Recently, Nelson Mandela turned 93, and his nation celebrated noisily, even attempting to break the world record for the most people simultaneously singing “Happy Birthday.” This was the man who, on trial by the South African government in 1964, stood a good chance of being sentenced to be hanged by ...
Articles from 'July 2011'
Dysfunction Junction Kills – Resolution is Not Absolution
By the time this is published anywhere, maybe the dysfunctional folks in Washington, D.C., will have reached some sort of deal that will prevent the second financial apocalypse the American people and the world have been threatened with in less than three years. But just because the current crisis reaches ...
Granny Has Already Been Screwed by the Government for Two Years
Don't kid yourselves, older people, that if there are to be no Social Security cuts resulting from the current debt crisis debacle, we can thank our government for its kindness. The fact is, we, among the most vulnerable and needy citizens of all, have seen our benefits systematically cut back ...
Mainstream Reporters: Too Close to the Field and Teams to Get the Debt Story
If you were a spectator in a sky box seat looking directly down on the Washington debt debate, you’d be seeing a contest both narrow and off to one edge of the field -- like watching a football game being played entirely between the 10-yard line and the goal line.The ...
Koch Economics and their Debt Default Advantage
We are seeing the result of Koch Economics and what happens when a few tycoons accrue the billions necessary to invest in politicians, nonprofit foundations and ideological think thanks. Pay for active duty soldiers and veterans' benefits would freeze without raising the debt ceiling. Embassies, emergency assistance, IRS and all ...
I think The Tea Party is really awesome! No not that Tea party, Canada’s Tea Party, eh? One of my favorite bands has reunited for a series of concerts, their name: The Tea Party. They are a 3 member band that was around from 1990 – 2005 and they hail ...
The rich are getting richer. Their effective tax rate, in recent years, has been reduced to the lowest in modern history. Nurses, teachers and firemen actually pay a higher tax rate than some billionaires. It's no wonder the American people are angry. Many corporations, including General Electric and Exxon-Mobil, have ...
Cross posted from thebloodycrossroads:“The issue for me is the morals and ethics behind it, the standards that were let down, all the things that went wrong, you know that’s all I think about, how can the people that are supposed to be taking care of us take such a nonchalant ...
Ballpark Liturgy: America’s New Civic Religion
Fenway Park, Boston, July 4, 2011. On this warm summer day, the Red Sox will play the Toronto Blue Jays. First come pre-game festivities, especially tailored for the occasion. The ensuing spectacle -- a carefully scripted encounter between the armed forces and society -- expresses the distilled essence of present-day ...
President Obama Doesn't Understand the Origins of the Deficit
That is what he told the country in his address on Monday night. President Obama described a situation in which the government had been perpetually running large deficits since President Clinton left office. The deficit increased even more as a result of the recession. For the last decade, we have ...
Tim DeChristopher Is Going to Jail, Now It's Our Turn
"The idea of wilderness needs no defense. It only needs more defenders." --Ed Abbey "The Eyes of the Future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time." --Terry Tempest Williams There's something about the redrock canyons that seems to inspire great ...
"Zeus did not want man to throw his life away, no matter how much the other evils might torment him, but rather to go on letting himself be tormented anew. To that end, he gives man hope. In truth, it is the most evil of evils because it prolongs man's ...
News Corp: a study in the failure of corporate self-regulation
What is the main lesson learned in the Murdoch scandal? That corporate conglomerate power run unregulated causes great public harm and lacks the checks and balances required for there to be any accountability. Given this, what would be the best way to investigate the criminal wrongdoings of such a conglomerate? ...
Gaslight 2011: Making Us Clamor for Our Own Demise
Michael Moore is hosting his film festival in Michigan this week, and I sure hope they are showing “Gaslight” from 1944. The American electorate would be wise to watch it again and to put into context the messages of our elected officials as they work us to do their bidding ...
When my old gang and I were 14 or 15 years old, many centuries ago, we yearned for immortality in the fiery wreck of a bitchin' '40 Ford or '57 Chevy. Our J.K. Rowling was Henry Felsen, the ex-Marine who wrote the bestselling masterpieces Hot Rod (1950), Street Rod (1953), ...
Leon Panetta in Iraq: More lies, more war
We have finally said goodbye to our Pentagon boss, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who for six years has given the orders that affect the lives of millions of service members and their families. Robert Gates was yet another millionaire corporate fat cat who came from the boardrooms for defense ...
In March 2009, Roberto Martinez-Medina was detained and arrested for not having a driver's license or proof of legal status. Immediately after his arrest, Medina was sent to CCA's (Corrections Corporation of America) Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. Less than a month later Roberto Martinez-Medina was dead. During his ...
Ron Paul's Advice: Don't Pay Your Bills
Even the best of us slip up. Occasionally, our most brilliant minds will succumb to a temporary lapse of sanity. Whether it’s the star baseball player that swings for the fences when he should have bunted or the politician that says something inappropriate at an inopportune time, nobody is immune ...
Letter from Environmental Leaders on the Persecution of Tim DeChristopher
Dear Friends, On July 26th 2011, climate activist Tim DeChristopher will be sentenced at the Salt Lake City federal courthouse. On March 3rd, Tim was found guilty of two felony counts for participating in a peaceful act of civil disobedience. A bright, charismatic young man could face up to ten ...
Obama is NOT “Caving” to Corporate Interests
In a campaign almost as frenzied as the effort to get Barack Obama into the White House, liberal groups are now mobilizing against the White House and reported deals that would cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits. They accuse President Obama of being weak and willing to “cave” to ...
"So that goes back to a much bigger issue which is we have a whole host of contracts, that were entered into during better times that unfortunately have to be rewritten." ~ Mohamed El-Erian, CEO of PIMCO, a trillion dollar money management firm. Forgiving debt is fundamental to American history. ...
Consumer Bureau Launches in Shark-Infested Waters
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) throws open its doors to consumers this week, officially starting its mission to safeguard Americans from overly complex financial products and malignant banking practices. The bureau is the culmination of a national grassroots effort to hold the big banks accountable for the 2008 economic ...
Dodd-Frank Made No Structural Changes to Banking System
Crossposted from New Deal 2.0I was a staffer on the Dodd-Frank legislative package, and the whole process seemed odd from the very beginning. There was no attempt initially to ask the question, “what happened and what should we do about it?” There was no examination of the purpose of a ...
The Drive to Cut Social Security: Why Are the Gang of Six Scared of Information?
A central theme of the Gang of Six's deficit reduction crusade is lowering the annual cost of living for Social Security. They propose to change the formula so that the annual adjustment would be 0.3 percentage points lower than would otherwise be the case. This cut will add up through ...
Why It All Sounds Like, “Blah, Blah, Blah”
When push comes to shove everybody gets their political cover moments in Washington, DC. Everybody, that is, except the average working-class American. The sound and fury surrounding debt ceilings and deficit reduction swirl on multiple levels, activists in the conservative right claim advancement and activists in the disenfranchised liberal left ...
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Mike's Blog
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June 5th, 2013
Here's How We Built a Movie Theater for the People – and Why the MPAA Says It's #1 in the World
This past week, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the main federation of Hollywood's six major studios, posted on their web site a list of what they believe ...
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March 23rd, 2013
This evening is going be a big moment in turning our country around on the issue of gun violence. That's why I desperately want you ...
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March 21st, 2013
I am hosting a nationwide series of house parties this Saturday night where tens of thousands of people will gather together in living rooms to ...
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March 15th, 2013
The response to my Newtown letter this week has been overwhelming. It is so very clear to everyone that the majority of Americans have had ...
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March 13th, 2013
America, You Must Not Look Away (How to Finish Off the NRA)
The year was 1955. Emmett Till was a young African American boy from Chicago visiting relatives in Mississippi. One day Emmett was seen "flirting" with ...
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February 26th, 2013
My Final Word on Buzzfeed and Emad Burnat's Detention at LAX
Thanks to everyone for bearing with me as I spend so much time on what happened to Emad Burnat. It's important to me because he's ...
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February 26th, 2013
Michael Moore Responds to Buzzfeed Story on '5 Broken Cameras' Co-Director Emad Burnat
On Tuesday, February 19th, Emad Burnat, the Palestianian co-director of the Oscar-nominated documentary '5 Broken Cameras,' was detained with his wife and son at Los ...
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September 11th, 2010
If the 'Mosque' Isn't Built, This Is No Longer America
OpenMike 9/11/10 Michael Moore's daily blog I am opposed to the building of the "mosque" two blocks from Ground Zero. I want it built on ...
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December 14th, 2010
Why I'm Posting Bail Money for Julian Assange
Yesterday, in the Westminster Magistrates Court in London, the lawyers for WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange presented to the judge a document from me stating that ...
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May 12th, 2011
Some Final Thoughts on the Death of Osama bin Laden
"The Nazis killed tens of MILLIONS. They got a trial. Why? Because we're not like them. We're Americans. We roll different." – Michael Moore in ...
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November 22nd, 2011
Where Does Occupy Wall Street Go From Here?
This past weekend I participated in a four-hour meeting of Occupy Wall Street activists whose job it is to come up with the vision and ...
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September 22nd, 2011
A STATEMENT FROM MICHAEL MOORE ON THE EXECUTION OF TROY DAVIS
I encourage everyone I know to never travel to Georgia, never buy anything made in Georgia, to never do business in Georgia. I will ask ...
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December 16th, 2010
Dear Swedish Government: Hi there -- or as you all say, Hallå! You know, all of us here in the U.S. love your country. Your ...
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November 2nd, 2010
This letter contains (almost) no criticisms of how the Democrats have brought this day of reckoning upon themselves. That -- and where to go from ...
