Moore & Us, first impression

I’m not quite ready to finish it yet, but I finally got a copy of Moore & Us, which I mentioned here.

I’m not really looking forward to reading it in it’s entirety.  Why?  Well, the dust jacket says the following:

In Moore & Us, Jesse Larner provides the first full and balanced consideration of the Michael Moore phenomenon in the wake of the 204 presidential elections.

However, the very first sentence of the book destroys any notion of “fairness.”

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.  Another four years of faith-based foreign policy, carried out by amateurs with no interest in facts or the lessons of history.

Ugh.  It just goes on and on like that, this extremely leftist, liberal slant that could easily have come from Moore’s mouth.  Oh, they call him a liar on occassion, but then turn around and try to reinforce all the things he’s lied about, so I’m not sure what the fucking point is.  Maybe I’ll figure it out by the end.

In honor of the quality of the book, it will now only be read in the bathroom, while I am taking a dump.  Sure it takes longer to read, but you don’t notice the stink as much.

Do me a favor wouldja?

Let ‘em know.  They bettah reck-o-nize.  ;)

OT The Starkcast #007

Show #7 wants to fill up your earhole like Peter North fills a...well, you know.

Get it here in MP3 or here in bookmarkable AAC.

TOPICS

- Someone stole Nicholas Cage’s old email account.  Or did they?  Plus, Cage sends me dirty email and I’m forced to kill him
- Tom Cruise is crazy, that much is clear.  But where was Katie for 16 days?
- Name That Movie!
- The Kelo decision and the flag desecration amendment, and how they are symptoms of the decline of America as a great society.
- Two Minute Rant on - swearing!
- George Lucas Raped Our Childhood was done by Hot Waffles. *NOTE CORRECTION FROM URL IN THE SHOW - The correct URL is http://www.hotwafflesmusic.com
- If I build it, will they PayPal?
- PodAlliance in the hizzy fo’ shizzy.  Again, not the proper name as opposed to what I said in the show.  :)

Hate Mail, number eleventy-billion

I had to share this one.

On 6/26/05, Demetris Cleovoulou ([email protected]) wrote:
> YORKTOWN, Va. (AP) - Members of a group calling itself
> America’s Nazi party waved flags bearing swastikas and
> shouted “Sieg heil” at a rally on a Revolutionary War
> battlefield Saturday.
>
> Many wore Nazi uniforms with swastika armbands, while
> others identified themselves as members of the Ku Klux
> Klan and various skinhead groups.
>
> Hey were any of you assholes at this event?
>
> And also have any of you assholes seen Land of the
> Dead? Great Great movie. Why don’t u give a review on
> what the political satire is all about in that movie.

Wow.

Well, I felt the need to be as fair and decent to good old Demetris as he was to us.  My reply:

Why do all you Moore fans throw the word Nazi around so much?  Are you too lazy to actually take the time to figure out who or what we are?  Or are you just not smart enough?  And what the fuck on earth would we have in common with the Klan?  That doesn’t even make any sense.

I’ll bet you rape pre-teen girls.  Yeah, that makes sense.  After all, I don’t know you, so why shouldn’t I believe it?  Can you prove you don’t rape preteen girls, Demetris Cleovoulou?

Yeah, I think I’ll start spreading it around that Demetris Cleovoulou rapes girls under the age of thirteen.  After all, that is exactly as true as what you just said about us.

And no, I haven’t seen Land of the Dead.  When I do, I’ll be sure to mention that Demetris Cleovoulou, child rapist, is eagerly awaiting my review.

OT The Starkcast #006

The new show is up and ready for you.  A Moore-on called a couple weeks ago about the Downing Street nonsense.  Billy from Philly: It’s on, beeyotch.

Comments can either be on the topics in the latest show or Open Mic.  Have at them!

And now, an example of actual torture

Iraqis Found in Torture House Tell of Brutality of Insurgents

Marines on an operation to eliminate insurgents that began Friday broke through the outside wall of a building in this small rural village to find a torture center equipped with electric wires, a noose, handcuffs, a 574-page jihad manual - and four beaten and shackled Iraqis.

The American military has found torture houses after invading towns heavily populated by insurgents - like Falluja, where the anti-insurgent assault last fall uncovered almost 20 such sites. But rarely have they come across victims who have lived to tell the tale.

The men said they told the marines, from Company K, Third Marines, Second Division, that they had been tortured with shocks and flogged with a strip of rubber for more than two weeks, unseen behind the windows of black glass. One of them, Ahmed Isa Fathil, 19, a former member of the new Iraqi Army, said he had been held and tortured there for 22 days. All the while, he said, his face was almost entirely taped over and his hands were cuffed.

In an interview with an embedded reporter just hours after he was freed, he said he had never seen the faces of his captors, who occasionally whispered at him, “We will kill you.” He said they did not question him, and he did not know what they wanted. Nor did he ever expect to be released.

“They kill somebody every day,” said Mr. Fathil, whose hands were so swollen he could not open a can of Coke offered to him by a marine. “They’ve killed a lot of people.”

The manual recovered - a fat, well-thumbed Arabic paperback - listed itself as the 2005 First Edition of “The Principles of Jihadist Philosophy,” by Abdel Rahman al-Ali. Its chapters included ”How to Select the Best Hostage,” and ”The Legitimacy of Cutting the Infidels’ Heads.”

Please allow me to translate this story into simple American terms:

FUCK YOU DICK DURBIN.  This is torture, you idiot.  Your apology was meaningless, made even more so when you refute the doublespeak the next day.

FUCK YOU MICHAEL MOORE.  These are your “Minutemen,” your “Revolutionaries.” Are you still glad you held them up as examples of the good Iraqi people?  Are you EVER going to admit you were 100% wrong?

Wow.

Capt. William Guenther, currently stationed in Baghdad, sent to NRO:

Sir, I hoping that you could possibly help me with this. Maybe you can’t, but I’ll have gotten it off my chest. I am an Army officer that is just beginning a year long tour in Iraq, as an advisor with the Iraqi Special Police Commandos. While I have every reason to believe that I will return home safety in eleven months, my eyes are also open to the possibility of that not being the case.

The reason I am writing you is that I have just read your article about what Susan Paynter wrote about the Marine “kidnapping” in Seattle. At the end of your article, you mentioned that you were somewhat taken aback by the fact that just a week or so earlier she had written a tribute to those who had lost a loved one. I went to her paper’s Web site to read that article. Sure enough there it was: another story about a soldier, or their family, as victim. And typically they are portrayed as a victim of George Bush or Donald Rumsfeld. In and of itself that isn’t a problem, but in so many cases that is all soldiers over here are to the elite: victims… or in the case of the favorite story to come out of this war, Abu Ghraib, villians. Anyway, I looked further into what Ms. Paynter had written recently, and there it was: an article about an “artist”, Phil Hansen, who had created a “war collage” where he painted the faces of every dead soldier or Marine over a picture of George Bush. Ms. Paynter was very understanding of how Mr. Hansen was “showing his support for the troops,” but that they had died because Bush had misled the country.

Which brings me to my point. I thought about it before I got over here, and feel even stronger about it now that it may be my reality. God forbid, if something happens to me over here, I do not want to be used by the likes of Phil Hansen in Seattle, Michael Moore, Gary Trudeau, or Ted Koppel, to make their political points against the war, the President, and finally the country, all the while saying “they support the troops”. I have no doubt in my mind that Michael Moore would rather hear a report that 600 soldiers were killed last month in Iraq rather than 60 — but he “supports the troops”. Anyway, are you aware of any list that is around that soldiers could put their name on so that if something happened, while understanding our families couldn’t stop it, that these despicable phonies would be asked not to use our deaths to further their agenda that runs completely counter to why I volunteered to be where I am and counter to the real desires of 99 percent of the Iraqi people?

I have a wife and a four year old son. Truly my biggest concern is how selfish I have been to leave him for a year, and possibly allowing him to grow up never truly knowing his father. I have discussed this with my wife, I don’t want him ever to believe that he or his father were victims of his country, which I love even more after being away from it again.

Again, if you are aware of any such petition please let me know.

I’d love to have something classy and insprational to say here, but I only had one single thought after reading this:

Fuck you, Michael Moore, they don’t WANT you speaking for them.

Capt. Guenther, if it were appropriate I’d salute you, sir.  You are one of the things that makes America great.

Moore roundup, Patriot’s Journey, OT

I know I have been slacking off on the Patriot’s Journey posts.  I’ll do better.  In the meantime, the second-to-last item in this roundup counts for today.  :)

OK, here’s a few interesting tidbits…

- First up, sent in by about a half-ton of people, a good, comprehensive review of Jesse Larner’s new book ”Moore and Us: One Man’s Quest for a New World Order.”

I wasn’t expecting an awful lot from Larner’s book, since his politics are so far to the Left. As you’ll see from the Q&A below, he hates George W. Bush almost as much as Moore does, and this leads him into some laboured rants against the forces of darkness. But to his credit, he refuses to ignore uncomfortable facts about the Left’s favourite all-round polemicist. His verdict is detailed and damning. Moore’s admirers have long had a habit of shrugging off attacks as the work of the grand right-wing conspiracy. It won’t be so easy this time.

I ordered a copy, but it seems to be UK only, so who knows how long it will take to arrive.  I’ll post a review as soon as I have finished it though.  In the mean time, that lnk to the book takes you to Amazon.co.uk, and we don’t get a cut if you buy it, the reviewer I linked does.

- Next up, sent in by many of you as well, Mikey is helping with a film festival.

Michael Moore is helping develop a yearly film festival for this northern Michigan tourist town that will include free outdoor showings of all-time favorites on a large waterfront screen.

Among the classics being considered: “Jaws,” “Rebel Without a Cause,” and “Casablanca.” But no “Fahrenheit 9/11.”

The Traverse City Film Festival Committee, with Moore as chairman, received permission from city commissioners Monday to use a municipal park adjacent to Lake Michigan’s Grand Traverse Bay for the outdoor viewings during the inaugural festival, scheduled for July 28-31.

The park, known as the Open Space, also is the primary setting for the National Cherry Festival in early July. The films will be shown on a 49-foot-by 24-foot inflatable screen.

So far so good.  If Moore keeps his word, and we all know how valuable his word is, then I commend him for this.  I ain’t the only one doubting Mikey’s word, however…

Some people at the meeting weren’t convinced.

“You’re going to be driving past it and you’re going to be watching political propaganda,” Mary Ann Galic said.

Local citizens should decide what films are shown on public property, said Genie Aldrich, another Traverse City resident.

“This is not Podunk USA and we do not need outsiders coming in here telling what is good for us,” Aldrich said.

It’s amazing how little trust Moore’s fellow Michigan residents have in him.  Oh wait...he’s not a resident of Michigan.  Hey, that would explain the “outsiders” reference from Aldrich.  :)

- Next...did anyone else notice Moore made the nominee list for the Discovery Channel’s “Greatest American” thing?  WTF?  By what stretch of the imagination does a lying, opportunistic pile of human fecal waste like Moore deserve to be on a list with George Washington?  WHo made that stupid list?  Luckily he went nowhere in the voting.  I’m slightly appalled as some of those who made it in to the top 25 though.  Dubya?  a “Greatest?” No, sorry.  Oprah?  Billy Graham?  Fucking Bill Clinton?  On what planet are these people examples of our “greatest” Americans?

But that’s the beauty of America, folks.  You’re free to make up dumb polls and just as free to vote stupidly in them without fear that the police will come and take you away if you don’t vote for Glorious Leader.

- Lastly, my new podcast is up.  Nothing at all to do with Moore, but damn fine entertainment anyway. :)

Turks Likey Mikey

Journalist Jim Geraghty was in the Middle East, and recounts a conversation he had with a Turk near the Syrian border.

Turkish fellow: It was terrible that so many people died. But it was such a… spectacular sight! America is so powerful, and has such vast armies, and yet only 19 men, trained as pilots, could create such an amazing vision, of each plane hitting the tower, and then each tower falling, one after the other…

Me: Yes, I remember, thank you, it was the worst day of my life.

[Unspoken by me: So this is what an al Qaeda sympathizer looks like.]

Turkish fellow: Why hasn’t the U.S. caught bin Laden?

Me: If I knew where he was, you think I would be here? I would be collecting the reward.

Turkish fellow: You think America can’t find him? With all their resources and armies and —

Me: He’s one guy and it’s a big world. He’s somewhere in northern Pakistan, probably, but it’s tough terrain, with unfriendly locals, and he’s one guy. Surely you’re not suggesting that the U.S. knows where he is and isn’t trying to capture him?

Turkish fellow: Did you see Fahrenheit 9/11?

Me: Oh, [expletive deleted]. Don’t tell me you’re getting all this [expletive deleted] from a Michael Moore movie. My friend, I hate to tell you this, but there was a lot that wasn’t true in that movie. There were a lot of half-truths, innuendos, selective editing, and then outright lies

Turkish fellow: Well, why did Bush let the bin Ladens leave on those planes?

Me: [making a mental note to track down Michael Moore and have some words with him] Have you ever heard of a gentleman named Richard Clarke?

Turkish fellow: No.

Me: He worked in the White House, and handled national-security policies. He was the one who authorized the departure of those planes, not Bush or Cheney or Rumsfeld. Perhaps it would have been good for the FBI to talk to those people more extensively or a second time later. Richard Clarke eventually resigned and made many critical comments of President Bush. But you notice that Michael Moore didn’t bother to mention that this guy was the one who authorized those planes leaving.

Turkish fellow: Why are you going to invade Syria?

Me: We’re not going to invade Syria. At least not as far as I know, and at least not anytime soon. There’s this widespread conspiratorial thinking that there’s some secret U.S. plan to invade Iraq, then Syria, then Iran… I cannot imagine that that is the case. For starters, the job isn’t done in Iraq. If all of the U.S. troops left Iraq tomorrow, what would happen in that country?

This is the legacy of Michael Moore’s films, spreading lies about America and Bush to people who believe every word that comes out of his mouth.  And this isn’t the first time his works have been quoted by terrorists and their supporters.  How proud he must be.  (Actually, I’d bet the sick bastard is very proud of his “achievement.")

DVD on Michael Moore visit to be released

Interesting.

A documentary tracking the controversy generated by filmmaker Michael Moore’s visit to Utah Valley State will be released on DVD this summer. ‘’This Divided State’’ will be available in Utah this August, and released nationwide in September, said the filmmaker, Steve Greenstreet.

Greenstreet documented the battle over Moore’s invitation and the use of student funds to cover his $40,000 speaking fee for a visit just before the November presidential election. It eventually spurred an invitation to conservative broadcaster Sean Hannity to also speak at UVSC to provide political balance.

As the controversy heated up, Greenstreet formed a production company, Minority Films, and produced the film.

Sounds like it could be something worth seeing.

Update

Check out the site here. Thanks to Steve for the link!

The Starkcast #004

Show number 4 is up! See show notes for topics and links.

Patriot’s Journey day 5

My apologies for missing yesterday.  Bad day.

Today’s letter is from Mark Patterson.  It’s one of the best I have seen.

OT: Podcast news

OK, I have been cutting audio and writig stuff all day and there’s no frigging way I’m going to be able to prepare *and* record a Starkcast today.

So, looks like people could squeeze in some voice mail calls if they were so inclined...say anything you want, as long as it’s funny.  Or angry, angry is almost as good as funny.  :)

206-600-5465 <- THAT’S THE RIGHT NUMBER I PROMISE. :)

Call, bitches.  ‘fo I smack that ho ass ya dig?  Bettah bring me my cheddah ya skank ass hootchie.

Needless to say, comments are open mic.  :)

Patriot’s Journey, Day 3

Another day, another letter.  Be warned, I will not tolerate attacks on the servicepeople or their country in these threads.  We have plenty of threads where you can argue an anti-US stance until you’re blue in the fingers and you’re welcome to do it.

Not in these threads.  Show some respect.