This has always been the most ludicrous talking point to me. For every Barbra Streisand and Michael Moore that the right loves to demonize--and Lord knows they do, every chance they get--the left could more credibly point out Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzeneggar and Charlton Heston--in positions to actually make a difference--as "Hollywood Values". However, this story demonstrates quite well why Hollywood values are nothing to scoff at.

Reuters AlertNet :

The rich and famous in the West are getting into Africa in a big way these days, and we're not just talking about adopting babies.

The latest trend for Hollywood players fresh from filming in Africa is setting up funds and trusts to give something back to the communities where they've been working, Christian Science Monitor reports. The Constant Gardener Trust is the brainchild of the makers of "The Constant Gardener", filmed in Nairobi's Kibera slum. The trust has already done some work in Kibera - one of the biggest slums in the world - building a few new sanitation facilities with toilets and showers. It may not sound very generous from a group awash with money, but in a place where "flying toilets" - plastic bags in which people defecate and then dump in the ditches - are the norm, new facilities are a welcome change. Other projects, including mobile clinics, are in the pipeline. Read on...

And then, just as I finished up this post, I get a tip from reader GM with the searing question: Who Would Jesus Give A Cauliflower Ear To? So maybe we should scoff, just a little.