Joel Eskovitz: Phone number in 'Fahrenheit 9/11' directs callers to Goss' office
By JOEL ESKOVITZ, eskovitzj@shns.com
June 26, 2004
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Porter Goss finds it somewhat amusing, the response to his cameo in the new Michael Moore film, "Fahrenheit 9/11."
The documentary features an interview with the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee during which he tells anyone with concerns about intelligence collection that they can call a toll-free number. Moore, declaring no such number exists, promptly displays on the movie screen Goss' Washington office line.
In just its first day in theaters on Friday, the film prompted more than 100 calls, according to Goss' staff, although none came from his Southwest Florida district.
The film can be heard playing in the background on many of the calls, and several people called simply to see if the number really worked before hanging up. Goss, R-Sanibel, even took a few calls; some callers asked about the Patriot Act, which is the topic he is shown talking about.
He laughed while recounting one exchange from a person sitting in a theater, who asked him: "Do I really have a congressman?"
When Goss told him who he was, the man replied, "Whoops, I'm sorry," before hanging up.
Goss, who hasn't seen the film, never sat down with Moore for the interview and has some question as to how the footage in his office was obtained. His bigger concern is the idea his staff could be overwhelmed by the deluge of calls.
"I can go along with a good prank as well as everybody else, but we are a nation at war," he said. "And I'm not sure how suitable a forum this is to be playing these kind of games when we've got people out in places like Afghanistan and Iraq and Indonesia and elsewhere putting their lives in harm's way for our freedoms."
The film is playing on about 1,000 screens across the nation this weekend. The only bright side for Goss' staffers is that their office has no answering machine.
Big Cypress negotiations
The House on Friday passed its second spending bill earmarking money for Everglades restoration.
The energy and water bill sets aside $85 million for planning and construction as part of the $8.4 billion Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project. The interior bill, passed late last week, includes another $64 million.
But what that bill doesn't include is a $40 million payment to the Collier family for the oil and gas rights under about 765,000 acres of Everglades land. President Bush had requested that money, the first of three installments, in his budget proposal this year and last.
U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, said he believes after the Senate approves the must-pass spending bill, he will have an opportunity to push the project when both chambers meet to reconcile differences between their versions of the bill. Along with Goss, he had been pushing for the money to be included in a spending bill last year, but questions about the cost of the mineral rights eventually sank that plan.
"I think it gets to the point where you cannot ask the Colliers to continue to lose money year after year," he said. "I think we need to move on this sooner rather than later."
The Interior Department reached an agreement in principle with Collier Resources in May 2002 to purchase the rights underneath Big Cypress National Preserve, the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife for $120 million.
U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Miami Lakes, among others, questioned that cost and wrote a letter to the Interior Department inquiring about how it was reached. The department's independent inspector general has been investigating that matter for at least eight months and has yet to conclude the investigation, which can generally take up to a year.
Collier Resources General Manager Bob Duncan believes the investigation, coupled with a new appraisal the Interior Department recently began on the land, will clear up any questions over how the dollar figure was reached.
The appraisal is expected to take six months. Although Congress is supposed to complete all its spending bills by Oct. 1, its current pace and recent history suggests lawmakers will probably still be working on that piece of legislation by the time the appraisal is completed late this year.
Joel Eskovitz is the Daily News' Washington correspondent. He can be reached by e-mail at eskovitzj@shns.com.
By JOEL ESKOVITZ, eskovitzj@shns.com
June 26, 2004
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Porter Goss finds it somewhat amusing, the response to his cameo in the new Michael Moore film, "Fahrenheit 9/11."
The documentary features an interview with the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee during which he tells anyone with concerns about intelligence collection that they can call a toll-free number. Moore, declaring no such number exists, promptly displays on the movie screen Goss' Washington office line.
In just its first day in theaters on Friday, the film prompted more than 100 calls, according to Goss' staff, although none came from his Southwest Florida district.
The film can be heard playing in the background on many of the calls, and several people called simply to see if the number really worked before hanging up. Goss, R-Sanibel, even took a few calls; some callers asked about the Patriot Act, which is the topic he is shown talking about.
He laughed while recounting one exchange from a person sitting in a theater, who asked him: "Do I really have a congressman?"
When Goss told him who he was, the man replied, "Whoops, I'm sorry," before hanging up.
Goss, who hasn't seen the film, never sat down with Moore for the interview and has some question as to how the footage in his office was obtained. His bigger concern is the idea his staff could be overwhelmed by the deluge of calls.
"I can go along with a good prank as well as everybody else, but we are a nation at war," he said. "And I'm not sure how suitable a forum this is to be playing these kind of games when we've got people out in places like Afghanistan and Iraq and Indonesia and elsewhere putting their lives in harm's way for our freedoms."
The film is playing on about 1,000 screens across the nation this weekend. The only bright side for Goss' staffers is that their office has no answering machine.
Big Cypress negotiations
The House on Friday passed its second spending bill earmarking money for Everglades restoration.
The energy and water bill sets aside $85 million for planning and construction as part of the $8.4 billion Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project. The interior bill, passed late last week, includes another $64 million.
But what that bill doesn't include is a $40 million payment to the Collier family for the oil and gas rights under about 765,000 acres of Everglades land. President Bush had requested that money, the first of three installments, in his budget proposal this year and last.
U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, said he believes after the Senate approves the must-pass spending bill, he will have an opportunity to push the project when both chambers meet to reconcile differences between their versions of the bill. Along with Goss, he had been pushing for the money to be included in a spending bill last year, but questions about the cost of the mineral rights eventually sank that plan.
"I think it gets to the point where you cannot ask the Colliers to continue to lose money year after year," he said. "I think we need to move on this sooner rather than later."
The Interior Department reached an agreement in principle with Collier Resources in May 2002 to purchase the rights underneath Big Cypress National Preserve, the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife for $120 million.
U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Miami Lakes, among others, questioned that cost and wrote a letter to the Interior Department inquiring about how it was reached. The department's independent inspector general has been investigating that matter for at least eight months and has yet to conclude the investigation, which can generally take up to a year.
Collier Resources General Manager Bob Duncan believes the investigation, coupled with a new appraisal the Interior Department recently began on the land, will clear up any questions over how the dollar figure was reached.
The appraisal is expected to take six months. Although Congress is supposed to complete all its spending bills by Oct. 1, its current pace and recent history suggests lawmakers will probably still be working on that piece of legislation by the time the appraisal is completed late this year.
Joel Eskovitz is the Daily News' Washington correspondent. He can be reached by e-mail at eskovitzj@shns.com.
