Mediawatch - On the radio tonight

For our Canadian friends, I’ll be on “The World Tonight” with Rob Breakenridge on CHQR in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.  They’re calling me at 7:35 Pacific time, 10:35 Eastern.  CHQR has a live stream on their site for those of us outside the broadcast area.

Hate Mail - the unintentionally ironic edition

From: “Ali Hussein” [email protected]
To: jimk.moorewatch at gmail
Subject: Your an Animal Pig Neocon, give the money back!

I hate you !

Give the money back you ungrateful Puke monster!

Uhh...do I even have to say it?

Oh, and so as to not waste your time with another post just for this, if you have an Xbox live account, my gamertag is stark23x.  Let’s be cuddly-wuddly fwiendz and we can hug and sing songs!  Or slaughter each other in brutal, violent ways via the magic of video games.

Newsweek story on me and Sicko

Not a bad story.  Some of the wording was paraphrased and not exactly what I said, but it was pretty fair.  The only correction I think I’d like to point out is that the person who emailed me to warn me was not a “famous” name but rather one that I recognized.  Other than that, the intent of what I wanted to say is there.  I feel fairly represented by Tony Dokoupil, and I’d like to thank him for being an easy guy with whom to talk.  It was a pretty pleasant interview experience.

So...How great is my stupid frigging picture I sent them?  It’s halfway down on page 2.  I look like an idiot, but that’s of course the point: I kind of am an idiot. ;)

Moorewatchers with long memories - you are needed

I just did an interview about the whole “appearing in Sicko” situation, and something strange came up - I was told that at one point, Moore shows a screenshot of this site, specifically the post where I thanked the anonymous guardian angel.  That is juxtaposed with a screenshot where all you can read are the words “Dear Michael, fuck you.”

I can’t find those words in ANY posts.  Not that I deny saying it.  Obviously I’ve been angry enough at various times to say exactly that.  In no way do I accuse Moore of Photoshopping this the way he did with that Pantagraph article in Fahrenheit 9/11.  Rather, I’d like to know the context, since context is something Moore tends to leave out.

Can anyone remember this?  The only thing I can think of is that it was lost in one of the two data crashes.  I checked Google’s cache and the Wayback machine, but I can’t find it.  Did I write it?  Was it one of the other authors?  Does anyone remember what the context was?

By the way, I was also told that the movie may have been re-edited, as I am no longer at the end, but rather 3/4 of the way in.  I’m not aware if that was how it always was, or if he moved the segment after the Cannes premiere.

Still, no matter where it is in the movie, it’s gotta be the most boring few minutes imaginable.  Can you imagine that conversation in the editing bay?

“Mike, are you sure about this?”
“Look!  I know what I am doing here.  Screenshots of a blog will tug on the old heartstrings and drive home the point that we need to revamp the health care system!  Copy & paste is a viable film technique!”
“It’s just that it totally stalls everything and doesn’t really amount to much as far as the larger narrative goes.  It’s a speedbump.”
“Did you win an Oscar?”
“No.”
“Well I did.  The screenshots stay!”

Hey.  He won an Oscar, he must know what he’s doing.  :)

Not hate mail, volume 1

We’ve published so many hate mails on this site I lost track a long time ago.  I received this mail today from someone called themselves a fan of Moore’s work, and I wanted to share it, as well as respond to something contained within.

I have been looking over your site recently, as well as other “anti-Moore” sites, mostly out of curiosity. Many of these sites seem to be nothing more than unreasoned hate-mongering. Note that I did not say “all”. I have found some points that you make to have merit. While I consider myself a fan of Moore’s “work”, and I do not wholeheartedly agree with all that you say, I concluded long ago that Michael Moore produces propaganda.

I do, however, believe that his propaganda has bits of truth in them. I do not assume that because he said it, it must be true. More than that, though, I find his books and movies entertaining. I certainly don’t expect everyone else to feel the same way, though.

Now that that is out of the way....

I don’t want to blow by that at all.  I find it refreshing that someone can have issues with what we publish here at Moorewatch and still be as nice, polite and clear about their beliefs as you have been.  We can disagree on things without debasing ourselves or resorting to dirty pool to “win” some online argument.

I have lost sight of that myself on many an occasion.

Please do not assume that the hate mail you get is representative of Michael Moore’s entire fan base. In any segment of the population, there are nutjobs. You have made occasional statements alluding to these awful emails as being representative of the group as a whole. For example:

“Can you imagine the mentality of someone who would not only stretch the boundaries of imagination to come up with that analogy, but would then take the time to send it to me?  My God, no wonder they keep buying his books and movies.”

Statements like that make it hard for myself, and others like me, to (a) take you seriously, and (b) continue reading the posts on your site in an objective and fair manner. I ask that you refrain from making sweeping statements about Moore’s “fan base”. If you really, seriously, think that making those kinds of generalizations are fair, then you don’t know them.

Fair enough.  I was writing that while under a literal non-stop barrage of emails, news stories and blog posts attacking me, but you are correct.  I generalized, I have done that far too often in the past and I will make an effort to not do that in the future.  We’re all dealing with a commenter right now who refuses to stop generalizing about “the right wing,” so this especially struck me as something I need to stop doing.

That having been said, when someone pops in and acts like the stereotypical “Moore-on,” we’re all gonna have a go.  Some folks need to be slapped before you can talk them off the ledge, you know what I’m saying?  :)

One last matter:

It was stupid of Moore to send you $12,000 anonymously and then go public about it. I think it was unfair to you, and says much more about him than it does about you. I also think that anyone who claims that you should return the money on some kind of ethical or moral grounds is seriously misguided, and clearly has never been in a situation similar to yours. He freely offered you the money for a specific purpose, and you used it for that purpose. How is that hypocritical?

Regards,

-a “Michael Moore fan”.

Thanks.  I thought it was pretty obvious myself.  Those first few days were, as I said, literally a non-stop assault on me.  Thankfully, since those early days, many very nice people who disagree with me about Moore wrote to say supportive, kind things.  I should have known that was coming, it usually takes those kinds of folks some time to reply.  In the end the replies have been around a 60/40 split, with the negative and nasty leading the pack - but not by so much that it’s disheartening.  :)

Anyway, thanks for the email, and if you’d like to join up and contribute to the conversations here at Moorewatch, we’d be glad to have you.  I think we could use someone with some skill at the keyboard to keep us honest just like we’re trying to keep Mike honest.

For Michael

Since I know you’re reading this stuff lately, Michael, I figured I’d just post it here and address it to you.  I noticed in your press conference (the one where you said it was supposed to be all Canadian reporters) that you were confused about my phone and how my voicemail works.

First of all, you blocked your caller ID.  The ID that is sent from your end was blocked, either by you or by the person who owned the phone you used.  Perfectly normal for celebrity numbers of course, and even some international calls.  When it happens, it triggers something my phone company calls “Privacy Manager.” It’s an automated system...a computer answers and asks you to say your name.  It then rings through to me.  If I answer, it tells me I have a call from (recording of you saying your name here).  If I don’t answer, it kicks you to voicemail.  All automatically.

I did not answer your call and manually punt you to voice mail.  I just wanted you to know I wasn’t ducking you, at 9:16 AM I was still asleep!

For everyone else: If you haven’t listened to the audio file of Mike’s press conference, please do.  It’s fascinating.  I’ve converted it to a smaller-yet-still-quality file for easier downloading.  You get some of the feeling of the foreign press reaction, you get to hear Michael under strain, being heavily and sometimes almost angrily questioned about French health care, Canadian issues - and especially Cuba - and then getting...softballed, I suppose is the word.  Plus, at the end he talks in some detail about the order of events as posted on this site, so, Mikey’s watching the watchers watching the watcher. 

We’re like a living Möbius strip.  He’s the watcher of government (ostensibly), we’re watching him, he’s watching us watching him watching them, we’re now watching him watching us watching him watching them...it’s like the plot to an episode of Three’s Company only without the sex.

I call dibs on being Larry.

OK, total honesty time.  I wrote this whole post just to use that Three’s Company/Möbius strip joke.  It’s just that good of a joke.  Right?  RIGHT?  ;)

One more attempt to set the record straight

In every single news article, blog post and Digg/Fark/Reddit (and others) thread about this, people are telling lies, misunderstanding events and generally getting everything as wrong as possible.  I will make one last attempt to make this as simple to understand as I can.  This is a chronology of events, including links to the source posts and dates wherever possible.  If you are blogging or reporting on this matter, please be accurate. 

Also, my last name has no “L” in it.  It’s K. E. N. E. F. I. C. K. ;)

This will be my last post on the subject unless something new comes up; I promise I won’t bore you by rehashing this again.  Consider this the definitive “wiki” of $12,000Gate.  :) Obviously that didn’t last, as the hits just keep on comin’.  Sorry.

I close the film?

Really?  Me?  In a film about the difference between forcibly taking money from all to pay for some and how that works around the world, *I* am the best thing he could find to close the movie?

Moore’s last revelation in “Sicko” is sure to be endlessly debated in the right-wing blogosphere that is so obsessed with him (and may be of little interest to ordinary viewers). Some time ago, Jim Kenefick, proprietor of the especially bilious anti-Moore site Moorewatch, almost shut down his site to focus on his wife’s worsening illness and escalating healthcare costs. An anonymous donor then sent him $12,000 to cover his wife’s bills and keep the site running. (She has apparently recovered.) Now that donor has been revealed and, as Kenefick now says he suspected all along, it turns out to be Michael Moore.

“I want him to know that it was done with all the best intentions,” said Moore, adding that he planned to phone Kenefick personally after the press conference. (According to Kenefick’s blog, Moore left him a voice-mail message later on Saturday.) “I went back and forth about whether to use that material,” Moore went on. “I asked myself, would you be doing this if it weren’t in the film? I decided that I would, and I should, and that that’s the way I think we should live.”

1. Raise your hand if you think Moore would have actually sent money and NOT included it in the movie.

2. If you raised your hand, I’m sorry, but you’re not very perceptive.

3. This site was not going to be closed.  I did not say that and if Moore puts it in the film like that, it’s the same kind of perversion of the facts that Moore tends to do all the time.

4. See?  $12,000 to use me in the movie and get all this publicity.  It wasn’t altruism, it never was altruism and I’ll hold my breath waiting for you Moore fans to apologize for calling me all those names.*

* I can’t hold my breath for more than like, 30 seconds, so this is very much a metaphor.  I should see a doctor about that.  If only I could still afford it… ;)

Moore called me

While I find the timing...interesting...he did in fact call and was completely normal and gracious about it.  You can hear for yourself.

Thank you, Michael.  I appreciate the help and I always have.  You know that, of course, because I posted right here on the site that I was grateful to the guardian angel long before this became an issue for the press to feed on.  I hope that your Cannes screening goes well, but more importantly I hope you’ve used your power to tell the truth this time.  I’d love to support this movie, as I’m no friend of the HMO.

In case anyone doubts it, that’s definitely him.  Even if I didn’t recognize the voice, he used phrasing that was identical to the original emails I got from the third party.  This also puts to rest the doubts I’ve seen all over the ‘net that it was even Mike in the first place.  Now we all know.

Man...what is in that film?  Am I crazy or did he sound...nervous?  I guess we’ll all find out why he did this when the film shows tonight at Cannes.

Well, if you insist…

Apparently I’m going to be the focus of every press idiot that still fawns over Mikey’s bullshit for the next few days.  Yeah, better to focus on me than him, I suppose, that way you can keep your blinders on about why he does things.

This time it’s Rush & Malloy in the New York Daily News.  I suppose there are worse places in which to be talked about; I could have been in a column by one of the interns that write Perez Hilton’s blog.  Gossip columnists in the Daily News is a bit of a step up from that.  Only just, but still a step up.

We can now confirm to Kenefick that his secret benefactor is none other than the dreaded, detestable, loathsome Michael Moore.

Moore didn’t contact us. We heard it on our own.

Well, you confirm a lot of things, but for now I am assuming this is true.  I got it from a pretty good source myself, hence my post that you quote in your...uhh..."article."

One friend of Moore’s did say, “We sure are happy Jim’s wife received the care she needed.”

First of all, Moore doesn’t have friends.  He has employees and allies.  Secondly, my wife was ALWAYS RECEIVING CARE.  It was never in doubt that she was going to get the medical care she and her doctors felt was necessary, regardless of cost.  I would have made it work, no matter what I had to do.  That having been said, if the well-wishes were in any way sincere...thank you.

Still, he doesn’t sound especially grateful.

Having suspected Moore might be his secret patron, he contends that his bete noir made the gift just to publicize “Sicko,” which takes aim at America’s health-care system and, we’ve heard, touches upon Moore’s covert generosity.

Oh my.  “Doesn’t sound especially grateful?” A few years ago, Moore threatened to sue me.  Add to that the fact that $12,000 is equal to his ding-dong budget for the week.  Or what it costs to make one of those suits for award shows.  Add to this growing list the fact that it was never altruism and every human being alive who knows anything about Moore knows that.  He paid $12,000 so he could manufacture a “gotcha” moment in his film.  Sounds pretty cheap to me.

What am I supposed to be grateful for?  The chance to look like an ass?  The chance to be in his movie?  For him throwing me pocket change in order to try to humiliate me later?  That’s why he did it.  Period.

I was grateful for the easing of my financial burden for 12 months.  I meant it when I said it helped us climb out of a hole.  If Mike called me up and said “It was me, and regardless of our differences I just wanted to help.” then I would have a 180 degree turnaround in attitude...but he’s not doing that is he?  He’s leaking information and trying to make me look like a complete git over it...and you, Rush & Malloy, are helping.

Was I supposed to roll over and stop looking for the flaws in everything Mikey says?  Was I supposed to stop telling the truth?  Was $12,000 supposed to buy me off?

Are any of you that cheap?

If Mikey had called me up and said “Look, man, I know we disagree on everything, but I just wanted to help.  No strings attached, and I hope she gets better.” that would be an amazing gift and a real piece of altruism.

He.  Didn’t.  Do.  That.

He’s leaking and using this in whatever way he can think of to promote his film.  He paid $12,000 so that you, the press, would focus on what a “nice guy” he is and in the same breath, make me look like a jerk.  He’s getting you to denounce and discredit me and keeping his hands clean so it’s not a Goliath-crushes-David scenario.

And you people didn’t even get $12,000!  Now that’s cheap.

Beating someone to the punch

Awhile back you may remember me discussing some personal issues here on the site, specifically my problems in getting good health insurance.  I got some great advice from readers, ultimately leading me to a good plan that costs around a thousand dollars a month, but is still less than a third of our previous out-of-pocket yearly medical costs.

After I posted about finding the plan and what the cost was, someone emailed me and asked if an “anonymous” benefactor could offer to pay my first year’s premiums.  $12,000.  I was skeptical of course, but since I’m not an idiot, I accepted.  When the check arrived, I was overly cautious.  I tracked the company that issued the check, the bank it was drawn on...I found a hotline you could call to check the status of drafts issued by this third-party company, and the number on the check (actually more like a money order) checked out.  I even went so far as to see where the branches of the issuing bank might be physically located, and there are like five of them within walking distance of Moore’s home and office in New York City.

I was still a bit skeptical, so I opened a whole new account at my bank, waited for it to clear, checked twice with bank personnel to make sure it wasn’t a scam, and waited a full 60 days before spending the money.  At that time, I started drawing on it and paying the monthly premiums until it was gone.  The whole time...from the moment I was first emailed (and I still have all the emails with full headers if it becomes necessary to publish them) I was convinced that it was Michael Moore behind it all.

I knew he was using me.  I knew he would try to turn this to his advantage some day.  That day may be upon us.  I was just warned by someone in the know that Moore is about to drop the hammer on me.

Could this all be nonsense?  Was it a truly anonymous person who was just trying to make my life easier after the hell we’ve been through the past 7 years?  is it possible that Moore has nothing to do with this and never did?

Maybe.

Is it possible that Moore is going to try to make me into one of his little puppets and pull a “gotcha?” Yes.  Yes it is.  I wish I knew what the truth was.  I don’t.  I only know my part in it.

For the record: I’m not an idiot.  I know when to say yes to something, even if the string attached is obvious.  $12,000 was like manna from heaven at that time.  As you all may remember, I was being bled dry by the scumbag that used to host the server on which this site resides.  My business was almost dead, my wife was very, very ill and I was racking up a few little health problems of my own.  That money made it possible for us to begin to turn our lives around.

If I knew that money came from the tax base, if it was government money, I would have said “no.” I didn’t and don’t believe in supporting a “universal” health care system, and I don’t think it’s the role of government to steal from the rich and give to the poor.

What I support, and what I was led to believe, was this was a private individual that wanted to remain anonymous who just wanted to help me on a person-to-person basis.  That is why I said yes.  That, and what kind of moron turns down a free twelve grand?

Again, please let me be crystal clear on what I think is the most important poiunt here: I was told this was a private individual who just wanted to help me personally.  It had nothing to do with the site, politics or anything else.  I was told it was just someone who decided they could help another person.  That is why I said yes.

If this was Moore behind it all, then I have to say...nice try, dude, but I’m not going to play your game.  You can call it a cost of promotion.  This site has sold more books and DVDs for you than that $12,000 could ever buy.  You’ve gotten your money’s worth.  If it was you, Mikey...your $12,000 doesn’t buy my silence.  It won’t buy my affection, nor will I shy away from talking about whatever may or may not be in your new film.  I’ll still be the same guy, expressing my opinion and trying his best to research facts you tend to skip over or ignore.  All you bought for your money - if it was yours - was the peace of mind of knowing you actually helped someone who needed it.  Wouldn’t it be nice if that was where is stayed?  Ultimately, my accepting that donation has absolutely no bearing on the larger debate about health care in America, and I won’t engage you or anyone else in a bank-and-forth on it so you can sound-byte my words into something they aren’t.

You can read all about any response I may or may not have in the future at Moorewatch.com.

Quick announcement

YES!  I know about the Moore documentary!  I’m in it.  :)

Remember all that talk over the last two years?  Well this was the project we were all helping with.  I just spoke to Debbie today and she said it was perfectly fine to start discussing it openly, so I will put together a post about it tomorrow night.  I can’t wait to see this thing.

We’re getting closer - time to get our house in order

I can feel it...Sicko is going to start hitting the news son, and I want to get ahead of the coming storm of activity.  I’ll admit, I have basically let you guys run the site for awhile now, the message boards and comments are pretty much the reason to come back.  I’ve had so much stuff happen this last year and change, and the easiest thing to let go of was this site.  For that I apologize.  I know we need to whip ourselves back into shape, so I want to get started in little ways that will help.

Someone’s trying again…

I just got the results of an “invalid WhoIs complaint” from GoDaddy.  Someone tried to report this site as having invalid info, which would invalidate the registration and could result in GoDaddy removing the site from DNS and canceling the registration.

Nice try, asshole.  As GoDaddy told you:

Thank you for contacting us. The WhoIs information for the following domain(s) is valid:

MOOREWATCH.COM

You cowardly little jagoff.

Hey, where’d you guys go?

Read about it here.  Fun.  *cough*

Breakin’ the (bad) law

In defiance of the blatant attack on everyone’s First Amendment rights, this website will run any ad for any politician seeking election this November, from now until Election Day.

FOR FREE.

McCain/Feingold is a blight on our free society and this site stands in defiance with thousands of other sites who refuse to take one more day of this.  This far and no further.  The buck stops here.  We will stop at nothing less than a repeal of this un-Constitutional law.

If you are a candidate, of ANY political stripe, Democrat, Green, Republican, Independant...I don’t care.  I will not refuse anyone.  During this period of civil disobedience, i will run any ad from any politician who is legally and officially in a race.  Email me at the address to your left and I’ll give you a special code for BlogAds, or we can discuss a custom ad banner or text ad.  All free.  I’ll even create your graphics if you need that done.  Again...free.

Why am I doing this?  For one very simple reason.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

McCain/Feingold silences any and all advertising by candidates until the election as of today.  This leave ONLY special interest groups with the ability to manipulate and flood the airwaves with whatever message they decide voters should hear.  Groups like MoveOn.org, America Coming Together, The Swift Boat Veterans For Truth, and yes, even the NRA has a 527.  Whatever side you are on, you cannot want these groups to be the sole voices in the media for the next two months straight.

We, along with candidates for office, are The People, and we are peacably assembling.  I think it goes without saying that each of us has a grievance against the government for one thing or another.  We have the right to speak about candidates and to have candidates speak to us.  This is where left and right, Republican and Democrat, Conservative and Liberal, gay & straight, men & women, we all come together and say “No.  You will not destroy our right to share ideas and talk in the public square so that we may determine who we wish to choose as a leader.”

If you have a website, I urge you to do the same.

Let’s build a wiki

Let’s use the wiki function built into the site to make a wiki that actually contains information we want people to know about Moore.

Here is our Wiki.

Here’s where you can learn how to use it.

I’ll be checking in to make sure no one is abusing the system...filling it with nonsense or vandalizing pages will result in bannination faster than Trogdor can hit you with his big beefy arm.  Don’t make me have him burninate you.

If we do this right, we’ll never, EVER have to hear “I went to the site and it;s just a bunch of nazi fascist neocon rightwingers talking there’s no PROOOOOOOOOFFFFFF...”

Goddamned hippies.  ;)

It’s Baa-aack…sort of

Update

IT’S WORKING!  Forums and all.  Many thanks to Rick Ellis from pMachine for talking me through it.

What a couple of days, and I’ve only gotten ONE site up and running, and this needs more work.

Well, if you haven’t heard yet, or noticed that the site looks strangely out of date, we lost ALL our data again.  Every bit and byte.  hard drive failure.

My only backup was from April.

That will NEVER happen again.

If you are an author here at Moorewatch and you want to re-post any article you’ve written since April 10th of this year, please feel free.  You might be able to reconstruct it from Google cache.

In fact, it would be helpful if people re-constructed old articles and send them to me...jimk.moorewatch at gmail dot com.  Let me know which ones you find and are willing to do and I’ll try to make sure no one does the same one.

Forums are screwed up still, but I need professional help on that one, so bear with me.

One last thing: If you registered an account in the last 4 months, you’re gonna have to do it again.  All were lost.

Uncle JimK Wants You

We’re looking for one or two volunteers to be on the MichaelMoore.Com beat.  Your job would be to read the drivel on his website (specifically his site, not necessarily TV appearances or books or anything else) and write posts about it.  You can “fisk” his ramblings, simply point out flaws and inconsistencies, whatever you feel comfortable doing.  Of course at times other writers may have something to say about some insanity Mikey posts, but generally the beat would be yours alone.  It’d be rare that any more than one or two of us would want to tackle his nonsense.

All we ask is that you be honest and do your homework.

If you’re interested, comment or email me.  Y’all know where I be at.

The ads

Consider this a focus group question: What products would you like to see advertised in the ads on this site?  Not the Blogads, the lowest-price product search ads.

No point in specifying stuff you don’t like, right?