He can criticize Wall Street and capitalism in his new film, but makes no mention that Paramount Pictures, a division of Viacom, and Overture Films, a Starz Company which is owned by Liberty Media Corporation, financed his film and its distribution. He apparently fails to realize that these big media companies have Washington in their pocket as much, if not more, than Wall Street. Do a search of the leading contributors to any major political race and you will see several media moguls atop the list.
I'll let an extremely liberal writer, Christopher Hitchens, describe Moore's work.
http://www.slate.com/id/2102723/
To describe this film as dishonest and demagogic would almost be to promote those terms to the level of respectability. To describe this film as a piece of crap would be to run the risk of a discourse that would never again rise above the excremental. To describe it as an exercise in facile crowd-pleasing would be too obvious. Fahrenheit 9/11 is a sinister exercise in moral frivolity, crudely disguised as an exercise in seriousness. It is also a spectacle of abject political cowardice masking itself as a demonstration of "dissenting" bravery.
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damn, I couldn't possibly do better
http://www.slate.com/id/2102723/
To describe this film as dishonest and demagogic would almost be to promote those terms to the level of respectability. To describe this film as a piece of crap would be to run the risk of a discourse that would never again rise above the excremental. To describe it as an exercise in facile crowd-pleasing would be too obvious. Fahrenheit 9/11 is a sinister exercise in moral frivolity, crudely disguised as an exercise in seriousness. It is also a spectacle of abject political cowardice masking itself as a demonstration of "dissenting" bravery.
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damn, I couldn't possibly do better
Bowling for Columbine
A look at Bowling for Columbine (my main analysis to date). In producing his Oscar-winner, Moore altered history, misled his viewers, and edited the footage and audio in such a way as to reverse the meaning. In one case, he took a speech of a person he desired to target; the problem was that the speech was in fact conciliatory and mild. So he spliced in footage from another speech, cut out paragraphs, and spliced the beginning of one sentence to the ending of another. In another, when he wanted to criticize a political advertisement, but it wasn't as pointed as he wanted, he spliced together two different political ads, then added titling which was in neither.
A look at Bowling for Columbine (my main analysis to date). In producing his Oscar-winner, Moore altered history, misled his viewers, and edited the footage and audio in such a way as to reverse the meaning. In one case, he took a speech of a person he desired to target; the problem was that the speech was in fact conciliatory and mild. So he spliced in footage from another speech, cut out paragraphs, and spliced the beginning of one sentence to the ending of another. In another, when he wanted to criticize a political advertisement, but it wasn't as pointed as he wanted, he spliced together two different political ads, then added titling which was in neither.
The New York Post reported on a tantrum he threw in London: "Then, on his second-to-last night, [Michael Moore] raged against everyone connected with the Roundhouse and complained that he was being paid a measly $750 a night. 'He completely lost the plot,' a member of the stage crew told the London Evening Standard. 'He stormed around all day screaming at everyone, even the 5 pound-an-hour bar staff, telling them how we were all con men and useless. Then he went on stage and did it in public.' At his last appearance, staffers refused to work or even open the theater's doors." NY Post, Jan. 8, 2003.
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a man of character and principles
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a man of character and principles
More lies from Moore
a very relevant topic by the way, socialized medicine from a wealthy Canadian
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http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2007/07/06/2007-07-06_more_lies_from_moore.html
BY SALLY PIPES
Friday, July 6th 2007, 4:00 AM
<!-- ARTICLE CONTENT START --> Be Our Guest
In "Sicko," Michael Moore uses a clip of my appearance earlier this year on "The O'Reilly Factor" to introduce a segment on the glories of Canadian health care.
Moore adores the Canadian system. I do not.
I am a new American, but I grew up and worked for many years in Canada. And I know the health care system of my native country much more intimately than does Moore. There's a good reason why my former countrymen with the money to do so either use the services of a booming industry of illegal private clinics, or come to America to take advantage of the health care that Moore denounces.
Government-run health care in Canada inevitably resolves into a dehumanizing system of triage, where the weak and the elderly are hastened to their fates by actuarial calculation. Having fought the Canadian health care bureaucracy on behalf of my ailing mother just two years ago - she was too old, and too sick, to merit the highest quality care in the government's eyes - I can honestly say that Moore's preferred health care system is something I wouldn't wish on him.
In 1999, my uncle was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. If he'd lived in America, the miracle drug Rituxan might have saved him. But Rituxan wasn't approved for use in Canada, and he lost his battle with cancer.
But don't take my word for it: Even the Toronto Star agrees that Moore's endorsement of Canadian health care is overwrought and factually challenged. And the Star is considered a left-wing newspaper, even by Canadian standards.
Just last month, the Star's Peter Howell reported from the Cannes Film Festival that Mr. Moore became irate when Canadian reporters challenged his portrayal of their national health care system. "You Canadians! You used to be so funny!" exclaimed an exasperated Moore, "You gave us all our best comedians. When did you turn so dark?"
Moore further claimed that the infamously long waiting lists in Canada are merely a reflection of the fact that Canadians have a longer life expectancy than Americans, and that the sterling system is swamped by too many Canadians who live too long.
Canada's media know better. In 2006, the average wait time from seeing a primary care doctor to getting treatment by a specialist was more than four months. Out of a population of 32 million, there are about 3.2 million Canadians trying to get a primary care doctor. Today, according to the OECD, Canada ranks 24th out of 28 major industrialized countries in doctors per thousand people.
Unfortunately, Moore is more concerned with promoting an anti-free-market agenda than getting his facts straight. "The problem," said Moore recently, "isn't just [the insurance companies], or the Hospital Corporation and the Frist family - it's the system! They can't make a profit unless they deny care! Unless they deny claims! Our laws state very clearly that they have a legal fiduciary responsibility to maximize profits for the shareholders ... the only way they can turn the big profit is to not pay out the money, to not provide the care!"
Profit, according to the filmmaker-activist, has no place in health care - period.
Moore ignores the fact that 85% of hospital beds in the U.S. are in nonprofit hospitals, and almost half of us with private plans get our insurance from nonprofit providers. Moreover, Kaiser Permanente, which Moore demonizes, is also a nonprofit.
What's really amazing is that even the intended beneficiaries of Moore's propagandizing don't support his claims. The Supreme Court of Canada declared in June 2005 that the government health care monopoly in Quebec is a violation of basic human rights.
Moore put me, fleetingly, into "Sicko" as an example of an American who doesn't understand the Canadian health care system. He couldn't be more wrong. I've personally endured the creeping disaster of Canadian health care. Most unlike him, I'm willing to tell the truth about it.
Pipes is the president and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute and author of "Miracle Cure: How to Solve America's Health Care Crisis and Why Canada Isn't the Answer."
a very relevant topic by the way, socialized medicine from a wealthy Canadian
-----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2007/07/06/2007-07-06_more_lies_from_moore.html
BY SALLY PIPES
Friday, July 6th 2007, 4:00 AM
<!-- ARTICLE CONTENT START --> Be Our Guest
In "Sicko," Michael Moore uses a clip of my appearance earlier this year on "The O'Reilly Factor" to introduce a segment on the glories of Canadian health care.
Moore adores the Canadian system. I do not.
I am a new American, but I grew up and worked for many years in Canada. And I know the health care system of my native country much more intimately than does Moore. There's a good reason why my former countrymen with the money to do so either use the services of a booming industry of illegal private clinics, or come to America to take advantage of the health care that Moore denounces.
Government-run health care in Canada inevitably resolves into a dehumanizing system of triage, where the weak and the elderly are hastened to their fates by actuarial calculation. Having fought the Canadian health care bureaucracy on behalf of my ailing mother just two years ago - she was too old, and too sick, to merit the highest quality care in the government's eyes - I can honestly say that Moore's preferred health care system is something I wouldn't wish on him.
In 1999, my uncle was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. If he'd lived in America, the miracle drug Rituxan might have saved him. But Rituxan wasn't approved for use in Canada, and he lost his battle with cancer.
But don't take my word for it: Even the Toronto Star agrees that Moore's endorsement of Canadian health care is overwrought and factually challenged. And the Star is considered a left-wing newspaper, even by Canadian standards.
Just last month, the Star's Peter Howell reported from the Cannes Film Festival that Mr. Moore became irate when Canadian reporters challenged his portrayal of their national health care system. "You Canadians! You used to be so funny!" exclaimed an exasperated Moore, "You gave us all our best comedians. When did you turn so dark?"
Moore further claimed that the infamously long waiting lists in Canada are merely a reflection of the fact that Canadians have a longer life expectancy than Americans, and that the sterling system is swamped by too many Canadians who live too long.
Canada's media know better. In 2006, the average wait time from seeing a primary care doctor to getting treatment by a specialist was more than four months. Out of a population of 32 million, there are about 3.2 million Canadians trying to get a primary care doctor. Today, according to the OECD, Canada ranks 24th out of 28 major industrialized countries in doctors per thousand people.
Unfortunately, Moore is more concerned with promoting an anti-free-market agenda than getting his facts straight. "The problem," said Moore recently, "isn't just [the insurance companies], or the Hospital Corporation and the Frist family - it's the system! They can't make a profit unless they deny care! Unless they deny claims! Our laws state very clearly that they have a legal fiduciary responsibility to maximize profits for the shareholders ... the only way they can turn the big profit is to not pay out the money, to not provide the care!"
Profit, according to the filmmaker-activist, has no place in health care - period.
Moore ignores the fact that 85% of hospital beds in the U.S. are in nonprofit hospitals, and almost half of us with private plans get our insurance from nonprofit providers. Moreover, Kaiser Permanente, which Moore demonizes, is also a nonprofit.
What's really amazing is that even the intended beneficiaries of Moore's propagandizing don't support his claims. The Supreme Court of Canada declared in June 2005 that the government health care monopoly in Quebec is a violation of basic human rights.
Moore put me, fleetingly, into "Sicko" as an example of an American who doesn't understand the Canadian health care system. He couldn't be more wrong. I've personally endured the creeping disaster of Canadian health care. Most unlike him, I'm willing to tell the truth about it.
Pipes is the president and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute and author of "Miracle Cure: How to Solve America's Health Care Crisis and Why Canada Isn't the Answer."
Michael Moore is one of the biggest idiots on the face of the earth.
CNN's Clark Howard comments:
Sep 17, 2009 -- Clark takes new Michael Moore flick to task
Michael Moore is a brilliant filmmaker in Clark's estimation. But the consumer champ has a serious bone to pick with Moore's latest project, Capitalism: A Love Story, in theaters Oct. 2.
The basic premise of Moore's film is that capitalism itself is inherently flawed. Now, Clark certainly agrees that we've had some rotten corruption in the financial sector recently. But the whole system itself being evil?! No way, according to Clark.
You can't equate some very bad instances of crony capitalism laced with corruption with the true spirit of this economic system. Yet things have gotten so bad that many Americans don't know where to direct their anger. Unfortunately, Moore's film is ready at hand with some very glib suggestions.
Clark believes that capitalism will renew itself if we get a cop on the beat making necessary regulations. That's a very different approach than condemning the whole system as inherently evil, as Moore suggests.
The penny-pincher would love the opportunity to defend capitalism in a debate with Moore if he's interested in coming on the show. To Clark's mind, no one has ever come up with a better system than capitalism to create more wealth for more people.
Need proof? Just look at communist China. It's a great example of a country that's transitioning from the repressive Mao days to a blossoming free market economy. India, Korea, Singapore and Thailand are similar examples.
CNN's Clark Howard comments:
Sep 17, 2009 -- Clark takes new Michael Moore flick to task
Michael Moore is a brilliant filmmaker in Clark's estimation. But the consumer champ has a serious bone to pick with Moore's latest project, Capitalism: A Love Story, in theaters Oct. 2.
The basic premise of Moore's film is that capitalism itself is inherently flawed. Now, Clark certainly agrees that we've had some rotten corruption in the financial sector recently. But the whole system itself being evil?! No way, according to Clark.
You can't equate some very bad instances of crony capitalism laced with corruption with the true spirit of this economic system. Yet things have gotten so bad that many Americans don't know where to direct their anger. Unfortunately, Moore's film is ready at hand with some very glib suggestions.
Clark believes that capitalism will renew itself if we get a cop on the beat making necessary regulations. That's a very different approach than condemning the whole system as inherently evil, as Moore suggests.
The penny-pincher would love the opportunity to defend capitalism in a debate with Moore if he's interested in coming on the show. To Clark's mind, no one has ever come up with a better system than capitalism to create more wealth for more people.
Need proof? Just look at communist China. It's a great example of a country that's transitioning from the repressive Mao days to a blossoming free market economy. India, Korea, Singapore and Thailand are similar examples.
