Michael Moore's Modest Proposals

[lame54]

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mikeinthenews/index.php?id=12278


Proposal One: Institute a military draft, but only for the children of the top five percent of wage earners in the country. "I am convinced that if they have to send their own kids off to war, there won't be any wars," Moore said.

Proposal Two: Sign into law congressman John Conyer's universal health-care legislation (HR676). "The Obama health plan is no good. The McCain health plan is really, really no good," Moore said, explaining that on this issue, his support for Obama comes down to the "lesser of two evils."

Proposal Three: Ban high fructose corn syrup. "And I will be the poster boy of that campaign." Earlier in his lecture, Moore suggested that corn syrup's historical dominance as a sweetener was a result of government collusion with large agribusinesses.

Proposal Four: Build wells in the developing nations to provide clean drinking water for all. Moore says it will cost $10 billion to dig wells in villages. "We're going to spend $12 billion on Iraq in this month alone. $12 billion. One month of Iraq and the entire world can have clean drinking water. What is our problem?"

Proposal Five: Remove the $102,000 income cap on the social security tax. "If you make over 102,000 a year, do you realize the people in that category do not pay one dime on wages they earn over $102,000 ... Why shouldn't they have to pay the same six-and-half to seven percent rate that you have to pay on 100 percent or your income?" Moore cited former presidential candidate Chris Dodd, who said that if the cap was lifted, the resulting income would be able to fund social security for 75 years. He also told the audience to remind their neighbors that President Bush wanted to "put social security in the hands of Wall Street five years ago ... We'd all be Lehman Brothers."

Proposal Six: Change the way we do elections. Moore offered several suggestions, including holding elections on the weekend so that more people can get to the polls, allowing multiple parties access to the debates and discarding voting machines in favor of paper ballots.

Proposal Seven: Change the Pledge of Allegiance to reflect "the America we all believe in." Moore closed his lecture by reading his proposed pledge: "I pledge allegiance to the people of the United States of America / and to the republic for which we stand / one nation, part of one world / with liberty and justice for all."

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http://www.michaelmoore.com/

[Eric J in MN]

1. I like that version of the Pledge.

I've never seen that version before.