The other posts on Michael Moore-on led me to do this. This is not a partisan issue but it is more about exposing the lies and false implications behind. Whether you are Republican or Democrat people need to be aware that Michael Moore is damaging the American political system, and creating a bevy of hate that should not be allowed.
I will try and follow the movie scene by scene to the best of my recollection and I won't point out the false hoods that Moore uses. At the end of this post I will offer sources as well.
Mind you I really think I have no-life for knowing all this and taking the time to write it out. So no need for anyone to point it out to me.
I know its long so I broke it up into sections highligthed in bold so it can be read bit by bit.
Gore Won Election, FOX News, Florida Recount
- Michael Moore shows Al Gore at a rally in Florida with numerous people holding up 'Victory in Florida' signs. Moore implies that Gore had won the election at this point, he had not. The footage was from a rally and nothing more. That footage was filmed before the actual election, the people were only 'rooting' for a victory in Florida, not claiming victory.
- Michael Moore then implies that FOX News some how managed to change the election. This is where he makes a mass slew of errors and falsehoods to trick the viewer. Every major station, FOX News included, called Florida for Gore before the polls closed. This is significant because Moore fails to point out that FOX News did declare Gore the winner in Florida.
Calling Florida before the polls were closed is significant because the panhandle of Florida is in the Central Time Zone, one hour behind the rest of Florida. It is estimated that nearly 18000 votes were not made in the panhandle because of the early call of the state (approx. 12000 of those votes would have been Republican according to demographics of the area). Stations had all agreed not to call states before the polls closed, why they did otherwise with Florida is beyond anyone's comprehension.
FOX News was the first station to call Florida for Bush but they were also the LAST station to retract Florida for Gore. FOX called Florida for Bush at 2:15am and the other stations soon followed after examining the numbers.
- Where do the networks get the info to call the elections? Well in 2000 they got their info from an independent network known as Voter News Service (VNS). VNS conducts exit polls outside of polling site at numerous locations. Upon data they collect they can determine who the likely winner of a state will be. VNS reports their information to every single news network so they all have the same information and they receive it at the same time. Upon receiving the information each network has an expert team of analysts that look over the info received. Once the analysts at the network determine that there is enough stats to call a state they proceed to do so. Do to VNS failure in Florida in 2000, they are now out of business. VNS corrected their mistake in Florida at approximately 2:00 am. Letting the stations know that Florida actually went to Bush.
- Michael Moore then makes an issue of John Ellis, a FOX News anchor on election night, and claims that since Ellis is Bush's cousin he influenced the election. This is far from the truth. First one should know John Ellis' background. Ellis had worked for numerous networks in the past including NBC. Ellis also called the elections in '92 and '96. In '92 he called the election against his Uncle George HW Bush and in '96 he called the election against Republican challenger Bob Dole.
- Michael Moore claimed that Republican Secretary of State, Katherine Harris, was the 'vote counting woman.' This is another lie. The Secratary of State only certifies the final tally they do not count a single vote as that is done seperately by registered workers in each county. Moore implies that because Bush's brother is Gov. that he also influenced the Florida count. This is another lie as JEB Bush personally removed himself from any Gubernatorial duties days before the election just to ensure he would not be accused of such a wild accusation.
- The recount. Al Gore originally asked for a recount in only 3 counties of Florida, counties that he had already won and are primarily Democratic. Gore also asked that Military absentee ballots NOT be included in the recount. This is significant because most scientific polls revealed that approx. 70% of the Military votes Republican.
- Moore then goes on to claim that independent studies showed that Gore won the recount. This is a lie as at least 6 major investigations were conducted and all found that Bush did win the recount legitimately. Two of these investigations were also conducted by highly liberal papers,
The New York Times, and the
The Miami Herald.
- Moore then goes on to show headlines from two newspapers. One headline came from a small Illinois newspaper called
The Pantagraph. The headline read 'Gore Won Recount' and Moore claimed it was on the front-page. The problem is it wasn't on the front page and it came from an opinionated letter that a reader wrote in, not a fact based news article. Moore changed the layout and the date of the paper and photoshopped the reader's letter to a replica of the paper's front page.
The Pantagraph asked Moore to issue an apology and he refused claiming that it was a 'typo' he made...that's one hell of a typo. This illustrates Moore's willingness to deceive the viewer.
The School 'Incident'
- Moore starts off by claiming Bush spent seven minutes in the classroom. All documented footages shows it was five. Not a significant fact but again illustrates how Moore lies. Moore offers no rationale as to what Bush should have done. The Principal of the school, who voted for Gore in 2000, has openly stated that she believes the President handled the situation extremely well as he did not freak out and incite panic amongst the children. She said his composure was great and 'extremely presidential.'
The Patriot Act
- Moore paints the Patriot Act as an awful bill that should be taken out of legislation, when it fact The Patriot Act saved the United States from another major terrorist attack.
Prior to The Patriot Act United States Intelligence Agencies, for some dumb-ass reason, were prohibited from sharing intelligence between agencies, The Patriot Act destroyed that barrier.
The Patriot Act also allowed Government Agencies to arrest suspected terrorists before another 9/11 took place. Shortly after The Patriot Act was enacted multiple intelligence agencies were picking up chatter (chatter is what the agencies refer to when they find information, scan radio waves, and hear what could be terrorist plots). Amongst this chatter was multiple references to the Brooklyn Bridge. Intelligence agencies, thanks to the Patriot Act, were able to share the information they had gathered independently. Soon they had made an arrest of an individual. In this individual's apartment they found numerous blue-prints of the Brooklyn Bridge and some devices that were commonly used in explosives. The Patriot Act allowed us to thwart off another terrorist act that would have taken hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.
Carlyle Group, Bin Ladens, Saudis
- Unknown to the viewer of F 9/11 Carlyle Group is composed of Democratic investors as well. Michael Moore leaves the viewer with the impression that Carlyle Group is only Republican. One primary investor is George Soros an influential democrat that donates money to Kerry. Soros has over 100 million invested in the Carlyle Group. Soros is also the main man behind moveon.org a democratic grass-roots organization. By Michael Moore's logic you could come to the conclusion that Kerry is also connected to bin Laden through George Soros, an adament Kerry supporter. Through Moore's logic one could also conclude that Moore is connected to the bin Ladens because Loew's Theatre Group is an investor in Carlyle Group and Moore's films have been played in Loew's theatres. The bin Laden's that are invested in the Carlyle Group have never been found to have any connections with terrorism besides their relation to Osama, who they disvowed from their family years ago. If you have a relative that is a criminal would that make you one too? No.
- Moore implies that Bush Sr was connected to a weapons company owned by the Carlyle Group that sold numerous weapons to nation across the world. Carlyle Group did own that weapons company but they sold it five months before Bush Sr became a member of the board. Therefore eliminating any connection Moore claimed Bush Sr had with the weapons manufacturer.
- Moore claims that Bush allowed the Saudis and bin Ladens to leave the nation before airspace was open and without being interviewed by the FBI. This is a blatant lie on both accounts and the 9/11 Commission Report proved so. And it was Richard Clarke, who was appointed by Clinton, who allowed them to leave nation. After being interviewed by the FBI it was determined that neither the bin Ladens or Saudis that were in the nation had no connection to 9/11 whatsoever.
- Moore also implies that Bush is great friends with the Saudis. This is not true. Bush is connected to the Saudis, just like every other past President, because the Saudis are important to keep good diplomatic relations with due to their massive abundance of oil. All Presidents have met numerous times with the Saudis and Clinton STILL does. Jimmy Carter received money from the bin Ladens while he was in office, the same bin Ladens that are involved with the Carlyle Group.
- Moore also claims that the Saudis hold nearly 7-8% of our economy in investments. Another lie. Saudi money in the US doesn't even make up a total of 7% in foreign investments. To imply that they are 7% of our total economy is asinine.
Bush's Vacation Time
- Moore tells the viewer that Bush was on vacation 42% his first year in office. This is another blatant lie. Bush was not on vacation 42% of the time, he was away from the White House 42% of the first year, which is relatively consistent with all other presidencies. Much of this time was spent at Camp David, which is fully equipped to run the same operations as the White House. His time in Crawford was spent meeting with Russian President Vladmir Putin and Mexican President Vicente Fox. He also signed numerous bills into effect, traveled around the nation, and spent time working on and revising The Patriot Act.
Halliburton
- Yes Bush did give Halliburton a no-bid contract, but why? Well Halliburton, with over 70,000 employees is the only company capable of handling such a task.
One should also be aware of Halliburton's history. Halliburton has received four contracts from the Government in its history. 2 of those contracts were bid contracts, the other two were no-bid contracts. We know Bush gave them a no-bid contract, but when did the other no-bid contract occur? The first no-bid contract Halliburton ever received was given to them by Bill Clinton. Yes that's right it was Clinton. Clinton gave Halliburton a no-bid contract in Bosnia, because once again Halliburton was the only company capable of handling such a task. Currently Halliburton is LOSING money in Iraq.
The Pipeline in Afghanistan, Taliban in Texas
- This is easy to debunk. Moore claims that Bush, along with Unocal is building a pipeline in Afghanistan. Another blatant lie because there is no pipeline being built in Afghanistan. NONE. The footage used in F 9/11 was stock footage, NOT footage from Afghanistan.
- When the Taliban visited Texas George Bush was Governor but he had NOTHING to do with it. Anytime a foreign leader visits our nation that leader must be given approval from the President to travel to certain locations. Clinton was President at the time and Clinton was the one who cleared the Taliban to conduct business in Texas. The Governor of any state has no international diplomatic power.
Soldiers in Film, Oregon State Troopers
- One standout soldier in the film was a man who lost both of his limbs. He is featured in Moore's film while he takes about phantom limb pain. The problem is this soldier did not want to be featured in the film. Moore had purchased the footage from an NBC, Brian Williams report. The soldier has openly stated that he does not agree with Moore at all and feels as though he was wrongfully portrayed. The soldier has openly supported the President and the war in Iraq and stated he would fight in Iraq again if he had the opportunity. Moore also claims that the troops are not being given proper care, the limbless soldier stated that he has been cared for in an excellent manner.
- Moore also featured footage of a soldier's funeral. The soldier's family has no idea how Moore obtained this footage. The family has openly spoken out against Moore and stated that the perished soldier was an avid Bush supporter and loved serving his country in Iraq
- The Oregon State Trooper footage was also bought by Moore, he did not film it. Moore implies that the Oregon State Police are in charge of protecting the coast and that the President decides their funding. These are both lies. The Coast Guard protects the coast of Oregon while the State Troopers work the highways just like every other state. Bush has no control over Oregon's State Trooper funding, it is up to the state of Oregon to decide the funding. The State Trooper featured in F 9/11 has also openly spoken out against Moore and his tactics
Moore's Editing Tricks
- One scene that many people may remember is Bush saying to a crowd that they are made up of the the 'haves and the have mores' Bush went on to call them his 'base.' Why would he say such things? Well Moore failed to disclose all of the information. Sitting just two-seats away from Bush was then Vice-President Al Gore. The footage was shot during the 2000 campaign at a fund-raiser for cancer that the Presidential candidates were both invited too. During their speeches they were both asked to poke fun and 'roast' themselves, which is exactly what both candidates did.
- Moore also features a comment Bush made about his dad. Many people thought that Bush was referring to getting by in business, but he wasn't. Bush was helping his father campaign then and the comment was made in reference to getting to know people in Washington/politics, not business and life like Moore implies
Other Things a Viewer Should Know About Moore
- Many people who Moore has featured in his films have spoken out against Moore because of Moore's deceitful tactics. Two famous people that have openly spoken against Moore are Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who feel Moore misrepresented them in BFC. That is why they mock Moore in their new film.
- When Moore made Bowling For Columbine he held a screening in Littleton for the family members of victims. Moore, however, CHARGED the family members to see this film. This is a film Moore made millions of dollars on. One should note that Moore has had numerous FREE screenings of F 9/11 for his multi-millionaire Hollywood ass-hat friends.
- In BFC Moore portrays Charlton Heston as a racist. Heston is not. Heston marched with Martin Luther King back in the civil rights era.
Debunking Moore's Fact Check List
- Moore does present some 'facts' in the film but the key is how they are presented and the timeline that is given. Something that Moore does not do well so he can trick the viewer. Below is an example of Moore's poor 'fact-checking.'
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Gore got the most votes in 2000.
[A] consortium [Tribune Co., owner of the Times; Associated Press; CNN; the New York Times; the Palm Beach Post; the St. Petersburg Times; the Wall Street Journal; and the Washington Post] hired the NORC [National Opinion Research Center, a nonpartisan research organization affiliated with the University of Chicago] to view each untallied ballot and gather information about how it was marked. The media organizations then used computers to sort and tabulate votes, based on varying scenarios that had been raised during the post-election scramble in Florida. Under any standard that tabulated all disputed votes statewide, Mr. Gore erased Mr. Bush's advantage and emerged with a tiny lead that ranged from 42 to 171 votes. Donald Lambro,
“Recount Provides No Firm Answers,� Washington Times, November 12, 2001.
“The review found that the result would have been different if every canvassing board in every county had examined every undervote, a situation that no election or court authority had ordered. Gore had called for such a statewide manual recount if Bush would agree, but Bush rejected the idea and there was no mechanism in place to conduct one.� Martin Merzer,
“Review of Ballots Finds Bush's Win Would Have Endured Manual Recount,� Miami Herald, April 4, 2001.
See also, the following article by one of the Washington Post journalists who ran the consortium recount. The relevant point is made in Table I of the article.
http://www.aei.org/docLib/20040526_KeatingPaper.pdf
In bold are the titles of Moore's references. The titles alone debunk Moore's claims. The first title states that there is no firm answer. The second title says Bush would have ENDURED the recount, meaning he won. The third source Moore sites is purely idiotic because the table he references states that Bush won the final recount. Moore is truly a Moore-ON.
Conclusion
Whether you vote for Kerry or Bush, that is not the issue. The issue is that Michael Moore continously deceives the public and fabricates situations as he knows the majority of the general public will not take the time to research the points presented in the movie. Moore has created a film that is truly damaging to the American political system
References/Sources
The Best Source To Debunk Moore
Moorewatch
http://www.larryelder.com/911/debunking911.html
Michael Moore
Moore Lies
Moore Exposed
Bowling For Truth
Michael Moore Hates America
Book:
Michael Moore is a Big Fat Stupid White Man
Film:
Fahrenhype 9/11
Film:
Celsius 41.11
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Getting it Right In America
Right In America
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Protest Warrior
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MooreWatch
Bush/Cheney '04 