Author Archives: Lisa

State Of Illinois Challenges Shrub Environmental Policy

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State to Challenge Bush Pollution Rules
By the Associated Press.
Here’s the whole article. It’s a little one.

State to Challenge Bush Pollution Rules
Sep 22, 2003 1:38 pm US/Central
SPRINGFIELD (AP) Illinois officials are planning a legal challenge to President Bush’s change in anti-pollution rules.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the state attorney general said today they will file a petition to block the rule change.
State EPA Director Renee Cipriano says the new rules would threaten air quality.
A spokeswoman for Attorney General Lisa Madigan calls the rules “an all-out assault on public health.”
The Bush administration last month announced it was making it easier for power plants and factories to make large upgrades without having to install anti-pollution technology.
The new rules would allow improvements worth up to 20-percent of a plant’s total value before pollution-fighting devices are required.

Michael Moore On The Lying Liars Who Tell Lies About Him

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How to Deal with the Lies and the Lying Liars When They Lie about “Bowling for Columbine”

One thing you get used to when you’re in what’s called “the public eye” is reading the humorous fiction that others like to write about you. For instance, I have read in quite respectable and trustworthy publications that a) I’m a college graduate (I’m not), b) I was a factory worker (I quit the first day), and c) I have two brothers (I have none). Newsweek wrote that I live in a penthouse on Central Park West (I live above a Baby Gap store, and not on any park), and the Internet Movie Database once listed me as the director of the Elvis movie, “Blue Hawaii” ( I was 6 at the time the film was made, but I was quite skilled in directing my sisters in building me a snowman). Lately, my favorite mistake is the one many reviewers made crediting the cartoon in “Bowling for Columbine” as being the work of the “South Park” creators. It isn’t. I wrote it and my buddy Harold Moss’s animation studio drew it.
I’ve enjoyed reading these inventions/mistakes about this “Michael Moore.” I mean, who wouldn’t want to fantasize about living in penthouses roughhousing with brothers you never had. But lately I’ve begun to see so many things about me or my work that aren’t true. It’s become so easy to spread these fictions through the internet (thanks mostly to lazy reporters or web junkies who do all their research by typing in “key words” and then just repeat the same mistakes). And so I wonder that if I don’t correct the record, then all of the people who don’t know better may just end up being filled with a bunch of stuff that isn’t true.
Of course, it would take a lot of my time to contact all these sites and media outlets to correct their errors and I think it’s more important I spend my time on my next book or movie so I just let it ride. But is that fair to you, the reader, who has now been told something that isn’t true?
With the unexpected and overwhelming success of “Bowling for Columbine” and “Stupid White Men,” the fiction that has been written or spoken about me and my work has reached a whole new level of storytelling. It’s no longer about making some simple errors or calling me “Roger” Moore. It is now about organized groups going full blast trying to discredit me by knowingly making up lies and repeating them over and over in the hopes that people will believe them

Exit Polls Anyone? Let’s Try To Collect Some Numbers On Our Own This Tuesday

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I’ve always been against the Recall — I’m shocked and dismayed that we’re wasting so much of our valuable time and resources when we have so little of either. It’s really important for you to get out and vote this Tuesday!
I’ve been toying with the idea of trying to organize some kind of exit polls the night of the election. I know a lot of us have to work that day (those of us lucky enough to have jobs), but what if we all spent even just that last hour between 7 and 8 pm asking people how they voted on the way out of the polling place? I’d be happy to coordinate the results by hand if necessary.
Would anyone be willing to work on this with me? Email me at lisarein@finetuning.com if you would.
Thanks!

Arianna Pulls Out Of The Race And Asks Us To Vote “No” On The Recall To Stop Arnold Petewilsonegger

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This came in yesterday from MoveOn.org:

***In front of a national audience last night, Arianna Huffington outlined the dramatically simple reality facing Californians: if you don’t vote against the recall, Arnold Schwarzenegger will become governor. Today we’re passing along a letter from her explaining why she dropped out of the race and is working to defeat the recall. Please get the word out that a vote for the recall is a vote for Arnold Schwarzenegger: FORWARD THIS EMAIL to friends, coworkers and family.
Dear Friend,
Last night I withdrew my candidacy from the recall race and today I am writing to sound an alarm about what is at stake in this election. I am devoting all my time and energy in these remaining six days to defeating the recall — and to defeating the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Pete Wilson forces that are trying to use the recall to hijack our state. Please help me do that by forwarding this message.
I have signed MoveOn’s “Recall No, Democracy Yes” pledge and I urge you to do the same. More than 260,000 people have pledged to do something — such as forwarding this email! — in these last days to defeat the recall and stop Arnold Schwarzenegger. Click here to sign the pledge:
http://moveon.org/pac/recall/
From the beginning of my campaign I have said that I opposed the recall on principle. It was backed by a bunch of Republican sore losers looking for a backdoor way to overturn an election they lost. Nevertheless, once the recall was set, I felt that the opportunity it offered to elect a truly independent and progressive governor was too important to let pass. And so I entered the race.

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MoveOn On The “Intimigate” Scandal

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This just in from MoveOn:

Dear MoveOn member,
According to the Washington Post, “two top White House officials” committed a high crime in the first weeks of July. They handed over the identity of an American secret agent to journalists. They blew her cover, risking the lives of colleagues and contacts and possibly erasing years of intelligence work. Why? “Purely and simply for revenge,” an administration official told the Post. The spy’s husband was a vocal critic of the Iraq war. (Sources below.)
The White House and the Justice Department have known about this crime for months — after all, the agent’s identity was published in scores of newspapers in early July. But until a few days ago, they did nothing about it. And even now, President Bush has said he has no plans to ask his staff whether they were connected to it.
Republicans contend that an investigation by the Justice Department will reveal any wrongdoing. But Justice Department chief John Ashcroft — who was appointed by President Bush and who employed key Bush advisor Karl Rove — is hardly neutral. Already, there are signs that the investigation will give the White House room to cover the crime up.
The simple fact is that the truth will only come out under pressure. If we don’t speak up now, the investigation could be left in John Ashcroft’s hands, and the perpetrators and the crime could be swept under the rug. Please tell John Ashcroft and Congress that you want a special prosecutor — someone who isn’t tied to the Bush Administration — to investigate this illegal and vindictive act.
Join us now at:

MoveOn.org – Intimigate

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Come See Ron and I (Park and Ride) Play An Acoustic Set On December 16th At Noe Valley Ministry

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I just found out that I’ll be playing at Noe Valley Ministry on December 13, 2003 — Saturday night!

Map to Noe Valley Ministry
Since we get to take over the whole church for the show – upstairs and downstairs – I’m going to take the opportunity to throw a little party while I’m at it.
So we’ll be performing three or four little sets over the course of the evening to showcase our stuff in-between the food and get togethering. That way, if you have other plans, you can still come by for a few songs and a drink or two whenever it’s convenient for you.
The festivities will be going on from 6:30-9:30 pm. Donations will be appreciated, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Check out our first video for a taste of our acoustic set.
Hope to see you there!

Daily Show On Karl Rove-Based Leak Outing Joseph Wilson’s Wife As A CIA Agent

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This is from the October 1, 2003 program.
The Daily Show was on the ball, right on schedule, again last night, so figured it was the least I could do to say up late again to bring this to you in a timely fashion.

Daily Show On Karl Rove Outing A CIA Agent (Small – 7 MB)











The Daily Show (The best news on television.)

Howard Dean On The Jay Leno Show!

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This is from the September 30, 2003 program.
This was a classic appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Looks like we’ve got Hollywood on our side!
Jay put together some hilarious clips (3 MB) of Dean as a street musician and Dean as Pete Townsend that are quite historical. One of them features Rob Reiner as a passer by.
Jay sure did his homework for this interview. We get to learn about how Howard decided to become a Doctor and how he managed to balance being a Doctor with his duties as Lt. Governor before the Governor died and he became the “big guy.” We also learn about his favorite $125 JC Penny suit that he still owns to this day.

Howard Dean On Jay Leno – Part 1 of 2 (Small – 11 MB)

Howard Dean On Jay Leno – Part 2 of 2 (Small – 12 MB)

Howard Dean On Jay Leno – Complete (Small – 23 MB)
Howard Dean On Jay Leno – Funny Clip (Small – 3 MB)









Shit Hits The Fan Over White House Leak “Outing” Joseph Wilson’s Wife As A CIA Agent

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“Leak” isn’t really the right word for it. “Firehose” might be more appropriate. Evidence suggests that the White House basically cold called at least six different reporters to get the word out about the identity of Joseph Wilson’s wife as a CIA agent. Doing so constitutes a Federal Offense.
In case the name doesn’t ring a bell, Ambassador Joseph Wilson was the man the CIA sent to Nigeria, at Dick Cheney’s request, to investigate allegations that Iraq had tried to purchase “yellowcake” uranium in an attempt to make a nuclear bomb. Wilson came back from Nigeria and said he found no evidence of such things. Allegedly, in retaliation, the White House decided to out his wife. (That ought to teach him not to tell the truth.)
Dick Cheney, you might remember, states that he doesn’t even know who Joseph Wilson is. Once again, we are left with a conundrum, much like the situation with Condoleeza Rice’s not knowing about the Nigerian uranium evidence being innaccurate. Either Cheney does know who Wilson is, and is simply lying about it, or he actually doesn’t know who Wilson is, and is simply an idiot. Either way, it sucks that such a person is our Vice President.
Here’s a clip from the CBS evening news explaining the details of the situation that provides a nice primer before viewing the clip of Tim Russert questioning Condoleeza Rice on the subject on Sunday’s Meet The Press.
Here’s a link to the usual, largely incomplete transcript.
More articles on this to follow. All the clips in this entry are from September 28, 2003.
CBS Evening News On The White House Leaking Classified Info (Small – 6 MB)
Condoleeza Rice On Meet The Press Denying She Knew Anything About It (Small – 7 MB)

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