Wouldn't mind owning a Boston bar tonight$
Oct 20
Bush is happier than a dog with two dicks; back out on the campaign trail, where all he has to do is yell, “you can run but you can’t hide,” and the homegrown flock gets all riled up. Glad to get away from those pesky debates, facts, reality and all that. He’s a little messianic in a peculiar way. We’ve got a cheerleader running against the captain of the football team.
Free Speech in America? In corporate America nothing is free, not even liberty. Listen to somebody paying for it, wants it to be a good purchase:
From: Michael W
Sent: Tuesday July 13 2004 12.28pm
Subject: Dude, Iraq sucks
My name is Michael W and I am a 30-year-old National Guard infantryman serving in southeast Baghdad. I have been in Iraq since March of 04 and will continue to serve here until March of 05.
In the few short months my unit has been in Iraq, we have already lost one man and have had many injured (including me) in combat operations. And for what? At the very least, the government could have made sure that each of our vehicles had the proper armament to protect us soldiers.
In the early morning hours of May 10, one month to the day from my 30th birthday, I and 12 other men were attacked in a well-executed roadside ambush in south-east Baghdad. We were attacked with small-arms fire, a rocket-propelled grenade, and two well-placed roadside bombs. These roadside bombs nearly destroyed one of our Hummers and riddled my friends with shrapnel, almost killing them. They would not have had a scratch if they had the "Up Armour" kits on them. So where was [George] W [Bush] on that one?
It's just so ridiculous, which leads me to my next point. A Blackwater contractor makes $15,000 [£8,400] a month for doing the same job as my pals and me. I make about $4,000 [£2,240] a month over here. What's up with that?
Beyond that, the government is calling up more and more troops from the reserves. For what? Man, there is a huge fucking scam going on here! There are civilian contractors crawling all over this country. Blackwater, Kellogg Brown & Root, Halliburton, on and on. These contractors are doing everything you can think of from security to catering lunch!
We are spending money out the ass for this shit, and very few of the projects are going to the Iraqi people. Someone's back is getting scratched here, and it ain't the Iraqis'!
My life is left to chance at this point. I just hope I come home alive.
The source for this is The Guardian. From an email to Michael Moore. Here’s the rest excerpted from MM’s new book.
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1005-22.htm
Sinclair misunderestimated
They were just doing a fair and balanced TV news magazine. What’s all the fuss fellas?
Sinclair to Show Only Part of Kerry Film
By ALEX DOMINGUEZ, Associated Press Writer
BALTIMORE - A documentary critical of John Kerry (news - web sites)'s Vietnam-era anti-war activities will be shown only in part during a program examining the use of such documentaries to influence elections, Sinclair Broadcast said Tuesday. The company's announcement came hours after shareholders challenged Sinclair's plans to air the program, saying the controversial broadcast may hurt their investment.
"A POW Story: Politics, Pressure and the Media," will examine the "role of the media in filtering the information contained in these documentaries, allegations of media bias by media organizations that ignore or filter legitimate news and the attempts by candidates and other organizations to influence media coverage," the company said in a statement. It will air Friday on 40 of the company's stations.
Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., the owner of 62 television stations, has been criticized for ordering the stations to pre-empt regular programming to air the show. The company, which has previously declined comment on the issue, said reports that the documentary would be aired in its entirety were "inaccurate."
The Democratic National Committee (news - web sites) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (news - web sites), arguing that the broadcast should be considered an illegal in-kind contribution to the Bush campaign.
Sinclair fired its Washington bureau chief Monday after he publicly criticized the company's plans.
"We have not ceded, and will not in the future cede, control of our news reporting to any outside organization or political group," said Joe DeFeo, Sinclair's vice president of news.
Groups have also called for advertisers to boycott Sinclair, whose stations reach a quarter of U.S. households, many in key swing states for the upcoming presidential election.
The news special will discuss allegations surrounding Kerry's anti-Vietnam War activities raised in the documentary, "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," but the entire 42-minute documentary will not air, Sinclair said.
Sinclair said executives met recently with senior Kerry campaign officials but the campaign has declined to participate in the program.
"The experience of preparing to air this news special has been trying for many of those involved," CEO David Smith said. "The company and many of its executives have endured personal attacks of the vilest nature, as well as calls on our advertisers and our viewers to boycott our stations and on our shareholders to sell their stock."
Meanwhile, a lawyer said he planned to sue on behalf of shareholders, alleging insider trading by top executives as well as damage from the decision to air the film. Media Matters, a media advocacy group, announced it was underwriting the costs of a shareholder action demanding equal time for opposing views.
Eighteen senators, all Democrats, wrote last week to the Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites) to ask it to investigate Sinclair's plans. The agency declined to intervene.
New York Comptroller Alan Hevesi, also a Democrat, sent a letter expressing concern to Sinclair on behalf of the state's pension fund, which owns shares in the broadcasting company.
Sinclair shares dropped more than 3 percent Tuesday, falling 23 cents to $6.26 a share on the NASDAQ market. Sinclair stock dropped about 8 percent on Monday, and is down from a high of more than $15 a share in January.
Two groups offered programs Tuesday to Sinclair to air in response to its news special. California philanthropist Deborah Rappaport and her husband offered to pay for an hour of air time on Sinclair stations to air the documentary "Going Upriver," a positive portrayal of Kerry's service in Vietnam, before the Nov. 2 election day.
Mother Jones Magazine offered Sinclair a half-hour video of four prominent Republicans — including John Dean and Pete Peterson — condemning the Bush administration.
