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this is somewhat interesting



At 02:55 AM 11/6/2000 -0500, you wrote:
>Dear List Administrator:
>
>Please forward the following open letter from Michael Moore (creator of
>the film "Roger&Me") to the members of your opt-in email list(s).
>
>Thank You!
>
>
>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>November 2, 2000
>
>
>
>Dear Governor Bush,
>
>
>It's been awhile since we've talked. I believe your last words to me
>were, "Go find real work!" You kidder, you! That very night, it was you
>who found real work for yourself by executing your 117th human being in
>Texas. How DO you do it?!
>
>Actually, the "real work" I do now, my job, is due in large part to
>your family. Few people know what you and I know... that it was your
>cousin Kevin who shot much of "Roger & Me."  At the time, I didn't know
>that your mother, Barbara Bush, and his mother were sisters. Kevin must
>have missed the train the rest of you were on! He came to Flint to
>return a favor to me for helping him on a film he was making about hate
>groups. He is the person who taught me how to make a movie. Without his
>generosity, "Roger & Me" might never had been made.
>
>I remember the day your dad was inaugurated as President. I was editing
>the film in a ratty old editing room in D.C. and decided to go down to
>watch your dad be sworn in on the Capitol steps. How weird it was to
>see my mentor/cinematographer sitting next to you up on the dais!
>Months later, when the film was released, your dad, the President,
>ordered a print of "Roger & Me" to be sent to Camp David for the family
>to watch one weekend. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall as all
>of you watched the havoc and despair your father and Mr. Reagan had
>helped wreak upon my hometown. I've always wanted to know -- at the end
>of the film, as the deputy sheriff was tossing the kids' presents and
>Christmas tree out on the curb because they were $150 behind in their
>rent -- were there any tears in the room? Did anyone feel responsible?
>Or did you just think, "nice camerawork!"
>
>And now you want to be President of the United States.
>
>I'm sorry to tell you, but that can't happen.
>
>The American people need to know a few things about you -- and they had
>better consider them right now, before a tragic mistake is made.
>
>You know what I am talking about.
>
>Your possible victory on Tuesday is a threat to our national security.
>
>That may seem a bit strong, but I don't make this charge lightly. It
>has nothing to do with your positions on the issues (all of which I
>disagree with) or your patriotism (I'm sure you love your country).
>
>It has to do with you. I believe, with all due respect, that if you sit
>in the Oval Office, this nation of ours, it's security, and in turn,
>the security of the world, has the potential to be in great jeopardy.
>
>Why?
>
>There are three reasons.
>
>
>1. It appears you cannot read and write on an adult level. I'm sad to
>say it, but you may be a functional illiterate. How can we entrust our
>nuclear secrets to you if you can't read them?
>
>
>As I have pointed out before, all the signs of either dyslexia or
>illiteracy are there -- and no one is asking you about it. First, you
>lied about your "favorite book" as a child ("A Very Hungry Caterpillar"
>you said). That book wasn't even published until a year after you
>graduated from college!
>
>Then there is the question of your college transcripts and if, in fact,
>they have been doctored. How DID you get into Yale when the prospective
>students we uncovered had higher SATs and grades? During this campaign
>you have made up answers when asked to name the books you are currently
>reading (when quizzed about the books' contents, you didn't know what
>to say). Is it any wonder you have not had a press conference in over a
>month and a half? Your handlers are scared to death of what might be
>asked or what you may say.
>
>One thing is clear to all -- you can't speak the English language in
>sentences we can comprehend.  At first, the way you mangled words and
>sentences was cute and funny. But after a while, it became worrisome.
>Now, I'm just scared. If you are Commander-in-Chief, you have to be
>able to communicate your orders. What if your subordinates don't
>understand you?  What kind of chaos could that cause with our national
>security? No wonder you want to increase the Pentagon budget. We'll
>need all the firepower we can get after you accidentally order the
>Russians to be "wiped out" (when you meant to say that the Russians are
>just "whipped" these days).
>
>Your aides have said that you don't (can't?) read the briefing papers
>they give you and that you ask them to read them for you or to you.
>Your mother was passionately committed to reading programs as First
>Lady. I assume she knew first hand the difficulty of raising a child
>with a learning disability.
>
>I say none of this to knock you personally. Forty million adult
>Americans cannot read above a 4th grade level and millions are
>dyslexic. There is no shame in this. In fact, there is help. But for
>you to have your finger on The Button when you may be disabled in this
>way is too great a risk for the country to take. You need help -- not
>the Oval Office.
>
>Hey, I'm not one to talk -- just look at this letter and all its wacky
>syntax! But I ain't runnin' for President. At the very least, the
>voters deserve an answer to this question of your illiteracy by
>Tuesday.
>
>2. Are you an alcoholic? Again, there is no finger being pointed here
>and no shame or disrespect intended. Alcoholism is a huge problem and
>it affects millions of American citizens, people we all know and love.
>Many are able to recover and live normal lives. I greatly admire anyone
>who can deal with this addiction. You have told us that you are not
>able to drink, and haven't touched a drop since you were 40.
>Congratulations.
>
>But it has just been revealed tonight on CNN that, in the past, you
>were arrested for drunk driving (and that you tried to cover it up).
>You have told us that you used to "drink too much" and that you were
>"more in love with the liquor" than you were with your own family. That
>is the definition of an alcoholic. This does not disqualify you from
>being president, but it does require that you answer some questions.
>
>Why won't you use the word "alcoholic?" That is, after all, the first
>step to recovery. What support system have you set up to make sure you
>don't fall off the wagon? Being president is perhaps the most stressful
>job in the world. What have you done to insure you can handle the
>pressure and the anxiety associated with being the Leader of the Free
>World? How do we know you will not resort to the bottle when faced with
>a serious panic? You have never had a job like this. For 20 years, from
>what I can tell, you had no job at all. When you stopped "drifting,"
>your dad set you up in the oil business with some ventures that failed
>and then he helped you get a ball team which required you to sit in a
>box seat and watch a lot of baseball games. Now you have served as
>governor of Texas, a relatively ceremonial job in that state. How will
>you deal with a massive world crisis? Do you have a sponsor you can
>call? Is there a meeting you can attend? I know this is very personal,
>but the voters have a right to know.
>
>3. Please, tell us the "felony" you committed and anything else of a
>similar nature that you have been hiding. When you were asked last year
>about your alleged cocaine use, you replied that you have committed "no
>felonies in the last 25 years." That implies that you DID commit a
>felony before that. What was the felony?
>
>The reason I am asking this is not to seek retribution for what you
>did. I am concerned that if there is some deep, dark secret you are
>afraid of, it means you are, in effect, providing ammunition for
>whoever discovers this secret, be it a foreign enemy (that Bin-Laden
>guy) or a domestic enemy (ExxonMobil). If they discover your secret
>felony, they will have something over you -- and will be in a position
>to blackmail you. That makes you a national security threat.
>
>Trust me, someone will find out what you are hiding, and when they do,
>all of us will be at risk. You have made yourself a national security
>threat and you have a duty to disclose whatever this felony was that
>you committed. To reveal it will nullify its potential use as a weapon
>against you or this country should you be elected.
>
>There are enough scary reasons why you should never be President. You
>will oversee further destruction of our environment. You will push to
>have more people executed. You will make sure your rich buddies make a
>killing off the hard work and suffering of those less fortunate than
>you. Any of these reasons is enough to stop you on Tuesday.
>
>But, no matter where any of us stand on the political spectrum, liberal
>or conservative, Democrat, Republican or Green, all of us have a right
>to know the answers to these three critical questions.
>
>
>Yours,
>
>
>Michael Moore
>
>mmflint@aol.com
>
>www.michaelmoore.com
>
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>Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>
>

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

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Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
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Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>