October 28, 2002
Watching Donahue, So You Don't Have To
I'm doing this on a full stomach, so I'm taking a chance here. This is going to be a stream-of-consciousness thing, so if the post appears disjointed, that's why. Michael Moore is now comparing the executives of K-Mart with Nazis. He's also drawn a connection between Lockheed and Columbine. Michael Moore just claimed that all the countries with less murders than the US is because they don't have the death penalty. Of course, the fact that Japan has a death penalty he completely forgot, and the fact that Britain had far less crime when they had the death penalty, and the crime rates of all the countries(with the possible exception of Japan) is increasing.
Now Donahue has put up this lovely clip of Moore drawing a connection between Kosovo and Columbine. Of course, it is obvious that stopping a tyrant in the Balkans would cause two crackpots to shoot up a high school.
Mikey is saying that increasing the minimum wage will reduce the murder rate. That makes perfect sense, if you are tripping on bad acid.
Now Michael is going to miracle himself full employment with a $10.00 an hour minimum wage. Of course, that also makes perfect sense, if the only economics course you've taken is home economics.
OK, my stomachs rumbling a bit, and I'm feeling woozy. I can make the last 15 minutes, I can make the last 15 minutes.
It's nice how Donahue has stacked the audience with a whole gang who all think Michael Moore is such a great guy. I'd like to see Donahue pack the audience with folks like Misha, Rachel, Cato, Glenn, and myself. Maybe have someone bring up the fact that he makes up such gems as the NRA/KKK link.
Now Mikey is saying that Bush is declaring war on Iraq to distract from the economy.
Mike's saying that Canada is the paragon of virtue. We should sign kyoto, the land mine treaty, etc, etc. OK, this mikey more love fest is making me ill, and I just can't watch any more.
Posted by John Bono at October 28, 2002 05:59 PM | TrackBackMaybe John should have watched the movie before he made his comments on October 28th. The Donahue special, like the Oprah special, didn't really do the film justice. In fact, it would probably have been better watching the documentary if I hadn't seen the clips.
Anyway, many of the connections made during the talk shown are not really what Michael Moore was going for. My impression from the movie was that the most prominant answer for America's gun violence stems from racism, not the death penalty. And the connection between Kosovo and Columbine is real: it is ironic and completely coincidental that the largest U.S. attack in Kosovo happened on Hitler's Birthday - the day of the Columbine massacre.
As for the connection between President Bush, the economy, and Iraq, there are many precedents that back up what Michael Moore has suggested. Greenspan himself said that going to war with Iraq would not hurt our economy. And even though we would have to replace everything we utilized (bombs, ammunition, food rations), leading to more jobs -- the economy would not get stronger. However, the average voter would have something else to read about on the cover of their local newspaper. Headlines would read "Special Forces reach Sudam's Palace" instead of "Tech Stock's Reach All Time Low". And instead of giving small companies a reason to continue their experimentation with alternative energy, big oil companies will be deepening their vested interest in the Middle East.
Sure, the movie has a few flaws, but so does life in general. It's a documentary.
Posted by: Andrew Keefe on December 4, 2002 05:48 PM
