F911

Everyone should go see it. After 3 1/2 years of the official Bush narrative being thrown at us, this counter-narrative is incredibly important and powerful. A few quick impressions (I have to run off to poker--priorities):

* The Saudi-Bush connection thing was probably a bit overdone, but I think a necessary part of the movie. Yeah, maybe some innuendo is over the top, but if the facts are truly backed up by the public record, it certainly does show there is likely some conflict of interest. Does that mean Bush "let" 9/11 happen, or whatever? No, and Moore doesn't say that. But it does mean perhaps Bush hesitated to take actions that would injure the relationship with the kingdom, thus endangering our security.

* I would've liked it if Moore had included more of the 7 minute clip where Bush is sitting in the Florida classroom reading My Pet Goat after he was told America was under attack. And I would've preferred it if he had killed the voice over. Just let us watch as Bush sits there, clearly without any idea what he should do. That would've been more powerful than having Moore's snarky "what is he thinking?" stuff in the background.

* I cried several times. I also shook with rage at various times. I'm really thankful for the comedic breaks.

* The biggest laughs from the audience (a half-full Savoy theater, which ain't bad for a Friday matinee): during the preview of Control Room, when Rummy decries people who lie to get their country into war (he's referring to the Iraqi government, of course); the Afghanistan as a Western sequence; when Ashcroft sings.

* One winger stormed out of the theater, just when the Iraq war started. He was the only one who applauded when Bush announced hostilities had started, and yelled some incoherent stuff about "protecting Israel", and "how many Kurds did you kill" when an Iraqi civilian is crying about the death we rained down upon Iraq, and how he wouldn't stay here to watch such an "anti-Israeli" movie.

* The Lila Lipscomb segments were very compelling, particularly when she goes to the White House and is accosted by some random lady who accuses her of staging this. "Oh yeah, where was your son killed?" Insensitive bitch.

* There was applause when Bush's motorcade was pelted by eggs on Inauguration Day, and one other time (I can't remember when), and of course at the end.

I think F911 does more than preach to the choir. Sure, Bush's base (the "haves and have mores", as he says) won't go see it and will still say it's full of lies. Some moderates and swing voters will be put off by Moore's style. So what?

It's going to seep into the public discourse all the same, if only because wingers are decrying it and the rest of us are defending it. It's going to put some unconscious pressure on the American people. It gives us another interpretation of reality that we can communicate to others. It represents one more chink in Bush's armor.

Go see it, even if you think Moore is a traitor. Go see it, even if you hate his style. Go see it, and see a new narrative. Go ahead and judge, but not until you see it.

ntodd