I Never Promised You a Ruse Garden

[evil zach]

I Never Promised You a Ruse Garden -- A Letter from Michael Moore to George W. Bush

June 26, 2003


Dear Lt. George W. Bush,


I hope you don't mind me referring to you by the only true military rank you ever achieved, that being the one from your on-again, off-again "days" in the, um, Texas Air National Guard. Ever since I saw you in that flyboy outfit, landing on that ship, I assumed you now wanted to be addressed by your military title, as opposed to the civilian rank imposed on you by your dad's friends.


So, Lieutenant, I was wondering, would you do me a favor?


Could you PLEASE do better than a ROSE BUSH?


I saw the guy on TV yesterday that your boys found, the Iraqi who said he had "planted" some nuclear plans in his "back yard" in Baghdad -- 12 years ago -- "under a rose bush."


Woo boy. That's a good one. Do you really think we are as dumb as we look? I know our fascination with "American Idol" and Scott Peterson may make us Americans look a little light in the head, but when it comes to lying to us to lead us into war, we really do demand a bit more of an EFFORT and a FOLLOW-THROUGH.


You see, George, it's not the lying and the doctoring of intelligence that has me all upset. It's that you've had control of Iraq for over two months now -- and you couldn't even find the time to plant just a few nukes or vats of nerve gas and at least make it LOOK like you weren't lying to us.


You see, by not faking some evidence of weapons of mass destruction, it shows that you thought no one would mind if it turned out you made everything up. A different kind of president, who believes that the American public would be outraged if they ever found out the truth, would go to great lengths to cover up his subterfuge.


Johnson did it with the Gulf of Tonkin. He said our ships were "attacked" by the North Vietnamese. They weren't, but he knew he had to at least make it LOOK like it happened. Nixon said he wasn't "a crook," but he knew that wasn't enough, so he paid hush money to the burglars and somehow had 18 1/2 minutes erased from a tape in the Oval Office. Why did he do this? Because he knew the American people would be pissed if they found out the truth.


Your blatant refusal to back up your verbal deception with the kind of fake evidence we have become used to is a slap in our collective American face. It's as if you are saying, "These Americans are so damn apathetic and lazy, we won't have to produce any weapons to back up our claims!" If you had just dug a few silo holes in the last month outside Tikrit, or spread some anthrax around those Winnebagos near Basra, or "discovered" some plutonium with that stash of home movies of Uday Hussein feeding his tigers, then it would have said to us that you thought we might revolt if you were caught in a lie. It would have shown us some *respect*. We honestly wouldn't have cared if it later came out that you planted all the WMD -- sure, we'd be properly peeved, but at least we would have been proud to know that you knew you HAD to back up your phony claims with the real deal!


I guess you finally figured that out this week. It started to appear that millions of us were calling you on your bluff -- those "fictitious reasons for the fictitious war." So you quickly produced this man and his rose bush and some 12-year old piece of paper and some metal parts. CNN broke in at 5:15pm and screamed they had the exclusive! "IRAQI NUCLEAR PLANS FOUND!" But a few good reporters started asking some hard questions -- and, barely 3 hours later, your own administration was forced to admit the plans were "not the smoking gun" proving that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.


Oops.


Never a good idea to rely on a bush, Lieutenant.


Yours,


Michael Moore
www.michaelmoore.com


PS. Sorry, I still can't get that padded flyboy suit out of my head. I know, I need help. But when you landed on that carrier, and that banner read, "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED," just what mission was that that was accomplished? 'Cause by my count, more than 50 of our young soldiers have died since you said the mission was accomplished. Anarchy still reigns, the Brits are losing kids, too, and wacko fundamentalists now seem ready to rule the land. Women are already being told to cover their faces and shut their mouths, store owners who sell liquor have been executed, and movie theaters showing "immoral" Hollywood movies have been forced to shut down. And hey, this isn't even west Texas! Maybe you could get back into that jumpsuit, fly over to Baghdad and land at the former Saddam International Airport, jump out and give one of those big happy waves -- under a sign that reads, "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE."

[Alex Djaferis]

i dont like michael moore too much, but i like what he wrote there for once.

[ms y o o n]

i enjoyed it. i love michael mooore. i mean at times he'll go overboard, but hes great.
but i duno if i agree. i mean theres two views. if he planted fake wmds or wahtever just so he could back up his point, thats just phony. but then not having any there is also lame. but he could just say it was a mistake, but everything he does turns out to be some mistake, so you know what.. whatever he does everyons gonna hate him anyways.

[yeat182]

that was the stupidest letter i've ever seen...michael moore is a fucking moron...

why does he have to disrespect the Texas Air National Guard? There are a lot of good people that serve their country as part of that unit, and somehow Moore makes it sound like they are a bunch of wannabe soldiers, when in fact many are former full time solidiers. He is a fucking asshole who twists things to make himself sound smart/important/intelligent.

not only that, but to say that bush should have planted WMD's is fucking ridiculous...if that ever happened Moore would be the first person calling for Bush's head, and just because Moore doesn't like the fact that we've actually found evidence buried in a backyard, he tries to spin it to make it sound like the find wasn't of any importance at all.

[trogdor]

Michael Moore is a complete asshole of a liberal, but he has his entertaining moments

[The Nephilm]

Originally posted by yeat182
that was the stupidest letter i've ever seen...michael moore is a fucking moron...

why does he have to disrespect the Texas Air National Guard? There are a lot of good people that serve their country as part of that unit, and somehow Moore makes it sound like they are a bunch of wannabe soldiers, when in fact many are former full time solidiers. He is a fucking asshole who twists things to make himself sound smart/important/intelligent.

not only that, but to say that bush should have planted WMD's is fucking ridiculous...if that ever happened Moore would be the first person calling for Bush's head, and just because Moore doesn't like the fact that we've actually found evidence buried in a backyard, he tries to spin it to make it sound like the find wasn't of any importance at all.

The point he was trying to make was that bushy never served more than a couple days of his life in the military.... he is more or less calling him what he is, a big fucking pussy.

And I can search on google and find better nuclear weapons plans than what was "found" in that man's back yard. Oh, and by the way, why the fuck did the guy bury 'plans' in his yard '12 years ago' ???

[Justin_stacy]

Originally posted by trogdor
Michael Moore is a complete asshole of a liberal


thats the way most ultra liberals are.................

[NOFXdesendents5]

Michael Moore sucks at making documentaries too

[yeat182]

Originally posted by The Nephilm
The point he was trying to make was that bushy never served more than a couple days of his life in the military.... he is more or less calling him what he is, a big fucking pussy.

And I can search on google and find better nuclear weapons plans than what was "found" in that man's back yard. Oh, and by the way, why the fuck did the guy bury 'plans' in his yard '12 years ago' ???

well, i won't argue about Bush's military career but he makes it sound as if serving in the Texas Air National Guard is some kind of joke.

and i thought they found plans and equiptment in the backyard, but i could be mistaken.

[yeat182]

Originally posted by The Nephilm
The point he was trying to make was that bushy never served more than a couple days of his life in the military.... he is more or less calling him what he is, a big fucking pussy.

also, everyone who serves in the national guard is part time, "two weeks a year, one weekend a month"

[Ronin]

Originally posted by NOFXdesendents5
Michael Moore sucks at making documentaries too

Bowling for Columbine is the highest grossing documentary of all time, and it won an Oscar.

So obviously he's pretty decent at it. And have you ever seen Roger and Me?

Just like people got pissed (rightfully) when I called Bush an idiot, you can't just dismiss Michael Moore because you don't agree with him.

[Ronin]

Originally posted by Justin_stacy
thats the way most ultra liberals are.................

People who are "ultra" anything are assholes

edit: Maybe with the exception of "ultra humanitarian" or something

[evil zach]

I don't always like Micheal Moore, but I did find that entertaining (hence my posting of it).

[yeat182]

Originally posted by Ronin
Bowling for Columbine is the highest grossing documentary of all time, and it won an Oscar.

So obviously he's pretty decent at it. And have you ever seen Roger and Me?

Just like people got pissed (rightfully) when I called Bush an idiot, you can't just dismiss Michael Moore because you don't agree with him.

roger and me and the big one were good, but bowling for columbine wasn't really a documentary, it was an op-ed movie.

[Patrick]

bush sucks so much ass, a band in our local scene has this bush mask and someone puts the mask on and the runs in the pit and gets an ass kickin

[BrandNewDream]

Originally posted by Ronin
edit: Maybe with the exception of "ultra humanitarian" or something

Maybe, but even those types would berate you for hours on end if you even hinted at thinking that the death penalty should be more strictly enforced, or some other non "love everyone, everyone deserves second chances" idea. I understand the idea of charity, but a lot of those people are looking for things (compassion, thanks, a sense of community, a sense of servce) within those people that just aren't there.

edit: people deserve second chances sometimes...but not always.

[BrandNewDream]

Originally posted by mrs.skibahaha
bush sucks so much ass, a band in our local scene has this bush mask and someone puts the mask on and the runs in the pit and gets an ass kickin

because that was totally relevant.

[Matthew]

Originally posted by yeat182

not only that, but to say that bush should have planted WMD's is fucking ridiculous...if that ever happened Moore would be the first person calling for Bush's head, and just because Moore doesn't like the fact that we've actually found evidence buried in a backyard, he tries to spin it to make it sound like the find wasn't of any importance at all.

um... you do realize that moore didnt really want bush to palnt weapons right? or are you completely icapable of recognizing sarcasm in satire?

the point he was amking is that bush fels that he has cosntructed his all of phony nationalism so high tht no one is going to be able to touch him even if the juatification of the war falls through.

and if you are honestly suggesting that this rose bush thing is enough evidence to jsutify a war... you need to get a grip. the point is bush decieved every american, h knows it, and he's geting away with it.

sure, we dethoned a dictator, but in the process we were subverted to dictatorial tactics, namely the hiding of information and doctoring of intelligence done by the US gov't. clinton lied about an afffair and his name was ruined. bush has lie about a war and no one seems to care. WAKE THE HELL UP!

[Ronin]

Originally posted by BrandNewDream
Maybe, but even those types would berate you for hours on end if you even hinted at thinking that the death penalty should be more strictly enforced, or some other non "love everyone, everyone deserves second chances" idea. I understand the idea of charity, but a lot of those people are looking for things (compassion, thanks, a sense of community, a sense of servce) within those people that just aren't there.

edit: people deserve second chances sometimes...but not always.

I would imagine that an "ultra-humanitarian" would be opposed to the death penalty, kind of like me.

[Matthew]

Originally posted by BrandNewDream
edit: people deserve second chances sometimes...but not always.

apparently you are more liekly to recieve that secon chance if you are white. the percentage o minorities ho are given the death penalty i higher than the percentage of voilent crimes comitted by minorities.

[NOFXdesendents5]

Originally posted by mrs.skibahaha
a band in our local scene has this bush mask and someone puts the mask on and the runs in the pit and gets an ass kickin

I'm not even going to get into politics on this post. Learn what tenses are in speech. You told it in almost future tense.

[BrandNewDream]

Originally posted by Ronin
I would imagine that an "ultra-humanitarian" would be opposed to the death penalty, kind of like me.

Yeah...that's what I meant, but I guess it just came out wrong. If someone were to say that too many people were getting life sentances when they should be put to death, an "ultra-humanitarian" would probably jump down your throat. (I'm not looking to start a death penalty debate! )

[BrandNewDream]

Originally posted by Matthew
apparently you are more liekly to recieve that secon chance if you are white. the percentage o minorities ho are given the death penalty i higher than the percentage of voilent crimes comitted by minorities.


While that is unfortunate, I don't believe it will be changing anytime soon. Racism is bred from a young age, and I don't believe that today's fathers will be wise enough to teach their kids "better" (depending on what you believe).

[Matthew]

Originally posted by BrandNewDream
While that is unfortunate, I don't believe it will be changing anytime soon. Racism is bred from a young age, and I don't believe that today's fathers will be wise enough to teach their kids "better" (depending on what you believe).

which is why the death penalty needs serious reorm (definitely) or should be scrapped altogether (hopefully but prolly not). i mean, how can you just say "oh shit. what can we do?" when it comes to racial injustices that result in death?

that you acknowledge the fat an still support the eath penalty as it stands now is sick.

[BrandNewDream]

Originally posted by Matthew
which is why the death penalty needs serious reorm (definitely) or should be scrapped altogether (hopefully but prolly not). i mean, how can you just say "oh shit. what can we do?" when it comes to racial injustices that result in death?

that you acknowledge the fat an still support the eath penalty as it stands now is sick.

you'd like to scrap the death penalty? if we find osama bin laden alive, and convict him of the numerous laws he broke, you'd want him to sit in jail for the rest of his life where he can still run the al-qaeda show? personally, i think not. what about if someone goes out and kills 60 people? i'd fry that fucker in a second. when minorites are executed in numbers well above that of whites, of course that is a racial injustice and something i do not support in the least. but there are instances that the death penalty should be used. if me supporting the death penalty labels me as "un-compassionate", then so be it. i really dislike the fact that a good number of people would say i'm a bad person for having that view. i just feel that if someone causes so much pain to so many people, they shouldn't have the privilege of seeing daylight ever again.

[evil zach]

Life isn't a privalege though...

[BrandNewDream]

Originally posted by evil zach
Life isn't a privalege though...

wouldn't that depend on who you ask?

[Ronin]

Originally posted by BrandNewDream
you'd like to scrap the death penalty? if we find osama bin laden alive, and convict him of the numerous laws he broke, you'd want him to sit in jail for the rest of his life where he can still run the al-qaeda show? personally, i think not. what about if someone goes out and kills 60 people? i'd fry that fucker in a second. when minorites are executed in numbers well above that of whites, of course that is a racial injustice and something i do not support in the least. but there are instances that the death penalty should be used. if me supporting the death penalty labels me as "un-compassionate", then so be it. i really dislike the fact that a good number of people would say i'm a bad person for having that view. i just feel that if someone causes so much pain to so many people, they shouldn't have the privilege of seeing daylight ever again.

First of all, Osama couldn't do shit from jail. I'm not sure of the exact name of the prison (Supermax I think?), but there's a facility in Colorado for people like O.B., and he could do little or nothing to that effect. Ramzi Yousef is rotting there.

i don't think you're a bad person for believe in capital punishment, I just disagree with you

And like Zach said (implied), life isn't a privilege. Freedom of speech is a privilege. The freedom to worship freely is a privilege. Playboy is a privilege.

[evil zach]

Originally posted by BrandNewDream
wouldn't that depend on who you ask?
I guess so, but the declaration of indipendence states that all people are entitled to LIFE, liberty and the pursuite of happynes. Would that not imply that life is right, rather then a privalege?

[BrandNewDream]

Originally posted by Ronin
First of all, Osama couldn't do shit from jail. I'm not sure of the exact name of the prison (Supermax I think?), but there's a facility in Colorado for people like O.B., and he could do little or nothing to that effect. Ramzi Yousef is rotting there.

i don't think you're a bad person for believe in capital punishment, I just disagree with you

And like Zach said (implied), life isn't a privilege. Freedom of speech is a privilege. The freedom to worship freely is a privilege. Playboy is a privilege.

Ok, so maybe Osama shouldn't be killed. And less executions would be most cost effective. It's things like this that put me on the fence about the death penalty. (I'd still kill the guy that killed 60 people though, lol.)

You might not think I'm a bad person, but most people wouldn't say "that's just his view, you don't know him personally". People, in general, are stupid.

True, life isn't a privilege in that sense. But have you ever felt lucky to be alive? I guess that's more of the direction I was thinking of.

[Charlito Cafe]

Why fight death with more death? That's like throwing gasoline on a huge ass fire. Rehabilitation is the way to go with criminals, the whole idea of crime and punishment is fucked up. Read The Republic by Plato, it has some great ideas about justice and harming others. Basically it's only justified if that person is for certain going to harm someone else. Otherwise they should be detained and somehow reeducated.

[yeat182]

Originally posted by Matthew
um... you do realize that moore didnt really want bush to palnt weapons right? or are you completely icapable of recognizing sarcasm in satire?

the point he was amking is that bush fels that he has cosntructed his all of phony nationalism so high tht no one is going to be able to touch him even if the juatification of the war falls through.

and if you are honestly suggesting that this rose bush thing is enough evidence to jsutify a war... you need to get a grip. the point is bush decieved every american, h knows it, and he's geting away with it.

sure, we dethoned a dictator, but in the process we were subverted to dictatorial tactics, namely the hiding of information and doctoring of intelligence done by the US gov't. clinton lied about an afffair and his name was ruined. bush has lie about a war and no one seems to care. WAKE THE HELL UP!

first of all, i hope you were drunk/stoned/sleepy when you wrote this because the spelling is terrible and i know that you usually write much better.

anyway, i do realize he was being sarcastic. also, i never said that the evidence burried was justification for war, but i belive it is a step in the right direction.

[yeat182]

Originally posted by evil zach
I guess so, but the declaration of indipendence states that all people are entitled to LIFE, liberty and the pursuite of happynes. Would that not imply that life is right, rather then a privalege?

but doesn't taking a life forfeit that right?

[yeat182]

Originally posted by cal1082
I think the death penalty would be fair for Bin Laden. Actually being in any prison would probalby be better then the places he lives now.

being in a prison would be a death penalty for bin Laden, he wouldn't make it a week with out getting shanked.

[Justin_stacy]

Originally posted by yeat182
being in a prison would be a death penalty for bin Laden, he would make it a week with out getting shanked.

i'm very much against the death penality........but i think i could make an exception for this thing (laden).............

[DevilMayCare]

Originally posted by BrandNewDream
True, life isn't a privilege in that sense. But have you ever felt lucky to be alive? I guess that's more of the direction I was thinking of.
i always feel lucky to be alive. neil simon once said, "I love living. I have some problems with my life, but living is the best thing theyve come up with so far." this is why neil simon is the coolest person on the planet.

[Ronin]

Originally posted by yeat182
but doesn't taking a life forfeit that right?

Where (other than the bible) does it say anything to that effect?

And yes, you might believe the bible's teachings at a literal level, but you can't use it to create policy.

[yeat182]

Originally posted by Ronin
Where (other than the bible) does it say anything to that effect?

And yes, you might believe the bible's teachings at a literal level, but you can't use it to create policy.

no, i'm not talking in a biblical sense at all (the bible is fiction).

but also, why would it have to say that anywhere?does it have to be written to be true?


anyway, i was speaking in terms of society, in terms of philosophers like Locke and Neitczhe...

[Ronin]

Originally posted by yeat182
no, i'm not talking in a biblical sense at all (the bible is fiction).

but also, why would it have to say that anywhere?does it have to be written to be true?


anyway, i was speaking in terms of society, in terms of philosophers like Locke and Neitczhe...

But you throw it out as though its a law

"He(she) who takes a life forfeits his (her) own"

That's essentially what you said. It's a philosophical argument, not a definite moral. I don't agree with it, any many are on my side.

[Charlito Cafe]

Taking someone's life cannot be justified as a punitive measure. The ultimate "punishment" is to learn from your enemy to be a more just human being. Life taking is a measure only taken in EXTREME emergencies to prempt future harm.

[BustaNutz]

Originally posted by Charlito Cafe
Taking someone's life cannot be justified as a punitive measure. The ultimate "punishment" is to learn from your enemy to be a more just human being. Life taking is a measure only taken in EXTREME emergencies to prempt future harm.

Thank you Confucius.

I'd just like to say, that as a fairly liberal demorat, I think that Michael Moore's letter to Bush was very disrespectful, despite being a complete sham of a president, and a lying war criminal to boot, Bush commands our respect as the president, as sad as that is. We have to respect his office. That being said, I agree with Moore's sentiments, Bush has decieved us. That is to say he lied to justify a war not worth fighting (at the particular moment) and has in doing so screwed us over to the point that we will now be in Iraq for many years to come. No fact you give me will convince me that we needed to take this action at this particular juncture, so don't waste your time trying to make a case.

As for capital punishment, this is one of the rare times I agree with Justin, who despite being a friend, is quite opposite of myself in the political spectrum. I don't think capital punishment is right, and I think it needs to be abolished. Even the bible-beaters will see in the new testament that Jesus says to forgive those of their sins. How you can distort Jesus's word back into an eye for eye is similar to how Muslim extremesists can distort the Quran. Even with ruling out the religious aspects of it, we still say withing our constitution we have the right to life. It seems in this nation we go out of our way to protect criminals rights, while ignoring the most important right of all, the right to life. If you're going to give the prisoner the right to eight appeals but ignore the constitutionally based right to life, you're making a hyporcisy of the entire justice system (not that we haven't already done so in other situations).

Remember this in regards to the death penalty:
"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind" -Gandhi

[Matthew]

RIGHT (dictioanry.com)
a)Something that is due to a person or governmental body by law, tradition, or nature.
b)Something, especially humane treatment, claimed to be due to animals by moral principle.

PRIVELEGE(dictionary.com)
The principle of granting and maintaining a special right or immunity:

[Charlito Cafe]

Originally posted by BustaNutz
Thank you Confucius.



It's actually Plato/Socrates. Close enough. Ghandi, Socrates, Plato, Confucious, Jesus, it doesn't really matter. Capital punishment is fucked up.

[BustaNutz]

Originally posted by Charlito Cafe
It's actually Plato/Socrates. Close enough. Ghandi, Socrates, Plato, Confucious, Jesus, it doesn't really matter. Capital punishment is fucked up.

Indeed

[yeat182]

Originally posted by Ronin
But you throw it out as though its a law

"He(she) who takes a life forfeits his (her) own"

That's essentially what you said. It's a philosophical argument, not a definite moral. I don't agree with it, any many are on my side.

i understand your point, but in parts of this country it is the law