgiven Brinnainne for missing Viggo by just an hour or so. And, MilitaryTracy, where in the hell were you when Viggo was visiting?


Best I could find, only one conservative blog — and one with a punny title at that — has blasted Viggo so far:

It seems to me like the kind of religious fundamentalism that offends Viggo is that exhibited by Christians who take the Bible seriously. I would hope that he is more offended by that exhibited by Islamists who explode in crowded places and fly planes into buildings. (From the Israelly Cool blog)

Lest you think, oh bother, he’s just another movie star. Well, he is. So what. He’s also an author, painter, photographer and poet.


I knew Viggo had worked hard on a book about the invasion of Iraq because BooTrib regular Other Lisa, who was one of the book’s editors, told me about his participation. She also told me about Joe Wilson’s participation, among many others. Now I see that the publisher has issued a second edition of this book. Here’s the blurb:


Twilight of Empire 2ND Edition: “Activists, ambassadors, and award-winning journalists offer their incisive analysis of the American occupation of Iraq in this timely collection of essays, featuring the arresting photography of Lynsey Addario. Topics include American economic interests in the war, the mainstream media coverage that made it politically feasible, escalating abuse of Muslim women by both American troops and an increasingly fundamentalist Middle East citizenry, the profiteering of multinationals like Halliburton and Bechtel, and more. A bevy of contributors includes Medea Benjamin, Kristina Borjesson, Amy Goodman, Amir Hussain, Naomi Klein, Mark LeVine, Yanar Mohammed, Viggo Mortensen, and Ambassador Joseph Wilson. Includes color photos throughout.”


Other Lisa told me that the photos, alone, are spectacular. Best I recall, Lisa particularly loved Joe Wilson’s and Naomi Klein’s contributions to the book.


Then there are his TV interviews:

In case you missed Viggo Mortensen’s appearance on Charlie Rose, catch a video of his political comments at Crooks and Liars. A few quotes. "I think if [the people of Iraq] are left to take care of their own affairs, I think they’ll do better in the long run." When asked if he thought the United States should pull out right now, he answered, "Absolutely. I support our troops, and the best way to support them is to bring them home immediately. This is the wrong place to be." Speaking of Bush: "Fiscal responsibility. Moral values. Fiscal responsibility. All of the planks of his political platforms have proved to be rotten and unstable.” … (Via Brego blog)


So, let the Sean Penn-haters go after Viggo too. He’s a stand-up guy. (He’s also, if you’ve ever seen him on a talk show like the Daily Show recently, an iconoclastic weirdo — which I sense he loves about himself.) Wrote Defamer:

During an appearance on the Daily Show this week, actor Viggo Mortensen surreptitiously filled his water mug with rubber insects, which he then pulled from both his mouth and the mug after he took a gulp. We found this odd behavior quite endearing, …

Here’s the link to the Comedy Central Daily Show‘s video of Viggo’s appearance, with the caption: “Jon has never seen someone this handsome go this lowbrow.”


Frankly, the world could use a lot more iconoclastic lowbrow weirdos, especially if they think, learn, and express themselves like Viggo does.