Michael Moore

File:Michael-Moore.jpg

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Michael Moore (born April 23, 1954) is a left wing, admitted Socialist filmmaker and Conspiracy Theorist whose views on politics and America are best summed up by his own quotes:

"Clinton was a pretty good president for a Republican."

"I like America to some extent."

Manufacturing consent

He is a hero in liberal Hollywood and to booksellers who tend to agree with his politics. Moore's films and commentaries are often based upon themes about alleged "capitalist" greed. Though a multi-millionaire, Moore frequently appears on television and in photos dressed like blue-collar workers with whom he attempts to identify.

Moore produced a movie portraying President George W. Bush as part of a massive conspiracy, named Fahrenheit 9/11. Millions watched the movie, but many questioned many of its claims and Bush handily won reelection without ever dignifying the smear with a comment.

Moore was the producer and host of the television series "The Awful Truth," which was typified by a type of sketch-comedy activism that was often directed against large corporations and government agencies. Later he produced "Bowling for Columbine."

Some of his other work includes the anti-corporation film Roger and Me and the books Dude, Where's my Country, Downsize This! Random Threats from an Unarmed American and Stupid White Men.

Moore also directed the anti-war music video for "Boom!" by System of a Down, which was released to coincide with the beginning of the Iraq war.

His production company which produces feature documentary-style films is Michael Moore Films.

Michael Moore was the subject of the 2004 documentaries Michael Moore Hates America, Fahrenhype 9/11 and the 2007 documentary Manufacturing Dissent. He was also the subject of books including Michael Moore Is a Big Fat Stupid White Man by David T. Hardy and Jason Clarke and Forgive Us Our Spins: Michael Moore and the Future of the Left by Jesse Larner.

Michael Moore, ranting

Sicko

As an ardent socialist, he is a staunch supporter of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and promotes the Castro regime's polices in his film, Sicko, was released in late June 2007. In this "documentary" Moore argues for a nationalized health care system.

Kurt Loder of MTV news said of it:

"Michael Moore may see himself as working in the tradition of such crusading muckrakers of the last century as Lincoln Steffens, Ida Tarbell and Upton Sinclair — writers whose dedication to exposing corruption and social injustices played a part in sparking much-needed reforms. In his new movie, "Sicko," Moore focuses on the U.S. health-care industry — a juicy target — and he casts a shocking light on some of the people it's failed.

Unfortunately, Moore is also a con man of a very brazen sort, and never more so than in this film. His cherry-picked facts, manipulative interviews (with lingering close-ups of distraught people breaking down in tears) and blithe assertions (how does he know 18,000* people will die this year because they have no health insurance?) are so stacked that you can feel his whole argument sliding sideways as the picture unspools. The American health-care system is in urgent need of reform, no question. Some 47 million people are uninsured (although many are only temporarily so, being either in-between jobs or young enough not to feel a pressing need to buy health insurance). There are a number of proposals as to what might be done to correct this situation. Moore has no use for any of them, save one.

As a proud socialist, the director appears to feel that there are few problems in life that can't be solved by government regulation (that would be the same government that's already given us the U.S. Postal Service and the Department of Motor Vehicles). In the case of health care, though, Americans have never been keen on socialized medicine. In 1993, when one of Moore's heroes, Hillary Clinton (he actually blurts out the word "sexy!" in describing her in the movie), tried to create a government-controlled health care system, her failed attempt to do so helped deliver the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives into Republican control for the next dozen years. Moore still looks upon Clinton's plan as a grand idea, one that Americans, being not very bright, unwisely rejected. (He may be having second thoughts about Hillary herself, though: In the movie he heavily emphasizes the fact that, among politicians, she accepts the second-largest amount of political money from the health care industry.)"[1]

Earnings

Michael Moore's films have bilked the public worldwide in excess of $200,000,000.00. A breakdown for just the United States of America is below.

Michael Moore's Gross box office film earnings under the capitalist free market system
Film	U.S. Gross $
Roger & Me	$6,706,368
Canadian Bacon	$178,104
The Big One	$720,074
Bowling for Columbine	$21,576,018
Fahrenheit 9/11	$119,114,517
Sicko	$21,500,000
TOTAL	$169,795,081

Treasury investigation

According to Reuters in June 2007, Moore is reported to have hidden assets in Canada in reaction to an official investigation. Moore was operating offshore in Cuba allegedly as a "journalistic endeavor." The United States Treasury Department does not confirm or deny the existence of investigations.

Criticism

Christopher Hitchens said of Fahrenheit 9/11, and Moore's work:

“

To describe this film as dishonest and demagogic would be to promote those terms to the level of respectability. To describe this film as a piece of crap would be to run the risk of a discourse that would never again rise above the excremental…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."

”

Wikipedia controversy

Moore with Leslie Cagan United For Peace and Justice

Michael Moore's official website [2] put an image and name of a Wikipedia editor on its main page with links to edit both Wikipedia's article on Sicko and the Wikipedia editor's user page. Wikipedia policy explicitly states,

"A website that engages in the practice of publishing private information concerning the identities of Wikipedia participants will be regarded as an attack site whose pages should not be linked to from Wikipedia pages under any circumstances."[3]

Wikipedia Dispute Resolution policy stated aim is to "primarily investigate interpersonal disputes" [4] and not content disputes. Policy further states,

"Links to attack sites may be removed by any user...Deliberately linking to an attack site may be grounds for blocking." [5]

Wikipedia Conflict of interest policy states, "Adding material that appears to promote the interests or visibility of an article's author, his family members, employer, associates, or his business or personal interests, places the author in a conflict of interest." [6] and "Campaigning. Activities regarded by insiders as simply "getting the word out" may appear promotional or propagandistic to the outside world... may have a conflict of interest."[7]

Protection of Wikipedia editors from activities targeting editors for harassment also states,"Any user, including an administrator using administrative powers, may remove or otherwise defeat attempts at harassment of a user. This includes harassment directed at the user themselves."[8], and finally, "It is unacceptable to harass another user."[9]

Unequivocally, Michael Moore's official website, michaelmoore.com, engaged in egregious violations of multiple Wikipedia policies warranting blocking of users from Michael Moore's website, and editors linking to it. Further, official Wikipedia policy states all links to Michael Moore’s website from Wikipedia must be removed.

In discussion of the case, harassment and intimidation of a Wikipedia editor was excused, whose expertise on the subject of healthcare was characterized as "an attorney, who is a Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank." [10] The interpersonal nature of the attack was ignored by Wikipedia's rule making body, in favor of,

"a bunch of considerations. One is that Sicko, finally, brings to public attention information which has not been generally presented by American media. This is right up our alley... we and whoever runs Moore's website look ridiculous. ..."

Wikipedia's Neutral Point of View (NPOV), laid down by founder Jimbo Wales allegedly is "absolute and non-negotiable."[11][12] Wikipedia Arbitration Chairman stated,

"Obviously we need to make an exception for prominent people whose viewpoint we support."

When asked what he learned from the Michael Moore experience, the Chairman said,

"If a powerful leftwing celebrity attacks a rightwing Wikipedia editor on his website, his supporters on Wikipedia should be able, as a practical matter, to prevent removal of links to his site."

See also

• Schlockumentary
• Articles about Michael Moore from previous "Breaking News"

External links

• Moore attacks CNN network, spews anti-South Asian sentiments, RaceWire.org, July 10, 2007.
• WikiEN-l Harassment sites, Sun Oct 14 19:27:21 UTC 2007.