StraightTalk - Issue Resource Guide

StraightTalk: "The right wing's rhetoric can no longer hide the dismal effects of its policies. It's time to cut through the rhetoric and clarify what's really happening in America today.
Straight Talk is an interactive, lie-busting political guide that lays out the progressive case against the right wing, item by item, on all of the issues that Americans care most about."

Sharon Bush Denies Kitty Kelley Account (washingtonpost.com)

Sharon Bush Denies Kitty Kelley Account (washingtonpost.com): "President Bush's former sister-in-law denied yesterday that she had given author Kitty Kelley any information about allegations of past drug use by Bush.
Sharon Bush is quoted in Kelley's forthcoming book about the Bush family as making one of the allegations, and Kelley's editor said in an interview Tuesday that she had provided 'confirmation' for the information.

But Sharon Bush, who is divorced from the president's brother Neil, said in a statement: "I categorically deny that I ever told Kitty Kelley that George W. Bush used cocaine at Camp David or that I ever saw him use cocaine at Camp David. When Kitty Kelley raised drug use at Camp David, I responded by saying something along the lines of, 'Who would say such a thing?'

"Although there have been tensions between me and various members of the Bush family, I cannot allow this falsehood to go unchallenged."

Doubleday, Kelley's publisher, was quick to dispute her account."


By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer

westcoastmusic: John Fogerty Deja Vu All Over Again new album and a tour

westcoastmusic: John Fogerty Deja Vu All Over Again new album and a tour: "John Fogerty 'Deja Vu All Over Again' new album will be released on Geffen Records September 21st. It is the first John Fogerty's first new studio album in seven years. His new anti-war single, 'Deja Vu (All Over Again)' is currently flying up the radio charts, having been added to key playlists nationwide in The U.S.A." (Listen)

John Fogerty has been invited to join Bruce Springsteen on the Vote for Change Tour this fall.

Yellowcard - Only One - Protest March Video

Yellowcard - Latest NewsFormed in 1997, Yellowcard your typical young punk band, starting with the classically trained violinist in their ranks.


Their new video, Only One, is staged against a protest march in the streets. Check it out.

washingtonpost.com: Faces of the Fallen

washingtonpost.com: Faces of the FallenA Collection of information about each U.S. service member who died in Iraq.


washingtonpost.com

Gloucester County Times: Michael Moore coming to area

Michael Moore coming to area: "CAMDEN -- Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore, whose movie 'Fahrenheit 9-11' shattered box office records and is seeking best-of at the Oscars, will be a guest lecturer at the Tweeter Center later this month at an event hosted by Rutgers-Camden University.

'An Evening with Michael Moore' will be held Monday, Sept. 20. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster. Admission is $5, plus a $1 venue charge, officials said.

Organizers said Moore, whose stop in Camden will be his only college appearance in the area, will discuss current events and also show clips from his movies. "

MTV.com: Andre 3000: The Awakening - Interview

MTV.com: Andre 3000: The Awakening: "The admittedly spaced-out half of Outkast has taken his head out of the stars and changed his attitude. Back in 1994, on on Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik's 'Git Up, Git Out,' Dre rapped, 'Y'all tellin' me that I need to get out and vote, huh?/ Why? Ain't nobody black runnin' but crackers, so why I got to register?/ I'm thinkin' of better sh-- to do with my time.' And even as late as 2003, around the time the Kast released Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below, the world's best-dressed man still wasn't down with going to the polls.

Almost a year later, though, 3000 is a changed man. He's registered for the upcoming election, and every time we see him, he's encouraging his fellow Americans to follow suit. Dre has become so passionate that he's currently shooting a documentary on youth and voting, which will come out a little before Election Day, and has signed on as a spokesperson for Declare Yourself, an organization set up to get people registered.

'If you don't vote, you're pretty much giving up your power,' Dre advises. 'You're pretty much saying, 'Do what you will with me.' '

So why the change of heart? We caught up with Dre in his New York hotel one day before he went to the RNC to watch President Bush speak, and the poetic performer chalked it up to being swayed in part by the man behind such 1970s TV shows as 'All in the Family,' 'Maude' and 'The Jeffersons.'


MTV: So with all that you have going on - winning awards, shooting a movie, recording an album, clothes shopping - why even take time out to get involved in this voting situation?

Andre 3000: Honestly, what got me involved — 'cause I'm not really political at all — was [TV producer] Norman Lear contacted my acting agent. I really didn't know the name, I didn't know "Good Times" and all this production history. My people were like, "You would want to meet with this guy." So I sit down and meet with him. He said, "I'm doing this campaign and getting the youth to vote. My kids tell me if I need the young people, I should come to you because people respect what you do. We want you to head up this campaign to get young people to vote."

by Shaheem Reid
MTV

Press Release: NEW CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT STUDENT VOTER RIGHTS IN 2004 ELECTION

"Washington, DC (September 8, 2004) – At a news conference on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 a coalition of nonprofit organizations including Rock the Vote, the New Voters Project, the Student Voting Rights Campaign and Students for Freedom launched a new drive to protect student voter rights in the 2004 election. Federal and state laws make it clear that students have the right to establish residency and vote where they go to school. Citing a wave of incidents where students have been denied the right to register and vote on campuses across the country including colleges in Virginia, New Hampshire, New York, Texas, and Arizona, the groups said they were putting election officials and politicians on notice that a new watchdog would stand up for the rights of young voters.

The campaign will organize students on over 200 campuses across the country to survey local residency requirements for student voters. The goal of this effort will be to determine whether local election officials are fully apprised of student voting rights. The groups stated that while most election officials are aware that students have the right to vote from their school address, even if they are from out of state, there are many officials who reject voter registration forms, subject students to unlawful questionnaires, or even threaten them with prosecution for voting.

The campaign will include a strong educational component targeting students directly that will educate them about their rights and challenge the widespread myths that prevent many students from registering. For example, election officials misinform students, in states such as New Hampshire, that registering to vote from where they go to school could affect their financial aid, health insurance, and tax status. Voter registration does not affect health insurance or taxes, and only in extremely rare, if not improbable, circumstances can it affect financial aid.

A centerpiece of the campaign will be a new website, launched last week, providing a resource center for students to learn the facts and download the tools they need to fight back when their rights have been impinged. The website will collect stories from students across the country. A speaker at the press conference highlighted the first story to come into the website; at the University of Arizona, a local TV station ran a story that strongly suggested out-of-state students could be prosecuted with a felony if they registered to vote at school. The website address, hosted by Rock the Vote, is http://www.rockthevote.com/campusvote. Student Voting Rights Campaign also has a reporting capability on the webpage at www.studentsuffrage.com.

As Election Day approaches, the groups will also organize poll watchers to monitor known “hot spots” where students may face challenges. In a sign of the growing national awareness about this issue, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, a leading organization in the Election Protection Coalition, announced that the national toll-free Election Day hotline, 866 OUR VOTE, would include a rapid-response information system designed specifically for students facing barriers at the polls. The Lawyers Committee, which will provide counsel to the coalition, was a lead counsel in a recent case in Texas where a district attorney in a largely white county threatened students at a black college with felony prosecution for voting. The Brennan Center for Justice, at New York University School of Law, announced that it also would serve as counsel for the coalition, providing legal counsel and advocacy where necessary to safeguard student voting rights, as it already has done in New York and Delaware.

Where possible, the coalition will work collaboratively with local election officials to help avoid potential problems before they arise. The groups re-iterated that most students are able to vote locally; the problems arise when local officials are either misinformed or, in some cases, politically opposed to student voting power in the local community.

The national campaign to protect student voter rights will build through the month of September to a national day of action on September 23, which will feature voter registration drives and, in those locations where local officials are non-cooperative, petition drives and other forms of direct action to safeguard student voter rights. The campaign will then continue up through Election Day in an effort to maximize youth voter turnout in the upcoming presidential election.

Berkeley Daily Planet: Untold Stories from the Republican Convention: By CHRISTOPHER KROHN

Berkeley Daily Planet: "NEW YORK- There are many stories to tell at this convention. The known storylines inside Madison Square Garden are familiar Republican themes that are repeated over and over: the recycled compassionate conservatism, John Kerrys misrepresenting his war record, the war on terror, George Bush is the only candidate who can protect you, and of course, Bush will cut your taxes even more.
The recognizable mainstream news storylines from outside the convention are about ever-tighting security around the Garden, the large Sunday afternoon half-million strong anti-Bush protest through Manhattan, and customer-starved small businesses in and around what has become known as the convention's Green Zone. But, there have been perhaps, a dozen or so stories that are either being covered inadequately or not at all.
The under-reported stories of Republican National Convention 2004 occurring on the inside include the numerous demonstrators - up to 30 in all - who have broken through the intense Madison Square Garden security lines and gotten onto the convention floor to make protest statements, the relentless pursuit of the Missouri delegation by members of ACT-UP and other activists, the now infamous and short-lived Band-Aid over a purple heart stickers representing John Kerry's not really earned medals that were passed out and worn by an estimated 250 Republican delegates, and finally the glaring absence of any fresh Bush "read Republican" ideas on really moving the country forward.
Outside the Garden the untold narratives are legion. First, the ubiquitous, forceful, costly and massive presence of police in the New York City streets surrounding the convention site may be seen, when history is written, more as an occupying force that had to kill some democracy in order to save the Republican convention.
Next"

Politically driven films turning Hollywood into 'Pollywood'

Politically driven films turning Hollywood into 'Pollywood'"Pollywood" problems: On the heels of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11," more filmmakers are now eager to use their movies to achieve political goals.

The latest case in point is David O. Russell, who's been lobbying hard for Warner Bros. to release the DVD edition of his 1999 Gulf War drama "Three Kings" (Message Board)in time to influence the presidential election. Warner, which told Russell it won't include his 35 minute antiwar documentary "Soldiers Pay" as a bonus feature on the DVD, has said it can't mount "Kings'" DVD release that quickly. The documentary looks at some of the Iraqi extras who worked with Russell on "Kings" and reportedly paints an unflattering portrait of the Bush administration.

Russell has been quoted as saying he views Warner's refusal to release the documentary on the DVD and to get the DVD into the marketplace before the November election as "censorship and an infringement of the First Amendment based on political opinions." As far as I know, he hasn't addressed the issue of why a movie studio should have to help him promulgate his political opinions. That's not to say that Russell's political views are without merit. I certainly wouldn't use this column to pass judgment on his views or on Moore's views, for that matter. But I certainly want to ask why Warner Bros. should have to help Russell express his political views? There are many ways other than making films for Russell and other filmmakers to express themselves politically -- including making speeches, doing interviews with the press, buying ads in media they believe will reach the audience they want to influence, etc.

Say what you will about Moore, he knows his business inside out and is passionate about his beliefs. By the way, let's not forget that other very passionate filmmaker, Mel Gibson, who just might wind up competing with Moore in the best picture race. With "Fahrenheit" and "The Passion of the Christ" both potential best picture nominees, the rest of Hollywood will have to campaign for awards consideration harder and more brilliantly than ever before since this year there may only be three rather than five slots up for grabs. Moreover, with "Passion" already available in DVD release and "Fahrenheit's" DVD release coming soon, neither film will suffer from the inevitable screeners crisis that other filmmakers will be faced with as this awards season heats up. "


Martin Grove
Hollywood Reporter

Fahrenheit 9/11: 'The Less That See It, The Better For Bush'

Fahrenheit 9/11: 'The Less That See It, The Better For Bush' - Elites TV - Your Elite News Source: "According to a recent Gallup survey, more than half of all American adults have either seen or expect to see Moore's wildly popular movie, Fahrenheit 9/11, a critical look at the Bush administration's decision to go to war with Iraq. The poll, conducted July 8-11, found that 8% of Americans said they have already seen the movie, 18% expected to see it at a theater, and 30% expected to watch it on DVD or home video.

The poll also found that generally Americans had a more unfavorable than favorable impression of the movie, 'but those who have seen it are overwhelmingly favorable. Democrats and Republicans have sharply different views, as do younger and older people.'

In an informal poll conducted by Moore's pollster friend -- who formerly worked for the Republicans -- he found that the 80% of the Fahrenheit 9/11 audiences in three different cities were essentially likely Kerry voters, but 'the movie has galvanized them in a way you rarely see Democrats galvanized.'

Though Moore says that '20 million people' have already seen his film, he is worried that the right people are not seeing it.

'The less (people) that see it, the better for Bush,' Moore's pollster firend told him. So, Moore now wants the people who aren't as prone to voting for Kerry in the audience. "


Barry Meyer
Elites TV

Media View Kitty Kelley's Bush Book With Caution (washingtonpost.com)

Media View Kitty Kelley's Bush Book With Caution (washingtonpost.com)It is the book that some Republicans have been worrying about for weeks, filled with lurid allegations by a celebrity biographer whose controversial reputation has only boosted her sales.

Kitty Kelley's volume on the Bush family won't be published until next week, but the White House communications director yesterday dismissed the book as "garbage" and a Republican National Committee spokeswoman said journalists should treat it as "fiction." With the author booked for numerous television interviews -- including three straight mornings on NBC's "Today," starting Monday -- "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty" is certain to generate media attention in the heat of a presidential campaign.

Peter Gethers, vice president of Random House and Kelley's editor, said the publisher's chief counsel and Kelley's own lawyer went over the book "with a fine-toothed comb."

"It was as extensive a legal read as a publisher could give," Gethers said. "Some things didn't make it, and we're 100 percent confident of the things that made it in. We erred on the side of caution because we knew how hard she was going to be hit."


By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer

Michael Moore's Blog: 1,000 Dead -- How Do You Sleep Mr. Bush?

Michael Moore's Blog: 1,000 Dead -- How Do You Sleep Mr. Bush?: "Watching TV, the anchorman says, 'A milestone tonight, the 1,000th American soldier to die in Iraq.' 13 soldiers have died in the past two days. We don't know how many Iraqi civilians have died in the bombing of Fallujah and Sadr City today, but hey, they're just Iraqis! All this killing, for what?
Bush now comes on the screen. His shirt is soaked with sweat. It is most days. Have you noticed this? Yes, we are men, and yes, we sweat, but man, this guy is drenched. I feel bad for him. He is not really up to the job of executioner (although it seemed so easy with his death row rat-a-tat-tat back in Texas).
Even though he himself doesn't have to pull the trigger, he knows what his actions have wrought and he sweats the sweat of a man in deep fear that he has doomed not only himself but countless Americans. Men who tell lies sweat like that. Men who cheat sweat like that. But in order to sweat like that you have to have a conscience, an active conscience, a present conscience, a voice that is always there to tell you that you are in violation of some greater law and order. Mr. Bush, his conscience still with him, and his shirt still wet, a thousand Americans now dead for no good reason other than they were willing to trust their commander-in-chief and promised to do whatever was necessary to protect you and me. I honor each and every one of the 1,000 for that, I grieve for them and their families, and I pray that Mr. Bush lies in a bed tonight, his sheets drenched not with sweat but with tears for those young men and women whom he consigned to their deaths.

Later today (Wed.), the Boston Globe, the A.P. and Dan Rather all present new and damning information about how George W. Bush got moved to the front of the line to get in the Texas Air National Guard, and how he then went AWOL. I am putting every ounce of trust I have in my fellow Americans that a majority of them get this, get the injustice of it all, and get the sad, sick twisted irony of how it relates very, very much to our precious Election 2004."

Al-Jazeerah: Substituting Bombs for Policy

Substituting Bombs for Policy: “Al Jazeera is reporting that at least 20 people, including children have been killed in a US bombing raid on Falluja. Two houses were destroyed by missiles in a residential area of Jabal.

One local said that bombing was so powerful that “bodies were scattered and thrown away about 50 meters from the place of the explosion”

"But at the same time, when you look at the massive amount of violence that America is perpetrating in Iraq, I don’t know that I’m in a position to tell Iraqis that you must fight a pristine, non-violent war…. I just feel that that resistance in Iraq is our battle too and we have to support it." Arundhati Roy

The US military has defended the raids by saying that they were targeting “safe houses” for the elusive terrorist Abu Musab al Zarqawi; the fictional creation of the US War Dept that justifies the continued aggression against the people of Falluja.

The question of how many children were killed in the attack is still a matter of conjecture since "the bodies are torn to pieces".

What is not in doubt, however, is that innocent civilians were intentionally killed in America’s ongoing terrorist war in Iraq. That much is certain, and cannot be disguised by the feeble excuses provided by the regional command.

Falluja, of course, is still being punished for humiliating the US military in its failed attempt to lay siege to the city in April. After a three week conflict the Marines withdrew leaving the city of 800,000 with a modicum of “liberation” from the occupying army.

Regrettably, there is a steep price to pay for “defiance” as the random bombings illustrate."

By Mike Whitney
Al-Jazeerah, September 6, 2004

Fahrenheit 9/11 - A Review By Ross Anthony

Fahrenheit 9/11: "Michael Moore is ornery. I'd read a few pages of one of his books a few years back; I liked the satire at first and his introduction to one of perhaps many 'other sides' of the story. 'The story' being the usual bite-size nightly news type tellings of political events. But frankly his whining style of writing got on my nerves and I could not finish that book. Then I saw 'Columbine.' Even though his style at times deviated sharply from what I consider to be honorable, the film was undeniably amusing, entertaining and worthwhile. His cantankerous method of shaking loose information seemingly 'by any means possible' at times brought to surface some gems, but I still thought he didn't play fair as the guy with the camera and microphone.

He claims that all his factoids are indeed, factual. I do not know if they are. Nor do I know that the factoids I get from my government or local news are real. So I greatly appreciate the bravery of Moore to bring his particular set of facts to the public. Personally, I could do without all his snaring smart*ss voiceovers. It is not fair documentary filmmaking to suggest or guess what the subject of your film might be thinking. And further, to purposely mock them. That's certainly not fair. Some reviewers refuse to call this a documentary. I can see why they feel that way; on the other hand, this is actual footage of actual people with actual firsthand experience -- so it wouldn't be correct to say this is not a documentary. It's just that Moore isn't very concerned about being ethical in his documentary making. Ironically, it's probably that abhorrent manner that's garnished him such popularity; unfortunately, it'll be that attitude that will devalue the impact of the truths he's attempting to deliver."

By Ross Anthony
Grade..........................A-(3/4)

Press Release: Bush Absence From Alabama National Guard Is Focus of New TV Ad

Alabama Air National Guard Veteran Says President Wasn’t There;
Campaign Seeks to Reopen Scrutiny of President’s Service Record

Texans for Truth to Launch Campaign Wednesday

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Texans for Truth is launching a campaign this week to seek answers to outstanding questions about President George W. Bush’s absence from his National Guard service while in Alabama.

The ad features Bob Mintz, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Alabama Air National Guard, who served at the Montgomery, Alabama air base during the time Bush claims to have served there in 1972. In the ads, Mintz will say that he never saw George W. Bush at the base, even though he was actively looking for him.

Just days ahead of a “60 Minutes” exposé featuring Former Texas House Speaker Ben Barnes admitting he helped President Bush evade service in Vietnam by getting into the Texas Air National Guard, the ad campaign and Mintz’s public appearances promise to spur renewed scrutiny of Bush’s Vietnam era service record.

Texans for Truth is the 527 arm of DriveDemocracy, a 20,000-member Texas-based grassroots organization that seeks to increase political participation by helping ordinary people make their voices heard in politics.

firstamendmentcenter.org: Wisconsin city's payment to end dispute over anti-Bush sign

firstamendmentcenter.org: news: "MADISON, Wis. - A payment of more than $12,000 will end a civil claim filed on behalf of a man who held a controversial sign as a presidential motorcade passed through Platteville in May, his attorney says.
Andrea Baker said that city will pay $12,086.45 through its insurer to end the federal free-speech violation claim filed on behalf of Frank Van den Bosch of Montfort.
The stipulation that led to the dismissal is a release of all claims of liability, she said.
A $243 disorderly conduct citation against Van den Bosch was dismissed earlier.
Van den Bosch was holding a sign reading 'F U G W' before the motorcade carrying President Bush arrived, and was told by police he could not display it. He then added small letters that changed the sign to say 'Free Us G W' and held it up as Bush's went through Platteville."

By The Associated Press
08.26.04

firstamendmentcenter.org: 07.23.03 : Secret Service's visit to cartoonist 'profoundly bad judgment'

firstamendmentcenter.org: news: "WASHINGTON - The Secret Service used 'profoundly bad judgment' in seeking to question a Los Angeles Times cartoonist over a political cartoon depicting a man pointing a gun at President Bush, a senior House Republican said yesterday.
Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said the Secret Service owed Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Michael Ramirez an apology, 'and the public is owed an explanation both of how this happened and why it will not happen again.'
The use of 'federal power to attempt to influence the work of an editorial cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times,' Cox said in a letter to U.S. Secret Service Director Ralph Basham, 'reflects profoundly bad judgment.'
In an article yesterday, the Times said a Secret Service agent visited the paper's Los Angeles office for what he said was a routine inquiry following the publication on Sunday of Ramirez' cartoon. The agent talked to a Times attorney but was told he could not speak to Ramirez."

The Associated Press

firstamendmentcenter.org: Utah man's anti-Bush sticker prompts visit by Secret Service

firstamendmentcenter.org: news: "SALT LAKE CITY - A 19-year-old man was paid a visit by two Secret Service agents after neighbors complained about an anti-President Bush sticker on his car.
The black-and-white, postcard-sized paper printed off a Web site and taped on Derek Kjar's car had a cartoonish depiction of Bush's head wearing a crown, with the words 'King George - off with his head.'
Stickers of that image are widely available on the Internet.
Lon Garner, special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Denver field office, confirmed that Kjar was investigated, but said agents had ruled out a threat to the president.
He said it was the agency's job to investigate all reported threats to figures under Secret Service protection - including Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

In the meantime, Kjar said he was concerned about having a file with the Secret Service. He said the agents showed up with a stack of paperwork containing his personal information and the photograph from his state-issued driver's license.

"I feel like if I go to an airport, I'm going to be screened more," he said. "If anything ever happens in Utah, I'll be one of the first people they come to.""

The Associated Press

Republican Voters Speak Out About Bush, Iraq War

Republican Voters Speak Out About Bush, Iraq War: "No issue more sharply divides American voters this election year than the war in Iraq. The immediacy of the threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction was the president's biggest justification for invading the country. Democratic challenger John Kerry says the failure so far to find any of those weapons means President Bush misled the country into war. President Bush says the world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power. Correspondent Scott Stearns has spent the last week covering the president on the campaign trail and asking Republican voters what they think about Mr. Bush when it comes to Iraq."

Voter1: "Well, the intelligence said that they were there. And I remember watching television news reports with Colin Powell showing these trailers and things that the intelligence said that was there. And when they get there, they are not there. So where did they go if they were there?"

Voter2: "First of all, there were weapons. They are in parts unknown. They were there, and I believe what he did, he did with conviction."

Voter7: "We got rid of Saddam Hussein anyway. And he was nothing but a bad dictator, and I think we are doing the right thing."

Voter8: "I believe we should have gone to war. We need to put to rest all the bad people in the world trying to attack us. So I'm glad we went to war."

Voter12: "I don't think he made the connection between Iraq and nine-eleven. I do support the president, but that's one of his policies that I don't support. And I'm interested in it because I'm a supporter of the military, but I don't think he is using them for the correct reasons."

Scott Stearns
Erie, Pennsylvania
Voice of America

Michael Moore.com : Why I Will Not Seek a Best Documentary Oscar (I'm giving it up in the hopes more voters can see "Fahrenheit 9/11")

Michael Moore.com : Mike's Message : Messages: "I had dinner recently with a well-known pollster who had often worked for Republicans. He told me that when he went to see 'Fahrenheit 9/11' he got so distraught he twice had to go out in the lobby and pace during the movie.
'The Bush White House left open a huge void when it came to explaining the war to the American people,' he told me. 'And your film has filled that void -- and now there is no way to defeat it. It is the atomic bomb of this campaign.'
He told me how he had conducted an informal poll with 'Fahrenheit 9/11' audiences in three different cities and the results were all the same. 'Essentially, 80% of the people going IN to see your movie are already likely Kerry voters and the movie has galvanized them in a way you rarely see Democrats galvanized.

'But, here's the bad news for Bush: Though 80% going IN to your movie are Kerry voters, 100% of those COMING OUT of your movie are Kerry voters. You can't come out of this movie and say, 'I am absolutely and enthusiastically voting for George W. Bush.''

I have informed our distributors of my decision. They support me (in fact, they then offered to submit our film for all the other categories it is eligible for, including Best Picture -- so, hey, who knows, maybe I'll get to complete that Oscar speech from 2003! Sorry, just kidding).

Don't get your hopes up for seeing "Fahrenheit 9/11" on TV before the election. In fact, I would count on NOT seeing it there (you know me, I'm always going after something I probably shouldn't). Get to the theaters soon, if you haven't already, or get it from the video store in October and hold house parties. Share it with everyone you know, especially your nonvoting friends. I have included 100 minutes of extras on the DVD -- powerful footage obtained after we made the movie, and some things that are going to drive Karl Rove into a permanent tailspin -- more on this later!

Thanks for all of your support. And go see "Super Size Me," "Control Room," "The Corporation," "Orwell Rolls Over in His Grave," "Bush's Brain," Robert Greenwald's films and the upcoming "Yes Men." You won't be sorry!" (Links to these films are located on the right margin of this blog.)

MSNBC - Michael Moore wants best picture Oscar

MSNBC - Michael Moore wants best picture Oscar: "Michael Moore says he won’t submit “Fahrenheit 9/11” for consideration as best documentary at this year’s Academy Awards. Instead, he’s going for the bigger prize of best picture.

“For me the real Oscar would be Bush’s defeat on Nov. 2,” Moore told The Associated Press during a phone interview Monday from New York.

“It’s not that I want to be disrespectful and say I don’t ever want to win a (documentary) Oscar again,” Moore said. “This just seems like the right thing to do...I don’t want to take away from the other nominees and the attention that they richly deserve.”

Moore also hinted in a recent interview in Rolling Stone he would like the movie to play on television before the presidential election.

With the movie coming out on DVD Oct. 5, it’s not clear whether the TV deal would happen.


Associated Press

MSNBC - Sept. 11 DVDs show nation in crisis, mourning

MSNBC - Sept. 11 DVDs show nation in crisis, mourningMSNBC - Sept. 11 DVDs show nation in crisis, mourningLOS ANGELES - One film provides a positive message of unity. Another dramatizes the president’s difficult days. A third offers sympathy to a nation wounded on Sept. 11, but includes foreign filmmakers’ points of view.

The span of emotions Americans felt on Sept. 11, 2001, is reflected in a batch of films coming to DVD about the terrorist attacks, whose tones range from communal and hopeful to raw and provocative.

Arriving Tuesday are “7 Days in September,” a heartfelt chronicle of New Yorkers in the week after the attacks, and “DC 9/11: Time of Crisis,” starring Timothy Bottoms as George W. Bush in a drama that begins with a whispered word about the attacks to the president during a school visit and concludes with his resolute speech to the nation the following week.

Michael Moore’s anti-Bush assault “Fahrenheit 9/11,” a $100 million hit that drew record numbers of moviegoers for a documentary, debuts on home video Oct. 5. Three weeks later, “September 11” — a French-produced collection of 11 short films that some critics felt carried an anti-American tone — comes out Oct. 26.

“September 11” presents short films from an international gallery of directors, including Sean Penn, Claude Lelouch, Mira Nair, Ken Loach, Danis Tanovic and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu."

Associated Press

Resources
A film review by Norm Schrager - filmcritic.com

Forum

Independent Media TV - News Ignored and Under Reported by the Corporate Media

Independent Media TV - News Ignored and Under Reported by the Corporate Media: "George W. Bush: Because He Said So - Comedy Central - Video - 2004-09-02



Requires Quicktime

WAKE -UP CALL To All Senior Citizens - Independent Media TV

WAKE -UP CALL To All Senior Citizens - Independent Media TV: "In December 2003, Bush signed the new Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act into law. Many seniors expected it to provide much needed relief from escalating health care costs. That has not happened and it will not happen until we get Bush and his cronies in the health care industry out of the White House."

OpinionEditorials.com - The Big Bush Bounce - Ryan Walsh is a high school student and columnist

OpinionEditorials.com - The Big Bush Bounce - Walsh: "“The Republicans have no idea how much harm they have done to themselves.”

That was Michael Moore in a USA Today column on the Republican National Convention. By penning such a blatantly miscalculated assessment, it’s almost as if Moore is attempting to demonstrate, beyond any reasonable doubt, how consistently and completely wrong a human being can be.

Although most observers never thought the GOP convention would hurt the president, many thought it wouldn’t help him much either. When polls showed little or no bounce for Kerry after his convention in Boston, the Beltway talking-heads explained that, because the country is so politically polarized, the number of the coveted “undecided voters” is simply too small. The explanation seemed logical, but at that time it was only half grounded in fact. If the Bush campaign received little or no bounce after its convention, then the assessment would be accurate.

But Bush bounced.

As I write, three comprehensive post-convention polls are in circulation. The Newsweek poll puts Bush at 52 percent among registered voters and Kerry at 41—a 13 percent margin bounce. A Time poll shows exactly the same numbers, marking “the first time since the presidential race became a two person contest last spring, there is a clear leader….” Zogby also has Bush up, albeit only slightly."

Ryan Walsh is a high school student and columnist for www.therightreport.com

CBS 2: Hollywood Has Record $4 Billion Summer

CBS 2: Hollywood Has Record $4 Billion Summer: "LOS ANGELES (AP) Summer at movie theaters was a true underdog story for Michael Moore and a gang of dodgeball dimwits, who helped propel Hollywood to another season of record revenue, though the number of moviegoers fell slightly.

Moore's 'Fahrenheit 9/11' became the first documentary to top the $100 million mark, while Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn's goofy comedy 'Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story' was another surprise $100 million hit.

Teamed with such familiar favorites as 'Shrek,' 'Spider-Man' and 'Harry Potter' sequels, 'Fahrenheit 9/11' and 'Dodgeball' helped lift the industry to an all-time summer haul of just under $4 billion from the first weekend in May through Labor Day, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

That's up 3 percent from the previous record of $3.9 billion set last summer."

Associated Press

Democracy Now! | Relentless Protest: CODEPINK Activists Ejected From RNC Three Nights in a Row

Democracy Now! | Relentless Protest: CODEPINK Activists Ejected From RNC Three Nights in a Row: "While much of the protest at the RNC took place outside the Madison Square Garden, a surprising number of activists managed to disrupt the proceedings inside. For the third night in a row, activists from CODEPINK: Women for Peace were ejected from the RNC after disrupting the primetime addresses of speakers at the convention's podium. Last night during President Bush's acceptance speech, he had to stop speaking twice after activists held up antiwar signs before being dragged from the floor of Madison Square Garden. Activist Jodie Evans revealed a pink slip underneath her dress that read 'Fire Bush! Women Say Bring the Troops Home Now!' Earlier in the evening, Jorge Medina, whose son Irving was killed in the Iraq war was ejected for wearing a t-shirt with his son's photo on it and the words 'Bush Lied, My Son Died.'
When the protesters disrupted Bush's speech, delegates and others in the convention would begin chanting 'Four More Years' in an effort to drown them out. This tactic seems to have been a coordinated response from the Republicans. Twice last night as Bush was speaking, the chant began for no clear reason. Moments later, Secret Service Agents could be seen dragging a demonstrator from the convention. "

Democracy Now! | Crashing the Party: Famed Indian Writer Arundhati Roy Goes Inside the RNC

Democracy Now!: "ARUNDHATI ROY: I actually don't know what to say, because it's like being in a cult place where there's some kind of chanting which veering between chilling and calming. I'm confused which it was, but I’m sure it was actually chilling to be in a place which is where the richest and the most powerful people in the world meet to plot the next war to plan the next bombing and war. They look like everybody else, you know? It's not exactly like -- it's hard to believe even the psychology of how so many people can cheer while the same lies are being reiterated.

AMY GOODMAN: What do you watch?

BILLY JACK HARLOW: I watch FOX News. I don't know what you watch. I watch MSNBC; I watch Joe Scarborough and Chris Matthews sometimes, but mostly FOX. That's about all of the TV that I can stand. Just a little bit of the news.

AMY GOODMAN: Do you think it was a good idea to invade Iraq?

BILLY JACK HARLOW: As far as Bill Jack Harlow is concerned, I think the whole world is better off because we invaded Iraq.

AMY GOODMAN: Last question, have you seen Farenheight 9/11?

BILLY JACK HARLOW: Not gonna see it. I have no intention of seeing it. I think Michael Moore is despicable. He is a disgrace to Americanism completely. Only because -- not because of who he is or anything, but he represents that movie, and I have seen bits and cuts on the TV, -- but because he represents it as truth, and it's so far from the truth. I saw him on Bill O'Reilly talking -- asking bill if he would send his sons. Would you send your sons? He's an idiot.

ARUNDHATI ROY: You know, the man says that he only watches FOX News. That explains everything, doesn't it? I mean, you really come to the heart of jingoism and then you understand why these things can only be resolved through war in a way, or they try to resolve them through war, because it's so terrifying to see the product of lies, of the media's lies, the American media's lies. You almost feel -- you cannot even get angry or dislike him, because you just -- you see him as a victim of propaganda. Sort of the most foolish kind, but so powerful, so rich, so deadly. You can hardly even engage in an argument because it's not -- he didn't want to see Farenheight 9/11. He's not curious about it. It's not that he's open to looking at something and changing. He didn't want to see it.

AMY GOODMAN: When you walked in to the big arena, what were your thoughts? "

U-Press Telegram - Politics and popcorn

U-Press Telegram - FILM: "Of course, 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' Michael Moore's blistering attack on George W. Bush's administration and the Iraq War, was the 800-pound phenomenon. Having grossed more than $117 million, nearly six times the amount of any previous nonconcert documentary, 'F 9/11' boosted a trickle of left-leaning nonfiction films ('Control Room,' 'Super Size Me') into a small theatrical flood ('Orwell Rolls in His Grave,' 'The Corporation,' 'The Hunting of the President,' 'Outfoxed,' 'Uncovered,' 'Bush's Brain').

"It's always been the conventional wisdom - Samuel Goldwyn said it - that if you have a message, call Western Union," notes Biskind, whose most recent book, "Down and Dirty Pictures," examined the corporate politics of the independent film movement. "Hollywood shies away from it for the same reason that Disney backed away from 'Fahrenheit 9/11': They think it's going to fragment the audience. Especially for big-budget movies that have to make $100 million in the first weekend or whatever, if they're going to antagonize half the audience, it just doesn't make any dollars-and-cents sense to them."

"It's always been the conventional wisdom - Samuel Goldwyn said it - that if you have a message, call Western Union," notes Biskind, whose most recent book, "Down and Dirty Pictures," examined the corporate politics of the independent film movement. "Hollywood shies away from it for the same reason that Disney backed away from 'Fahrenheit 9/11': They think it's going to fragment the audience. Especially for big-budget movies that have to make $100 million in the first weekend or whatever, if they're going to antagonize half the audience, it just doesn't make any dollars-and-cents sense to them."

"It's always been the conventional wisdom - Samuel Goldwyn said it - that if you have a message, call Western Union," notes Biskind, whose most recent book, "Down and Dirty Pictures," examined the corporate politics of the independent film movement. "Hollywood shies away from it for the same reason that Disney backed away from 'Fahrenheit 9/11': They think it's going to fragment the audience. Especially for big-budget movies that have to make $100 million in the first weekend or whatever, if they're going to antagonize half the audience, it just doesn't make any dollars-and-cents sense to them."

"It's always been the conventional wisdom - Samuel Goldwyn said it - that if you have a message, call Western Union," notes Peter Biskind, whose most recent book, "Down and Dirty Pictures," examined the corporate politics of the independent film movement. "Hollywood shies away from it for the same reason that Disney backed away from 'Fahrenheit 9/11': They think it's going to fragment the audience. Especially for big-budget movies that have to make $100 million in the first weekend or whatever, if they're going to antagonize half the audience, it just doesn't make any dollars-and-cents sense to them."

"Movies are a great way to enable people to access political information in a way that is very palatable, for lack of a better word," notes Exhibitor Relations' Dergarabedian. "The proverbial spoonful of sugar, the movies provide that. Even though 'Fahrenheit 9/11' is a documentary, it's an entertainment as well.""


By Bob Strauss
Film Writer