Michael Moore Post-Diaster Journal #1

[Danospano]

Michael Moore is a social commentator and filmmaker. His credits include the feature documentaries: "Roger and Me" and "The Big One", television shows: "TV Nation" and "The Awful Truth" which can currently be seen on the Bravo Network.

The following will be an on-running journal of his road trip across America (California to NYC) where he hopes to reunite with his daughter and friends. He makes some good points...

Across America Tonight ...

9/13/01

Dear Friends,

I am on the road tonight, the only way to get out of L.A. and back home to our daughter and our friends in New York City. Oddly enough, I have never driven across this vast country. My wife and I have now stopped in Flagstaff for a few hours sleep before moving on.

The sorrow and anger builds across America. Talk radio tonight was filled with calls for carpet-bombing every Arab country. Many want revenge, blood. But a surprising number of people have called for us to not add to the killing of more innocent humans. The rest stops and the convenience stores along the way were filled with quiet, solemn people, many of whom, like us, can get home no other way than by this four-day trip.

Our daughter is fine, mostly frightened by my desire to fly home to her rather than drive. Once again, I was outvoted 2 to 1. This is nothing new.

We have learned of more people we know who have lost their lives. Bill Weems, who worked as a line producer for us this year, was on the flight from Boston that crashed into the World Trade Center. He was such a sweet and decent soul. Such senseless madness.

The children of New York who are orphaned tonight ... what do we say or do? I will do my part -- anything, something -- as soon as I get to New York. But it will never be enough.

The firefighters of New York: they are on every other block, every day, and they are your best neighbors. Sitting out on the sidewalks in front of the fire stations, a good word and a kind smile to all who pass ... now, 350+ of them gone, having risked their lives to save the victims of a carnage they soon became part of.

A good friend from Flint is a clerical worker at the Pentagon. I have heard no word about her condition. I have tried contacting her family to no avail. Her son, Malcolm, worked on our show. I cannot find him. I keep getting tears in my eyes. Once she gave me a tour of the Pentagon, took me everywhere, and got such a kick out of taking me around this building I used to march on. Will our mutual friends who know Barbara, and know how she is, please write me? Please.

The man who occupies the White House cried today. Good. Keep crying, Mr. Bush. The more you cry, the less you will go to that dark side in all humans where anger rages to a point where we want to blindly kill. Your dad's and Reagan's old cronies -- Eagleberger, Baker, Schultz -- are all calling for you to bomb first and ask questions later. You must NOT do this. If only because you do not want to stoop to these mass murderers' level. Yes, find out who did it. Yes, see that they NEVER do it again.

But GET A GRIP, man. "Declare war?" War against whom? One guy in the desert whom we can never seem to find? Are our leaders telling us that the most powerful country on earth cannot dispose of one sick evil f---wad of a guy? Because if that is what you are telling us, then we are truly screwed. If you are unable to take out this lone ZZ Top wannabe, what on earth would you do for us if we were attacked by a nation of millions? For chrissakes, call the Israelis and have them do that thing they do when they want to get their man! We pay them enough billions each year, I am SURE they would be happy to accommodate your request.

But I beg you, Mr. Bush, stay with the tears. Go today to comfort the wounded of New York. Tell the mayor, a guy most of us have not liked, that he is doing an incredible job, keeping the spirits of everyone up as high as they can be at this moment. Being there for a city I believe he loves, his own cancer still with him, he goes beyond the call of duty.

But do not declare war and massacre more innocents. After bin Laden's previous act of terror, our last elected president went and bombed what he said was "bin Laden's camp" in Afghanistan -- but instead just killed civilians. Then he bombed a factory in the Sudan, saying it was "making chemical weapons." It turned out to be making aspirin. Innocent people murdered by our Air Force.

Back in May, you gave the Taliban in Afghanistan $48 million dollars of our tax money. No free nation on earth would give them a cent, but you gave them a gift of $48 million because they said they had "banned all drugs."

Because your drug war was more important than the actual war the Taliban had inflicted on its own people, you helped to fund the regime who had given refuge to the very man you now say is responsible for killing my friend on that plane and for killing the friends of families of thousands and thousands of people. How dare you talk about more killing now! Shame! Shame! Shame! Explain your actions in support of the Taliban! Tell us why your father and his partner Mr. Reagan trained Mr. bin Laden in how to be a terrorist!

Am I angry? You bet I am. I am an American citizen, and my leaders have taken my money to fund mass murder. And now my friends have paid the price with their lives.

Keep crying, Mr. Bush. Keep running to Omaha or wherever it is you go while others die, just as you ran during Vietnam while claiming to be "on duty" in the Air National Guard. Nine boys from my high school died in that miserable war. And now you are asking for "unity" so you can start another one? Do not insult me or my country like this!

Yes, I, too, will be in church at noon today, on this national day of mourning. I will pray for you, and us, and the children of New York, and the children of this sad and ugly world ...

Yours,

Michael Moore
mmflint@aol.com

 

[Red Ships of Scalla-Festa]

excellent article. where are the replies? people should be bravo-ing this piece.

------------------
-deathbear

[This message has been edited by Red Ships of Scalla-Festa (edited 09-16-2001).]

 

[Achtung Bubba]

"Bravo" this?

This pathetic chump is simultaneously asking for Bush to be sympathetic towards those who died; impugning Bush for being showing sympathy; and ridiculing him for "running to Omaha", when it is clear that the White House and Air Force One were both targeted, and when Bush showed his mettle by returning to D.C. as soon as he could.

This miserable excuse of a man is simultaneously asking Bush to "see that they [the terrorists] NEVER do it again" and scoffing at the notion that war should be declared to do that.

This pathetic soul is is mourning the loss of life in New York City, rejecting the only idea offered to stopping this terrorist assault on the U.S., and offering NOTHING in terms of a viable alternative solution.

Never mind the fact that Michael Moore hates the capitalist system that put bread on his table (and then some). Never mind the fact that he does not see any difference between the United States and the terrorist thugs that attacked us.

This paper alone is riddled in contradictions, too overflowing with emotions to contain any real sense, and woefully lacking in any sort of constructive criticism.

I will not "bravo" that tripe.

------------------
- Achtung Bubba

September, streets capsizing,
Spilling over, down the drain

"You know, by God, I actually pity those poor bastards we're goin' up against. By God, I do. We're not just gonna shoot the bastards, we're going to cut out their living guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks. We're going to murder those lousy...bastards by the bushel."
from the film Patton

 

[Red Ships of Scalla-Festa]

very well, and i will not bravo your "war-is-necessary" and "revenge-is-the-only-thing-that-matters-now" mindset. not that you were asking anyway...

he is not that naive. i agree capitolism put bread on his table, but still theres nothing wrong with admitting his conscience.

you people who want war put too much faith in it. war will not solve anything. it will, however, kill innocent people, something that shouldnt happen. we KNOW how it feels to lose innocent lives, so lets not put that on anyone else.


------------------
-deathbear

[This message has been edited by Red Ships of Scalla-Festa (edited 09-16-2001).]

 

[MSU2mike]

Bravo you, Bubba.

Maybe the most pathetic thing I've heard all week is this idea that somehow Bush wasn't doing his job and should have gone to Washington immediately. What horseshit. Whether than had evidence or not of the White House being a target, it had to be assumed. For crissakes, a plane just went down at the Pentagon so clearly Washington was targeted. It's more than reasonable to assume the White House was as well.

Air Force One is a flying White House, and he could do everything from Omaha that he could have done from the White House. Really unbeleivable that anyone would chastise him for that.

The only people who could honestly be upset about that are those who are so weak in the head that somehow Bush being in the White House is a morale booster and those who are so bitter towards GW that they pick at absolutely everything the man does, regardless of the real reasons behind it.

 

[MSU2mike]

As an addendum to the above, I personally did not see anyone on these boards bitch about Bush going to Louisiana then Omaha before Washington. In the spirit of this thread, bravo that.

 

[Achtung Bubba]

Originally posted by Red Ships of Scalla-Festa:
very well, and i will not bravo your "war-is-necessary" and "revenge-is-the-only-thing-that-matters-now" mindset. not that you were asking anyway...

he is not that naive. i agree capitolism put bread on his table, but still theres nothing wrong with admitting his conscience.

you people who want war put too much faith in it. war will not solve anything. it will, however, kill innocent people, something that shouldnt happen. we KNOW how it feels to lose innocent lives, so lets not put that on anyone else.

No, I wasn't asking what you think of my opinion; frankly, I couldn't care less.

But do you know what else will kill innocent lives? Not declaring war.

Doing nothing militarily will surely bring more terrorism to the United States, in greater frequency and at a greater intensity. It will cause more Americans to die, it will cause us to lose our existence of freedom from terror, and it will mean that those who died this week did so in vain.

But that doesn't matter, does it? All that matters is that we don't declare war, that we don't cause the accidental deaths of people in other countries, right? The lives and freedoms that will be lost through NOT declaring war are irrelevant, aren't they?

Or do you, Mr. Moore, Danospano and the rest of you actually have a viable alternative?

Because IF you do, I haven't heard it.

------------------
- Achtung Bubba

September, streets capsizing,
Spilling over, down the drain

"You know, by God, I actually pity those poor bastards we're goin' up against. By God, I do. We're not just gonna shoot the bastards, we're going to cut out their living guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks. We're going to murder those lousy...bastards by the bushel."
from the film Patton

 

[Red Ships of Scalla-Festa]

ive said teh ulternative several times. except i get scoffed at it. people beleive its too naive of me to beleive what i do.

well i beleive that unless communication is made, and we discuss whatever needs to be discussed with the terrorists and all the of the us's enemies, this cycle of terror will not cease. war is pathetic. we kill and get killed. and the lives are forgotten.

well bubba, its my opinion, and im sticking to it for the reason that i believe human life is precious.

------------------
-deathbear

 

[Red Ships of Scalla-Festa]

i type believe wrong every time, its terrible. i strive to be fast, not too worried about the accuracy of my typing, just as long as everyone gets my drift.

------------------
-deathbear

 

[Achtung Bubba]

Naive is an understatement.

First, you do not negotiate with terrorists. To do so is an admission that their methods are effective and that we are simply too weak to resist those methods.

Beyond that, what would the communication be about? Would Bush and our enemies sit around the barbecue at Camp David, everyone pouring their hearts out, giving each other group hugs, and going home peacefully?

Hardly. Any communications would be negotiations -- us listening to their demands and choosing whether to meet them.

What would those demands be? Off-hand, I'd imagine we would have to disown Israel as an ally, pay the terrorists and their supporters handsomely for the losses they attribute to the U.S., apologize for almost every foreign policy the U.S. has had since WWII, pull all our troops to back within our borders, pull all our businesses to back within our borders, promise to never again allow our forces and our corporations to leave our airspace, and accept a lopsided trade agreement with the thugs' home countries or against their enemies.

(I'd expect that the terrorists would be this extreme; compared to their wishes to see us all dead, they would actually be holding back.)

Upon listening to those demands, we either capitulate (which I am certain would result in the severe loss of our sovereignty and freedom) or we refuse those demands, which leads us back to the situation we're in now.

So, with "communication", in the BEST CASE we're spinning our wheels, allowing more American civilians to die, and demonstrating that those who died this past week, did so in vain.

In the worst case, we would be emasculated and forced to relinquish our role as economic and military leader of the free world.

Great solution.

(And don't worry, I misspell words too.

)

 

[Bastardy]

micheal moore isn't rich, bubba. as far as anyone can tell he's a man of integrity, if controversy and protest as well. I think bush has embarassed himself with the way he has spoken publicly during the past week. each speech makes him appear more inept than the previous one. cheney is clearly running the operation with the rest of the cabinet- notice how he wasn't even seen by the media until saturday? obviously some action is necessary, but I think it has to be as meticulously planned as is possible within a reasonable time frame.

 

[80sU2isBest]

Originally posted by MSU2mike:
Bravo you, Bubba.
.

I second that Bravo and hereby Bravo you, MSU2mike. Michael Moore is indeed an arrogant chump.