The Economist has some stinging criticism of the collection of essays that make up the new book, Michael Moore Is A Big Fat Stupid White Man by David T. Hardy and Jason Clarke, two bloggers.
I can only agree with the Economist’s position. Although I have not read the book, I have a good idea of its content from reading the bloggers in question.
It ends on the intellectual high note, Go to hell, Mikey. This level of argument is hardly the sort of thing to sway anyone who does not already share the authors maniacal dislike of Mr. Moore. Indeed, their loathing leads them not only to ad hominem attacks but also to exaggerate Mr Moores influence.
Its heavy-handed and self-congratulatory manner utterly defeats its purpose.
I read the review and then read some of the book on Saturday, lured in by Andrew Sullivan’s piece. I completed the chapter on “Bowling..”, which is the only Moore film I’ve seen. It’s a pretty thorough Fisking, and Moore doesn’t come out of it looking well. If you see a rebuttal, let me know.
The “Go to hell…” is from a review in the Sydney Morning Herald. The book includes several chapters reprinting articles from the web – including Sullivan’s, originally published in the Sunday Times. The book is probably reproducing the links.
I don’t The Economist has quite got the hang of blogging. Like Sullivan (check out his article “London Fog” on as.com), I think they need to display a bit more modesty and learn to write better, especially about America, the Middle East and rather than “Pretend you’re God and give your opinion”, in the words of one editor.
The New Yorker article about Moore now seems to be available online at
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/content/?040628fr_archive01
I heard this joke today. I thought it was worth repeating:
A man died and went to heaven. As he stood in front of Saint Peter, he saw a huge wall of clocks behind him. He asked, “What are all those clocks?” Saint Peter answered, “Those are lie-clocks. Everyone on earth has a lie-clock. Every time you lie the hands on your clock will move.”
Oh,” said the man, “Whose clock is that?”
“That’s the Pope’s. The hands have never moved, indicating that he never told a lie.”
“Incredible,” said the man. “And whose clock is that one?” Saint. Peter responded, “That’s Abraham Lincoln’s clock. The hands have moved twice, telling us that Abe told only two lies in his entire life.”
The man thought of a more contemporary figure. He asked, “Where’s Michael Moore’s clock?”.
“It’s in Jesus’ office. He’s using it as a ceiling fan.”
Boom, boom.
I haven’t read the book either.
My question might sound stupid, but is Michael Moore the man who runs “The Awful Truth” on TV?
i read bush has been arrested THREE times!!! is that true or more lies from m moore? also, did laura really kill her ex boyfriend? let me know
did you know moore is NOT the president? he is a comedian who makes movies, if you spent your time and energy studying bush’s lies you’d be helping the country a lot more. goto http://mystic_lonewolf.tripod.com for bush moore rock opera from syberite
You are a big fat stupid man, Michael MOORE IS NOT!
if m moore is stupid what does that make you? how many movies have you made that hit #1? how many best sellers have you written? before you insult someone maybe you should look in the mirror first.
did you see bush curtsy instead of bow? ‘she’s a west texas girl just like me’ and ‘or in my case the first lady’ kind of makes me wonder if bush knows he’s a man, or is he?
for a real funny parody of the nazi pope and adolph bush goto http://syberite.tripod.com and click on history (songs are at bottom of history)
is g stromberg 4 years old and totally missing the point?