June 21, 2004

Michael Moore: “Flat-Out Phony”

Christopher Hitchens discusses Michael Moore’s film in Slate:

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.

In late 2002, almost a year after the al-Qaida assault on American society, I had an onstage debate with Michael Moore at the Telluride Film Festival. In the course of this exchange, he stated his view that Osama Bin Laden should be considered innocent until proven guilty. This was, he said, the American way. The intervention in Afghanistan, he maintained, had been at least to that extent unjustified. SomethingI cannot guess what, since we knew as much then as we do nowhas since apparently persuaded Moore that Osama Bin Laden is as guilty as hell. Indeed, Osama is suddenly so guilty and so all-powerful that any other discussion of any other topic is a dangerous “distraction” from the fight against him. I believe that I understand the convenience of this late conversion.

...Moore has announced that he won’t even appear on TV shows where he might face hostile questioning. I notice from the New York Times of June 20 that he has pompously established a rapid response team, and a fact-checking staff, and some tough lawyers, to bulwark himself against attack. He’ll sue, Moore says, if anyone insults him or his pet. Some right-wing hack groups, I gather, are planning to bring pressure on their local movie theaters to drop the film. How dumb or thuggish do you have to be in order to counter one form of stupidity and cowardice with another? By all means go and see this terrible film, and take your friends, and if the fools in the audience strike up one cry, in favor of surrender or defeat, feel free to join in the conversation.

However, I think we can agree that the film is so flat-out phony that “fact-checking” is beside the point. And as for the scary lawyersget a life, or maybe see me in court. But I offer this, to Moore and to his rapid response rabble. Any time, Michael my boy. Let’s redo Telluride. Any show. Any place. Any platform. Let’s see what you’re made of.

...If Michael Moore had had his way, Slobodan Milosevic would still be the big man in a starved and tyrannical Serbia. Bosnia and Kosovo would have been cleansed and annexed. If Michael Moore had been listened to, Afghanistan would still be under Taliban rule, and Kuwait would have remained part of Iraq. And Iraq itself would still be the personal property of a psychopathic crime family, bargaining covertly with the slave state of North Korea for WMD.

Another person Moore is trying to avoid is Michael Wilson, who is doing to Michael Moore what Moore did to Roger Smith in Moore’s film “Roger and Me.”

Radio Network Air America: Out of Touch with Reality

Radio network Air America is the only network in America where a host would be fired for expressing political views that differ from those of management.

Their condescending hosts—Al Franken etc.—feel that they are so much smarter than those they criticize. Yet the Air America executives are so out of touch with reality that they didn’t even know what was going on with the finances at their own radio network:

On March 30, the night before Air America went on the air, the liberal radio network threw itself a $70,000 party at Manhattan’s hip Maritime Hotel. More than 1,000 guests, including Yoko Ono and Tim Robbins, drank red, white and blue vodka cocktails as they toasted the network’s bid to challenge the dominance of conservative talk radio.

But behind the scenes, Air America was running out of money.

The WALL STREET JOURNAL reports on Monday: Several employees say they still haven’t been reimbursed for the costs of attending the New York launch.

Many of Air America’s investors and executives say they thought the network had raised more than $30 million, based on assurances from its owners, Guam-based entrepreneurs Evan M. Cohen and Rex Sorensen.

In fact, Air America had raised only $6 million, Mr. Cohen concedes.

Tell us more about how to run the country, Al.

Update: 6-21-04. This is too hilarious. Professor Bainbridge observes that that the owners of Air America—far from being the upstanding people who are worthy to tell us how to run the country—are in fact possibly even dishonest:

Indeed, if the facts turn out to be as the article reports, there is a very high probability that investors will be able to sue Cohen and Sorensen for securities fraud.

Who could make this up? Air America puts Mr. condescending smarty-pants, Al Franken, on the air to tell us how dumb George Bush is, and how they know so much better than others how to run the country. And the whole time there appears to be a possibility that they’ve been defrauding everybody. Is this not the left in a nutshell?

(via Instapundit. )