I think this may be semantics. I would argue that the people making those films absolutely work in the entertainment industry, just not in Hollywood. I certainly believe that parallel structures is a perfectly legitimate way to tackle the problem, as is evidenced by my own http://www.DeclarationEntertainment.com venture.

What will not work is just ducking our heads and pretending that entertainment doesn't matter just because we don't like it. That was more my point.

Thanks for the comment.

There isn't a reporter in this country who will ask President Obama an actual question. For example, when the president says, "The police [who arrested my friend] acted stupidly," the reasonable question to ask isn't, "Mr. President, do you really think that the police acted stupidly?" He's already spoken to that. A journalist's job isn't to give the president a do-over. The real question, the question that NO ONE in the American media will ask, is, "Mr. President, do you believe that Mr. Gates acted stupidly when he refused to identify himself to a police officer and then insulted the police officer and his mother? And if not, sir, then is it acceptable behavior for any person being questioned by the police to refuse to identify themselves and then insult the officer and his mother, or only those persons of a certain ethnicity, or who have a personal relationship with you?"

Since I was actually on this trip, I wanted to comment briefly. I've been friends with Zac and Joel for years and can personally vouch for their love of the troops, regardless of who sits atop the national command authority. A lot goes into making one of these tours happen and both of these guys have been trying for a long time to get over to visit the troops with USO.

It might also be of interest to mention that until two weeks before the departure, we thought we were going to Iraq. USO is a great organization, but at the end of the day, it is the Pentagon that approves the where and when. As you can imagine, it takes a great deal of military support to fly a bunch of Hollywood folk into a war zone. Two weeks before our trip, we learned that the troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan were spread too thin to bring us in. While it would have been enlightening (to say the least) to have seen the war(s), we were none-the-less thrilled to visit the troops in Bahrain and Djibouti. These guys are deployed for long deployments far from home in service to their country and deserve as much support as anyone else in our military. The things they do... If the media cared to report on their lives at all they would never run out of stories.

It may also be worth noting that the guys were very leery of doing Carson about this topic because they didn't want to be seen as exploiting the troops in any way, but Carson seems to have a genuine affection for the military that won them over. Given the climate in Hollywood, it may be worse for their careers to be open about it...

Lastly, to the issue of making a movie that supports the troops, if actors could control what movies get made, they wouldn't have to audition! It certainly may not be true of Hollywood at-large, but I think everyone involved in this trip would be happy to see an end to this Anti-American movie binge.

That is a great point, Liberty. USO provides opportunities for everyone who wants to say thanks to the troops.

The point was really more about actors and the USO, but I'll admit to having seen every episode of Dollhouse so far. And Firefly. And Angel (thanks for that, by the way). And Buffy. And to crowding in at Coach & Horses once to hear what he was saying...