Well, I imagine that Bush didn't know what to do exactly... at that time when he
was in the Florida school classroom. What bothers me most... is the way America
has been manipulated by the Saudis and the fact that nobody is doing anything
about it... including the Democratic Party nominee.  You don't hear much. And, in
the meantime... we're all going busted with the high gas prices.  I blame the oil
industry for all of this including the war.

Sincerely,
Jeff

Bart, I saw the movie Friday at the first showing

I found it to be very informative and powerfully so. (I had never heard that
Hamid Karsai had been a consultant for Unocal, had you?). It was also
heart-wrenching to watch, especially the scenes of the military mother who
had lost her son to fighting in Fallujah while she was being interviewed by
MM and reading the last letter home her son had written, then to see her
visit at the WH. While watching those scenes I was imagining how many
hundreds more families, both American & Iraqi, that were going through
similar anguish mourning their fallen children.

The scenes of Bush were all creepy and disturbing. This man is an
incompetent ego-driven maniac playing at being the leader of our country. He
has got to be removed from the White House come November, by any means
possible.

It is 5:45 a.m. on Saturday now, and I haven't slept much due to the
nightmares of the scenes replaying in my head. But that's okay. I'm only
reliving what I saw on the film. Those soldiers will have the rest of their
lives to figure out how to sleep peacefully again after seeing what they
have witnessed with their own eyes, heard with their own ears and wrought
with their own hands.

Kaleido

I laughed, I cried, I got even more pissed off!

John P

Hi, Bart.
I'd give the movie three separate ratings.

As a work of cinema: B-. It started out quite well, but got sloooowwwww after the last hour or so.
I wish he had included more of his humor, etc.

As a coherent argument: B. He implied a few things that just weren't so

Note: I wish you had mentioned examples.

(although I don't believe there was any actual falsehood), and, in my opinion, failed to really pull everything together.

In terms of bringing up the issues that have been avoided by the "liberal media": A+. He hit 'em all.
I think he's been reading bartcop. Home Run. The media is going to have to face these issues now,
and the American people are going to discuss them.

Thanks,

Richard

I saw Michael Moore's movie last night in St. Louis. The cinema was packed. Cheering broke out frequently
throughout the movie, along with boos for the bad guys - especially when Ashcroft was on screen (there's more
than one reason he lost an election here to a dead guy). There was a prolonged ovation at the end of the movie.

Also, I have to say, there were many people in tears at certain parts of the movie (especially the pictures of our
military's results in Iraq). Although several bits of the movie are hilarious, the general consensus, at least in the group
I was with, was one of anger - at Bush, his family, his oil cronies, the Saudis, etc., etc. I am angry at all those,
but also at people who still believe this idiot Bush.

On the way out of the movie, I overheard many conversations among those who attended - the majority of the
comments along the lines of "I don't see how anybody can vote for Bush now".

My fervent wish is that everyone in America see this movie.
My respect for the talent and courage of Michael Moore grows with each film he makes.
Carol

In-fucking-credible!
There is very little in there any of us didn't already know, but to see it all laid out on the screen is just overwhelming.
The glaringly obvious truth that everyone in this misadministration is at best a doofus just hits you over and over.

The interviews with the troops, at first all gung-ho freedom fighters, soon change their tune when they become the carnage.
One soldier says “You lose a part of your soul when you kill somebody”. Another, of somewhat less intelligence says
“We’re here trying to help these people, and they hate us—they tell us to leave—I don’t get it”.

>From the Marine Corporal who says he'll face jail rather than go back to Iraq, to Wolfowitz combing his hair
(ewwww; you gotta see the movie, that is just too gross to describe) it’s just one surreal moment after another.
It would be a great political comedy if it wasn't fucking REAL!! A heart-wrenching segment about a mom from Flint
who lost her son and travels to DC where she is accosted by some sub-human freeper who tells her to “get over it”
just makes you want to leave the theater and open up a can of whoop-ass on the next right-winger you see.

The theater was packed. It was showing on two screens at the 20-plex I went to and I was very glad I bought tickets
on-line a week ago; all showings were sold out. First time I have ever been to a movie that got a standing O.

This is a serious blockbuster and no amount of bad press is going to stop it, but the local Faux affiliate was there
interviewing people as they came out of the earlier show. It was timed for their evening live shot and no doubt they
were looking to find some choice soundbite they could use to make liberals look like druggie burn-outs.

Today the local paper did it’s best to make it look like nothing significant—the style of reporting reminded me of how
in an earlier time the news trivialized the Beatles—not willing to admit that the times they were-a-changin’. I was hoping
to see some media people as I left the theater. I wanted to just scream “NONE OF THIS SHIT WOULD HAVE
HAPPENED IF YOU WHORES HAD BEEN DOING YOUR FUCKING JOBS!!!”

The film focused mostly on the relationship between the Bushes and the Bin Ladens, and how that fed into the buildup
to the Iraq invasion. There is way less Michael Moore in this than any other film, and it could use half a dozen sequels.
Far and way though the most shocking scene was not the carnage of war, it was not the Alice’s Restaurant-style absurdity
of US soldiers reveling in the death and destruction like it was the best sex they’d ever had.

No, it was Al Gore hanging himself, the party and the country as black congressmen and women one-by-one protested
the selection, but didn’t get the necessary support from even one single senator. Not one. I have even less respect for Gore
now because he had it with in his power to stop this before it started, but he chose to fight fair while they were hitting below the belt.

You can bet Senators Boxer and Feinstein are getting phone calls from me Monday asking why they wanted Bush in the Whitehouse.

MindPilot

Of course in my case it was preaching to the choir.  However, I marvelled continually at how Moore is able
to collate existing video footage to marshall a very convincing point of view, i.e., that this Bush administration
is not only dishonest, but is significantly beholden to foreign (Saudi Arabian) and multinational corporate
(e.g., Halliburton) interests.

The lives and well being of American soldiers who, after all, are conscripted from the have nots of society,
are of no consequence to Bush, who is shown at one point addressing his "base", the "haves and the have mores".
I find it laughable when critics talk about the supposed "unfairness" of the portrait he paints, because after all,
it is the duty of any artist or filmmaker to present his particular vision, i.e., his interpretation of the reality that
he perceives.  Let the critic or naysayer make his own film.

I can't wait to take along a fence sitter or two (I'll treat) and see it again.

Martin

Farenheit 9/11 is primarily about how war is promulgated by the powerful to enhance the status quo.
It is Moore’s masterpiece. I can’t imagine the labor it took to locate all that footage and substantiate those arguments.

It shows how Bush is an inept puppet who knows he isn’t in charge, otherwise he would take himself more seriously.
It shows how Saudi influence has sidetracked public perception of the real situation that led to 9/11, the Afganistan and Iraq War.
It shows who benefits, and how they manipulate the US to their benefit: Halliburton, Unicol, Carlyle, the Bush family, and of course the Saudis.

It also shows who loses: the people of Iraq and the poor of this country.

I don’t know if it will make a dfference in this country, with most minds made up. Perhaps it should have taken more time
with how the media has deceived us, from Clinton’s impeachment, to ballot fraud in Florida, to 9/11 to Iraq.
Because the people who need to see 9/11 most won’t.

At least, it is there, for the record. You can quibble with a few facts.
I’ve heard the conservative press wants to discredit the film on two counts:

1. That Richard Clark let bin Laden’s relatives go.
2. That more than 1 son of Congress serves in Iraq.

Re: 1: But Even if it weren’t Bush himself, all bin Laden’s relations should have been held for questioning.
Re: 2: And, so what if the number is 1 or 4?   There ought to be more than 1% of children of congress serving.

Unfortunately, the movie does not leave you with a message of hope.
Just somber reflection and anger. Maybe the hope will return on election night.

Scott
 

1. Bush ordered the skiews cleared of all planes - Clark had no authority to override the president's orders.
2. Ask them for the names.

Hey Bart

My wife and I went to the first showing at a Regal theater here in Nashville, TN.  All shows were sold out
days in advance, but we were lucky enough to get our tickets a week in advance using Fandango on the internet.

It was a great film.  What else can I say.  There were several times when the crowd erupted spontaneously into
applause and a standing ovation at the end.  For a movie!  Since I read a lot and read your page daily, there wasn't
much in the film that I didn't already know, but seeing it all together in a two-hour span was VERY powerful.
I can't imagine how he managed to get some of the film he had.  I'm sure 95% of the nation has never seen footage
of the presidential motorcade at the inauguration where eggs were thrown at his car or of the thousands of protesters lining the street.

As we left the theater, we were greeted by the huge line of people waiting for the next show.  As we were chatting with
some friends, a neocon-looking man in a Regal coat and name tag got up on a counter and shouted for everyone's attention.
When people finally kept talking he shouted that no one would be seated until they were quiet!
Of course, this caused a stir in the crowd.

He then told everyone that their bags would be searched for weapons!  Weapons?  After he got their attention again
he said it was Regal policy and anyone who didn't like the policy was free to leave!  He repeated about the search
saying they were looking for "weapons, leaflets, and literature" or something to that effect.  It was hard to hear him.

We were not searched at the first showing so all we could figure is that they were upset about the flyers that Nashville Peace
and Justice Coalition were handing out saying that there will be a discussion of the film this Sunday and giving the location and time.
We had to leave since we had kids at home, but my wife called a local television station and found out that many other people
had called them already.

Don't you just love Bush's Amerika?

(Is it true you are changing your name to Mike Hammer?)  :)

Leland
 

Leland, not as far as I know...

I went to the movie at 1:30pm yesterday.  The theater was quite full considering the time of day.
The only emply seats I saw were down in the very front, (where no one likes to sit).
I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I was aware of most of the material because as an old widow I have time to follow everything and I am a political junkie.
The greatest thing about it, in my opinion, is the bringing it all together for the too-busy, hard-working people who don't have
time to follow everything that is going on.  Everyone clapped and cheered when it ended.  It was like a great catharsasis.
Our news is so supressed, we finally have a big megaphone in this movie.
Oh, yes, they had a state trooper posted to keep the underage out!!
Well, it's Texas.

I wish he had gotten hold of the c-span tape of a rally I saw when Bush was running the first time and he decided to be
brave and answer questions from an audience.  Someone asked him a question, and he didn't have a clue as to whether
he should say yes or no.  He turned his back to the camera and faced Laura who was seated behing him.  She cut her eyes
to the left and then right and slowly nodded her head in the afirmative.  He  turned around and said "yes" that's what he thought
to whatever the question had been.  She was unaware that the camera was on her.  That would have been priceless for others to see.

Puori

Loved the film...I live in Central Florida and had to travel forty miles to the closest theater;
we made the 4:30pm show and the house was packed. It was being shown in one of those multi-plex 20 behemoths.

The film received a standing ovation from the audience. One of the more telling moments in this experience was
that you saw old graybeards like me (my wife and 18 year old son came along too) and youngsters; entire families
and young people all over the place. Now, if this were during the school year, one might make the argument that
the young folks there were there to do a term paper or prepare a discussion in some political science class.

While I did have some problems with the film; the oversimplification of the Bush/Saudi connection is an example
(it is much more complex and of longer duration according to The Bushes: Portrait Of A Dynasty written by
Peter and Rochelle Schweiser, these ties and connections have their genesis in the mid to late 1940’s),
then again it would have taken another two hours to explore that on film.

I will say; if this current resident of the White House is not turned out;
then the American people deserve what may come their way.

Ramon P

Remember all the fuss over the picture of Bush and Kofi Annan where the chimp
is giving a "thumbs-up" and grinning like the village idiot?

Cons are pissed about the movie for the same reason they were pissed about that picture
- because it was obviously an unedited, true-to-life glimpse of the real person behind Smirky's "compassionate" facade.

The clips of Bush in F-9/11 tell the true tale so effectively that Moore barely needs a narrative track.
No wonder the cons are so pissed - they can't lie about and/or deny the truth of geniune unedited
and unexpurgated recordings of their boy running his mouth.

I'd be pissed, too.

David H

I saw F9/11 Friday afternoon in Columbus, OH.  We were at Easton's first show of the day.  Theater probably
wound up 75% full, which was a lot more than I was expecting.  My husband and I went (we're 28 and 27),
and we saw a lot of people younger than we were in the audience, but also a lot of older people - retirees,
I'm guessing, who are able to go out during the day.  Two older women were sitting next to me, and they
chatted throughout the movie - very anti-Bush.

Honestly, the last time I had a theater experience close to this one was at the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The audience was *very* vocal, getting into the movie right away.  Any Bush-mocking moment were appreciated
and cheered on by the crowd.  Probably the best response to a line came when Moore, speaking about Ashcroft's
senate bid in 2000, said, "And when the results came in, Missouri picked the dead guy."  I was really pleasantly
surprised by the level of disgust in the theater towards Ashcroft.  Next to Bush, I'd say he was the most despised
person to appear on screen.  And this was in a mall in Columbus, Ohio, only a few weeks after annoucing the arrest
of someone who was planning to blow up a mall in Columbus (yeah, right).  Guess that scare tactic didn't take too well.

As for the movie itself, I thought it was good, but I really think they needed a graphic in the first part showing the
connections between the Bushes, Bath, Baker, Bin Ladens, Bandar, etc. I think that was a little bit hard to follow.
I thought the best moments were all of the footage of Iraq, both pre and post invasion, the footage at Walter Reed,
and most especially the poor Iraqi woman, who had a lot of her family wiped out.  I think that grief is something
everyone in this country needs to see, especially juxtaposed with Lila Lipscomb's grief.
Mothers are mothers, no matter where they live.

So I liked the movie, and would recommend it to anyone, but the main story, and the thing that will stick with me
the longest, is being in a theater of people who all feel the same outrage as I do.  I've never been to a political
rally or anything of the sort before, but I imagine this was something a little bit similar, although angrier.

This was the first time I was able to think that maybe, if Bush steals the election again this fall, maybe now we'll
be able to do something about it.  Like the esteemed chimp said, "Fool me once...fool me...shame on you...won't get fooled again..."
-Jacki in Mt. Vernon, OH
 

Jacki, that part I put in bold?
Getting together with like-minded folk to talk politics is what makes the Fests so much fun.

Somebody will tell a Bush joke and someone else will tell a Bush story and pretty soon
the whole place is laughing and having a good time - it's more fun that I can describe.

My husband and I saw the movie opening night, and it was a very moving, powerful experience.
It made us angry and sad and more determined than ever to oust the crooked regime sitting in power in the White House.
I'll say one thing for Michael Moore: he has balls of solid rock. I'm glad that one person on this earth has the guts to
stand up and shout the truth from the rooftops regarding BushCo. I'm embarrassed that the Democrats in Congress
haven't started demanding impeachment proceedings against Bush and the rest of his thug administration.
I wish they had some sac, as you like to say.

There were cops everywhere at the movie theater and I.D.s were being checked. I've never seen anything like that
before in my life. It was absolutely ridiculous! It's like the cops were afraid there was going to be a riot or something.
And God forbid if a teenager under the age of 17 was to sneak in and see the movie! How horrifying!

These days, teens see a helluva lot worse on t.v. and action and horror flicks than they would've seen in this movie.
The Rethugs are DEFINITELY afraid of anyone in America seeing this film because it exposes Bush and his thug buddies
as the incompetent, evil, war mongering, mercenary, religious psychos that they are!

I must say for myself that I'm embarrassed to call myself an American after seeing the way the Iraqis have been treated
and the way that Bush has represented the citizens of this country. The ONLY way that we, as Americans, can regain
the respect of the global community is to have these bastards IMPEACHED and IMPRISONED for the rest of their natural lives.
Maybe then the people of the world can begin to forgive us for believing the lying monkey and allowing him to start the
ill fated war in Iraq and costing and ruining so many lives.

EVERYONE in America should see Fahrenheit 9/11 and realize how we, as a country, have been duped by the Bush Administration.
Thank you, Michael Moore, for having the stones to make this movie..............now, you'd better watch your back.

Enjoy your day, Bart.

Kris G
 

Kris, in K-Drag. I got the impression the extra security was there to help.
If I was a Bush-loving ditto-monkey with violence or mischief of my mind,
I'd think twice before pulling my prank if I had to show my ID, ...but then again,
If a ditto-monkey had the brains to think twice he'd be a Democrat.

Bart,

I will not be going to see Fahrenheit 9/11 this weekend because I live in Tyler, Texas, where the Tyler Rose Theater
(Hollywood chain) and the Times Square Cinema (just a little 5 screen indy) said they didn't think it would be a money-maker
(along with half a dozen other lame excuses). I don't need to see the movie, however, to know what's in it, but I was very
interested to see just how many so-called Christians in this town would come out to protest the film. Guess I'll just have to
wait 'til it comes out on DVD. I was interested to see, however, that in Denver, no less than 10 theaters are showing the film.

Roy
 

Roy, tell them it's the Number One money maker in America.

Made me laugh and brought tears also,
I know what the soldiers and their families feel.

Jim (Vietnam 68-69)

Kept out of the theater

Hey Bart,

I went to see Fahreneheit 9/11 on Friday with my cousin in Orange County, CA.
I am 17 and am allowed to view R rated movies, but my cousin is only 16.

The theater Nazis sold me the tickets with no problem but then proceded to block my cousin
from entrance into the building.  Luckily for us, so we thought, a kind liberal gentleman stepped up
to escort us in.  But then out of nowhere a distressed manager appeared to tell us that he would not
let my cousin or me into the theater.

We argued for a while, and soon it became obvious that this manager did not want us to view this particular film.
I had broken the R rating rule at this very same theater numerous times, but this time it was obviously different.
After an even fiercer argument I was able to get my money back, and did see the film later on that day.

Note:  I talked to the security guard while waiting in line before successfully getting in later in the day,
and he made it clear that the lower management did not want to have a large number of people see the film, especially youth.
So I will be the first to be drafted into Bush's crusade, but the last to be admitted entry into a film exposing the truth... typical.

Adam

I saw the movie last night in Warwick RI at the 10PM show.  It was sold out.  So was the previous show.
From the looks of the line, the midnight show was, too.

It's a very funny, disquieting, and, most importantly, deeply moving film.  The contrast of an Iraqi woman's agony
over her lost family and home and an American mother trying to come to terms with her grief over her lost son are
among the most moving and wrenching scenes I've experienced in a film in my 57 years.

Audiences members openly wiped tears from their eyes.
At the end, the entire crowd spontaneously burst into applause.

Here's to the truth!

I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 yesterday afternoon. I think what struck me hardest, perhaps since I was already
familiar with nearly all the other stories and images, were the scenes of the Congressional Black Caucus
members objecting to the election "results", and their objections being slapped down because they did not
have the support of ONE SINGLE SENATOR.

These brave, brave people tried to save us from ourselves.
If only the rest of our "representatives" had such courage...

Here's an article from January 2001 partly describing the incident.
It is much more graphic, and telling, to see Michael Moore's version of events.

I apologize to those whose votes were ignored or denied.
This is not the country I learned to love.

Jane
Pennsylvania
http://www.progressive.org/pmplj16.html

Hey Bart.  Saw F-911 last night IN TEXAS and it was sweet!  The film, without question, is a comedy
-- a comedy starring a bunch of clowns who've fooled a country into thinking that this war is just and that
9-11 happened "out of the blue."  Great choice of music, incredible irony, a blatant display of hipocrisy
from our "leaders" ... no, not hipocrisy ... downright lies.  Someone in the news had said that this film will
make you angry -- angry at Bush or angry at Michael Moore.

Well, in Dallas, I was prepared to hear right-wingers attending under the cloak of curiosity, making snide remarks
and even booing.  You know, there were one or two who grumbled and said "this is bullshit" but they were VERY few.
There were also 4 Dallas police officers throughout the night "eyeing" the crowds.  I just grinned.  One thing about the
loud right -- they only function in numbers.  By themselves, they're meek and harmless.  If there were any, I didn't hear them.
They were overwhelmingly silenced by the loud laughter, applause and yes, another standing-O when the movie concluded.
The audience applauded at every chance, starting with the throwing of an egg at the presidential limo during the inauguration "parade."

Shots of Bush getting his hair done before he addressed the nation was priceless.  You saw the smirk for what he is -- CLUELESS!
Paul Wolfowitz putting a comb to his mouth, spitting on his hand and combing that greasy coiffe was even funnier.  There was Condi,
Colon, Cheney ... all caught in lies lies lies.  The Saudi connection to Saudi Arabia and the BFEE connections to oil money are made
perfectly clear, in language that even the indifferent could understand.  The most moving part was the saga of a military mom who was
so proud of her military family -- how she, as a self-proclaimed conservative democrat -- believed that it was a moral and patriotic
obligation to serve and how seeing the protesters hurt her and the troops.  That was, until she learned that her son was killed in Iraq.
Boy did her face and attitude change.

Typically antagonistic, funny, facetious, Michael Moore has created a movie that doesn't disappoint.  People outside the theater
were asking (both before and after) about the movie.  I took every opportunity to let them know that once they see the movie,
they will be very angry -- even angrier -- at GWB.  Shows have been sold out, the theater was full (though showing it on only one
screen will prove to be a mistake by the movie house owners).  There are some graphic war images -- as they should be -- and the
sighs, gasps, tears from the audience told me that the movie had made an impact.

The best?  Deep in the heart of Texas, a standing ovation for a film that hopefully has awakened the conscience of the clueless,
reaffirmed the mission for this November's ouster of this fool.  The detractors, critics, character assassins have their guns loaded.
Right-wing talk radio here has been all over this movie, trying to discredit it big time ... but you can hear a quiver in their voices.
They are SCARED.

I didn't want to give you a scene-by-scene description because you will have seen the movie by the time you read this, but I want
to let you know that even here in Texas, the lines are long, the movie theaters are full, the audience is engaged and hopefully awakened.
THIS movie will be bigger than we think.  If the FEC is looking at this (at the behest of the GOP) as a possible violation of campaign
finance laws if the commercials for it are shown, we know it has touched the right nerves -- hopfully rattled them.

I'm going to see it again this weekend.  Got to take new friends each time.

Thanks Bart.
Mike in Dallas

Hi Bart:

I saw the film at its premiere in this one-horse town, Erie, PA, with my friend Nancy last night.
The screening (at 7:15 pm) was sold out.  The film was GREAT.

(Short enough?)

Rick H.
 

Rick, this was the one time you didn't have to be short :)

Greetings from Knoxville.  Thanks for everything you do Bart.  This is bush country - he comes here all the time.
This is where he asked the question "is our children learning?".  Anyway, the Fahrenheit 9/11 opened on one screen
in one multiplex yesterday.  I overheard one person say the room had the largest seating capacity in Knoxville
- I estimate about 500 seats - maybe more.  The three evening shows sold out last night and all the shows for
Saturday and Sunday.  It was great to be there.  If you have not been following the bush tragedy all along,
there is a lot in the film to digest.  The tangled web of cash among the bushes, Bin Ladens, Saudi Royals,
Carlyle Group, Halliburton, Enron, etc. is a lot of information in a short time - there was new stuff in there to me
and I am a total political news junkie.  Moore does a good job showing that keeping the working people and the
poor from getting ahead provides the men and women to fight and die in fake wars so rich people can make billions.
The images of bush and co. are priceless. There was no TV coverage, but a nice front page story in the main
newspaper with good quotes from the movie goers and the expected BS from local repug leaders.
This is a must see film for anyone who loves America.

Tom

Bart -- As a Vietnam vet who protested the war after coming back, the gut wrenching truth of one line
broke my heart all over again. A young soldier in Iraq, looking into the camera with that all too familiar
thousand yard stare, murmuring: "You can't kill someone without killing a part of your own soul."

There are 135,000 American casualties in Iraq and God help their familes when they come home.

Political defeat of Bush is nowhere near enough. If there are no war crimes trials there will never again
be an America worth believing in and we will have, as a nation, betrayed every American sacrifice from
WW II through the present.

May God grant that Bush and his minions, and all who continue to support him, find their dreams filled
with the images of the dead and mangled children who will forever bear mute witness to this administration's war crimes.

Forgive my rage. I have hoped and prayed for thirty plus years never to have to experience it again.

Gordon25

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.
   --Voltaire
 

Gordon, America's Butcher has no heart and no soul.
The carnage doesn't bother him in the least.

Greetings Bart,

I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 yesterday at a matinee in Santa Clara, CA.  Santa Clara is in the heart of Silicon Valley,
an ethnically diverse area that spans the class spectrum from the super-rich down to newly-arrived immigrants
working for $6.75 an hour.  Best as I could tell, the audience matched this demographic.

The house was packed and applause at the end was thunderous.  But during the film itself, people were quite silent,
perhaps almost stunned..... Moore's handling of 9/11 - several minutes of a blank, black screen accompanied by sirens,
crashes, crying, and police radio cackle, then returning to close up shots of people looking up, many people looking up,
then slow motion images of people running away through swirling dust and soot - grabs you by the gut.

People around me were sobbing, but quietly, respectfully.  This segment alone is a masterpiece of reality, emotion, and art.
It's generous of spirit, delicate, respectful, and yet hits you like a mallet to the head.  Very deft, very powerful, and shows
the true humanity of Michael Moore.

Yet true to Moore's humorous style, other sections of the film are laugh-out-loud funny, like the section that opens with
a map of Afghanistan, laid out to look exactly like the map that opens the still-being-shown TV show, "Bonanza."
The map burns through, just like in the show, showing Ben Cartwright and his three sons riding up to the camera.
But Ben Cartwright's face has been replaced by Bush, and the three sons with Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Ashcroft.
A truly clever and funny Michael Moore moment.

I don't want to give away too much of the film, but it's absolutely astonishing.  Even the music track is perfect.......
Moore shows numerous sequential cuts of George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush shaking, touching, and holding hands
with members of the Saudi Arabian Royal Family, a real on-screen lovefest, set to the sound of "Shiny Happy People" by R.E.M..
It's absolutely brilliant..... happy, upbeat, catchy, charming, and totally devastating to the Bushes.

One thing is for certain: if you're on the fence about Bush when you walk into the theatre, you will not be when you walk out.

Hardcore elephants and GOP-lovin' red state flag wavers will walk out of this movie pissed off and unconvinced, if they
go see it at all.  But, if they are pissed, it will not be because of righteous indignation...... it will be because secretly they
will know that their man George W. is toast.

To Moore's credit, he does not impose himself into this movie very much at all, unlike his earlier efforts.  His narration is
spare and somber, his points condensed and brief.  What slams you in this movie is the footage itself..... Bush sitting in the
classroom stunned on 9/11, Bush cavorting on the air craft carrier, Bush making faces and goofing around right before
going on camera to announce the start of the Iraq War.  Then the shots of American soldiers with no legs, the sheer terror
of an American night patrol raiding an Iraqi home by flashlight while Iraqi women wail and cry, American troops talking
blithely about how they pipe heavy metal music into their tank helmet headphones while they fire on Iraqi troops in the
opening stages of the war.

Moore has created a masterpiece in the true spirit of American Freedom, an irony not easily lost on the film-going audience.
While American soldiers on the screen talk about bringing "freedom" to the Iraqi people, bragging about their newly-gained
ability to speak their minds freely and engage in businesses that were never allowed under Saddam, the very people who
put them in Iraq - and their supporters - are doing their best to squash the film and prevent it from being advertised and shown.

Unlike other films that can be put off for weeks and then seen on video some lazy Saturday night, this is a film that must be
seen in a public movie house, surrounded by other Americans, exersizing and celebrating their First Ammendment rights.
Moore has his facts straight, Moore has the documents to make his case, and Moore has a uniquely heartland-America
sensibility that encompasses both humor and outrage in equal measures.

This movie is more than a home run, it's a grand slam.  Don't miss it.

Erik Wood

Hey, Bart,

My wife and I went to the first show at 1:00 p.m. Friday here in the biggest little town in the world - Dallas, TX.
There was no line, but there were a lot of people already in the theater, and we had to sit near the front where
you have to look up constantly.  By the time the movie started, the theater was almost full (10 to 20 seats empty).

I'm sure you'll have people that will write in that will give you a much better "film review" than I can so I won't try
to do anything "in depth", but I will say this; although I've seen/downloaded the sequence showing the "crowned clown"
sitting in front of the elementary class, the way Moore presents it is very effective. It shows a facial expression that
I've seen on pResident Dumbass's face before - for example, when Helen Thomas asked him about his problem with
the separation of Church and State (she was banished to the back of the room during pResidential press conferences
after this sacrilege). His eyes start to cross like he's trying to use some sort of introspection, but it appears that he will
only succeed in turning his head inside out. It goes on for an awfully long time – quite like the actual time it took for
someone to tell him to, “do something”.

I don’t go to movie theaters. The “audiences” there are usually obtuse, boorish, loud and rude. I get enough of that crap
reading about Neo-Cons. This experience was quite different, however. This audience was respectful of the film and of
the other people in the room. It was interesting to note that although the people in the audience were obviously
knowledgeable about the current "problem(s)" facing this country, there were audible "gasp"s and "hunh?"s when
Michael started going into the Bath/bin Laden/Arbusto/Harken situation. Folks are still learning and will continue to
if they have the facts presented to them in an open forum.

When the movie ended, something happened that I had experienced at only one other movie showing – the audience applauded.
I and my wife right along with ‘em. The other movie where this occurred was “Bowling for Columbine”...here...in Dallas.

When we left through the door, there was a long, long line waiting to get in.  The other showings were SOLD OUT.

Michael helps give us all hope, and I wish him good health and a long, long life – at the very least, I hope he stays out of small planes.

Izzy

Howdy Bart!

My husband and I were going to go see "Fahrenheit 9/11" on Friday afternoon at a Minneapolis art
house-type movie theater, since I figured that's the only place that would be showing it locally (on three
screens, too!) Then I checked with Moviefone and saw that it was showing at eight different theaters,
including one about a mile away here in the suburbs near St. Paul, MN. Score!

So we took my 70-yr-old mom along with (once a hippie, always a hippie) to the 6:50 p.m. show. Got there 25
minutes early. The place was sold out. There were old gray-haired couples, young couples, gay couples,
teens, urban hipsters, regular middle America. It was great.

After 18 minutes of previews and advertisments (is there anything more annoying than this?!?) we finally
got down to it. Since I am a regular if not hourly reader of left-leaning websites and listen to AirAmerica Radio,
hardly any of the content was news to me--except for the part in the beginning, when Congressional members of
color could NOT get one measly Senator to sign on to their opposition to the Supreme Court's hijacking of the
election, airing their grievance and protest as Al Gore presided. That floored me. It made my heart sink.

This morning I wondered who could have and should have signed? Why didn't they? I guess they really are a
bunch of weak spineless pansy-asses. If Wellstone were alive (he had been killed the month before), I am sure
HE would have done it. What a total waste. And look where we are now.

Correction: Paul Wellstone died in 2002, he was there and silent in January 2001.

The scenes that moved me to tears were of the injured children in Iraq after the initial bombing during the
invasion in March 2003 and the mom from Flint mourning her dead soldier son while standing  in front of the
White House, trying to find somewhere to vent her anger and grief.

I am enraged by the senseless waste of time, humanity and money on this illegal war, by the action and
inaction of the absolute selfish whore IMBECILE unlawfully occupying the White House, and by the
people who actually voted for this fraud. I cannot believe they are so blind.

After the show, somebody was handing out flyers about meetings on Monday June 28th sponsored by MoveOn.org.
My mom got one, and wants to go.

We have GOT to get this fucker out of the White House, for the sake of our country and the sake of the planet.

Thanks, keep hammering,
Sharon in Minnesota

A powerful film, the lies Bush and Co. told to start the illegal invasion of a country that had not attacked us
are told on the screen in their own voices, words they have since tried to retract or polish to restrict their
previous meaning....in the words of the young soldier who died, "we have got to get that fool out of there"
.....young people should vote for Kerry in droves.

We must not elect George Bush for the first time!!

Paul M

Hey BC,

The film was great!
We cried. It was definitely a historical moment, a shot in the arm!

I handed out Kerry bumper stickers at the movie.
If I had a 1000 with me, they would have all gone in minutes.
This movie is going to flush Bush down the toilet for sure!!!

I see Uncka Dick likes to use the "F" word.
I am going to put a sign on my front door that says
"If you are a Republican, GO FUCK YOURSELF!"

Americans have been treated like garbage by this administration.

All I can say is, may they all burn in hell.
George

Hey Bart,

     The more I read, the more I think we might have been separated at birth.
The wife and I never go to a movie on a weekend night, but this time, we did, for the first time since 1985.

     Of course it's a powerful film. It lays it all out: the lies, the propaganda, the whore "news"men.
But the most striking thing to me was the silence in the audience. You could hear a pin drop.
The arena-style theater held at least 500. I counted only 10-20 empty seats in the first two rows
and there was never a whisper, cough or cell-phone ring.

    I think one of the points of the all-out attack by the right-wing cabal (if only Hillary had used
that word instead of conspiracy) is to keep the undecided from attending because it is "biased."

Just like the GOP voting strategy: dirty up every race to make people too disgusted to show up.
(Remember what Billy Martin used to say: On a baseball team you have 15 guys who love you
and do whatever you say, five guys who hate your guts and five who are undecided. The secret to
being a good manager is to keep the five undecideds away from the five who hate you.)

    But for anyone undecided who does show up, "Fahrenheit 9/11" presents a view barely seen
anywhere in this nation, unless you're cruising the Internet. And Moore doesn't even touch on the
monetary cost. Franken on Thursday touched on the pre-war estimates: $1.8 billion and no more,
the oil revenue will pay for it. HA!

    I think you, like me, will be a little disappointed in that Moore doesn't really tell us anything we
didn't know, but the emotional impact of seeing the mother from Flint, the soldiers in the field and
in the hospital, and all those smirks adds up to a powerful indictment of the unelected fraud.

      Hell, one legitimate way to criticize the film is to say that, after two hours, Moore only scratched
the surface of the administration's crimes against this nation, our allies, humanity and the world.

Tom B

F 9/11 topped your $20M dream

BART!!!

$21.8 million, in the first 3 days!

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/06/27/box.office.ap/index.html

Hot damn!
I saw it Saturday night, and it was just awesome.
Even for someone like me, who already knew about 90% of the "surprising" facts
described in the movie, it was awesomely entertaining.

I'm a LMT (Licensed Massage Therapist) who does work for a small chiropractic clinic.
I'm basically the only one there who isn't a SUPERCHRISTIAN, and, chances are, a right-wing drone.
I'm going to strongly suggest to them all, tomorrow, that they see this film.
Wonder how that'll play with the Jesufied ditto monkey crowd.
Guess we'll see.

Ryan in Tampa

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