Posted on 10/12/2004 4:50:53 PM PDT by hipaatwo
Believe the HYPE!
A few weeks ago, a synchronized buzz started coursing through the veins of the blogsphere when Michael Moore posted an article on his website, reprinted from the Christian Science Monitor titled: “U.S. Troops in Iraq Gather to Watch ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’; Anti-Bush sentiment growing”. It spoke of troops in Iraq watching Moore’s film, and reacting negatively to the ideas they were “learning about” from it. To many of us, this seemed especially unfair to the troops, as they aren’t as privy to the daily debunkings of F911 as the rest of us since they are usually too busy defending our freedoms to have a chance to sit and read blogs for hours.
I wrote:
Most, if not all of you who visit here daily know about the intense debunking of the movie. I can’t remember the last time anyone (even the leftiest of our Moorewatch friends) defended the movie as a source of credible information. We all know better, however, our troops obviously do not. By only getting one side of the story, ( which is FULL of deceptions) our troops morale is being affected. There is no Moorewatch Iraqi Field Office.The next day I visited our friends over at Junk Yard Blog to find we were not alone in our disgust over this. Junkyard blogger Bryan had discussed the idea with Jason Clarke, of Moorelies,and Co-Author of “Michael Moore is a big fat stupid white man” and together they decided it would be a good idea to counter Moore’s movie with the new documentary “FahrenHYPE 9/11”. The phrase “truth for troops” was coined, and the call went out to the blogsphere for help. The goal, to raise enough money to purchase 10,000 copies of the movie and ship them to the troops in Iraq. Knowing the sentiments of our readers here at Moorewatch, I offered our support for the mission.
What happened next is quite remarkable.
More... The suggestions came flying in, names, addresses, ideas, and potential problems came to light in a matter of hours. The reality began to sink in that this was going to be a logisitical nightmare to try to undertake a project like this with no infrastructure and even less experience. I decided to appeal to the source for guidance. I sent an e-mail to the Fahrenhype 9-11 general address explaining our problem, begging for a name of someone who might know someone , who might know somebody else that might administer some much needed advice.
The following day I received an e-mail from our now infamous “mystery benefactor” :
My name is patrick byrne, and I am the CEO of Overstock.com. We own the rights to distribute this film and are interested in getting this into as many GI hands as possible. Towards that end, we will send 5,000 DVD’s to Iraq for free for distribution among the troops. However, we are looking for a way to make sure they get there and get distributed quickly.After picking my jaw up off the floor , I started co-ordinating with Bryan, Jason and JimK of Moorewatch to tackle the still unanswered logistical issue. Many, many groups answered our collective calls for help and advice( thanks to you all very much), 500 e-mails, dozens of hours on the phone and 3 weeks later, we were able to connect Overstock.com with Keystone Soldiers who generously agreed to provide 2500 current military names and addresses in Iraq to Retired Colonel Steve Tryon who works for Overstock and was taking point on this project. Colonel Tryon is not only a generous guy, but also served in the 3rd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne division back in the 80’s at the same time I was also a member of the Panther Brigade. We never met each other, as we served in seperate Battalions, but it sure felt like our Airborne luck had some how brought us together to work on this project.
As I write this, the first wave of DVD’s is being prepared for shipment to Iraq, courtesy of the unbelievable generosity of the folks at Overstock.com. They believe in this project as much as we do, and they have shown their dedication to the cause in a way that renders me nearly speechless.
So please join me in extending our heartfelt thanks to both Overstock.com and to Keystone Soldiers for thier incredible support in helping us get this started.
That’s right, I said started.
I have just watched my reviewer’s copy of FahrenHYPE 9/11 and I now know more than ever, we need to get this film to Iraq in GREAT numbers. The movie turns Moore’s lie-fest on it’s ear, point by point for the first half, effectively discecting each Moore lie and telling the “rest-of-the-story” in a clean and effective manner. You’ll recognize many of the themes, such as The seven minutes in the classroom,The Saudi Flights , unscrupulous military recruiting practices, The Pantagraph Headline and many others.
Later in the film, interviews with Zell Miller make you realize he wasn’t just putting on an act at the RNC convention. I could listen to the wisdom of that great -grandfather of four for hours. I will post a full review later, but now I want to speak about the most relevenat theme in the film.
A lagre portion of the film is dedicated to honoring our troops. They are portrayed in the way that soldiers see themselves, as liberators, as patriots, as people willing to die for freedom. As a former soldier, I completly identified with these men and women in uniform. They aren’t the “drunk on blood and rock-n-roll” teenagers, as portrayed in Moore’s film. Several minutes is spent listening to the soldier who lost both his arms who was featured in F911. He describes his disgust and shock at the thought of his image being used in Moore’s movie without his permission. He speaks of duty and honor. He rejects the “victimhood” slung around his neck in Moore’s film with talk of pride in his service and his optimism for the future. He is particularly adamant about rejecting Moore’s statement that “soldiers are being neglected” when they come home injured. At one point, he looks directly into the camrea and issues a much deserved scolding to Michael Moore for dishonoring his service and the service of his brothers in arms. His strength will move you.
That is the message of this film. America loves and respects her sons and daughters serving on our behalf. This is a message that our troops desperately need to hear. With that in mind, we are now ready to move to phase 2 of operation Truth for Troops. Jason and Bryan have worked tirelessly preparing this website to get it up, running, and legal. This is the part where we will need all the help we can get from you. We still need 5000 more DVD’s to go to Iraq. In a day or so, you can visit Truth for Troops to read a little more about the project, and if you have the means, you can hit the Paypal button to donate funds in any amount directly to Keystone Soldiers, who have agreed to handle the logistics for the next 5000 DVD’s to Iraq. All funds collected will be used to purchase and ship copies of FahrenHYPE 9/11 directly to the troops on the ground. There are no hidden “administrative” fees. Every penny you donate will go towards DVD’s and freight.
Based on all of the e-mails I have received, I know many of you are eager to help keep this grass roots truth campaign rolling. Now is your chance. Please visit and donate as much as you are comfortalble giving. No amount is too small, and every dollar helps. Given the devastated feelings our Troops are having after watching Moore’s military troops hit piece, they deserve as much help as we can muster. Rest assured that after seeing FahrenHYPE 9/11, they will feel appreciated and loved.
Speaking of appreciation, I will pass along any messages of thanks to Overstock.com or Keystone Soldiers if you want to e-mail them directly to me.
5000 DVD’s to go, let’s roll.
You guys rock! I'm in!
HOORAH! They can have the balance in my paypal account. Please send my best to Overstock - they will get my business.
Like I said, I'm a tad sloooow. Just saw where to send the email. You're the BEST, Dagnabit!
EXCELLENT. How can we help?
GET THOSE DVDS there FAST. These men and women are voting RIGHT NOW via absentee ballots. It may be too late.
:(
You'll have Paypal coming when I get home from work tonight.
I don't know if you've thought about it but this film's distributors need to get the film into all the stateside post and base exchanges as well, and this needs to be done in a hurry.
Can you give us an easy way to donate with URL through Paypal?
Thanks for posting .... I remember then cadet Steve Tryon being a "STRAC" type of guy. I was a beanhead in his company at Hudson High .... Go C-3 'Fighting' Cocks!
Overstock.com is a great alternative to Amazon.com. Their prices are several dollars less expensive on every book I've purchased from them.
What a great plan. Give me a link and I will do it in a heartbeat. I only recently ordered my own copy from Overstock.com, certainly can't find it anyplace else.....
How wonderful! I just heard an ad for the video at Overstock.com today and am going to order it.
I think I'll be doing my Christmas shopping there this year.
I just watched this documentary. It was great. I want to get a copy to Afghanistan. Michael Moore has done damage there too not just Iraq. Not to mention a lot of our troops that are now in Afghanistan will be in Iraq in a few months. I can order a copy for my son over there but I was wondering if anyone has heard of any groups that are sending this documentary to Afghanistan too.
I want to buy some copies and send them around. Amazon says I can't!
What's going on...? Where can you get this DVD--hopefully a convenient and efficient online source?
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