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Michael Moore....a great Assyrian
Posted by parhad (Guest) - Thursday, October 21 2004, 21:08:57 (CEST)
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October 20th, 2004 7:28 pm
Christian Leader Faults Bush on Iraq Deaths

By Suzanne Goldenberg / The Guardian

George Bush suffered an embarrassing rebellion from the ranks yesterday when the founder of the conservative Christian Coalition said the White House had dismissed the very idea of US casualties in Iraq during the run-up to the war.

In an interview with CNN, the movement's founder, Pat Robertson, described a conversation with Mr Bush shortly before the war in which Mr Robertson voiced his fears for American troops, and suggested it was time to prepare the country for loss.

"I warned him about this war. I had deep misgivings about this war, deep misgivings. And I was trying to say, 'Mr President, you had better prepare the American people for casualties,'" Mr Robertson said. He said Mr Bush had replied: "Oh, no, we're not going to have any casualties."

The rare criticism from Mr Robertson, who otherwise remains an ardent supporter of the White House, was not the only act of betrayal by those claiming proximity to Mr Bush.

Six of the president's kin have created a website called bushrelativesforkerry.com dedicated to the defeat of their famous relative. "Because blood is thinner than oil," the front page says. "Please don't vote for our cousin."

The six are all descendants of Mary Bush House, the sister of Prescott Bush, the founder of the political dynasty and George W's grandfather. None has had any contact with the president, although a few knew his father, the first president Bush.

They accuse their cousin of gross arrogance, a misplaced sense of entitlement, and failing to live up to Christian values.

"As much as I'd like to vote for a relative running for president, I just can't," writes Hilary House.

But the family feud, though annoying for Mr Bush, is unlikely to have anything near the impact of the criticism from a figure with Mr Robert son's influence on the Christian right.

He has voiced doubts about the war in the past, but his decision to speak out uncompromisingly now - less than a fortnight before polling day - may deliver a serious setback to a Republican election strategy that hinges on turning out the 4 million evangelical Christians who stayed at home in 2000.

The televangelist also told CNN yesterday that he wished the president would admit to making mistakes, and suggested that his frustrations had been growing.

"The Lord told me it was going to be A, a disaster, and B, messy," Mr Robertson said. "I warned him about casualties."


October 19th, 2004 7:56 pm
Feeling the Draft

By Paul Krugman / New York Times

Those who are worrying about a revived draft are in the same position as those who worried about a return to budget deficits four years ago, when President Bush began pushing through his program of tax cuts. Back then he insisted that he wouldn't drive the budget into deficit - but those who looked at the facts strongly suspected otherwise. Now he insists that he won't revive the draft. But the facts suggest that he will.

There were two reasons some of us never believed Mr. Bush's budget promises. First, his claims that his tax cuts were affordable rested on patently unrealistic budget projections. Second, his broader policy goals, including the partial privatization of Social Security - which is clearly on his agenda for a second term - would involve large costs that were not included even in those unrealistic projections. This led to the justified suspicion that his election-year promises notwithstanding, Mr. Bush would preside over a return to budget deficits.

It's exactly the same when it comes to the draft. Mr. Bush's claim that we don't need any expansion in our military is patently unrealistic; it ignores the severe stress our Army is already under. And the experience in Iraq shows that pursuing his broader foreign policy doctrine - the "Bush doctrine" of pre-emptive war - would require much larger military forces than we now have.

This leads to the justified suspicion that after the election, Mr. Bush will seek a large expansion in our military, quite possibly through a return of the draft.

Mr. Bush's assurances that this won't happen are based on a denial of reality. Last week, the Republican National Committee sent an angry, threatening letter to Rock the Vote, an organization that has been using the draft issue to mobilize young voters. "This urban myth regarding a draft has been thoroughly debunked," the letter declared, and quoted Mr. Bush: "We don't need the draft. Look, the all-volunteer Army is working."

In fact, the all-volunteer Army is under severe stress. A study commissioned by Donald Rumsfeld arrived at the same conclusion as every independent study: the U.S. has "inadequate total numbers" of troops to sustain operations at the current pace. In Iraq, the lack of sufficient soldiers to protect supply convoys, let alone pacify the country, is the root cause of incidents like the case of the reservists who refused to go on what they described as a "suicide mission."

Commanders in Iraq have asked for more troops (ignore the administration's denials) - but there are no more troops to send. The manpower shortage is so severe that training units like the famous Black Horse Regiment, which specializes in teaching other units the ways of battle, are being sent into combat. As the military expert Phillip Carter says, "This is like eating your seed corn."

Anyway, do we even have an all-volunteer Army at this point? Thousands of reservists and National Guard members are no longer serving voluntarily: they have been kept in the military past their agreed terms of enlistment by "stop loss" orders.

The administration's strategy of denial in the face of these realities was illustrated by a revealing moment during the second presidential debate. After Senator John Kerry described the stop-loss policy as a "backdoor draft," Charles Gibson, the moderator, tried to get a follow-up response from President Bush: "And with reservists being held on duty --"

At that point Mr. Bush cut Mr. Gibson off and changed the subject from the plight of the reservists to the honor of our Polish allies, ending what he obviously viewed as a dangerous line of questioning.

And during the third debate, Mr. Bush tried to minimize the issue, saying that the reservists being sent to Iraq "didn't view their service as a backdoor draft. They viewed their service as an opportunity to serve their country." In that case, why are they being forced, rather than asked, to continue that service?

The reality is that the Iraq war, which was intended to demonstrate the feasibility of the Bush doctrine, has pushed the U.S. military beyond its limits. Yet there is no sign that Mr. Bush has been chastened. By all accounts, in a second term the architects of that doctrine, like Paul Wolfowitz, would be promoted, not replaced. The only way this makes sense is if Mr. Bush is prepared to seek a much larger Army - and that means reviving the draft.


October 18th, 2004 6:55 pm
Fahrenheit for Free


The manager of Four Star Video, Michael Moore, and
the owner of Bongo Video (with family) promote "Fahrenheit For Free"
in Madison, Wisconsin.

Related Article:
Moore Launches 'Fahrenheit for Free' Campaign In Madison

For Immediate Release

October 18, 2004

MICHAEL MOORE ANNOUNCES "FAHRENHEIT FOR FREE" OCTOBER 26

VIDEO STORES ACROSS THE NATION TO RENT CUSTOMERS "FAHRENHEIT 9/11" FREE OF CHARGE

While on his 60 city "Slacker Uprising Tour," Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore is joining forces with video store operators in an effort to get as many Americans as possible to see the film before the election. Video stores across the country will be waiving the usual rental fee for "Fahrenheit 9/11," beginning on October 26. A recent Harris poll showed that 44 percent of Republicans who have seen the film gave it a positive rating. "It isn't possible to view this film and come out saying you are voting George W. Bush," stated Moore.

Moore is currently on a 60-city tour to the 20 battleground states to rally non-voters and slackers, America's majority, to give voting a try, just this once. He's offering clean underwear and Ramen noodles to slackers, which has Republicans in his home state of Michigan calling for his arrest.

Moore is appearing on college campuses, arenas, stadiums and field houses. Nearly all venues hold between 5,000 and 15,000 people, with students -- historically the largest block of non-voters in presidential elections -- admitted for free at most events.

Participating video stores include:
Bongo Video -- Madison, Wisconsin
Four Star Video -- Madison, Wisconsin

If you are a video store owner interested in getting involved, please e-mail us at F911ForFree@michaelmoore.com.



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