Moore Hot Water
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The latest from the Political Grapevine:
Moore Hot Water
The Bloomington, Illinois, Pantagraph has sent a letter to filmmaker Michael Moore, condemning him for, "misleading" and "unauthorized" use of the newspaper in his latest film, "Fahrenheit 9/11." While addressing the 2000 election controversy, the film flashes a Pantagraph headline saying; "Latest Florida recount shows Gore won election," dated December 19, 2001.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But, in fact, not only did the headline appear in the Pantagraph two weeks earlier and in much smaller type, it appeared above a letter to the editor, reflecting the writer's sentiments, not the news. The Pantagraph is now demanding an apology, an explanation, and compensatory damages, totaling $1.
Primetime Orders
Speaking of "Fahrenheit 9/11," Cuban leader Fidel Castro has ordered state-run TV to broadcast the film across the country, during primetime. A University of Havana professor who saw the film calls it, "A work of love for humanity."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The film's distributor insists the Cuban broadcast was "not authorized." In Kuwait, meanwhile, the government has banned "Fahrenheit 9/11" altogether, insisting it violates a law that prohibits insulting friendly nations.
A Kuwaiti official says the movie insults the Saudi royal family by tying them to the Bush administration, and, "make[s] Iraq look like a paradise whose problems started with the American invasion." The official says the film, "would have angered Kuwaitis."
Journalists for John?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The New York Times has conducted an unscientific poll of 153 journalists in Boston for last week's convention, and it found that about 80 percent of them believe John Kerry would be a better president than George Bush.
In addition, a majority of them said they'd rather be stuck on a desert island with John Kerry than President Bush. However, more journalists would rather cover President Bush for the next four years than Kerry, who one reporter said would — "be a bore after these [Bush] guys."
Course Objectives
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The University of Colorado in Boulder is offering a course called "School and Society," which promises to introduce students to, "the real world of schools, teaching, and learning." But students who are white are restricted from enrolling in its Friday section, which is reserved for "students of color."
The school insists the restriction sets up a, "much safer and open environment" for students to discuss issues of race and class. But some students, quoted by the Washington Times, call it an, "unfortunate" throwback to the early-1900s doctrine of "separate but equal." And a lawyer representing three of them is threatening to take legal action.
— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report