From of all the places, the San Francisco Cronicle
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...DG0R2LB101.DTL
EDITORIAL
Bowling for credibility
Thursday, October 30, 2003
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Quote:
MICHAEL MOORE, the polemic filmmaker who likes to wear his "progressive'' politics on his plaid sleeves, has made a fortune from bashing doyens of corporate greed. But apparently the provocative Moore doesn't mind the perks of celebrity -- even when they bear the label of big-time corporate America.
Moore recently touched down in California as part of his national book tour. He's traveling in style -- in a private jet provided by Time Warner, and in SUVs courtesy of his publisher, Warner Books. The company also threw in some bodyguards -- as we know from his movies, America is a pretty darn dangerous place.
For his part, Moore sees no contradiction between his private life and his public image, suggesting that the only reason he's feeding at the corporate trough is because it's there. "I would never pay for this,'' Moore told the Los Angeles Times, adding that the irony is not lost on him.
When you make your living bashing malicious corporate CEOs, it's best not to remind people that you're using giant media companies to carry your message.
After all, the bottom line is all about profits, not prophets.
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I was awakened to a pleasant surprise this morning. For some reason, my alarm radio wasn't tuned to the usual right-wing hate-spewing station I like to wake up to, but instead I was treated to the soothing, dulcinous squawking of Michael Moore.
After a rambling diatribe against Rush Limbaugh's pill-hopping hypocrisy, Mike attacked the evils of our capitalist system and how it exploits the working class (but he's not a socialist, or anything).
I found this enlightening because unlike Rush Limbaugh - Mike is no hypocrite. He doesn't profit from the blood, sweat, and tears of the working man. On the contrary - Mike divides all the profits from his books and movies equally amongst the people who produce them. Everyone from the folks who work the presses that print his wonderful books, down to the gal who brings him his quadrtuple shot latte' every six minutes - they all get a big fat check from Mike. The only profit Mike takes from his work is the satisfaction that some poor working slob, who deserves the money far more than he, won't be living in abject squalor because a rich corporate fat cat took all the loot for himself. Even more astonishing is that Mike relinquishes all creative control over his books and films to the people who actually do the work. The famous rabbit scene in Roger & Me? That was the idea of Todd, the college intern who follows Mike around and picks up his empty beer cans and candy bar wrappers. The part in Bowling for Columbine where Mike gets a free gun at the bank? That was actually suggested by Rico, the undocumented worker who details Mike's Lexus every Tuesday, then voted on by committee, and finally submitted to Mike for inclusion in the film. You see, Michael doesn't only PREACH the doctine of socialism, he also LIVES it. Of course, there aren't the usual 10 million dead peasants that usually precede socialist utopias, but have patience, Mike's working on it