Mike & Friends Blog
Cindy Sheehan
Cindy Sheehan's oldest child Casey was killed in Iraq on April 4th, 2004. Since then she has been on a mission to end the wars and hold George W. Bush accountable
Let Them Eat Oil
I am now on an airplane heading home (for two days) after my very profound and moving experience in the Gulf Region.
Monday,
June 21st, a few dozen activists, scientists, environmentalists and
concerned citizens gathered in front of the Deepwater Horizon Response
Unified Command Center to present our list of demands to the office
that houses BP and 14 Federal Agencies (the FBI also has offices in the
building).
We pulled this protest together in two days and I was
gratified at the turnout (one woman, Cyndie, came up from Florida) and
especially with the turnout from the media. Usually the corporate media
presents some hostility, but not today. After my interviews, many of
them said words to this affect: “Thank you for being here to help us
call attention to this disaster.” Wow! Even the jaded press realizes
what an enormous tragedy this is!
After we held an improvised
mini-rally, we moved in towards the building to present our list of
demands. Of course we were accosted by building security, but about
10 of us made it up to the 14th floor of the Eni Petroleum building, where we were accosted by even more security.
Debra
Sweet, the National Director of World Can’t Wait kept telling people
that we weren’t destroying any property or killing anyone (like BP and
the US war machine) and that we were coming in peace to present our
demands. A slimy representative of BP came out into the entryway and
told us he would take our demands, but we insisted on reading them.
He
finally said: “If you don’t get out of our space, we will have to call
NOPD.” How dare he!? His company has caused the biggest (and for want
of a $500,000 acoustic blowout preventer — needless) environmental
disaster in the history of this nation and he tells us to get out of
“his space!” First of all, with 14 Federal Agencies being housed there,
I think it is “our space,” and all the people on this planet who will
be affected by their crimes have the absolute right to be not only
heard, but listened to.
People, we ALL will be adversely
affected by this Oil-Cano and the under-reaction of Corporate-Federal
government to it. 300 (plus or minus) million of us have to be involved
in the Emergency Response to it. If you can’t make it to the Gulf to
clean, there are things you can do from your home.
GO HERE FOR SOME SUGGESTIONS
Email from Atlanta resident, Mary Ellen Sheehan (no relation), about her trip from NOLA back to Atlanta yesterday:
Greetings Wonderful People
I had to head back to Atlanta but I did stop at Dauphin Island, Alabama. When I tried to go to the western end of the island, I was stopped by security and told that the beach was closed and only residents and contractors could pass through. I went to a nearby beach toward the middle of the island and it was shocking. The smell of oil was very strong and my skin and the roof of my mouth began to feel “coated” (I had the same experience in Grand Isle — Cindy).
Contracted workers were walking up and down the beach picking up peaces of oil. There were tented stations at regular intervals where more contractors were gathered. It was a dead zone. I saw one bird.
My best,
Mary Ellen
Dauphin Island seems to be getting slammed right now and there won’t be any let up soon.
When we were on Grand Isle yesterday, it was unbelievably hot and just walking from Point A to Point B required a lot of exertion. While Tony Balogna was yachting and Barack Obama was Bushing (oops — I mean golfing); workers were dropping like flies from the heat and a literal way of life was dying.
To Tony and Barack: Stop the damn gusher and get the damn oil out of the Gulf — treat this Environmental Holocaust with the seriousness and immediacy it deserves. Quit fiddling around while Rome is burning for gods' sake.
There was a revolution in France when the elite repeatedly and callously overstepped boundaries and Marie Antoinette was infamous for saying: “Let them eat cake.” This is the current attitude of the global elite of this world — seems like they need an attitude adjustment.
Click here to suggest an article
Mike's Blog
-
May 9th, 2012
About President Obama's Statement in Support of Gay Marriage
I am deeply moved by the announcement made a short while ago that President Obama has gone back to his original position in 1996 and ...
-
May 4th, 2012
Here's a free song for you. It's my contribution to "Occupy This Album", a compilation CD (99 songs!) featuring David Crosby & Graham Nash, Steve ...
-
February 11th, 2012
A 75th Anniversary for the American Dream, a 25-Year Anniversary for Me
On this day 25 years ago, in 1987, I became a filmmaker. It was around ten in the morning and the first-ever roll of Kodak ...
-
January 17th, 2012
STOP SOPA: Why MichaelMoore.com Will Be Blacked Out Wednesday, January 18th
My websites MichaelMoore.com and Mike's High School Newspaper will both be going dark for 24 hours starting at midnight tonight in protest of the Stop ...
-
December 30th, 2011
75 Years Ago Today, the First Occupy
On this day, December 30th, in 1936 -- 75 years ago today -- hundreds of workers at the General Motors factories in Flint, Michigan, took ...
-
December 28th, 2011
Click here to donate to the congressional campaign of Flint's own Dan Kildee I have many things I'm planning to do in the New Year ...
-
December 24th, 2011
A Little Christmas Gift for You to Download
Thanks for all the wonderful comments regarding the short story about my mom from HERE COMES TROUBLE that I sent you a few days ago. ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
Comments
8