Rick Lowe
Last weekend I was invited to a friends home, along with several other people, to a premiere showing of Michael Moore's new film, Capitalism: A Love Story.
Apparently MoveOn.org instigated these parties. Their web site suggested inviting people around the US and other countries to a location (home, a theater - where ever) to "watch Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story and discuss how we can stop the corporate takeover of democracy."
It was quite funny in places, but obviously it's a treatise in support of the Democratic Party.
For example, it showed Jimmy Carter addressing the US when he was president about the oil crisis. Former President Carter was serious as was the movie. When George Bush II was giving a similar address trying to be optimistic, Moore had images over laid of the White House crumbling and burning with people scrambling to a fro. Quite funny, but obviously biased.
If you watched the film for it's comedic value, it was fun. It was certainly not balanced. It's a lesson in how to take things out of context. On those scores, Mr. Moore get's an Oscar!
Believe it or not, Michael Moore called in to the friends house, and based on the film, it was to encourage us to vote, presumably for the Democratic Party. When he discovered the people in the room weren't registered US voters he allowed a couple questions.
Of course your not so humble blogger had to ask a question.
Telling Mr. Moore that he was right on crony capitalism, I asked if it was true that he was getting a subsidy from the Michigan government for the film as seen around the Internet. I didn't say, but, it would of course be hypocrisy of the highest order. He indicated the studio wanted to get it, and then said something to the effect that we all know how the Internet is, never really denying or confirming he will take it. We'll see.
On the whole, it was nice event, particularly if one viewed the film as a comedy or simply a polemic against Capitalism, as all it does is attempt to give Capitalism a bad name. If he had stuck with an honest critique against business/people getting subsidies (taxpayer money) from the government, rather than attempting to make it appear that this only happened under Capitalism, I would have been more sympathetic.
As we know, Socialism is little more than crony Capitalism under a different name.
Mr. Moore uses Capitalism to amass his personal fortune, then spends his career demonising it. Maybe he should return his money to the "people" in those bags he was attempting to get the billions back from the banks in!
As previously mentioned, Mr. Moore takes almost every issue out of context. The film for the most part portrays American's as blithering idiots who are unable to think or ask questions when they are signing a mortgage or a student loan, or simply living life.
It's interesting that the Democrats latched on to this movie. Many of them are independently wealthy, making their fortunes in the market place of capitalism. Supporting this film as being truthful, is almost an indictment as to how far politicians will go to win a vote.
In other words, watch this film for no more than its comedic value. To Mr. Moore's credit he left the part in when he was asking Wall Street bankers what he should do, and one of them told him to stop making movies. It was a brilliant response from the banker and another highlight of the film for me.
For more on this, read Michael LaFaive's article, Michael and Me and Taxpayer Makes Three here... and watch the Mackinac Center for Public Policy news story on the subsidy for Michael Moore's Studio here...
