An Aging Trans Woman

The Federal Marriage Amendment is expected to come to a vote in the US Senate in early July. We must let our Senators know that we do NOT want discrimination written into the constitution!

Even if you’ve already spoken out on this issue before, our Senators need to hear from us often and loudly during the next few weeks! Please, join me in sending a personalized letter from the Human Rights Campaign Action Center at: http://www.hrc.org/millionformarriage/fmavote.html

See the results here or here.

To most everyone’s surprise (except mine), Fahrenheit 9/11 grossed more than any other movie this past weekend. And this with roughly only a third as many screens showing it as the other films in the top 5 this past weekend.

I saw it on opening night. I highly recommend it to anyone capable of seeing it with an open mind. Michael Moore has really brought together some amazing video moments in our history, and if even half of what he purports is true, this country is in serious trouble.

Some critics comments:

Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
“…the statistics, the footage, the accumulation of facts are staggering — or, at the very least, fascinating.”

Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert
“…a compelling, persuasive film…”

Boston Globe, Ty Burr
“…Fahrenheit 9/11 is many things, but for pity’s sake let’s not call it a documentary.”

• Vice President Dick Cheney was Halliburton’s CEO from 1995-2000. In addition to providing him with a massive salary and bonus for just eight months of work in 2000, Halliburton’s board of directors voted to give Cheney a $20 million retirement package when he resigned. Following his departure from Halliburton, Cheney retained possession of 433,333 options of Halliburton stock. [Washington Post, 9/26/03; Richard B. Cheney Personal Financial Disclosure, May 15, 2002; May 15, 2003; New York Times, 8/12/00; LA Times, 7/24/00; AP, 7/18/02]
• For months, Cheney denied any involvement in Halliburton contracts. On “Meet the Press,” he even said “…I have absolutely no influence of, involvement of, knowledge of in any way, shape or form of contracts…” [NBC News, “Meet the Press”, 9/14/03]
• Time Magazine recently reported on a smoking gun email between the Department of Defense and the Vice President’s office showing that Cheney’s office “coordinated” a multi-billion dollar, no-bid government contract for Halliburton, his former employer. [Time, 5/30/04]
• As an example of overspending, Halliburton billed the government for 36 percent more meals than were served. In all, Halliburton charged $186 million for meals that were never delivered. [Detroit Free Press, 6/16/04]
• A Halliburton subsidiary was criticized for abandoning numerous $85,000 trucks with flat tires, housing company officials in a five-star Kuwaiti hotel, raising prices for gasoline deliveries in Iraq and ordering empty trucks to crisscross the country to run up the gas bills. [Detroit Free Press, 6/16/04]

You must give some time to your fellow men. Even if it’s a little thing, do something for others – something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it.
Albert Schweitzer
(1875 – 1965)

“Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult – once we truly understand and accept it – then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.”
M. Scott Peck
Psychiatrist & author
The Road Less Travelled

Michael Moore’s new film, “Fahrenheit 9/11,” opens on Friday, June 25. An expose of the Bush administration’s actions after 9/11 and in Iraq, the movie is the first documentary ever to win the grand prize in the world-famous Cannes Film Festival. The New York Times said, “Whatever you think of Moore… [these are] pictures that have been largely shielded from our view.”

I’m going on opening weekend along with other members of MoveOn PAC. I hope you’ll come too and see what all the fuss is about. Sign up to come along and find out how to buy tickets at:

http://www.moveonpac.org/f911/

MoveOn PAC is an online group, 2 million members strong, that organizes citizens to work together to change the country this year. I hope you’ll come along.

“Make the time each day to offer an expression of appreciation to just one of your fellow human beings. It is the accumulation of such “small” kindnesses and acts of recognition and awareness and respect that add up to a life worth having been lived. In short … you must care. You must wear your passion and compassion and engagement on your sleeve, and attend intensively to the moment. It will not come ’round again!”
Tom Peters
Consultant & Author