STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Maddie · Coach

RE: letter to bush

dc · Dooney & Bourke

erin wrote:

ps from bush on cnn (as reposted from wonkette.com): "We got a lot of rebuilding to do.... the good news is and it's hard for some to see it now but out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic gulf coast... out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- the guy lost his entire house -- there's going to be fantastic house. I look forward to sitting on the porch. Out of New Orleans is going to come that great city again."

Dear lord, erin, I thought that was a joke, but he ACTUALLY SAID THAT.

erin · Chanel

dc wrote:

erin wrote:
ps from bush on cnn (as reposted from wonkette.com): "We got a lot of rebuilding to do.... the good news is and it's hard for some to see it now but out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic gulf coast... out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- the guy lost his entire house -- there's going to be fantastic house. I look forward to sitting on the porch. Out of New Orleans is going to come that great city again."

Dear lord, erin, I thought that was a joke, but he ACTUALLY SAID THAT.

i often think a lot of what i hear him saying has to be a joke!

kenzie · Chanel

erin wrote:

dc wrote: erin wrote: ps from bush on cnn (as reposted from wonkette.com): "We got a lot of rebuilding to do.... the good news is and it's hard for some to see it now but out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic gulf coast... out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- the guy lost his entire house -- there's going to be fantastic house. I look forward to sitting on the porch. Out of New Orleans is going to come that great city again." Dear lord, erin, I thought that was a joke, but he ACTUALLY SAID THAT. i often think a lot of what i hear him saying has to be a joke!

This is just sad. Is he really, really that clueless? I can't believe this man is the leader of the free world.

honey · Gucci

dc wrote:

erin wrote: ps from bush on cnn (as reposted from wonkette.com): "We got a lot of rebuilding to do.... the good news is and it's hard for some to see it now but out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic gulf coast... out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- the guy lost his entire house -- there's going to be fantastic house. I look forward to sitting on the porch. Out of New Orleans is going to come that great city again." Dear lord, erin, I thought that was a joke, but he ACTUALLY SAID THAT.

yeah, i read that first quote on gawker (on a side note they had a really funny snippet about condi's activities in nyc over the past 2 days, including shoe shopping & tennis lessons -- i didn't want to post it b/c i thought it might be inflammatory, but 1 account cracked me up) but i thought it was a joke too, or that i had just hadn't read it well. little did i know it was actually ture

dc · Dooney & Bourke

yeah, honey - I read that some woman went up to Condi and was like "How dare you shop for shoes [at Ferragamo - she spent thousands] while people are dying?" You go, anonymous shopping woman! Unfortunately, Condi's security detail had her removed (this according to Gawker).

Again, not one to say people should'nt live their lives, but really. It's like Bush's guitar photo op - astoundingly bad taste.

Side note (speaking of bad taste): Much is made of Condi's shopping habits, yet she always looks like dowdy ass (or just bizarre - like the time she showed up at a holocaust memorial ceremony in dressed like a goose-stepping third reich soldier in military jacket and boots... somewhat inappropriate, I'd say).. Just goes to show that expensive does not necessarily mean stylish.

-- Edited by dc at 15:11, 2005-09-02

NCshopper · Hermes

ShanKel wrote:

Why does everyone hate M.Moore? I do believe that he is an extremist but there are tons of right wing conservatives that can put him to shame when discussing their issues. Its only fair that the liberals have at least one radical nut. Some think its about damn time!

I have mixed opinions about Michael Moore. I think he's dead on target sometimes, but I think the reason people hate him is because he rarely offers solutions. He's always blaming and pointing fingers and telling people what's wrong with the world, but I have never heard him talk about real, practical solutions to people's problems. He also seems to be under the impression that he's never made a mistake in his life.

He's basically a professional Monday morning quarterbacker.

His style rubs people the wrong way too--he's aggressive, unrelenting, and in-your-face, which some people don't like.

I don't have a problem with what he says, and I think it's totally necessary to have someone like this in our society who doesn't just let people off the hook because they're President. We need people like him, but at the same time, he's become a liberal caricature to the point where a lot of people no longer take him seriously, which is a shame.

bliss · Dooney & Bourke

ShanKel wrote:

Why does everyone hate M.Moore? I do believe that he is an extremist but there are tons of right wing conservatives that can put him to shame when discussing their issues. Its only fair that the liberals have at least one radical nut. Some think its about damn time!

I am not sure as to why that is either?

I admire that despite the fact that people hate him he is so strong in his convictions that he just keeps going. As far as his ego goes I just don't see it because I don't really hear him talk about himself. I think someone with a large ego is summering while there are people in his own country that he can help suffering to be a travesty, but go figure!

baglady · Nine West

bliss wrote:

ShanKel wrote: Why does everyone hate M.Moore? I do believe that he is an extremist but there are tons of right wing conservatives that can put him to shame when discussing their issues. Its only fair that the liberals have at least one radical nut. Some think its about damn time! I am not sure as to why that is either? I admire that despite the fact that people hate him he is so strong in his convictions that he just keeps going. As far as his ego goes I just don't see it because I don't really hear him talk about himself. I think someone with a large ego is summering while there are people in his own country that he can help suffering to be a travesty, but go figure!

I never read the papers or watch the news or any of that stuff, but I'm on his mailing list and when I get something from him, it actually prompts me to get more informed on the subject. That's what I admire about him. He's accomplished what History/Government professors could never do- get me to care about the political world around me. Unfortunately, this letter got me reading about this hurricane, our president's tactlessness, a whole city wiped out[which I selfishly started thinking about how I'd never been there and now it's gone...], and just how screwed up this administration is right now. And it made me think about Karma- if we weren't in the Middle East right now, would help have come sooner? Are we being punished as a nation for centuries of walking around like our s%$t don't stink, because we learned nothing about humbleness from 9-11? Especially now that the very oil we're supposedly NOT fighting for in the Mid East can't be refined for us to use? Is this the beginning of the end of a superpower? I'm starting to get that same anxiety I got after 9-11; I don't know how to live in a place that's not powerful, politically and economically, and I'm really scared of what's happening. Of course I'm watching it all from the comfort and quiet of NYC, but we're a coastal area, who says it won't be us slated for retribution next?

Sorry for all the doomsday talk. This is exactly why I don't read the papers or watch the news. I can't deal.

Irene · Dooney & Bourke

baglady wrote:

I never read the papers or watch the news or any of that stuff, but I'm on his mailing list and when I get something from him, it actually prompts me to get more informed on the subject. That's what I admire about him. He's accomplished what History/Government professors could never do- get me to care about the political world around me. Unfortunately, this letter got me reading about this hurricane, our president's tactlessness, a whole city wiped out[which I selfishly started thinking about how I'd never been there and now it's gone...], and just how screwed up this administration is right now. And it made me think about Karma- if we weren't in the Middle East right now, would help have come sooner? Are we being punished as a nation for centuries of walking around like our s%$t don't stink, because we learned nothing about humbleness from 9-11? Especially now that the very oil we're supposedly NOT fighting for in the Mid East can't be refined for us to use? Is this the beginning of the end of a superpower? I'm starting to get that same anxiety I got after 9-11; I don't know how to live in a place that's not powerful, politically and economically, and I'm really scared of what's happening. Of course I'm watching it all from the comfort and quiet of NYC, but we're a coastal area, who says it won't be us slated for retribution next? Sorry for all the doomsday talk. This is exactly why I don't read the papers or watch the news. I can't deal.

Sheesh girl! You'll drive yourself crazy thinking like that. Thankfully I don't believe in Karma.

Hurricane Katrina war not retribution for anything. It's called Mother Nature. God doesn't kill people to spite others. In life things happen, even if for no reason. If you go around looking for reasons for everything, you'll go insane.

scarlett · Marc Jacobs

I think there are a number of reasons why some people hate Michael Moore. First, his films are presented as documentaries, but aren't always truthful. He edits things to make it look as though events happened in ways that they didn't. For example, in "Roger and Me" he shows Ronald Reagan on a campaign stop in Flint at a pizza place and says the cash register was stolen while Reagan was there, when in fact they happened days apart. In "Bowling For Columbine" he edits Charleton Heston's different NRA speeches to make it appear he was being less sensitive to the school shooting tragedies. He lied about the Disney/Miramax controversy over the release date of "Farenheit 9/11"; he'd had a year to find a new distributor but then sent out a press release saying Disney blindsided him about refusing to release it, just to get more publicity. And it certainly worked.

Regardless of what you think about the NRA or Republicans, a documentary is supposed to be truthful -- and Moore's aren't. He is a talented film maker and it really saddens me that he could use his talent better, but doesn't -- he should use it more honestly and to provoke debate and discussion, not partisan screaming.

I think people also hate him because he presents everything as terrible and hopeless without offering any ideas or solutions. Obviously there are a lot of things wrong with how the Katrina disaster has been handled, but like he's done in the past, Moore points out what's bothering him but has no ideas for how to make it better. It's easy to say what's wrong, and it's not easy to offer solutions. He's taking the easy way out.

Finally, after all Moore did when he made "Roger and Me," I think it's completely hypocritical that he wouldn't sit down for an interview with the guy who made "Michael Moore Hates America." Personally I would not have called my documentary something so inflammatory before actually talking to the guy in question, but Moore refused all attempts for the interview, just like the GM CEO he himself got famous for trying to talk to.

There is an article on the Washington Post website today about how all levels of the government screwed up the Katrina rescue efforts. It seemed to me that the LA governer is haggling with the federal government about who gets to do what while people are still waiting for food and water and a dry place to sleep: a symptom of what's wrong with politicians, not parties.

blink · Coach

I happen to really like Michael Moore, I get his message, I enjoy satire and I am thankful for his voice.

He's bombastic (in the same way Tom Cruise is recently), some people of like mind like me appreciate this, BUT I can also understand those who think there is no place for it when what we really need to do is move on peacefully.

I would really rather analyze the criticism after every survivor/evacuee (sp?) has been placed somewhere safe.

jj · Kate Spade

NCshopper wrote:

I have mixed opinions about Michael Moore. I think he's dead on target sometimes, but I think the reason people hate him is because he rarely offers solutions. He's always blaming and pointing fingers and telling people what's wrong with the world, but I have never heard him talk about real, practical solutions to people's problems. He also seems to be under the impression that he's never made a mistake in his life. He's basically a professional Monday morning quarterbacker. His style rubs people the wrong way too--he's aggressive, unrelenting, and in-your-face, which some people don't like. I don't have a problem with what he says, and I think it's totally necessary to have someone like this in our society who doesn't just let people off the hook because they're President. We need people like him, but at the same time, he's become a liberal caricature to the point where a lot of people no longer take him seriously, which is a shame.

Hey NCShopper - just wanted you to know that you completely nailed the reasons why I am not a MMoore fan. I agree we need people like him, but I always wonder how he would fare if he became an elected official. It's so easy to be critical, but so hard to offer (or undertake) real solutions.

bumblebee · Coach

i think that's the whole point, though--michael moore is not an elected official. he is a filmmaker, and as such, he has the freedom to move about and do the things that he does (in my opinion, pretty well). the function of his films is to blow the whistle--to point out what he sees and lots of other people see that they don't have the voice or audience to draw attention to. why is it a problem that he doesn't offer solutions? that's not his job.

janey831 · Kate Spade

bumblebee wrote:

i think that's the whole point, though--michael moore is not an elected official. he is a filmmaker, and as such, he has the freedom to move about and do the things that he does (in my opinion, pretty well). the function of his films is to blow the whistle--to point out what he sees and lots of other people see that they don't have the voice or audience to draw attention to. why is it a problem that he doesn't offer solutions? that's not his job.

I agree, he's a flimmaker! He is extreme, but I think that is the point. In any case, he brings much needed light to many topics, whether his means are controversial or not.

esquiress · Marc Jacobs

scarlett wrote:

I think there are a number of reasons why some people hate Michael Moore. First, his films are presented as documentaries, but aren't always truthful. He edits things to make it look as though events happened in ways that they didn't. For example, in "Roger and Me" he shows Ronald Reagan on a campaign stop in Flint at a pizza place and says the cash register was stolen while Reagan was there, when in fact they happened days apart. In "Bowling For Columbine" he edits Charleton Heston's different NRA speeches to make it appear he was being less sensitive to the school shooting tragedies. He lied about the Disney/Miramax controversy over the release date of "Farenheit 9/11"; he'd had a year to find a new distributor but then sent out a press release saying Disney blindsided him about refusing to release it, just to get more publicity. And it certainly worked. Regardless of what you think about the NRA or Republicans, a documentary is supposed to be truthful -- and Moore's aren't. He is a talented film maker and it really saddens me that he could use his talent better, but doesn't -- he should use it more honestly and to provoke debate and discussion, not partisan screaming. I think people also hate him because he presents everything as terrible and hopeless without offering any ideas or solutions. Obviously there are a lot of things wrong with how the Katrina disaster has been handled, but like he's done in the past, Moore points out what's bothering him but has no ideas for how to make it better. It's easy to say what's wrong, and it's not easy to offer solutions. He's taking the easy way out. Finally, after all Moore did when he made "Roger and Me," I think it's completely hypocritical that he wouldn't sit down for an interview with the guy who made "Michael Moore Hates America." Personally I would not have called my documentary something so inflammatory before actually talking to the guy in question, but Moore refused all attempts for the interview, just like the GM CEO he himself got famous for trying to talk to. There is an article on the Washington Post website today about how all levels of the government screwed up the Katrina rescue efforts. It seemed to me that the LA governer is haggling with the federal government about who gets to do what while people are still waiting for food and water and a dry place to sleep: a symptom of what's wrong with politicians, not parties.

beautifully articulated scarlett--i agree 100%.

dc · Dooney & Bourke

bumblebee, agreed. In the old days, they called that a "muckraker." And they're quite valuable to the political process, IMO.