Atlas Shrugged A Long Time Ago

Here are just a few tidbits too tasty not to share with each of you.

First, remember Michael Moore, you know, that "brilliant" film-maker who last blessed us with Fahrenheit 9/11? Well, those of us who watched that film will recall that the Bogeyman Dick Cheney and his minions at Halliburton were revealed to us by Mr. Moore in all their gory details: they are capitalist, expansionist, warmongering, profitmongering pigs (and that's to praise them, at least in Moore's world). We also recall Moore positing that the war on Iraq was all about guaranteeing for Halliburton numerous "no bid contracts" (there is no one else who COULD bid on those contracts, since no one else does what Halliburton does. Ahh, but who cares about that?). But shame, shame, shame on that evil corporate behemoth.

And yet as luck would have it, a magic trick of the first kind: Abacadabra and presto!

You see, Michael Moore recently sold his Halliburton stock, all 2000 shares.

"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."

For more on this whole devilish tale, go here. Really, this is sweet, especially since Moore wrote that he does not own a "single share of stock."

But I shouldn't gloat. Countless people have been sucked into Moore's money-making schemes. He sees a market, rushes a film through production to profit from it, and laughs his way to the Hall of Legends. For that is what Moore did in Fahrenheit: he exploited real people's real doubts and fears about the war in Iraq and President Bush for his personal gain. What is sad, saddest of all, is that the most casual viewing of Moore's films reveals his indifference to truth. Thus, it is hard to understand how anyone could believe him. He is, really, the epitome of the CBS creed: "The documents may be forged but they at least point to a true story." It is the end, whatever end, justifying any means. Truth, accuracy, honesty be damned. What matters is the affirmation of feeling, and a decent profit.

Second, and in continuation of my riff Comfortably Numb from Monday, I note that the second richest man in the world, the Democrat Warren Buffett, is featured on page 1 of the Wall Street Journal's "Weekend Edition" (November 12-13, 2005). (Mindful readers will recall that Mr. Buffett was tapped by John Kerry to be his economic advisor.) Here's a great quote:

"Mr. Buffett, with a personal net worth of $43 billion ... calculates that since 1951, he has generated an average annual return of about 31%. The average return for the Standard & Poor's 500 over that period is 11% a year. A $1000 investment in Berkshire [Buffett's firm] in 1965 would be worth about $5.5 million today. ... Berkshire's Class A shares closed yesterday at $90,500."

Hmmm. Sounds to me like there needs to be a subcommittee formed on Capitol Hill. Someone needs to be investigated. Heaven knows all that profit could be given to someone else, like Michael Moore, for instance. Plus, in the process perhaps we'll find out what the profit margin was for Fahrenheit 9/11, or for the new Wal-Mart documentary (bashing Wal-Mart, for you investors, is the newest fad, so you should invest smartly in those groups that will exploit that dynamic market).

(Ayn Rand was right!)

Contratimes