Moving America Backwards: Censoring Michael MooreWritten by Scott C. Smith
If group Move America Forward has its way, come June 25th, you will not be able to see Michael Moore’s new film, Fahrenheit 9/11. Why? Well, main reason seems to be…we do not like what Michael Moore has to say about America. And, being freedom-loving Americans, we want to pressure movie theater chains not to screen film. Another question that comes to mind is, what hell is Move America Forward? I know, I hadn’t heard of them, either, until recently. As I looked over their web site, first thought that popped into my mind was: right-wing fascist nut cases. But that’s not fair. I’m not a psychologist or psychiatrist, so I’m not qualified to make judgments on mental health of Move America Forward’s board of directors and staff. Apparently, Move America Forward was created by public relations firm Russo, Marsh and Rogers a month ago. The group’s web site says they are non-partisan, but a look through names of board of directors shows a group lacking anyone who is a Democrat or liberal. Among members of board are: Chairman Howard Kaloogian, Republican and former member of California assembly; Conservative radio talk-show host Melanie Morgan, vice-chairman; and Executive Director Siobhan Guiney, described as “a legislative advocate fighting for people against liberal corruption.” That sounds non-partisan. I’m guessing Move America Forward’s definition of non-partisan is something along lines of “all of us here are conservatives.” Melanie Morgan appeared on June 16 "Crossfire" to argue her group’s case against Michael Moore’s film. Which, by way, she has not seen. There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned boycott based on not knowing anything about source material. Questioned by "Crossfire" co-host James Carville on not seeing film, Morgan explained, “…I haven’t seen film yet. And reason I haven't seen it yet is because majority of America has not seen movie, and reason why majority of America hasn't seen movie is because it's only been screened for a handful of Hollywood liberals and elite media. But I have been able to discern from footage and from information that is available by transcript on Internet what true intentions of Michael Moore are.” In addition to being conservative, Morgan is also, apparently, psychic. Move America Forward is employing an e-mail campaign to get people to contact executives at movie chains and urge them not to show movie. How come conservative groups are so quick to silence voices that speak out against government? Shouldn’t free market decide success or failure of Moore’s film? Frankly, I do not need “non-partisan” conservatives deciding for me whether or not to see film.
| | Ann Coulter vs. One Billion ArabsWritten by Scott C. Smith
In a recent column, Ann Coulter expressed indignation regarding an apparent Federal Aviation Administration policy not to perform searches on more than two Arabs at a time. I was not aware of this policy, but not surprisingly, Coulter would like all Arabs stopped and searched. You know, because they’re Arab. I think Coulter is applying some sort of twisted logic to this subject. Something along lines of, “The terrorists that attacked United States on 9-11 were Arabs. Therefore, all Arabs are terrorists.” In essence, Coulter is advocating racial profiling. Which is an odd position for an attorney with a background in constitutional law to take. Innocent until proven guilty? Not if you look like you are an Arab. It was John Lehman, a member of 9-11 Commission, that had brought attention to policy that prohibits airlines from searching more than two Arabs at a time. To this, Coulter writes, “In a sane world, Lehman’s statement would have made headlines across country…that it is official government policy to prohibit searching more than two Arabs per flight.” African-Americans have dealt with this kind of injustice for years. And while Coulter thinks racial profiling is sound law enforcement policy, I have another word for it: racism. But that’s just me. And when you apply Coulter’s logic to other scenarios, logic stops making sense. For instance, The FBI has profiled serial killers and what has emerged is that majority of serial killers are white males. Does that mean FBI should stop every white male in a particular city or region where a serial killer has struck? Of course not. That would be stupid. So, even though she supports a racist method of law enforcement, it would not be fair for me to say Coulter was a racist. I don’t know Ann Coulter, so I can’t say she’s a racist. That would be wrong. Maybe we can find some answers in her columns! Here’s a good one. September 25, 2002. Why We Hate Them. Coulter writes, Americans don't want to make Islamic fanatics love us. We want to make them die. There's nothing like horrendous physical pain to quell angry fanatics. So sorry they're angry – wait until they see American anger. Japanese kamikaze pilots hated us once too. A couple of well-aimed nuclear weapons, and now they are gentle little lambs. That got their attention. No love lost there, eh Ann? Maybe we should emulate policies of Hitler-era German government. They didn’t like Jews very much, so they rounded them up and killed millions of them. Conservatives do a lot of whining about how liberals are always quick to label conservatives as “racists” or “homophones” or “stupid.” These assessments, at least for me, are based on what I hear coming out of a conservative’s mouth, or what they write. Actually, conservative hate-speak is very easy to pick up on. Take Sean Hannity. He likes to begin sentences with statements like “You liberals…” or he’ll say “You and your liberal friends…” The key is to take word liberal and replace it with a minority. Give it a try next time you hear Hannity, or some other right-winger, on television or read it in print. If you can stomach hearing Hannity. Maybe you’ll need to find someone less annoying. Speaking of annoying, let’s get back to Coulter. In her Sept. 4, 2002 column, titled Murder for Fun and Prophet (get it? Prophet refers to Prophet Muhammad. Hilarious!), at end of column, Coulter dismisses Muslim faith as irrelevant. “Muhammad makes L. Ron Hubbard look like Jesus Christ. Most people think nothing of assuming every Scientologist is a crackpot. Why should Islam be subject to presumption of respect because it's a religion?” That’s right, Ann! Over one billion people around world are crackpots because they are Muslims. Idiots! As a comparison, there are only a few million members of Church of Scientology, according to Religious Tolerance web site.
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