Michael Moore Owned Halliburton, Defense Stocks

[Tux of Borg]

Reprinted from NewsMax.com

 

Michael Moore Owned Halliburton, Defense Stocks

Jim Meyers

Friday, Nov. 4, 2005

Filmmaker Michael Moore has made a career out of trashing corporations and said he doesn't own any stocks due to moral principle.

 

How then did author Peter Schweizer uncover IRS documents showing that Moore's very own foundation has bought stocks in some of America's largest corporations – including Halliburton, other defense contractors and some of the same companies he has attacked?

 

In his blockbuster new book "Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy," Hoover Fellow Schweizer reveals the glaring contradictions between the public stances and real-life behavior of prominent liberals including Al Franken, Ralph Nader, Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi. [Editor's Note: NewsMax has a free offer for "Do As I Say" – Go Here Now.]

 

But he reserves some of his sharpest barbs for Moore.

 

In his first documentary "Roger & Me," Moore skewered General Motors, Schweizer points out.

 

In "The Big One," he went after Nike and PayDay candy bars.

 

"Bowling for Columbine" was an attack on the American gun industry.

 

Oil companies played a major role in "Fahrenheit 911."

 

His upcoming film "Sicko" pillories drug companies and HMOs.

 

On his television shows "TV Nation" and "The Awful Truth," he criticized HMOs and defense contractors.

 

He once said that major defense contractor Halliburton was run by a bunch of "thugs," and suggested that for every American killed in the Iraq war, "I would like Halliburton to slay one mid-level executive."

 

Publicly, Moore has claimed he wants no part of these companies and won't own stock.

 

In his book "Stupid White Men," he wrote: "I don't own a single share of stock."

 

He repeated the claim in a 1997 letter to the online magazine Salon, saying: "I don't own any stock."

 

Privately, however, he tells the IRS a different story, Schweizer discloses in his book.

 

The year that Moore claimed in "Stupid White Men" that he didn't own any stock, he told the IRS that a foundation totally controlled by Moore and his wife had more than $280,000 in corporate stock and nearly $100,000 in corporate bonds.

 

Over the past five years, Moore's holdings have "included such evil pharmaceutical and medical companies as Pfizer, Merck, Genzyme, Elan PLC, Eli Lilly, Becton Dickinson and Boston Scientific," writes Schweizer, whose earlier works include "The Bushes" and "Reagan's War."

 

"Moore's supposedly nonexistent portfolio also includes big bad energy giants like Sunoco, Noble Energy, Schlumberger, Williams Companies, Transocean Sedco Forex and Anadarko, all firms that 'deplete irreplaceable fossil fuels in the name of profit' as he put it in ‘Dude, Where's My Country?'

 

"And in perhaps the ultimate irony, he also has owned shares in Halliburton. According to IRS filings, Moore sold Halliburton for a 15 percent profit and bought shares in Noble, Ford, General Electric (another defense contractor), AOL Time Warner (evil corporate media) and McDonald's.

 

"Also on Moore's investment menu: defense contractors Honeywell, Boeing and Loral."

 

Does Moore share the stock proceeds of his "foundation" with charitable causes, you might ask?

 

Schweizer found that "for a man who by 2002 had a net worth in eight figures, he gave away a modest $36,000 through the foundation, much of it to his friends in the film business or tony cultural organizations that later provided him with venues to promote his books and film."

 

Moore's hypocrisy doesn't end with his financial holdings.

 

He has criticized the journalism industry and Hollywood for their lack of African-Americans in prominent positions, and in 1998 he said he personally wanted to hire minorities "who come from the working class."

 

In "Stupid White Men," he proclaimed his plans to "hire only black people."

 

But when Schweizer checked the senior credits for Moore's latest film "Fahrenheit 911," he found that of the movie's 14 producers, three editors, production manager and production coordinator, all 19 were white. So were all three cameramen and the two people who did the original music.

 

On "Bowling for Columbine," 13 of the 14 producers were white, as were the two executives in charge of production, the cameramen, the film editor and the music composer.

 

His show "TV Nation" had 13 producers, four film editors and 10 writers – but not a single African-American among them.

 

And as for Moore's insistence on portraying himself as "working class" and an "average Joe," Schweizer recounts this anecdote:

 

"When Moore flew to London to visit people at the BBC or promote a film, he took the Concorde and stayed at the Ritz. But he also allegedly booked a room at a cheap hotel down the street where he could meet with journalists and pose as a ‘man of humble circumstances.'"

 

That's hypocrisy with a capital H!

[whatutalkinbout?]

Reprinted from NewsMax.com

 

Michael Moore Owned Halliburton, Defense Stocks

Jim Meyers

Friday, Nov. 4, 2005

Filmmaker Michael Moore has made a career out of trashing corporations and said he doesn't own any stocks due to moral principle.

 

How then did author Peter Schweizer uncover IRS documents showing that Moore's very own foundation has bought stocks in some of America's largest corporations – including Halliburton, other defense contractors and some of the same companies he has attacked?

 

In his blockbuster new book "Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy," Hoover Fellow Schweizer reveals the glaring contradictions between the public stances and real-life behavior of prominent liberals including Al Franken, Ralph Nader, Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi. [Editor's Note: NewsMax has a free offer for "Do As I Say" – Go Here Now.]

 

But he reserves some of his sharpest barbs for Moore.

 

In his first documentary "Roger & Me," Moore skewered General Motors, Schweizer points out.

 

In "The Big One," he went after Nike and PayDay candy bars.

 

"Bowling for Columbine" was an attack on the American gun industry.

 

Oil companies played a major role in "Fahrenheit 911."

 

His upcoming film "Sicko" pillories drug companies and HMOs.

 

On his television shows "TV Nation" and "The Awful Truth," he criticized HMOs and defense contractors.

 

He once said that major defense contractor Halliburton was run by a bunch of "thugs," and suggested that for every American killed in the Iraq war, "I would like Halliburton to slay one mid-level executive."

 

Publicly, Moore has claimed he wants no part of these companies and won't own stock.

 

In his book "Stupid White Men," he wrote: "I don't own a single share of stock."

 

He repeated the claim in a 1997 letter to the online magazine Salon, saying: "I don't own any stock."

 

Privately, however, he tells the IRS a different story, Schweizer discloses in his book.

 

The year that Moore claimed in "Stupid White Men" that he didn't own any stock, he told the IRS that a foundation totally controlled by Moore and his wife had more than $280,000 in corporate stock and nearly $100,000 in corporate bonds.

 

Over the past five years, Moore's holdings have "included such evil pharmaceutical and medical companies as Pfizer, Merck, Genzyme, Elan PLC, Eli Lilly, Becton Dickinson and Boston Scientific," writes Schweizer, whose earlier works include "The Bushes" and "Reagan's War."

 

"Moore's supposedly nonexistent portfolio also includes big bad energy giants like Sunoco, Noble Energy, Schlumberger, Williams Companies, Transocean Sedco Forex and Anadarko, all firms that 'deplete irreplaceable fossil fuels in the name of profit' as he put it in ‘Dude, Where's My Country?'

 

"And in perhaps the ultimate irony, he also has owned shares in Halliburton. According to IRS filings, Moore sold Halliburton for a 15 percent profit and bought shares in Noble, Ford, General Electric (another defense contractor), AOL Time Warner (evil corporate media) and McDonald's.

 

"Also on Moore's investment menu: defense contractors Honeywell, Boeing and Loral."

 

Does Moore share the stock proceeds of his "foundation" with charitable causes, you might ask?

 

Schweizer found that "for a man who by 2002 had a net worth in eight figures, he gave away a modest $36,000 through the foundation, much of it to his friends in the film business or tony cultural organizations that later provided him with venues to promote his books and film."

 

Moore's hypocrisy doesn't end with his financial holdings.

 

He has criticized the journalism industry and Hollywood for their lack of African-Americans in prominent positions, and in 1998 he said he personally wanted to hire minorities "who come from the working class."

 

In "Stupid White Men," he proclaimed his plans to "hire only black people."

 

But when Schweizer checked the senior credits for Moore's latest film "Fahrenheit 911," he found that of the movie's 14 producers, three editors, production manager and production coordinator, all 19 were white. So were all three cameramen and the two people who did the original music.

 

On "Bowling for Columbine," 13 of the 14 producers were white, as were the two executives in charge of production, the cameramen, the film editor and the music composer.

 

His show "TV Nation" had 13 producers, four film editors and 10 writers – but not a single African-American among them.

 

And as for Moore's insistence on portraying himself as "working class" and an "average Joe," Schweizer recounts this anecdote:

 

"When Moore flew to London to visit people at the BBC or promote a film, he took the Concorde and stayed at the Ritz. But he also allegedly booked a room at a cheap hotel down the street where he could meet with journalists and pose as a ‘man of humble circumstances.'"

 

That's hypocrisy with a capital H!

495109[/snapback]

 

 

I really hope this is all true. Michael Moore is one of those people who just ooze hypocrisy. I'm not conservative. I don't have any reason to hate what Moore says. I just do. And I feel great about it.

[RkFast]

Reserving judgment until confirmed....but MAN, this is juicy!

[billsfanone]

For all intents and purposes he has a huge stake in the fast food industry too.

[sweet baboo]

did someone say STEAK?? ::

[Wacka]

Here is more from the book they are talking about (which by the way is #2 on Amazon):

 

Staunch union supporter Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California and her husband received the Cesar Chavez award from the United Farm Workers union. But the $25 million Northern California vineyard she and her husband own is a non-union shop.

 

Pelosi has received more money from the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees union than any other member of Congress.

 

She and her husband own a large stake in an exclusive California hotel with more than 250 employees – none of them union.

 

The Pelosis also are partners in a restaurant chain with 900 employees – also a non-union shop.

 

How about Ralph Nader, who claims unions are essential to protect workers' rights – but when an editor of one of his publications tried to form a union, the editor was fired.

 

Self-described socialist Noam Chomsky has described the Pentagon as "the most vile institution on the face of the earth" and lashed out against tax havens and trusts that benefit only the rich. But Chomsky has been paid millions of dollars by the Pentagon over the last 40 years and has used a law firm to set up his irrevocable trust to shield his assets from the IRS.

 

Air America radio host Al Franken calls conservatives "racists because they lack diversity and oppose affirmative action." Yet fewer than 1 percent of the people he has hired over the last 15 years have been African-American.

 

Ted Kennedy has fought for the estate tax and has spoken out against tax shelters, but he repeatedly benefits from an intricate web of trusts and private foundations shielding most of his family's fortune from the IRS. One such Kennedy family trust wasn't even set up in the United States – but in Fiji.

 

Barbra Streisand talks about the necessity of unions to protect a living wage, but she prefers to do her filming and post-production work in Canada so she can pay less than American union wages.

 

Bill and Hillary Clinton speak in favor of the estate tax. Yet in the year 2000 Bill vetoed a bill seeking to end it. The Clintons have set up a contract trust allowing them to reduce the amount of inheritance tax their estate will pay when they die.

 

Billionaire George Soros says the wealthy should pay higher, more progressive tax rates, but he holds the bulk of his money in tax-free overseas accounts in Curacao, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.

 

 

I also know of the antics of Diane Fienstein (D- CA). She was instrumental in expanding the size of Death Valley National Park very greatly (under environmental grounds). This shut down a mine for iridium, an expensive metal neded for use in fighter planes, etc. This shut down most of the US production. We have to obtain it from overseas now. Who is an executive in the company with the biggest stake in mining iridium?-- That's right, her husband.

[Alaska Darin]

America = For sale

 

But keep buying the crap they toss, partisans.

[Chilly]

America = For sale

 

But keep buying the crap they toss, partisans.

495302[/snapback]

 

Well, then how come when I bought a bridge one time I never actually got it?

[blzrul]

Well, then how come when I bought a bridge one time I never actually got it? 

495319[/snapback]

Because it's needed in Alaska so 55 people can get around to check their traps and such...or cash their oil subsidy checks.

[Alaska Darin]

Because it's needed in Alaska so 55 people can get around to check their traps and such...or cash their oil subsidy checks.

495331[/snapback]

Keep repeating the same uniformed crap. Facts have never been your strongpoint.

 

BTW, the rhetoric surrounding the bridge money is awfully similiar to what was said about a little span called the Golden Gate. I love when you lemmings wrap your feeble melons around something so you can sloganeer.

[N.Y. Orangeman]

Keep repeating the same uniformed crap.  Facts have never been your strongpoint.

 

BTW, the rhetoric surrounding the bridge money is awfully similiar to what was said about a little span called the Golden Gate.  I love when you lemmings wrap your feeble melons around something so you can sloganeer.

495343[/snapback]

 

It is tough to defend what Alaska receives in appropriations, isn't it? C'mon, at least you have to admit that Alaska receives an amount of federal expenditures that is, well, ridiculous. I guess you just have good representatives..

[Alaska Darin]

It is tough to defend what Alaska receives in appropriations, isn't it?  C'mon, at least you have to admit that Alaska receives an amount of federal expenditures that is, well, ridiculous.  I guess you just have good representatives..

495372[/snapback]

Yeah, it's not because of the remoteness, the fact that it's only been a state for only 46 years, or is so ridiculously large. I'll grant that our legislators wield tremendous power. Don Young and Ted Stevens have been in office for a long time.

 

The area covered by glaciers in Alaska is larger than 10 states.

 

ANWR, the area the hippies don't want to drill in, is roughly the size of South Carolina. Imagine the Federal government roping off South Carolina as a national park?

 

The volcanic chain that goes from the Peninsula through the Aleutians would stretch from Tulsa to San Francisco.

 

Alaska has more coastline than the rest of the United States combined.

 

Alaska has more national park land than the rest of the US combined.

 

I'm really sorry you think it's ridiculous for the Federal government to spend infrastructure dollars on a place that for the most part resembles a third world country. Of course, you've been here and know exactly what you're talking about.

[N.Y. Orangeman]

Yeah, it's not because of the remoteness, the fact that it's only been a state for only 46 years, or is so ridiculously large.  I'll grant that our legislators wield tremendous power.  Don Young and Ted Stevens have been in office for a long time.

 

The area covered by glaciers in Alaska is larger than 10 states.

 

ANWR, the area the hippies don't want to drill in, is roughly the size of South Carolina.  Imagine the Federal government roping off South Carolina as a national park?

 

The volcanic chain that goes from the Peninsula through the Aleutians would stretch from Tulsa to San Francisco.

 

Alaska has more coastline than the rest of the United States combined.

 

Alaska has more national park land than the rest of the US combined.

 

I'm really sorry you think it's ridiculous for the Federal government to spend infrastructure dollars on a place that for the most part resembles a third world country.  Of course, you've been here and know exactly what you're talking about.

495409[/snapback]

 

Back up, Darin. You are the one that compared the bridge project (which name escapes me) to the Golden Gate bridge and started throwing insults. There is a big difference in the two projects. Your taunts clearly put this on the table.

 

In 2003, Alaska received $1.89 for every dollar it paid to the federal government. I don't need to visit what I'm sure is a lovely part of the country to understand that..

[stuckincincy]

It is tough to defend what Alaska receives in appropriations, isn't it?  C'mon, at least you have to admit that Alaska receives an amount of federal expenditures that is, well, ridiculous.  I guess you just have good representatives..

495372[/snapback]

 

 

Take a tour of Wild Wonderful West Virginia...

[Alaska Darin]

Back up, Darin.  You are the one that compared the bridge project (which name escapes me) to the Golden Gate bridge and started throwing insults.  There is a big difference in the two projects. Your taunts clearly put this on the table.

 

In 2003, Alaska received $1.89 for every dollar it paid to the federal government.  I don't need to visit what I'm sure is a lovely part of the country to understand that..

495432[/snapback]

Why should I back up? You stated your side, I retorted with facts. Is it somehow confusing to you?

 

Alaska is a very young and very large state with a ton of challenges. Not the least of which is getting clean water and sewage to outlying villages. One way for that to happen is to build roads. The US government is Constitutionally responsible for INFRASTRUCTURE. Bridges fit that.

[Chef Jim]

Yeah, it's not because of the remoteness, the fact that it's only been a state for only 46 years, or is so ridiculously large.  I'll grant that our legislators wield tremendous power.  Don Young and Ted Stevens have been in office for a long time.

 

The area covered by glaciers in Alaska is larger than 10 states.

 

ANWR, the area the hippies don't want to drill in, is roughly the size of South Carolina.  Imagine the Federal government roping off South Carolina as a national park?

 

The volcanic chain that goes from the Peninsula through the Aleutians would stretch from Tulsa to San Francisco.

 

Alaska has more coastline than the rest of the United States combined.

 

Alaska has more national park land than the rest of the US combined.

 

I'm really sorry you think it's ridiculous for the Federal government to spend infrastructure dollars on a place that for the most part resembles a third world country.  Of course, you've been here and know exactly what you're talking about.

495409[/snapback]

 

Does this post come with a soundtrack of Alaska's state anthem? I don't have speakers here a work and I wasn't sure. I mean hell, I felt like standing up with my hand over my heart while I read it.

[meazza]

Keep repeating the same uniformed crap.  Facts have never been your strongpoint.

 

BTW, the rhetoric surrounding the bridge money is awfully similiar to what was said about a little span called the Golden Gate.  I love when you lemmings wrap your feeble melons around something so you can sloganeer.

495343[/snapback]

i think you're one of the only intelligent posters on this board

[N.Y. Orangeman]

Why should I back up?  You stated your side, I retorted with facts.  Is it somehow confusing to you?

 

Alaska is a very young and very large state with a ton of challenges.  Not the least of which is getting clean water and sewage to outlying villages.  One way for that to happen is to build roads.  The US government is Constitutionally responsible for INFRASTRUCTURE.  Bridges fit that.

495518[/snapback]

 

By back up, I mean back up and re-read your post. I'll concede Alaska isn't similarly-situated compared to the lower 48, but we could debate the projects/pork (bridges and beyond) that has headed to Alaska the last 5-7 years and the Constitution.

 

Anyway, it seems struck a nerve (the rhetorical question and the CAPS tipped me off), so I'll respectfully back away from this subject.

[Alaska Darin]

By back up, I mean back up and re-read your post.  I'll concede Alaska isn't similarly-situated as the lower 48, but we could debate the projects/pork (bridges and beyond) that has headed to Alaska the last 5-7 years and the Constitution. 

 

Anyway, it seems  struck a nerve (the rhetorical question and the CAPS tipped me off), so I'll respectfully back away from this subject.

495616[/snapback]

Oh, I'll agree that there are far too many pork projects (palatial hospitals that only serve Native Alaskans are my personal favorites) but roads are pretty much off the table as far as I'm concerned.

 

I've lived in Anchorage for 10 years there is one road in from the North and one road out from the South. One of the bridges "to nowhere" would open up an entire unsettled area and relieve tremendous congestion here as well as make cheaper housing available (houses have more than doubled in the last 10 years and there is almost nothing available under $200K anymore).

 

Personally, I'm pretty tired of having to explain why we get a disproportionate share of Federal Highway money to people living in tiny states with 200 years of road building on their side.

[Crap Throwing Monkey]

I really hope this is all true.  Michael Moore is one of those people who just ooze hypocrisy.  I'm not conservative.  I don't have any reason to hate what Moore says.  I just do.  And I feel great about it.

495139[/snapback]

 

It's probably true. When you have a certain amount of money (a certain large amount), you usually have pros managing it and don't necessarily have immediate first-hand knowledge of what your holdings are. Just like Frist owning shares in HCA. Bush and Cheney probably have some very odd holdings in their blind trusts they know nothing about.