Friday, June 25, 2004

Michael Moore vs. The Messiah

As you may know, the ultra-wealthy leader of the Moonies, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, had himself crowned Messiah. The ceremony took place in no less august a venue than the United States Senate's Dirksen office building -- in the presence of lawmakers. He also claimed endorsement from the shades of Hitler and Stalin. The afterlife has made them see things Moon's way.

The Washington Times, Moon's allegedly "independent" newspaper, has predictably slammed Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911. A telling excerpt: "An early libel — that the president authorized flights out of the country for members of the bin Laden family soon after September 11 — has been discredited already."

Much as I hate to disagree with one of the Messiah's minions, Moore's accusation is no libel. It's not even an accusation. The September 13 flight is a fact of history. Two members of the Bin Laden family were taken to Washington. The next day, they were transported out of the country. The flights were arranged at the highest level of the Bush administration. Bush met with Prince Bandar on the 13th. Richard Clarke confirmed the story during his congressional testimony. Nail al-Jubeir, director of information for Saudi Arabia, has confirmed the story. Officials at the airport involved now confirm the story.

How dare the Washington Times call Michael Moore -- or anyone else -- a liar? Their own reportage is about as believable as the Reverend Moon's claims of post-mortum conversions.

The good Reverend sinks a ton of dough each year into that rag. Nobody quite knows where the cash comes from, but few consider the money clean. If Kerry gets elected, I hope he asks the Justice Department to clear up the mystery of Moon's finances.

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