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Posts by Robert Greenwald
FOX Using the Same Attacks on Obama They Used Against Kerry
Posted by Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films on September 5, 2008 at 8:20 AM.
Did you see Barack Obama go on The O'Reilly Factor last night—right into the belly of the beast? While we didn't want Obama to appear on FOX initially, he wisely chose the same night John McCain delivered his RNC speech (the same night FOX received some of its highest ratings) to make an appearance. Talk about stealing the GOP's thunder!
Obama was no doubt trying to appeal to conservative voters, since 88% of FOX viewers voted Republican in 2004. But FOX won't let their conservative base go without a fight. That's why O'Reilly needled and interrupted Obama, trying to get him to simplify many of his answers—a far cry from the softballs O'Reilly lobbed at many prominent Republicans like Rudy Giuliani in the past. And that's why FOX has been attacking Obama with the same relentless smear tactics that they used against John Kerry four years ago. Watch them use the exact same attacks.
Don't let FOX repeat its history of distortions. Send this video to everyone you know! And get a copy to networking sites like Digg as soon as possible. Make sure everyone knows that FOX is always willing to distort, slander, and smear—whatever it takes to advance their conservative agenda.
And for more on how damaging FOX and the corporate media have been, tune into Meet the Bloggers today at 1pm ET/10am PT. Our guest host, punk rock icon Henry Rollins, will be joined by bloggers Jonathan Kim (FOX Attacks!), Liliana Segura (AlterNet.org) and Paul Waldman (Media Matters) to discuss the media's overt bias.
Check out Michael Moore's Newest Documentary for Free!
Posted by Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films on September 4, 2008 at 7:12 PM.
No one can make a documentary with as much political savvy, humor, and creativity as Michael Moore. And no one is as willing to tackle our elected officials with the same tenacity. After unleashing Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, and SiCKO in recent years, Moore has set his sights on the Bush administration and our nation's voter turnout in his latest film, Slacker Uprising, which chronicles his 62-city swing state tour of college campuses just prior to the 2004 election.
Here's the best part. To maximize the reach of his message and as a thank you gift to his fans, Moore is adopting a novel approach to distributing this film. He's teaming up with Brave New Films to distribute the movie online, completely free of charge. Sign up now on http://slackeruprising.com and you will be notified when the film is available for free download on September 23.
You can also buy the DVD for $9.95, which will start shipping on September 23 and features extras like: Special Guest Joan Baez – America the Beautiful, Why People Like George Bush?, My Pet Goat, The O'Reilly Factor for Kids, Just Add Water and Heat - More Ramen and Clean Underwear, and more. Or should I say, Moore!
Read the rest of the post on the flip side »
Former POW Says McCain Is "Not Cut Out to be President"
Posted by Robert Greenwald, Brave New PAC on September 2, 2008 at 9:45 AM.
"To see McCain resort to playing the POW card when answering legitimate questions, in my mind, cheapens that experience. And by cheapening his own experience in war, he degrades all of our experiences in war. He turns the horrific incidents we've all seen, touched, smelled, and felt into a lame excuse to earn political points. And it dishonors us all."John McCain has been exploiting his prisoner of war experience every chance he gets. He has used this story to justify everything from not knowing how many homes he has to his healthcare plan to his marital infidelities to his taste in music. The McCain campaign is even using his POW story in paid ads. But now a veteran who was a prisoner with McCain in Vietnam is explaining loud and clear that being a POW does not qualify McCain to lead our country.-- Brandon Friedman, a veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan
We are sure this video will draw an onslaught of right-wing attacks, but we bring it to you because it is our job to continue to convey the truth together and give these issues national attention. As Dr. Butler has said, McCain does not have the temperament to have his finger near the red button. Get this video to everyone you know-friends, family members, coworkers, and especially those who don't share your political views. The video is designed to reach them. Get it on your social networking sites like Digg. And get it to every blog, newspaper, and TV station that has ever overplayed McCain's POW story. It is time to fight back with truth!
The mainstream press has already begun to call out McCain for overusing his POW story. And it's cut across all political persuasions.
Remember how Joe Biden got the press to refer to Rudy Giuliani as "A noun, a verb, and 9/11"? Well, let's actually take Andrew Sullivan's lead here and get the media to boil McCain down to a similar phrase: "A noun, a verb, and POW." Considering how often the McCain campaign invokes his POW story, isn't that what they're already doing?
Michael Moore Returns for an Encore Appearance on Meet the Bloggers
Posted by Robert Greenwald, Meet the Bloggers on August 29, 2008 at 8:12 AM.
If you found yourself saying last week's episode of Meet the Bloggers wasn't long enough, then you're in for a real treat. Legendary activist filmmaker Michael Moore returns today to talk about the broken election system and the first ten things the Obama administration should do if elected. Joining Mike will be nationally syndicated author and blogger David Sirota, as well as Cheryl Contee of Jack & Jill Politics.
Meet the Bloggers is a viewer-driven show, which means we need you to sound off and voice your opinions in our live blog and online polls during the show. We need you to submit comments and make suggestions about which guests you'd like to see in the future, or which issues you'd like to have discussed. And we need you to build this show by getting your friends and coworkers to check it out.
No other news show offers the same level of in-depth analysis that is enhanced by comments from its audience. So tune into Meet the Bloggers today at 1pm ET/10am PT, and help us raise the level of political discourse in our country. And if you missed any episode of the show, you can always check them out in the Meet the Bloggers archive.
McCain's Million Dollar Parking Lot
Posted by Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films on August 28, 2008 at 6:29 AM.
Not only does John McCain have at least 10 properties he can't remember, but he also owns a parking lot in Phoenix Arizona worth between $1.4 and $2.4 million. That's over $1 million more than the average American home!
It's no wonder McCain has said time and time again that the "fundamentals of the economy are strong." He's living in the land of affluence, and has no concept of just how terrible our economy has become under President Bush. According to the U.S. Census, 37.3 million people were living in poverty in 2007. 45.7 million (15.3 percent of the population) don't have health insurance—a staggering number that has risen by 6 million since Bush took office in 2001. And yet McCain extols Bush's economy and proposes his own policies that would sink our country further into debt.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said that when it comes to the economy,
"I think John McCain is wrong. He doesn’t even know how many homes he has. … We’ve seen the McCain position as just a continuation of the Bush Administration. It’s President Bush’s policies that got us into the mess that we have now. And it’s not only a short term crisis, it’s long term and it has to be addressed. Workers are having a tough time. The wage inequality that’s out there is unbelievable, and health care and retirement security are threatened. Those are some of the reasons that we’re not supporting John McCain."
When we launched McCain's Mansions, you recognized that McCain is out of touch with hard-working Americans. That's why you spread it around and got the mainstream media to take notice and question McCain on this issue. It exposed McCain for the elitist he really is, and turned our ailing economy into a number one issue for Democrats.
Now's your chance to keep the economy front and center by spreading McCain's Million Dollar Parking Lot. Let everyone know that while the majority of Americans are struggling to make mortgage payments and pay for necessities like health insurance and gas, John McCain has a parking lot worth $1 million more than the average home.
Michael Moore Counts Down to the Election - Today on Meet the Bloggers (1pm ET/10am PT)
Posted by Robert Greenwald, Meet the Bloggers on August 22, 2008 at 7:35 AM.
Robert Greenwald Invites You to Watch Michael Moore on Meet the Bloggers (Friday 10 am ET/1 pm PT)
Posted by Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films on August 19, 2008 at 11:55 AM.
We at Meet the Bloggers are very pleased to tell you that Michael Moore, the Academy Award-winning activist filmmaker of SiCKO and Fahrenheit 9/11, will be our special guest this Friday, August 22 and again on August 29. The show starts on Friday at 1pm ET and we'll be joined by bloggers Liliana Segura (AlterNet) and Cheryl Contee (Jack & Jill Politics), as well as nationally syndicated author and blogger David Sirota. Watch Mike talk with host Cenk Uygur about issues he covers in his new book, Mike's Election Guide 2008. "With John McCain admitting that he has no idea how to use a computer," Mike said, "we'll be providing Sen. McCain a step-by-step tutorial on how to turn one on, log onto the internet, and send an e-mail."
As if having Michael Moore on two shows wasn't exciting enough, we're also featuring a special one-on-one segment of the show on August 22 in which I will talk to Mike about the progressive impact of his films and books. And to top it all off, you can suggest text questions and video questions for Mike and enter our contest. The best questions for Mike will win a special prize of one of Mike's trademark hats (signed by Mike himself!), or an autographed copy of his new book Mike's Election Guide 2008, a funny and informative tool for progressives.
Go to Meet the Bloggers now and submit your text questions and video questions for Mike. Since this is your show, you can also submit suggestions for future guests you'd like to see, or issues you'd like discussed.
Don't miss a minute of the next two episodes of Meet the Bloggers—where you'll find all the intelligent, in-depth analysis you won't get on any of the weekly corporate-sponsored shows. See you Friday, 1pm ET/10am PT!
McCain's Mansions: The Houses That Greed Built
Posted by Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films on August 18, 2008 at 8:25 AM.
Most working families today do not have homes that have anywhere near 10 rooms. John McCain has 10 houses. Many working people in America have to work two and three jobs to provide for their families and pay their car loans. John McCain hops on a private jet. Is it any wonder why McCain champions a George Bush agenda of cutting taxes for corporations and the wealthy, helping oil companies turn record profits, and leaving working families to fend for themselves? McCain's velvet world leaves him utterly unprepared to make the tough choices we need to restore the middle class and ensure that everyone in America has quality, affordable health insurance.John McCain is soaring to new heights of hypocrisy on his wife's personal jet. He flies around the country bent on duping the public into believing he's "one of them," a regular guy who can empathize with Americans facing an overwhelming economic crush. What's more, he disparages those who oppose his ridiculous policy proposals as "elitist." But who's the real elitist?-Andy Stern, President, Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
The REAL McCain is a multimillionaire who owns ten luxurious homes. The REAL McCain backs President Bush's tax cuts for big corporations. The REAL McCain empathizes only with the interests of our nation's wealthy minority, not its money-strapped majority. But far too many are buying into McCain's deceit because the corporate press won't present the whole picture, so we created this video to educate the public about the REAL McCain.
Together, you have been a force in making sure The REAL McCain videos have been seen by nearly 6.5 million people. But as Frank Rich noted in his NY Times column yesterday, 40% of Americans hear too little about McCain from the mainstream media, meaning "the public doesn't know who on earth John McCain is." That's why it's crucial you ensure this video is seen by as many as possible, and that we use each and every tool at our disposal to get the word out. Send this on to five friends and family members, and tell them to send it to five people they know. Get it to your local news outlets and blogs and networking sites like Digg. Raise hell about McCain's economic duplicity!
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney summed it up best when he said McCain "simply doesn't understand the challenges America's working families are facing because he isn't remotely affected by them." It's up to us to tell people who McCain really is, a jet-setting elitist more concerned with corporate lobbyists than hard-working Americans.
How to Stop the Smears Against Obama
Posted by Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films on August 14, 2008 at 2:52 PM.
The FOX smears are continuing and we need to stop them from spreading to the rest of the media. Watch FOX's laughably inaccurate distortions, as they smear Barack Obama on everything from the economy to race to patriotism to flag pins.
In the coming weeks, FOX will escalate its gross misrepresentations of Obama, and we know from painful past experience that some in the corporate media will spread FOX's canards by presenting them as fact. We must stop the spread.
Now that you've had the chance to watch we need you to make sure everyone else sees the distortions as we work to stop them. Sign our petition and demand FOX stop serving up blatant lies for the rest of the media to swallow. It's critical that you send it to everyone you know, get it to your local newspapers and TV stations, and post it on blogs and networking sites.
This is a game show because satires sometimes can be a powerful weapon. Let's use it to make sure the media know that when it comes to Obama, The FOX Is Wrong!
Send Bill O'Reilly Back to School
Posted by Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films on August 7, 2008 at 10:40 AM.
It's back-to-school time! Parents are starting to shop for their children's school supplies: notebooks, pencils, crayons, and of course, Bill O'Reilly's book, "The O'Reilly Factor for Kids." Talk about one of these things being NOT like the others!
O'Reilly thinks he can teach our children proper behavior, and we can't think of a worse father figure than an angry, hate-filled shock jock notorious for telling guests to "Shut up!" We wondered what would happen if kids read O'Reilly's book and then saw the real O'Reilly for themselves. So we put together a video to illustrate O'Reilly's duplicity.
O'Reilly's bullying antics show he never learned the lessons the rest of us were taught in school. Send this video to all the teachers, parents, parents-to-be, and anyone who has contact with kids, and don't forget to Digg it! Tell us what your teachers taught you that O'Reilly should have learned about how to be a responsible grown-up, or what your kids' teachers have taught them. We'll put all your suggestions together and send the list to O'Reilly at FOX News.
It's bad enough O'Reilly spews hate-filled lies on his shows to grown-up audiences, do we really want our children to be exposed to the same behavior? Do we really want this angry adult influencing our kids? While we only subjected the kids in our video to a few minutes of O'Reilly in order to prevent permanent damage, imagine the harm his children's book could do!
Rachel Maddow Discusses Afghanistan Live on Meet the Bloggers (Friday 1pm ET)
Posted by Robert Greenwald, Brave New Foundation on August 1, 2008 at 9:41 AM.
Tune into MeettheBloggers.org on Friday at 1pm ET/10am PT when our guest will be Rachel Maddow of Air America Radio and MSNBC.
Our panel of bloggers Roberto Lovato of Of America, Liliana Segura of AlterNet and Baratunde Thurston of Jack & Jill Politics will be discussing U.S. policy in Afghanistan.
But don't wait until Friday to get informed about Afghanistan. Maddow and our featured bloggers will be using the links below to prepare for the show, and now you can too. Should the U.S. redeploy troops to Afghanistan, or can a non-military resolution be found? And how can the U.S. send troops without sending much-needed aid? These are just some of the questions explored below that we will be discussing:
Make McCain Disavow His Dishonest Obama Ad
Posted by Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films on July 31, 2008 at 4:35 PM.
"What's worse than John McCain's dishonest ad? Finding out he had another, equally dishonest ad ready to air if Obama DID visit the hospital. He just wasn't going to be honest with American voters no matter what happened, and now everybody knows it, even the press he calls his "base." He'll never live it down." -- Kagro X, Daily Kos
The traditional press is up in arms over John McCain's latest dishonest ad attacking Barack Obama. MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell called the ad "completely wrong, factually wrong!" The New York Times said it was "a false account of what occurred." And The Washington Post said the ad offered "no evidence" to support McCain's claims.
McCain must disavow this ad and make sure it never airs again. We won't let this race degenerate into ad distortions like the last election; we won't be silent in the face of lies. That's why we created this video entitled When McCain Attacks.
Help end McCain's campaign of dishonesty. Sign our petition to compel McCain to disavow this ad and yank it from the air. Then send it to all your friends, family members, and colleagues. Tell them to spread it to everyone they know, and Digg it!
Hurry, because we're already seeing McCain's lies insidiously spread by other news outlets. Join us in declaring that we've had enough lies and dishonesty, we're ready for a new kind of politics.
Send Karl Rove to Jail!
Posted by Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films on July 18, 2008 at 7:52 AM.
This sounds like a dream, doesn't it? Well, it's not. We have a unique opportunity right now to send Karl Rove to jail, but only if we take immediate action.
All we have to do is pressure the 40 members of the House Judiciary Committee, make them hold Rove in contempt and send him to jail. We've never had such a direct opportunity to hold Rove accountable. No, this is not enough punishment for his years and years of crimes, but it's a huge start, and will send a very clear message to the entire Bush administration.
We put together this video to explain the issues surrounding Rove's failure to testify before Congress, and why Rove should be held in contempt and sent to jail. Check out Send Karl Rove to Jail, and sign our petition to ensure that the HJC holds Rove in contempt.
Today at 1pm ET / 10am PT, the first episode of Meet the Bloggers will air live, and Karl Rove will be the big topic of discussion with bloggers Marcy Wheeler, Liliana Segura, Baratunde Thurston, and special guest Arianna Huffington. The video will be featured on the show, sign the petition, forward it to friends (don't forget to Digg it), and go to meetthebloggers.org to send in your own thoughts, and join the discussion at 1pm ET.
If you can't watch live, you can always see what was discussed on the show anytime you want at meetthebloggers.org.
Watch the Premiere of Our First LIVE show: Meet the Bloggers
Posted by Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films on July 16, 2008 at 2:12 PM.
You know how we're always attempting to make an impact with our films?
We helped spread the word about hard-hitting documentaries like Outfoxed, Wal-Mart, and Iraq for Sale. Brave New Films then started making its own short videos like The REAL McCain and our FOX Attacks series, and you saw the chance to reach even more people by spreading them all over the web. Well, with a great deal of excitement (and just a wee bit of nervousness!), we bring you the next way for you to get involved.
Presenting our newest weekly series: Meet the Bloggers.
Beginning July 18, Meet the Bloggers will be a daring new show broadcast LIVE over the internet each Friday at 1PM ET. And the best part is this show is all yours. You will be part of creating the show, telling us what questions we should ask our high-profile guests; what issues we should be talking about; and what actions should be taken. You can also interact with other audience members using a live blog and instant polls.
We've already lined up some dazzling guests including John Cusack, Sen. Harry Reid, Rachel Maddow, and this week, Arianna Huffington (more exciting guests to be announced soon). The show's host will be Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks. And we have a really diverse mix of bloggers including Marcy Wheeler (Emptywheel), Nico Pitney (The Huffington Post), Liliana Segura (AlterNet), Roberto Lovato (Of America), Baratunde Thurston (Jack & Jill Politics), and Faiz Shakir (Think Progress) to bring you smart, unconventional political analysis.
Don't miss this Friday's premiere of Meet the Bloggers, in which we'll be discussing whether Karl Rove should be sent to jail for failing to comply with the House Judiciary Committee's subpoena. Now's your chance to become part of the Meet the Bloggers community; send us your questions and comments before Friday's show for us to consider to include. Give input for our Friday show here: http://meetthebloggers.org.
And if you do miss this Friday's premiere or any other episode, you can still watch them free online any time at meetthebloggers.org. We can't allow the corporatism to dominate the discourse any longer. The stakes are much too high. So please join us live in watching and spreading Meet the Bloggers beginning this Friday, July 18 at 1PM ET.
Sorry FOX, We Won't Let You Trash Michelle Obama
Posted by Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films on July 9, 2008 at 8:22 AM.
You're not going to believe what FOX is up to now--we could hardly believe it ourselves. Not only are they smearing Michelle Obama with racist stereotypes, but then they offer a feeble apology that they believe gives them the right to slander her again. That's what happened when FOX called Michelle and Barack Obama's fist bump a "terrorist fist jab," apologized, and then less than a week later referred to Michelle Obama as Barack's "Baby Mama."
FOX's long history of racism is nothing new, but it has been particularly egregious when it comes to their coverage of the Obamas. Racism and fearmongering have no place in our country or its politics, despite what FOX would have you believe. That's why we put together this video, FOX Attacks Michelle Obama.
We cannot allow FOX's heinous smears and scare tactics to continue. Sign our petition and stop FOX from injecting racism, prejudice, and fear into our political dialogue. Then, send it to all your friends and family members for them to sign as well. And spread it on sites like Digg to create an uproar.
We cannot allow FOX to make politics about stereotypes, misinformation, and flat-out dishonesty. Not now. Not ever.
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