Fahrenheit 9/11

I finally got around to watching Fahrenheit 9/11. Granted before I watched it I had heard and read all kinds of criticism about it, but even just watching it a lot of questions were raised in my mind about things Moore was leaving out or distorting.

The part about the ties between Bush Senior, all the big Saudi Arabian people, Cheney and whoever, the younger Bush and his people, etc. wasn't that valid in my mind. Rich and powerful people tend to at least know each other, if not move in the same circles. That's true in most walks of life--if you're in the same occupation as someone or in the same geographical location as them, it's probable that you'll be involved in more than one thing with them.

Alleging that Jeb Bush being governor of Florida and Katherine Harris being secretary of state caused Bush to win the state--come on, this is a democratic system with checks and balances to prevent corrupt things from happening! Lots of people from both parties were watching things very carefully.

On at least two occasions in the movie when Moore was interviewing people and they gave a number or percent estimate, he took the number that benefited his idea and went with it. Did he look into the real number on his own, or just accept his interviewee's estimate as fact? The times I noticed this were when someone estimated how much of the U.S. economy Saudi Arabians were invested in (6-7%) and when someone in Flint, Michigan estimated the unemployment rate.

Check out Fifty-nine Deceits in Fahrenheit 9/11 for the full story.

And for a hilarious parody on Moore's work, see: I Am Not An Asshole, the Michael Moore Story.