I subscribe to MM's e-newsletters, and this is what I got this morning:

January 23, 2004

George W. Bush, A.W.O.L.

In last night's Democratic Presidential debate in New Hampshire, broadcast on the Fox News (Nusciance?) Channel and ABC's Nightline, Peter Jennings went after Wesley Clark -- and me -- because I said I want to see Clark debate Bush... "The General vs. The Deserter."

Jennings, referring to me as "the controversial filmmaker," asked if Clark wanted to distance himself from me and my "reckless" remark. Clark would not back down, stating how "delighted" he was with my support, and that I was entitled to say what I wanted to say -- AND that I was not the only one who had made these charges against Bush.

The pundits immediately went berserk after the debate. As well they should. Because they know that they -- and much of the mainstream media -- ignored this Bush AWOL story when it was first revealed by an investigation in the Boston Globe (in 2000). The Globe said it appeared George W. Bush skipped out in the middle of his Texas Air National Guard service -- and no charges were ever brought against him. It was a damning story, and Bush has never provided any documents or evidence to refute the Globe's charges.

George W. Bush was missing for at least a 12 month period. That is an undisputed fact. If you or I did that, we would serve time.

Senator Daniel Inouye, Democrat of Hawaii and a World War II veteran, joined with Vietnam vets Sen. Max Cleland and Sen. Bob Kerrey to challenge Bush on the gaps in his military record. "The question is, where were you, Governor Bush? What would you do as commander-in-chief if someone in the National Guard did the same thing? At the least, I would have been court-martialed. At the least, I would have been placed in prison," Inouye said.

The Washington Post, the New Republic, and others also presented the evidence that Bush had fled from duty.

The most comprehensive piece I've seen was on Tom Paine.com with all the relevant links and documents.

There are far more important issues to deal with in this election year. Poor Peter Jennings. What was he doing on Fox? All that seems left of his Canadianess is the way he pronounced my name ("Michael Moooore"). The question he posed to Clark was typical of a lazy media looking for a way to distract the viewers from the real issues: the war, the economy, and the failures of the Bush administration. But if they want to really get into the issue of Bush and his "service record," then I say, bring it on! The facts are all there, including the empty flyboy suit.
Yours,

Michael Moore

mmflint@aol.com

www.michaelmoore.com



PS: This is the second time I've been thrown into a New Hampshire presidential debate. Four years ago, Republican Alan Keyes was asked why he jumped into Michael Moore's mosh pit to the music of Rage Against the Machine. Now THAT was an issue of substance!

Hello Little Brother. Happy birthday, my friend. I miss you, and I wish I was there to celebrate it with you!
Love Always
Sara

Yesterday I touched on Michael Moore's Oscar acceptance speech. I found the text on his website, and for those of you who hadn't heard it, here you go:

"On behalf of our producers Kathleen Glynn and Michael Donovan from Canada, I'd like to thank the Academy for this. I have invited my fellow documentary nominees on the stage with us, and we would like to - they're here in solidarity with me because we like nonfiction. We like nonfiction and we live in fictitious times. We live in the time where we have fictitious election results that elects a fictitious president. We live in a time where we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons. Whether it's the fiction of duct tape or fiction of orange alerts we are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you. And any time you got the Pope and the Dixie Chicks against you, your time is up. Thank you very much."

As always, throughout time, politics and opinion... Fuck, what's it all about?

I'm not real smart, politically. I have my opinions, and am the first to admit a lot of them are unfounded and wrong. But, I do like thinking, and I like people that make me think, even if I don't agree.

Michael Moore: I love the bastard.

www.michaelmoore.com/

I've read a couple of his books, and to be honest, he goes a little off the hook even for me (and I lived in a Bush-run Texas - talk about scary!), but I love the hell out of him. He's one of those people that if I ever got to meet, I'd just want to give him a big hug.

Check out his website (link above - I hope I did it right). There's always a lot of stuff to check out. I just about always crack up, and sometimes, even while I'm sitting here in my fucking cubicle pretending to work, he makes me just cry.

One feature he has on his website is letters from soldiers in Iraq (he gets stuff from various sources: military magazines, home-town newspapers, where sometimes the letter from little johnny got his gun writes to mom and dad, and it makes the fucking Ken-Ten Bee). Today, in particular, he's got a letter on there that a soldier wrote to him, and it's just beautiful. I don't like war, I don't want it, I would never fight for anything just because the guy in the suit says so (now, don't get me wrong, I'd fight if I felt the right to), but I thank God for people like this dude, and all the others out there in uniform (tools or not).

And I agree with him. I'm not sure who saw Michael Moore's Oscar acceptance speech (although from the anti-TV talk on the journals, I assume not many of you). I was watching with my very naive friend Bob, and I cheered. Bob says, I just don't understand why he would do that. I told Bob, because he can. Because that's America. When you can receive and deserve an award by some stupid, yet for some reason respected, committee, and not have to kow-tow and say, o, thank you, o wise ones.
Rock on, Mike!

"Emancipate yourself from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our minds
Have no fear for atomic energy
Cause none of them can stop the time"

In response to Paul's television rant:

In a lot of ways, I completely agree. I think that television is a whole shit load of garbage, and that people spend way too many hours of their lives deer-eyed in front of it. It makes it real easy to tune in and drop out, without any effort at all... and, here's the best part - you can still have something to talk about with all those other losers at the office, whether it's the latest Survivor refugee, or the best toilet-germ obliterator.

When I watch TV, sometimes it's for those reasons, entertainment, easy mindlessness - sometimes the voices in my head talk so fast, I like to watch TV so my subconcious has something to keep it's mind occupied while my conscience can just chill .

But usually, I like to watch it from an archeological standpoint. I've been well aware of the propaganda in television for some time. (I think I realized when I was a house-wife, at home with my few-month old - although I'd been corrupted as a young girl for years over it - and I saw a commercial for this detergent which makes your clothes smoother, so that you can spend time doing really important things, rather then ironing your 8-year-old's school clothes - I was all, wait a minute, you're telling me I'm going to have to start ironing jeans & t-shirts to be a good mom?; I started freaking out a bit (because I hate being caught up in all that vanity bullshit (although some might disagree that wanting your clothes not wrinkled is vain - I just don't have time for that shit), and then realized - fuck this: it's the same reason I don't shave my legs.)

Of course the media fucks with us - people wouldn't make millions of dollars and political careers out of it if it wasn't powerful... And for those who actually believe that the things they see are the way things are and should always be, those people really do become damaged and brain-washed into buying that SUV, and their God Bless AMerica stickers for the back.

However, for those of us who understand, and see what they're doing, I like to look at it as getting to know the enemy and the means they carry out their evil plans...

You've killed all our leaders
I don't even have to do nothing to you
You've caused your own country to fall...
Tell it to me brother

God bless ya, Terry, I'm glad you're turned on by our brother Stevie, he's the shit.

Now, an intersted segue, let's see if you see the relation...

I also wanted to respond to Matt's recent entry about the movie the Iron Giant. I've seen that with Elijah (The sledding 4-year old in question in Terry's journal), and I think it's a great movie. A lot of times in kid films, they're either inherantly violent (like all those wierdo Japanimation craps (Sorry, Terry, and anyone else who's into that stuff - I just don't get it)), or there all rainbows and sunshine. I liked the Iron Giant because it brings up the many shades, lengths, depths and contours of the right- and wrong-ness of violence. Sorry, but if I was a great big iron giant, developed to kill but taught to love, and the entire army was shooting at me and my best little friend, I might blow em all to hell, too! But it brings to mind to kids, I hope, also how our actions effect the people around us, and that violence breeds violence, which is bred by fear. I also really dug the beatnik character, too; I though he was cool. A recommendation for all ages (although you "grown-ups" out there might need a little herbal stimulation to get into it, if you know what I mean.)

I miss my brothers, and hope you see you soon.!

So here I am back at my desk in San Diego. I had a great time visiting last week, and was super stoked to be able to see everyone. I miss mis amours Paul, Terry & Matt very much; I had a great time hanging out with everyone, and also meeting their friends, which was actually fun! I think this is the first time (besides Terry & Matt) that Paul's friends and I actually got along - that's pretty refreshing! Of course, I can be rather obnoxious, so perhaps that could be part of it! ha ha (No, really, I'm not obnoxious, who me?)

Anyway, It was really nice to have good time being with friends, and being home. Check you later...

Hello Darlings!
I went to Niagara FAlls today, and it was cold as fuck; Of course, I have to qualify, in that I've been living in San Diego for the last two years or so; oh well.
So I'm home, in town, as it were, for about a week, and I'd like to say hello to all of you on this site that I know, as this is my first journal entry.
I'd like to post some photos soon of Elijah, my four-year-old. He's a trip, and totally off the hook, and hysterical.
So, Happy New Year to all, and check you out soon.
Later,
Sara