America is NOT Broke by Michael Moore

March 7, 2011 / Tracy Abell / 8 Comments

Micheal Moore went to Madison, Wisconsin, to speak to the courageous
people who refuse to budge in the face of greed and lies.

Here is the transcript. If you read nothing else today, please read this.

Here’s an excerpt:
"Let me say that again. 400 obscenely rich people, most of whom benefited in some way from the multi-trillion dollar taxpayer "bailout" of 2008, now have more loot, stock and property than the assets of 155 million Americans combined. If you can’t bring yourself to call that a financial coup d’état, then you are simply not being honest about what you know in your heart to be true."
The powers-that-be pit us against each other, relying on cultural and social issues (gays, guns, and god)
to fracture what should be a united front against the nauseating greed of the upper class.

So, while moneyed people around the country bemoan the "greed" of public employees
fighting for their right to collective bargaining, these courageous people in Wisconsin stand strong.
We ALL owe them an enormous debt of gratitude.

As Michael Moore says:
"Never forget, as long as that Constitution of ours still stands, it’s one person, one vote, and it’s the thing the rich hate most about America — because even though they seem to hold all the money and all the cards, they begrudgingly know this one unshakeable basic fact: There are more of us than there are of them!"

Here’s a YouTube video of him in Wisconsin on March 5.
The opening is especially inspiring because of the emotions expressed by Moore and the protesters,
but also because he reveals this powerful, spot-on piece was written in a couple hours at the end of a very long day:

We need heroes now more than ever, and I salute Wisconsin workers for drawing the line in the sand!

On Wisconsin!

February 23, 2011 / Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

Yesterday I blogged about my preparations for
the Denver rally held in support of Wisconsin workers.

Today I am back with a full report.

The good news: the weather was beautiful and lots of sane people showed up.

The bad news: a bunch of ill-informed, resentful people also made an appearance
(one person even self-identifying as an extremist):

Here’s the very first photo I took from the lower steps (apparently at the exact moment
everyone’s arms got tired and they lowered their signs):

I got there a couple minutes late and was on the outer fringes of main crowd and speeches,
but my little sign was an immediate hit:

(I was interviewed by Jonathan Brown of NPR/CPR
but have not tracked down his report so don’t know if I made the cut.)

However, not everyone understood by my sign that I supported workers and their
right to collective bargaining. When I walked silently past the anti-union crowd on my
way out, one man said about my sign, "That’s a good one." I was stunned until
I looked at my photos later on and saw this:

(And yes, those are Colorado State Patrol officers.
They formed a line between the groups, appearing simultaneously bored and tense).

Here’s a sampling of the support and goodwill flowing from Colorado to Wisconsin
(and other states preparing for their own union-busting assaults) . . .

And, perhaps the day’s most compelling argument:

It was a good day and I’m so glad I rallied.
Zippy joined me, and we ran into other friends (Happy Birthday again, Ron!)

This fight is for the heart and soul of workers’ rights,
and I hope the brave people in Wisconsin don’t back down
in the face of Governor Walker’s ideological war on unions.
(Lest there be any doubt this stand-off has nothing to do with budget deficits and everything to do
with ideology, follow the story regarding billionaire Tea Party-backer David Koch and Gov Walker).

Also, please remember: The unions early-on accepted the wage and benefits reductions;
they are only demanding their right to collective bargaining.

Wisconsin, we are with you!
All good thoughts headed your way . . .