A good question

A reader e-mailed this link in and basically echoed the question asked at the end of the blog entry: How common is this?

The story is that a high school held some mock elections, and it led to the discovery of F911 being used as a teaching tool.  Yeah, the same lie-filled crapfest that we’ve shredded time and again here.

But what interested me most was this extended quote from an anti-Bush girl whose father is a public school social studies teacher who uses Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” as a teaching tool in class.

“Everything he (Bush) says is pretty much a lie,” said Julia Boyer. ”My dad’s a government teacher and he and I watched the debates together and we just roll on the floor laughing. ...”

...Boyer said not only has she seen ["Fahrenheit 9-11"], her family has already ordered three copies of the DVD.

”My dad’s using it in class and I am burning myself a copy because I have Michael Moore’s permission,” she said. “Me and my family—we are going to try to have a screening in our house for our neighborhood before the election.”

[emphasis added]

Anyone else hear about anything like this?  I imagine it is more prevalent in colleges, although that may not be true.  I throw it to you, the readership, to ask around.

Thanks to Doug for the link, and a well-written new blog to read.

5000 to go

Just a quick note to let everyone know that Truth for Troops is up and ready to accept our contributions. The money raised will be used for the purachase and shipping of copies of FahrenHYPE 9/11 to the troops in Iraq. For those of you not familiar with the film, it is a thorough debunking of Moore’s film, which should help neutralize some of the self doubt Fahrenheit9/11 has imposed upon our troops. Don’t expect it to make you laugh like Moore’s film did. It treats the subject matter seriously and the troops with respect.

We are hoping to raise enough to send an additional 5000 DVD’s to the troops. Click on the links above for more details. The troops deserve the rest of the story.

This quote from Army Spc Joe Roche is what we’re trying to counter.

Michael Moore’s film, Fahrenheit 9/11, is making the rounds here at U.S. bases in Kuwait. Some soldiers have received it already and are passing is around. The impact is devastating.

Here we are, soldiers of the 1st Armored Division, just days from finally returning home after over a year serving in Iraq, and Moore’s film is shocking and crushing soldiers, making them feel ashamed. Moore has abused the First Amendment and is hurting us worse than the enemy has.
There are the young and impressionable soldiers, like those who joined the Army right out of high school. They aren’t familiar w/ the college-type political debate environment, and they haven’t been schooled in the full range of issues involved. They are vulnerable to being hurt by a vicious film like Moore’s.

There are others who joined for reasons of money and other benefits, and never gave full thought to the issues. For them, seeing this film has jolted them grievously because they never even knew where some of these countries were that we have been serving in. Imagine the impact this film has on them.

And there are those who are hurting from being away from family and loved ones. They are burnt out, already hurting inside from 15 months of duty out here, and now to be hit w/ this film.. it is devastating.

Idea to accompany the DVDs

I’ve been sitting here pondering just how to effectively get the message that we, the people, care about these soldiers AND their mission, and that we support them not just in word, but in deed and spirit.

And the bottom line is, nothing works like a personal letter.  If I had a nickel for every time I was told about, or read an account of, how a personal letter, even from a stranger, improved troop morale in thefield, I would be rich enough to buy all 5000 DVDs myself.  ;)

This leads me to a dilemma: how to get letters in the hands of troops and make sure the crackpots aren’t taking advantage of our need for speed on this issue...but I think I have the answer.  Take a look at this idea and shoot holes in it if you can, because I want to know before I start if it will work.

I’ll set up an email address.  We’ll publicize it here and around the Internet, and people will write supportive letters to the troops and send them to this email address.

I will weed out the crackpots and spam, and pick say, 5-10 of the best, most poignant and well-written letters, and print 5000 copies of each letter at Kinkos or Staples.  I’ll then ship these copies to whomever helps us distribute the DVDs, with instructions that one of each be included with each DVD.

The costs, based on my best guess, would be around 1500 bucks for copies, and a boatload for shipping that much paper (probably near to 300 bucks or more depending on what method we used and how fast we needed to ship).

Anyone see any unfixable hurdles in this idea?

I need your help- NOW!

Ladies and Gents,

I am so incredibly happy to announce to you that I have just secured 5000 free copies of Fahrenhype 911 for distribution to the troops.

Yes, you read that right. FIVE THOUSAND COPIES!

I will be giving more details in the near future.

But for now. I need your help.

I need to know who handles shipments like this to Iraq. Organizations, charities, or even official avenues.
How can we get them distributed? How fast can it happen?

I need addresses, names, phone numbers, anything.

Time is very short, and we must move quickly.

Also, I will still need help covering the distribution and freight costs to get them there, so stay tuned for the new site on monday where you can paypal some buck-a-roos to help us get them into the hands of the troops.

Thank you to all of those who helped with this so far , and thanks for all of those who will donate next week.

This is amazing.

***UPDATE***

Please be aware that we will be sending the movie “FAHRENHYPE-911” not Fahrenheit 9-11, some confused e-mails are coming in about this.  We are not sending the Moore movie. 

Un-Duping the Troops

Well folks. Either our idea to help educate the troops about the lies in F911 is spreading, or other great minds are thinking like us. A link from the Blogfather (Instapundit) led me to an article over at JunkYardBlog where they are planning to try to raise money to purchase and ship copies of Fahrenhype9-11 over to the troops in Iraq.

All this has me thinking, blogosphere. We need to counter Michael Moore’s propaganda. We need to find a way to get some kind of counter material into the hands of our troops in the field, so that they have some kind of balance and a truthful take on the war. Ideally, this remedy should debunk Moore’s ideology at least as it relates to the war.

This is a fine idea. I spoke with Jason Clarke via e-mail last week, (author of MMIASFWM), who appears in the movie, and he says it avery well done piece. David Hardy also appears,as does Dick Morris, Zell Miller and Ann Coulter? ( at least the troops can enjoy the eye candy) Jason also has a link to this on Moorelies.com

The idea is spreading.

The DVD’s sell for $14.99 so for every three folks who can spare 5 bucks, we can send a DVD over there which will be seen by dozens of US and coalition Troops.  This is a fine idea. The Film is already completed, and is a better “product” to send as opposed to our photocopied lists and such. ( not that that was a bad idea either)

We still need a list of addresses, so if anyone knows.........e-mail me. Any ideas about how to co-ordinate this, do the same.

I think it’s time to put the word out , get the wallet out and let’s roll with this. As soon as I have all of the details, I will let you know who to Paypal or where to send checks.

Until then , please consider whether we can count on you for some help. And fire up your e-mail lists.

**Update** This is growing hair by the minute. I have already been contacted by one group who sends care packages to the troops and just spoke with Clarke who says this is moving along quickly. Stay posted. And seriously, think about donating a few bucks.

Putting my money (so to speak) where my mouth is

I’m so thoroughly disgusted by Michael Moore’s new book of supposed letters from soldiers that I’ve decided to put my money...or more precisely, my time, where my mouth is.

I will assemble a counter to Moore’s book.  Unedited, untouched except for the assemblage, a book of letters from soldiers that support the President and do not trust Mr. Moore.

If you are military and you are interested, or you have military family members who would like to participate, please send your letters to letters at moorewatch dot com. All hate mail will be deleted upon receipt, so save your energy, Moore-ons.

If you prefer to write old-fashioned snail mail letters, I will get a P.O. Box and make the address available.  Email would be the best route though, since time is of the essence.

I will touch not a word of these letters.  Not one.  If you send a letter, you must be willing to allow me to publish it AND publish your name and branch of service, so independent people can verify that you are who you say you are and that you wrote what I say you wrote.  EVERYTHING will be public and verifiable.  I refuse to hide any aspect of this.

If we can’t get anyone interested in publishing it, we’ll publish it our damn selves.  But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

I need a lawyer

I have a piece of video.  I don’t want to say what it is yet, but I need someone who is familiar with fair use and copyright to look at it and tell me if we can make it available or not.

If you are able and willing to give real, legal advice and are licensed, please e-mail me and let me know how we can come to a way that you can legally dispense advice to me without money exchanging hands.  :)

Also, you’ll need to download a 150MB video, but it’s worth every moment.

Like Boston won’t be crowded enough

Fahrenheit 7/26: Michael Moore: I will crash Kerry’s party
By Dave Wedge
Thursday, July 22, 2004

Democrats were abuzz and Republicans aghast yesterday as Bush-hating filmmaker Michael Moore unveiled plans to descend upon, and steal some thunder from, John F. Kerry’s hometown nominating party.
Moore will team up with the Democratic presidential primary’s chief Bush critic, Howard Dean [related, bio], for one of his three Hub appearances in the first two days of the convention.
Republicans said the ``Fahrenheit 9/11’’ creator will reflect poorly as a surrogate for Kerry.
``It’s just another example of the pessimism and the conspiracy theories coming from John Kerry [related, bio] and John Kerry surrogates,’’ said Kevin Madden, spokesman for the Bush-Cheney campaign.
``We’re seeing a lot of hate and vitriol from this John Kerry celebrity set - Michael Moore, Whoopi Goldberg. It shows that their intent is to frame anger as an agenda.’’
Democrats, though careful to say Moore won’t outshine Kerry, brimmed with excitement.
``Clearly the star of the week will be Sen. Kerry and Sen. (John) Edwards, but having Michael Moore in Boston to enjoy the events just adds a lot of excitement to everything else going on,’’ Massachusetts Democratic Party spokeswoman Jane Lane said.
``I don’t see it diminishing the real star of the week, but I think every Democrat in Massachusetts will be thrilled.’’
Kerry, whose campaign has gone out of its way to avoid Moore and his movie’s controversial claims, wouldn’t comment on his appearances.
Moore, who won’t be among the 15,000 credentialed Democratic National Convention journalists, will appear at a screening of his ``Fahrenheit 9/11’’ at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline.
He also will speak Monday to the Congressional Black Caucus.
The CBC, comprised of 39 African-American members of Congress, was prominently featured in ``Fahrenheit 9/11,’’ complaining that Bush ``stole’’ the 2000 election.
``We’re like minds. He shares that focus of bringing in a new leadership,’’ CBC spokeswoman Candace Tolliver said. ``We’re happy to have him.’’
The private screening in Brookline will be for members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, including 150 DNC delegates.

MOOREWATCHERS: Your mission: Follow Mike EVERYWHERE while he’s in Boston, ask him loud questions, photograph him in his limos and security SUVs.  Try to talk nice to his bodyguards and find out what kind of guns they carry.  The key, though, is to take pictures.  LOTS of them.  Movies too if you’ve a cam.

Follow this guy *everywhere.* Maybe we should all put our heads together and come up with a short list of questions to shout at him at EVERY public appearance.

We can do this.  We can make our presence known.  Bostonians, and travelers to Beantown...let’s do this thing.

Book winner number one!

The first winner of a free copy of ”Michael Moore Is A Big Fat Stupid White Man” is...drumroll please…

djhojo!

On 07/12 at 11:00 PM, djhojo posted the message that literally brought us to a grinding halt while we laughed until I actually was afraid I was gonna wet myself.

djhojo has a few gems that will make rotation, but this is the Golden Child.  Congrats djhojo, now just send me an e-mail with your mailing address and I’ll get the book out to you ASAP.

More winners later!

Help out two kids trying to become authors

I get a lot of requests to do stuff, and I ignore most of it.  But these guys took some solid initiative and called me after their emails to Lee and I went unanswered.

Had I paid more attention, I would have helped them out up front.  Anyway, I like their style, and they sound like they have some good heads on their shoulders.  SO let’s see if we can do a little research for them.

I just wanted to ask the Moorewatch community if they could help me find dirt on Michael Moore being an Islamofasicst sympathizer, which (I’m sure) there is plenty. But the real pure grade A meat would be connected to Israeli related conflicts. Israel is our closest ally, and he takes advantage of that for his corrupted soul.

There is a section in Dude, Where’s My Country, which I plan on purchasing soon that speaks only about Israel, maybe that could give a heads up to people who already own it as of now.

If you want to know the difference between my book and Michael Moore is a Big Fat Stupid White Men, it’s that ours will have a narration and possibly a story to tell of our experiences writing the book, as opposed to being straight up dry facts. We’ll also try to be funny and charasmatic, which I know I am.

I’d love to have the Moorewatch community help me out!

Thank you
Jonathan Brown
Foster Newman

Please don’t flame these kids in the comments.  They are 15 years old, and already taking an extremely proactive role in politics and going about it the right way: They have pre-determined beliefs, but they are looking for evidence FIRST.

I don’t know if the smoking gun they’re looking for exists.  I imagine that, given Moore’s propensity for being so radically pro-Arab, he’s said some things that will fit the bill.  But I don’t know, and I’m not willing to condemn him just because I think he might have said something.

So...the collective detective agency known as MOOREWATCH is now on the case!  Just post what you find here, they’ll be watching.

Thanks.

La croisade anti-Bush d’un justicier cinéaste

Do you speak French fluently?  Feel like translating something?  Le Monde has posted their review of Mikey’s spectacularly craptastic lie-fest, but it’s only in French.  Anyone out there feel like Anglicizing this biatch so everyone can enjoy it?  If you do, please type it up and email it to me.  I’ll be more than happy to credit you with the translation if you like.

Oh, and since I know some well-meaning person is going to do it, let’s skip the Babelfish translations.  They always suck, and while they give you a general idea of the message of the original text, I want something more accurate and nuanced.

You have your mission, Francophones… get to it!

*UPDATE* a French-Canadian reader did a translation but posted it to the wrong thread...here it is.  Thanks to dugger for the translation.

Questions for Moore fans re: Flint

- Keep your answers short and on topic
- Anyone changing the subject or going off on tangents will find their comments removed.  You are welcome to respond again under the above guideline if your comment is removed.
- Do not speculate in the comments as to what these questions are about.  Just answer them truthfully.

If you already know where this is going, my fellow MOOREWATCHERS...keep it to yourself.  I want to see real, honest, unaffected answers here with no back and forth nonsense or other people trying to influence or argue.

Just answer the questions simply and honestly.

1. Is Michael Moore’s persona, meaning his values, his personality, his politics, the way he presents himself, part and parcel of having grown up in Flint, Michigan? 

2. Does being from Flint, which is so economically distressed and has been for decades, define a lot of who he is at his core? 

3. Is it important, or perhaps even inspirational, to you that Moore has come up from the despair of Flint to become such a successful filmmaker?

Say My Name

Here’s something to watch out for the next time you watch the film.  At any time during the movie does Moore ever actually mention Saddan Hussein by name?

Washington Bleg

I was contacted today by Brian Alkexander, the Editor-in-Chief of The Daily of the University of Washington.  He’s doing a story on Michael Moore and is looking for “someone from Seattle or the University of Washington who plans on protesting this film or who has been actively debating it online.” If you’re from the area and would like to contact him, you can email him at [email protected] or call him in the newsroom at 206-543-2700.

And don’t be an ass and spam this guy, either, this is a legitimate media request.

What You Can Do

A week ago I published an open letter to Move America Forward, where I disagreed with their campaign to get theaters to opt out of showing F911.  One of the suggestions that came up during the subsequent discussion was that someone could make a flyer for people to hand out outside theaters.  We here at MOOREWATCH think this is a great idea, and have made this flyer.  You can download the flyer here.  Note that the URL at the bottom of the flyer has not gone live yet, but will tomorrow.

We’d like to spread the word about this as much as possible.  So please, tell everyone you know.  If you’re a blogger, link to it.  And send an email to Move America Forward and ask them to let their members know about it.  While we had a public disagreement over their F911 boycott, ultimately we’re on the same side.

If you happen to take part in handing these out, take along a digital camera and take pictures.  I’ll be more than happy to post any that you send.

Also, some people have suggested creating an international version of the flyer.  This is a good idea, too, and we’ll see if we can make one.

Volunteering

Based on a number of comments from lefties here recently, I would like to post another questions for Moore fans.

Much has been made of Bush’s “cowardice” for joining the Air National Guard during Vietnam.  It’s fair to say that he did not want to go to Vietnam and did not volunteer for active combat duty, so I’m not going to argue that point.  But the fact remains that protecting the homeland from Soviet bombers was a completely legitimate and honorable task at the time, and it was entirely possible that his unit could get called up for service in Vietnam.

My question is this:  would someone who joined the Navy and volunteered for submarine duty during the Vietnam war also meet your definition of cowardice and dodging?  Vietnam didn’t have a Navy to speak of, so there was practically no risk in vounteering for sub duty.  Is this a cowardly thing to do?  Why or why not?

Quote bleg

Didn’t Moore say something along the line of BFC *not* being a movie about gun control?  Or am I attributing something he said to something said by his supporters on this site?

This is pertinent to the Playboy interview, in case anyone is wondering.

Update by Lee: It’s right there on Mikey’s own website.

“Bowling for Columbine” is an alternately humourous and horrifying film about the United States. It is a film about the state of the Union, about the violent soul of America. Why do 11,000 people die in America each year at the hands of gun violence? The talking heads yelling from every TV camera blame everything from Satan to video games. But are we that much different from many other countries? What sets us apart? How have we become both the master and victim of such enormous amounts of violence? This is not a film about gun control. It is a film about the fearful heart and soul of the United States, and the 280 million Americans lucky enough to have the right to a constitutionally protected Uzi. [Emphasis added]

Enjoy!

War Quotes Bleg

In his review of F911 in the New York Times, Frank Rich writes:

Speaking of America’s volunteer army, Mr. Moore concludes: “They serve so that we don’t have to. They offer to give up their lives so that we can be free. It is, remarkably, their gift to us. And all they ask for in return is that we never send them into harm’s way unless it is absolutely necessary. Will they ever trust us again?”

An interesting thought.  I’m curious, though, which military operations Moore has supported.  Let’s start at WWII and go forward.  Has there been a single use of American military power during the 60 years since WWII that Moore has come out and stated he supported?  I doubt it. 

A Challenge

This is a point I brought up in the comments section to another post, but I think it’s worthy of its own discussion.  It is my stated position, justified plainly and clearly on this site countless times, that Michael Moore indeed hates America.  His supporters claim this is preposterous, that he’s a true patriot pointing out what he thinks is wrong and what needs to be fixed.  Okay, fair enough.

My challenge to you is this: I want to hear quotes from Michael Moore, whether from interviews or books or writing or his films, where he discusses what he likes about America and Americans.  Only one caveat: they cannot be phrased in terms of how much better America would be if it changed, like “America would be a wonderful place if we just got universal health care.” I want to hear specific examples of what Mikey loves about America the way it is now.

He’s a true American patriot, right?  These should be easy to find.

Update: I just happened to come across this extremely illustrative post from ages ago.

Q: You do not seem to like the U.S., do you?

A: I like America to some extent. Take the Japanese for instance. They are complicated and tend to be reserved in expressing themselves. Sometimes, it is difficult for me to understand them. Americans are simple and clear. They are charming people. You will understand how good an individual American is. What I am not satisfied with America is that the nation cannot control the government and economy. Only a handful of people have the power to control the country. [Emphasis added]

Michael Moore.  He likes America to some extent.  Lovely.

Mikey Bleg

Hi guys.  I’m at work right now, so I don’t have time to spend Googling and find this myself, which is why I am turning to you, the greatest collective of information on the internet.  I’m looking for a quote by Michael Moore for a post I’m going to write tonight, and I thought I had this over at MOOREWATCH but I couldn’t find it there.  (That’s not to say it’s definitely not there, just that I couldn’t find it.) At any rate, El Gordo Grande once said (or wrote) something along these lines.

“The Republican Party has been quite successful in convincing people that it is in their best interests to support policies that benefit the rich.  Why?  Because they have concinved a whole generation of Americans that they can all be rich.”

I think it might have been in “Dude Where’s My Country?” in the chapter called “Horatio Alger Must Die.” Here’s part of that chapter.

I think it’s because we’re still addicted to the Horatio Alger fantasy drug. Despite all the damage and all the evidence to the contrary, the average American still wants to hang on to this belief that maybe, just maybe, he or she (mostly he) just might make it big after all. So don’t attack the rich man, because one day that rich man may be me!

Listen, friends, you have to face the truth: you are never going to be rich. The chance of that happening is about one in a million.

Not only are you never going to be rich, but you are going to have to live the rest of your life busting your butt just to pay the cable bill and the music and art classes for your kid at the public school where they used to be free.” ("Horatio Alger Must Die,” Dude, Where’s My Country)

Anyone have the exact quote?  You guys will absolutely make my day if you can come up with it.