As readers will recall, Disney is blocking its subsidiary Mirimax from distributing Michael Moore’s new film critical of Bush. Disney head Michael Eisner has offered by way of explanation the following: “we just didn’t want to be in the middle of a politically-oriented film during an election year.” As detailed here that explanation is just ludicrous. A sample:

“Disney, through its various subsidiaries, is one of the largest distributors of political, often highly partisan media content in the country– virtually all of it right-wing. Consider:

“*Almost all of Disney’s major talk radio stations– WABC in New York, WMAL in D.C., WLS in Chicago, WBAP in Dallas/Ft. Worth and KSFO in San Francisco– broadcast Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Indeed, WABC is considered the home station for both of these shows, which promote an unremitting Republican political agenda. (Disney’s KABC in L.A. carries Hannity, but has Bill O’Reilly instead of Limbaugh.) Disney’s news/talk stations are dominated by a variety of other partisan Republican hosts, both local and national, including Laura Ingraham, Larry Elder and Matt Drudge.

“*Disney’s Family Channel carries Pat Robertson’s 700 Club, which routinely equates Christianity with Republican causes….

“*Disney’s ABC News prominently features John Stossel, who, though not explicitly partisan, advocates for a conservative philosophy in almost all his work: ‘It is my job to explain the beauties of the free market,’ he has explained (Oregonian, 10/26/94). No journalist is allowed to advocate for a balancing point of view on ABC’s news programs.”

Meanwhile, the ne’er-too-bright right-wing of the blogosphere is busy gloating about a story in The Independent (suddenly a favorite of American right-wingers!) claiming that, “Less than 24 hours after accusing the Walt Disney Company of pulling the plug on his latest documentary in a blatant attempt at political censorship, the rabble-rousing film-maker Michael Moore has admitted he knew a year ago that Disney had no intention of distributing it.”

But here’s what Moore actually said in the interview:

“Almost a year ago after we’d started making the film, the chairman of Disney, Michael Eisner, told my agent that he was upset that Miramax had made the film — Disney owns Miramax — and he will not distribute this film.

“Miramax said don’t worry about that, keep making the film, we’ll keep funding it. The Disney money kept flowing to us for the last year. We finished the film last week, and we take it to the Cannes film festival next week.

“On Monday of this week we got final word from Disney that they will not distribute the film. They told my agent they did not want to upset the Bush family, particularly Gov. Bush of Florida because Disney was up for a number of tax incentives, abatements … whatever. The risk of losing this — we’re talking about tens of millions of dollars — they didn’t want to risk it over a little documentary.”