(no subject)
Mar. 18th, 2003 02:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brdgtMy friend is coming home from France soon. As he put it, "I will leave one of the most optimistic cities in the world where the people believe in solving the problems that lead to conflict. I will return to the most blood-thirsty nation in the world."
Monday, March 17th, 2003
George W. Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC
Dear Governor Bush:
So today is what you call "the moment of truth," the day that "France and the rest of world have to show their cards on the table." I'm glad to hear that this day has finally arrived. Because, I gotta tell ya, having survived 440 days of your lying and conniving, I wasn't sure if I could take much more. So I'm glad to hear that today is Truth Day, 'cause I got a few truths I would like to share with you:
1. There is virtually NO ONE in America (talk radio nutters and Fox News side) who is gung-ho to go to war. Trust me on this one. Walk out of the White House and on to any street in America and try to find five people who are PASSIONATE about wanting to kill Iraqis. YOU WON'T FIND THEM! Why? 'Cause NO Iraqis have ever come here and killed any of us! No Iraqi has even threatened to do that. You see, this is how we average Americans think: If a certain so-and-so is not perceived as a threat to our lives, then, believe it or not, we don't want to kill him! Funny how that works!
2. The majority of Americans -- the ones who never elected you -- are not fooled by your weapons of mass distraction. We know what the real issues are that affect our daily lives -- and none of them begin with I or end in Q. Here's what threatens us: two and a half million jobs lost since you took office, the stock market having become a cruel joke, no one knowing if their retirement funds are going to be there, gas now costs two dollars a gallon -- the list goes on and on. Bombing Iraq will not make any of this go away. Only you need to go away for things to improve.
3. As Bill Maher said last week, how bad do you have to suck to lose a popularity contest with Saddam Hussein? The whole world is against you, Mr. Bush. Count your fellow Americans among them.
4. The Pope has said this war is wrong, that it is a SIN. The Pope! But even worse, the Dixie Chicks have now come out against you! How bad does it have to get before you realize that you are an army of one on this war? Of course, this is a war you personally won't have to fight. Just like when you went AWOL while the poor were shipped to Vietnam in your place.
5. Of the 535 members of Congress, only ONE (Sen. Johnson of South Dakota) has an enlisted son or daughter in the armed forces! If you really want to stand up for America, please send your twin daughters over to Kuwait right now and let them don their chemical warfare suits. And let's see every member of Congress with a child of military age also sacrifice their kids for this war effort. What's that you say? You don't THINK so?
Well, hey, guess what -- we don't think so either!
6. Finally, we love France. Yes, they have pulled some royal screw-ups. Yes, some of them can be pretty damn annoying. But have you forgotten we wouldn't even have this country known as America if it weren't for the French? That it was their help in the Revolutionary War that won it for us? That it was France who gave us our Statue of Liberty, a Frenchman who built the Chevrolet, and a pair of French brothers who invented the movies? And now they are doing what only a good friend can do -- tell you the truth about yourself, straight, no b.s. Quit pissing on the French and thank them for getting it right for once. You know, you really should have traveled more (like once) before you took over. Your ignorance of the world has not only made you look stupid, it has painted you into a corner you can't get out of.
Well, cheer up -- there IS good news. If you do go through with this war, more than likely it will be over soon because I'm guessing there aren't a lot of Iraqis willing to lay down their lives to protect Saddam Hussein. After you "win" the war, you will enjoy a huge bump in the popularity polls as everyone loves a winner -- and who doesn't like to see a good ass-whoopin' every now and then (especially when it 's some third world ass!). And just like with Afghanistan, we'll forget about what happens to a country after we bomb it 'cause that is just too complex! So try your best to ride this victory all the way to next year's election. Of course, that's still a long ways away, so we'll all get to have a good hardy-har-har while we watch the economy sink even further down the toilet!
But, hey, who knows -- maybe you'll find Osama a few days before the election! See, start thinking like THAT! Keep hope alive! Kill Iraqis -- they got our oil!!
Yours,
Michael Moore
www.michaelmoore.com
Monday, March 17th, 2003
George W. Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC
Dear Governor Bush:
So today is what you call "the moment of truth," the day that "France and the rest of world have to show their cards on the table." I'm glad to hear that this day has finally arrived. Because, I gotta tell ya, having survived 440 days of your lying and conniving, I wasn't sure if I could take much more. So I'm glad to hear that today is Truth Day, 'cause I got a few truths I would like to share with you:
1. There is virtually NO ONE in America (talk radio nutters and Fox News side) who is gung-ho to go to war. Trust me on this one. Walk out of the White House and on to any street in America and try to find five people who are PASSIONATE about wanting to kill Iraqis. YOU WON'T FIND THEM! Why? 'Cause NO Iraqis have ever come here and killed any of us! No Iraqi has even threatened to do that. You see, this is how we average Americans think: If a certain so-and-so is not perceived as a threat to our lives, then, believe it or not, we don't want to kill him! Funny how that works!
2. The majority of Americans -- the ones who never elected you -- are not fooled by your weapons of mass distraction. We know what the real issues are that affect our daily lives -- and none of them begin with I or end in Q. Here's what threatens us: two and a half million jobs lost since you took office, the stock market having become a cruel joke, no one knowing if their retirement funds are going to be there, gas now costs two dollars a gallon -- the list goes on and on. Bombing Iraq will not make any of this go away. Only you need to go away for things to improve.
3. As Bill Maher said last week, how bad do you have to suck to lose a popularity contest with Saddam Hussein? The whole world is against you, Mr. Bush. Count your fellow Americans among them.
4. The Pope has said this war is wrong, that it is a SIN. The Pope! But even worse, the Dixie Chicks have now come out against you! How bad does it have to get before you realize that you are an army of one on this war? Of course, this is a war you personally won't have to fight. Just like when you went AWOL while the poor were shipped to Vietnam in your place.
5. Of the 535 members of Congress, only ONE (Sen. Johnson of South Dakota) has an enlisted son or daughter in the armed forces! If you really want to stand up for America, please send your twin daughters over to Kuwait right now and let them don their chemical warfare suits. And let's see every member of Congress with a child of military age also sacrifice their kids for this war effort. What's that you say? You don't THINK so?
Well, hey, guess what -- we don't think so either!
6. Finally, we love France. Yes, they have pulled some royal screw-ups. Yes, some of them can be pretty damn annoying. But have you forgotten we wouldn't even have this country known as America if it weren't for the French? That it was their help in the Revolutionary War that won it for us? That it was France who gave us our Statue of Liberty, a Frenchman who built the Chevrolet, and a pair of French brothers who invented the movies? And now they are doing what only a good friend can do -- tell you the truth about yourself, straight, no b.s. Quit pissing on the French and thank them for getting it right for once. You know, you really should have traveled more (like once) before you took over. Your ignorance of the world has not only made you look stupid, it has painted you into a corner you can't get out of.
Well, cheer up -- there IS good news. If you do go through with this war, more than likely it will be over soon because I'm guessing there aren't a lot of Iraqis willing to lay down their lives to protect Saddam Hussein. After you "win" the war, you will enjoy a huge bump in the popularity polls as everyone loves a winner -- and who doesn't like to see a good ass-whoopin' every now and then (especially when it 's some third world ass!). And just like with Afghanistan, we'll forget about what happens to a country after we bomb it 'cause that is just too complex! So try your best to ride this victory all the way to next year's election. Of course, that's still a long ways away, so we'll all get to have a good hardy-har-har while we watch the economy sink even further down the toilet!
But, hey, who knows -- maybe you'll find Osama a few days before the election! See, start thinking like THAT! Keep hope alive! Kill Iraqis -- they got our oil!!
Yours,
Michael Moore
www.michaelmoore.com
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no subject
Date: 2003-03-18 12:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-03-18 12:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-03-18 01:22 pm (UTC)I know I don't know enough about either views to really express anything, but it just gets on my nerves that there's so much complaining and not enough doing, you know?
no subject
Date: 2003-03-18 03:42 pm (UTC)>> out if we want, yet everyone just seems to want to call him names lately!
That's the thing... what KIND of action? Anything beyond protesting, or activism of some sort, is just going to
get you arrested. Period. The only action I can see taking is getting Bush and his co-conspirators the hell out
of power next year. Which is why I'm supporting and working for Howard Dean. Other than that, what exactly do
you propose people do to take action?
Exactly!
Date: 2003-03-18 04:35 pm (UTC)Dean's response to Dub Dub:
"Tonight, for better or worse, America is at war. Tonight, every American, regardless of party, devoutly supports the safety and success of our men and women in the field. Those of us who, over the past 6 months, have expressed deep concerns about this President's management of the crisis, mistreatment of our allies and misconstruction of international law, have never been in doubt about the evil of Saddam Hussein or the necessity of removing his weapons of mass destruction.
Those Americans who opposed our going to war with Iraq, who wanted the United Nations to remove those weapons without war, need not apologize for giving voice to their conscience, last year, this year or next year. In a country devoted to the freedom of debate and dissent, it is every citizen's patriotic duty to speak out, even as we wish our troops well and pray for their safe return. Congressman Abraham Lincoln did this in criticizing the Mexican War of 1846, as did Senator Robert F. Kennedy in calling the war in Vietnam "unsuitable, immoral and intolerable."
This is not Iraq, where doubters and dissenters are punished or silenced --this is the United States of America. We need to support our young people as they are sent to war by the President, and I have no doubt that American military power will prevail. But to ensure that our post-war policies are constructive and humane, based on enduring principles of peace and justice, concerned Americans should continue to speak out; and I intend to do so.
March 17, 2003"
no subject
Date: 2003-03-18 06:48 pm (UTC)If everyone wants him out so badly, why just protest? Get together, start a petition to kick Bush out of office! There's one going around for Davis right now, and I'm surprised I haven't seen the same for Bush.
(This is going to sound really stupid, as if I don't sound misinformed enough, but who exactly is Howard Dean?)
no subject
Date: 2003-03-19 08:30 am (UTC)Howard Dean is the former governor of Vermont (my home state) who is running for the Democratic nomination for President.
His website is: http://www.deanforamerica.com/ and there are several Live Journal communities about him.
His stance on major issues:
Universal Health Care: Full coverage for children. Add a pharmaceutical package to Medicare. To cover everyone else, use the present employer-based system with refundable tax credits and federal subsidies to cover low- and moderate-income Americans who lack insurance. (In Vermont every child is insured and people like my parents, self-employed living below poverty line, pay a monthly fee for affordable health care, the only way they can treat my father's skin cancer)
Fiscal Responsibility: "As Governor, I was able to cut the income tax twice, remove sales tax on most clothing, reduce the state's long-term debt and still maintain a balanced budget - all the while providing health insurance for everyone under 18, and increasing school funding."
Equal Rights for All Americans: Dean took the biggest gamble of his political career by supporting Vermont's Civil Unions. He is so eloquent in his defense of this supreme court decision that insures the basic civil rights of all vermonters.
Educational Excellence: Bush's "No Child Left Behind" act is second largest unfunded mandate (after special education) in the history of federal education legislation. I am personally opposed to unfunded mandates like these. It takes power away from local communities and forces the costs onto communities that can least afford it. Vermont has created its own plan for education reform that takes that state's needs into consideration.
Environmental Protection: Dean supports the Kyoto Treaty, enforcement and strengthening of clean air and water legislation, reduce sprawl, but always keep the economic development of needy communities in mind.
Reproductive Rights: Not only is Dean Pro-Choice, he is a doctor, and believes that the ban on so-called "partial birth" abortions will cause harm to too many women.
Gun Control: Dean is the only Democrat to recieve a "A" from the NRA. He believes in certain national gun control laws (ban on assault weapons, the Brady Bill, closing gun show loophole) but essentially believes that gun control is a local issue. A state like Vermont has very different gun control needs than, say, California.
National Securtiy and Homeland Security: You should see his website for more, because he has very specific plans, but to sum up what I have heard in speeches: We need to have a global plan with international cooperation to work towards public health, human rights, and anti-terrorism, modelled on the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe after WWII. We need to reorganize the FBI, increase funding for the CIA, decrease our dependence not only on foreign oil, but oil in general because it leads to environmental degradation and political compromises. Essentially, we need to fight terrorism effectively, while helping the world to stem the economic and social problems that lead to that type of violence.
Hope that helps! I can honestly say that Howard Dean is the only candidate that I have ever supported wholeheartedly and without any reservation.
protest vs. petition
Date: 2003-03-19 08:40 am (UTC)>> Get together, start a petition to kick Bush out of office!
See, that's the thing... that won't work either. Actually, if a million people
signed a petition, it would actually have less impact than a million
people protesting. At least the protest might get some token media coverage.
(even the chance of that is slim at this point), but a petition would just get
ignored. The president can only be impeached by congress, and most of them aren't
listening either.
Unfortunately, we're powerless until the next election. A sad, sad truth...
-Brad
Re: protest vs. petition
Date: 2003-03-19 01:01 pm (UTC)http://www.votetoimpeach.org/
Update
Date: 2003-03-25 08:03 am (UTC)