[ohcomeon]

A few minutes ago, on CNBC, when discussing the hundreds of billions of liquidity that was injected this morning, one talking head said "Barcalounger and popcorn time." And then the other said, "Argentina?" and then they went to commercial break. When they returned they said nothing about it and moved on to the next segment.

I was listening "with one ear" as I am on the computer working. Did I miss something before that that prefaced this? Or was this something that they said inadvertently not realizing they were still on. Surely they were joking. Though that's where we're headed probably, I can't believe they interntionally said it...

Anybody else hear it?

[Iaato]

No. I don't have cable. But this was in my inbox this morning. I like the message line. I don't agree that the root cause is health care costs. His rationale in the PPS for why the Democrats are going for this is interesting. I've been wondering why they're taking the pro position when they should be on the other side of this thing.

"The Rich Are Staging a Coup This Morning ...a message from Michael Moore

Let me cut to the chase. The biggest robbery in the history of this country is taking place as you read this. Though no guns are being used, 300 million hostages are being taken. Make no mistake about it: After stealing a half trillion dollars to line the pockets of their war-profiteering backers for the past five years, after lining the pockets of their fellow oilmen to the tune of over a hundred billion dollars in just the last two years, Bush and his cronies -- who must soon vacate the White House -- are looting the U.S. Treasury of every dollar they can grab. They are swiping as much of the silverware as they can on their way out the door.

No matter what they say, no matter how many scare words they use, they are up to their old tricks of creating fear and confusion in order to make and keep themselves and the upper one percent filthy rich. Just read the first four paragraphs of the lead story in last Monday's New York Times and you can see what the real deal is:

"Even as policy makers worked on details of a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, Wall Street began looking for ways to profit from it.

"Financial firms were lobbying to have all manner of troubled investments covered, not just those related to mortgages.

"At the same time, investment firms were jockeying to oversee all the assets that Treasury plans to take off the books of financial institutions, a role that could earn them hundreds of millions of dollars a year in fees.

"Nobody wants to be left out of Treasury's proposal to buy up bad assets of financial institutions."
Unbelievable. Wall Street and its backers created this mess and now they are going to clean up like bandits. Even Rudy Giuliani is lobbying for his firm to be hired (and paid) to "consult" in the bailout.

The problem is, nobody truly knows what this "collapse" is all about. Even Treasury Secretary Paulson admitted he doesn't know the exact amount that is needed (he just picked the $700 billion number out of his head!). The head of the congressional budget office said he can't figure it out nor can he explain it to anyone.

And yet, they are screeching about how the end is near! Panic! Recession! The Great Depression! Y2K! Bird flu! Killer bees! We must pass the bailout bill today!! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

Falling for whom? NOTHING in this "bailout" package will lower the price of the gas you have to put in your car to get to work. NOTHING in this bill will protect you from losing your home. NOTHING in this bill will give you health insurance.

Health insurance? Mike, why are you bringing this up? What's this got to do with the Wall Street collapse?

It has everything to do with it. This so-called "collapse" was triggered by the massive defaulting and foreclosures going on with people's home mortgages. Do you know why so many Americans are losing their homes? To hear the Republicans describe it, it's because too many working class idiots were given mortgages that they really couldn't afford. Here's the truth: The number one cause of people declaring bankruptcy is because of medical bills. Let me state this simply: If we had had universal health coverage, this mortgage "crisis" may never have happened.

This bailout's mission is to protect the obscene amount of wealth that has been accumulated in the last eight years. It's to protect the top shareholders who own and control corporate America. It's to make sure their yachts and mansions and "way of life" go uninterrupted while the rest of America suffers and struggles to pay the bills. Let the rich suffer for once. Let them pay for the bailout. We are spending 400 million dollars a day on the war in Iraq. Let them end the war immediately and save us all another half-trillion dollars!

I have to stop writing this and you have to stop reading it. They are staging a financial coup this morning in our country. They are hoping Congress will act fast before they stop to think, before we have a chance to stop them ourselves. So stop reading this and do something -- NOW! Here's what you can do immediately:

1. Call or e-mail Senator Obama. Tell him he does not need to be sitting there trying to help prop up Bush and Cheney and the mess they've made. Tell him we know he has the smarts to slow this thing down and figure out what's the best route to take. Tell him the rich have to pay for whatever help is offered. Use the leverage we have now to insist on a moratorium on home foreclosures, to insist on a move to universal health coverage, and tell him that we the people need to be in charge of the economic decisions that affect our lives, not the barons of Wall Street.

2. Take to the streets. Participate in one of the hundreds of quickly-called demonstrations that are taking place all over the country (especially those near Wall Street and DC).

3. Call your Representative in Congress and your Senators. (click here to find their phone numbers). Tell them what you told Senator Obama.

When you screw up in life, there is hell to pay. Each and every one of you reading this knows that basic lesson and has paid the consequences of your actions at some point. In this great democracy, we cannot let there be one set of rules for the vast majority of hard-working citizens, and another set of rules for the elite, who, when they screw up, are handed one more gift on a silver platter. No more! Not again!

Yours,
Michael Moore
[email protected]
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. Having read further the details of this bailout bill, you need to know you are being lied to. They talk about how they will prevent golden parachutes. It says NOTHING about what these executives and fat cats will make in SALARY. According to Rep. Brad Sherman of California, these top managers will continue to receive million-dollar-a-month paychecks under this new bill. There is no direct ownership given to the American people for the money being handed over. Foreign banks and investors will be allowed to receive billion-dollar handouts. A large chunk of this $700 billion is going to be given directly to Chinese and Middle Eastern banks. There is NO guarantee of ever seeing that money again.

P.P.S. From talking to people I know in DC, they say the reason so many Dems are behind this is because Wall Street this weekend put a gun to their heads and said either turn over the $700 billion or the first thing we'll start blowing up are the pension funds and 401(k)s of your middle class constituents. The Dems are scared they may make good on their threat. But this is not the time to back down or act like the typical Democrat we have witnessed for the last eight years. The Dems handed a stolen election over to Bush. The Dems gave Bush the votes he needed to invade a sovereign country. Once they took over Congress in 2007, they refused to pull the plug on the war. And now they have been cowered into being accomplices in the crime of the century. You have to call them now and say "NO!" If we let them do this, just imagine how hard it will be to get anything good done when President Obama is in the White House. THESE DEMOCRATS ARE ONLY AS STRONG AS THE BACKBONE WE GIVE THEM. CALL CONGRESS NOW."

[frankthetank]

They probably didn't realize it. I can just imagine what the real conversations on these shows go like. I just got done watching "Anchorman" last night and i'm sure it isn't too far from the truth.


MM is probably right about the cash giveaway. Although i still don't see how Americans are going to pick up the bill when they have no jobs...and about health insurance...if people weren't so GOD DAMN FAT and lazy and actually ate less and EXERCISED they wouldn't need to go to the hospital...

[AlexdeLarge]

Michael Moore? Now theres an opinion you can trust. LOL

[mos6507]

MM is probably right about the cash giveaway. Although i still don't see how Americans are going to pick up the bill when they have no jobs...and about health insurance...if people weren't so GOD DAMN FAT and lazy and actually ate less and EXERCISED they wouldn't need to go to the hospital...

MM is the poster child for that.

[Fishman]

GO FOR IT MICHAEL! With no Wall Street money, no more Michael Moore movies, no health care for anyone. Universal healthcare, yea, like what I witnessed in Mexico. Everyone had access to the local clinic. It was staffed by medical students, one nurse, a limited formulary of drugs, AND NO DAMN LAWYERS to sue. Obama's universal family healthcare = four bandaids and a bottle of tylenol.

[cowgap]

Ocomeon

"A few minutes ago, on CNBC, when discussing the hundreds of billions of liquidity that was injected this morning, one talking head said "Barcalounger and popcorn time." And then the other said, "Argentina?" and then they went to commercial break. When they returned they said nothing about it and moved on to the next segment.

I was listening "with one ear" as I am on the computer working. Did I miss something before that that prefaced this? Or was this something that they said inadvertently not realizing they were still on. Surely they were joking. Though that's where we're headed probably, I can't believe they interntionally said it...

Anybody else hear it?"

Yes, I heard it and, IMHO, they knew the mics were on but probably did not think other people would catch their drift.

[ohcomeon]

Ocomeon

"A few minutes ago, on CNBC, when discussing the hundreds of billions of liquidity that was injected this morning, one talking head said "Barcalounger and popcorn time." And then the other said, "Argentina?" and then they went to commercial break. When they returned they said nothing about it and moved on to the next segment.

I was listening "with one ear" as I am on the computer working. Did I miss something before that that prefaced this? Or was this something that they said inadvertently not realizing they were still on. Surely they were joking. Though that's where we're headed probably, I can't believe they interntionally said it...

Anybody else hear it?"

Yes, I heard it and, IMHO, they knew the mics were on but probably did not think other people would catch their drift.

Probably right... they must think we're all dumber than dirt...

Anyway, now we know what they're really thinking... even if it's not what they're saying the rest of the day...

[charliebrownout]

Ocomeon

"A few minutes ago, on CNBC, when discussing the hundreds of billions of liquidity that was injected this morning, one talking head said "Barcalounger and popcorn time." And then the other said, "Argentina?" and then they went to commercial break. When they returned they said nothing about it and moved on to the next segment.

I was listening "with one ear" as I am on the computer working. Did I miss something before that that prefaced this? Or was this something that they said inadvertently not realizing they were still on. Surely they were joking. Though that's where we're headed probably, I can't believe they interntionally said it...

Anybody else hear it?"

Yes, I heard it and, IMHO, they knew the mics were on but probably did not think other people would catch their drift.

Probably right... they must think we're all dumber than dirt...

Anyway, now we know what they're really thinking... even if it's not what they're saying the rest of the day...

I'm really sorry I missed that. You know, it would be hard to parody this stuff...it's already so laughably silly. Or, at least, I would laugh if I wasn't so busy sh***ing pink twinkies over the whole thing.

[ProudFossil]

[quote="ohcomeon']Probably right... they must think we're all dumber than dirt...[/quote]
Most of the electorate are. (no offense to the dirt)

[StuckInPhilly]

They probably didn't realize it. I can just imagine what the real conversations on these shows go like. I just got done watching "Anchorman" last night and i'm sure it isn't too far from the truth.


MM is probably right about the cash giveaway. Although i still don't see how Americans are going to pick up the bill when they have no jobs...and about health insurance...if people weren't so GOD DAMN FAT and lazy and actually ate less and EXERCISED they wouldn't need to go to the hospital...

What a crock!
Oh wait, I forgot that the only reason anyone goes to the hospital is because of lifestyle choices.
Forget the heart disease, appendicitis or gallstones.

[Concerned]

Michael Moore? Now theres an opinion you can trust. LOL

LOL yeah dumb ignorant fatty.

Better to let one of the best Presidents EVER to have all the money him and his friends require.

Right now this country NEEDs to give this money to Wall St for the sake of ALL of us otherwise life as we know it ends and a "new era" will begin. That will be just flat out BAD.

[Concerned]

GO FOR IT MICHAEL! With no Wall Street money, no more Michael Moore movies, no health care for anyone. Universal healthcare, yea, like what I witnessed in Mexico. Everyone had access to the local clinic. It was staffed by medical students, one nurse, a limited formulary of drugs, AND NO DAMN LAWYERS to sue. Obama's universal family healthcare = four bandaids and a bottle of tylenol.

Hahahaha feeble mind, go to Western Europe, New Zealand, Australia and even some Asian countries to see better functioning health care systems.

(There was an excellent documentary on various health care alternatives ALL existing systems could be improved dollar for dollar the US is one of the worst. Reason "free markets" needing to make "profits" not healing you)

[americandream]

GO FOR IT MICHAEL! With no Wall Street money, no more Michael Moore movies, no health care for anyone. Universal healthcare, yea, like what I witnessed in Mexico. Everyone had access to the local clinic. It was staffed by medical students, one nurse, a limited formulary of drugs, AND NO DAMN LAWYERS to sue. Obama's universal family healthcare = four bandaids and a bottle of tylenol.

Hahahaha feeble mind, go to Western Europe, New Zealand, Australia and even some Asian countries to see better functioning health care systems.

(There was an excellent documentary on various health care alternatives ALL existing systems could be improved dollar for dollar the US is one of the worst. Reason "free markets" needing to make "profits" not healing you)

In any event, Mexico isn't the progressive state Mexicans would like it to be. It's a leading ally of the US so any pretensions to socialist government are of the same magnitude as China's so-called communism...meaningless gestures.

[Spanktron9]

Ocomeon

"A few minutes ago, on CNBC, when discussing the hundreds of billions of liquidity that was injected this morning, one talking head said "Barcalounger and popcorn time." And then the other said, "Argentina?" and then they went to commercial break. When they returned they said nothing about it and moved on to the next segment.

I was listening "with one ear" as I am on the computer working. Did I miss something before that that prefaced this? Or was this something that they said inadvertently not realizing they were still on. Surely they were joking. Though that's where we're headed probably, I can't believe they interntionally said it...

Anybody else hear it?"

Yes, I heard it and, IMHO, they knew the mics were on but probably did not think other people would catch their drift.

Probably right... they must think we're all dumber than dirt...

Anyway, now we know what they're really thinking... even if it's not what they're saying the rest of the day...

I'm really sorry I missed that. You know, it would be hard to parody this stuff...it's already so laughably silly. Or, at least, I would laugh if I wasn't so busy sh***ing pink twinkies over the whole thing.

I caught that as well. I'm in Finance and basically glued to CNBC during market hours. The male anchor made the "barcolounger and popcorn" comment and Erin Burnett turned to him and said "Argentina Mark, Argentina."

I couldn't believe they said that on MSM!

[StuckInPhilly]

Okay, I don't know if I'm being dense - I understand the Argentina statement because I've done a little studying up on that lately but what does the popcorn and barcolounger mean?

Was he just saying that he's entertained?

[Dreamtwister]

Michael Moore? Now theres an opinion you can trust. LOL

Just because he's a bloated gas bag with a political agenda, doesn't mean he's wrong.

[Spanktron9]

Okay, I don't know if I'm being dense - I understand the Argentina statement because I've done a little studying up on that lately but what does the popcorn and barcolounger mean?

Was he just saying that he's entertained?

My feeling is that it means, "the show is about to begin, and you better settle in, cuz you don't want to miss this!" Basically, TEOTWAWKI.

[StuckInPhilly]

Okay, I don't know if I'm being dense - I understand the Argentina statement because I've done a little studying up on that lately but what does the popcorn and barcolounger mean?

Was he just saying that he's entertained?

My feeling is that it means, "the show is about to begin, and you better settle in, cuz you don't want to miss this!" Basically, TEOTWAWKI.

Thanks - I'm gonna go grab my cheesy popcorn then!

[katkinkate]

They probably didn't realize it. I can just imagine what the real conversations on these shows go like. I just got done watching "Anchorman" last night and i'm sure it isn't too far from the truth.


MM is probably right about the cash giveaway. Although i still don't see how Americans are going to pick up the bill when they have no jobs...and about health insurance...if people weren't so GOD DAMN FAT and lazy and actually ate less and EXERCISED they wouldn't need to go to the hospital...

What a crock!
Oh wait, I forgot that the only reason anyone goes to the hospital is because of lifestyle choices.
Forget the heart disease, appendicitis or gallstones.

Also car accidents, work accidents and cancer. And obesity is correlated with diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiac probs etc., not the cause of these problems. It is possible to be fat and well, in fact the majority of fat people are well. There are large numbers of skinny people with diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiac probs, etc. so obesity isn't the primary cause.