AMERICA'S #1 TOXIC POLLUTER POKED SILLY IN "THE AWFUL TRUTH"
Since we're total fans of crusader/filmmaker/people's philosopher-activist Michael Moore, we wanna remind you again to watch his show "The Awful Truth" tomorrow night (Sunday) at 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. ET (6 p.m. and 10 p.m. PT) on Bravo. If you don't have Bravo, this show is probably a good excuse to get it.
This week Moore gives his "Man of the Year" award to the guy he's singled out as the #1 toxic air polluter in the country: Ira Rennert. Rennert is chairman of the Renco Group, whose subsidiary, Magcorp (Magnesium Corporation of America), is belching tons of awful shit into the air from a sci-fi-movie-type mega plant near Salt Lake City, Utah. Conveniently for fun-making purposes, Rennert is also building one of the largest homes in the country, in Sagaponack, New York. Among other things that piss Moore off, the house has 39 bathrooms.
Moore's been needling Rennert for quite some time, with his entertaining and totally righteous blend of showmanship, moral solidity, and common sense. Rennert's got a restraining order against him-- which shows that a powerful environmental defiler can also be kinda weak-- so Moore may come no closer than 150 feet to Rennert, whose office is in Rockefeller Center. Which meant that when Conan O'Brien wanted to interview Moore, he had to shout questions out of the 9th-floor window of his Rockefeller Center studio, down to Moore, on the street.
What's mystifying is that, in another sphere, Rennert pays close attention to ethics: as a Jewish community leader and chief sponsor of the Orthodox Caucus's Torah Ethics Project. "We face up to tough issues" goes the project's motto; its Statement of Conscience urges "the use of respectful and sensitive speech and behavior toward all men and women, Jewish and non-Jewish, in private as well as in public."
Now this goes way beyond fun-making purposes. Rennert apparently needs some help in reconciling his ethical activism with his industrial sloppiness. If you can provide any help, we think it's your responsibility to do so. You may write Rennert at Renco Group, Inc., xx Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10111-0100. Or you can try to get him on the phone at 212-xxx-xxxx.
Check out tomorrow night's "Awful Truth" first, though. Just to see what the best kind of activism looks like.
This week Moore gives his "Man of the Year" award to the guy he's singled out as the #1 toxic air polluter in the country: Ira Rennert. Rennert is chairman of the Renco Group, whose subsidiary, Magcorp (Magnesium Corporation of America), is belching tons of awful shit into the air from a sci-fi-movie-type mega plant near Salt Lake City, Utah. Conveniently for fun-making purposes, Rennert is also building one of the largest homes in the country, in Sagaponack, New York. Among other things that piss Moore off, the house has 39 bathrooms.
Moore's been needling Rennert for quite some time, with his entertaining and totally righteous blend of showmanship, moral solidity, and common sense. Rennert's got a restraining order against him-- which shows that a powerful environmental defiler can also be kinda weak-- so Moore may come no closer than 150 feet to Rennert, whose office is in Rockefeller Center. Which meant that when Conan O'Brien wanted to interview Moore, he had to shout questions out of the 9th-floor window of his Rockefeller Center studio, down to Moore, on the street.
What's mystifying is that, in another sphere, Rennert pays close attention to ethics: as a Jewish community leader and chief sponsor of the Orthodox Caucus's Torah Ethics Project. "We face up to tough issues" goes the project's motto; its Statement of Conscience urges "the use of respectful and sensitive speech and behavior toward all men and women, Jewish and non-Jewish, in private as well as in public."
Now this goes way beyond fun-making purposes. Rennert apparently needs some help in reconciling his ethical activism with his industrial sloppiness. If you can provide any help, we think it's your responsibility to do so. You may write Rennert at Renco Group, Inc., xx Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10111-0100. Or you can try to get him on the phone at 212-xxx-xxxx.
Check out tomorrow night's "Awful Truth" first, though. Just to see what the best kind of activism looks like.
posted by Lucia Toledo at 8:05 AM
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