Moore, Sicko, and Cuba
So it seems that in response to an OFAC letter to detail his Cuba trip, Moore claims himself a victim of a Bush administration investigation and writes a pithy comment back to the Treasure Secretary. http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/5/11/93540/9491 He insinuates that this is timed to coincide with the Cannes film festival to detract from (inferred) his message. The letter sent to Moore from OFAC is on SmokingGun.com but I don't have a precise link. It fits into the standard formset of bureaucratic letters and isn't, per se, persecution.
As someone who has jumped through these hoops on travel to Cuba, I feel uniquely qualified in our little group to comment.
Essentially, Moore broke the law. It doesn't matter why. I disagree with the whole embargo laws but the law is the law and one doesn't break it flagrantly on "principle".
His letter campaign is just deflective bullshit.
2 comments:
"Deflective bullshit"
Hardly! This is purely political and everyone knows it. Moore's camp informed BushCo last October about their travel plans to Cuba this past spring. Fortunately, they have hired a decent lawyer, David Boies, who should have no trouble tearing apart the simpletons representing Bush's Treasury Dept.
That's a bunch of crap.
He applied in October trying to use the journalist laws. Which is baloney since his intent was to take folks down there to be medically treated.
He then, apparently, never followed up on the application. Which, as I know personally, you have to do repeatedly. Government, you know.
And then he just does what the hell he wants to in violation of Federal statutes.
Is this political or not? Who knows. The embargo laws are enforced haphazardly and inconsistantly.
I think that he knew full well what he was doing. He knew that the laws were not stringently enforced and that he could cry "victim" if OFAC inquired into the trip. He also knew that there was little chance that the application would be granted. If the government had replied negatively before he made the trip, he would have cried "victim" then, too.
Michael Moore may be dishonest but no one ever called him stupid. This was a setup to embarrass the government no matter what happened.
He broke the law. Prosecuting him is now at the discretion of the government. He is not a victim.
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