Michael Moore is OK by Me

I saw the new Michael Moore movie, Capitalism; A Love Story the day after it opened, and wrote a blogpost about the experience. I had a few reservations, one of which was that Moore was big on condemning Capitalism as a system but was not offering anything substantive to take its place. He stirred the emotional pot and hinted at revolution and left it at that.

Today I have to eat a little crow because Michael Moore has posted on his website a very comprehensive list of specific things we Americans can and should do.

Sell the Vatican Feed the World

Sometimes raunchy, always funny, comedien, Sarah Silverman, has made a video which contains a practical, down to earth, solution to the problem of world hunger. Sell the Vatican and Feed the World.

How simple is that? And could there be a better way to celebrate UN World Food Day? Personally, I think the boss would approve (not the Pope, the real boss, the one who founded Christianity a couple of thousand years ago) you know-- the one who threw the money changers out of the temple.

I found the video funny and to the point( the point being world hunger not the Vatican) but then I like Silverman's snarky brand of sarcasm. Bill Donahoe of the Catholic League was not amused. He called Silverman's idea " an obscene suggestion." and clearly views the video as a scandalous attack on holy mother church. I think Bill should lighten up and have a laugh. He's not hungry and lots of people are and Sarah is just pointing that out by using the Vatican as an example. Pssst. Bill, she doesn't really expect that the folks in the Vatican are going to put it up for sale-- honest. She's just pullling your leg. Get a grip.

Maybe he's sensitive because this business about wealth and power vs. holiness and humility is one that has troubled Christianity since its earliest days. Didn't Jesus say " lay not up the treasures of this world" and "it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle?"

Yeah, I think he did.





hat tip to Berto: Philosophy Monkey for this one

Sarah Palin is Hot for Halloween

Last year there were lots of little Obamas,Bushes, Palins and McCains ringing doorbells and yelling trick or treat on Halloween. This year not so much. It's just not a political Halloween in 2009, with one notable exception.

Sarah Palin costumes and masks are flying off the shelves and even outselling Obama masks by quite a healthy margin. Go figure? The only other quasi-political figure who is even coming close to Palin in popularity is Glenn Beck. Not sure what that says about the the country but it is something to ponder.

Those who study such things say that this is the year of Michael Jackson and Star Trek. Political figures, it seems are soooo 2008. I guess that means lots of Gloved Ones, Captain Kirks and Mr. Spocks along with the usual pirates, ghosts, vampires, and ballerinas will be ringing my doorbell. There is no call at all for John McCain or Joe Biden masks, and little interest either in Dick Cheney or George and Laura Bush. Only Sarah Palin retains her rock star status for the Halloween crowd. Is there a message here?

I'm thinking that a Sarah Palin costume is really easy to pull off-- A pair of glasses, pit-bull red lipstick, a tailored suit, high heels, a shotgun and a lot of " you betcha's" would do the trick. Who needs a mask anyway and in this year of global recession and environmental awareness, it's definitely politically correct to make your own biodegradable costume out of junk lying around the house..

Interesting, isn't it that Sarah Palin is the only political figure who is really hot for Halloween this year. I wonder what it means, or if it means anything at all?

More on Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize

Much has happened since my early Friday morning reflection on President Obama being awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. Over the week-end, everybody and his brother has been talking and blogging about it and everybody has a definite opinion, from the Fox News crowd to the crunchy granola set. Mostly they are complaining either that it's too soon or that the prize is about politics not peace or that Obama flat-out doesn't deserve it. Sounds like pure sour grapes to me.

I was tired of reading about it till I came across this excellent, down to earth, opinion which I just love because it is 100% in line with what I think. ( could there be a better reason?:-)

So on a quiet Sunday afternoon I offer a link I hope you'll click on, to a post I think is just great, that will explain why Obama got the Nobel Prize in simple, easy to understand terms. To Wit:

"How Can They Do That?"; A Progressive Responds Regarding Nobel Peace Prize Committee's Choice

Barack Obama Prince of Peace

I woke up this morning to the news that President Obama has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. It seems I am not the only one who was absolutely stunned by the news. But I must say I am very pleased. The committee recognized Obama " for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. "

The announcement goes on to state:

Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.

Obama beat out Colombian peace broker Piedad Cordoba, Afghan rights activist Sima Samar French-Colombian activist and ex-hostage Ingrid Betancourt for the prestigious $1.4 million award. I may be a bit biased, but I think he richly deserves the recognition, especially considering that he has only been in office for nine months. He has truly changed the world and given us all back a bit of hope.

I know that there will be those at home who will point out that he is short on actual accomplishments and those abroad, like the Taliban and mad Islamists who will have a little hissy fit over this. I bet there will be some teeth gnashing on Crawford, Texas too..... But as far as I am concerned, they can all go party with Rush Limbaugh. I'm pleased as punch.

The Nobel Committee has taken the measure of the man and and is placing a bet on his future. While Obama is the third sitting president to receive the peace prize, he is the only one to get it so early in his presidency. This award is the wind beneath his wings-- an encouragement to the President to follow through on his promises of world peace and nuclear disarmament. Morally, it matters and politically, it will help.

Hail the new American prince of peace. Who needs the Olympics when you can have the Nobel Peace Prize?

Thoughts on Michael Moore and Capitalism

I went to see the movie that Michael Moore calls his "magnum opus" yesterday. Capitalism: A Love Story is quite a film. I don't know whether to say I loved it or hated it, but I will say that it is well worth plonking down money for a ticket and a bucket of popcorn to see on the big screen.

I've seen every Michael Moore film since Roger and Me. I loved Bowling for Columbine, cheered Fahrenheit 9/11 with its condemnation of the Bush administration and the war in Iraq and approved of Sicko which took dead aim at health care in America.

Michael Moore has always been a champion of the little guy and not been afraid to criticize the powerful and greedy. I've laughed and cried with him and always enjoyed his pseudo documentary style. But this time I think he went too far. Or, perhaps I have just gotten tired of the Michael Moore formula the way I got tired of Woody Allen ( although I still think Annie Hall is one of the greatest movies ever made.)

A Combination of Karl and Groucho Marx

In Capitalism: A Love Story, Moore is a combination of Karl and Groucho Marx with a bit of Thomas Paine thrown in for good measure. These surely are the times that try men's souls and Michael Moore issues a stinging indictment not only of corporate excess( which I was expecting)but also of the entire system of free market capitalism (which kind of shocked me). The film opens with a wonderful visual comparison of the decline of America to the fall of ancient Rome and ends with a stern warning of revolution in the offing. As the credits roll, the background music playing is the Internationale( the socialist anthem) which left me thinking that Moore is expecting revolution from the left... from the downtrodden American workers with whom he so identifies and whose plight he outlines so brilliantly.

I'm not so sure. Perhaps that is what leaves me feeling so uncomfortable. I see in our current situation unfortunate parallels to Germany as the Nazis came to power. I think given the anger of the huddled Republican masses on the far right, that a Fascist revolution is equally possible.

Either way, I don't like the idea of revolution and that is the underlying theme of this film. It is not a documentary but a docu-drama and an impassioned plea for a fairer world. Like the pundits of the far Right, Moore aims at the heart and not at the mind-- a dangerous thing to do when times are tough and people are afraid. Revolutions, like wars, are unpredictable. You can start out going in one direction and end up somewhere else entirely. I have to say it scares me. Moore is sincere in his message and passionate about his point of view, but I am uneasy. It all seems a little too pat. The jokes and the irony sometimes seem a little inappropriate given the gravity of the subject....kind of like laughing at a funeral oration.

The build up to this movie has been big. I blogged an early promo some time ago. My friend Loup d'Argent has written three anticipatory posts about it on his blog Forward and Share. Internet and TV pundits have been buzzing about it like teenage girls at a sleepover for months.

I was excited too. But now I don't know. The actual film was like a shotgun blast that left me reeling. It inflamed my anger and expanded my fears. Did I love it or hate it? I really don't know,but I'm feeling scared and I'm humming the Internationale under my breath.

Stand Up for the American Soldier

photo source: http://www.t-g.com/photos/11/26/71/1126710-H.jpg

Who will stand up for the American soldier? Did you know that more American soldiers kill themselves after they get home than are killed on the battlefield? Did you know that the alcoholism rate for returning veterans is four times the national average and the divorce rate is through the roof?

Healing wounded bodies is a piece of cake compared to healing wounded minds. Yet officialdom often denies the existance of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Who Will Stand is an eye opening, gut wrenching documentary about what our military families face when the soldier returns home from battle, often alone and with little official help or acknowledgement. The two hour film, which won a best documentary award at the 2009 Cinema City International Film Festival exposes some unpleasant truths that all American citizens, should give some serious thought to.

It will be featured at a special Veterans Day screening in Las Vegas on November 11, 2009, which coincides with a special BloggersUnite program to raise funds for the various Veterans organizations featured in the film. Even if you can't make it to Las Vegas for Veterans Day, there is plenty you can do.

Watch the trailer below and then visit the Who Will Stand website for further information. You can order a DVD or find upcoming showings. If you want to take action, they have a page with suggestions on how to do it and direct links to the organizations they recommend. Oh and one last thing-- profits from the film go to organizations that help returning soldiers. So, my fellow Americans-- let's do our bit. Let's stand up for the American soldier.

Sarah Palin Going Rogue

Now we know why Sarah Palin resigned as Governor of Alaska three months ago. It was so she could finish her million dollar memoir in time for the big pre-Christmas selling season.

Wise choice, Sarah, for you and for the nation. I love the title and the cover( just released by Harpers) It's called Going Rogue: An American Life, and the cover features a big photo of Palin against a blue sky. Media genius if you ask me.


Would you believe that though still on pre-order, the book is already number one on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble even though it won't actually be available till Novemeber 17th? Talk about star power ! It all bodes very well for the Palin bank account. Sarah and the First Dude will be in clover. Wonder how long it will be before they leave Alaska for the lower 48?

From here it is only a hop skip and a jump to her own talk show, and big bucks on the speaker circuit. She'll be able to influence public opinion and she'll be making enough money to buy all the designer clothes and Botox she wants. Who needs a career in politics with all that in the offing?

She'll get lots of attention which is what she really craves, and the rest of us can breathe a sigh of relief that she is off the international political stage. What was John McCain thinking, anyway?

I can tell you one thing, much as I disliked Sarah Palin as a political candidate, I like her as an author and media personality. I can't wait to read the Going Rogue. My name is already on the list over at Amazon. If you want to add yours, you can use the Amazon widget below. I, for one, am delighted that Sarah Palin is moving towards celebrity and away from statesmanship. She'll be doing what she's good at and the world will be a safer place. Go Sarah!!!