Free Republic

One Man, Two Registrations Michael Moore simultaneously on voter rolls in New York, Michigan JUNE 28--Prior to last week's Washington, D.C. premiere of "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore denied that the new film represents his de facto endorsement of John Kerry. "I am an Independent," the filmmaker told reporters. "I'm not a member of the Democratic party." Which is not exactly correct. New York City Board of Elections records show that Moore, 50, registered to vote in Gotham in 1992, checking off "Democratic" as his party affiliation (below you'll find a copy of his original registration form). He listed his address...

[snip]Our concern is with another aspect of Moore's movie: It's basically a two-hour attack ad on President Bush. "I hope this country will be back in our hands in a very short period of time," Moore says. That is, he hopes that his movie will make John Kerry president. Moore certainly has the right to pursue such a goal as he pleases. America prizes freedom of speech, Exhibit A being all the tendentiously conspiratorial — and just plain stupid — movies that Michael Moore has churned out over the years. But should this unapologetically partisan piece of "art" count as...

Why am I running for governor of Texas in 2006? Why the hell not? I already have several good campaign slogans, starting with "How hard could it be?" Compared with the daunting financial crunch that Arnold Schwarzenegger inherited when he became governor of California, being governor of Texas is a notoriously easy gig. It's rather like being the judge of a giant chili cook-off. Consider that in the past a series of wealthy Texas oilmen have ascended to the office, some of them rarely bothering to leave their ranches to go to Austin unless there was a football game. And...

In April, Zack Exley was named director of Internet organizing for presidential candidate Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, making him the Democrat's point man on the cyber front in the battle for voters. His background: the operator of a satirical website called GWBush.com and the subject of a federal complaint filed by lawyers for George Bush, according to a report in the LA Times. Exley’s GWBush.com site in 1999 featured doctored photos of then-Governor Bush with cocaine residue under his nose. Exley also posted fake campaign statements under such headlines as "George II: Restoring the Throne to its Rightful...

Documentary film-maker Michael Moore won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for Fahrenheit 911, not because the awards jury wanted to endorse his politics, but because it was "the best film at the festival" according to festival jurist Quentin Tarantino. Never mind that Moore immediately said he hoped his film "would affect the outcome of the 2004 election." We are still supposed to believe that the film was judged on its artistic merits, and nothing else. Add this to some other remarkable facts that we are supposed to believe about the "non-partisan" nature of other efforts to enlighten...

The year was 1961. The fledgling Beatles couldn't settle on a bass player, President John F. Kennedy was famously asking what you could do for your country, and Vietnam was just a tiny country in muggy Southeast Asia. Somewhere in the halls of St. Paul's School, in secluded Concord, New Hampshire, a couple of teenage guys with the garage-rock ethos found in so many other suburban towns decided to start a band. No, this is not a rock-and-roll success story complete with screaming girls and chart-topping hits — quite the opposite. It's about a band of prep-schoolers who pressed 500...

Choose or Lose: 20 Million Questions for John Kerry Special MTV - Music Television Airing Time: Tue 3/30, 10:30PM (30 minutes) Categories: News, Special, News/Public Affairs, Special/Other Future airings of Choose or Lose: John Kerry Special: • Wed 3/31 11:00 AM MTV - Music Television Wed 3/31 8:30 PM  MTV - Music Television (Satellite) Fri 4/2 12:30 AM  MTV - Music Television (Satellite) And airing other times. Kerry gets 30 minutes to tell his lies to the youth of America. I wonder if they will also give President Bush his own "Choose or Lose" Special?

By now I'm sure you've heard of www.democraticunderground.com ... a website where your Democrat neighbors can go to trade ideas and thoughts about this year's election. One of our alert listeners lifted a few postings on this website that I thought you might enjoy. Here, my friends, are your loving, compassionate Democratic neighbors at work. Why don't we all sit back and let them chose our next president ... waddaya say? Here's the first post: As we've heard again and again recently, if we are going to beat this bunch of rule breaking GOP misanthropes, we're going to have to...

A lot of lefties site this page. Though they say non-partisan, it seems to spend more time attacking Bush. I looked for a search engine for their page to type in "Heinz" to no avail. "The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, tax-exempt organization, was founded by Charles Lewis following a successful 11-year career in network television news."

<p>Federal election officials proposed new rules Thursday that could sharply curb the activities of private political groups intent on influencing this year's presidential election.</p> <p>Although the action by the Federal Election Commission is not final, it drew objections from non-profit groups allied with Democrats who fear that continuing legal uncertainty will dampen their fundraising.</p>

A Democratic-leaning online group will run television commercials in 17 presidential battleground states starting Thursday to counter President Bush's multimillion-dollar advertising blitz that will begin the same day. The MoveOn.org Voter Fund has been airing commercials assailing Bush for months in several swing states, but this $1.9 million, five-day effort will be its most far-reaching. The ads will ensure that there is a Democratic presence on the TV airwaves in key states as Bush begins to make his case for re-election.

RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie Statement on MoveOn.Org Ad Buy 3/2/04 6:05:00 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: National Desk, Political Reporter Contact: Christine Iverson of the Republican National Committee, 202-863-8614 WASHINGTON, March 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Following is a statement by Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Ed Gillespie: "A month ago I noted that Democrats seemed intent on running one of the dirtiest campaigns in modern presidential politics, and I cited a litany of early examples of disturbing tactics." "It appears we can now add to that list a willingness to blatantly violate the new campaign finance laws." "According to the Associated...

Feb. 9 issue - John Kerry needed cash, and soon. In July 1996 the Massachusetts senator was locked in a tough re-election fight, so he was more than happy to help when he heard that a generous potential contributor wanted to visit his Capitol Hill office. The donor was Johnny Chung, a glad-handing Taiwanese-American entrepreneur. Chung brought along some friends, including a Hong Kong businesswoman named Liu Chaoying. Told that Liu was interested in getting one of her companies listed on the U.S. Stock Exchange, Kerry's aides immediately faxed over a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The next...

Rock The Vote, a movement begun by the late Patrick Lippert, will honor The Dixie Chicks for "their enduring commitment to preserving and protecting freedom of expression" this February 7th in Hollywood. Following the controversy that surrounded them last March, the Dixie Chicks partnered with Rock the Vote in July 2003 and launched Chicks Rock, Chicks Vote, an initiative to engage and empower young women to become active in the political process by voting. Sheryl Crow will join N*E*R*D and the Black Eyed Peas as performers at the show, which will be held at the world famous Hollywood Palladium. Rock...

(You will need a browser with Japanese font capability, and ability to comprehend written Japanese) As a FReeper Researcher, I have just come across a JAPANESE organization, based on an overseas JAPANESE website, in JAPANESE, that is encouraging foreigners to contribute money to and assist the "Campaign for American President Dennis Kucinich".The URL of the activity was located at:http://www.peace2001.org/ The organization is called "Global Peace Campaign" located in Japan. It is part of an umbrella of socialist and communist organizations opposing US efforts in Iraq, it supports North Korea, and is aligned with the usual communist movements.The website has...

CAMPAIGN CASH RACE TURNS INTERNATIONAL; MOVEON.ORG CENTER OF INTRIGUE; CLARK SEEKS CANADIAN SUPPORT, WEBSITE SHOWS Frustrated with the lack of domestic support, left-leaning website moveon.org has apparently been reaching beyond American borders to generate cash revenue over the Internet! The provocative international fundraising strategy threatens to embroil the presidential candidacy of General Wesley Clark and former Vermont Governor Howard Dean. Both men are named on international fundraising websites suggesting donations to moveon.org... Moveon.org, which has been running ads critical of the Bush Administration, has named an "International Campaigns Director." It is not clear how much money has been raised from...

Former Bank of America executive seeks millions CHARLOTTE, N.C. --Bank of America Corp. on Wednesday denied allegations of financial wrongdoing by a former executive who claims he was dismissed for whistleblowing on questionable practices at the bank. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that former Bank of America executive Duncan Goldie-Morrison is seeking $7.3 million plus damages. The paper said Goldie-Morrison filed claims Tuesday with the National Association of Securities Dealers, which handles disputes in the securities industry. Goldie-Morrison also accused Bank of America of inappropriately ordering executives to make charitable and political contributions, the paper reported. Goldie-Morrison was...

Service Employees International Union's political committee and three New York City union groups have agreed to pay $262,000 in penalties for campaign finance violations, including improper record-keeping. The civil penalties, announced Wednesday by the Federal Election Commission, involve violations from 1998 to 2000. SEIU's political campaign committee, known as COPE, paid $75,000 in penalties last December. Under an agreement reached with the FEC last month, New York's Health and Human Service Union 1199, Local 1199 Federal Political Action Fund and 1199 SEIU Federal Political Action Fund shared an additional $187,000 in fines. Among the violations, the FEC found that in...

The Kremlin has introduced a draconian election law which threatens the media with closure if they give details of candidates' personal lives or analyse their policies. The new law aims to stem the "black PR" and slurs which marred past elections. But it has infuriated opposition MPs and journalists. Some said it represented a return to the Soviet era control of political debate. The decree, signed by President Vladimir Putin, places a blanket ban during campaigning on forecasting results and requires candidates to be given equal coverage - a practical impossibility because there are 44 parties. A media outlet can...

Even before the Sept. 11 attacks and the crackdown that followed, American Muslim leaders generally had come to believe they had made a mistake. In 2000, they made their first unified endorsement in a presidential race, backing George W. Bush. Many thought he would take a harder line against Israel, and, based on statements he made while campaigning, would protect the rights of immigrants facing deportation. Muslims say they were disappointed on both counts. Now, feeling the additional sting of being scrutinized in the domestic hunt for terrorists, they are mobilizing to express their anger at the polls in 2004....