Letters: Aug. 2, 2004

Michael Moore's War

Moore's movie may be a mix of fact and fiction, but anything that opens up discussion on the invasion of Iraq is good for America. JOHN MIRANDA Oro Valley, Ariz.

Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11 is not just the politics of entertainment or the entertainment of politics [July 12]. For those who have been assimilating information and connecting the dots since George W. Bush took office, Moore simply lays it all out--the whole picture--which is something that our main media have been too gutless to do. Nothing Moore points out is a surprise. Everything he presents in this film should make an American citizen angry. Those who are shocked by Moore's documentary have not been paying attention to current events and what they are signaling loud and clear. LIZ ROSE Santa Cruz, Calif.

Because Moore is too old to spank, he deserves a good slap in the face. He's like a spoiled child who runs around saying outrageous things to the delight of his dim-witted parents. Moore isn't cute; he's dangerous. To imply that 9/11 could have been prevented is ludicrous. Moore's anti-American rhetorical bomb throwing should not go unanswered. JOSEPH CALVINI SR. Mamaroneck, N.Y.

Critics are willing to apply a stricter standard to Moore's presentation of his opinions than they do to Bush's argument for his. That's why Moore's movie is necessary. Those who desired a serious debate in the lead-up to the Iraq war waited in frustration for serious journalists to ask hard questions and apply critical scrutiny to the Administration's case. Moore's questions are the ones that should have been debated before we went into Iraq. Why should Moore's movie receive closer scrutiny than the Administration's decision to go to war? S. ANN ROBINSON Ashburn, Va.

Fahrenheit 9/11 is not a documentary film; it is history's longest and most maliciously negative campaign ad. The filmmaker raises the art of innuendo and guilt by association to heights unimagined even by Senator Joseph McCarthy. RICHARD A. STACY Denver

Moore's movie is a mirror image of the very truth-twisting tactics that he decries, proving that you can fool some of the people some of the time by pushing all the right buttons. Moore so deftly exploits class envy, ignorance, emotionalism, gullibility and victimhood that Fahrenheit 9/11 might just as well have been called Marketing 101. ROSALIE GRAHAM SZILAGYI Louisville, Ky.

Just what we need: an arrogant loudmouth who represents a loony, paranoid faction. But it's not Rush Limbaugh. Surprise! It's Michael Moore! HEIDI CRABTREE Kennesaw, Ga.

What is all the silliness in response to the long-overdue anti-Republican propaganda in Fahrenheit 9/11? Fox News unabashedly spews anti-Democratic invective daily, so why the deep concern about one movie? Right-wingers dish it out with impunity, but they are certainly whining about Moore's response. The world beyond U.S. borders recognizes the transparent absurdity of this redneck posturing. At least half of all Americans undoubtedly cringe at the loss of respect and dignity the U.S. suffers on the global stage because of the embarrassingly blind arrogance of its political right. At home Moore may be a thorn in Bush's side, but around the world the filmmaker's brand of honesty redeems the credibility of the U.S. JIM MARTENS Vernon, B.C.