More Moore

Although it has been 5 years since the release of Bowling for Columbine, James Nichols has doggedly pursued legal action against Michael Moore.  Although the libel and defamation suit Nichols filed against Moore was thrown out of court in 2005, Nichols and his attorney appealed the decision.

The latest news is that the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld U.S. District Judge Paul D. Borman's decision.  

Borman found that Moore’s statements about Nichols were "factual and substantially true." (link)

 Nichols may appeal this decision.

As a Michigander, I had heard of Michael Moore prior to both Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11 .  I was basically roped into watching an episode of TV Nation by a friend of mine.  Well, I couldn't help but laugh when Moore bought a one room shack & blew it up.  I was quite entertained.  (Did I mention that this was after the Unabomber was caught.  Oh, and we were smoking something we shouldn't have...)  We were both in college, and my friend was a Clinton Democrat.  At the time, I was very anti-establishment (aka pro-Green party), and had no use for politics.  In each conversation, my friend would tell me how this, that, and the other were all related to what was going on in our local, state, and/or federal government.  He even made me watch clips from Star Trek that illustrated his points.  He certainly didn't turn me to a Democrat at that time, but he gave me entertainment that opened up a new point of view.  Without going into my entire political transformation process, let me just say that my friend was the first excited Democrat I had ever seen at that point.  (I still voted for Nader, but don't throw stones -- Gore won MI in 2000.)  

Bowling for Columbine raised some very important issues.  I don't recall thinking that James Nichols helped to plan or condoned Oklahoma City bombing after watching it.  (It was kinda weird to find out he sleeps with a gun under his pillow....)

I was very grateful to Moore for speaking out to such a large audience at a time when doing so made you an immediate target for the pundits and Freepers alike.  Many on the right (and even on the left) dismissed Moore and stated he played fast and loose with the truth.  He used his skill (and he does have talent) as a film maker to wake up the public in an effort to defeat Bush.  I believe it helped.  If nothing else, it was a conversation starter.  The Right Wing Smear Machine is over an done with (for now), and while this might not garner as much attention as Britney's shaved head, it is vindication for Moore.

Until looking Moore up on imdb.com, I didn't realize that he has more than one filmin post-production.  I am looking forward to Moore's upcoming movie on America's health care system, Sicko.  Of all the documentaries by Moore, I have a feeling this one will appeal to people across the political spectrum.  Who knows?  Maybe it will help someone see things from a new angle and could help create new progressives in America.  It was one of the reasons I am here today.  Oh, and my friend?  Well, 9/11 changed everything for him.  He became a hardcore Bush & war supporter.  We still debate, though lately he hasn't had much to say in defense of W.  I think if Democrats maintain integrity and make a real difference while in power my friend will come back into the fold.  

Life sure is strange, isn't it?

•  Moore is a hero

  and the fact that his films use staging, montage, and a heapin' helpin' of partisan inference to make his didactic points is just dandy with me.  Despite the shrieks from the right, his fact-checking holds up pretty darn well.  And of course, a more unbiased and evenhanded version of history can be attempted by whoever likes to give it a try.  But there's DEFINITELY a place for advocacy journalism and Moore has made a positive difference for us all.

  by lgmcp on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 12:36:59 PM PDT

  •  I'm really looking forward to "Sicko".

    The insurance and pharmaceutical industries make pretty easy targets, so the film should indeed have an even wider appeal.  

    by lgmcp on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 12:46:00 PM PDT

  •  He's no "hero" to me

    He voted for Nader in 2000, attacked Gore for months, and helped Bush become president. He has yet to admit that he was wrong to do that. I have no respect for Moore as a result of that.

    by jiacinto on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 02:48:23 PM PDT

    •  Point, but who says heros are perfect?

      Most are not.  A record of massive and significant accomplishment is quite compatible with numerous errors in judgement, failings in personal morality, and son on.  Was MLK always faithful to Coretta? Was Mother Jones always easy to get along with?  Did Jefferson free his slaves?  And so on.  

      by lgmcp on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 03:04:44 PM PDT

    •  I voted for Nader in 2000, too.

      If Moore voted for him in MI, then it doesn't really matter at this point since MI went to Gore.

      I will never say that I helped Bush become president or apologize for my vote (although I do qualify/explain it.)

      by spyral on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 03:23:50 PM PDT

      •  He helped Nader gain influence

        And yes you did help Bush become president by voting for Nader. You added legitimacy and credibility to his candidacy. IF Moore truly didn't want Bush to win he would have voted for Gore, the only candidate besides Bush to have any realistic chance of winning.

        by jiacinto on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 04:10:13 PM PDT

        •  You can stomp your feet...

          ...and tell me I'm to blame, but I disagree.  I had every right to cast my vote for Nader.  Did I campaign for him?  No.  Was I unimpressed with both Bush and Gore?  Yes.  I am guessing that Moore voted in MI, too.  Gore still won in MI.  Do you think Moore doesn't have the right to throw his support behind whichever candidate he chooses?  Gore won the popular vote without my vote and without all the other Nader voters of America.  If you want someone to blame for Bush's Presidency, blame the Republicans who voted for him as the nominee, blame the Supreme Court, blame butterfly ballots and dirty politics (disenfranchisement, etc.)

          Actually, why even look behind to point your self-righteous finger in blame for the debacle that was 2000?  I never imagined anyone would fail on such a level as Bush.  There's nothing we can do to change the past, and we need to look ahead to clean up the mess.  Now that Democrats are in control of Congress, I hope to see real changes.  I have been pretty impressed thus far.

          To hold a grudge against Moore for not being clairvoyant and predicting the disaster that is W & Co. is unreasonable.  

          by spyral on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 07:16:24 PM PDT

•  Michael Moore Scared the Righties . . .

  enough so that they felt it necessary to villify and smear him, that alone makes me like him!

  I Loved "Roger & Me" and I have been hooked on his work ever since.  I have never understood the criticism against him from the left, but then again, we have a long history of shooting our own, and ourselves in the foot!

  by ssuba on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 12:41:53 PM PDT

  •  I too don't understand

    ..his seemingly universal criticism.

    Before Murtha, before Feingold, before Cindy Sheehan, before Wilson - before any of these spoke out about the current administration (and Bravo to each of them for doing so!), Moore was one of the 1st public figures to very publically call the president's bluff on invading Iraq. Moore didn't insult anyone, he didn't belittle anyone, and he didn't make it a personal attack (a la the Dixie Chicks); he simply stated that the premise for the invasion was a lie. That was about 1 week into the invasion of Iraq, in late March of 2003.

    Ironically, the words he spoke have been proven correct, while he still seems to be persistently labeled as a liberal, far-left, lying wacko. And not just by the far right. And I have seen absolutely no evidence to support any of these claims.

    by watch out for snakes on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 01:05:11 PM PDT

    •  You're exactly right!

      When I first heard his "accusation" that while there was a NO FLY order after 9-11, that the Bin Laden family was flown out of the country w/ the support of the administration, I really doubted it could be true.  After all, that seemed like the kind of grand conspiracy that simply could not be true!  Surely the msm and Dem's in congress would raise a fire storm if such a thing happened . . . wouldn't they ? ? ?

      Since then, Michael Moore has been proven right on that and many more fronts, and his thanks is villification from BOTH sides.  I for one am greatful for the Michael Moore's of this world.  Fight the good fight my brother!

      by ssuba on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 01:11:28 PM PDT

  •  Why would they be afraid of an enabler like him?

    Moore encouraged and supported Nader in 2000. He helped them. I don't think that Moore "scares" anyone on the right.

    by jiacinto on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 02:48:55 PM PDT

    •  Whoa now

      Your beef re the Nader vote is one thing, but how can you deny that Moore makes the Right nutsaloid with pure outrage?  

      Did you happen to cruise any right-wing blogs when Fahrenheit 911 was in the news? They burned up a LOT of oxygen bloviating about how his every factual claim was a fabrication.  I hardly think they'd have been QUITE so vituperative if he was their fair-haired boy.  

      by lgmcp on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 03:14:44 PM PDT

      •  If I were a right-winger I'd support Moore

        wholeheartedly. He turns more people against the left than he attracts.

        by jiacinto on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 04:09:05 PM PDT

        •  Poll results here would indicate otherwise n/t

          by lgmcp on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 04:12:30 PM PDT

          •  "Here" isn't the demographic

            that matters. "There"--right-wing sites--also isn't the demographic that matters. Moore works well with the already converted, but turns away moderates and swing voters. So what if Moore is "popular" on a left-leaning site?

            by jiacinto on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 04:15:44 PM PDT

            •  There may be something to this

              but in your zeal you are shifting your ground.  

              Arguing about the effect of a frank leftie propagandist on undecided swing voters is one thing.

              Claiming as you did in parent posts above that the Right does not fear him and in fact loves him is a whole other thing.  

              Your former claim is worth further thought, but the latter is patently absurd.  

              by lgmcp on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 04:19:16 PM PDT

              •  I woud love every 2000 Naderite

                if I were a right-winger. Moore helped Bush at the most important time--during the election campaign. Again, if Moore honestly didn't want Bush to win, he would have supported Gore. It bothers me that, to this day, he has yet to admit that he was wrong in supporting Nader.

                by jiacinto on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 04:21:45 PM PDT

                •  Yeah, I get that Naderism bugs you

                  and in fact it bugs me too.  

                  But it's not like I'm fond of, oh, say, Ted Strickland and his fundie megachurch, just because his deeds might end up hurting turnout for the evangelical vote. I'll be glad if he has that effect, sure, but I still dislike and fear him and everything he stands for.  Which is exactly how the Right feels about Moore, whether you will believe it or not.

                  The "enemy of my enemy" kind of friendship just doesn't go that far.  It may work operationally, for brief periods, but it doesn't trump actual loathing. It just doesn't. Sorry.

                  by lgmcp on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 04:29:06 PM PDT

                  •  Well

                    If I were a far right-winger I'd love to make Moore the face of the Democratic Party. I'd love to make him and Cynthia McKinney the "poster boys" of the "mainstream Democratic Party". I'd support them indirectly.

                    by jiacinto on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 04:40:34 PM PDT

•  The DLC really crapped on him

  He made a couple of ill-advised statements and the DLC turned into another Sister Souljah.

  By contrast, you haven't seen any leading Republicans pile on Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, or Bill O'Reilly, who spew bile on a regular basis.

  by Dump Terry McAuliffe on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 12:44:43 PM PDT

  •  With Democrats, the circular firing squad

    is always on alert.

    by shayera on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 12:51:01 PM PDT

  •  He voted for Nader in 2000

    So he is partially responsible for making Bush president. So I don't like him. While I think that F 9/11 did have some good points, I couldn't get past the first few minutes where he blames the Democrats for the FL debacle after Moore himself voted for Nader. I found that to be so self-serving and dishonest.

    by jiacinto on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 02:50:23 PM PDT

    •  imo, you're almost trolling this diary

      you posted essentially the same comment three times in this diary.

      by hypersphere01 on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 02:51:50 PM PDT

      •  I'm not trolling

        this diary. I am voicing my opinion on Moore.

        by jiacinto on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 02:52:16 PM PDT

        •  do you really need to post almost the exact same

          comment three times?

          by hypersphere01 on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 03:04:55 PM PDT

•  A question you missed in this

  is who is bankrolling Nichols' litigation?

  He's gone thru a trial court, thru a court of appeal and appears no compunction about bringing it to the U.S. Supreme Court (particularly given the rather withering holding by the court of appeal that what Moore said was factual and substantially true--what's he gonna appeal?).  

  These processes aren't cheap--not usually affordable to an ordinary farmer.  I suspect Moore is being harassed, if not swift boated.

  by robokos on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 01:01:13 PM PDT

  •  That is a good question.

    I'll do some checking....

    by spyral on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 03:30:36 PM PDT

  •  googling...

    Ok, I'm at home after my commute and did some googling.  The most I can find out Nichols' attorney is that she owns her own private practice, spoke against a measure at Lansing City council meeting, and that she's a member of the West Michigan Mayhem (a women's football team.)  I also found the opinion of Judge Paul D. Borman online.  I am no PI, so I guess I'll leave it at that....

    by spyral on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 06:46:49 PM PDT

•  He always tells me what I need to know..

  We need more moores.  He was the first one to stand up to this horrible administration and he took a lot of flak for it..

  by bayside on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 01:32:52 PM PDT

  •  And he helped this administration take office

    by voting for Nader in 2000. He promoted Nader for months on end and attacked Gore. He has yet to even admit that he was wrong to vote for Nader. In Stupid White Men he said that he would "do it again". Moore helped make Bush president.

    by jiacinto on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 02:51:54 PM PDT

    •  Ok, I get it

      You don't respect him & blame him for Bush being President.  

      I don't think you need to say that in every comment you post here.  

      by spyral on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 03:39:00 PM PDT

•  Sorry for hit & run diary

  I posted this on my lunch hour & then had to go to back-to-back meetings.  Reading the commments now...

  by spyral on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 03:21:52 PM PDT