July 03, 2004

FLINT TO MOORE: STAY AWAY

He may be big in Cannes, but Mike Moore isn’t welcome at home:

The blue-collar city of 125,000, the backdrop for Moore's 1989 documentary ''Roger & Me,'' is preparing for its inaugural Flint Film Festival.

But Moore, who now lives in New York, was not invited and his latest film, the anti-Bush documentary ''Fahrenheit 9/11,'' will not be shown, [festival chairman Greg] Fiedler said.

Organizers ''wanted this to be about local filmmakers and not about one famous one who has a way of bringing all the attention on himself,'' Fiedler said.

Not to mention the blowout in catering expenses. In DC, concluding a sad-sounding concert, Linda Ronstadt has provoked another round of Oscars-style Moore-booing:

The biggest excitement of the night, by a long shot, came when Ronstadt then dedicated her encore of "Desperado" to filmmaker Michael Moore, kick-starting a boo-cheer competition throughout the venue that drowned out her singing and left grown-ups in tuxes and evening gowns yelling at each other on their way to the parking lot.

Moore is dividing America! But anti-Moore book Michael Moore is a Big Fat Stupid White Man continues to surprise and delight:

I went to the local Borders (Oakland CA) today - asked if they had it - the manager almost lost it when I told him the title - he was amazed when it showed up on the computer. They had 12 on order (for a month). So I ordered an additional copy.

UPDATE. A happy review.

UPDATE II Mark Steyn:

The war on terror’s a bit of a joke on the Left these days. In Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore says Bush is deliberately keeping the population in a state of fear, and he gets some of his biggest laughs with clips of solemn announcers announcing upgraded terrorism alerts.

I suppose it is pretty funny. Until it happens. And then Moore and the Democrats will switch to arguing that Bush knew it was going to happen all along and didn’t do anything about it.

UPDATE III. Jim Treacher:

I was going to write a review of Fahrenheit 9/11, but I got stuck deciding between "fact-raping planetoid" and "gravy-retaining blamethrower" and never finished.

Posted by Tim Blair at July 3, 2004 03:21 AM
Comments

"Moore is dividing America!"

I'm predicting the second civil war will occur in under 10 years if this keeps up.

Posted by: Oktober at July 3, 2004 at 04:11 AM

Few things are funnier than when the left
gets blindsided. Perhaps there is a Nobel
Prize for the solution to the problem - why
is the left always wrong. Left+Idea = 0

Posted by: fjharris at July 3, 2004 at 04:20 AM

Mike Moore must ask himself: "Why do they hate me?" Begging foregiveness is only the first step. Full conversion must follow.

Posted by: perfectsense at July 3, 2004 at 05:01 AM

But was notorious fat liberal Ronstadt honoring Moore or flaming him by dedicating "Desperado"? I've never like the bitch since she attacked Robin Quivers on Leno.

Posted by: jeff at July 3, 2004 at 05:57 AM

Oktober:

"I'm predicting the second civil war will occur in under 10 years if this keeps up."

Well, it'll be a short war. Partly because the lefties tend to hate guns, whilst us RWDB's tend to have several. I myself have 2x more guns than people in my home, including the 4-year-old, and I've got 1000s of rounds of ammo for them (buy in bulk to save $$$!).

Second, all we need to do is devise the patchouli-seeking missle, and we can win the war from our couches. Or just set up traps that look like a Starbucks, but with an electrified doorknob. Kinda like a bug-zapper, although the mess made by a bug zapper isn't as nasty as a pile of dead hippies.

Posted by: TomK at July 3, 2004 at 06:34 AM

I was reading timeswatch.org today and they linked me to a 98 Weekly Standard piece on Michael Moore from writer Matt Labash.

Check it out. It brings more perspective to the "limosine Liberal" title that Moore carries.

Posted by: Brennan Stout at July 3, 2004 at 06:38 AM

Don't the lyrics to the song go like this ?: "Desperado, why don't you come to your senses . . . "

Posted by: Redman at July 3, 2004 at 06:40 AM

I kept thinking that 9/11, the 2002 elections, victory in Afganistan, the Howard Dean implosion, victory in Iraq and reality in general would pull Democrats back into normalcy. I fear it ain't gonna happen. The flow of raw, narcissistic, adolescent rebellion from a vast swath of Baby Boomers and from the more recently immature just keeps coming. Nothing good can come from that. Nothing.

Posted by: George Tobin at July 3, 2004 at 06:59 AM

Re: the next civil war.

I say, if it is to be, so be it.

Especially as their side shuns guns while our side target practices.

CBK

Posted by: cbk at July 3, 2004 at 07:26 AM

Yes... it will be interesting to see how history treats Michael Moore. My guess is he will end up as a footnote - time does that to folks peddling hate. As an interesting comparison... check out another Hollywood heavy from another era - like William Wyler, who directed Ben-Hur. He produced a documentary called Memphis Belle about the last mission of a B-17 bomber. Excellent film on WWII... and one of the rare films of the era that was in color! Check out this whacky video preview.... made before 9/11 - trailers after 09/11, had a different tone, like this preview for McClintock.

Posted by: willy at July 3, 2004 at 07:36 AM

"I'm predicting the second civil war will occur in under 10 years if this keeps up."

Well, it'll be a short war.

I'm sure ABCNNBCBS would still manage to call it a quagmire for the Right, though. (Before they're driven out of their TV studios, of course.)

On a more serious note, I do wonder if/when we'll see the first leftist suicide bomber in the US...that tactic certainly seems to have appeal for a subset of them.

Posted by: PW at July 3, 2004 at 07:50 AM

PW - I have no doubt it's coming. Possibly before the election, if polls show Bush likely to win. Definitely after the election if (please, God) Bush wins, no matter what the margin of victory.

Look for a repeat of the 1960's, too, with bombings of ROTC buildings on college campuses, recruiting stations, and other "soft" military targets.

What concerns me more is the possibility of the LLL moonbat brigade deciding to "take back" Congress for the Dems by killing Republican Senators and Representatives from states with Dem governors, who could then be expected to appoint Dem-o-Rat replacements. [And no, I don't know if there are enough Republicans from Dem-Gov states for something like that to work.] If I were a Congressional Republican, I'd definitely be watching my back, especially after November. The Left have no conscience and believe they are the anointed who know better than the great unwashed (that would be normal Americans) how we should live our lives.

Posted by: Barbara Skolaut at July 3, 2004 at 08:20 AM

Re:"I'm sure ABCNNBCBS would still manage to call it a quagmire for the Right..."


...until they lose. Then it will be: "Jacque, Hans, Kofi, Gerhard, please help your friends! The fascists are using WMD's...actual FIREARMS!"

Posted by: Jumbo at July 3, 2004 at 08:41 AM

"it will be interesting to see how history treats Michael Moore. My guess is he will end up as a footnote"

How do you figure? He hasn't done anything to earn that much yet.

Posted by: Larry T at July 3, 2004 at 09:57 AM

Well a friend of mine who transplanted to San Diego from Chicago asked me to review F9/11 for his newsletter that covers culture, indie bands, electronic music etc. in So California. I did, though I suspect that audience won't like it much. It's here if you are interested. SpinSanity, as usual, nails it.

10 years from now, when Iraq is functioning, F9/11 will be a nice documentation of what the left really thought at the time. That will be the value.

Posted by: Paul Smith at July 3, 2004 at 10:20 AM

TomK, I would gladly fight beside you. At the present moment, I only have one gun, an AK-47. I am considering buying a desert eagle .50 as a sidearm.

Posted by: Oktober at July 3, 2004 at 10:58 AM

We should all be celebrating Moore's success! The Democratic party will be wearing this movie like a pair of earrings up until election day. Carl Rove knows how to make use of the rantings of Dean, Gore, the Hollywood Left, et al. Not only that, but MoveOn.org's ads, the stinky 527's funded by Soros, Mrs. Kerry's phantom tax records (which will be eye-opening when they hit print, which they will), Hillary's Marxist promise ("we'll take a little away from you for the common good"), all these will accumulate over time.

Posted by: leah at July 3, 2004 at 11:09 AM

Barbara, PW - you are both on to something I have been thinking about for a while now. They idolize and sympathize with jihadis, so natuarally, they will start to emulate them in every way. Plus, as I have said before, I personally think it is a very good chance, 50-60%, that Bush will be assassinated or at least someone will make a major try at it (i.e Reagan, Bush Sr.). Its tought to think about, but, you can't really deny it when you look at the hatred towards him. I don't think the rabid left can take 4 more years.

What we really need to do is drop the rule where you have to be born in the US to be president so we can get Arnold in the white house. That would be fucking awesome.

Posted by: Oktober at July 3, 2004 at 11:14 AM

Get moore, dial 'M' for muckle

Posted by: billy at July 3, 2004 at 11:19 AM

I agree that this leftist vitriol is splitting the country. How can they define themselves merely by hatred? Have they no rationale other than their dislike of the current president on why anyone should join them? They seem childish, immature and act like someone has taken their toys. They have lost power but I see nothing in their screeds on why it should be returned.

Posted by: Kit Winterer at July 3, 2004 at 11:34 AM

Paul, excellent work

Posted by: Oktober at July 3, 2004 at 12:02 PM

Kit has absolutely nailed it.

It amazes me to find myself thinking this, but I really do miss Daniel Moynihan. Yes, I grew up in NY.

Posted by: Greg at July 3, 2004 at 12:29 PM

Having Michael Moore supporting your side is like having the KKK campaigning for you. Both are equally despicable. The only difference is, Republicans would denounce the KKK, while Daschle and his ilk embrace Moore.

Posted by: shawn at July 3, 2004 at 12:44 PM

Willy,

Yes, William Wyler's documentary on the Memphis Belle is a classic.

One of his best films however was "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946) which won several Oscars including Best Picture. Although not a documentary, it did deal in an honest way with changes experienced by returning veterans and their families.

Harold Russell, an actual double amputee, won a special Oscar for his performance.

Documentaries and Hollywood have drifted soooo far from what they once were able to do for people.

Posted by: JDB at July 3, 2004 at 01:25 PM

Linda Rondstadt loves MM, huh?

That's sad. I used to love her, back when she was little and cute, and still had her own nose!

Posted by: rinardman at July 3, 2004 at 01:36 PM

I just got my copy of the Moore book today from Amazon.com! I want to read it, but my boyfriend has already co-opted it.

Then again, it's almost more entertaining to watch him read than it would be read it myself. My boyfriend doesn't read blogs, and doesn't know much about Moore. And he simply can't believe what he's reading in that book. He can't believe that Moore has been able to get away with being so dishonest for so long.

Tim, I had him read your chapter first. After that, he wanted to know what other chapters would be as funny, because he wanted to read those before reading any of the "dry" chapters.

Posted by: kimberly at July 3, 2004 at 01:45 PM

Barbara:

Well, the House is safe, as every state I know has provisions for special elections to fill house seats. No interim appointments.

The Senate? Hmmmmm. Here in Arizona we have an R (Kyl) and a sort-of-R (McCain) and a Democrat Governor. I suppose we'd be a major target, then.

I don't think it's too likely, even though the Democrat Presidential candidate was once a member of a group that was planning on assassinating Congressment.

Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds at July 3, 2004 at 01:50 PM

"I'm predicting the second civil war will occur in under 10 years if this keeps up."

I doubt it but, if so, then the Left will rediscover the wisdom of Aristotle: "It is the armed men who have a say in whether the regime will continue." Indeed, the Left are protected only by America's good order and American's general decency.

Posted by: Doug at July 3, 2004 at 02:02 PM


"fact-raping planetoid"

Well, that's it for these shorts...

Posted by: Dave S. at July 3, 2004 at 02:12 PM

"Lipid-brimming truth-eschewer" was another one. I had a couple more I can't think of now. Should really start writing these down somewhere...

Posted by: Jim Treacher at July 3, 2004 at 05:30 PM

Tomk , this reminds me of the redneck's definition of a socialist, ie. a communist who has'nt learnt to shoot yet.
Linda R. was'nt she a hotty 40 years ago.

Posted by: Paulm at July 3, 2004 at 05:39 PM

Don't forget about the Michael Moores on the Conservative side of the past--in particular, Mr. "I'll provide the pictures, you provide the war" William Randolf Hearst (the definition of Yellow Journalism)--who helped to blow the explosion on the USS Maine so out of proportion (no pun intended) that it helped to provide President McKinley with the support to invade Cuba (then again, there were a series of legitimate concerns surrounding the Cuban situation vis-a-vis Spain, and it was only demonstrated very recently--with modern forensics--that the explosion on the Maine was an accident). Actually, Encarta provides,

Through his extensive publishing and film enterprises, Hearst was able to exert a great influence on American public opinion. Late in the 19th century, for example, reports in his newspapers on Spanish atrocities in Cuba so aroused the public that the U.S. declared war against Spain. The policies advocated by Hearst's publications made him one of the most controversial figures of his time. He was denounced by many for his isolationist policy and extreme nationalism and praised by others as a patriot.
Though Hearst cartoonists did not draw this country into a civil war, one can argue that it inflamed the Anarchist Leon Czolgosz so that he shot the President in Buffalo in 1901. All-in-all William Randolf Hearst turned out to be a little more than a simple "footnote" to history.

Posted by: Nicole Tedesco at July 3, 2004 at 06:12 PM

Moore says he is ashamed to be an American, well I gotta tell you I am ashamed he is an American too. In fact this registered Democrat intends to vote for Bush this fall because lying terror loving dictator loving assholes have taken over my party. In the words Dick Cheney I have only one thing to say to Moore, go f*** yourself.

Posted by: Terrye at July 3, 2004 at 11:33 PM

Oktober,

Well, there is that 20 year curse thing.

1840 - William Henry Harrison......pneumonia
1860 - Abraham Lincoln......assassination
1880 - James Garfield......assassination
1900 - William McKinley.......assassination
1920 - Warren Harding........heart failure
1940 - Franklin Roosevelt.......cerebral hemorrhage
1960 - John Kennedy.....assassinated

1980 - Ronald Reagan...Although he did not die in office, he was shot and nearly killed by an assassin.

2000 - George W. Bush...What will the moonbats do?

Posted by: Dale at July 4, 2004 at 12:40 AM

Amen Leah...
Hang Hillary first, she's a lawyer after all.

Posted by: peter at July 4, 2004 at 08:47 AM

Non-sequitur time (for which I apologize):

Not to place undue emphasis on the purported and predicted upcoming civil war of the left versus the right -- and specifically the fact that conservatives have a distinct advantage over liberals because of their appreciation of firearm ownership, but it might be worthwhile to note that an honest and upstanding citizen (e.g., no criminal record, etc.) can actually purchase an M1 Garand from the U. S. Government for approximately $550. These are offered through an organization called the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) which is a descendant of a U. S. Army affiliated organization called the Department of Civilian Marksmanship (DCM). The latter was established in the early part of the last century to foster military shooting skills in potential members of the military.

Currently, you need to provide the fee, evidence of present or former membership in the military (e.g., DD 214) OR evidence that you have fired 50 rounds under the supervision of a range officer at a recognized firing range, evidence of membership in a qualifying gun club, and a notarized agreement that you are a nice guy and will not use the Garand to hold up a liquor store, etc. While all of these sound like onerous hoops to jump through, they are actually quite easy to accomplish. There's even a club set up especially for this purpose called the Garand Collector's Association. The dues are $25 annually.

What is most exciting about this -- aside from "adopting" a service grade M1 -- is the fact that the CMP will ship the rifle *directly* to you. You do *not* have to have the rifle sent to a FFL dealer or like that and the current turnaround on orders is approximately three weeks. Information can be had by snooping around www.odcmp.com and related URLs.

Oh yeah, the rifle is registered with the Feds (of course) but for me, it is extremely exciting to have a FedEx guy knock on your door and deliver a gun without having to go through the nonsense the State of Kalifornia requires..

..also, ammo is cheap: 960 rounds of Lake City M2 Ball .30-06 is $235 (also Fedex'ed to your door).

If Moore had heard about that when he made his "Bowling.." he might have gone to Camp Perry in Ohio to do a story. Pity. He would have made a big target.

William
Southern California

Posted by: WIlliam at July 4, 2004 at 09:15 AM

If Moore gets any fatter they'll have to rename him "Moore&more."

The SOB can't help being ugly, but he could stay at home.

Posted by: Buster at July 4, 2004 at 09:40 AM

"The SOB can't help being ugly, but he could stay at home."

Buster, since he's very rich, he can afford plastic surgery. So, he CAN help being ugly!

Posted by: CGeib at July 4, 2004 at 10:28 AM

Dale - You forgot Zachary Taylor who died in 1850, possibly from e-coli.

Posted by: timks at July 4, 2004 at 07:47 PM

Tim,

I did, but that doesn't fit into the twenty year part of the "curse", so it was left out.

Posted by: Dale at July 4, 2004 at 11:21 PM