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A letter from Michael Moore
2003-09-17 10:43:04
A Citizen's Appeal to a General in a Time of War (at Home)
September 12, 2003
Dear General Wesley Clark,
I've been meaning to write to you for some time. Two days after
the Oscars, when I felt very alone and somewhat frightened by
the level of hatred toward me for daring to suggest that we were
being led into war for "fictitious reasons," one person stuck
his neck out and came to my defense on national television.
And that person was you.
Aaron Brown had just finished interviewing me by satellite on
CNN, and I had made a crack about me being "the only non-general
allowed on CNN all week." He ended the interview and then turned
to you, as you were sitting at the desk with him. He asked you
what you thought of this crazy guy, Michael Moore. And, although
we were still in Week One of the war, you boldly said that my
dissent was necessary and welcome, and you pointed out that I
was against Bush and his "policies," not the kids in the
service. I sat in Flint with the earpiece still in my ear and I
was floored -- a GENERAL standing up for me and, in effect, for
all the millions who were opposed to the war but had been
bullied into silence.
Since that night, I have spent a lot of time checking you out.
And what I've learned about you corresponds to my experience
with you back in March. You seem to be a man of integrity. You
seem not afraid to speak the truth. I liked your answer when you
were asked your position on gun control: "If you are the type of
person who likes assault weapons, there is a place for you --
the United States Army. We have them."
In addition to being first in your class at West Point, a four
star general from Arkansas, and the former Supreme Commander of
NATO -- enough right there that should give pause to any
peace-loving person -- I have discovered that...
1. You oppose the Patriot Act and would fight the expansion of
its powers.
2. You are firmly pro-choice.
3. You filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in support
of the University of Michigan's affirmative action case.
4. You would get rid of the Bush tax "cut" and make the rich pay
their fair share.
5. You respect the views of our allies and want to work with
them and with the rest of the international community.
6. And you oppose war. You have said that war should always be
the "last resort" and that it is military men such as yourself
who are the most for peace because it is YOU and your soldiers
who have to do the dying. You find something unsettling about a
commander-in-chief who dons a flight suit and pretends to be Top
Gun, a stunt that dishonored those who have died in that flight
suit in the service of their country.
General Clark, last night I finally got to meet you in person. I
would like to share with others what I said to you privately:
You may be the person who can defeat George W. Bush in next
year's election.
This is not an endorsement. For me, it's too early for that. I
have liked Howard Dean (in spite of his flawed positions in
support of some capital punishment, his grade "A" rating from
the NRA, and his opposition to cutting the Pentagon budget). And
Dennis Kucinich is so committed to all the right stuff. We need
candidates in this race who will say the things that need to be
said, to push the pathetically lame Democratic Party into have a
backbone -- or get out of the way and let us have a REAL second
party on the ballot.
But right now, for the sake and survival of our very country, we
need someone who is going to get The Job done, period. And that
job, no matter whom I speak to across America -- be they leftie
Green or conservative Democrat, and even many disgusted
Republicans -- EVERYONE is of one mind as to what that job is:
Bush Must Go.
This is war, General, and it's Bush & Co.'s war on us. It's
their war on the middle class, the poor, the environment, their
war on women and their war against anyone around the world who
doesn't accept total American domination. Yes, it's a war -- and
we, the people, need a general to beat back those who have
abused our Constitution and our basic sense of decency.
The General vs. the Texas Air National Guard deserter! I want to
see that debate, and I know who the winner is going to be.
The other night, when you were on Bill Maher's show, he began by
reading to you a quote from Howard Dean where he (Dean) tried to
run away from the word "liberal." Maher said to you, so,
General, do you want to run away from that word? Without missing
a beat, you said "No!" and you reminded everyone that America
was founded as a "liberal democracy." The audience went wild
with applause.
That is what we have needed for a long time on our side -- guts.
I am sure there are things you and I don't see eye to eye on,
but now is the time for all good people from the far left to the
middle of the road to bury the damn hatchet and get together
behind someone who is not only good on the issues but can beat
George W. Bush. And where I come from in the Midwest, General, I
know you are the kind of candidate that the average American
will vote for.
Michael Moore likes a general? I never thought I'd write these
words. But desperate times call for desperate measures. I want
to know more about you. I want your voice heard. I would like to
see you in these debates. Then let the chips fall where they may
-- and we'll all have a better idea of what to do. If you sit it
out, then I think we all know what we are left with.
I am asking everyone I know to send an email to you now to
encourage you to run, even if they aren't sure they would vote
for you. (Wesley Clark's email address is:
mailto:info@leadershipforamerica.org ). None of us truly know
how we will vote five months from now or a year from now. But we
do know that this race needs a jolt -- and Bush needs to know
that there is one person he won't be able to Dukakisize.
Take the plunge, General Clark. At the very least, the nation
needs to hear what you know about what was really behind this
invasion of Iraq and your fresh ideas of how we can live in a
more peaceful world. Yes, your country needs you to perform one
more act of brave service -- to help defeat an enemy from
within, at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, an address that used to
belong to "we, the people."
Yours,
Michael Moore
Lottery # 275, U.S. military draft, 1972
Conscientious Objector applicant
mailto:mmflint@aol.com
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In Yahoo News
2003-07-29 12:31:33
Consumer Confidence Posts Sharp Drop
By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, AP Business Writer
NEW YORK - Consumers, nervous about rising unemployment, lost confidence in their economic prospects in July, resulting in a sharp, unexpected drop in sentiment, according to the latest Conference Board survey.
The Consumer Confidence Index fell to 76.6 in July, a seven-point drop from 83.5 in June, the New York-based business industry group said Tuesday. Analysts had expected a 1.5 percentage point increase.
"The rising level of unemployment and sentiment that a turnaround in labor market conditions is not around the corner have contributed to deflating consumers' spirits this month," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center. "Expectations are likely to remain weak until the job market becomes more favorable."
Economists closely monitor consumer confidence because consumers spending makes up for two-thirds of all economic activity in the United States and has been a key element in keeping the struggling economy afloat.
On Wall Street, stocks fell sharply on the news, as investors worried that it means a more drawn-out economic recovery.
In morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 79 points at 9,188, while the Nasdaq composite index lost 15 points to 1,721. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 10 points to 986.
Consumer' assessment of both current conditions and their outlook for six months from now deteriorated from last month's reading. Those rating present business conditions as "bad" increased to 30.4 percent from 28.1 percent. However, those holding the oppositie view increased to 16.3 percent from 14.9 percent. Consumers describing jobs currently as "hard to get" rose to 33.1 percent from 31.9 percent, while those claiming jobs are "plentiful" declined to 10.5 percent from 11.2 percent.
Consumers anticipating an improvement in business conditions in the next six months fell to 20.2 percent from 23.5 percent. Consumers anticipating conditions would worsen rose to 11.5 percent from 9.2 percent.
The unemployment outlook was also less bullish. Consumers anticipating more jobs to become available over the next six months declined to 16.8 percent from 18.9 percent, while those expecting fewer jobs increased to 19.8 percent from 16.9 percent. The proportion of consumers anticipating an increase in their incomes declined to 15.7 percent from 17.1 percent.
The Conference Board's indexes are derived from a survey mailed to 5,000 households in a consumer research panel. The results released Tuesday are from a partial sample of at least 2,500 responses received through May 20.
A REPLY TO THIS STORY I FELT LIKE ADDING
In february 450 economists including 10 NOBEL prize winners CONDEMNED the Bush economic plan in a full page New York Times ad. It's hard to get TWO top economists to AGREE on ANYTHING but Bush got 450!
---Noecon Bushites only reply was that they "were IVORY TOWER intellectuals who know nothing about REAL business"
THEN Warren Buffet second richest man in America,self made stock investor par excellence CONDEMNS Bush economic plan. Says it's 'welfare for the rich', stated "his SECRETARY will pay HIGHER rate of tax than HIM"!.
-- Neocon Bushites obviously can't say Warren B. doesn't know REAL Business SO Neocon's reponse IGNORE Warren Buffet because.... He's a COMMUNIST! (probably the most successful stock investor in U.S history a communist) He is communist because he GAVE to CHARITIES! and therefore he should be ignored!
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2 years of economic disaster and NOW CONTINUING -
Hosting
2003-07-21 14:18:16
I have to find someone who is willing to host my AMVs, because I have many an AMV that I would like people to see (including the recently finsihed portion I did for the 3rd DDR Project).
I also have to get working on 2 of my AMVs that I have been kind of slow on -
Typical
2003-07-18 15:32:36
Yay!
It wouldn't be AMV.ORG if I didn't stumble across yet another ignorant and stupid post by Mr. Oni!
Yay!
I would love to meet his parents and have a nice long talk with them so that when I become a parent, I can make sure that my kids don't grow up to be the kind of sickening embarassment that this waste of life this guy has become.
Anyway...
moving on...
Anime Expo was a blast... I had fun being a judge and I got to meet many of the Cowboy Bebop voice actors who I had not met before as well as once again meeting the voice director and Wendy Lee. With so many big name voice actors on the panel, I did feel out of place there, but people came up for my autograph anyway and everyone was very friendly.
The party scene was rather non-existant, though. That was a bit of a downer. Still... I got to pick up a bunch of DVDs, CDs and I picked up my Milly cell!
Life is good.
The San Diego Con is coming up and I expect to hear good news about my comic book moving forward. So many people have put in a lot of work on this thing that I expect someone will pick it up. Image is looking it over right now! Maybe I can go to cons as the Comic Book Writer rather than the Voice Actor. That would be nice.
I've been so busy with other things that I haven't done much AMV work since my entry in the 3rd DDR project... but my compter has been fixed up a little and I am ready to work.
Life is good. -
A Sad Day
2003-07-01 15:40:02
Robert McCloskey has passed away.
I know most people here on the board won't know who this is and some might not even care.
Among his many children's books, Robert McCloskey wrote "Make Way for Ducklings" which was a story that my mother read to me when I was little. Set in a Boston of old, my mother made sure to show me all the places that were in the book.
It was a family tradition to buy a copy of "Make Way for Ducklings" for any friend or family member as a present to celebrate the birth of their first child. I was able to buy a copy for a friend of mine when his first child was born.
The book has just been an important part of my life - as a child, and as a gift to children and I hope someday I can read this to children of my own.
The passing of this author is just a sad moment. Anyone who can offer quality material (be it book, television show or movie) to children is a valuable commodity in this country.
A fond farewell to Mr. Robert McCloskey from one of the many who was touched by his work.
JOURNAL: UncleMilo (Jonathan Osborne)
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