The Rooster
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
House rebukes the president on Iraq
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Seventeen Republicans joined Democrats on Friday in passing a two-sentence resolution denouncing President Bush's plan to boost troop levels in Iraq.
The resolution passed easily, 246-182.
Democratic leaders on Saturday will attempt to bring the same measure to the floor in the Senate.
Democrats hailed the victory, while outside the chamber, Republican congressional leadership blasted the resolution, calling it the first step toward de-funding the war.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said the passage of the non-binding resolution "should send a very clear and firm message to the president of the United States: that the American people spoke in November, that they wanted a new direction in Iraq. This resolution today sets the stage for that new direction," she said.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9216
FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 99
(Republicans in roman; Democrats in italic; Independents underlined)
H CON RES 63 YEA-AND-NAY 16-Feb-2007 3:22 PM
QUESTION: On Agreeing to the Resolution
BILL TITLE: Disapproving of the decision of the President announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq
http://clerk.house.gov/cgi-bin/vote.asp?year=2007&rollnumber=99
Senate preparing for weekend showdown on Iraq
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Setting up a new showdown over Iraq, Senate Democratic leaders are planning a key test vote Saturday on a resolution opposing President Bush's plan to send additional troops into combat.
Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said a Saturday session will take up a nonbinding measure now before the House of Representatives.
The Saturday vote will be a procedural vote on whether the Senate should move on to a final vote on a resolution that expresses opposition to Bush's plan to send an additional 21,500 combat troops to Iraq.
Senate Republicans succeeded last week in blocking a vote on a similar resolution. Reid urged Senate Republicans to drop their procedural moves.
"We demand an up-or-down vote on the resolution that the House is debating as we speak," Reid said. "The resolution says we support the troops and oppose the escalation of the presence in Iraq. We're determined to give our troops and the American people the debate they deserve."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9217
070215 - Iraq War Resolution Debate - Day 3 - Tim Ryan 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhi5XSdqjAQ
UCSB Students Strike in Protest of Iraq War
Nearly 1,000 students shut down Highway 217 in two-hour standoff with police
By Matt Cota / KSBY-6
UCSB students go on strike to protest the war in Iraq. Nearly a thousand refused to work, shop or go to class. And late this afternoon, the protesters shut down a major South Coast highway.
It started as a student strike -- the simple act of not going to class to protest the war in Iraq. But after an hour of speeches at an Isla Vista rally, the crowd grew restless.
The students -- nearly a thousand strong -- marched through campus and began walking on Highway 217, which is the main thoroughfare to the UCSB campus and to the Santa Barbara Airport. It was immediately shut down by the Highway Patrol. More than two dozen law enforcement officers, some dressed in riot gear, met the students on the highway.
Two arrests were made. Both were protesters who tried to make it through the police barrier to the other side.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9200
Students Rally for D.C. House Vote
By Connie Parham / The Hoya
WASHINGTON, DC -- Georgetown students and faculty joined hundreds of Washington, D.C. residents and public officials on Capitol Hill yesterday to demonstrate their support for full District voting rights in Congress.
Accompanied by Scott Fleming, assistant to the university president for federal relations, five members of the GU College Democrats listened to speeches from noted public officials including Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), and D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty.
The event, Congress Day 2007, was organized by the activist group DC Vote to build support for a bill introduced by Norton at the beginning of the year that would give the District a voting member of the House. The District currently sends one non-voting member to the House.
Norton opened the ceremony by thanking the 500 people present for “coming to get the vote that has been due … for two centuries.”
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9213
Sarah Lawrence students protest Iraq War
By Ernie Garcia / Journal News
YONKERS, NY - The fourth anniversary of worldwide protests against the U.S. invasion of Iraq prompted debate about the war at Sarah Lawrence College yesterday.
Students gathered for an evening assembly on the war and others watched an Iraq documentary as part of an effort to raise awareness of the anti-war movement. Teachers also included Iraq in their lessons this week, all part of an effort to mark protests in New York and around the world Feb. 15, 2003, prior to the invasion.
"What we're really trying to do is upgrade the level of activism," said student organizer Sarah Li Norum-Gross, 20, who is in favor of a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.
The events at Sarah Lawrence were part of a nationwide campaign to commemorate resistance to the Iraq invasion organized by the political action group The World Can't Wait! Drive Out the Bush Regime!
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9211
Students Across Bay Area Protest Over Iraq War
By Mike Sugerman / CBS 5
BERKELEY Anti-war demonstrations were held Thursday at college campuses across the country, including here in the Bay Area. The students were marking the fourth anniversary of the first campus demonstrations against "Operation Iraqi Freedom."
The protests at UC-Berkeley and San Francisco and Sonoma state universities drew hundreds of students.
"The war for me is just a very clear sign of oppression," said Hassan Owanati, a student at Berkeley.
Polls show two-thirds of Americans are against the war in Iraq. But with only about 200 people turning out at Cal's protest, organizers were disappointed.
"This frustrates a lot of us," said student and protestor Snehal Shingavi. "Both who are looking at the rally and hoping more people would have come out, but also trying to figure out how we're going to organize."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9203
Students protest fighting but honor fallen: 'They’re our age'
By Sharon Stello / Davis Enterprise
DAVIS, CA -- Every day this week, Max Mikalonis has spent his lunch hour standing at a podium on campus and reading aloud the names of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq.
The UC Davis sophomore started Monday and will read the last of the 3,132 names Tuesday. He read some of those names during an anti-war protest Thursday.
“You’ve heard the number. These are the people. They’re our age,” Mikalonis said.
July 3, 2005: Jeremy A. Brown, 26; Ryan J. Montgomery, 22.
July 5, 2005: Scottie L. Bright, 36; Lyle J. Cambridge, 23; Christopher W. Dickison, 26; Anthony M. Mazzarella, 22.
The protest — a peace rally and memorial for fallen soldiers — was one of many organized Thursday by college students from San Francisco to New York.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9214
Students ‘die-in’ to end the war
Participants in event held by UCLA’s pending SDS branch lay dead to protest U.S. role in Iraq
By Mai Hong / Daily Bruin
LOS ANGELES, CA -- The UCLA branch of Students for a Democratic Society held a demonstration in front of Kerckhoff Hall on Thursday afternoon to protest the war in Iraq.
More than two dozen participants were asked to spontaneously drop dead around noon and lay down with signs that said “U.S. Out Of Iraq” taped to their chests.
The event was also planned to coincide with other student anti-war protests being held at college campuses throughout the nation, including UC Berkeley and Columbia University. Not all protests were die-ins, though, said Eric Gardner, a member of the UCLA branch of SDS.
Babken DerGrigorian, cofounder of UCLA’s pending chapter of SDS, said the group is against the war because they believe it is morally wrong.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9212
Six arrested in anti-war protest
News & Observer
CHAPEL HILL, NC - Chapel Hill police arrested six anti-war protesters this afternoon at the local office of U.S. Rep. David Price.
Six of the protesters, who want Price to vote to cut off funding for the war in Iraq, staged a sit-in inside the office at 88 Vilcom Circle, refusing to leave until they spoke to the congressman by phone.
After refusing requests to leave, they were carried out of the office by Chapel Hill police officers. Each was charged with one count of trespassing.
Five of those arrested were UNC-Chapel Hill students. They were: Sara Schiffman Joseph, 22, of 230 Green St.; Alisan Fathalizadeh, 21, of123 Schultz St.; Laura Michelle Bickford, 18, of 555 Paul Harding Drive, Apt. 126; Tamara Luree Tal, 26, of 105 Fidelity St, Apt. A-50 in Carrboro and Benjamin Nathaniel Carroll, 18, of 3212 Brennan Drive in Raleigh.
An N.C. State student, Dante Strobino, 25, of 1101 Hillsborough St., Apt. G-3 in Raleigh, was also among those arrested.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9215
Must have demonstration
http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-820613.cfm
Vandy Students Protest War
News Channel 5
NASHVILLE, TN -- Dozens of students at Vanderbilt University gathered Thursday for a peaceful protest against the war.
Vanderbilt is one of more than a dozen universities across the country to hold rallies on campus today.
Thursday was the four years anniversary of a world-wide protest of the president's war plans that drew millions.
A small group of students at Vanderbilt showed their support for the war and our soldiers.
During a speech Thursday morning, President Bush talked about sending more soldiers overseas.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9204
More demonstration
http://www.wbbm780.com/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=364974
IT MIGHT HELP IF GEORGIE WROTE BACK TO MIKE !
Wednesday, January 10th, 2007
Dear Mr. President: Send Even MORE Troops (and you go, too!) ...from Michael Moore
Dear Mr. President,
Thanks for your address to the nation. It's good to know you still want to talk to us after how we behaved in November.
Listen, can I be frank? Sending in 20,000 more troops just ain't gonna do the job. That will only bring the troop level back up to what it was last year. And we were losing the war last year! We've already had over a million troops serve some time in Iraq since 2003. Another few thousand is simply not enough to find those weapons of mass destruction! Er, I mean... bringing those responsible for 9/11 to justice! Um, scratch that. Try this -- BRING DEMOCRACY TO THE MIDDLE EAST! YES!!!
You've got to show some courage, dude! You've got to win this one! C'mon, you got Saddam! You hung 'im high! I loved watching the video of that -- just like the old wild west! The bad guy wore black! The hangmen were as crazy as the hangee! Lynch mobs rule!!!
Look, I have to admit I feel very sorry for the predicament you're in. As Ricky Bobby said, "If you're not first, you're last." And you being humiliated in front of the whole world does NONE of us Americans any good.
Sir, listen to me. You have to send in MILLIONS of troops to Iraq, not thousands! The only way to lick this thing now is to flood Iraq with millions of us! I know that you're out of combat-ready soldiers -- so you have to look elsewhere! The only way you are going to beat a nation of 27 million -- Iraq -- is to send in at least 28 million! Here's how it would work:
The first 27 million Americans go in and kill one Iraqi each. That will quickly take care of any insurgency. The other one million of us will stay and rebuild the country. Simple.
Now, I know you're saying, where will I find 28 million Americans to go to Iraq? Here are some suggestions:
1. More than 62,000,000 Americans voted for you in the last election (the one that took place a year and half into a war we already knew we were losing). I am confident that at least a third of them would want to put their body where their vote was and sign up to volunteer. I know many of these people and, while we may disagree politically, I know that they don't believe someone else should have to go and fight their fight for them -- while they hide here in America.
2. Start a "Kill an Iraqi" Meet-Up group in cities across the country. I know this idea is so early-21st century, but I once went to a Lou Dobbs Meet-Up and, I swear, some of the best ideas happen after the third mojito. I'm sure you'll get another five million or so enlistees from this effort.
3. Send over all members of the mainstream media. After all, they were your collaborators in bringing us this war -- and many of them are already trained from having been "embedded!" If that doesn't bring the total to 28 million, then draft all viewers of the FOX News channel.
Mr. Bush, do not give up! Now is not the time to pull your punch! Don't be a weenie by sending in a few over-tired troops. Get your people behind you and YOU lead them in like a true commander in chief! Leave no conservative behind! Full speed ahead!
We promise to write. Go get 'em W!
Yours,
Michael Moore
mmflint@aol.com
www.michaelmoore.com
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=204
Auditors: Billions of U.S. tax dollars wasted in Iraq
WASHINGTON (AP) -- About $10 billion has been squandered by the U.S. government on Iraq reconstruction aid because of contractor overcharges and unsupported expenses, and federal investigators warned Thursday that significantly more taxpayer money is at risk.
The three top auditors overseeing work in Iraq told a House committee their review of $57 billion in Iraq contracts found that Defense and State department officials condoned or allowed repeated work delays, bloated expenses and payments for shoddy work or work never done.
More than one in six dollars charged by U.S. contractors were questionable or unsupported, nearly triple the amount of waste the Government Accountability Office estimated last fall.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9218
Ex-aide says Rice misled U.S. Congress on Iran
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice misled the U.S. Congress when she said last week that she had not seen a 2003 Iranian proposal for talks with the United States, a former senior government official said on Wednesday.
Flynt Leverett, who worked on the National Security Council when it was headed by Rice, likened the proposal to the 1972 U.S. opening to China. He said he was confident it was seen by Rice and then-Secretary of State Colin Powell but "the administration rejected the overture."
Speaking at a conference on Capitol Hill, Leverett said "this was a serious proposal, a serious effort" by Iran to lay out a comprehensive agenda for U.S.-Iranian rapprochement.
"The Bush administration up to and including Secretary Rice is misleading Congress and the American public about the Iran proposal," he said.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9206
'Delusional' Iraq plans envisaged only 5,000 troops by now, group says
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Some of the planning by Gen. Tommy Franks and other top military officials before the 2003 invasion of Iraq envisioned that as few as 5,000 U.S. troops would remain in Iraq by December 2006, according to documents obtained by a private research organization.
Slides obtained by the National Security Archive under the Freedom of Information Act contain a PowerPoint presentation of what planners projected to be a stable, pro-American and democratic Iraq after the ouster of Saddam Hussein.
"Completely unrealistic assumptions about a post-Saddam Iraq permeate these war plans," said National Security Archive Executive Director Thomas Blanton in a statement posted on the organization's Web site along with copies of some charts used in the PowerPoint presentation.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9207
Future of Lafayette crosses unclear -- even to organizers
By Katherine Tam / Contra Costa Times
The crosses that once formed a small cluster on a Lafayette hillside have multiplied into a mini-forest. Rows upon rows blanket the hill from top to bottom, and more are on the way.
A red neon sign stating the number of U.S. forces killed in Iraq went up, then came down. Names of soldiers began appearing on crosses, but organizers are shelving the idea of putting names on all of them.
The three-month-old display continues to grow and evolve, but even organizers aren't sure how it will change -- or even what it will ultimately become.
"It is hard to say," said Jeff Heaton, chief organizer, adding, "The memorial will continue to evolve and change in ways we do not presently imagine."
The site has drawn unprecedented attention to this suburb. It has become a gathering spot for war opponents, with last month's candlelight vigil attracting at least 300 people. Heaton said he wouldn't be surprised if the site becomes a backdrop for political hopefuls on the campaign trail.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9202
'Money Trumps Peace...Sometimes' ...by Cindy Sheehan
It is always painful to watch George stumble his way through press conferences. He can't get through a sentence without at least two-three "uhs," his eye lids flutter up and down in what my daughter, Carly, calls the "liar's blink" and just because it is painful that a human like that is ostensibly the leader of the free world. There is always a plethora of things that he says, does, or screws up on to write about but this time what caught my attention happened during the Q & A. George was asked if he thought the economic sanctions on Iran would work because so many European nations trade with that country.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=828
H CON RES 63 YEA-AND-NAY 16-Feb-2007 3:22 PM
QUESTION: On Agreeing to the Resolution
BILL TITLE: Disapproving of the decision of the President announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq
http://clerk.house.gov/cgi-bin/vote.asp?year=2007&rollnumber=99
Senate preparing for weekend showdown on Iraq
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Setting up a new showdown over Iraq, Senate Democratic leaders are planning a key test vote Saturday on a resolution opposing President Bush's plan to send additional troops into combat.
Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said a Saturday session will take up a nonbinding measure now before the House of Representatives.
The Saturday vote will be a procedural vote on whether the Senate should move on to a final vote on a resolution that expresses opposition to Bush's plan to send an additional 21,500 combat troops to Iraq.
Senate Republicans succeeded last week in blocking a vote on a similar resolution. Reid urged Senate Republicans to drop their procedural moves.
"We demand an up-or-down vote on the resolution that the House is debating as we speak," Reid said. "The resolution says we support the troops and oppose the escalation of the presence in Iraq. We're determined to give our troops and the American people the debate they deserve."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9217
070215 - Iraq War Resolution Debate - Day 3 - Tim Ryan 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhi5XSdqjAQ
UCSB Students Strike in Protest of Iraq War
Nearly 1,000 students shut down Highway 217 in two-hour standoff with police
By Matt Cota / KSBY-6
UCSB students go on strike to protest the war in Iraq. Nearly a thousand refused to work, shop or go to class. And late this afternoon, the protesters shut down a major South Coast highway.
It started as a student strike -- the simple act of not going to class to protest the war in Iraq. But after an hour of speeches at an Isla Vista rally, the crowd grew restless.
The students -- nearly a thousand strong -- marched through campus and began walking on Highway 217, which is the main thoroughfare to the UCSB campus and to the Santa Barbara Airport. It was immediately shut down by the Highway Patrol. More than two dozen law enforcement officers, some dressed in riot gear, met the students on the highway.
Two arrests were made. Both were protesters who tried to make it through the police barrier to the other side.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9200
Students Rally for D.C. House Vote
By Connie Parham / The Hoya
WASHINGTON, DC -- Georgetown students and faculty joined hundreds of Washington, D.C. residents and public officials on Capitol Hill yesterday to demonstrate their support for full District voting rights in Congress.
Accompanied by Scott Fleming, assistant to the university president for federal relations, five members of the GU College Democrats listened to speeches from noted public officials including Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), and D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty.
The event, Congress Day 2007, was organized by the activist group DC Vote to build support for a bill introduced by Norton at the beginning of the year that would give the District a voting member of the House. The District currently sends one non-voting member to the House.
Norton opened the ceremony by thanking the 500 people present for “coming to get the vote that has been due … for two centuries.”
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9213
Sarah Lawrence students protest Iraq War
By Ernie Garcia / Journal News
YONKERS, NY - The fourth anniversary of worldwide protests against the U.S. invasion of Iraq prompted debate about the war at Sarah Lawrence College yesterday.
Students gathered for an evening assembly on the war and others watched an Iraq documentary as part of an effort to raise awareness of the anti-war movement. Teachers also included Iraq in their lessons this week, all part of an effort to mark protests in New York and around the world Feb. 15, 2003, prior to the invasion.
"What we're really trying to do is upgrade the level of activism," said student organizer Sarah Li Norum-Gross, 20, who is in favor of a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.
The events at Sarah Lawrence were part of a nationwide campaign to commemorate resistance to the Iraq invasion organized by the political action group The World Can't Wait! Drive Out the Bush Regime!
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9211
Students Across Bay Area Protest Over Iraq War
By Mike Sugerman / CBS 5
BERKELEY Anti-war demonstrations were held Thursday at college campuses across the country, including here in the Bay Area. The students were marking the fourth anniversary of the first campus demonstrations against "Operation Iraqi Freedom."
The protests at UC-Berkeley and San Francisco and Sonoma state universities drew hundreds of students.
"The war for me is just a very clear sign of oppression," said Hassan Owanati, a student at Berkeley.
Polls show two-thirds of Americans are against the war in Iraq. But with only about 200 people turning out at Cal's protest, organizers were disappointed.
"This frustrates a lot of us," said student and protestor Snehal Shingavi. "Both who are looking at the rally and hoping more people would have come out, but also trying to figure out how we're going to organize."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9203
Students protest fighting but honor fallen: 'They’re our age'
By Sharon Stello / Davis Enterprise
DAVIS, CA -- Every day this week, Max Mikalonis has spent his lunch hour standing at a podium on campus and reading aloud the names of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq.
The UC Davis sophomore started Monday and will read the last of the 3,132 names Tuesday. He read some of those names during an anti-war protest Thursday.
“You’ve heard the number. These are the people. They’re our age,” Mikalonis said.
July 3, 2005: Jeremy A. Brown, 26; Ryan J. Montgomery, 22.
July 5, 2005: Scottie L. Bright, 36; Lyle J. Cambridge, 23; Christopher W. Dickison, 26; Anthony M. Mazzarella, 22.
The protest — a peace rally and memorial for fallen soldiers — was one of many organized Thursday by college students from San Francisco to New York.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9214
Students ‘die-in’ to end the war
Participants in event held by UCLA’s pending SDS branch lay dead to protest U.S. role in Iraq
By Mai Hong / Daily Bruin
LOS ANGELES, CA -- The UCLA branch of Students for a Democratic Society held a demonstration in front of Kerckhoff Hall on Thursday afternoon to protest the war in Iraq.
More than two dozen participants were asked to spontaneously drop dead around noon and lay down with signs that said “U.S. Out Of Iraq” taped to their chests.
The event was also planned to coincide with other student anti-war protests being held at college campuses throughout the nation, including UC Berkeley and Columbia University. Not all protests were die-ins, though, said Eric Gardner, a member of the UCLA branch of SDS.
Babken DerGrigorian, cofounder of UCLA’s pending chapter of SDS, said the group is against the war because they believe it is morally wrong.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9212
Six arrested in anti-war protest
News & Observer
CHAPEL HILL, NC - Chapel Hill police arrested six anti-war protesters this afternoon at the local office of U.S. Rep. David Price.
Six of the protesters, who want Price to vote to cut off funding for the war in Iraq, staged a sit-in inside the office at 88 Vilcom Circle, refusing to leave until they spoke to the congressman by phone.
After refusing requests to leave, they were carried out of the office by Chapel Hill police officers. Each was charged with one count of trespassing.
Five of those arrested were UNC-Chapel Hill students. They were: Sara Schiffman Joseph, 22, of 230 Green St.; Alisan Fathalizadeh, 21, of123 Schultz St.; Laura Michelle Bickford, 18, of 555 Paul Harding Drive, Apt. 126; Tamara Luree Tal, 26, of 105 Fidelity St, Apt. A-50 in Carrboro and Benjamin Nathaniel Carroll, 18, of 3212 Brennan Drive in Raleigh.
An N.C. State student, Dante Strobino, 25, of 1101 Hillsborough St., Apt. G-3 in Raleigh, was also among those arrested.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9215
Must have demonstration
http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-820613.cfm
Vandy Students Protest War
News Channel 5
NASHVILLE, TN -- Dozens of students at Vanderbilt University gathered Thursday for a peaceful protest against the war.
Vanderbilt is one of more than a dozen universities across the country to hold rallies on campus today.
Thursday was the four years anniversary of a world-wide protest of the president's war plans that drew millions.
A small group of students at Vanderbilt showed their support for the war and our soldiers.
During a speech Thursday morning, President Bush talked about sending more soldiers overseas.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9204
More demonstration
http://www.wbbm780.com/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=364974
IT MIGHT HELP IF GEORGIE WROTE BACK TO MIKE !
Wednesday, January 10th, 2007
Dear Mr. President: Send Even MORE Troops (and you go, too!) ...from Michael Moore
Dear Mr. President,
Thanks for your address to the nation. It's good to know you still want to talk to us after how we behaved in November.
Listen, can I be frank? Sending in 20,000 more troops just ain't gonna do the job. That will only bring the troop level back up to what it was last year. And we were losing the war last year! We've already had over a million troops serve some time in Iraq since 2003. Another few thousand is simply not enough to find those weapons of mass destruction! Er, I mean... bringing those responsible for 9/11 to justice! Um, scratch that. Try this -- BRING DEMOCRACY TO THE MIDDLE EAST! YES!!!
You've got to show some courage, dude! You've got to win this one! C'mon, you got Saddam! You hung 'im high! I loved watching the video of that -- just like the old wild west! The bad guy wore black! The hangmen were as crazy as the hangee! Lynch mobs rule!!!
Look, I have to admit I feel very sorry for the predicament you're in. As Ricky Bobby said, "If you're not first, you're last." And you being humiliated in front of the whole world does NONE of us Americans any good.
Sir, listen to me. You have to send in MILLIONS of troops to Iraq, not thousands! The only way to lick this thing now is to flood Iraq with millions of us! I know that you're out of combat-ready soldiers -- so you have to look elsewhere! The only way you are going to beat a nation of 27 million -- Iraq -- is to send in at least 28 million! Here's how it would work:
The first 27 million Americans go in and kill one Iraqi each. That will quickly take care of any insurgency. The other one million of us will stay and rebuild the country. Simple.
Now, I know you're saying, where will I find 28 million Americans to go to Iraq? Here are some suggestions:
1. More than 62,000,000 Americans voted for you in the last election (the one that took place a year and half into a war we already knew we were losing). I am confident that at least a third of them would want to put their body where their vote was and sign up to volunteer. I know many of these people and, while we may disagree politically, I know that they don't believe someone else should have to go and fight their fight for them -- while they hide here in America.
2. Start a "Kill an Iraqi" Meet-Up group in cities across the country. I know this idea is so early-21st century, but I once went to a Lou Dobbs Meet-Up and, I swear, some of the best ideas happen after the third mojito. I'm sure you'll get another five million or so enlistees from this effort.
3. Send over all members of the mainstream media. After all, they were your collaborators in bringing us this war -- and many of them are already trained from having been "embedded!" If that doesn't bring the total to 28 million, then draft all viewers of the FOX News channel.
Mr. Bush, do not give up! Now is not the time to pull your punch! Don't be a weenie by sending in a few over-tired troops. Get your people behind you and YOU lead them in like a true commander in chief! Leave no conservative behind! Full speed ahead!
We promise to write. Go get 'em W!
Yours,
Michael Moore
mmflint@aol.com
www.michaelmoore.com
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=204
Auditors: Billions of U.S. tax dollars wasted in Iraq
WASHINGTON (AP) -- About $10 billion has been squandered by the U.S. government on Iraq reconstruction aid because of contractor overcharges and unsupported expenses, and federal investigators warned Thursday that significantly more taxpayer money is at risk.
The three top auditors overseeing work in Iraq told a House committee their review of $57 billion in Iraq contracts found that Defense and State department officials condoned or allowed repeated work delays, bloated expenses and payments for shoddy work or work never done.
More than one in six dollars charged by U.S. contractors were questionable or unsupported, nearly triple the amount of waste the Government Accountability Office estimated last fall.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9218
Ex-aide says Rice misled U.S. Congress on Iran
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice misled the U.S. Congress when she said last week that she had not seen a 2003 Iranian proposal for talks with the United States, a former senior government official said on Wednesday.
Flynt Leverett, who worked on the National Security Council when it was headed by Rice, likened the proposal to the 1972 U.S. opening to China. He said he was confident it was seen by Rice and then-Secretary of State Colin Powell but "the administration rejected the overture."
Speaking at a conference on Capitol Hill, Leverett said "this was a serious proposal, a serious effort" by Iran to lay out a comprehensive agenda for U.S.-Iranian rapprochement.
"The Bush administration up to and including Secretary Rice is misleading Congress and the American public about the Iran proposal," he said.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9206
'Delusional' Iraq plans envisaged only 5,000 troops by now, group says
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Some of the planning by Gen. Tommy Franks and other top military officials before the 2003 invasion of Iraq envisioned that as few as 5,000 U.S. troops would remain in Iraq by December 2006, according to documents obtained by a private research organization.
Slides obtained by the National Security Archive under the Freedom of Information Act contain a PowerPoint presentation of what planners projected to be a stable, pro-American and democratic Iraq after the ouster of Saddam Hussein.
"Completely unrealistic assumptions about a post-Saddam Iraq permeate these war plans," said National Security Archive Executive Director Thomas Blanton in a statement posted on the organization's Web site along with copies of some charts used in the PowerPoint presentation.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9207
Future of Lafayette crosses unclear -- even to organizers
By Katherine Tam / Contra Costa Times
The crosses that once formed a small cluster on a Lafayette hillside have multiplied into a mini-forest. Rows upon rows blanket the hill from top to bottom, and more are on the way.
A red neon sign stating the number of U.S. forces killed in Iraq went up, then came down. Names of soldiers began appearing on crosses, but organizers are shelving the idea of putting names on all of them.
The three-month-old display continues to grow and evolve, but even organizers aren't sure how it will change -- or even what it will ultimately become.
"It is hard to say," said Jeff Heaton, chief organizer, adding, "The memorial will continue to evolve and change in ways we do not presently imagine."
The site has drawn unprecedented attention to this suburb. It has become a gathering spot for war opponents, with last month's candlelight vigil attracting at least 300 people. Heaton said he wouldn't be surprised if the site becomes a backdrop for political hopefuls on the campaign trail.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9202
'Money Trumps Peace...Sometimes' ...by Cindy Sheehan
It is always painful to watch George stumble his way through press conferences. He can't get through a sentence without at least two-three "uhs," his eye lids flutter up and down in what my daughter, Carly, calls the "liar's blink" and just because it is painful that a human like that is ostensibly the leader of the free world. There is always a plethora of things that he says, does, or screws up on to write about but this time what caught my attention happened during the Q & A. George was asked if he thought the economic sanctions on Iran would work because so many European nations trade with that country.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=828
This is the IQ of the White House Press Secretary? No, this is manipulation. Let Tony Snow be reassured that A LOT went "W"rong in Iraq. To begin let's begin with the beginning. Weapons of Mass Destruction, Mr. Snow?????
Tony Snow: 'I'm Not Sure Anything Went Wrong' In Iraq
By E&P Staff / Editor & Publisher
NEW YORK Surely, at this stage, the White House would be willing to admit that conditions in Iraq following the 2003 invasion haven't gone exactly according to plan? White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was asked about this today at the daily briefing, following the release of military documents from 2002 that revealed that the U.S. expected that by now a token American force of 5,000 would be able to keep things under control in Iraq -- and the occupation would require only a two or three month "stabilization" period.
"What went wrong?" the reporter reasonably asked.
Snow replied: "I'm not sure anything went wrong."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9210
'The American People Realize This War Has Been a Failure' ... Statement by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN)
Debate on Iraq War Resolution to Stop the Escalation
U.S. House of Representatives
Rep. Steve Cohen: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, you like I am a freshman in this body and today we will begin the debate on one of the most important topics that this Congress has debated and that is America's involvement in the Middle East and Iraq and eventually in Afghanistan in dealing with the whole terrorist situation.
I have been in this House, Mr. Speaker, and listened to the Republicans and listened to the Democrats and the Democrats, of which I am a member, have talked about protecting the troops and opposing the President's surge, which is really an escalation, and the Republicans have come in here today and said that we need to in essence stay the course, we need to put in more troops and we're doing wrong by opposing the President's escalation or surge.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=827
Treehugger.com
Wanted: Inspired, Pragmatic videos to help get us out of this mess. All entries must be received by February 28, 2007.
http://www.truths.treehugger.com/
UFPJ Calls for Local Actions on 4th Anniversary of the War in Iraq
March 19th will mark the 4th anniversary of the U.S. military assault on Iraq and the beginning of what has turned into one of this nation's longest military engagements. Four years of war and occupation; four years of death and destruction; four years of a war that never should have happened.
United for Peace and Justice is calling for a massive outpouring of opposition to the war in locally based, decentralized actions throughout the U.S. from Saturday, March 17th, through Monday, March 19th.
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/
Be It Resolved: You Can Impeach the President
Official State Impeachment Text
Impeachment Text for Cities & Towns
Impeachment Text for County Democratic Committees
Impeachment Text for State Assemblies and/or Legislatures
Jefferson's Manual, Section LIII, 603
You Can Impeach the President
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=622
The Occupation Project
Voices for Creative Nonviolence is organizing the Occupation Project, a campaign of sustained nonviolent civil disobedience aimed at ending the U.S. war in and occupation of Iraq. The campaign will begin the first week of February 2007 with occupations at the offices of Representatives and Senators who refuse to pledge to vote against additional war funding.
http://www.vcnv.org/project/the-occupation-project
A walk to end the wars
By Chris Dabovich / San Pedro Valley News-Sun
Fed up with war in Iraq and in Afghanistan, a former United Methodist pastor and Vietnam-era veteran is doing something about it. He is walking the walk, cross-country, trying to rally public support to help end the conflicts.
Armed with a petition and a burning desire to finish what he's started, Bill McDannell began "The walk to end the wars," on Nov. 4 in Lakeside, Calif., near San Diego, en route to Washington, D.C. He stayed in Willcox Thursday and Friday nights as he took Friday off to rest and update his web site.
"It's time to end the wars," said McDannell, 57. "I felt I needed to do something and I'm just doing what I figure I have to do." McDannell, father of five and grandfather of four, said he served in the military from 1968 to 1972. He got the idea for the walk while working as a chauffer for a limousine company in San Diego.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=8924
January 30: I've come to the conclusion that El Paso weather forecasts are directly linked to the local traffic light system - they change with approximately the same frequency. As of a couple of days ago the weather was forecast to be sunny and in the high fifties for at least the next week and a half. But some time after that the forecast was changed to cold and nasty for today. So Anne and I stuck our heads out of the door this morning, determined that the cold and nasty was probably going to be accurate, and I opted for a day off. That was fine, since I recently noticed that my one and only white shirt was developing a few little holes and I wanted to stop by a local thrift shop to get a replacement. Sure enough, no sooner had we got into the car than the rain started coming down and it grew colder and more miserable through the day. Now they're saying it might be that way until at least Friday, after which it's supposed to get sunny and into the mid sixties. Hah. Oh well, I did get a nice new shirt that only has as many holes as it's supposed to have.
http://www.wtetw.com/page6.html
Tony Snow: 'I'm Not Sure Anything Went Wrong' In Iraq
By E&P Staff / Editor & Publisher
NEW YORK Surely, at this stage, the White House would be willing to admit that conditions in Iraq following the 2003 invasion haven't gone exactly according to plan? White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was asked about this today at the daily briefing, following the release of military documents from 2002 that revealed that the U.S. expected that by now a token American force of 5,000 would be able to keep things under control in Iraq -- and the occupation would require only a two or three month "stabilization" period.
"What went wrong?" the reporter reasonably asked.
Snow replied: "I'm not sure anything went wrong."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9210
'The American People Realize This War Has Been a Failure' ... Statement by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN)
Debate on Iraq War Resolution to Stop the Escalation
U.S. House of Representatives
Rep. Steve Cohen: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, you like I am a freshman in this body and today we will begin the debate on one of the most important topics that this Congress has debated and that is America's involvement in the Middle East and Iraq and eventually in Afghanistan in dealing with the whole terrorist situation.
I have been in this House, Mr. Speaker, and listened to the Republicans and listened to the Democrats and the Democrats, of which I am a member, have talked about protecting the troops and opposing the President's surge, which is really an escalation, and the Republicans have come in here today and said that we need to in essence stay the course, we need to put in more troops and we're doing wrong by opposing the President's escalation or surge.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=827
Treehugger.com
Wanted: Inspired, Pragmatic videos to help get us out of this mess. All entries must be received by February 28, 2007.
http://www.truths.treehugger.com/
UFPJ Calls for Local Actions on 4th Anniversary of the War in Iraq
March 19th will mark the 4th anniversary of the U.S. military assault on Iraq and the beginning of what has turned into one of this nation's longest military engagements. Four years of war and occupation; four years of death and destruction; four years of a war that never should have happened.
United for Peace and Justice is calling for a massive outpouring of opposition to the war in locally based, decentralized actions throughout the U.S. from Saturday, March 17th, through Monday, March 19th.
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/
Be It Resolved: You Can Impeach the President
Official State Impeachment Text
Impeachment Text for Cities & Towns
Impeachment Text for County Democratic Committees
Impeachment Text for State Assemblies and/or Legislatures
Jefferson's Manual, Section LIII, 603
You Can Impeach the President
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=622
The Occupation Project
Voices for Creative Nonviolence is organizing the Occupation Project, a campaign of sustained nonviolent civil disobedience aimed at ending the U.S. war in and occupation of Iraq. The campaign will begin the first week of February 2007 with occupations at the offices of Representatives and Senators who refuse to pledge to vote against additional war funding.
http://www.vcnv.org/project/the-occupation-project
A walk to end the wars
By Chris Dabovich / San Pedro Valley News-Sun
Fed up with war in Iraq and in Afghanistan, a former United Methodist pastor and Vietnam-era veteran is doing something about it. He is walking the walk, cross-country, trying to rally public support to help end the conflicts.
Armed with a petition and a burning desire to finish what he's started, Bill McDannell began "The walk to end the wars," on Nov. 4 in Lakeside, Calif., near San Diego, en route to Washington, D.C. He stayed in Willcox Thursday and Friday nights as he took Friday off to rest and update his web site.
"It's time to end the wars," said McDannell, 57. "I felt I needed to do something and I'm just doing what I figure I have to do." McDannell, father of five and grandfather of four, said he served in the military from 1968 to 1972. He got the idea for the walk while working as a chauffer for a limousine company in San Diego.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=8924
January 30: I've come to the conclusion that El Paso weather forecasts are directly linked to the local traffic light system - they change with approximately the same frequency. As of a couple of days ago the weather was forecast to be sunny and in the high fifties for at least the next week and a half. But some time after that the forecast was changed to cold and nasty for today. So Anne and I stuck our heads out of the door this morning, determined that the cold and nasty was probably going to be accurate, and I opted for a day off. That was fine, since I recently noticed that my one and only white shirt was developing a few little holes and I wanted to stop by a local thrift shop to get a replacement. Sure enough, no sooner had we got into the car than the rain started coming down and it grew colder and more miserable through the day. Now they're saying it might be that way until at least Friday, after which it's supposed to get sunny and into the mid sixties. Hah. Oh well, I did get a nice new shirt that only has as many holes as it's supposed to have.
http://www.wtetw.com/page6.html
continued ...
