from eli pariser at moveon:

we’re launching a major campaign to turn out tens of thousands of us in support of fahrenheit 9/11 on the opening weekend.

dear moveon member,

last night, i got a chance to see a sneak preview of michael moore’s new film fahrenheit 9/11. it is an incredibly powerful movie that lays bare the cynicism and greed behind bush’s war policy. and the astonishing and revealing footage in it has the power to change the course of the 2004 election. (there’s a full review below.)

given how devastating the movie is to president bush’s carefully crafted facade, it’s hardly surprising that right-wing groups who call moore a “”domestic enemy”” are using censorship and intimidation tactics to try to get it pulled from theaters. that’s why we’ve got to do everything we can to make the opening a huge success.

today, we’re asking moveon members to pledge to see the film on the opening night — friday, june 25th. (if you can’t make it on friday, pledging to go on saturday or sunday is fine, too). it’ll be fun, of course — you’ll be watching the movie with lots of other moveon members. it’ll also send an unmistakable message to the media and theater owners that the public is behind this movie.

to see the fahrenheit 9/11 trailer and pledge to see the movie on the opening weekend, go to:

http://www.moveonpac.org/f911

then please pass this message on to your friends, family, and co workers.

fahrenheit 9/11 isn’t just the most powerful and complete indictment of the bush administration that i’ve ever seen – it’s one of the best movies i’ve ever seen. it’s a knockout blow: a poignant, darkly funny film that deftly interweaves footage of the president, his allies, and the americans his policies betrayed. as fox news’ reviewer put it, the movie “”is a tribute to patriotism, to the american sense of duty – and at the same time an indictment of stupidity and avarice.”” (see http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,122680,00.html for the full review.)

despite years of television coverage on iraq and the war on terror, most of the movie consists of footage you’d never see on tv. there are heart-breaking interviews with troops in iraq, chilling scenes of the civilian consequences of that war, and footage of bush so candid and revealing that it’s hard to imagine how moore got his hands on it. in one unforgettable scene from the morning of september 11th, bush blithely reads a children’s book to a classroom of kids for seven long minutes after his chief of staff quietly informs him that the second plane has hit the world trade center and “”we’re under attack.”” the film is filled with this stuff, and it’s hard to imagine seeing it and not being moved, shocked, and outraged.

fahrenheit 9/11 opens with footage of bush administration officials putting on their tv makeup. paul wolfowitz sticks his comb in his mouth, slathers it withspit, brushes it through his hair, and grins a toothy grin. colin powell eyes the camera nervously as a makeup artist dusts his face. and, moments before president bush goes on tv to somberly announce the beginning of the iraq war, we see him goofing around, making funny faces at the folks behind the camera.

these candid portraits encapsulate the genius of moore’s documentary. compared to his other films, there’s little pranking or moralizing. moore basically stays out of the picture: he doesn’t have to indict the bush administration, because with powerful and indisputable video, bush and the rest indict themselves.

as moore unravels bush’s story, he joins it with the stories of the real americans who have shouldered the burden of the post-9/11 war policy. in flint, michigan, we hear from a group of inner-city kids whose only option for education and a better life is to enlist in the army – and then, in a scene that’s both humorous and deeply creepy, join two marine recruiters as they case a local mall for possible enlistees. we watch a california peace group that was infiltrated by the local police department under the patriot act

from moveon:

while soldiers are dying in iraq, dick cheney’s old company halliburton has defrauded the government of millions and charged for meals for the troops which were never delivered. today, we’re trying to raise $1.1 million to air a new ad in swing states that calls the bush white house on its cronyism with halliburton. can you contribute to get it on the air?

there are lots of reasons that things are going south in iraq. president bush alienated the international community, lied to the world about the threat of iraqi weapons of mass destruction, failed to plan for reconstruction . . . and the list goes on. but there’s another less talked about reason that things are turning out so badly: president bush and vice president cheney simply can’t resist a chance to help their corporate friends make a buck, even when it undermines the troops.

today, we’re launching a new ad to call the bush administration on its ties to the scandal-plagued company halliburton. in just a year in iraq, halliburton employees have accepted $6 million in illegal kickbacks (1), the company overcharged taxpayers millions for gas (2), and charged hundreds of millions of dollars for meals for our troops that were never delivered (3). it’s a perfect example of how bush and cheney’s taste for corporate cronyism has weakened our country and cost taxpayers billions.

we know from polling that for many people the halliburton debacle illustrates a core weakness in the bush program, and helps convince independent voters to vote against bush. that’s why it’s so important that we get this ad, which hammers that point home, in front of as many people as possible. if we can raise $1.1 million, we can run the ad deep for a week in a number of the key “”battleground”” states. please contribute what you can to help us get it on the air today at:

http://www.moveonpac.org/donate/halliburton.html

on that page, you can also read a full script of the ad and take a look at the story boards.

revelations regarding halliburton’s unethical and at times illegal behavior continue to pop up at a regular pace. but perhaps more worrisome are indications that the bush administration isn’t just turning a blind eye to halliburton’s corrupt business practices — it’s actively helping the company along. for example, time magazine exposed last week that newly disclosed internal pentagon emails suggest that the office of vice president dick cheney was instrumental in sealing an $18 billion no-bid contract for the vice president’s former company (4).

nor does halliburton’s track record end at fraud. in a pentagon audit, halliburton was warned that its food service facilities which serve our troops in iraq were dangerously unsanitary, with “”blood all over the floor”” of its kitchens, “”dirty pans,”” and “”rotting meats … and vegetables.”” (5) as representative henry waxman (d-ca) put it, halliburton is ultimately “”a company that arrogantly is overcharging when they can get away with it and not providing the quality of service that they agreed to do.”” (6)

vice president dick cheney still holds hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of stock options in the company.(7) so it’s hardly surprising that the administration’s response has been anemic, even when faced with clear evidence that the company is bilking taxpayers.

that’s why we need to get this ad on the air. can you contribute to make that happen? go to:

http://www.moveonpac.org/donate/halliburton.html

sincerely,
–eli pariser
moveon pac
june 10th, 2004

footnotes:

1. halliburton admits $6m kickbacks
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3425043.stm

2. halliburton: $61m overcharge?
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/12/12/politics/main588216.shtml

3. halliburton grilled over meals
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/02/02/eveningnews/main597566.shtml

4. time reports cheney hand in contract
http://www.iht.com/articles/522594.html

5. contractor served troops dirty food in dirty kitchens <