15 Things Americans Can Do Right Now

October 22nd, 2009 5:51 AM

“Michael Moore’s Action Plan: 15 Things Every American Can Do Right Now”

You’ve Seen the Movie — Now It’s Time to ACT!

Friends,

It’s the #1 question I’m constantly asked after people see my movie: “OK — so NOW what can I DO?!”

You want something to do? Well, you’ve come to the right place! ‘Cause I got 15 things you and I can do right now to fight back and try to fix this very broken system.

Here they are:

FIVE THINGS WE DEMAND THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS DO IMMEDIATELY:

1. Declare a moratorium on all home evictions. Not one more family should be thrown out of their home. The banks must adjust their monthly mortgage payments to be in line with what people’s homes are now truly worth — and what they can afford. Also, it must be stated by law: If you lose your job, you cannot be tossed out of your home.

2. Congress must join the civilized world and expand Medicare For All Americans. A single, nonprofit source must run a universal health care system that covers everyone. Medical bills are now the #1 cause of bankruptcies and evictions in this country. Medicare For All will end this misery. The bill to make this happen is H.R. 3200 — but this bill is worthless without the amendment from Rep. Anthony Weiner that will bring us closer to the real bill that should be passed: H.R. 676. You must call AND write your members of Congress and demand that they support this amendment, no compromises allowed.

3. Demand publicly-funded elections and a prohibition on elected officials leaving office and becoming lobbyists. Yes, those very members of Congress who solicit and receive millions of dollars from wealthy interests must vote to remove ALL money from our electoral and legislative process. Tell your members of Congress they must support campaign finance bill H.R.1826.

4. Each of the 50 states must create a state-owned public bank like they have in North Dakota. Then congress MUST reinstate all the strict pre-Reagan regulations on all commercial banks, investment firms, insurance companies — and all the other industries that have been savaged by deregulation: Airlines, the food industry, pharmaceutical companies — you name it. If a company’s primary motive to exist is to make a profit, then it needs a set of stringent rules to live by — and the first rule is “Do no harm.” The second rule: The question must always be asked — “Is this for the common good?” (Click here for some info about the state-owned Bank of North Dakota.)

5. Save this fragile planet and declare that all the energy resources above and beneath the ground are owned collectively by all of us. Just like they do it in Sarah Palin’s socialist Alaska. We only have a few decades of oil left. The public must be the owners and landlords of the natural resources and energy that exists within our borders or we will descend further into corporate anarchy. And when it comes to burning fossil fuels to transport ourselves, we must cease using the internal combustion engine and instruct our auto/transportation companies to rehire our skilled workforce and build mass transit (clean buses, light rail, subways, bullet trains, etc.) and new cars that don’t contribute to climate change. (For more on this, here’s a proposal I wrote in December.) Demand that General Motors’ de facto chairman, Barack Obama, issue a JFK man-on-the-moon-style challenge to turn our country into a nation of trains and buses and subways. For Pete’s sake, people, we were the ones who invented (or perfected) these damn things in the first place!!

FIVE THINGS WE CAN DO TO MAKE CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT LISTEN TO US:

1. Each of us must get into the daily habit of taking 5 minutes to make four brief calls: One to the President (202-456-1414), one to your Congressperson (202-224-3121) and one to each of your two Senators (202-224-3121). To find out who represents you, click here. Take just one minute on each of these calls to let them know how you expect them to vote on a particular issue. Let them know you will have no hesitation voting for a primary opponent — or even a candidate from another party — if they don’t do our bidding. Trust me, they will listen. If you have another five minutes, click here to send them each an email. And if you really want to drop an anvil on them, send them a snail mail letter!

2. Take over your local Democratic Party. Remember how much fun you had with all those friends and neighbors working together to get Barack Obama elected? YOU DID THE IMPOSSIBLE. It’s time to re-up! Get everyone back together and go to the monthly meeting of your town or county Democratic Party — and become the majority that runs it! There will not be many in attendance and they will either be happy or in shock that you and the Obama Revolution have entered the room looking like you mean business. President Obama’s agenda will never happen without mass grass roots action — and he won’t feel encouraged to do the right thing if no one has his back, whether it’s to stand with him, or push him in the right direction. When you all become the local Democratic Party, send me a photo of the group and I’ll post it on my website.

3. Recruit someone to run for office who can win in your local elections next year — or, better yet, consider running for office yourself! You don’t have to settle for the incumbent who always expects to win. You can be our next representative! Don’t believe it can happen? Check out these examples of regular citizens who got elected: State Senator Deb Simpson, California State Assemblyman Isadore Hall, Tempe, Arizona City Councilman Corey Woods, Wisconsin State Assemblyman Chris Danou, and Washington State Representative Larry Seaquist. The list goes on and on — and you should be on it!

4. Show up. Picket the local branch of a big bank that took the bailout money. Hold vigils and marches. Consider civil disobedience. Those town hall meetings are open to you, too (and there’s more of us than there are of them!). Make some noise, have some fun, get on the local news. Place “Capitalism Did This” signs on empty foreclosed homes, closed down businesses, crumbling schools and infrastructure. (You can download them from my website.)

5. Start your own media. You. Just you (or you and a couple friends). The mainstream media is owned by corporate America and, with few exceptions, it will never tell the whole truth — so you have to do it! Start a blog! Start a website of real local news (here’s an example: The Michigan Messenger). Tweet your friends and use Facebook to let them know what they need to do politically. The daily papers are dying. If you don’t fill that void, who will?

FIVE THINGS WE SHOULD DO TO PROTECT OURSELVES AND OUR LOVED ONES UNTIL WE GET THROUGH THIS MESS:

1. Take your money out of your bank if it took bailout money and place it in a locally-owned bank or, preferably, a credit union.

2. Get rid of all your credit cards but one — the kind where you have to pay up at the end of the month or you lose your card.

3. Do not invest in the stock market. If you have any extra cash, put it away in a savings account or, if you can, pay down on your mortgage so you can own your home as soon as possible. You can also buy very safe government savings bonds or T-bills. Or just buy your mother some flowers.

4. Unionize your workplace so that you and your coworkers have a say in how your business is run. Here’s how to do it (more info here). Nothing is more American than democracy, and democracy shouldn’t be checked at the door when you enter your workplace. Another way to Americanize your workplace is to turn your business into a worker-owned cooperative. You are not a wage slave. You are a free person, and you giving up eight hours of your life every day to someone else is to be properly compensated and respected.

5. Take care of yourself and your family. Sorry to go all Oprah on you, but she’s right: Find a place of peace in your life and make the choice to be around people who are not full of negativity and cynicism. Look for those who nurture and love. Turn off the TV and the Blackberry and go for a 30-minute walk every day. Eat fruits and vegetables and cut down on anything that has sugar, high fructose corn syrup, white flour or too much sodium (salt) in it (and, as Michael Pollan says, “Eat (real) food, not too much, mostly plants”). Get seven hours of sleep each night and take the time to read a book a month. I know this sounds like I’ve turned into your grandma, but, dammit, take a good hard look at Granny — she’s fit, she’s rested and she knows the names of both of her U.S. Senators without having to Google them. We might do well to listen to her. If we don’t put our own “oxygen mask” on first (as they say on the airplane), we will be of no use to the rest of the nation in enacting any of this action plan!

I’m sure there are many other ideas you can come up with on how we can build this movement. Get creative. Think outside the politics-as-usual box. BE SUBVERSIVE! Think of that local action no one else has tried. Behave as if your life depended on it. Be bold! Try doing something with reckless abandon. It may just liberate you and your community and your nation.

And when you act, send me your stories, your photos and your video — and be sure to post your ideas in the comments beneath this letter on my site so they can be shared with millions.

C’mon people — we can do this! I expect nothing less of all of you, my true and trusted fellow travelers!

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

UPDATE: My position that a single-payer system is the only solution to the health care crisis remains the same. I do not support H.R. 3200 unless it includes Rep. Anthony Weiner’s amendment, which would essentially gut H.R. 3200 and replace it with Rep. John Conyers Jr.’s H.R. 676. In July, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised Rep. Weiner an up or down vote on his amendment before the end of the year. At that moment this became our best chance for a single-payer, universal health care plan for all. In the heat of the health care debate, strategies change from day to day, but as it stands right now, Rep. Weiner’s amendment to H.R. 3200 is the best chance we have at achieving a single-payer system in the U.S. This is the same position held by the foremost activist groups for a single-payer health care plan: Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, and Healthcare-NOW! Let’s ride his Trojan horse out of this mess. Write your congressmembers to demand that they support Rep. Weiner’s amendment. One thing remains clear: No health care system will be safe until every for-profit insurance company has been removed from it.

Sick For Profit

(read this letter below first and then my response)
————————-

Date: Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 9:45 PM

My letter to Gingrey must have made him mad. Our exchanges !!!!!!

I don’t know what I said to jerk Congressman’s chain so,
considering he has made Olberman’s worst list but whatever it was, he dictated a letter to me today that
was definately not a form letter. My answer was not as
nice as my first letter. This may turn out into an all out debate issue with me and the ultra conservative doctor here in Ga. He wants to hear from me. Bet that
changes after the last letter.
Here is his letter to me, in response to some message I
sent on a vie for healthcare blitz. I send them all the time to Washington. Obviously it was not well received.

His letter.

Ms. Amanda L. Kato

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxx Ga. 30179-xxxx

Dear Ms. Kato:

Thank you for contacting me to express your opinion regarding health care reform. As your Congressman, I appreciate hearing your thoughts and welcome every opportunity to be of service.

As a physician for nearly 30 years, I am keenly aware of the problems that our current health care system faces ranging from quality of care to increasing costs. Please be assured that I am interested in supporting health care legislation and proposals that will promote the health of all Georgians.

One particular focus to improve health care is to lower the overall cost of care for all patients. As the author of the Assisting Doctors to Obtain Proficient and Transmissible Health Information Technology (ADOPT HIT) Act of 2009 and the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2009, I believe that we can accomplish these goals by providing tax incentives to physicians to invest in electronic medical records, as well as significantly reforming our medical malpractice liability system.

That said, I believe that this year will be a very important year in health care reform. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to accomplish meaningful reform to ensure patients in the U.S. continue to receive the best care in the world, increase the number of Americans who receive coverage, and lower the overall cost so that health care is affordable.

At the same time, please be assured that I will not support any legislation that will put the U.S. down the path toward a single payer health care system. Patients and their doctors – not Washington bureaucrats – should be the ones making decisions about the best course of care. Please be assured that I will continue to advocate for the rights of patients throughout the 111th Congress.

Again, thank you for sharing your concerns. If you feel that I may be of additional assistance on this, or any other matter of importance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me. I also invite you to sign up for my weekly email newsletter, or to share your ideas and opinions, by visiting my website at http://gingrey.house.gov or emailing me at gingrey.ga@mail.house.gov.

MY response
_____________

Dear Representative Gingrey,

Thank you for your quick response to my concerns. You are my legislator but
you are very wrong on many levels and may I please express my thoughts on this.

You said in your email and I quote, ” believe that we can accomplish these goals by providing tax incentives to physicians to invest in electronic medical records, as well as significantly reforming our medical malpractice liability system.
That above quote is well and good and should be already in place but what
good does it do for people who are not seeing doctors due to the economic
collapse and unaffordable and unattainable health coverage, that do not have
any records to access? They are not seeing medical professionals. They do without.

My son, a voting republican lost his business due to this economy and
never made a great deal to begin with. He PULLED his own tooth. He has back
problems and Lord knows what else because he has no access to affordable
healthcare. Being a republican, he would not dare ask for indigent care only to
be refused or worse, non quality health care treatment. He has had tonsils
swell to the point he could not breathe. He does not drink but his wife and he separated, divorced, he lost his home and we adopted their children.
This is not an isolated case. You folks have insurance.

Six people live under
this roof with no food stamps because my husband’s VA disability gets us by.
He is a 100 percent disabled combat Vietnam veteran and we are Christians.
We thank God for Medicare and Champ VA and the Veterans Administration.
This is a government run system and it works. We receive healthcare but there
are millions like some of our grown children who will never live to see their
American dream. They are one pandemic or catastrophic illness away from
death. You and many who find so much fault with insurance for all do not live
in this reality. Your ideas are from the 20th century and very narrow and limited
to people who have either been blessed with a huge inheritence or the education
and fortune to go to college and become professionals. Not all people fall into
that lifestyle and kudos for that achievement in your life but don’t think people
do not want a better life. Common sense prevails to one who will acknowledge
that a healthy body is productive and can create wealth and jobs and a better
America.

You are blessed in this life Congressman to not have the pain of hearing your
grown children moan in pain or feel agony that you may have to let your light
bill go so they can get relief. You are blessed that you were not fighting a war
in a far away place and a severe disability resulted., thus limiting your earning capabilities and impacting one’s children. There is however, another
life beyond this one, and the one I would be concerned with., is the next life. Jesus said,”……In as much as you have done unto one of the least of these, my brethern, ye have done it unto me.” Matthew 25:40 KJV.
And who is my brother? According to Jesus See Mark 3:35 KJV.
That is what I would be concentrating upon when I cast my vote.

By the way, since you recognize the fact that the VA is a government single
payer system, does this mean you care less about veteran care than
other patients? If you really believe it is all a bureaucracy and not a good system then why is it good enough for men and women who have borne the
battle and not good enough for everyday patients?

Sincerely,
Amanda Kato

My Response

Wow! That was a great letter! I can’t wait to get his response.
People don’t realize how in bed our government is with the insurance companies. Our representatives on both sides are invested in these insurance companies and do not want to rock the boat or change anything that will make them less money.

They say they believe in competition, capitalism and the free market but they have made those lost concepts of our past. With the amount of tax laws, special interest groups and set asides, there is no such thing as free market competition. When wall street crashed, they were the first ones to ask for a bailout and nationalize our banks. That is not capitalism, what they did was socialism and once again it is OK to pay for corporate welfare but not to help the poor or the working class.

I have suffered asthma my entire life and I have had to work for companies large enough to have full medical coverage. In 2001 I was in business for myself for one year but the lowest insurance premium I could find (with the worst coverage) was $500.00 a month. This is a huge overhead expense for a start up business. I am thankful that I have been able to have health care through my work, but to say that the insurance I have is good or adequate is a lie. I have had to think twice before moving to a new company, I can not afford to work freelance. I would have to pay for a year before individual insurance would cover my asthma.

Those who oppose a single payer solution are trying to keep the focus on the “undeserving poor” but I think the focus should be on the greedy insurance companies who have abused us for decades and who dictate what an how much I pay for medication and procedures. They try to keep Americans sick by not paying for preventative and alternative healing practices.

Our government has not protected us as consumers because they own the companies that hurt us for profit. It’s disgusting, and if our forefathers were alive today they would shoot most of them for treason.

Watch Sicko by Michael Moore and go to www.sickforprofit.com and see how much money the owner of United Healthcare makes per hour by denying coverage to the insured!

Our health care system is broken. It’s time to fix it.

Natural Highs

I recieved this as an email and thought it was good enough to share… Natural Highs Think about them one at a time before going on to the next one. It Does Make You Feel Good. 1. Falling in love. 2. Laughing so hard your face hurts. 3. A hot shower. 4. No lines at the supermarket … 5.. A special glance. 6.. Getting mail. 7. Taking a drive on a pretty road. 8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio… 9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside. 10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer. 11. Chocolate milkshake (vanilla or strawberry). 12. A bubble bath. 13. Giggling. 14. The beach. 15. Finding a 20 dollar bill in your coat from last winter… 16. Laughing at yourself. 17.. Looking into their eyes and knowing they Love you 18. Midnight phone calls that last for hours. 19.. Running through sprinklers. 20. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all… 21. Having someone tell you that you’re beautiful. 22. Laughing at an inside joke with FRIENDS 23. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you. 24. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep. 25. Your first kiss (either the very first or with a new partner). 26. Making new friends or spending time with old ones. 27. Playing with a new puppy. 28. Having someone play with your hair. 29. Sweet dreams. 30. Hot chocolate. 31.Road trips with friends. 32. Swinging on swings. 33.. Making eye contact with a cute stranger. 34.. Making chocolate chip cookies. 35. Having your friends send you homemade cookies. 36.. Holding hands with someone you care about. 37. Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change. 38. Watching the expression on someone’s face as they open a much desired present from you… 39. Watching the sunrise. 40. Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day. 41. Knowing that somebody misses you. 42. Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply… 43. Knowing you’ve done the right thing, no matter what other people think. Lord, keep Your arm around my shoulder and Your hand over my mouth!!! Natural Highs

Great WordPress template tutorial

Thanks to Micha at Crystal Tech for sharing this awesome WordPress turotial blog!!!

Check it out

This is a step by step, how to blog.

Cutest Dog Competition

Nightmare commute home on 99s Coach USA from Port Authority

Saturday morning, August 22nd my commute home was complete nightmare and the worst bus service I have ever experienced. Around 3:45am I purchased a ticket to Jersey City and went upstairs to Gate 304 to wait for the bus. At 4:00am no number 10 or 99s buses arrived. I waited with about ten other passengers until 6:00am and then we all relocated to Gate 114 for the scheduled 6:10 bus that did not come.  The 6:40 bus came and broke down at the gate. Soon after, another number 10 bus arrived, we thought, to replace the broken down bus. The bus driver got off, used the restroom and got back in her bus and left us taking no passengers. She was rude and did not give us any explanation. This is when we found the complaint number and started calling. I spoke to Tony who provided no solution and hung up on me four times. No replacement bus was sent. The next working bus arrived one hour and twenty minuets later at 8:00am.  Now we have been waiting for FOUR hours.

Needless to say, we are very upset that it has taken so long and that the bus drivers do not seem to care and are rude. The bus drivers hid their badges so we could not get their names or numbers. My bus driver was a white male with white hair in his 60s.  The female bus driver was a very short, Latino with long curly black hair in her 30s.

To make matters worse, the bus driver would not take my ticket. He said that it was no good and that I had to pay $4.00.  I showed him the ticket where it says that I paid $3.40 and told him that I would pay the difference of .60 cents but that, at this point, the fare should be waved to make up for such bad service. He snatched the ticket from my hand, tore it up and threw it on the ground. He said I had to pay or get off the bus. I said that there was no way I was gong to pay twice for such bad service. He said I had to pay or he was calling the cops. I told him to drive me home or call the cops. I would gladly explain the cops this outrageous, and unacceptable rude service. So, I paid .60 cents and he drove us home.

Monday morning I was finally able to get someone at the complaint number to give me the complaint address and fax.

Coach USA recetly have reduced their service from Manhattan to Bayonne to once an hour after peak time. This results in over crowding of the bus, which is not safe or comfortable.  We pay $4.00 one way and deserve quality, safe, courteous service like their phone’s hold message claims to provide.

Recovery.com pulls a fast one! 18 MILLION for the re-design!!!

Are you kidding me they spent 18 MILLION for the re-design!! Our Government is out of control!!REALLY??? Recovery.com pulls a fast one

This is really out of control. There is now way to justify this. Seriously this is rediculious. What a SCAM!!!!!!

2009 Macy’s Fireworks are on the Hudson River!

I’m so glad the fireworks will be on our side this year!!!! I think that it should be closer to the Statue of Liberty anyways.

I wonder if there are any special plans for Liberty State Park.

see below

Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks in New York City

Where to View Macy’s July 4th Fireworks in New York

By Pamela Skillings, About.com

The spectacular Macy’s July 4th fireworks display is moving across town in 2009. To celebrate the 400th anniversary of the exploration of the Hudson River by Henry Hudson, Macy’s will stage their annual show stopping pyrotechnics over the Hudson River instead of the East River this year.

Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks 2009

The 2009 Macy’s fireworks show will feature more than 40,000 shells exploding at a rate of more than 1,500 per minute. The 26-minute display will be set off from six barges positioned between 24th and 50th Streets on the Hudson River.

The fireworks display will be synchronized to a score of patriotic standards, classic river-themed works, and original music. The legendary New York Pops will perform the musical score under the direction of Steve Reineke.

View Macy’s July 4th Fireworks In Style

Scrap those plans to spend July 4th in Brooklyn or on FDR Drive. This year, the best views will be from Manhattan’s West Side and New Jersey.

Please check back soon for our round-up of the best places to view the 2009 Macy’s July 4th fireworks and July 4th parties and events in New York City.

Awesome stop motion photography site

I love this site it rocks!!!!

Awesome stop motion photography site

Graphic Design Resources

Graphic Design Resources

I’ve been meeting a bunch of younger designers lately that I would like to mentor along the way, so I’m posting a bunch of links here that have great info.

I don’t think yo can still survive as a print only designer anymore unless you are part of an agency that still believes in the divide.

Become a Better Designer :: 50 sites that will help you become better at graphic design

AIGA :: This is a great design group because they always have good workshops.

Tutorials

Layers Magazine :: Really great tutorials, especially Cheryl Graham

Stock

Icons