hugs to micheal moore!

[sweetnpetite]

A Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican


by Donna L. Lavins and Sheldon Cotler

Joe gets up at 6:00 AM to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot with good, clean drinking water because some liberal fought for minimum water quality standards. He takes his daily medication with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to insure their safety and that they work as advertised.

All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan. Because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance, now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast -- bacon and eggs this day. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

Joe takes his morning shower, reaching for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with every ingredient and the amount that is contains because some liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and the breakdown of its contents. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some tree-hugging liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work; it saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees. You see, some liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day; he has a good job with excellent pay, medicals benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer meets these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed he'll get worker's compensation or an unemployment check because some liberal didn't think he should lose his home to temporary misfortune.

It's noon time. Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FDIC because some liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae underwritten mortgage and his below market federal student loan because some stupid liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime.

Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive to dads; his car is among the safest in the world because some liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. He was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electric until some big government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification (those rural Republican's would still be sitting in the dark).

Joe is happy to see his dad, who is now retired. Joe's dad lives on Social Security and his union pension because some liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to. After his visit with dad, Joe gets back in his car for the ride home. He turns on a radio talk show. The host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't tell Joe that his beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees, "We don't need those big government liberals ruining our lives. After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."

In the years to come, Joe's life will change dramatically. The U.S. dollar will be devalued as a result of our huge deficit, our living standards demolished, our standing with the world diminished and our social security gone...all because some conservative republican made sure he could take care of himself and his buddies.

Aghast, i remain...

from Michael Moore.com

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=144

 

[BlackShanglan]

Gah. Sorry. Nine paragraphs of self-congratulation would be a bit much even from Gandhi. Regardless of the philosophical point, it's just annoying reading.

(Oh, and also not terribly original; that equally annoying and sappy one about "some soldier" fighting for all examples of things we value has been around forever. If this was a parody, I would at least expect an occasional flash of wit.)

Shanglan

 

[sweetnpetite]

Gah. Sorry. Nine paragraphs of self-congratulation would be a bit much even from Gandhi. Regardless of the philosophical point, it's just annoying reading.

(Oh, and also not terribly original; that equally annoying and sappy one about "some soldier" fighting for all examples of things we value has been around forever. If this was a parody, I would at least expect an occasional flash of wit.)

Shanglan

I can't help loving this peice.

I live with that 'Joe Middle-Class Republican' that it's about. Pretty much, except that we aren't even middle class.

 

[shereads]

I can't help loving this peice.

I live with that 'Joe Middle-Class Republican' that it's about. Pretty much, except that we aren't even middle class.

You're a brave lady for publishing this, snp. MM isn't exactly the flavor of the month, but the truth remains the truth whether his detractors like it or not.
Good for you.

 

[sweetnpetite]

You're a brave lady for publishing this, snp. MM isn't exactly the flavor of the month, but the truth remains the truth whether his detractors like it or not.
Good for you.

My boyfriend *hates* Michael Moore.

IF he sees this thread title, and that's its by me, I know he'll just *have* to open it. (It's from MM's site, but not by him.) I just wanted to use a controversial thread name! (bad me )

 

[magichandslee]

interesting

Hello.

I read that several times. I wished to understand the point of view.

Finally it hit me.

Exactly the same things I provide for my dog.

As a result, my Dog does everything I say.

Without fail.

This gives me total control.

Lee

 

[Jagged]

Funny I always though both conservatives and liberals were responsible for the government and how the country is run. Both contribute to make the best final result.

Micheal Moore? What moron....but in this country people are allowed to have Opinions and believe them to be facts.

 

[Lucifer_Carroll]

Funny I always though both conservatives and liberals were responsible for the government and how the country is run. Both contribute to make the best final result.

Micheal Moore? What moron....but in this country people are allowed to have Opinions and believe them to be facts.

Personally I think you have WAY too much faith in our "elected" officials. Politicians mostly work on fucking people and not letting the public catch on to exactly what stupid shit they're trying to push through congress and what sane stuff they're trying to destroy. Just look at voting record on limits on either terms, soft money contributions, or election ad parity. Plus any bill backed by a hydra of multinational corporations.

But I agree that Moore is a bad representative for the liberals. He isn't witty enough to undeline the way the right top satire in their actions, and he isn't critical enough to be taken as anything more than a puppet for the dems who nowadays are nothing more than moderate conservatives (however little the right realizes this). Personally I favor Ted Rall or Tom Tommorrow as my spokesman. Maybe Tim Kreider as well. These people have the wit, intelligence, and honesty neccesary to really hit home and show why the parties are fucked up.




Sidenote, excuse my nihilism, I'm on a downswing this week.

 

[Virtual_Burlesque]

Grand Old Attacks on Michael Moore
By John Nichols, The Nation.


It's not that often that a film achieves the level of awareness that leads a politician to attack its maker in a primetime convention speech.

NEW YORK – When U.S. Senator John McCain took a shot at film maker Michael Moore in his speech to the Republican National Convention Monday night, he had no reason to know that the man who made the controversial documentary "Fahrenheit 9-11" was just a few hundred feet away from him.

But Moore was in Madison Square Garden with McCain and thousands of Republicans who, it would be fair to say, do not rank "Fahrenheit 9-11" high on their list of favorite films. That was made obvious by the response of the delegates to McCain's unprecedented targeting of Moore in his prime-time address to the convention.

In a speech that was at once a spirited defense of the war with Iraq and a reminder that he is still available for consideration as a 2008 presidential nominee, McCain earned his biggest applause when he rejected any and all criticism of the Bush administration's decision to launch a preemptive war against the Middle Eastern country.

"Our choice wasn't between a benign status quo and the bloodshed of war. It was between war and a graver threat. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Not our political opponents," the Arizona Republican said, as the crowd began to roar its approval. "And certainly not, certainly not, a disingenuous film maker who would have us believe that Saddam's Iraq was an oasis of peace, when in fact it was a place of indescribable cruelty, torture chambers, mass graves and prisons that destroyed the lives of the small children inside their walls."

Moore, who was seated in the press gallery of Madison Square Garden, pumped his fists in the air and tipped his hat to the McCain and the hooting delegates. As the crowd chanted "Four More Years," Moore used his hand to form an "L" sign to suggest that President Bush would lose in November.

Moore also held up two fingers, recalling a constant theme of the filmmaker this week: That George W. Bush and Dick Cheney have only two more months to go before they are voted out of office.

Everyone in the hall, including McCain and Moore, realized that a rare moment in American politics was playing out. It's not often, outside the context of a debate, that such charges and countercharges fly in close proximity. Nor is it all that often that a film achieves the level of public awareness that leads a prominent politician to attack its maker in a primetime convention speech. And it is certainly not common for the filmmaker to be in a position to respond in real time.

But Moore was there, and he did respond.

The Academy Award-winning documentary maker pointed out that "Fahrenheit 9-11" did not argue that Iraq was an oasis of peace. Instead, Moore noted, his film suggested that the Bush administration stretched the truth when it argued that regime change had to be forced upon Iraq in order to avert the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction that have yet to be found.

Still, Moore was not complaining too loudly.

"To bring up the film in the speech tonight, it's not good for the Republican Party," he explained. "It's just going to make more people say: 'I'd better go see this movie.' And when people see it, they don't feel much like voting Republican."

Moore's documentary, which challenges the Bush administration's pre-war claims about those weapons of mass destruction and about supposed links between Iraq and the al-Queda network terrorists who attacked the country on Sept. 11, 2001, was a hit. But Moore knows there are still plenty of Americans who haven't seen it.

While what he got from McCain was not exactly a plug, the film maker predicted many of those who had not bought a ticket might do so now. And that, he said, could turn McCain's jab into a problem for President Bush's reelection prospects in a closely contested November vote.

"A Republican pollster told me that, when they do surveys, 80 percent of the people going into the theaters are Kerry voters. But 100 percent of the people coming out are Kerry voters – or at least they are open to voting for Kerry," Moore said. "The pollster told me that they couldn't find anyone who sees the film and then says they are definitely voting for Bush."

So what was the man who made a film designed to undo a Republican president doing at the Republican National Convention?

Moore's attended the convention on an assignment from USA Today, which has asked him to write a column about the gathering that will renominate two of favorite targets, President Bush and Vice President Cheney. While he had all the press credentials that were required for entry into the hall, Moore was held up for the better part of an hour by Madison Square Garden security and New York City police officers.

Moore was finally allowed to enter and took his place to the right of the podium at a table with other writers for USA Today. Photographers actually turned their cameras from the podium to snap shots of Moore and legions of reporters crowded around him. But by the time McCain's primetime speech came, Moore was listening intently and taking notes.

That did not mean, however, that he was an impartial reporter.

His observations about the convention were every bit as barbed as the themes he hit in "Fahrenheit 9-11." Noting that most of the primetime speakers at the convention were "gay rights advocates and abortion rights advocates" who are at odds with the party's platform and the positions taken by the Bush administration, such as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who spoke last night, and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who will speak tonight. "There's no way the Republicans can win if they are really themselves," argued Moore.

A number of Republicans were beside themselves when they saw Moore had crashed their party.

"I got no use for the man at all – he's the scum of the earth," said Jimmy Gilbert, an alternate delegate from Lenoir, North Carolina, who followed Moore through the hallways of Madison Square Garden with a "Vive Bush" sign.

Diane Francis, a Texas Republican decked out in full jean shirt and cowboy hat regalia, grumbled about Moore's movie and said, "I hope he's got security. He could get killed in here."

But Moore insisted that he did not feel threatened. "I saw (conservative commentator) Sean Hannity on the floor at the Republican convention. He was treated well. I'm sure they'll treat me well here. You don't think the Republicans are more mean-spirited than the Democrats, do you?" asked Moore, barely concealing a grin.

Besides, he said, "This is a celebration."

Referring to the coming election, Moore said, "I'm here to celebrate the fact that the Republicans only have a couple of months left. I'm here to celebrate the end of the Republican era. They've had four years. It's been rough, but it's almost over."

John Nichols is The Nation's Washington correspondent.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

I admire Michael Moore for his bravery and his intelligence. The man shows people over and over again what is wrong with America today.
Mature people, who want to accept that not only they but their entire country as well, have serious issues that need to be dealt with, welcome his films and see them as inspiration for making changes in America's politics.
Those who prefer to stick their heads in the sand and keep on chanting "America's the greatest democracy on Earth", diss Michael Moore and all his work.

What else COULD they do, really?

 

[Wildcard Ky]

So everything good about America is simply because a lib fought for it and made it happen against the wishes of the conservatives?

Is anyone expected to take this seriously?

 

[Quiet_Cool]

I admire Michael Moore for his bravery and his intelligence. The man shows people over and over again what is wrong with America today.
Mature people, who want to accept that not only they but their entire country as well, have serious issues that need to be dealt with, welcome his films and see them as inspiration for making changes in America's politics.
Those who prefer to stick their heads in the sand and keep on chanting "America's the greatest democracy on Earth", diss Michael Moore and all his work.

What else COULD they do, really?

America is the greatest democracy on Earth, but that doesn't mean that we're perfect, or anywhere near it, in fact, we're flawed as hell, but no one likes the guy who points out your faults, and more importantly, no one likes the guy who utilizes those American rights to speak his mind while wearing a hat (almost religiously, from what I've seen) that announces his pride in being from another country. Canada is a fine country, and I respect the nation and its citizens wholly, but if I felt poorly about Russia and loved the US, I'd jsut live here and keep my fuckin' mouth shut. That's what Moore should do.
What's wrong with our country (the U.S.)? A lot of things, but constantly attacking those in power doesn't solve anything. How about supporting someone you feel is more capable, instead of attacking someone you feel isn't.
Moore is intelligent, and good at making a point and getting people to rally behind him. He's using those skills to gain money, not for the greater good. He's an ass.
He's welcome to state things as he pleases, and so is everyone else in the US, because we have those rights here, perfect country or not. But an ass with rights is still an ass.

 

[sweetnpetite]

So everything good about America is simply because a lib fought for it and made it happen against the wishes of the conservatives?

Is anyone expected to take this seriously?

No, the point is that liberals do a lot of good for this country to and are not evil like the die hard conservatives and political 'pundants' would have you believe.

Also that average american's who are Conservatives don't seem to notice how they personally benefit from many of these programs, and that they haven't entirely made it on there own as much as they may think they have.

I know a lot of people who only seem to be agains the programs that they* don't qualify for.

THe problem is how the conservatives are currently trying t paint liberals and liberalism as one with everything evil- big government, higher taxes, terrorism, moral decay, and the enemy of liberty and democracy.

The article never said that everything good in America is something a liberal fought for- just that liberals have fought for a lot of what is good in America. Liberalism is not evil or the enemy of Democracy. It is at least as important as conservatism.

 

[sweetnpetite]

You're a brave lady for publishing this, snp. MM isn't exactly the flavor of the month, but the truth remains the truth whether his detractors like it or not.
Good for you.

Did anybody even notice that MM didn't even write that? It was just posted on his web site.

I wonder if I would have posted it without mention of him, if the reaction would have been any different?

 

[sweetnpetite]

Re: interesting

Hello.

I read that several times. I wished to understand the point of view.

Finally it hit me.

Exactly the same things I provide for my dog.

As a result, my Dog does everything I say.

Without fail.

This gives me total control.

Lee

Really? Cuz we did all that for our dog and she didn't listen at all. In fact, she ran out everytime we opened the door. She rolled around in dead fish on the beach. And she got herself knocked up on several occasions before we had her fixed.

You provide clean water for your dog and pure medications- but who provides them for you? ANd do you do everyting they say?

I'm guessing that you are a libertarian, am i right?

 

[Virtual_Burlesque]

... What's wrong with our country (the U.S.)? A lot of things, but constantly attacking those in power doesn't solve anything. ...

When they are lying to us, wasting our blood and treasure, sullying our name abroad, and tearing up our constitutional rights at home, that is EXACTLY what we should be doing.

In fact, it is our duty as good citizens to oppose them!

 

[BlackShanglan]

Moore and Limbaugh are pretty much the same in my book - people who like to substitute pathos for logos and who love nothing better than to string up some lame straw man argument and beat the crap out of it as if it made them clever. Neither annoys me more than on the rare occasions on which I agree with either. I hate seeing my own thoughts reduced to crappy, simplistic, bellowing inanities.

I would love to see them locked in a small box with each other, but then there is the horrifying possibility that they might eventually attempt to breed.

Shanglan

 

[Quiet_Cool]

When they are lying to us, wasting our blood and treasure, sullying our name abroad, and tearing up our constitutional rights at home, that is EXACTLY what we should be doing.

In fact, it is our duty as good citizens to oppose them!

Oh? And you believe that those things aren't done by every politician in American history, or any other country's history for that matter? You really, truly believe that this Presidential Administration (and those others Moore has made a target out of) are the only people who've ever lied to you or hindered your constitutional rights?
George Washington, while president, had several Veterans "removed" (by unretired military) when they protested that they weren't rightly compensated for thier war efforts. Isn't that a hinderance (tearing up...) of constitutional rights? He was only one of the most celebrated Presidents in history.
Every politician, in office or out, will do the same thing in concerns to what you've mentioned, and while we should disagree with them, verbally attacking them doesn't solve things at all, just makes you look like the ass Michael Moore looks like (and is).
My point isn't that the Bush Administration is perfect (they have done some good things and some bad things; none can deny that), but that every administration is imperfect, and under times of what you might call "dire stress," mistakes are going to happen, especially when choices have to be made on the spot, like during 9-11. Just bear in mind that, while we can see Bush's mistakes, and Moore can criticize them, it makes no difference if you oppose them if you or those others who oppose them, have no better solutions.

 

[Wolf Bennington]

For me (not that any of you asked), the bottom line is this:

Michael Moore is entitled to his opinion. He is FREE to state his opinion unsolicited because his First Amendment Right to Free Speach has been defended by those in uniform.

Let's not forget that those people in uniform have the SAME righ to Free Speach and if they choose to exercise it to criticize Micheal Moore, then no one should give them grief for that. We are ALL entitled to our opinion - and thanks to the actions of those brave enough to stand up and fight for it we ALL get to voice it.

Michael Moore may say what is on his mind pretty well. But without me and my rifle to protect his right to say it, I'd be around a lot longer and still speaking my mind. He may not agree with my politics, but he OWES a debt of gratitude to every man and woman who has worn a United States Military Service uniform.

It urks me that he treats soldiers like shit too....

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

Every politician, in office or out, will do the same thing in concerns to what you've mentioned,

We cannot assert what "every" politicians will or won't do in regards to the things mentioned. That's a hasty and irresponsible generalization.

 

[minsue]

Did anybody even notice that MM didn't even write that? It was just posted on his web site.

I wonder if I would have posted it without mention of him, if the reaction would have been any different?

I did notice, SnP, and was wondering the same thing.

Just to feed the flames and because I'm curious to see reaction, I'll post my favorite quote on the subject of Farenheit 9/11:

If it wasn't a good movie nobody would have gone to see it. - US Sen John McCain (R)