Michael Moore, Constitutional Scholar
Canadian Bacon auteur Michael Moore has written an open letter to the casino owner who bounced Linda Ronstadt for walking to the beat of a different, anti-Bush drum this past weekend:
What country do you live in? Last time I checked, Las Vegas is still in the United States. And in the United States, we have something called "The First Amendment." This constitutional right gives everyone here the right to say whatever they want to say.
Without even getting into the obvious (if annoying) rejoinder that your right to free speech ends at my property line, let's appreciate a different irony: Moore's willingness to pre-emptively sue for libel, which he seems to equate with criticism of himself.
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Thanks Nick. Thanks Phil.
And a great big round of applause for the Public School Monopoly whose millions of victims accept this shite as constitutional gospel.
Why are you wasting time on this? F-9/11 was an excellent movie for its purposes, Moore is a huge windbag who warned opponents to be careful, private property owners can toss whomever they want. Where's the news?
Moore is the most successful agit-prop practitioner since Goebbels and Gillespie bought in big time.
I believe Mr. Moore has the version of the American Constitution where the First Amendment guarantees free expression "to anyone who agree with me."
While Canadian Bacon was a dog of a movie for most, if you grew up in Niagara Falls (USA) he hit the nail *square* on the head for the dump the city has turned into (my favorite is the sign weloming you to 'Niagara Country - Home of Free T rade" in front of...no kidding...the a huge chemical/hazardous waste dump. 🙁
The American/Canadian difference at the hockey game was spot on also (but then again, you had to have grown up on the border 🙂
What country do you live in? Last time I checked, Las Vegas is still in the United States. And in the United States, we have something called "The First Amendment."
You know, Peter Bagge really hit the nail on the head when he identified the peace bear. Moore is a perfect specimen.
"Last time I checked, Las Vegas is still in the United States. And in the United States, we have something called "The First Amendment.""
Yeah, Mike. But when last I looked at the First Amendment it said "Congress shall make no law..." It didn't say a damn thing about Los Vegas night club owners firing performers who offend their customers.
Also, about this libel thing. Didn't Moore also proclaim that anyone who disagreed with "Bowling For Columbine" was commiting libel since everything in it was "true?"
Whoops: Make that "Las Vagas." I was having a LA freudian slip.
senior gasset:
50% agree with your "I believe Mr. Moore has the version of the American Constitution where the First Amendment guarantees free expression 'to anyone who agree with me.'" -- include the flipside of the coin to have the complete slam!
of course, many would argue who is the 180 degree to michael "fat fuck" moore. who, larry less? dunno. that's a poser.
senior gasset:
50% agree with your "I believe Mr. Moore has the version of the American Constitution where the First Amendment guarantees free expression 'to anyone who agree with me.'" -- include the flipside of the coin to have the complete slam!
of course, many would argue who is the 180 degree to michael "fat fuck" moore. who, larry less? dunno. that's a poser.
dammit! sorry about hitting "post" twice.
f.f. Moore reminds me of the Government,he likes to threaten we the people.
Mr. Moore click-it or ticket!
Maybe Mr. Moore has never seen a sign that says "We reserve the RIGHT to refuse service to ANYONE".
How American would it be to force every business to let anyone say anything they wanted to inside their buildings? When that happens, I'm going to go see every showing of every Michael Moore movie at the local movie house. And sing "Michael Moore is a fat stupid pompous windbag" at the top of my lungs through the whole movie.
That'll be fun.
"...And sing "Michael Moore is a fat stupid pompous windbag" at the top of my lungs through the whole movie."
Can you hum a few bars of that?
This looks like a contract issue to me. I'm not that familiar with entertainment ones but I would doubt that the hotel got language into the contract where they can dictate what she sings or says on stage. They can probably see her out the door but they'll have a devil of a time not paying her.
Of course, Aladdin's in bankruptcy so who knows.
"Can you hum a few bars of that?"
For maximum effect, it should be as random and off-key as possible.
Thank you for injecting a note of sanity, Gadfly.
Yes, Mr. Moore, you can say pretty much whatever you want in Las Vegas. And I believe the Casino said to Mrs. Ronstadt,
"Leave. Now."
The usual suspects will be along to complain about people having their patriotism questioned any minute now. Yep, any minute.
You should have included the money quote, too: Sure, some people didn't like the dedication, and that's their right. But neither they nor you have the right to remove her from your building when all she did was exercise her AMERICAN right to speak her mind.
Michael Moore thinks building owner does not have right to remove people from building for any damn reason he wants. Check.
OK, so Moore is a windbag and this has nothing to do with freedom of speach. But what were these uhappy people doing at a Linda Ronstadt concert? Unhappy with her politics? She's Gov Brown's ex. They were warned. Unhappy with her selections? She sings show tunes, Eagles covers, and Elvis Costello covers. She can't get the mix right for everybody.
These people were at a Linda Ronstadt concert. They should be *happy*.
libertarianleaningcentrist -
Most entertainment contracts include a morals clause. Stated simply, the person being hired can't do anything that might hurt the reputation of the corporation they work for. Since these clauses are usually extremely vague, it's basically a way out for any corporation at any time they wish.
BYW - I'm not saying it's right to lose your job on Monday because you got a DWI on Friday, but they signed the contracts and knew what was in them.
I bet she wouldn't have talked back to Bugsy Siegel.
Forgive the following cut-and-paste, but it's worth a read. From the website of St. Louis talk host Paul Harris:
"Despite the blathering of many talk radio folks, the ruckus about Linda Ronstadt's removal from The Aladdin this weekend was not entirely about her pro-Michael Moore comment. As Norm Clarke reported in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Ronstadt also mouthed off about the management, the city of Las Vegas, and the audience's desire to hear her hits. That's what drew the wrath of the hotel bigshots. Even without the political comments, that sort of nonsense doesn't go over well with the boss -- if you don't believe me, try it at your job tomorrow and see how long you last.
"The shame in all of this is that Ronstadt is amazing in concert. That said, if I went to see her today and she didn't sing her best-known songs, I'd be at the box office demanding a refund, too (regardless of her on-stage patter).
"Interesting to note that in none of the stories about the problems at the Aladdin Saturday night is there a single word about anything being done about the audience members who got so upset at Ronstadt that they threw drinks, tore down her posters, and made a mess of things. If Ronstadt has to face consequences for her words, those thugs should face consequences for their actions."
moore is the best film maker ever and bush is the worst president ever. goto http://mystic_lonewolf.tripod.com for moore bush rock opera