I was in Appleton yesterday and managed to include the 4:10 PM showing of 'Fahrenheit 9/11' in my agenda... there was a long line to get in. The film was everything I expected from Michael Moore, without the stilted, conclusion-building techniques that I found irritating in some of his earlier films. This is a documentary film - no matter what point of view it supports. The challenge faced by Moore in presenting a whole lot of history is keeping you and me awake. I did not drift... despite the weighty information. The mix of emotions runs full-spectrum and plays well, as evidenced by the audience, standing and applauding for over a minute at the close.

"With a single stroke, Michael Moore has undone three years of poor, slanted, biased, factually bereft, compromised television journalism," says William Rivers Pitt. "This, in the end, is the final greatness of 'Fahrenheit 9/11.' Not only will Americans get a sense of the depth of the deception they have endured, but 'journalists' all across the country will be forced to endure the humiliation they so richly deserve." Read his entire review: Thank You, Michael Moore.

As I left the Marcus Theater there was another long line of people waiting to get into the next show. Black and white posters with a picture of George W. Bush had been affixed to each of the several glass entry doors with a simple line of block text that stated, "And you thought he was Pro-Life."

Call the live phone at Sturgeon Bay's Cinema 6 box office at: 920.746.8371 or e-mail sbcin@doorpi.net and thank them for working hard to secure a copy of the film to start showing it locally on July 2 or July 9.

Hope to see you Monday evening!

On Monday, June 28 at 7 PM, you are invited to the Compass Coffee House in Fish Creek to get together with neighbors to hear Michael Moore live on-line, as part of "Turn Up the Heat: A National Town Meeting on Fahrenheit 9/11." Michael Moore's new movie which opens today is an incredibly controversial film that speaks to the ever-mounting majority of Americans who are convinced that starting a war in Iraq was a mistake. The Movie, "is full of footage that few people in this country have ever seen - footage that has the power to sway the 2004 election," says organizers at MoveOn.org.

Tens of thousands of MoveOn.org members are being encouraged to gather nationwide on Monday... so the Compass Coffee House will provide free Web access here in Fish Creek to join in live, on-line for an interactive audio conference with Michael Moore. We'll discuss the movie, and of course continue planning local GRID actions to help win back the White House. And, of course, there'll be snacks.

I hope you find a way to go see the movie this weekend in Appleton or Green Bay and, if you can, join us here in the national town meeting! You can click to sign up and join me at the Compass Coffee House gathering below, to find one near you, or to host your own "Turn Up the Heat Party."

Here are the details on Micheal Moore's 9/11 Turn Up the Heat Party at:
The Door County Compass Coffee House and Internet Cafe
9341 Spring road, Unit 18-B
Top of the Hill Shops
Fish Creek, WI 54212
Monday, June 28, 7:00 PM

I hope you'll come!

Congratulations and thanks go out to everyone who has called or e-mailed Wisconsin theaters to endorse the screening of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" (see Friday, June 18 posting below). On a statewide basis there are now 14 theaters including all of the Marcus-owned theaters statewide, and in Green Bay and Appleton, that plan to show the film on opening day June 25:

Appleton, WI Marcus Hollywood Cinema
Ashwaubenon, WI Marcus Bay Park Cinemas
Brookfield, WI Marcus West Point Cinemas 8
Eau Claire, WI Carmike Oakwood Mall 12
La Crosse, WI Marcus La Crosse Quad Cinemas
Madison, WI Marcus Eastgate Cinema 16
Madison, WI Marcus Westgate 3 Cinemas
Menomonee Falls, WI Marcus Cinemas Menomonee Falls
Milwaukee, WI Landmark Oriental 3
New Berlin, WI Marcus Ridge Cinema
Oak Creek, WI Marcus South Shore Cinemas
Racine, WI Marcus Westgate Twin Cinemas
Wauwatosa, WI AMC Mayfair Mall
West Bend, WI Paradise Theatre

Tomorrow night (June 24) at 7 PM you are invited to attend the next Door County Kerry Meetup in Fish Creek at the Compass Coffee House. All interested individuals are welcome to stop in and chat. We are working to create a GRID network of Greens, Republicans, Independents and Democrats who wish to make an effort to restore democracy to the American political climate by defeating George W. Bush.

You can also help to encourage Bruce Springsteen to headline a major concert in New York City on September 1, the same day and in the same city as Republicans who will hold their convention to nominate George Bush for President. Promoters intend to broadcast the Springsteen concert live on all the major television networks as an opportunity to make it clear to Americans that they can choose an alternative to George Bush. Sign on at DraftBruce.com.

Rueters says, "The New Jersey rocker has typically stayed out of politics, but in May posted the text of an anti-war speech by former Vice President Al Gore on his official Web site, calling it 'one of the most important speeches I've heard in a long time.'"

Big Brother is watching... and testing your mental health.
The British medical journal, BMJ posted an article on June 19 that does indeed seem to be inspired by the darkest fantasies of George Orwell: Bush plans to screen whole US population for mental illness...

In a classic doublespeak plan entitled the New Freedom Initiative the Bush administration intends to link your mental health test results to a prescribed medication.

The big winner according to the BMJ report will be, "Eli Lilly, manufacturer of olanzapine, (with) multiple ties to the Bush administration. George Bush Sr was a member of Lilly's board of directors and Bush Jr appointed Lilly's chief executive officer, Sidney Taurel, to a seat on the Homeland Security Council. Lilly made $1.6m in political contributions in 2000—82% of which went to Bush and the Republican Party."

The New Freedom Initiative will be modeled after a plan then governor GW Bush put into effect in Texas beginning in 1995 as an alliance of individuals from the pharmaceutical industry, the University of Texas, and the mental health and corrections systems of Texas.