Following her successful guest-caller Memorial Day appearance on C-SPAN, Cher will be a guest on tomorrow's "Washington Journal" morning program — in person! Cher, who called in to laud the work of Operation Helmet, an organization that supplies troops in Iraq and Afghanistan with helmet liners to help protect against head injury, will appear on the program with Operation Helmet founder Dr. Bob Meaders.
In her call in to C-SPAN on May 28th, Cher was bitterly critical of the adminstraton for providing inadequate helmets and body armor to soldiers. She read from a letter from a corporal who wrote: "We don't have the armor for our HMVs. We also have had to use old helmets...there are so many men who are having head wounds," and said of Bush: " I mean, this President who claims to be a Christian, how can a Christian send people into harm's way and not make sure that they are properly taken care of? So, you know, if he believes in Hell, I would be really nervous if I was him." The full transcript is after the jump, courtesy of C-SPAN, and is really quite incredible, actually.
Cher and Dr. Meaders are scheduled to appear before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces this Thursday at 3 p.m.
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
C-SPAN'S "WASHINGTON JOURNAL"
Call from Cher on C-SPAN
Sunday, May 28 at approx. 7:20 a.m. ET
CHER: HELLO?
Host: GOOD MORNING.
CHER: NO, THIS IS MALIBU, CALIFORNIA.
Host: GO AHEAD.
CHER: HI, I HAVE CALLED YOU BEFORE, AND I'M GOING TO TRY TO BE REALLY CALM WHILE I'M TALKING ABOUT THIS, BUT I HAVE TO SAY, THIS REGIME IS -- I'VE BEEN ALIVE FOR 11 PRESIDENTS. I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS IN MY LIFE. I BELONG TO AN ORGANIZATION CALLED OPERATION HELMET. AND THESE PEOPLE. THE SO-CALLED CHRISTIAN REPUBLICANS HAVE SENT THE MEN AND WOMEN OF OUR ARMED FORCES INTO BATTLE WITHOUT THE PROPER HELMETS. THEY'VE DON'T EVEN HAVE THE KEVLAR INSERTS. I WOULD LIKE TO READ SOMETHING, IF YOU WOULD LET ME, FROM ONE OF THE SOLDIERS, HE SAID: "HI, MY NAME IS CORPORAL __, I AM IN THE U.S. MARINES THIRD BATTALION, 4th MARINES WEAPONS COMPANY. THANK YOU FOR THIS ENDEAVOR IT'S TRULY GREAT WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING. I HAVE BEEN IN IRAQ TWICE, WE ARE SLATED TO GO BACK, ALMOST ALL OF OUR SENIOR GUYS ARE GETTING OUT. WE HAVE AROUND 80% NEW GUYS IN DEPLOYMENT. WE DO NOT HAVE -- WE DON'T HAVE THE ARMOR FOR OUR HMVs. WE ALSO HAVE HAD TO USE OLD HELMETS, AND WE WOULD TRULY APPRECIATE IT IF YOU COULD DONATE THIS TO OUR CAUSE BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY MEN WHO ARE GETTING -- THERE ARE SO MANY MEN WHO ARE HAVING HEAD WOUNDS. AND WE WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU COULD PLEASE HELP US BUY THESE INSERTS." SO I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THIS GOVERNMENT CAN SEND MEN INTO WAR WITHOUT THE PROPER HELMETS, WITHOUT THE PROPER ARMOR FOR THEIR HUMVEES.
AND I HAVE PERSONALLY HELPED THIS DR. MEADER WITH HIS OPERATION HELMET, GATHER
$116,000 SO THAT WE COULD PUBLICLY DO WHAT THE ARMY IS NOT DOING. I AM SORRY I'M EMOTIONAL ABOUT THIS, I AM SO PISSED OFF AT THESE PEOPLE. I HAVE FINALLY JUST HAD ENOUGH OF THEM.
HOST: HOW DID THIS GET UNDERWAY?
CHER: DR. MEADE HAD A GRANDSON AND HE WAS SAYING THEY WERE REALLY NERVOUS
BECAUSE THEY WERE HAVING TO USE USED HELMETS AND HAD NO KEVLAR INSERTS, AND THE ARMY WAS SAYING THEY HAD RUN OUT OF MONEY FOR THIS PARTICULAR THING. THE WORST WOUNDS ARE HEAD WOUNDS AND AMPUTATIONS. SO I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW OUR GOVERNMENT... I MEAN, THIS PRESIDENT WHO CLAIMS TO BE A CHRISTIAN, HOW CAN A CHRISTIAN SEND PEOPLE INTO HARM'S WAY AND NOT MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE PROPERLY TAKEN CARE OF? SO, YOU KNOW, IF HE BELIEVES IN HELL, I WOULD BE REALLY NERVOUS IF I WAS HIM.
HOST: THE WEBSITE IS OPERATION- HYPHEN-HELMET.ORG AND YOUR INVOLVEMENT
IN THIS?
CHER: I AM ONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT DONATED TO IT.
HOST: IS THIS CHER?
CHER: YEAH.
HOST: THANK YOU FOR CALLING THIS IS THE SECOND TIME YOU PHONED?
CHER: YEAH, I KNOW THAT I AM AN ENTERTAINER AND FROM HOLLYWOOD AND SHOULDN'T HAVE A CONSCIENCE BUT I AM AN AMERICAN AND I CANNOT BEAR THESE PEOPLE FOR
ANOTHER MOMENT.
HOST: DO YOU THINK WE WILL SEE MORE OF YOU AND OTHERS SPEAKING OUT ON THE WAR?
CHER: ACTUALLY I HAVE TO GO WITH DR. MEADERS TO GO TO CONGRESS. HE HAS TO GO AND MEET THEM, BECAUSE SOMEHOW THE ARMY SEEMS TO THINK THAT HE IS CREATING A
BREACH BETWEEN SOLDIERS AND THE ARMY AND NOT LETTING THEM HAVE CONFIDENCE, YOU KNOW, IN THE ARMY, SO HE'S HAVING TO MEET WITH PEOPLE OF THE PENTAGON FOR
SOME OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE AND HE'S QUITE NERVOUS, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE HE'S JUST DONE ALL OF THIS BY HIMSELF. HE'S JUST A GRANDFATHER.
HOST: WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO BE IN WASHINGTON?
CHER: I THINK IT'S THE 14th BECAUSE HE'S SO NERVOUS ABOUT GOING THERE, HE'S AFRAID OF WHAT THEY WILL DO WITH HIM AND ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS IS LOU DOBBS SO I CALLED LOU TO GET THIS PREPARATION BECAUSE I HAVE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE AND I AM JUST GOING TO BE WITH HIM. SO, LOOK, HE'S JUST A GREAT MAN TRYING TO DO SOMETHING FOR HIS
GRANDSON, AND HIS GRANDSON SAID, LOOK, I CAN'T TAKE THE HELMET INSERTS, UNLESS YOU CAN GET IT FOR ALL OF THE REST OF MY BROTHERS.
Host: HOW MUCH DO THESE INSERTS COST?
CHER: I THINK IT'S $79 AND $99, TWO DIFFERENT PRICES FOR THE DIFFERENT SIZE HELMETS.
HOST: WELL, WHEN YOU ARE HERE ON JUNE 14th, WHY DON'T YOU STOP ON BY AND TAKE SOME CALLS AND COME ON THE WASHINGTON JOURNAL.
CHER: OKAY, HE'S A VERY WONDERFUL MAN.
HOST: CHER, THANK YOU FOR CALLING BACK,
WE APPRECIATE IT. KEEP WATCHING.
(Courtesy of C-SPAN)
