You’ve Seen the Movie — Now It’s Time to ACT!

Friends,

It’s the #1 question I’m constantly asked after people see my movie: “OK — so NOW what can I DO?!”

You want something to do? Well, you’ve come to the right place! ‘Cause I got 15 things you and I can do right now to fight back and try to fix this very broken system.

Here they are:

FIVE THINGS WE DEMAND THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS DO IMMEDIATELY:

1. Declare a moratorium on all home evictions. Not one more family should be thrown out of their home. The banks must adjust their monthly mortgage payments to be in line with what people’s homes are now truly worth — and what they can afford. Also, it must be stated by law: If you lose your job, you cannot be tossed out of your home.

2. Congress must join the civilized world and expand Medicare For All Americans. A single, nonprofit source must run a universal health care system that covers everyone. Medical bills are now the #1 cause of bankruptcies and evictions in this country. Medicare For All will end this misery. The bill to make this happen is H.R. 3200 (but only with Rep. Anthony Weiner’s amendment). You must call AND write your members of Congress and demand its passage, no compromises allowed.

3. Demand publicly-funded elections and a prohibition on elected officials leaving office and becoming lobbyists. Yes, those very members of Congress who solicit and receive millions of dollars from wealthy interests must vote to remove ALL money from our electoral and legislative process. Tell your members of Congress they must support campaign finance bill H.R.1826.

4. Each of the 50 states must create a state-owned public bank like they have in North Dakota. Then congress MUST reinstate all the strict pre-Reagan regulations on all commercial banks, investment firms, insurance companies — and all the other industries that have been savaged by deregulation: Airlines, the food industry, pharmaceutical companies — you name it. If a company’s primary motive to exist is to make a profit, then it needs a set of stringent rules to live by — and the first rule is “Do no harm.” The second rule: The question must always be asked — “Is this for the common good?” (Click here for some info about the state-owned Bank of North Dakota.)

5. Save this fragile planet and declare that all the energy resources above and beneath the ground are owned collectively by all of us. Just like they do it in Sarah Palin’s socialist Alaska. We only have a few decades of oil left. The public must be the owners and landlords of the natural resources and energy that exists within our borders or we will descend further into corporate anarchy. And when it comes to burning fossil fuels to transport ourselves, we must cease using the internal combustion engine and instruct our auto/transportation companies to rehire our skilled workforce and build mass transit (clean buses, light rail, subways, bullet trains, etc.) and new cars that don’t contribute to climate change. (For more on this, here’s a proposal I wrote in December.) Demand that General Motors’ de facto chairman, Barack Obama, issue a JFK man-on-the-moon-style challenge to turn our country into a nation of trains and buses and subways. For Pete’s sake, people, we were the ones who invented (or perfected) these damn things in the first place!!

FIVE THINGS WE CAN DO TO MAKE CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT LISTEN TO US:

1. Each of us must get into the daily habit of taking 5 minutes to make four brief calls: One to the President (202-456-1414), one to your Congressperson (202-224-3121) and one to each of your two Senators (202-224-3121). To find out who represents you, click here. Take just one minute on each of these calls to let them know how you expect them to vote on a particular issue. Let them know you will have no hesitation voting for a primary opponent — or even a candidate from another party — if they don’t do our bidding. Trust me, they will listen. If you have another five minutes, click here to send them each an email. And if you really want to drop an anvil on them, send them a snail mail letter!

2. Take over your local Democratic Party. Remember how much fun you had with all those friends and neighbors working together to get Barack Obama elected? YOU DID THE IMPOSSIBLE. It’s time to re-up! Get everyone back together and go to the monthly meeting of your town or county Democratic Party — and become the majority that runs it! There will not be many in attendance and they will either be happy or in shock that you and the Obama Revolution have entered the room looking like you mean business. President Obama’s agenda will never happen without mass grass roots action — and he won’t feel encouraged to do the right thing if no one has his back, whether it’s to stand with him, or push him in the right direction. When you all become the local Democratic Party, send me a photo of the group and I’ll post it on my website.

3. Recruit someone to run for office who can win in your local elections next year — or, better yet, consider running for office yourself! You don’t have to settle for the incumbent who always expects to win. You can be our next representative! Don’t believe it can happen? Check out these examples of regular citizens who got elected: State Senator Deb Simpson, California State Assemblyman Isadore Hall, Tempe, Arizona City Councilman Corey Woods, Wisconsin State Assemblyman Chris Danou, and Washington State Representative Larry Seaquist. The list goes on and on — and you should be on it!

4. Show up. Picket the local branch of a big bank that took the bailout money. Hold vigils and marches. Consider civil disobedience. Those town hall meetings are open to you, too (and there’s more of us than there are of them!). Make some noise, have some fun, get on the local news. Place “Capitalism Did This” signs on empty foreclosed homes, closed down businesses, crumbling schools and infrastructure. (You can download them from my website.)

5. Start your own media. You. Just you (or you and a couple friends). The mainstream media is owned by corporate America and, with few exceptions, it will never tell the whole truth — so you have to do it! Start a blog! Start a website of real local news (here’s an example: The Michigan Messenger). Tweet your friends and use Facebook to let them know what they need to do politically. The daily papers are dying. If you don’t fill that void, who will?

FIVE THINGS WE SHOULD DO TO PROTECT OURSELVES AND OUR LOVED ONES UNTIL WE GET THROUGH THIS MESS:

1. Take your money out of your bank if it took bailout money and place it in a locally-owned bank or, preferably, a credit union.

2. Get rid of all your credit cards but one — the kind where you have to pay up at the end of the month or you lose your card.

3. Do not invest in the stock market. If you have any extra cash, put it away in a savings account or, if you can, pay down on your mortgage so you can own your home as soon as possible. You can also buy very safe government savings bonds or T-bills. Or just buy your mother some flowers.

4. Unionize your workplace so that you and your coworkers have a say in how your business is run. Here’s how to do it (more info here). Nothing is more American than democracy, and democracy shouldn’t be checked at the door when you enter your workplace. Another way to Americanize your workplace is to turn your business into a worker-owned cooperative. You are not a wage slave. You are a free person, and you giving up eight hours of your life every day to someone else is to be properly compensated and respected.

5. Take care of yourself and your family. Sorry to go all Oprah on you, but she’s right: Find a place of peace in your life and make the choice to be around people who are not full of negativity and cynicism. Look for those who nurture and love. Turn off the TV and the Blackberry and go for a 30-minute walk every day. Eat fruits and vegetables and cut down on anything that has sugar, high fructose corn syrup, white flour or too much sodium (salt) in it (and, as Michael Pollan says, “Eat (real) food, not too much, mostly plants”). Get seven hours of sleep each night and take the time to read a book a month. I know this sounds like I’ve turned into your grandma, but, dammit, take a good hard look at Granny — she’s fit, she’s rested and she knows the names of both of her U.S. Senators without having to Google them. We might do well to listen to her. If we don’t put our own “oxygen mask” on first (as they say on the airplane), we will be of no use to the rest of the nation in enacting any of this action plan!

I’m sure there are many other ideas you can come up with on how we can build this movement. Get creative. Think outside the politics-as-usual box. BE SUBVERSIVE! Think of that local action no one else has tried. Behave as if your life depended on it. Be bold! Try doing something with reckless abandon. It may just liberate you and your community and your nation.

And when you act, send me your stories, your photos and your video — and be sure to post your ideas in the comments beneath this letter on my site so they can be shared with millions.

C’mon people — we can do this! I expect nothing less of all of you, my true and trusted fellow travelers!

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com ]]> http://theveganpost.com/2009/michael-moores-action-plan-15-things-every-american-can-do-right-now/feed/ 0 http://theveganpost.com/2009/michael-moores-action-plan-15-things-every-american-can-do-right-now/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/theveganpost/nshd/~3/x5XBVNRAApE/ http://theveganpost.com/2009/vegan-mofo-broccolibot/#comments Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:46:48 +0000 fancyjane http://theveganpost.com/?p=292

I used to call them “little trees” when I was a wee one. I loved to eat them raw, enjoyed the crunchy bite. Here are some fun things to know about BROCCOLI from wikipedia: 1. From the Italian plural of broccolo, referring to “the flowering top of a cabbage” 2. Broccoli is high in vitamins A, C and K, as well as dietary fiber. 3.It also contains multiple nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties, such as  diindolylmethane and small amounts of selenium. 4. Broccoli is rad. My dog Lulu likes it too. This part was from me, not wikipedia. So whether you are steaming or munching on it raw, eat up! It’s super good for you and I think delicious dipped in a tahini dressing such as Annie’s Goddess Dressing! We also enjoy broccoli on hearty pasta dishes and in big yummy salads!

• 2 Tbsp. Agave Syrup
• 2 Tbsp. Raw Cacao Powder
• 1 Cup “Brain & Bone Health” Silk Soymilk
• 1 Banana
• 1 Scoop Sun Warrior Protein Powder
• 1 Cup Ice

Blend it all up, of course in your Vitamix.  This shake is full of chocolaty goodness.  And with these super-food ingredients it’s loaded with calcium, protein (15g from the powder alone), omega 3s, potassium, and all the goodness of cacao.  Only addition that could possibly make it better is peanut butter, like a Miko’s Miracle from Secret Spot.  Maybe next time. ]]> http://theveganpost.com/2009/vegan-mofo-magic-protein-shake-of-the-gods/feed/ 0 http://theveganpost.com/2009/vegan-mofo-magic-protein-shake-of-the-gods/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/theveganpost/nshd/~3/rMmAoj9qE-U/ http://theveganpost.com/2009/vegan-mofo-brekkie-sandwich/#comments Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:30:20 +0000 Organik http://theveganpost.com/?p=256 Best. Easy. Breakfast. EVER!

• Toasted whole wheat english muffin (or whatever bready item you like)
• Favorite Vegan Sausage (or Fakin’ Bacon is great too)
• Mashed Avocado
• Sliced Tomato
• Slice O’ Tofu
• Native Cheese

Here’s the dirt on this household favorite :

Fry up the sausage and tofu in a little olive oil with some Bragg’s liquid aminos sprankled in there for salty goodness.  Also liberal sprinkes of Costco Organic No-Salt Seasoning  add a nice flavor.

The magic ingredient however, is the Native Cheese.  This is a modified recipe from Tanya’s delicious Native Chis from Native Foods.  I can’t mention that place enough.  Native Foods.  Native Foods.  Ok, anyway here’s how to make my version:

• 2 cups almonds or cashews, or any combination
• 3/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 tsp. sea salt, or himalayan pink sea salt if you’re fancy
• 1/4 large onion
• 2 Tbsp. minced garlic (the kind in oil)
• 1 Tbsp. Raw Tahini

Place it all in your $500 Vitamix and blend until creamy smooth.  Yes, I said $500 Vitamix, because you really need to own one if you don’t.  It’ll never break, and you can do amazing wondrous things with it.  Go ahead and try with a wimpy normal blender.  You won’t be happy. I’m sure many of you have variations on this, post yours in the forum! Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts]]> http://theveganpost.com/2009/vegan-mofo-brekkie-sandwich/feed/ 0 http://theveganpost.com/2009/vegan-mofo-brekkie-sandwich/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/theveganpost/nshd/~3/iZ9uo286Jf0/ http://theveganpost.com/2009/vegan-mofo-day-5-aka-international-balls/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:26:40 +0000 Organik http://theveganpost.com/?p=241

….of delicious chickpeas and spices, FALAFEL! Who doesn’t like delicious falafel, complete with tomatoes, onion, tahini, hummus, lettuce, or any of many, many more vegan toppings (10+) at Maoz falafel stand. Other than the fried in oil bit, falafel is quite good for you, with lots of protein, b-vitamins, & minerals. The first store opened in Amsterdam in the early 90s, but now they have 25 stores all over the world; France, Spain, Germany, America, and India. My lady friend Janie and I ate there in Amsterdam, right across from Centraal Station, and it was divine. Plenty of spice if you like, and everything is vegetarian, and I believe most toppings were vegan. And to top off a great meal, it was cheap. Tasty, nutritious, & cheap, the trifecta of dining, for me anyway. Of course in Amsterdam there are lots of reasons to be …uh…hungry, but their other worldwide locations have been quite successful as well, and founders Nachman and Sima Milo plan to be the veg McDonalds, with a goal of opening 1000 locations! We really hope they do, although I have a feeling either Native Foods or The Veggie Grill might get there first, at least in the USA. You can download Maoz extremely simple menu here.

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts]]> http://theveganpost.com/2009/vegan-mofo-day-5-aka-international-balls/feed/ 0 http://theveganpost.com/2009/vegan-mofo-day-5-aka-international-balls/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/theveganpost/nshd/~3/PgokHHTHcto/ http://theveganpost.com/2009/vegan-mofo-day-4-or-what-i-ate-in-ireland-part-two/#comments Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:51:51 +0000 fancyjane http://theveganpost.com/?p=229 Ok so Day 3 slipped away from me. i forgave myself, i hope you forgive me too. i’m going to continue my vegan jaunt around dublin, ireland and tell you where i ate when i lived there several years ago. i was beside myself when walked out of george’s arcade to discover this gem of a place called Blazing Salads! i felt the place was meant for me. i LOVE salads and i LOVE the mel brook’s film Blazing Saddles. i remember being a little girl watching that movie with my family and laughing so hard at the scene where they are sitting around the bonfire eating chili and farting up a storm. i love fart humor! i love Blazing Salads in Dublin!

Blazing Salads is a take-away deli type place which offered a salad bar as its centerpiece. you pick from a couple different size take out boxes and start filling them up with delectable salads of which there were many to choose from. they had potato salads, chickpea dishes, mixed greens, you name it. there are always vegan items and the food was seriously fresh and flavorful. after you fill up your box, it gets weighed and you pay. they also have a fridge full of ready-made meals. i think now they also offer frozen meals. Blazing Salads was a winner in my book because it was fast, wholesome, delicious and cute. i even bought their cookbook! check out their website.

the first cafe i remember going to was Cornucopia. i remember walking there with catey and seeing a sign on their window that read “give peas a chance”. (you can’t resist a good play on words) i smiled. i looked at catey. she smiled. we wanted to go to there!

they are not 100% vegan but always had vegan options. the hip bohemian crowd that works there are in constant hustle mode. everyday there are new dishes. the place was busy all the time and had a happy vibe. i fell in love with running out of the rain into this place and being instantly comforted by the warmth and totally delicious smelling food. they often had lentils and curries.

Cornucopia is set up cafeteria style so you go in , pick up a tray and saunter down the line pointing at yummy and interesting things while some sweet hipster ladles it onto your plate. further down you can pick breads, soups, drinks and then pay.

i think this place has expanded since i have been there last. check out their website where you can check out the menu.

i was planning on also telling you about a few more dublin places in this post but i will have to do part 2 tomorrow. it will be a gas! (that is foreshadowing!) Happy MoFo-ing!

love,

jane

1/2 cucumber

1-2 cups of fresh cut pineapple

1 apple

3 carrots

Just juice it up and let the flavors dance in your mouth! hahahaha!

Vegan MOFO 2009

A natural diet for any given species should be the one that gives the species optimum health. Given the health ailments that are significantly reduced by eliminating animal products (cancer, heart disease, diabetes), it suggests that we were never meant to eat animal products. People who are vegan tend not to have such issues. People who are raw vegan notice even more health benefits.

Secondly, I hear all the time that we have canines and therefore, are meant to eat meat. Calling our eye teeth “canines” seems like a big joke to me when you compare them to the teeth of real omnivores. I looked up some of our closest relatives, other primates, and compared omnivores to herbivores and then to humans and guess what:

human skull:

HERBIVORES:

OMNIVORES:

Then of course there’s all this: