Peter Cavanaugh and Michael Moore (1982). WWCK-FM Had Just Become The Highest-Rated Rock Station in America.
Your boss knows best.
Vote as you’re told.
That’s the implicit command 45,000 employees of Georgia Pacific received in the mail last week from their employer — Koch Industries — owned by the Koch brothers.
A generally unrecognized aspect of the Supreme Court’s 2010 “Citizens United” decision defining corporations as “persons” and money as “free speech” is that it also overturned previous Federal Election Commission laws prohibiting employers from expressing “electoral opinions” directly to their workers.
Florida billionaire David Siegel has informed his 7,000 employees of Westgate Resorts that an Obama victory would likely lead to layoffs at his company.
ASG Software Solutions CEO Arthur Allen has specifically warned employees that an Obama second term might well cost them their jobs.
Mitt Romney even told a group of self-described small business owners; “I hope you make it very clear to your employees what you believe is in the best interest of your enterprise and therefore their job and their future in the upcoming elections.”
The November 6th elections are shaping up as the most important in our lifetime, establishing a governmental framework for generations to come in a political configuration either boldly moving forward into the future or ripping us backward toward a time before Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, Medicare, Medicaid and other enlightened benefits that eventually emerged in the wake of the 19th Amendment granting universal suffrage in 1920 — giving women the right to vote. But have they had control of their bodies long enough?
It’s happening all over the place. Big money is moving in for the kill. And the most infamous freedom killers of all are the Koch brothers.
Yet — even as a front page Fresno Bee headline earlier this month alarmingly proclaimed, “Super rich Kochs aim to save America”, the Democratic Club of Oakhurst had completed arrangements to offer “Koch Brothers Exposed” as a key attraction in their “Pre-Election Bringing Home the TRUTH Rally” at 7:30 PM this Saturday, October 27th, at the Oakhurst Met Cinemas. “Koch Brothers Exposed” is a full-length, 55 minute documentary, wildly heralded as timely, true and terrific.
I’ve asked an old friend to join us.
Academy Award Winning Film Director Michael Moore wrote and produced “Fahrenheit 9/11”, the highest grossing motion picture documentary of all time with over two hundred million dollars in worldwide receipts. It was 2004 winner of the Palme d’Or — the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. Other film projects include “Roger & Me” (1989), “Canadian Bacon” (1995), “Bowling for Columbine” (2002), “Sicko” (2007) and “Capitalism: A Love Story” (2009.) Michael has also gained notoriety as a writer, “Stupid White Men” (2001) and “Dude: Where’s My Country?” (2003) and as a television producer/performer with “TV Nation” (1994-1995) and “The Awful Truth” (1999).
But he was just Mike Moore when the Richfield Township Board of Supervisors tried to put us both out of business in the mid-70’s. I was running outdoor rock concerts attended by Mr. Moore and his friends from Davison High at a place called “Sherwood Forest.” Mike had established “The Davison Hotline” as a call center for troubled teens. Township authorities told our local paper I was “The Pied Piper of Satan” promoting “rock music from hell” and claimed Mike was obviously a “major trouble maker” dealing with such forbidden, un-American topics as birth control, mental health and drug counseling. Joined together by a common foe, I put Mike on the radio with “Radio Free Flint” and — we’ve never looked back.
As fate would have it, Mike’s sister, Anne Moore, lives in Grass Valley. Her Congressman since 2008 has been Tom McClintock, running in the new Fourth California Congressional District that now includes Oakhurst. When I mentioned our “Pre-Election Bringing Home The TRUTH Rally” to Mike, he said he’d love to take part and share a few thoughts about the national scene, but, even more critically, discuss his endorsement of Jack Uppal and how this decision relates to ever increasing domination of the rich over the rest — oligarchy at its best.
This subjugation of Constitutional intent is dramatically witnessed by McClintock’s own words in the Stockton Journal on October 9th when, in excusing himself from debating candidate Uppal, he bluntly stated, “I’d be happy to debate Jack in a neutral forum the moment he takes the race seriously. But he is not. He hasn’t raised enough money to be competitive in a county supervisor’s race let alone in a Congressional race.”
Sitting on almost a million dollars in his campaign fund against less than forty thousand in his opponent’s, McClintock’s fear of debate is further verified by his refusal to appear with Uppal at The Queen’s Inn on October 10th, although invited to do so by our non-partisan Oakhurst Chamber of Commerce. McClintock’s campaign also haughtily turned down an offer from The League of Women Voters, finding this female organization much too “ Democratic.”
Michael Moore will be linked live from his home in Northern Michigan to fully explore the relationship between Congressman McClintock and big bucks — then take any and all questions from those in attendance.
So, it’s “Koch Brothers Exposed” and “Radio Free Oakhurst with Michael Moore” this Saturday at 7:30 PM at The Met Cinema. Free admission. The general public is enthusiastically encouraged to attend. Bring Republican friends.
I’m Peter Cavanaugh and I approve this message.
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