Ordinary Woman's Tweet to James Woods May End in Gary Sinise Getting Medal of Freedom
One of the popular conservative trends on social media late last year was requesting that actor and veterans activist Gary Sinise be named Time’s Person of the Year.
That didn’t happen, obviously. Time did a bit of navel-gazing and awarded it to “The Guardians,” the magazine’s inflated name for journalists.
Sinise wasn’t terribly likely to get the honor in the first place, obviously, but could he get a Medal of Freedom? Actor and conservative icon James Woods would like to make it happen.
It all began with a tweet from Woods about whether or not he blocked many people on Twitter. (That exchange was a bit blue, so we’ll leave it to you to discover.)
A user identifying herself as Alaska Trump Gal stood up for the fact that Woods wasn’t a blocker at all.
Mr Woods is just the opposite. Patient and gentlemanly. I have hounded him about using his influence with President Trump about Gary Sinise being awarded the Medal of Freedom and he still hasn’t blocked me. And NO I’M NOT KISSING UP! Just stating fact.
— Alaska Trump Gal (@KatFromAlaska) March 24, 2019
“Mr Woods is just the opposite. Patient and gentlemanly,” she wrote.
“I have hounded him about using his influence with President Trump about Gary Sinise being awarded the Medal of Freedom and he still hasn’t blocked me. And NO I’M NOT KISSING UP! Just stating fact.”
And instead of just letting it slide — as so many celebrities might — Woods responded to the woman and said he’d be delighted to sign on to the effort.
This is the first time I’ve seen your request about @GarySinise. Far from feeling “hounded,” I appreciate this thrilling idea. Gary and I met filming MY NAME IS Bill W. And have remained lifelong friends. Anything I can do on behalf of his @GarySiniseFound would be my honor. https://t.co/O32YoLq8nQ
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) March 25, 2019
“This is the first time I’ve seen your request about @GarySinise,” Woods tweeted back Monday.
“Far from feeling ‘hounded,’ I appreciate this thrilling idea. Gary and I met filming MY NAME IS Bill W. And have remained lifelong friends. Anything I can do on behalf of his @GarySiniseFound would be my honor.”
Whether Woods has enough pull with Trump to make this work is another issue entirely.
Trump, after all, has publicly thanked Woods via Twitter, but it’s not as if the “Casino” actor is a regular visitor at 1600 Pennsylvania.
Thanks James! https://t.co/iTdCEEiiRv
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 21, 2019
He is, however, one of the president’s most vociferous defenders in Hollywood. He’s down-to-earth enough to answer tweets like this. And, if there’s someone in Hollywood deserving of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, it’s Gary Sinise.
This is a guy who flew 1,000 Gold Star kids and their families to Disney for Christmas, after all.
Over 1000 Gold Star Children travel w/ surviving parent, 1,750 in all, via @americanair to Disney World today as part of our @GarySiniseFound Snowball Express program. This charter left LAX this morning. I’ll join up in a few days. Have fun kids! We love you! pic.twitter.com/OfMEpVF1er
— Gary Sinise (@GarySinise) December 8, 2018
He performs for the troops with his Lt. Dan Band, he does plenty of other work behind the scenes, and he’s rarely the type of guy to toot his own horn regarding what he does. In fact, when a group of celebrities put together a video thanking him for all he does, this was his humble reaction.
https://youtu.be/TOJ6T7X8zjc
That’s someone who does it not for the fame but for the men and women who serve our country — and the families of those who make the ultimate sacrifice.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded to people who have made “an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”
You could certainly make a good case for Gary Sinise to get it.
And and one hopes James Woods will make it.
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