Here Comes Trouble: Stories from My Life

"Outstanding…Moore Triumphs! Publishers Weekly

Mike & Friends Blog from 'December 2009'

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Donna Smith

Single-Payer Advocate

December 31st, 2009

Blood Money 2010: Healthcare in America

Ask patients who need lab work done how that all works out today in America, and then imagine where this trend is going in the future. It’s blood money paid up front and in full or patients must take their chances. Getting laboratory tests or other medical testing done has ... continue reading

Michael Prysner

Iraq War Veteran, Anti-War Activist

December 26th, 2009

Racism and U.S. War

When I first joined the army, we were told that racism no longer existed in the military. A legacy of inequality and discrimination was suddenly washed away by something called "Equal Opportunity." We would sit through mandatory classes, assuring us that racism had been eliminated from the ranks, and every ... continue reading

Ray McGovern

Retired CIA analyst

December 24th, 2009

Break the CIA in Two

After the CIA-led fiasco at the Bay of Pigs in April 1961, President John Kennedy was quoted as saying he wanted to "splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it into the winds." I can understand his anger, but a thousand is probably too many.Better is a Solomon ... continue reading

Donna Smith

Single-Payer Advocate

December 24th, 2009

A Patient’s View of the Senate Christmas Healthcare Gift

So, all the great fanfare and all the king’s horses. The great and almighty U.S. Senate has spoken. I will have to buy private health insurance – forever, amen. The defective product that has left me wanting for real healthcare for all of my adult life is now a step ... continue reading

Rep. Eric Massa

Rep. Massa represents the 29th Congressional District of New York

December 23rd, 2009

Christmas Eve Is the 3,000th day in Afghanistan and 30th Anniversary of the Russian Invasion

Christmas Eve is a time to gather with friends and family to reflect on the good things in life. It's a time to share our joys and our hopes for peace on earth and good will towards all. This year Christmas Eve has a sad and ironic twist to it ... continue reading

Tom Morello

Tom Morello is the Grammy Award-winning guitarist for Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. He performs solo, acoustic as The Nightwatchman.

December 22nd, 2009

The 7th Anniversary of Joe Strummer's Death

Today marks the 7th anniversary of Joe Strummer's death. I wrote the following immediately after he passed:The first time I heard of the Clash was in high school. I was working on the school newspaper, and one day a fellow named Dave Vogel came in with a copy of London ... continue reading

Cindy Sheehan

Gold Star Mom, Activist

December 22nd, 2009

Grief: The "Gift" That NEVER Stops Giving!

Since our son-brother, Casey, was killed in Iraq, even precious and happy moments are tinged with grief. Today is such a day—it is Casey’s youngest sibling’s birthday. As I write this, I vividly remember the day Janey was born back in 1985. I gave birth to my babies at home ... continue reading

Donna Smith

Single-Payer Advocate

December 22nd, 2009

Senate, White House Health Reform Tucks in Gun Rights

Could we make this stuff up?  We cannot get healthcare as a basic human right for one another.  But we sure can make sure gun ownership protections are tucked into the Senate health reform bill that is so celebrated as historic by the White House.It gives a whole new meaning ... continue reading

Donna Smith

Single-Payer Advocate

December 18th, 2009

Healthcare Crisis Tears at Fabric of Holiday Traditions

Our elected officials in Washington, DC, are rushing to finish their work and get home for the holidays. Many of the people who elected them aren’t so richly blessed. Millions and millions of Americans do not get the Norman Rockwell holiday scene played out in their lives because millions and ... continue reading

Donna Smith

Single-Payer Advocate

December 16th, 2009

Sanders Says Single-Payer Day Will Come as He Withdraws Amendment

Sickening.  Saddening.  Maddening.  And the stuff of future determination in the political struggle for healthcare for all in the United States.  On the floor of the U.S. Senate today, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont rose to offer his single-payer, Medicare for All amendment No. 2837 and to begin debate.  Then, ... continue reading

Jamilla El-Shafei

Jamilla El-Shafei is the co-founder and organizer for Save Our Water in Southern Maine

December 16th, 2009

YES HE DID! Now What?

Last Saturday, following President Obama’s Nobel Prize speech in Oslo, anti-war political leaders, the cadre of the peace movement, and activists and citizens of conscience gathered at Lafayette Park across from the White House in protest of his escalation of the war in Afghanistan. The “NO YOU CAN’T!” rally featured ... continue reading

Donna Smith

Single-Payer Advocate

December 14th, 2009

Sanders Single-Payer Healthcare Amendment to be Considered in Senate

This is it, Medicare for All, single-payer advocates. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Announced tonight that tomorrow the Senate will hear several more amendments to the health reform bill – and one of those amendments is Sen. Bernie Sanders’ single-payer amendment No. 2837. The amendment also has two other original ... continue reading

Donna Smith

Single-Payer Advocate

December 11th, 2009

Senate Tweaks Away Your Healthcare

As my grandmother used to say, “I was born on a weekend but not last weekend.” The latest insult to Americans hungry for a bit of healthcare justice for all comes from the news that the Senate health bill now allows insurance companies to place annual limits on payments for ... continue reading

Dean Baker

Co-Director, CEPR

December 11th, 2009

The Return of the TARP Hostage Takers

When Congress debated the TARP last fall, the political elites insisted that the bill must be passed immediately or the economy would collapse. For example, Federal Reserve Board President Ben Bernanke told Congress that the commercial paper market was shutting down, which meant that the country's largest companies would soon ... continue reading

Donna Smith

Single-Payer Advocate

December 9th, 2009

Health Reform Advances 2,300 Miles Away from DC

While the healthcare reform legislative debate lumbers on in the Senate, the biggest advance for U.S. patients came early this week in Phoenix.  Nurses joined three separate nurses’ unions into an RN “super union” with the goals of improving the professional lives of clinical RNs and building a healthcare system ... continue reading

Donna Smith

Single-Payer Advocate

December 3rd, 2009

History in a Number: Senate Amendment 2837

The idea of a Medicare for All type, single-payer healthcare system will be heard on the Senate floor.  Late last evening, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont filed Senate Amendment No. 2837, and there are two additional original co-sponsors of this amendment, Senator Roland Burris of Illinois and Senator Sherrod Brown ... continue reading

Cindy Sheehan

Gold Star Mom, Activist

December 2nd, 2009

30,000 Wrongs Won't Make it Right

I have had to reluctantly watch many presidential speeches since my son was killed in Iraq in 2004. I was even dragged out of a Bush State of the Union speech in 2006, that I didn’t want to go to anyway, for just wearing a shirt with an anti-war message.Now, ... continue reading

Dean Baker

Co-Director, CEPR

December 1st, 2009

Mortgage Modification: Bank Bailouts By Another Name?

The big talk in Washington these days is "helping homeowners." Unfortunately, what passes for help to homeowners in the capitol might look more like handing out money to banks anywhere else.The basic story is fairly simple. Tens of millions of US homeowners are now underwater: they owe more on their ... continue reading

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Revealed: the top secret rules that allow NSA to use US data without a warrant www.guardian.co.uk Fisa court submissions show broad scope of procedures...

Jun 21st
8:59 AM
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Michael Hastings' Wife Obliterates New York Times For Dismissive Obituary www.huffingtonpost.com Hastings’ widow, Elise Jordan, is firing back at Times...

Jun 20th
7:58 PM
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From Global Zero -- we can get to a world without nuclear weapons: The World Must Stand Together Matt Damon, Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman,...

Jun 20th
2:27 PM
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RootsAction | Media want war in Syria. We don't. act.rootsaction.org Only 11% of the U.S. public wants the U.S. providing weapons to the Syrian...

Jun 19th
11:58 PM
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Missing Michael Hastings www.buzzfeed.com One of the great reporters of his generation died Tuesday at 33. The stories he wrote, and the ones he didn't...

Jun 19th
7:19 PM
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Rest in peace, Michael Hastings, author of 'The Operators': BuzzFeed Reporter Dies In Car Crash At Age 33 www.huffingtonpost.com Journalist Michael...

Jun 18th
8:20 PM
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After Newtown shooting, mourning parents enter into the lonely quiet www.washingtonpost.com After the shooting and the politics, the Barden family suffers all...

Jun 18th
4:43 PM
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From This Modern World, about Edward Snowden and the NSA: Daily Kos: Sensible thinkers www.dailykos.com Click to embiggen Support independent cartooning:...

Jun 17th
5:35 PM
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Edward Snowden Q&A: NSA whistleblower answers your questions www.guardian.co.uk The whistleblower behind the biggest intelligence leak in NSA history is...

Jun 17th
1:36 PM
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From the Electronic Frontier Foundation: Biden in 2006 debates Obama in 2013 over NSA spying program Watch then-Senator Joe Biden from 2006 as he directly...

Jun 14th
5:45 PM
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Senator caught in strip club with his pants down When money wins, we all lose. Join the fight to stop bribery & corruption at...

Jun 14th
5:42 PM
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RootsAction | No New War in Iran or Syria act.rootsaction.org Sign the petition opposing war by the United States or NATO in Iran or Syria.

Jun 14th
3:15 PM
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ICYMI -- Stop Watching Us | Stop Watching Us optin.stopwatching.us We write to express our concern about recent reports published in the Guardian about the...

Jun 13th
12:42 PM
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We really should have listened to Shia LaBeouf five years ago: Shia Labeouf: One-In-Five Phone Calls Are Recorded (2008-09-16) Clip from The Tonight Show...

Jun 13th
12:13 PM
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Bradley Manning Has Done More for U.S. Security Than SEAL Team 6 ...by Chase Madar www.michaelmoore.com Thanks to Bradley Manning, our disaster-prone elites...

Jun 11th
3:10 PM
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Historic challenge to support the moral actions of Edward Snowden ...by Norman Solomon www.sfbg.com

Jun 10th
11:48 AM
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RootsAction | Thank NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden act.rootsaction.org Sign a thank-you note that will be delivered to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. And...

Jun 10th
11:42 AM
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12pm Union Square: Rally Supporting #NSA Whistle Blower Edward Snowden www.sparrowmedia.net 12pm EST activists, journalists & concerned New Yorkers will...

Jun 10th
10:56 AM
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Daniel Ellsberg: "In my estimation, there has not been in American history a more important leak than Edward Snowden's release of NSA material – and...

Jun 10th
10:00 AM
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NSA surveillance as told through classic children's books www.guardian.co.uk As news of the NSA's secret surveillance programs spread this weekend,...

Jun 9th
7:28 PM
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Thank you, Edward Snowden -- destined to go down as one of the greatest whistleblowers in American history.

"I don't want to live in a...

Jun 9th
3:44 PM
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ICYMI -- Husain Bazzi of Mike's High School Newspaper will co-chair a panel at the 2013 Left Forum at Pace University in NYC. Today, Sunday at 3 pm,...

Jun 9th
12:34 PM
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Report by Mike's High School Newspaper from day 2 of the Left Forum in New York: Left Forum Day 2 Tweets | Michael Moore | High School Newspaper...

Jun 9th
12:33 PM
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MORE from Glenn Greenwald. Someone near top of the U.S. government is very, very worried about what the NSA is up to: Boundless Informant: the NSA's...

Jun 8th
4:45 PM
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Welcome to PRISM Internet Backup Service jcfrog.com I do hereby declare my allegiance to the USA and swear to their God that I will never try to hide any part...

Jun 8th
1:18 PM
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Jeremy Scahill's film 'Dirty Wars' opens TODAY in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, DC. Couldn't be more timely: Dirty Wars...

Jun 7th
8:15 PM
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MORE from Glenn Greenwald. Someone near the top of the government is very worried about Obama and the ever-growing National Security State: Obama orders US...

Jun 7th
6:25 PM
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Glenn Greenwald's follow up to his blockbuster Verizon story -- it turns out the *all* the biggest internet companies (including Facebook) are turning...

Jun 7th
12:20 PM
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You probably thought Glenn Greenwald's scoop would be the biggest the biggest story about the National Surveillance State this year. Well...

...

Jun 6th
7:09 PM
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Husain Bazzi of Mike's High School Newspaper will co-chair a panel at the 2013 Left Forum at Pace University in NYC. This Sunday at 3 pm, please come if...

Jun 6th
6:56 PM
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