1953: U.S. overthrows Prime Minister Mossadeq of Iran. U.S. installs Shah as dictator.
1954: U.S. overthrows democratically-elected President Arbenz of Guatemala. 200,000 civilians killed.
1963: U.S. backs assassination of South Vietnamese President Diem.
1963-1975: American military kills 4 million civilians in Southeast Asia.
September 11, 1973: U.S. stages coup in Chile. Democratically elected president Salvador Allende assassinated. Dictator Augusto Pinochet installed. 5,000 Chileans murdered.
1977: U.S. backs military rulers of El Salvador. 70,000 Salvadorans and four American nuns killed.
1980’s: U.S. trains Osama bin Laden and fellow terrorists to kill Soviets. CIA gives them $3 billion.
1981: Reagan administration trains and funds “contras”. 30,000 Nicaraguans die.
1982: U.S. provides billions in aid to Saddam Hussein for weapons to kill Iranians.
1983: White House secretly gives Iran weapons to help them kill Iraqis.
1989: CIA agent Manuel Noriega (also serving as President of Panama) disobeys orders from Washington. U.S. invades Panama and removes Noriega. 3,000 Panamanian civilian casualties
1990: Iraq invades Kuwait with weapons from U.S.
1991: U.S. enters Iraq. Bush reinstates dictator of Kuwait.
1998: Clinton bombs “weapons factory” in Sudan. Factory turns out to be making aspirin.
1991 to present: American planes bomb Iraq on a weekly basis. U.N. estimates 500,000 Iraqi children die from bombing and sanctions.
2000-01: U.S. gives Taliban-ruled Afghanistan $245 million in “aid”.
September 11, 2001: Osama Bin Laden uses his expert CIA training to murder 3,000 people.
Yes, the US government funded terrorism, more than the countries they bomb and invade.
Dear Friends,
It is Thanksgiving 2002 and it would seem that there is little to give thanks for this year. W. has scored an unbelievable hat trick and is now the first Republican since Eisenhower to control the House, the Senate and the White House. There is no getting around just how damned demoralizing and depressing this is. I wish there was a way to put a better face on what has transpired, but my well of optimism is just about dry. Bush has his “mandate” for war, his “mandate” for global frying, his “mandate” to turn our government into his own private corporation.
Except…
Only about 20% of the American people showed up three weeks ago to vote for a Republican. That’s it. Just 20%. And about 19% voted for a Democrat (an amazing number considering how few fights the Democrats put up around the country).
And 61% said, “To hell with all of them!” and refused to show up and vote.
I am not surprised this happened. My greatest fear after the 2000 election was that the majority of Americans would just give up and say, “Why bother?” If there was one message to the average American from Bush’s theft of the White House, it was this: “Not only doesn’t your vote count, but even if you do vote, we’re not going to count it!” I fear millions earlier this month saw the futility of exercising their right to govern when those who did the governing decided that the will of the people could be disposed of as easily as a drunk driving citation on a Kennebunkport back road.
Even worse, African Americans, whose right to vote was the most egregiously violated (and who usually are the first to stand and fight injustice), seem to have given up. Betrayed, forgotten and taken for granted by the Democrats, black voters saw no reason to revolt in 2000-and little reason to show up in 2002. They got the message loud and clear: “This is White America-we call the shots, we run this place, so shut the f*** up and stay home. The polls have closed for you.”
Of course, those in charge are thrilled that 61% of the country has given up. That’s right where they want us-out of the way! And it is for that reason alone why we must not now throw in the towel. If we sink into a collective state of despair, disgust and disinterest, we are truly doomed. Bush & Company (and this includes the Democrats) are all-too-happy to be left alone to run amok in the candy store. And, in the end, here is what we’ll be left with: billions of impoverished people around the world hoping for a chance to kill you and me someday!
Ok, so what do we do? Perhaps the silver lining in all this is that Bush will actually think he has a “mandate” and pull such a big, stinking whopper that his re-installation in 2004 will be rendered impossible. Or perhaps some prosecutor somewhere will have the guts to indict him for the insider trading he conducted while on the board of Harken Oil. Who knows. A lot can happen in 23 months.
In the meantime, you, me, all of us, have to get together and come up with a plan that gets this country back in our hands. I have a few ideas. I’ll bet you do, too. Why don’t we have an online brainstorming session from now through the holidays? I’ll set up a thread on my forum at http://www.michaelmoore.com/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=30 for you to post your comments and to generate a discussion about what we do for 2004.
Or, if you want to send me your thoughts directly, email me at 2004@michaelmoore.com. I’ve just learned the site is getting over 2 million hits a day. Right now, 2,000,000 heads certainly feel better than one.
Pass the turkey.
Yours,
Michael Moore
Mike@michaelmoore.com
http://www.michaelmoore.com
http://www.bowlingforcolumbine.com
P.S. Thanks to all of you who continue to pack the theatres for “Bowling for Columbine.” It has now broken the all-time box office record for a documentary in America. I am not only grateful for this, but I am thrilled that it has ignited a national discussion about guns, violence, the NRA, racism, why the Canadians don’t lock their doors, and the insane preparation for an expanded war in Iraq. I am now getting reports of people around the country trying to get stores in their towns to ban the sale of bullets. The NRA candidates lost the race for Governor in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Illinois (three hunting states). The film continues to set box office records in the UK, France and elsewhere. And, next week, “Stupid White Men” begins its 10th month on the best-seller list. Thank you all so much. Have a happy Thanksgiving.
It has now broken the all-time box office record for a documentary in America. I am not only grateful for this, but I am thrilled that it has ignited a national discussion about guns, violence, the NRA, racism, why the Canadians don’t lock their doors, and the insane preparation for an expanded war in Iraq. I am now getting reports of people around the country trying to get stores in their towns to ban the sale of bullets. The NRA candidates lost the race for Governor in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Illinois (three hunting states).
I really must find out more about Michael Moore, he seems very noble and speaks up on issues that I support.
4 comments on “Facts”
Michael Moore was on Canada AM one mourning. He was one of the most interesting guy I have seen on there. We need people like him to stand up all over the world.
He really does seem interesting and very intelligent. Right-wingers and Republicans have just been writing him off, but I think he’s quite a strong voice against oppression. We certainly need more people like him.
think you may enjoy this or already read it~ ani american society…govn….
yes, the goons have gone global
and the CEOs are shredding files
and the democrans and the republicrats
are flashing their toothy smiles
and uncle tom is posing for a photo op
with the oval office clan
and uncle sam is rigging cockfights
in the promised land
and that knife you stuck in my back is still there
it pinches a little when i sigh and moan
and these days i’m thinkin i could just as soon use
the time alone
cuz all the wrong people have the power
of suggestion
and the freedom of the press is meaningless
if nobody asks a question
i mean
causation by definition
is such a complex compilation
of factors
that to even try to say why
is to over simplify
but that’s a far cry
isn’t it dear?
from acting like you’re the only one there
unrepentantly self centered and unfair
enter all suckers scrambling for the scoop
exit mr. eye contact
who took his flirt and flew the coop
but whatever
no matter
no fishin trips
no fishin
cuz mamma’s officially out of commission
and did i mention
in there
somewhere
did i mention
somewhere
in there
that i traded babe ruth?
yes, i traded the only player that was bigger than the game
and i can’t even tell you why
cuz you’d think i’m insane
and that’s the truth
and the music industry mafia is pimping girl power
sniping off their sharp shooter singles from their styrofoam towers
and hip hop is tied up in the back room
with a logo stuffed in its mouth
cuz the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house
but then
i’m getting away from myself
as i get closer and closer to home
and these days i’m thinkin
i could just as soon use
the time alone
an i must admit
today my inner pessimist
seems to have got the best of me
we start out sugared up on kool-aid and manifest destiny
and we memorize all the president’s names
like little trained monkeys
and then we’re spit into the world
so many spinny-eyed t.v. junkies
incapable of unravelling the military industrial mystery
preemptively pacified with history book history
and i’ve been around the world now
and i can see this about america
the mind control is deep here, man
the myopia is steep here
and behold
those that try to expose the reality
who really try to realize democracy
are shot with rubber bullets and gassed off the streets
while the global power brokers are kept clean and discrete
behind a wall
behind a moat
and that is all
that’s all she wrote
and my heart beats an sss o o o sss
cuz folks just couldn’t care care care less less less
as long as every day is superbowl sunday
and larger than life women in lingerie
are pouting at us from every bus stop
shelovesme shelovesmenot shelovesme shelovesmenot…
and big government should not stand between a man and his money
cuz “what’s good for business is good for the country”
our children still take that lie like communion
the same old line
the confederacy used on the union
conjugate liberty
into libertarian
and medicate it
associate it
with deregulation
privatization
we won’t even know we’re slaves
on a corporate plantation
somebody say halleluja!
somebody say damnation!
cuz the profit system follows the path of least resistance
and the path of least resistance is what makes the river crooked
makes it serpentine
capitalism is the devil’s wet dream
so just give me my judy garland drugs
and let me get back to work
cuz the empire state building
is the tallest building in new york
and i always got the feeling
you just liked to hear it fall
off your tongue
but i remember my name
in your mouth
and i don’t think i was done
hearing it close to my ear
on a whisper’s way to a moan
but pavlov hits me with more bad news every time i answer the phone
so i play and i sing and i just let it ring all day when i’m at home
Re: think you may enjoy this or already read it~ ani american society…govn….
oh, thanks for sharing that. I actually haven’t seen it yet. 🙂