South of the Border: Oliver Stone’s New Documentary

30 09 2009

chavez_stone_0907Oliver Stone’s new film focuses on a “political road trip” he took to a few South American countries to speak with their leaders, including the highly controversial Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.  Throughout the course of Stone’s trip, he says that what’s happening is nothing short of South America slowly throwing off North American economic control of the region.

There’s been no word on a DVD release, so for now you can expect it to tour the festival circuit.

Hat tip to The Documentary Blog for snagging the trailer.  Here it is:





BREAKING: Senate Finance Committee Vote Rejects Public Option

29 09 2009

While this was expected, what wasn’t expected was how many votes it DID get: ten rather conservative Democrats, in a surprising move, voted to add a “robust” public option amendment to the Senate Finance Committee bill.  To read more analysis on this, check out Robert Creamer’s post on HuffPo.  Keep your chin up folks!





Sen. Schumer and Sen. Rockefeller Offering Public Option Amendments Today!

25 09 2009

On last night’s Rachel Maddow show,  Senator Schumer announced that he and Senator Rockefeller are attempting to offer public option amendments to the committee bill today.  This bill will then be voted on beginning next Tuesday.  Contact your Senators today and Monday and demand a public option! We still have a fighting chance!





Profits Before Patients

24 09 2009

This short documentary takes viewers to a protest outside of an Anthem Blue Cross office building in downtown Los Angeles, a company who denies coverage to one in five people, continues to raise premiums, and retain record amounts of compensation for its CEOs. Produced by Lyn Goldfarb in association with Ramblin’ Man Films.  Visit Ramblin’ Man on YouTube too: http://www.youtube.com/user/RamblinManFilms.





Michael Moore Talks About Capitalism: A Love Story–and ABC Labor Practices

24 09 2009

On Good Morning America, Michael Moore sums up his new documentary, which takes aim at how capitalism has usurped our democracy.  He also manages to take a swipe at ABC labor practices:





Delaying Tactics Ensue on Health Care Legislation

24 09 2009

Pat Roberts (R-KS) is now pleading for a brief respite so that lobbyists–or as he calls them, “the people that the providers have hired to keep up with all the legislation.”  As Arthur Delaney writes at The Huffington Post: “It’s hard to imagine…that [this] means anything other than lobbyists from the health industry.”  Below is video, courtesy of HuffPo:





WellPoint CEO Lies About Amount Spent on Health Care

23 09 2009

It’s a tricky thing, that recision.  Watch how this WellPoint CEO dances around a question about how much the company actually spends on health care (h/t to The Public Record):





Rachel Maddow Calls Out Southern Congressmen on Their Irresponsible Opposition to Health Care Reform

18 09 2009

Ms. Maddow’s awesome research speaks for itself.  Now if only one of those Congressmen would come on the show…





‘Creation’ Film Can’t Find Distribution in U.S.

17 09 2009

Perhaps it’s not surprising that in a country where only 39% of people believe in evolution (per a February 2009 Gallup poll) distributors would be reluctant to carry a film about Charles Darwin. It’s still  breathtakingly scary, even for this country, isn’t it?

“It has got a deal everywhere else in the world but in the US, and it’s because of what the film is about,” Jeremy Thomas told The Telegraph ahead of the European premiere of “Creation”.  He added: “It is unbelievable to us that this is still a really hot potato in America.

I suspect we haven’t seen the last of this flap.





No One In the Senate Supports the New Health Care Bill

17 09 2009

In this video (courtesy of Firedoglake) Sen. Jay Rockefeller talks about some of the problems with the bill and the process for finalizing the bill.  Call your Senator and demand a triggerless public option–a robust public option–for solid competition against the wealthcare industry.  For an excellent break down of the bill and some sagely advice on how to fix it, visit Ezra Klein’s write-ups here.