Michael Moore: I was taught that snipers were cowards

Hot Air ^ | January 19, 2015 | Allahpundit

[2ndDivisionVet]

Not all snipers, he’s quick to add. The ones shooting at our guys are pretty cool.

I’m too lazy to sift through his archives on Iraq to see if he ever claimed “I support the troops but not their mission,” but if he did, it sounds like he’s past it now.

Michael Moore
✔ @MMFlint

My uncle killed by sniper in WW2. We were taught snipers
were cowards. Will shoot u in the back. Snipers aren't
heroes. And invaders r worse

2:40 PM - 18 Jan 2015

Michael Moore
✔ @MMFlint

But if you're on the roof of your home defending it from
invaders who've come 7K miles, you are not a sniper, u
are brave, u are a neighbor.

7:35 PM - 18 Jan 2015

The Internet blew up at him and now he’s backing away. Meanwhile, here’s the obligatory “Seth Rogen instantly squanders half the goodwill he earned from the ‘Interview’ fracas” tweet:

Seth Rogen
✔ @Sethrogen

American Sniper kind of reminds me of the movie that's
showing in the third act of Inglorious Basterds.

1:05 PM - 18 Jan 2015

The film-within-a-film from “Inglourious Basterds” (a lousy flick, by the way) that he’s describing is a Nazi propaganda movie commissioned by Josef Goebbels about a German sniper heroically fending off the advancing allies. I can’t speak to Rogen’s analogy since I’m apparently the only person in America who didn’t see “American Sniper” this weekend, but my sense from the reviews is that it’s sympathetic to Chris Kyle without glorifying his cause. The fact that war is hell seems all too clear; what drives the drama is Kyle and his wife trying to cope with the hellishness and move past it. “For me, and for Clint, this movie was always a character study about what the plight is for a soldier,” said Bradley Cooper to the Daily Beast. That’s the opposite of fascist propaganda, which cares about individual sacrifice only to the extent that it serves the state’s cause. But as I say, I haven’t seen it. I wonder if Rogen did.

Worth flagging all this because, with “Sniper” suddenly a box-office phenomenon, we’re destined to see it touch off more of these cultural skirmishes in the next few weeks. Here’s an … interesting early entry:

Jane Seymour Fonda
✔ @Janefonda

Just saw "American Sniper" Powerful. Another view
of "Coming Home." Bradley Cooper sensational. Bravo Clint
Eastwood. http://www.americansnipermovie.com/

3:10 PM - 21 Dec 2014

I’m curious now to see how the film does at the Oscars. Righties were tweeting last night that Moore and Rogen are channeling Hollywood’s sour grapes that a bunch of anti-war movies about Iraq over the last 10 years went nowhere while one directed by a guy who spoke at the last Republican convention about a man with more kills than any other American sniper during the war is pulling, in Sonny Bunch’s words, “Marvel tentpole numbers” in ticket sales. Probably right, although my hunch is that the sourness of the grapes has less to do with box office than with the movie’s prestige. There’s no unambiguously great, unambiguously anti-war movie from the Iraq era that the war’s opponents can point to, irrespective of box office, as an essential commentary on it. If “Sniper” cleans up at the Oscars (as “The Hurt Locker” did before it), it’ll mean that the most memorable war films of the post-Bush decade are ones that are very pro-soldier and ambivalent about the mission itself. And if there’s one thing a liberal’s not supposed to be ambivalent about, it’s the Iraq war. Bet heavily on “Selma” for Best Picture.

[Vendome]

I know a couple guys in West Hollywood.

Both are drone operators.

I hope when I see them no one says anything like this, as I sill be among Hollywooders and will have a sharp statement about playing video games.

How cowardly is that?

[faithhopecharity]

A man who stays in the news by saying stupid or outrageous or anti-American or anti- Christian or anti-Jewish things. . Like a good number of the mass media’s favorite pets. If the media didn’t have these clowns, they’d have to do some genuine journalism.

[a fool in paradise]

Does Lumpy Riefenstahl still support his beloved war criminal jihadist “freedom fighters” in Iraq who he said he hoped would kick our “tail” and send our troops home to lick our wounds?

[kik5150]

Michael Moore hates snipers because one shot his doughnut chef.

[a fool in paradise]

And just an aside, when I read texts with ‘r’ and ‘u’ as words, I think of immaturity (and Prince songs).

I had a female boss who did it at a previous job (sent from a fullsized keyboard, not a phone or ipad).

[2ndDivisionVet]

Better yet, how was Michael Moore ever a thing?

[a fool in paradise]

Maybe Mike thinks that hand to hand combat is the only brave method of battle.

What is Mike’s take on spiked traps in Viet Nam? Anything goes when defending the homeland? Unless you live in America and want to own a gun for self defense?

[willywill]

someone please call papa johns and order this guy about a thousand pizzas, with extra cheese.

[a fool in paradise]

Michael Moore’s second unit film team interviewed Nick Berg in Iraq (Mike didn’t go there himself). How brave is it to cut off a hostage’s head on camera?

Mr. Moore supports war criminals.

[cynwoody]

Hollywood Fats obviously missed George Patton's quote, "No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."

No, Michael, snipers are not cowards. Snipers are competent. Snipers are efficient. Snipers strike terror from afar without dying for it. Snipers are smart killers!

[a fool in paradise]

"send more pizza..."

[QT3.14]

Wonder if MM thinks the same about Zero taking them out with drones?

[PieterCasparzen]

You mean the CIC (Coward in Chief) ?

[MasterGunner01]

Michael Moore: “My uncle killed by sniper in WW2.”

Question, Mikey: “On whose side did your uncle fight, the Nazis or the Communists?”

[2ndDivisionVet]

Maybe he was a Sumo Wrestler in the Imperial Japanese Army?
Or Mussolini’s food taster?

[jospehm20]

Apparently Michael Moore is not aware of the “If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck” rule.

[Yosemitest]

For those who really want to know, and if you don't understand the acronyms, you probably won't "get it":

Dispelling Myths of Long Range Shooting & the Sniper Fantasy ( 59:08 )
Published on Jan 15, 2015
As long as there will be a need to combat evil, there will be a need for guns.
And if there's a need for guns there's a need for making the precision long range rifle shot.
But there is much foolishness and misunderstanding on the serious subject of sniping and the difficulty of making a successful long distance shot.
Human factors and a myriad of hard to pin down variables conspire against the very precise long rang rifle shot.
Don’t believe all your read or see on the subject; much of it is doctored to manipulate the audience.
Intended for a principled LE, Military, and Civilian audience, that along with many interesting issues is addressed here.
Spring boarding off of TNP long range testing and data, a definition is given for what constitutes long range:
500 yards and beyond.
Some time is spent attacking a few Myths on long range shooting:
that making such a shot is easy,
hitting moving targets is easy,
being able to make such a shot puts you on par with a military trained sniper,
buying expensive equipment will make you a better shot,
how long range rifles are no more dangerous than any other gun [millions of “deer rifles” to prove the point],
how shooting in the same place leads to false confidence,
that zeros remain the same,
that precision long range shooting is cheap,
that long distance ranges are easy to find,
how a long distance shot in military, LE is commonplace (it isn’t)
and more.
The SNIPER FANTASY then begins the POU discussion and we attack this notion with facts.
We concentrate on the military sniper, his support structure, the burden he carries the rest of his life to prove the point.
Human life is sacred and taking it is never sought.
WROL concerns addressed and are grounded to reality.
A fog of war discussion grounds the concept.
More realistic POUs of the long range rifle follow:
competition, 2nd Kind of Cool, hunting, project rifle, and just plain recreational fun.
These are the most realistic and recommended POUs for these rifles.
This is another touchstone gear and preparation TNP philosophy video that will change the discussion on long range shooting.

[BykrBayb]

I doubt he has any actual relatives who served in the military. He must be referring to one of the “uncles” his mommy brought home for a “visit.”

[healy61]

Well, his uncle’s record should be readily available to see if it was true. What was his name and rank? It could be true, I know, but Moore is such a pathetic liar.

[mark8express]

...Michael Moore is loathsome and has a definite problem with his headspace and timing...perhaps he doesn’t know the three click rule...