Hi Charles,

Given those comments I can see there isn't any sense extending the discussion very far. I do agree he is a grandstander, although usually in good causes IMO. It may not be personal grandiosity, either. He is trying to get attention for his causes and isn't afraid to be a lightning rod in order to get it. Ever hear this old ditty? -- "He who has a thing to sell / And goes and whispers in a well / Is not as apt to get the dollars / As he who climbs a tree and hollers." Michael Moore climbs trees and hollers. A friend who went down to NOLA last September said she met him at his relief camp outside the city and that he is not a blowhard in person. She said his heart is in the right place.

You probably wouldn't have guessed he was involved in the Katrina relief efforts, would you? He didn't just fly over in a helicopter, either. He was down there for weeks and oversaw an operation that brought in and distributed tons and tons of supplies. He worked closely with veterans' groups, which you might not have guessed, either. He just didn't get as much publicity as he does when he criticizes the President, handguns, or General Motors.

You can't say he doesn't have a sense of humor, either. That was a classic scene in "Bowling For Columbine" when he goes into a bank in Michigan that was giving you a free rifle if you opened an account. A bank officer gives him his gun and he says, "Are you sure it's a good idea to be handing out guns in a bank?" Or the scene in "The Big One" where he goes into the lobby of a Wisconsin company that was closing its U.S. plant to open one in Mexico. He presented them with a check, one of those ones about four feet wide that are used in publicity photos, made out for 80 cents to pay for the first hour of labor in Mexico.

It's fine that we disagree. I still like most of what he does. Lord knows we need some gadflies these days.



>Michael Moore - you mean Chomsky for Children <s>
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>I think the to be the AntiChrist you'd have to be a serious person and not a self promoting posturing blowhard. I have seen his movies. I was so glad I did not agree with most of his basic premises because I would be very very embarrassed if I thought he represented my views. I don't like my intelligence insulted and Moore's style ( and most of his content ) insults the very idea of intelligence.
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>I'm more concerned by the degradation of any kind of rational discouse and mau-mauing of serious issues than I am about the positions of either side. I am disgusted with people like Moore for the same reason I abhor Pat Robertson. These guys are light-weights with intellectual content that is on a level with the "defense of marriage" act or the next 100 words out of the mouth of Cynthia McKinney.
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> >>I was out back mowing the lawn and stopped to chat with the lady on the other side of the fence. Somehow Michael Moore's name came up and we realized neither of us considers him the antichrist. (As do so many who have never even seen any of his movies). She laughed and said we better not let the neighbors find out.