So I'm flipping channels and come across Bowling for Columbine on one of the many Showtime channels and decide to watch it for a while. I picked up right where Moore launches into this cute little cartoon which basically states all white people hate all black people and the KKK and the NRA are the same thing (which of course are two fallacious statements - but it's all in a cartoon, so who really cares?). But anyways, I have seen Bowling twice - once in theaters and then once on the screener disc sent to me during awards season (documentary...sure). But while watching it again, this time with extra (founded) skepticism, I'm just curious as to what exactly Moore is against. Is it guns? Is it the media bias towards outrageous stories (murder, etc.)?

I gave up watching after he had some random "expert" come on and state that in one of his studies, he found that while murders declined 20%, coverage of murders rose 600% on the local news. Now...is this over a one month period? A year? What city is this in? How many local channels did he cover? And how does this relate to the other person he had just interviewed who basically said that the African American community is always blamed for things they didn't do (case in point: drowning of two kids in Midwest, murder in New York, etc.)? In the scant 15 minutes I watched the movie, it went from equating the KKK to the NRA (the KKK was apparently declared a terrorist organization the same year the NRA was founded Moore states (though this is blatantly wrong) and though it is never directly stated, the cartoon looks to equate the NRA to being the KKK since it was outlawed), then the movie jumped to the "white man" being afraid of the "black man" and then jumps to how the media and "whitey" always blame the black man for the wrongs of society and then it tries to say that, while there are crimes committed by African Americans, it's not as bad as the media makes it out to be (interview with District Attorney of Flint, Michigan and some author who wrote a book about the media playing on the fears of the public). But the genius of this movie is how Moore can insinuate different things without expressly saying them. He doesn't flat out say that the NRA was founded by people from the KKK, but he insinuates the point. He doesn't flat out say that the media is biased against African Americans, but he digs up some author to make the point for him in a roundabout way. He doesn't expressly say a lot of stuff, and therefore, if he's challenged about anything, he is able to deny it.

Just one last parting word - I can't remember the exact article I read it in, but Moore was defending one part of his latest movie in a Chicago newspaper article and when questioned on a key point he left out, he states that it was in the movie. He shows a couple frames of the movie where the camera pans over a newspaper article, wherein the point was made, however, any person, watching the movie at regular speed would never be able to read the article. So, he claims that his facts are checked, double checked, and then triple checked and he doesn't ignore any one side of the story, but when the other side of the story only occupies a few frames of the film and is in a newspaper article that is quickly panned over, he loses all credibility (if he had any already).

Did you watch the Tour today? Team USPS completely obliterated the competition and the leaderboard now looks like this:

1) USPS (Armstrong)
2) USPS (Hincapie)
3) USPS (Landis)
4) USPS (Azevedo)
5) USPS (Rubiera)
6) Phonak (Gutierrez)
7) USPS (Ekimov)

Yes - that's right - the United States Postal Service holds 6 of the top 7 spots after the time trial. Unfortunately, they don't get to take full advantage of their dominance (beat the 2nd place team by over a minute) as the rules this year state that they gain a maximum of 20 seconds over 2nd place, 30 seconds over 3rd, 40 seconds over 4th and so on down the line. Kind of an interesting idea, which helps some teams that might have a catastrophe befall them, but it sucks when a team completely dominates like USPS and yet they only gain 20 seconds on the second place team (in this case: Phonak - which holds the 6th place spot along with 8th & 9th).

Go Lance! (Live Strong)

URL: ESPN.com - OLY/CYCLING - Lance in yellow: Texan takes overall lead

In case you didn't see it, I think they're going to repeat it. But even if they don't, The Amazing Race is back on - and it is the best reality show on television (R.I.P. Mole). So catch it next Tuesday at 10pm.

URL: CBS - The Amazing Race

Last year, I watched every stage of the Tour de France. It was great as I was able to watch the U.S. Postal Service team propel Lance Armstrong to his fifth win in a row. This year, he's going for number six, and once again, I'm engrossed by the race. I missed Day one due to prior engagements, but I skipped NTN today (yes, for shame) to watch the third stage as Iban Mayo was involved in a crash before the first of the two cobblestone segments of today's leg. Last year, I could remember Ullrich, Mayo & Armstrong race throughout every leg, and, most importantly, during the mountainous regions. It was a shame today to see Mayo go down, but hopefully he'll be able to make up some time and get back in the race as the more competition, the better.

It kind of sucks to have a job as I really enjoyed watching each leg of the race last year in the middle of the day, eating my lunch, just relaxing and not really having anything to worry about. Now, I've got to race home from work (the "primetime" show is on at 5pm here on the West Coast - also at 8pm though...but that's when my other shows are on) and then I can watch the last hour plus of the leg, but I can't see it all, nor do I get to watch the pre-show which recaps important happenings.

Either way, the Tour is a great watch and I'd highly recommend it if you haven't partaken yet (though you do need to get the Outdoor Life Network - which, unfortunately, we only get on the one TV with a cable box).

URL: T D F - 2 0 0 4 : canal le Tour - OLN

URL: Yahoo! News

There's been a spate of articles following the release of Moore's latest propaganda denouncing the accuracy of many of his statements, but while all those articles do their best to show the world what we already know (that Moore is an expert story teller and his films are full of fallacies and half-truths), there's really nothing more poignant or truthful than an article written by a chef who worked in the Twin Towers, a person who would have been dead if the planes hit an hour later.

I highly recommend the article as it is a great read and gives you a different look at the film and the day that changed America, maybe for the better, or maybe for the worse.

"Fahrenheit 9/11" is indicative of a nation that has become too apathetic, ignorant or deceived to face the enemy at the gate. America, where is your fury?

During his acceptance speech at the Oscars, Moore said, "Shame on you, Mr. Bush." Well, I say, "Shame on you, Michael Moore." Shame on everyone who supports this travesty of a film. Shame on a society that allows this sham of a film. You have weakened the nation.

URL: heraldtribune.com: Southwest Florida's Information Leader