Michael Moore

Yesterday Michael Moore appeared on the Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer to talk about how we're kind of getting shafted on the health care "compromise" that no republicans will vote for anyway. Among other things he talked about the extent to which the political environment is different because the last time we attempted health care reform an entire generation of kids are now of voting age.

He also specifically pointed out that young people are the ones who are most affected both by HCR but also by the sad and tragic fact that our government isn't doing what we worked so hard to elect them to do.

Begins at about the 9:45 mark in the video below

Talking about Hillary Clinton's attempts at HCR in the 90's:
Moore: "That was like 16 years ago! Sixteen years ago!"

Blitzer: "Well, they're still living that lesson..."

Moore: "Well speaking of living, a lot of people who were involved at that time are no longer with us. You know what happened in that time? A generation of young people have become adults. And they're the force that got Obama elected. You were there in Iowa. It was the young people that were out there pounding on those doors . . "

Blitzer: "You're saying they're gonna sit on their hands this time?"

Moore: "I'm afraid a lot of young people have seen and they've become cynical already and they're not gonna vote."

I really hope this isn't true, because my fear is that it will perpetuate the stereotype that young people don't vote and don't care. It isn't that we don't care, its that we got everyone elected and then most of them screwed us with our pants on. It teaches us the lesson of - why should we participate in a system that continues to ignore us, even when we're promised that we matter.

Other interesting comments in this video are that the insurance companies won't care about paying for pre-existing conditions because they're only being fined $100 a day. Moore says that when it comes down to paying for a $100,000 treatment or surgery that might save your life - or just paying $100 fine when you'll be dead in three months ... they'll opt for the fine.

He also says that when the GOP took over during the Clinton Administration that at the very least the White House had the guys to shut the federal government down by calling the GOP's bluff. He suggests that the Senate let the GOP filibuster all they want and publicly shut down progress and let the American people watch it. I think it'd be nice to see the White House and the Senate develop a little bit of that chutzpah that Moore suggests. The philosophy on The Hill should be "bring it on." We want to keep this majority, I say lets fight for it.

• Early voting begins today in Virginia, Kentucky and Georgia. If that's where you live, stop reading this and go vote!
• Next week is Ohio's "Golden Week," when you can register to vote and cast your ballot on the same day. If you want to go help out in the state next week, volunteer here.
• The National Conference on Citizenship released its Third Civic Health Index today. They also held their annual conference today (which I was supposed to attend - apologies to all for not making it down). I'll have more later, but for now, you can read another blogger's take here.
• 29-year-old Nate Willems, also a blogger, is running for State Senate in Iowa. Best of luck, Nate, and we'd love to have you here anytime to blog about the experience.
• Turns out that email is not a dying medium among today's youth afterall. (Warning, this link will take you to the most obnoxious sign-up process in history. Go at your own risk).
• Trying to wrap your head around this economic mess we now find ourselves in? Go read this article in The Nation.
• FiveThirtyEight.com notes that some folks are getting their feathers ruffled as the Obama campaign directs funds away from swag like lawn signs towards other things like field work. Oh, the horror! Hey, sounds right to me.
• Michael Moore is encouraging everyone to download his new movie, "Slacker Uprising," about his tour of colleges and universities in 2004. Moore will by live blogging on Daily Kos tonight at 11pm Eastern.
• The Swing Semester Syllabus is now online.
• The Daily Pennsylvanian has an excellent interview with Howard Dean about the role of young people in this election and remaking the Democratic Party.
• P. Diddy may be off on the sidelines, uploading crazy-ass YouTube videos every week, but celebrity-driven politics is bigger than ever. Ad Week has the skinny.
• New York State College Dems are gearing up for the election. So are a lot of College Dem chapters, but NYS keeps popping up in my Google Alerts and on blogs. They've got a much larger online footprint than other College Dem chapters, which is a good thing. That's how you get noticed. More chapters should be as active within the blogosphere.
• This is funny. A Republican candidate is crying foul over her loss in a recent primary. The crime? Her opponent registered and GOTV'd too many College Republicans. I'm sure there's a joke about eating your young in there . . .

Michael Moore is releasing a new movie on September 23rd - Slacker Uprising - and he's giving it away for free (he says he was inspired by Radiohead).

Best part, it looks like the movie focuses on his tour of college and universities in 2004 and how young people did in fact come out and Vote for Change four years ago.

Just a reminder, if young people were the only ones voting in 2004, this is what the electoral map would have looked like:

• The subversive site Jam Band Fan or Taliban? posts several low-resolution pictures of hazy-eyed, bearded men and asks readers the simple question: Jam Band Fan or Taliban? Guessing correctly is surprisingly difficult -- although, to my defense, Phish and The Grateful Dead predate my lifetime -- and members of both groups have gone days without showering. Definitely check it out for a laugh.
• In response to the recent New York Times/ CBS News/ MTV poll that described the more liberal tendencies of young voters (which we previously covered here and here), the highly trustworthy show Fox & Friends interviewed Jason Mattera, a spokesman from the Young America's Foundation, who challenged the poll’s results.
  
  Mattera -- a fast-talking man with catch-phrases that rival those of Tony Snow -- asserts that "young people, as opposed to the general public, are more conservative on the issue of abortion and racial preferences. ... [T]hey'd rather ban abortion and they are opposed to racial preferences. Media Matters systematically disproves both of Mattera’s contentions, once again proving the reliability of Fox News.
• Articles about Obama’s “viral marketing campaign” are everywhere, from Time Magazine to the blogosphere. He seems to be covering all of his bases -- both large and modest contributions from all generations. Karen Tumulty of Time notes that “more than $10 million of Obama's second-quarter contributions were made online, and 90% of them were in increments of $100 or less.” While Sasha Issenberg of Boston Magazine describes Obama’s ability to capture Boston’s biggest political networkers and invest their money in youth fundraising.
• Al Gore introduces Live Earth as a hologram. While he still uses his infamous monotone, he is definitely less stiff in hologram form.
• Apparently, Myspace, in conjunction with Mark Burnett, the reality show guru behind "Survivor" and "The Apprentice,” is planning to launch an interactive political show. MySpace users will select a candidate who they feel best represents the collective voice of Americans. The winner then wins one million dollars to donate to a political candidate. HUH? The whole thing sounds a little convoluted to me. Why don’t we all actually vote in 2008 rather than partake in a Rupert Murdoch nonsensical ploy?
• Check out Living Liberally on Open Left for interesting cultural and political anecdotes. Recent posts focus on Michael Moore’s Sicko. Today’s joke of the day, for example, warrants both a cringe and a chuckle:

  Michael Moore was on CNN arguing with Dr. Sanjay Gupta about Sicko, claiming that Americans shouldn't be hurried along the path of bankruptcy and death because of a horrible health care system. Gupta argued that in Canada and England, people have to wait in line to die ... And after all, who wants to wait in line?

• Mobilize.org is recruiting 435 young activists, one from each Congressional District, to attend The Party for the Presidency in December. At the party, which sounds like an amazing opportunity to schmooze with motivated millennials, the “Declaration of Our Generation” will be unveiled. To contribute to the declaration click here