Begin forwarded message:
> From: Ian Andrew Bell <hello@ianbell.com>
> Date: Wed Oct 9, 2002  11:16:09 PM US/Pacific
> To: mike@michaelmoore.com
> Cc: foib@ianbell.com
> Subject: [POLITICOS] Re: "Bowling for Columbine," Opens This Friday
>
> Michael,
>
> Why is it that people who consider voting in an election an
> inconvenience would go to see a movie to show support for its message?
>  Don't get me wrong -- I think this is the case.  People will go to
> see your movie as much to be entertained and informed as they will to
> express their malice and discontent towards not only the present
> regime in America, but also the corrupt, empty, shallow pantomime
> which cast them into power.
>
> In reality, today the voting that takes place via the act of
> consumption far outweighs the impact caused by people going to a booth
> and dimpling the appropriate chad, or some other such convoluted act
> of free democratic expression.
>
> Why?  Because in America, they believe in dollars.  Dollars don't lie.
>  In practise, they are the last frontier of truth in America,
> universally accepted as expressions of fear, desire, passion, and
> need.  Compared to the swing of the almighty buck, and Jeb Bush knows
> this, a hanging chad has only the nethermost meaning.
>
> Given that fact, I modestly propose an entirely new, though wholly
> logical, extension to the current democratic system in place in
> America:
>
> I propose we augment, and effectively replace, the electoral system
> with a political stock market.  We should accept that Politicians are
> entrepreneurs just like any other businessperson in America, and
> embrace this fact in building an economic system which truly reflects
> their intent.  A politician should issue a constant number of shares
> dependent upon his tenure in government.  Those shares should be
> traded on an open exchange, say the G.R.E.E.D. (short, of course, for
> the "Global Realists' Electoral Exchange -- Democratic").  Politicians
> we believe in will see their stocks rise higher as faith in their
> ability to maintain office grows.  As the truth about their embezzling
> campaign funds for weekend trips to Maui with their interns is
> revealed, of course, their fortunes will fall.
>
> This represents an opportunity for the market forces -- those same
> forces which you intend to harness to express your own personal
> protest -- to voice their opinion on the quality of America's
> governance during the intervening four years between elections.
> Elections themselves will in effect become meaningless, as they are
> now, since their outcome will be influenced by the stock price of each
> and every congressman, senator, and presidential candidate.
>
> Just think of the coverage that could be given on MSNBC!  "Strom
> Thurman (STROM: news - quotes) was down 15% today on fears that his
> latest heart operation will render him unable to attend Senate Armed
> Services committee meetings until November.."  This would provide
> rejuvenating content to the econo-political news sector, which has
> found post-economic-bubble coverage to be both tiresome and
> deoressing.  The establishment of this new stock exchange would of
> course create jobs for newly unemployed (and governmentally retrained)
> IT systems engineers who could, after passing the electoral securities
> exam, become floor traders.
>
> This would also allow for a convenient and very public method by which
> candidates could raise capital in the public markets to support their
> multi-billion-dollar campaigns.  The requirement for the support of
> legions of spin doctors, permanent campaign managers, and investor
> relations personnel would also create jobs -- perhaps even a new
> practice for Ernst & Young, Arthur Anderson, et al.  Insider trading
> scandals and misleading revenue declarations would of course catch
> Martha Stewart as an unwitting beneficiary, thus spreading her
> influence to politics.
>
> Dividends, if there are any on record, at the close of a politician's
> career could be paid to current shareholders based on the holdings.
> Pensions funds could provide the institutional investment support
> necessary to underpin even the biggest dogs among the Beltway set.
> Union funds, brokerages, and even pump-and-dump houses could benefit
> from meteoric rises in conservative candidates running in the
> Southeast, and the Bush Governmet would be allowed to place Social
> Security bets where they really mattered.   investors who lose their
> retirement, life savings, and support could rest assured that they
> were indeed robbed by crooks rather than poor investors.
>
> Although there's no way to protect any of these for Worldcom-like
> crashes, ambitious, inspired, District Attorneys could file criminal
> suits against Candidates and Campaign Managers who underperform
> expectations, thus assuring investors that their logic was not faulty
> -- instead, they were merely defrauded by crooks and thieves.
>
> On the whole, I believe the system could work.  I could certainly work
> as well as our beloved securities trading industry and, given the
> American electoral system's success at effectively expressing the will
> of the people, it certainly couldn't do any worse...
>
> In the meantime, Mike, I think I'll go see your movie and try to
> depose the President.
>
> -Ian.
>
>
>
> On Wednesday, October 9, 2002, at 03:53 PM, Michael Moore's Mailing
> List wrote:
>
>> October 9, 2002
>>
>> My Film, "Bowling for Columbine," Opens This Friday
>>
>> Dear friends, fans, and fellow evildoers:
>>
>> I am very happy and excited to tell you that this Friday, October 11,
>> my
>> new
>> film, "Bowling for Columbine," will open in New York and Los Angeles.
>>
>> It is, I promise, the last thing the Bushies want projected on the
>> movie
>> screens across America this week. The film is, first and foremost, a
>> devastating indictment of the violence that is done in our name for
>> profit
>> and power -- and no one, in all the advance screenings I have
>> attended, has
>> left the theatre with anything short of rage. I truly believe this
>> film has
>> the potential to rock the nation and get people energized to do
>> something.
>>
>> This is not good news for Junior and Company. Not when they are
>> trying to
>> drag us into another war. Not when a crazed sniper is exercising his
>> constitutional right to own a high-powered rifle. Not when John
>> Ashcroft is
>> still prohibiting the FBI from looking through the gun background
>> check
>> files to see if any of the 19 hijackers or their associates purchased
>> any
>> weapons prior to 9/11 -- because THAT, we are told, would "violate"
>> these
>> terrorists' sacred Second Amendment rights!
>>
>> Yes, I believe this movie can create a lot of havoc -- but I will
>> need ALL
>> of you to help me do this. Are you game?
>>
>> Last February 5th, I wrote to tell you about a book I had written and
>> how
>> the publisher had decided to dump it because they were afraid to
>> publish
>> anything critical of Bush after 9/11. I appealed to you to save
>> "Stupid
>> White Men" from the shredder and to go out and buy it. I promised you
>> would
>> not regret it, and that the book would not only be a great read but an
>> important organizing tool in gumming up the plans of George W. Bush.
>>
>> Within 24 hours, the book went to #1 on the Amazon best seller list.
>> By the
>> fifth day, the book was already into its 9th printing. The publisher
>> was
>> torn between its desire to kill the book or make a wad of money.
>> Greed won
>> out, and this Sunday the book enters its 31st week on the New York
>> Times
>> best seller list -- and its 32nd printing. This is all because of
>> you, my
>> crazy and loyal friends. You made this happen, against all the odds.
>>
>> Now I would like to ask you again to help me with my latest work,
>> "Bowling
>> for Columbine." It's a movie that many critics have already called my
>> best
>> film to date. They may be right. It is certainly the most provocative
>> thing
>> I have ever done. I have spent three years on it and, I have to say,
>> it
>> cuts
>> deeper, harder and funnier that anything I have given you so far.
>>
>> The movie opens this Friday in New York and Los Angeles, and then in
>> 8 more
>> cities next week. How it does in these first ten cities will determine
>> whether or not the rest of the country gets to see it. That is the
>> nutty
>> way
>> our films are released. If it doesn't have a big opening weekend, you
>> can
>> kiss the film good-bye. Therefore, this weekend, this film must be
>> seen by
>> millions of Americans. Can you help me make that happen?
>>
>> "Bowling for Columbine" is not a film simply about guns or school
>> shootings.
>> That is only the starting point for my 2-hour journey into the dark
>> soul of
>> a country that is both victim and master of an enormous amount of
>> violence,
>> both at home and around the world. With this movie I have broadened my
>> canvas to paint a portrait of our nation at the beginning of the 21st
>> century, a nation that seems hell-bent on killing first and asking
>> questions
>> later. It is a movie about the state sponsored acts of violence and
>> terrorism against our own poor, and how we have created a culture of
>> fear
>> that is based on the racial dilemma we continue to ignore. And it's a
>> devastating comedy.
>>
>> This film is going to upset some pretty big apple carts. No film has
>> EVER
>> said the things I am saying in "Bowling for Columbine." I expect to be
>> attacked. I expect certain theatres will not show it for fear of
>> retribution. I expect that this movie will be a bitter pill for many
>> to
>> swallow.
>>
>> This is why I need your help. Movies live or die based on what
>> happens at
>> the box office the first weekend of its release. I need you, if you
>> live in
>> the New York or L.A. area, to go see "Bowling for Columbine" this
>> Friday
>> and
>> Saturday -- and take as many family members and friends with you as
>> possible. I guarantee you will not be disappointed -- and you may
>> just see
>> one of the best films of the year.
>>
>> Monday night in Times Square, "Bowling for Columbine" had its
>> premiere. The
>> crowd was amazing, as it was this past Saturday night at the Chicago
>> Film
>> Festival. The audience kept laughing or hooting or applauding so loud
>> throughout the film that it was hard to hear the next line.
>>
>> The hate mail, the threats, the promises of retribution have already
>> started
>> to roll in to the distributor of this movie, United Artists. They are
>> not
>> backing down. But how long will this last? I need all of you in the
>> New
>> York
>> tri-state and southern California areas to go see "Bowling for
>> Columbine"
>> THIS weekend -- the rest of you can see it in a couple of weeks when
>> it
>> comes to your town. A strong opening not only means that the rest of
>> America
>> will see this film, it means that a good number of people who see it
>> are
>> going to leave the film angry enough to get active and get involved.
>> If it
>> does poorly, I will have a difficult time finding the funding for the
>> movie
>> I want to make next -- a film about 9/11 and how Bush is using that
>> tragic
>> day as a cover for his right-wing agenda.
>>
>> Don't let that happen. Don't let the NRA have one more success by
>> stopping
>> the wider distribution of this movie. And, together, let us not remain
>> silent in our opposition to Bush's phony war against Iraq.
>>
>> If you live in New York, you can see it at the Lincoln Plaza, the
>> Sunshine
>> and the Loews 19th St. In L.A., you can catch it at the Sunset 5, the
>> Westwood Regent, Laemmle Sunset, Laemmle Towncenter (Encino), Landmark
>> Rialto (Pasadena), and Regal University (Irvine). Also, please
>> forward this
>> to your other friends and tell them to go see "Bowling for Columbine"
>> this
>> weekend.
>>
>> And finally, don't miss our new website www.bowlingforcolumbine.com
>>
>> Thank you for your help with this. I feel so honored and privileged
>> to have
>> so many people interested in my work. Last January I was getting
>> 70,000
>> hits
>> a month on my website. Last month, I got 17 million hits. This alone
>> speaks
>> volumes about the vast majority all of us belong to who are sick and
>> tired
>> of what is going on and are longing for an alternative source of
>> information.
>>
>> I hope that you enjoy "Bowling for Columbine."
>>
>> Thank you again...
>>
>> Yours,
>>
>> Michael Moore
>>
>> ---
>>
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>>
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>