First Jolie, then Pitt. Posturing or Sincere on Afganistan and California Proposition 8?

Ok, so in my trolling of random celebrity gossip rags (you know - the ones that jump out at you on yahoo's first page?), after clicking through random links, I was very intrigued by a video of Angelina Jolie in her official "Ambassador" role in Afganistan. The punchline was that she cried over their plight.



The video was very well done, but then, she is an actress by day. And not to appear irreverent, but the comments following the video were less than convinced of Ms. Jolie's sincerity - in fact, some accused her of making the visit as a concerted action to secure an Oscar.

I reserve judgment about that. Oh wait. No I dont. Anyone who marshalls millions of dollars to save and enrich the lives of others (I dont care how many nannies they pay, or if the nannies end up being her rainbow tribe's actual "mothers" for lack of a better word) is doing a large part in making the world a better place, if only for those few lives they intervene in. So adopt away Angelina, legally, anyway. AND, visit 3rd World and embattled countries to raise awareness to your hearts content - even if your actions are contrived in some way. You're still making a difference, if for the wrong reasons.

Now lets move on to Brad Pitt.



FAR more interesting is the fact that it appears that the LA Times announced in September that Bradd Pitt recently donated $100,000 to combat California Proposition 8, which states simply:

PROPOSITION 8
This initiative measure is submitted to the people in accordance with the
provisions of Article II, Section 8, of the California Constitution.
This initiative measure expressly amends the California Constitution by
adding a section thereto; therefore, new provisions proposed to be added are
printed in italic type to indicate that they are new.
SECTION 1. Title
This measure shall be known and may be cited as the “California Marriage
Protection Act.”
SECTION 2. Section 7.5 is added to Article I of the California Constitution,
to read:
SEC. 7.5. Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized
in California.

you can read it yourself here.

Here's the kicker - Rueters says that Pitt's donation is the largest single donation by any celebrity to defeat the proposition, and it is reported that Pitt said something along the lines that he would not marry until gays could marry.

Hmm. It has already been pointed out that this will be a hard bar for him to measure to, seeing as he already married and divorced Aniston. But one could argue that is nitpicking.

Still, what was most humorous and heartening to read here was that the Knights of Columbus, National Organization of Marriage, and other Christian interest groups donated in excess of $1 Million, tipping the balance in the fight back in favor or proponents of the Proposition:

The financial fight over Prop. 8 has been fierce, with gay marriage supporters taking an early fundraising lead. But last month, a $1-million contribution by the Knights of Columbus, followed by infusions of cash from other gay marriage opponents, tipped the balance in favor of those who believe only a man and a woman should be able to marry.

Again - it is suggested that Brad Pitt made the donation as a PR move the same week his movie Burn After Reading debuted at the Box Office - and wowzers!! - guess what? His movie debuted as No. 1, so it may have been a good PR call by his agent.

So. I guess if I'm honest, what's good for the goose is good for the gander, and if I give Angelina a pass for being shallow and using 3rd World babies and Afgans to ply her trade - how can I judge Pitt for being shallow and using the gay agenda to ply his trade as well?

I cant. But I can disagree on the issues, and be very glad that the Connecticut Knights of Columbus came through with CASH DOLLARS in crunch time.

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