The Blue State

Michael Moore endorses Obama

Fresh off the wires today, filmmaker Michael Moore is endorsing Barack Obama for president:

I want to say a word about the basic decency I have seen in Mr.Obama. Mrs. Clinton continues to throw the Rev. Wright up in his faceas part of her mission to keep stoking the fears of White America.Every time she does this I shout at the TV, "Say it, Obama! Say thatwhen she and her husband were having marital difficulties regardingMonica Lewinsky, who did she and Bill bring to the White House for'spiritual counseling?' THE REVEREND JEREMIAH WRIGHT!"

But no, Obama won't throw that at her. It wouldn't be right. Itwouldn't be decent. She's been through enough hurt. And so he remainssilent and takes the mud she throws in his face.

That's why the crowds who come to see him are so large. That's whyhe'll take us down a more decent path. That's why I would vote for himif Michigan were allowed to have an election.

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I don't care what anyone says -- in the primaries, this will help him, if anything.

Michael Moore Subpoenaed by Bush Administration

The Justice Department has issued a federal subpoena to Michael Moore for filming part of his health care movie "SICKO" on Cuban soil.  Moore revealed this during his Thursday appearance on the Tonight Show:

  Michael Thursday said the Bush administration  has served him with a subpoena regarding his trip to Cuba during the making of his new film, "Sicko."

The Oscar-winning filmmaker, who appeared Thursday on NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ," said he was notified about the subpoena at the network's studios in Burbank, Calif.

"I haven't even told my own family yet," Moore said. "I wasjust informed when I was back there with Jay that the Bushadministration has now issued a subpoena for me."

The letter to Moore claims he was in violation of the embargo:

In a letter to Moore from a seniorofficial, apparently one of the famed “loyal Bushies,” the TreasuryDepartment’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) informed Moorethat it was investigating him for possible violation of the embargo.“This office has no record that a specific license was issuedauthorizing you to engage in travel-relatedtransactions involving Cuba,” wrote Dale Thompson, the office’s chiefof general investigations. “Ofac enforcement is conducting a civilinvestigation for possible unlicensed transactions under theregulations surrounding your trip to Cuba.”

Honestly, are they really going to subpoena all those 9/11 rescue workers?  Or are they just going to target Moore, a White House political opponent?

(Video) Last SICKO trailer

Ahead of it's June 29th release, all indicators are pointing towards Michael Moore's new documentary SICKO being a success at the box office.  Last weekend, all 43 sneak previews across the country were sold out.

This comes as Michael Moore released the final SICKO trailer:

Because SICKO will be perceived as less partisan than Fahrenheit 9/11, it is easier to market.  In fact, the movie trailer is being projected with sound and subtitles on the outside of buildingsnear the headquarters of leading HMOs, insurance companies andhospitals in most major cities.

The movie hits theaters on Friday, January 29th.

Michael Moore takes Hillary to task in SICKO

In a portion of the movie SICKO, set to debut in theaters on June 29th, producer and narrator Michael Moore confronted Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for not bouncing back after her health care proposal got knocked down in 1994:

Moore's brief political history of American healthcare policy atfirst seems to lavish praise on Clinton, if with a satirical, andgendered, edge. (She's introduced as "Sassy...smart...sexy.")

But his conclusion is that she sold out. After her defeat in thefirst Clinton term, he says, she fell silent on the issue. And "for hersilence, Hillary was rewarded. And she has been the second-largestrecipient in the Senate of healthcare industry contributions."

According to the site Open Secrets, the insurance industry gave Hillary Clinton $513,380 during the 2006 election cycle -- nearly three times more than what was given to Barack Obama, who is among those challenging Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Trailer: Michael Moore's movie "SICKO"

Sicko is slated for release on June 29th.  But will theaters show it?  If you want this movie to be shown, then contact the theater nearest you.

After spending seven intense weeks as a consultant/field organizer who mobilized voters to pressure the Washington State Legislature to put basic health care onto the 2008 budget, it is about time someone pushed this issue to the forefront.