I'm glad their propaganda backfired on them.
Posted on 04/28/2006 6:09:06 AM PDT by West Coast Conservative
If there is any justice, and there rarely is, United 93 should explode one of the more outrageous myths of 9/11.
It's the one perpetrated by guerrilla filmmaker Michael Moore that purports to show U.S. President George W. Bush asleep at the switch when the terror attacks were occurring in New York and Washington, D.C.
You'll recall the famous scene from Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, the most inflammatory piece of agit-prop since Reefer Madness. Bush continues reading a book titled The Pet Goat to a classroom of Florida kindergarten students, despite having been told by an aide that jets have slammed into the World Trade Center.
For seven minutes — Moore counts every second — Bush sits there, a deepening pall of worry crossing his face, as he puzzles over what to do. Should he drop everything, and investigate the air crashes? Or should he maintain composure and conclude his session with the children?
Anyone with compassion could sympathize with Bush, who was in need of more information. The sympathy should intensify after seeing United 93, which shows the near-chaos that erupted amongst air traffic controllers and military personnel, as they struggled for a lot longer than seven minutes to understand what was happening.
Even after the Twin Towers and the Pentagon had been struck by three of four hijacked jets, the officials still didn't know what they were dealing with, or exactly what course of action to take.
The U.S. Army was caught off guard, first sending up two unarmed jets, then two others that headed in the wrong direction, toward the Atlantic Ocean. Due to these snafus and many others, presidential authorization to shoot down the hijacked planes didn't come until four minutes after the crash of United 93, the last of the four in the air. Not that it would have made any difference.
In the face of such total bewilderment, no reasonable person could expect Bush to have been any more aware of what was going on that morning than the air traffic and military experts who watch the skies for a living. And yet Moore made it seem as if Bush was the only confused man on 9/11, a contention United 93 writer-director Paul Greengrass calls "nonsense" and reprehensible: "Bush was like everybody else. You could see it in his face. He didn't know what was going on. He was in front of the world's press and cameras and small children, and actually I had quite a lot of compassion for the guy. But of course, I don't agree with him politically."
Old slurs die hard, however, so I wasn't surprised to hear movie critic Roger Ebert repeating Moore's knock of Bush in his review of United 93 on TV last week.
"I don't know about you," he told his sidekick Richard Roeper, "but all I could think of was that scene in Fahrenheit 9/11 with Bush ... doing nothing."
I bring this up not to defend Bush, who is deserving of much criticism, but rather to lament how criticism of the man and his policies has curdled into sophomoric name-calling by the arts community.
Ebert is right in sync with Hollywood — as he so often is — in deriding Bush as a moron deserving of nothing but scorn and ridicule. It seems that every second movie or TV show these days has someone trying on a Bush impersonation, each more ludicrous and childish than the last. It's lame comedy of the kind served up last week in American Dreamz, in which Dennis Quaid portrays Bush as so inept and stupid, he requires an aide whispering words through an earpiece to utter anything remotely presidential. He also has the crusts cut off his morning toast, pops "happy pills" to stave off depression, and acts as if reading a morning newspaper is a major achievement.
The "dumb Bush" gag isn't funny, partly because it's puerile but mainly because it's old. We've already seen innumerable Bush parodies, in big movies like Roland Emmerich's The Day After Tomorrow and small ones like John Sayles's Silver City. A quick Internet search will pull up Will Ferrell doing a Bush riff that once again insults the man's intellect, and ours.
Yet in his review of American Dreamz, while acknowledging the viciousness of the portrayal, Ebert wrote, "I was surprised at the movie's daring" in taking on Bush, as if it's the first time anyone had ever done so. Reading that line reminded me of how the late Gene Siskel used to react whenever Ebert said something fatuous. As I recall, he'd raise his eyebrows and go, "Oh, Roger ..."
But I don't mean to pick on Ebert, who is generally a very fair and astute critic. I just wonder if we're not all better than this. I think back on satires like Network and A Face in the Crowd, both of which American Dreamz recalls for the wrong reasons, and I long for a time when the joke was in the writing, not in the mugging.
Is there nobody in Hollywood who can make light of the U.S. president without resorting to spitballs and silly faces? The failure of American Dreamz at the box office — and it bombed big-time — suggests to me that the public has grown weary of Bush parodies, even if Hollywood hasn't.
The lazy and the partisan will read this as a Bush apologia. It's not. I'm not American, and I don't vote in U.S. elections. If I did, I would have cast my ballot for Ralph Nader, whom I respect and who represents real democracy in action.
I side with United 93's Greengrass, who with his profoundly important film is attempting to elevate public debate beyond the mocking and the heckling that passes for so much of what we call serious thought today.
"I'd like to hope I'm on the progressive side of the argument, too," Greengrass said. "But we're not going to get anywhere if we pretend that our leaders, even if we don't agree with them, are idiots and fools and knaves."
Some Canucks get it.
MY Pet Goat, not The Pet Goat
Odd that the simpering Left didn't think it was too soon for Fat Mike's propaganda piece.
(Denny Crane: "Every one should carry a gun strapped to their waist. We need more - not less guns.")
Maybe Bush should have donned Clinton's superman cape which he left in the West Wing underwear drawer and flown to the rescue!
Does anyone recall how long Kerry sat in silence after he learned? I think he said in a speech once that it was 45 minutes.
I seem to remember a freeper saying it was more like 5 minutes. Supposedly somebody timed it by watching the actual tape.
I don't know if that is true or not. Not that it makes a difference. Those who have swallowed Moore's bilge could watch Bush raise the dead and still hate him.
This so infuriates me. Why hasn't Ebert seen Fahrenhpye 911? It shows exactly what happened with the president. Even the Dem voting teacher had praise for the president. Why doesn't this film critic watch that movie. He's a loser.
They just got done living under a hard core leftist government, and it is still fresh in their mind the total corruption and incompetence inflicted on them by the clueless class.
I wanted to see this piece of trash film, but refused to give Mike a penny to see it. So, I recently was able to set my DVR to record it. I still haven't watched it. Has anyone here seen it? Will it make my blood boil, or is it just so far out there that it makes one feel sorry for how stupid Mike can be?
I would offer that W knew exactly what was happening on that fateful morning. The first blows by terrorists under his administration were being dealt to us and the path forward from that day had already been decided upon. I would pose that there were already protocols in place that were decided on when Rummy, Rice, Cheney (among others) had been visiting the President on 'the longest vacation' in presidential History at the Crawford ranch.
I think this is where the "Bush knew" crowd gets their angle. I do believe it was known that something was coming. I would not take that so far as to say they knew what it was or when it was coming.
I think that W knew what was happening when Card whispered in his ear and I think he knew that the world was in the process of major changes. Changes that would be so profound and long lasting that he decided to give those kids one last breath of what we all considered 'normal' up until that point. Something that can never ever be done again because the world has been changed forever.
I offer that W knew there was nothing he could do that was not already being done and that there was no immediate action that could stop what had already begun. The response to what happened that day would take years and decades to play out.
My Pet Goat will go down in history as the last book read to children in a classroom setting by a President prior to the onset of the global war on terrorism.(*read WW4*) I commend W for taking a few minutes to finish that book and not traumatize those kids by running away as soon as he got the news. It was right and proper to do what he did that day and for the most part he has been right and proper in his actions ever since. I think history will show that clearly as historians look back and muddle thru all the self created media drama.
I will always be thankful of the compassion W showed to those children that day because I think he already knew how much there lives had been changed forever by the events that were unfolding.
To the left, truth is whatever they think serves their interests. As Lenin said, "Truth is whatever serves the party." They really believe that. Anything that serves their side is true and anything that doesn't is untrue, and that's all there is to it.
Liberals also believe in another old adage, that if you repeat something often enough, it becomes true. That's from Goebbels.
It was at the dry cleaners having a spot or two removed....
I remember him saying something to that effect. Something about being so confused about what was going on for like 45 minutes. Amazing.
One thing the Canucks didn't get right. The U.S. Army doesn't have any jet fighters. That would be the U.S.A.F.
"Flight 93" needs to be shown in the US Capitol with both the House and Senate in attendance. Maybe they'd wake up to the life and death struggle this country is in, the perfect microcosm of which was that airplane cabin high above the fertile fields of Pennsylvania. The people below were oblivious to the searing struggle taking place above them. There is no excuse for our leaders to be oblivious still to the fight for our existence as a nation, as they do their best to trivilize it.
Excellent point.
Oh, of course.
On a picky note, Mr. Howell, that's not democracy, it's socialism.
"Does anyone recall how long Kerry sat in silence after he learned? I think he said in a speech once that it was 45 minutes."
_________________________
He did that AND he was in Vietnam? Wow...how come he isn't President....what gives..?
Yeah, well if Bush had taken Clinton's advice to make stopping Al-Qaeda his number one priority upon taking office, it never would have happened in the first place. /sarcasm
Here is Kerry's comment, the actual times that the 2nd plane hit the WTC, and time the plane that flew into the Pentagon:
KERRY: "I was in the Capitol. We'd just had a meeting -- we'd just come into a leadership meeting in Tom Daschle's office, looking out at the Capitol. And as I came in, Barbara Boxer and Harry Reid were standing there, and we watched the second plane come in to the building. And we shortly thereafter sat down at the table and then we just realized nobody could think, and then boom, right behind us, we saw the cloud of explosion at the Pentagon. And then word came from the White House, they were evacuating, and we were to evacuate, and so we immediately began the evacuation."
9:03 a.m.: United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. FAA Boston Center deciphers the message from American 11, and realizes hijackers control more than one plane.
9:38 a.m.: American 77, with 58 passengers, four flight attendants and two pilots, crashes into the Pentagon, the National Guard pilot reports the crash to Washington's terminal facility. The Langley jets are 150 miles away.
I'm glad their propaganda backfired on them.
I guess we now know why the librats are screaming, "TOO SOON!!!"
One of their precious gods of slander was mashed up.
I am conflicted by reasoned, sane arguments from relatively stable people such as this "progressive". While I would rather discuss and debate the future direction of our civilization with reasonable people, rather than the "Bush is Hitler" crowd, the Dim party (and "leftism" in general) would not be in such a freefall if more of them were reasoned and thoughtful.
That sums up both sides of the aisle. It's why we're screwed.
"...For seven minutes — Moore counts every second — Bush sits there,..."
And for over an HOUR, the dimoCRAKTIC senate "leadership", Tiny Tom, John "Lurch" Kerry, among others, were FROZEN into INACTION. Lurch ADMITS to this. It would be great if Michael Moore would have included that in his propoganda film. Oh, there weren't any cameras on the dims to capture the HOUR of INACTION on THEIR part. But we all know that bit of TT's and Lurch's cinematic career would never leave the cutting room floor.A--holes the lot of them!
I'm amazed that this piece got past the Toronto Scar's editorials. I gave up on that rag in the 1990s.
"...I wanted to see this piece of trash [Fahrenheit 911] film, but refused to give [Michael Moore] a penny to see it..."
If that ever happens again in the future, just follow this procedure: Go to a large multiplex-style theater showing a wide selection of movies. Purchase a ticket for a different movie and then view the leftist flick without having the money register towards the filmmaker or actors you don't support. Once the tickets are torn in half, you can walk into your choice of movies beyond the velvet ropes.
~ Blue Jays ~
Very interesting, I never heard that little tidbit before. Thanks for posting that. BTW, do you have a link to that quote?
However, DO NOT read Kenneth Turan's review in the Los Angeles Times--the interjection of his Leftist politics made me want to 
. What else do you expect from that far-Left rag?
if the faa/logan had done their jobS correctly,flight 93 would never have been airborne.
why was there no disciplinary action ?
What truly bothers me about this entire 911 incident and the attack on the US. Is how blind sided we were. How unprepared we were. How only 4 planes were available to protect the entired Eastern Seaboard. How can we be so unprepared? And why did nobody lose their job or get demoted? This is not just incompetence, this is gross incompetence. Where are our Tax Dollars going? Why did our Intell fail so miserably? And did we correct this mess? If we have not made substantial changes we will repeat the same mistakes.
Bush cannot be faulted for a system he inherited. But the question is simple. Have we made enough changes to prevent another 911 failure? If not heads should and must roll.
What Goebbels actually said was that a lie repeated often enough becomes *bigger* than the truth. Even he knew it was still a lie, a realization not shared by the postmodern "perception is reality" crowd. His observation ranks with "kill all the lawyers" as the most widely misinterpreted observation of all time.
If these were my children i would BEAT them.
What exactly was President Bush told in that school room? Was he told of ONE plane, which up to the time of the second plane was being called an accident? In fact FOX that morning was hesitant to suggest purposeful crashes until ED Hill said that these were NOT accidents. Just how much detail was he given. And in any event, what would he have done to satisfy the demonhaters?
Roger Ebert is a very fine critic who has unfortunately succumbed to a bad case of Bush Derangement Syndrome, and has made the mistake of surrounding himself with intellectual lightweights such as Richard Roeper and Jim Emerson. But if you read his Great Movie Articles, listen to his commentary on the Citizen Kane DVD, or check out any of his reviews before the 2000 elections (as well as his brilliantly funny takedown of Freddy Got Fingered), you realize what a great critic he can be.
Well put.
I think history will show that clearly as historians look back and muddle thru all the self created media drama.
That depends largely on who writes the history books. That's why the culture/political war in this country needs to be won by the right. Otherwise, the left will be able to shape the way history views Bush and America's response to 9/11.
You're precisely correct. It is simple to criticize people regarding their actions on September 11, 2001 using 20/20 hindsight. These leftist knuckleheads need to recall what THEY were doing moments after the first crash...and then try to imagine if they were President Bush and then provide their plan of action.
~ Blue Jays ~
I offer that W knew there was nothing he could do that was not already being done and that there was no immediate action that could stop what had already begun. The response to what happened that day would take years and decades to play out.
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That people of the Left refuse to acknowledge this fact proves to me that they should not be put in any responsible position of authority until they grow up. Hordes of people travel with the President everywhere he goes. He does not improve any situation by running around giving strange orders. Wheels and wheels within wheels were turning as soon as the plane hit the tower. Staying in that classroom, and remaining calm were the marks of the true "decider in chief."
Yet another liberal afraid (or ashamed) to call himself a liberal...
Michael Moore was stuffing his pie-hole when the attack was goin on.
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