Friends,
Last night my wife asked me if I thought I was a little too hard on Obama in my letter yesterday congratulating him on his Nobel Prize. "No, I don't think so," I replied. I thought it was important to remind him he's now conducting the two wars he's inherited. "Yeah," she said, "but to tell him, 'Now earn it!'? Give the guy a break -- this is a great day for him and for all of us."
I went back and re-read what I had written. And I listened for far too long yesterday to the right wing hate machine who did what they could to crap all over Barack's big day. Did I -- and others on the left -- do the same?
We are weary, weary of war. The trillions that will have gone to these two wars have helped to bankrupt us as a nation -- financially and morally. To think of all the good we could have done with all that money! Two months of the War in Iraq would pay for all the wells that need to be dug in the Third World for drinking water! Obama is moving too slow for most of us -- but he needs to know we are with him and we stand beside him as he attempts to turn eight years of sheer madness around. Who could do that in nine months? Superman? Thor? Mitch McConnell?
Instead of waiting to see what the president is going to do, we all need to be pro-active and push the agenda that we want to see enacted. What keeps us from forming the same local groups we put together to get out the vote last November? C'mon! We're the majority now -- the majority by a significant margin! We call the shots -- and we need to tell this wimpy Congress to get busy and do what we say -- or else.
All I ask of those who voted for Obama is to not pile on him too quickly. Yes, make your voice heard (his phone number is 202-456-1414). But don't abandon the best hope we've had in our lifetime for change. And for God's sake, don't head to bummerville if he says or does something we don't like. Do you ever see Republicans behave that way? I mean, the Right had 20 years of Republican presidents and they still couldn't get prayer in the public schools, or outlaw abortion, or initiate a flat tax or put our Social Security into the stock market. They did a lot of damage, no doubt about that, but on the key issues that the Christian Right fought for, they came up nearly empty handed. No wonder they've been driven crazy lately. They'll never have it as good again as they've had it since Reagan took office.
But -- do you ever see them looking all gloomy and defeated? No! They keep on fighting! Every day. Our side? At the first sign of wavering, we just pack up our toys and go home.
So, at least for this weekend, let us celebrate what people elsewhere are celebrating -- that America now has a sane and smart man in the White House, a man who truly wants a world at peace for his two daughters.
Many, for the past couple days (yes, myself included), have grumbled, "What has he done to earn this prize?" How 'bout this:
The simple fact that he was elected was reason enough for him to be the recipient of this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
Because on that day the murderous actions of the Bush/Cheney years were totally and thoroughly rebuked. One man -- a man who opposed the War in Iraq from the beginning -- offered to end the insanity. The world has stood by in utter horror for the past eight years as they watched the descendants of Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson light the fuse of our own self-destruction. We flipped off the nations on this planet by abandoning Kyoto and then proceeded to melt eight more years worth of the polar ice caps. We invaded two nations that didn't attack us, failed to find the real terrorists and, in effect, ignited our own wave of terror. People all over the world wondered if we had gone mad.
And if all that wasn't enough, the outgoing Joker presided over the worst global financial collapse since the Great Depression.
So, yeah, at precisely 11:00pm ET on November 4, 2008, Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. And the 66 million people who voted for him won it, too. By the time he took the stage at midnight ET in the Grant Park Historic Hippie Battlefield in downtown Chicago, billions of people around the globe were already breathing a huge sigh of relief. It was as if, in that instant, one man did bring the promise of peace to the world -- and most were ready to go wherever he wanted to go to achieve that end. Never before had the election of one man made every other nation feel like they had won, too. When you've got billions of people ready, willing and able to join a cause like this, well, a prize in Oslo is the least that you deserve.
One other thought. The Peace Prize historically has been given to those who have worked to throw off the yoke of racial discrimination and segregation (Martin Luther King, Jr., Desmond Tutu). I think the Nobel committee, in awarding Obama the prize, was also rewarding the fact that something profound had happened in a nation that was founded on racial genocide, built on racist slavery, and held back for a hundred-plus years by vestiges of hateful bigotry (which can still be found on display at teabagger rallies and daily talk radio).
The fact that this one man could cause this seismic historical event to occur -- and to do so with such grace and humility, never succumbing to the bait, but still not backing down (yes, he asked to be sworn in as "Barack Hussein Obama"!) -- is more than reason enough he should be in Oslo to meet the King on December 10. Maybe he could take us along with him. 'Cause I also suspect the Nobel committee was tipping its hat to all of us -- we, the American people, had conquered some of our racism and did the truly unexpected. After seeing searing images of our black fellow citizens left to drown in New Orleans -- and poor whites seeing their own treated no better than the black man they had been raised to hate -- we had all seen enough. It was time for change.
Thank you, Barack Obama, for giving us the opportunity to redeem ourselves. Now for the tasks ahead. We need you to do all that you promised to do. We need it. The world needs it.
My prediction for the future? You become the first *two-time* winner of the Nobel Peace Prize! Yeah!
Fred (that's Norwegian for "Peace"),
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com
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Some of the Big Banks and other players in the foreclosure fiasco, an attack on main street americans, as Michael Moore so perfectly portrays in his new movie--and we thank you Michael Moore---the big banks are involved with forgeries and falsification of the recorded deeds, substituion of trustees etc.
This guide comes replete with examples of the forgeries; from Florida to California county recordings!!
These forgeries are criminal to say the least and have contributed mightily to illegal foreclosures on main street americans. This just proves to what extent the Big Banks will go to, in order to make a profit and try to place blame on the homeowner borrowers. They lie!
Also included in the guide are some LinkedIn profiles of some individuals involved with forging or whose names are being used in the forgeries.
This is a must have guide for anyone fighting off a foreclosure or those who are still in their homes post foreclosure who have filed a mortgage fraud and TILA lawsuit against the lenders and banks.
[scribd id=20916919 key=key-1y91exoa7y3ihq077cy7]
I wonder how it must feel to be the president who wakes up in the morning to the sounds of harsh criticism from the Left as well as the Right (and everyone in between) on a daily basis? Including questioning your big Nobel win--or trying to secure an Olympic bid. Bummer.
http://www.archive.org/details/upenn-f16-0286_1965_35_Afghanistan
There is plenty of footage out there of present-day Afghanistan for comparison/contrast. I like the 1965 Afghanistan much better!
I have gone through a lot of major operations in my life and remember when no one would even carry me for insurance and how frightening that was and now can only afford the most basic of coverage because I work for myself. I am still paying off the last of the broken neck MRIs and CT scans that my coverage wouldn't pay -- so I know how fast all your savings can go away. I have a 21-year-old car and all the thousands of dollars I had ready to buy a new one went when I broke my neck (splitting wood of all things). Having someone keep plugging for healthcare against all the odds is huge to me.
You just showed what a thinking man looks like -- someone who can change his mind when he mulls over things and realizes that in his zest for change he might have been a bit harsh. A lot more people should do this, that is what fairness is all about -- you are a good man Michael. Keep on making wonderful movies too!
Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu, Barack Obama...c'mon!!!
Again where are his accomplishments vis-a-vis King and Tutu? Not even in the same league! Someday maybe...but not yet.
The simple fact that he was elected was reason enough for him to be the recipient of this year's Nobel Peace Prize." -Michael Moore
REALLY?...history is replete with politicians (conservative, liberal, independent) that over-promise and under-deliver.
From Nobel's will; his criteria were/still should be..."my estate shall...shall constitute a fund...annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, DURING THE PRECEDING YEAR, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind....[other 4 prize criteria] and one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.
SO...if Obama achieved this during the preceding year (i.e. 2008), then he'd be receiving this award even if he weren't in office? Doubtful.
This is "HOPEful" award based on the promises of a politician. The committee is 5 people appointed by the Norwegian Parliament (politicians). They should stick to Nobel's wishes and not cheapen what this award symbolizes.
Time will tell if Obama can deliver and merit this level of respect / accolades...for the sake of the world, I hope he can!
"My prediction for the future? You become the first *two-time* winner of the Nobel Peace Prize! Yeah!"
- Michael Moore
Hmmm...if all it takes is getting (re)elected, then Mr. Moore may be right.
Besides this, of course, are many other good pathway to peace ideas (like diplomacy) that the Nobel people mention and wanted to encourage.
If we join the zeitgeist of the age and refuse to see any good or progress but rather jump on the easier and more sensational bandwagon on constant criticism than we join with the warmongers, neocons, those who okayed torture, racist, etc. -- and that is something that should give us pause.
It's true that seeing more results would be nice and I can understand a bit of disappointment, since two major wars continue to go on, the torture prisons and secret prisons remain active, no justice has been rendered and many other things and I've felt that way myself -- but I realized and decided: No Way was I going to hinder this man and seek to drag him down. What's the point? He's president till 2012.
Far better to encourage what positive actions we can and open our eyes to the good that has been done.
Actually, Moore's post shows he's NOT an idealistic "true believer". His post shows he understands that change is a slow process and it's a monumental task to get anything done in Washington, and we need to be patient and HAVE Obama's back, not be ON Obama's back.
He's got enough lying, thieving, incompetent Repubs on his back already.
The slogan is Yes WE Can - not - Yes HE Can.
YOU are not helping.
Like that's an insult.
As Bill Maher would say, he's not your boyfriend, he's the President.
If you read what the Nobel Committee said today, it is very clear why the President of the United States won the Nobel Peace Prize.
I couldn't be happier for President Obama -- nor more proud of US!
YES WE WILL!