Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Another Summer Encore
I like how in television re-runs are no longer called re-runs, but rather, encore presentations. "A special encore presentation of a program we ran a week ago!" Keeping in that tradition I'm presenting another "encore" column from the archives. This is a piece I wrote a couple of years ago about Michael Moore and the efforts of a man to have Moore charged with treason for the film Fahrenheit 9/11. Moore has yet to be charged with treason, which isn't much of a surprise.
A quick note: you can subscribe to this site via Feeburner, just click on the Feeburner icon to the left and keep up to date on changes to the site. Enjoy.
Michael Moore: Treacherous Traitor
By
Scott C. Smith
Much to the chagrin of right-wingers, Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 has been a huge box office success. So far it’s taken in over $80 million, earning back over 13 times what it cost to produce.
Conservative groups have tried to stop the movie from being screened. Move America Forward was one of the first organizations to try and stop Moore. In the weeks prior to film’s release, they engaged in a letter-writing campaign to get movie theater chains not to screen the film. Their efforts failed; the movie is now playing in over 2000 theaters.
Next up was Citizens United. Their angle was that advertising for Fahrenheit 9/11 violated the Federal Election Campaign Act. It remains to be seen if their efforts will bear fruit. My guess is it will not.
Now we have Jon Alvarez. Alvarez has formed a group called Patriotic Americans Boycotting Anti-American Hollywood and he wants Michael Moore charged with treason. Notice a trend here? Right-wingers hate dissent. They’ve expended so much energy trying to silence Michael Moore, all which have failed so far.
Alvarez’s petition, posted to web site, (Note: the site is currently down) makes the following charge:
"More of our soldiers are dying as a result of Moore and his movie, and America is increasingly being threatened because of Moore's turncoat treachery. By falsely portraying our government in a negative light, as liars and manipulators, as well as our troops as baby killers and torturers, he incites blood-thirsty terrorists to strike at our homeland, our citizens and military personnel in an effort to weaken America's resolve to fight on to victory."
Now that’s serious! Michael Moore’s movie has caused the death of our troops! Why hasn’t the media taken this story and ran with it?
I attempted to reach Jon Alvarez about his petition and the charge that Moore’s film was causing the death of soldiers. His response to me was short, and predictable:
"…However, from a brief scan of your website, I'll have to take a pass on the interview, we really have nothing to discuss. You're a partisan on the wrong side of history. God Bless America! Your side will lose…"
I wonder what we’re going to lose? I didn’t know it was a contest. Since Alvarez wouldn’t answer my question, I decided I’d post the question to the forum at Alvarez’s web site. Maybe there he’d respond to his charge about Moore’s film causing the deaths of American soldiers. But no, his response was just bluster:
"Yes, Moore and the Hollywood left, over the past year and more, have emboldened the opposition of our enemies around the world as well as the anti-war opposition across the globe. The actions of these people, by word and deed, have forced the USA to pick up the slack that the international community should have shared... That translates into more American troops not only carrying the lion's share of the burden, but also being exposed to higher casualty rates than we would have seen had, let's say, France and Germany participated, or the UN."
So, the statement is a lie, and Marine Corps Captain Bruce Frame, a spokesman with the United States Central Command, confirmed to me that no soldiers had died due to Moore’s film. In an ironic twist, European/Pacific Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper, reported on July 1 that the Army-Air Force Exchange Service was in discussions with Lion’s Gate, Fahrenheit 9/11’s distributor, to screen the movie at military theaters. Applying Alvarez’s logic, the leadership of the Army-Air Force Exchange Service would also have to be charged with treason.
In the months to come we’ll see more efforts to counter Michael Moore. Rookie filmmaker Michael Wilson is putting the finishing touches on his film Michael Moore Hates America. Wilson makes the claim at his web site that, “Contrary to its title, Michael Moore Hates America isn’t a hatchet job on the filmmaker. It’s a journey across the nation where we meet celebrities, scholars and average folks alike, and we find out whether the American Dream is still alive! In the process, we’ll look at Michael Moore’s claims about the country, its people, and our way of life.” I guess you have to have an inflammatory title to sell tickets.
With each campaign launched to stop Michael Moore, the publicity results in increased ticket sales. What are conservatives so afraid of? Do they think George W. Bush is so vulnerable that one movie is enough to cause him to lose the presidential election? I suspect we’ll next see a movement to have Moore charged with the Sedition Act of 1798. Nevertheless, Fahrenheit 9/11 will continue to sell tickets, and even military audiences will eventually get to see the film. Michael Moore doesn’t hate America. His opposition does.
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A quick note: you can subscribe to this site via Feeburner, just click on the Feeburner icon to the left and keep up to date on changes to the site. Enjoy.
Michael Moore: Treacherous Traitor
By
Scott C. Smith
Much to the chagrin of right-wingers, Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 has been a huge box office success. So far it’s taken in over $80 million, earning back over 13 times what it cost to produce.
Conservative groups have tried to stop the movie from being screened. Move America Forward was one of the first organizations to try and stop Moore. In the weeks prior to film’s release, they engaged in a letter-writing campaign to get movie theater chains not to screen the film. Their efforts failed; the movie is now playing in over 2000 theaters.
Next up was Citizens United. Their angle was that advertising for Fahrenheit 9/11 violated the Federal Election Campaign Act. It remains to be seen if their efforts will bear fruit. My guess is it will not.
Now we have Jon Alvarez. Alvarez has formed a group called Patriotic Americans Boycotting Anti-American Hollywood and he wants Michael Moore charged with treason. Notice a trend here? Right-wingers hate dissent. They’ve expended so much energy trying to silence Michael Moore, all which have failed so far.
Alvarez’s petition, posted to web site, (Note: the site is currently down) makes the following charge:
"More of our soldiers are dying as a result of Moore and his movie, and America is increasingly being threatened because of Moore's turncoat treachery. By falsely portraying our government in a negative light, as liars and manipulators, as well as our troops as baby killers and torturers, he incites blood-thirsty terrorists to strike at our homeland, our citizens and military personnel in an effort to weaken America's resolve to fight on to victory."
Now that’s serious! Michael Moore’s movie has caused the death of our troops! Why hasn’t the media taken this story and ran with it?
I attempted to reach Jon Alvarez about his petition and the charge that Moore’s film was causing the death of soldiers. His response to me was short, and predictable:
"…However, from a brief scan of your website, I'll have to take a pass on the interview, we really have nothing to discuss. You're a partisan on the wrong side of history. God Bless America! Your side will lose…"
I wonder what we’re going to lose? I didn’t know it was a contest. Since Alvarez wouldn’t answer my question, I decided I’d post the question to the forum at Alvarez’s web site. Maybe there he’d respond to his charge about Moore’s film causing the deaths of American soldiers. But no, his response was just bluster:
"Yes, Moore and the Hollywood left, over the past year and more, have emboldened the opposition of our enemies around the world as well as the anti-war opposition across the globe. The actions of these people, by word and deed, have forced the USA to pick up the slack that the international community should have shared... That translates into more American troops not only carrying the lion's share of the burden, but also being exposed to higher casualty rates than we would have seen had, let's say, France and Germany participated, or the UN."
So, the statement is a lie, and Marine Corps Captain Bruce Frame, a spokesman with the United States Central Command, confirmed to me that no soldiers had died due to Moore’s film. In an ironic twist, European/Pacific Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper, reported on July 1 that the Army-Air Force Exchange Service was in discussions with Lion’s Gate, Fahrenheit 9/11’s distributor, to screen the movie at military theaters. Applying Alvarez’s logic, the leadership of the Army-Air Force Exchange Service would also have to be charged with treason.
In the months to come we’ll see more efforts to counter Michael Moore. Rookie filmmaker Michael Wilson is putting the finishing touches on his film Michael Moore Hates America. Wilson makes the claim at his web site that, “Contrary to its title, Michael Moore Hates America isn’t a hatchet job on the filmmaker. It’s a journey across the nation where we meet celebrities, scholars and average folks alike, and we find out whether the American Dream is still alive! In the process, we’ll look at Michael Moore’s claims about the country, its people, and our way of life.” I guess you have to have an inflammatory title to sell tickets.
With each campaign launched to stop Michael Moore, the publicity results in increased ticket sales. What are conservatives so afraid of? Do they think George W. Bush is so vulnerable that one movie is enough to cause him to lose the presidential election? I suspect we’ll next see a movement to have Moore charged with the Sedition Act of 1798. Nevertheless, Fahrenheit 9/11 will continue to sell tickets, and even military audiences will eventually get to see the film. Michael Moore doesn’t hate America. His opposition does.
