Michael Moore Slams Bush In Texas
Filmmaker Calls War 'Mass Distraction' At Lecture
POSTED: 10:31 p.m. EDT April 15, 2003
Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore is marching on with his war of words against President George W. Bush -- this time attacking the commander-in-chief on his home soil.
According to The Associated Press, Moore -- who received mostly boos when he criticized Bush at the Oscars last month -- said to a crowd of 4,400 people at the University of Texas Monday night that the president went to war with Iraq to keep the public's eyes off of his domestic failures.
"It's not about the weapons of mass destruction; it's about the weapons of mass distraction," Moore said to the crowd, which consisted of students and guests.
Moore received a standing ovation from the crowd as he marched to the podium to accept the Best Documentary Oscar for his gun culture film "Bowling For Columbine" March 23 -- but the atmosphere changed as his defiant acceptance speech progressed.
"We like nonfiction and we live in fictitious times. We live in a time when we have fictitious election results that elect fictitious presidents," Moore said at the Oscars.
The crowd half-cheered and half-jeered with his remarks, but the sounds turned to mostly boos as he went on: "We live in a time where we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons, whether it's the fiction of duct tape, or the fiction of orange alerts -- we are against this war Mr. Bush. Shame on you Mr. Bush, shame on you."
According to AP, Moore told the Austin American-Statesman prior to his lecture Monday night that 90 percent of the response to his diatribes against Bush has been positive, and that he hasn't received any death threats.
Moore said to the crowd, jokingly, "Should I be getting death threats? It is pretty risky of me to be coming to Texas, don't you think?"
Moore reportedly took his Oscar out of a bag at the lecture and passed it around for the crowd to see. Unlike his lecture Monday, Moore said his Oscar speech was not prepared, AP reported.
Moore told Variety shortly after the Oscars that his next documentary, "Fahrenheit 911" will trace the roots of terrorism against the United States. Moore told the trade paper that "the primary thrust of the new film is what has happened to the country since Sept. 11, and how the Bush administration used this tragic event to push its agenda."
According to The Associated Press, Moore -- who received mostly boos when he criticized Bush at the Oscars last month -- said to a crowd of 4,400 people at the University of Texas Monday night that the president went to war with Iraq to keep the public's eyes off of his domestic failures.
"It's not about the weapons of mass destruction; it's about the weapons of mass distraction," Moore said to the crowd, which consisted of students and guests.
Moore received a standing ovation from the crowd as he marched to the podium to accept the Best Documentary Oscar for his gun culture film "Bowling For Columbine" March 23 -- but the atmosphere changed as his defiant acceptance speech progressed.
"We like nonfiction and we live in fictitious times. We live in a time when we have fictitious election results that elect fictitious presidents," Moore said at the Oscars.
The crowd half-cheered and half-jeered with his remarks, but the sounds turned to mostly boos as he went on: "We live in a time where we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons, whether it's the fiction of duct tape, or the fiction of orange alerts -- we are against this war Mr. Bush. Shame on you Mr. Bush, shame on you."
According to AP, Moore told the Austin American-Statesman prior to his lecture Monday night that 90 percent of the response to his diatribes against Bush has been positive, and that he hasn't received any death threats.
Moore said to the crowd, jokingly, "Should I be getting death threats? It is pretty risky of me to be coming to Texas, don't you think?"
Moore reportedly took his Oscar out of a bag at the lecture and passed it around for the crowd to see. Unlike his lecture Monday, Moore said his Oscar speech was not prepared, AP reported.
Moore told Variety shortly after the Oscars that his next documentary, "Fahrenheit 911" will trace the roots of terrorism against the United States. Moore told the trade paper that "the primary thrust of the new film is what has happened to the country since Sept. 11, and how the Bush administration used this tragic event to push its agenda."
Previous Story:
- March 28, 2003: Moore Film To Claim Ties Between Bush, Bin Laden Clans
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