I'm heading to the Toronto film fest this weekend. They're having a
special 25th anniversary screening of my first film, ROGER & ME. It
happens this Monday night at 9pm. You can get tickets here (below).
I'll be there. Special alert to all Canadians -- get on your
dogsleds and come see me! Please don't bring me any of your Canadian
Burger King. Most important: if you attend Monday night's screening,
you'll be the very first audience anywhere to see this amazing,
digitally restored print -- straight
from the original master 16mm negative -- it's the first time it's
been seen like this since I first showed it at Toronto 25 years ago
this week. Last year the Library of Congress named it to the
National Film Registry of protected films, guaranteeing its
preservation forever or until climate change makes the Potomac rise
50 feet and we all get wiped out. But enough gloom and doom! We're
going to Toronto! Americans from Buffalo and Detroit are also
welcome to cross the border and come to the event. Note: please
leave all pistols, Uzis, grenade launchers and bazookas in the U.S.
Canadians don't like them. Wussies! What's a film festival without a
bazooka?!
Presented in a new digital
restoration to mark its 25th
anniversary, Michael Moores brash,
bold and often hilarious documentary
heralded a new generation of
activist filmmaking.
www.tiff.net
|By Toronto International
Film Festival
Michael Moore appears on "Last Call with Carson Daly" Friday, 3/2 on NBC
(Rerun from 12/9/11)
Video Clips from Michael Moore's appearances on Late Night with Jimmy
Fallon!
Michael Moore becomes an advocate for the camera crew and talks about his
baseball cap habit and his appendicectomy.
VIDEO
Michael Moore: Bullhorn Interview (3/11/10)
Jimmy conducts an interview with Michael Moore by bullhorn.
Video
From Michael's email 3/9/10
Sell! Buy! Rebel! 'Capitalism: A Love Story' Is Out Today on DVD (...and
what is up with Wal-Mart?)!
Friends,
DVD-Day for "Capitalism: A Love Story" has finally arrived for all you
good folks who just couldn't figure out how to fit in a trip to the movie
theater between your three part-time jobs -- or simply weren't able to
afford the $10 for the small popcorn at your local rip-off cine-mall when
my film was released last fall.
What's with you people?! I make these movies for you to see on a big
screen, in the dark, with 200 strangers who want to hoot and holler along
with you. Those of you who did see it -- thank you!! You helped to make it
the 8th-largest grossing documentary of all time (and, as of Sunday
morning, "Capitalism" had sold more tickets than Best Picture winner, "The
Hurt Locker").
But for those of you who didn't get to the theater, what's your excuse?
Didn't want to sit through 20 minutes of TV ads up on the screen before
the movie started? Don't like sitting next to people who have 6 important
cell calls to make during the film? Feet get stuck to the floor after two
hours of people spilling their 164 oz. sodas, thus preventing you from
getting up when the film's over? Jeez, what babies!
Well, starting today, you can now OWN your very own DVD (Go
to our store), rent or stream it fast at Netflix (
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Capitalism_A_Love_Story/70122701 ), or go
down to the local Wal-Mart that put your locally-owned mom & pop video
store outta business and pick it up for pennies on the dollar. See!
Something for everyone!
The fact that Wal-Mart is carrying this movie -- a movie that specifically
exposes Wal-Mart's past practice of taking out secret "dead peasant" life
insurance policies on its employees and naming itself as the lone
beneficiary should the employee meet an "untimely" early death -- well, my
friends, need you any further proof that Corporate America is so secure in
its position as the ruler of our country, so sure of its infallible power
that, yes, they can even sell a movie that attacks them because it poses
absolutely no threat to them?
A sane person would think that Wal-Mart would never carry "Capitalism: A
Love Story" because it's simply not in their best interests to inform
their customers of their shady past. After all, many Wal-Mart stores
wouldn't carry "Bowling for Columbine" back in 2003. That was *Kmart* I
went after (for selling the ammo to the Columbine killers)! But I guess
that was too Mart-y close for Wal-Mart -- so no DVDs were allowed of that
film on the shelves of some of the world's biggest retail chain's stores
(the movie studio estimated that cost them $2.5 million in sales).
But seven years later, it's a new day in America. The corporate coup is
complete. Corporations like Wal-Mart now call all the shots, write all the
laws, pay off almost all the congressmen and essentially (along with the
other Fortune 500 companies and Wall Street) rule the nation. They've
helped to eliminate consumer choice and the free market while convincing
you they are all for "free enterprise" and the "U.S.A."
More importantly, they've snuffed out any criticism or opposition. They've
even co-opted liberals, like the people who made the wonderful
documentary, "Food, Inc." The last half-hour of this movie includes -- I
kid you not -- an homage to Wal-Mart as the filmmakers swoon over this
kinder, gentler company that has decided to -- bless them! -- put an
organic food counter in their stores! Thank you, Wal-Mart! Kumbaya! (And
hey, granolaheads, don't forget to flash a smile on the way out of the
store at the "greeter" who can't afford to see a doctor.)
Yes, Wal-Mart, by selling "Capitalism," is saying to me: "Go ahead Mike
and expose us all you want! Hahahhaha! We're so convinced that the public
has either been dumbed down or made numb enough to not give a lick about
whatever it is you're saying about us and capitalism. We can sell a
million of these and it won't make a damn bit of difference about our
ability to rule the world. So knock yourself out, big guy! Hehehehehehe.
Go ahead and put your little movie on our shelves. It will never start a
revolution."
Or so they think.
But what if they're wrong?
What if they and their brethren -- the banks, the insurance companies, the
hedge fund sociopaths -- are too confident we won't fight to get our
country back? They think that because they, the richest 1%, now own more
financial wealth than 95% of all Americans COMBINED, that they can get
away with anything. Perhaps they're right. Perhaps they're not.
I did ask someone at the studio why Wal-Mart was so willing to carry this
movie.
"They're no dummies," he told me. "They know who shops in their stores --
working people, blue collar, the people hit hardest by the economy. They
know your movie will resonate with them and that only means one thing --
ka-ching, ka-ching at the cash register!"
Happy now? Good. I thought I'd cheer you up on my big day!
Listen, let me cut right to it: I am passionate about this movie. It is
not only my most personal film, it is the most vital and necessary film
I've made in my 20 years as a filmmaker. Period. I told my crew at the
start of this movie, "Let's make this film so brutally honest that NO ONE
with any money will ever want to write us a check to make another movie!"
And so we set off to make the most dangerous documentary we could.
As gloomy as our situation in the world looks these days, I refuse to give
up. If there's even the slightest chance that we can turn this around,
then I want to help, I want to be part of the fight along with you.
And I want you to see this movie. Not next week (by then, the health
insurance companies will have won). Not next month (by then, the banks
will have scuttled any new regulations). I need you to watch it right now
and I need you to get as many of your friends and family to watch it as
soon as possible -- and then I want you to do something.
That "something" can be found in the 80 new minutes of material and DVD
extras I've put on this home video. It's 80 minutes of bold ideas and
things we can do to get our country back. No one has seen these extras --
and today will be the first time they're available on the home video of
this movie.
Well, that's the pitch. I get nothing $-wise from the sale of these DVDs.
I just want you to see this movie because, if you haven't, I think you
will not only be "entertained" for 2 hours, you'll be ready to rock-n-roll
your way down to the local Citibank and create the nonviolent ruckus they
need to see. THIS IS OUR COUNTRY -- not theirs. They have plundered and
pillaged long enough. Homes in this country receive foreclosure filings
every eight seconds! This must be stopped.
Let my movie be the tool you use to rise up and become the citizens I know
you want to be. If not now, when?
Thank you for all your support over all these years. You must know by now
that I honestly couldn't make these movies without you.
My absolute gratitude and best wishes for you and yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.comhttp://www.michaelmoore.com/
P.S. To see just how secure Wal-Mart feels in its place as King of the
World, I'll take a spin around to some Wal-Marts this weekend and see if
the DVD has been pulled off the shelves. I'll let you know!
From Michael's email 3/7/10
Let's Watch the Oscars Together -- Right Now! ...from Michael Moore
Friends,
The best movie I saw this year won't be winning any awards tonight at the
Oscars. It wasn't even nominated for anything. In fact, it wasn't even
shown in the United States. Yet, I'm confident that, if you had had a
chance to see it, you would likely agree with me that this is a brilliant
film, a rare gem.
It's called "Troubled Water" ( http://tinyurl.com/y8bpwpt ) (not to be
confused with last year's superb Katrina doc, "Trouble the Water").
"Troubled Water" is from Norway and it is a work of art and great
storytelling from the opening frame to its final fade to black. It tells
the story of a young man who is paroled after spending time in prison and
gets a job as a church organist. He claims to be innocent in the drowning
of a child, but the boy's mother won't let it go.
When the film was over, I sat there amazed and wondering, "Why can't I see
movies like this all the time?" What is wrong with filmmaking, with
Hollywood? Why are most films just the same old tired assembly line stuff
-- sequels, remakes, old TV shows turned into movies, predictable plots
and storylines... "If you've seen the trailer, you've seen the movie."
But "Troubled Water" was not like that -- and therefore its distribution
to the theaters of America was, in essence, doomed.
That's not to say we don't make great movies anymore. I loved "Avatar,"
"District 9," "Inglourious Basterds," "Up in the Air," and "Up" among many
others.
Some critics have hailed "The Hurt Locker" because the film "doesn't take
sides" in the Iraq War -- like that's an admirable thing! I wonder if
there were critics during the Civil War that hailed plays or books for
being "balanced" about slavery, or if there were those who praised films
during World War II for "not taking sides?" I keep reading that the reason
Iraq War films haven't done well at the box office is because they've been
partisan (meaning anti-war).
The truth is "The Hurt Locker" is very political. It says the war is
stupid and senseless and insane. It makes us consider why we have an army
where people actually volunteer to do this. That's why the right wing has
attacked the movie. They're not stupid -- they know what Kathryn Bigelow
is up to. No one leaves this movie thinking, "Whoopee! Let's keep these
wars going another 7 years!"
James Cameron has been targeted by the crazy right, too. Because -- and
Fox and Rush have this one correct, too -- "Avatar" is, in fact, an
allegory for America -- a land stolen from an indigenous people who were
slaughtered, a nation that not only allows corporations to call the shots
but let's them privatize our wars (wars in distant places with the
objective of controlling a dwindling energy resource), and a people who
seem hell-bent on destroying the environment.
Cameron is a brave and bold filmmaker, a college drop-out who became a
truck driver and then one day just decided he was going to make movies.
"Avatar" is an idea he's had in his head since he was a teenager -- and
somewhere, somehow, his dreams and creativity weren't snuffed out by the
machine. Thank God.
There is so much more I want to say about the state of movies these days,
but you've got better things to do on this beautiful Sunday. I love this
art form, and tonight is the night to celebrate it!
In fact, the Oscars are about to start. I'll try to "tweet" along (
http://twitter.com/mmflint ) with you during the show.
Finally, let me leave you with a list of 20 great movies I saw in 2009
that received little or no recognition or distribution in the U.S. They
deserve to be acknowledged on this important night, and I hope you can
find them somewhere, someday (a number are already on DVD). They represent
the hope I have for the movies being the inspiring force I've always
believed in.
Be well. And -- no extra salt or butter on the popcorn!
Yours,
Michael Moore
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
http://twitter.com/MMFlint
P.S. Here's my list of 20 "best pictures" I saw in 2009:
1. "Troubled Water" (see above)
2. "Everlasting Moments" - A wife in the early 20th century wins a camera
and it changes her life (from Sweden). 3. "Captain Abu Raed" - This first
feature from Jordan tells the story of an airport janitor who the
neighborhood kids believe is a pilot. 4. "Che" - A brilliant, unexpected
mega-film about Che Guevara by Steven Soderbergh. 5. "Dead Snow" - The
scariest film I've seen in a while about zombie Nazis abandoned after
World War II in desolate Norway. 6. "The Great Buck Howard" - A tender
look at the life of an illusionist, based on the life of The Amazing
Kreskin starring John Malkovich. 7. "In the Loop" - A rare hilarious
satire, this one about the collusion between the Brits and the Americans
and their illegal war pursuits. 8. "My One and Only" - Who woulda thought
that a biopic based on one year in the life of George Hamilton when he was
a teenager would turn out to be one of the year's most engaging films. 9.
"Whatever Works" - This was a VERY good Woody Allen film starring the
great Larry David and it was completely overlooked. 10. "Big Fan" - A
funny, dark film about an obsessive fan of the New York Giants with a
great performance by the comedian Patton Oswalt. 11. "Eden Is West" - The
legendary Costa-Gavras' latest gem, ignored like his last brilliant film 4
years ago, "The Axe". 12. "Entre Nos" - An mother and child are left to
fend for themselves in New York City in this powerful drama. 13. "The
Girlfriend Experience" - Steven Soderbergh's second genius film of the
year, this one set in the the post-Wall Street Crash era, a call girl
services the men who brought the country down. 14. "Humpday" - Two
straight guys dare each other to enter a gay porn contest -- but will they
go through with it? 15. "Lemon Tree" - A Palestinian woman has her lemon
trees cut down by the Israeli army, but she decides that's the final
straw. 16. "Mary and Max" - An Australian girl and and elderly Jewish man
in New York become pen pals in this very moving animated film. 17.
"O'Horten" - Another Norwegian winner, this one about the final trip made
by a retiring train conductor. 18. "Salt of This Sea" - A
Palestinian-American returns to her family's home in the West Bank, only
to find herself caught up in the struggles between the two cultures. 19.
"Sugar" - A Dominican baseball player gets his one chance to come to
America and make it in the big leagues. 20. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" - A smart,
adult animated film from Wes Anderson that at least got two nominations
from the Academy.
Join Mike's Mailing List ( http://www.michaelmoore.com/visitor/register )
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From Michael's email in October, 2009.
This week, the new 'Mike & Friends Blog' section will be added to
MichaelMoore.com. In additional to my blog, I have asked a few people, like
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (the Democrat from Toledo who has deservedly become the
star of my movie!) and Leah Fried (who helped organize the sit-down strike
at Republic Windows and Doors in Chicago), to blog here on my site.
Mike's email to his fans 9/25
'Capitalism' as Comedy and Tragedy Now Playing in NY and L.A.
Friday, September 25th, 2009
Friends,
The time has arrived for, as Time magazine called it, my "magnum opus." I
only had a year of Latin when I was in high school, so I'm not quite sure
what that means, but I think it's good. I've spent nearly two years on this new movie, "Capitalism: A Love Story,"
and have poured my heart and soul into this project. Many early critics
and viewers have called it my "best film yet." That's a hard call for me
to make as I'm proud of all of my films -- but I will tell you this: What
you are about to see in "Capitalism" is going to stun you. It's going to
make some of you angry and I believe it's going to give most of you a new
sense of hope that we are going to turn the sick and twisted mess made by
the last president around. Oh, and you're going to have a good laugh at
the expense of all the banking and corporate criminals who've made out
like bandits in the past year.
I'm gonna show you the stuff the nightly news will rarely show you. Ever
meet a pilot for American Airlines on food stamps because his pay's been
cut so low? Ever meet a judge who gets kickbacks for sending innocent kids
to a private prison? Ever meet someone from the Wall Street Journal who
bluntly states on camera that he doesn't much care for democracy and that
capitalism should be our only ruling concern?
You'll meet all these guys in "Capitalism." You'll also meet a
whistleblower who, with documents in hand, tells us about the
million-dollar-plus sweetheart loans he approved for the head of Senate
Banking Committee -- the very committee that was supposed to be regulating
his lending institution! You'll hear from a bank regulator why Timothy
Geithner has no business being our Treasury Secretary. And you'll learn,
from the woman who heads up the congressional commission charged with
keeping an eye on the bailout money, how Alan Greenspan & Co. schemed and
connived the public into putting up their inflated valued homes as
collateral -- thus causing the biggest foreclosure epidemic in our
history.
There is now a foreclosure filed in the U.S. once every seven-and-half
SECONDS.
None of this is an accident, and I name the names others seem to be afraid
to name, the men who have ransacked the pensions of working people and
plundered the future of our kids and grandkids. Somehow they thought they
were going to get away with this, that we'd believe their Big Lie that
this crash was caused by a bunch of low-income people who took out loans
they couldn't afford. Much of the mainstream media bought this storyline.
No wonder Wall Street thought they could pull this off.
Jeez, I guess they forgot about me and my crew. You'd think we would've
made a better impression on these wealthy thieves by now. Guess not.
So here we come! It's all there, up on the silver screen, two hours of a
tragicomedy crime story starring a bunch of vampires who just weren't
satisfied with simply destroying Flint, Michigan -- they had to try and
see if they could take down the whole damn country. So come see this cops
and robbers movie! The robbers this time wear suits and ties, and the cops
-- well, if you're willing to accept a guy in a ballcap with a high school
education as a stand-in until the real deal shows up to haul 'em away,
then I humbly request your presence at your local cinema this weekend in
New York and Los Angeles (and next Friday, October 2nd, all across
America).
In the meantime, you can catch us on some of the TV shows that have been
brave enough to let me on in the past week or so:
- Nightline
(as we take a stroll down Wall Street to Goldman Sachs) (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDrFZktpv9k )
- Good Morning America (where they let me talk about Disney employees who
don't get medical benefits) (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY1pcoBWp3Q )
- The View (where the Republican co-host told everyone to go see it!
Whoa!) ( http://theview.abc.go.com/video/michael-moore )
- The Colbert Report (this guy is a genius, seriously) (
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/250350/september-23-2009/capitalism-s-enemy---michael-moore )
- Larry King (where a spokesperson for the Senator who got the sweetheart
loans responds for the first time) (
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/24/lkl.michael.moore/?imw=Y#cnnSTCVideo )
- Keith Olberman (where we both wonder just how long these media corps are
going to let us get away with what we do) (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0URCqniVTOY )
- Wolf Blitzer (yes, he's back for more abuse - and lovin' it) (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqRvpBqEgCE )
... And the amazing Jay Leno. This man called me after seeing the movie
and asked me to be his only in-studio guest on the second night of his new
prime-time show. I said, "Jay, shouldn't you be thinking of your ratings
in the first week of the show? Are you sure you didn't misdial Tom Hanks'
number (the area code where I live is 231; 213 is LA)?" He told me he was
profoundly moved by this film. So I was the guest on his second show, and
he told all of America it was my "best film" and to please go see
"Capitalism: A Love Story." That was Jay Leno saying that, not Noam
Chomsky or Jane Fonda (both of whom I love dearly). The audience responded
enthusiastically and, after 20 years of filmmaking, it was a moment where
I crossed over deep into the mainstream of middle America. Jay's bosses at
General Electric musta been... well, let's just say I hope they didn't
place a reprimand in his permanent record. He's one helluva guy (and
following the example he set with his free concerts for the unemployed in
Michigan and Ohio last spring, I've gotten permission from the studio to
do the same with my film in ten of the hardest-hit cities in the U.S. next
week).
Oh, and he made me sing! Prepare yourself! (
http://www.thejaylenoshow.com/video/clips/michael-moore-part-2/1157706/ )
Thanks everyone -- and see you at the movies!
Yours,
Michael Moore
Brand New Trailer for Michael Moore's 'Capitalism: A Love Story'
Friday, August 21st, 2009
It's here! Check out the brand new trailer for Michael Moore's 'Capitalism:
A Love Story.'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhydyxRjujU
Mike is taking the film to the Venice International Film Festival
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mikeinthenews/index.php?id=14273
where it will be the first documentary ever in competition -- and Venice is
the oldest film festival in the world!
Next he heads to the Toronto International Film Festival
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mikeinthenews/index.php?id=14336
where 'Roger & Me' won the festival's People's Choice award 20 years ago.
'Capitalism: A Love Story' opens nationwide October 2nd.
Here's the good news I've been wanting to give you for the past two years...
This Monday, we begin production on a new season of TV NATION!
This new show is being funded by Channel Four in the U.K. which is currently negotiating
with the American network on which it will appear. It will also have a new name (any
ideas?), and some great new segments and correspondents I think you'll like. I'll keep you
informed of our progress. Thanks for all your support over the past few years.
On a personal note, we're in Michigan this week, where I'm sure you've heard that two
factories in Flint are on strike. Nearly 10,000 people are fightling simply to keep what's
left of their jobs -- the jobs that have helped make General Motors a $28 billion net
profit in the last five years. The reason there are hundreds of journalists and dozens of
satellite trucks in Flint right now is
that millions of people are watching -- and hoping -- that the average worker will be able
to share in "the greatest economic recovery of this century." When you read in
the paper this week that "GM isn't as productive and competitive as the other car
companies", please remember the 220,000 people GM has already axed while its stock
has gone from $35 a share to $70 a
share. If they want to be "competitive," I suggest they design a car that
somebody would want to drive!
Anyway, thanks for listening to me babble, and if you want more of my rantings, you can
find them at www.dogeatdogfilms.com.
Send me your ideas -- MMFlint@aol.com !
Michael Moore
From another Michael Moore newsletter:
"The Awful Truth" is our new satirical "The Awful Truth" is our new satirical
documentary
creation that will include both "TV
Nation"-style remotes and my observations and
interaction with the audience. The show premiers on
Bravo on April 11 and will run for 12 weeks on Sunday
nights at 9 p.m. ET, 10 p.m. PT and re-run on Fridays
at 10 p.m.
Make sure to rent Michael's 1998 movie "The Big One", in a video store near
you! Ask them to order it if they don't have it...
Get email from Michael Moore; send a request to Veronica Moore
Read about the online battle between
Michael's page and Nike's page!
From USA Today Friday April 24th:
A digital battle over 'Nike and Me'
By Leslie Miller
Fri., April 24, 1998
FINAL EDITION
Section: LIFE
Page 3E
The Internet is the latest battleground for documentary
maker Michael Moore and Nike founder Phil Knight,
dueling over details in Moore's new film, The Big One.
Knight apparently took exception to his portrayal in the
film, which criticizes corporate labor practices. So Nike
posted a Web page: ''On the Cutting Room Floor scenes
you won't see (but SHOULD see) from Michael Moore's
'The Big One.' ''
''Ordinarily we're not in the cinema business,'' says Nike's
Vada Manager. ''But this deals with our corporate
reputation and the accuracy of the facts.''
The page (info.nike.com/media/main.html) has four audio
and video clips, taken from Nike's videotaping of the
same interview, addressing details including the age of
workers in Nike's Indonesian shoe factories.
Moore responded last week by adding a new section to
his own Web site refuting Nike's page, with outtakes from
his own footage. Moore's page
(www.dogeatdogfilms.com/mikenike.html) mimics Nike's,
using the same colors, titles and layout. ''Nike is
deliberately misleading Web surfers, and we want to set
the record straight,'' says Tia Lessin, coordinating
producer.
NOTE: Nike has changed its page....aw....
From: TVNatFans@aol.com
Subject: A Message From Michael
Moore
Send reply to: Michael Moore's
newsletter <MICHAELMOORE@LISTSERV.AOL.COM>
12/16/98
Dear Friends,
It's been one of those weeks.
First the good news, then the bad news, then
the really bad news...
GOOD NEWS: We beat the mayor! After some fast work by our legal team and a
public outcry
from many of you, New York City mayor Rudy Guiliani rescinded the order
preventing us from
shooting our new TV show, "The Awful Truth", on the streets of
New York. Whoever wrote the First
Amendment should be on everyone's Christmas list.
And... we beat the bathroom king! Millionaire Ira Rennert, the top toxic
polluter in the country,
withdrew his lawsuit, admitted that sworn statements he provided the court
were not true,
and the judge dismissed the case and the restraining order against us
"with prejudice"
(meaning he is barred from suing us again on this matter).
So we continue to film our story on Mr. Rennert and his home with the 39
bathrooms.
I wish I could share with you all the wild stories we've been filming for
"The Awful Truth", which
premieres on Bravo in April. In just the last week, we...
--Experienced our first arrest ever. Crackers, our Corporate Crime
Fighting Chicken and our
producer, Tia Lessin, were taken away in handcuffs, when Crackers
confronted Mickey Mouse down
in Orlando at DisneyWorld. It was an historic meeting of the two great
animal mascots, but the
Disney people (the subject of our story) did not see it that way.
--Paid another visit to the Impeachment hearings and interviewed the
Clinton-obsessed
Congressman Bob Barr about the whipped cream he licked off two women's
chests at a
fundraiser in 1992. We wanted the impartial Judiciary Committee member to
show us how
that was done.
--Visited the offices and homes of the CEOs of our top tobacco companies
with "The Awful Truth
Choir" - composed solely of people who have lost their voice boxes
from smoking. They sang
Christmas carols to the chairmen, and it was a touching sight.
BAD NEWS: Needless to say, we had a hard time staying on broadcast
television with
"TV Nation," so now we have moved to the free land of cable on
the Bravo channel. Of course,
cable isn't free and that's bothersome, but it's that or nothing.
(Fortunately, Bravo is no longer
a pay cable channel in most places).
The people at Bravo have been great. We are under no cloud of censorship
as we were on
NBC and FOX (details in our new book, "Adventures in a TV Nation")
But Bravo is available in only one-third of the homes in this country.
Many of you have written
us to say that your local cable company does not carry Bravo and you were
wondering how
you'd be able to see "The Awful Truth."
Well, dammit, there's no other way.
So that means you've got to convince your local cable company to pick up
Bravo.
These cable operators DO respond to public pressure on occasion. They are,
for better or
worse, regulated by your local government.
We need you to call your local cable company TODAY. Ask for the general
manager or the
sales manager and tell her/him you want them to carry Bravo. Click here to
find out the name
and phone number of the cable company in your town.
http://www.bravotv.com/getbravo/main.html
We are especially targeting these cities which do not carry Bravo:
Portland, OR Columbia Cable, (503) 644-3188
Cincinnati, OH Cincinnati Cable, (513) 242-9111
Buffalo, NY TCI of Buffalo, (716) 853-8900
Baltimore, MD TCI of Baltimore, (410) 649-9000
Flint, MI Comcast Cablevision, (810) 235-9200
Houston, TX TCI Harris County, (713) 451-4611
Union, NJ Comcast Cable of Union, (908) 602-7444
Jacksonville, FL MediaOne, (904) 731-7700
Rochester, NY Time Warner Cable, (716) 756-5000
Charlotte, NC Cablevision, (704) 377-2288
Reading, PA Time Warner Cable, (610) 378-4600
Raleigh/Durham, NC Time Warner Cable, (919) 821-7925
Richmond, VA MediaOne, (804) 262-4004
Green Bay, WI Time Warner, (414) 496-2040
Worcester, MA Time Warner, (607) 432-0500
Grand Rapids, MI TCI, (616) 977-2200
Greensboro, NC Time Warner, (910) 854-1200
Albuquerque, NM Jones Intercable, (505) 761-6200
Jackson, MS Capitol Cablevision, (601) 982-0922
Altantic City, NJ Suburban Cable (609) 641-6700
Southeast Michigan Comcast, (313) 945-1111
Pittsburgh, PA TCI, (412) 771-8100
Harrisburg, PA Suburban Cable, (717) 540-8900
Your cable company will be deciding THIS WEEK which networks they will be
ordering
for the second quarter of 1999. That's why we need you to make that call
TODAY.
AND NOW, THE REALLY BAD NEWS: Does Congress have rocks in its head? Did
they not
get the point of November 3?
They are actually going ahead with this coup!
So, my friends, let's activate our internet troops once again and...
LET'S GET READY TO RRRRRUUUMMMBLE!
Here's what we need to do:
1. Each of us must call and harass the 20 or so Congress members on the
fence. Click here for
their names and phone numbers. http://www.michaelmoore.com/twentymembers.html
2. To contact your own member of Congress,
call (202) 225-3121 (House) or (202) 224-3121
(Senate).
3. If you live on the East Coast, come join myself, Jesse Jackson, John
Sweeney and others on the
steps of the Capitol to protest the coup this Thursday, December 17, from
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
4. E-mail your congressman now. Click here: http://www.webslingerz.com/jhoffman/congress-email.html
5. Get ready to do some work. We're going to change this whole corrupt
system and get our
country back in the hands of its citizens. Over the holidays, I will write
you and propose a
number of actions we can take.
This whole impeachment fight has gone way beyond a stained blue dress. It
is now about
something much bigger than "Bill Clinton." Regardless of how you
feel about this horndog,
the Radical Right and its agenda of hate must be stopped. They are going
to get away with
this unless we act NOW.
I am so sick and tired of listening to them say, "It's NOT about sex,
it's NOT about lying about
sex, it's about PERJURY!"
Really? Just substitute "golf" for "sex" in all their
speeches last week and see how this
holds up:
"Mr. Chairman, the President claims he can't remember how many putts
he took on the 12th
hole - HOW CAN HE NOT REMEMBER?! This man looked right in the eye of the
American
public and LIED when he said "I did not go golfing with that man,
Greg Norman!" Then,
UNDER OATH, he said his handicap was a "6" instead of what it
REALLY is - a "14!" He
has committed PERJURY, and for that he should be removed from
office!"
Trust me, it's ONLY about sex (and all the other things about your
personal life the Right wingnuts
want to put their nose into).
But cheer up. There ARE three silver linings if Clinton is put on
trial in the Senate:
1. Both parties will be so totally consumed with this for 4 to 6 months
that they will be paralyzed
from enacting more laws that do us harm.
2. Thanks to the Republican Road Rage and the Democratic Inability to Put
This Thing to
Rest, the public is going to come out on the other side with total and
complete disgust for
these two political "parties". This could spell the end of
politics as we've known it and there
will be no better time for us to organize new political parties (The New
Democratic Party?
A Labor Party? Heck, there's even room for the loveable but whacky
Libertarians and
Peroistes!). Will we have the smarts to take advantage of the suicide the
Republocrats
are committing? I hope so. Because this impeachment has been a convenient
and
useful distraction for corporate America. While we've been busy pondering
cigars and Altoids,
the Fortune 500 has produced record layoffs and mergers this past year.
3. This will be a real trial, not a kangaroo court like the one conducted
in the Judiciary Committee.
This time there are going to be real witnesses, real cross-examination,
and real evidence. The
good thing that might come out of it is that we will discover what
Lucianne Goldberg and Linda
Tripp's connections really are. We will learn how the tobacco senators
from North Carolina
(Helms and Faircloth) conspired to remove the original special prosecutor
and appoint one of
the tobacco industry's chief attorneys, Ken Starr. This will all come out
and it will be good.
I just heard from the Fox News Channel today that Lucianne Goldberg has
told them that she
does not mind appearing with any pro-Clinton person on their talk shows -
but "she will NOT
go on the same show with you, Michael Moore. She hates you."
Whoa! What did I do? I've never met the lady. She kicked this whole coup
off by getting Linda
Tripp to secretly tape her "friend" Monica Lewinsky, and then
she oddly became the only central
Monicagate figure NOT called by Ken Starr to testify in front of the grand
jury. Why?
But do you want to hear something weirder? She lives next door to me! I
can see into her
window! It's true! What do I do with this? Give her a taste of her own
privacy invasion? Show
the American people the "awful truth" I have to avoid looking at
every damn night? Any ideas
out there, my fellow Mike's Militia Members?
Take care, call Congress, call your cable company, write to me, and be
good to young
We don't read the guestbook very often, so please don't
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Michael Moore appears on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" Thursday, 11/1
on NBC. 
