MoveOn support

At last, someone in the progressive community -- MoveOn.org -- has the guts to take on the Bush administration and the bemedalled general they’re hiding behind in their latest pathetic attempt to sell the war in Iraq [“MoveOn Ad Shakes Some Up,” by Tina Daunt, Sept. 21]. And what do the Hollywood “liberals” do? Wimp out!

There’s nothing unpatriotic about criticizing a general in the middle of a war. Americans have been doing it since George Washington, and though Washington griped about it in private, at least he had the good grace and sense to roll with the punches in public and answer the critics in the right way: by winning.

MoveOn.org is only doing to Republicans what Karl Rove, the Swift Boat Veterans and virtually every host on talk radio have been doing to Democrats for over a decade -- and I, for one, am proud of them for having the courage of their convictions and the chutzpah to express them boldly and unmistakably.

Mark Gabrish Conlan

Los Angeles

TWO recent stories in The Times contained negative comments about the artistic and entertainment community’s continuing support of MoveOn.org [“MoveOn Ad Shakes Some Up,” by Tina Daunt, Sept. 21; “Reiner Casts His Lot With Clinton,” by Tina Daunt, Sept. 27]. As members of that creative community, we will continue to support Move- On.org, and feel that the congressional Republicans’ resolution against MoveOn.org was a distraction from the real issue: their unpopular support for a failed, endless war in Iraq.

Regardless of one’s position on the ad, the Republican assault on MoveOn.org was a frightening attack on free speech and an outrageous attempt to intimidate an organization, its allies and the popular movement against the war in Iraq it has helped lead.

Rather than intimidating MoveOn.org or the coalition that is working to bring a responsible end to the war, we are confident that such attempts to stifle debate will only further energize the progressive movement and the effort to end the war in Iraq.

Allison Anders, Ed Asner, Darren Aronofsky, William Baldwin, Lara Bergthold, Roseanne Cash, John Cusack, Matt Damon, Robert Greenwald, Paul Haggis, Ted Hope, Jon Landau, Norman Lear, Richard Linklater, Moby, Michael Moore, Tom Ortenberg, REM & Bertis Downs, Tim Robbins, The Roots, Susan Sarandon, James Schamus, Julia Stiles, Oliver Stone, Harvey Weinstein