Brave New Films

This sounds like a dream, doesn t it? Well, it s not. We have a unique opportunity right now to send Karl Rove to jail, but only if we take immediate action. All we have to do is pressure the 40 members of the House Judiciary Committee, make them hold Rove in contempt and send him to jail. We ve never had such a direct opportunity to hold Rove accountable. No, this is not enough punishment for his years and years of crimes, but it s a huge start, and will send a very clear message to the entire Bush administration. We put together this video to explain the issues surrounding Rove s failure to testify before Congress, and why Rove should be held in contempt and sent to jail. Check out Send Karl Rove to Jail, and sign our petition to ensure that the HJC holds Rove in contempt. Today at 1pm ET / 10am PT, the first episode of Meet the Bloggers will air live, and Karl Rove will be the big topic of discussion with bloggers Marcy Wheeler, Liliana Segura, Baratunde Thurston, and special guest Arianna Huffington. The video will be featured on the show, sign the petition, forward it to friends (don t forget to Digg it), and go to meetthebloggers.org to send in your own thoughts, and join the discussion at 1pm ET. If you can t watch live, you can always see what was discussed on the show anytime you want at meetthebloggers.org.

You know how we re always attempting to make an impact with our films? We helped spread the word about hard-hitting documentaries like Outfoxed, Wal-Mart, and Iraq for Sale. Our sister organization, Brave New Films, then started making its own short videos like The REAL McCain and our FOX Attacks series, and you saw the chance to reach even more people by spreading them all over the web. Well, with a great deal of excitement (and just a wee bit of nervousness!), we bring you the next way for you to get involved. Presenting our newest weekly series: Meet the Bloggers. Check out the trailer here. Beginning July 18, Meet the Bloggers will be a daring new show broadcast LIVE over the internet each Friday at 1PM ET. And the best part is this show is all yours. You will be part of creating the show, telling us what questions we should ask our high-profile guests; what issues we should be talking about; and what actions should be taken. You can also interact with other audience members using a live blog and instant polls. Watch the Meet the Bloggers trailer. We ve already lined up some dazzling guests including John Cusack, Sen. Harry Reid, Rachel Maddow, and this week, Arianna Huffington (more exciting guests to be announced soon). The show s host will be Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks. And we have a really diverse mix of bloggers including Marcy Wheeler (Emptywheel), Nico Pitney (The Huffington Post), Liliana Segura (AlterNet), Roberto Lovato (Of America), Baratunde Thurston (Jack Don t miss this Friday s premiere of Meet the Bloggers, in which we ll be discussing whether Karl Rove should be sent to jail for failing to comply with the House Judiciary Committee s subpoena. Now s your chance to become part of the Meet the Bloggers community; send us your questions and comments before Friday s show for us to consider to include. Give input for our Friday show here: http://meetthebloggers.org. And if you do miss this Friday s premiere or any other episode, you can still watch them free online any time at meetthebloggers.org. We can t allow the corporatism to dominate the discourse any longer. The stakes are much too high. So please join us live in watching and spreading Meet the Bloggers beginning this Friday, July 18 at 1PM ET.

You re not going to believe what FOX is up to now we could hardly believe it ourselves. Not only are they smearing Michelle Obama with racist stereotypes, but then they offer a feeble apology that they believe gives them the right to slander her again. That s what happened when FOX called Michelle and Barack Obama s fist bump a terrorist fist jab, apologized, and then less than a week later referred to Michelle Obama as Barack s Baby Mama. FOX s long history of racism is nothing new, but it has been particularly egregious when it comes to their coverage of the Obamas. Racism and fearmongering have no place in our country or its politics, despite what FOX would have you believe. That s why we put together this video, FOX Attacks Michelle Obama. We cannot allow FOX s heinous smears and scare tactics to continue. Sign our petition and stop FOX from injecting racism, prejudice, and fear into our political dialogue. Then, send it to all your friends and family members for them to sign as well. And spread it on sites like Digg to create an uproar. We cannot allow FOX to make politics about stereotypes, misinformation, and flat-out dishonesty. Not now. Not ever.

Did that headline grab your attention? It s exactly the kind of slimy trick FOX News played when anchor E.D. Hill began her show America s Pulse with the teaser: A fist bump? A pound? A terrorist fist jab? The gesture everyone seems to interpret differently. Well, by FOX s own insane equation (fist bump + slanderous spin = terrorist threat), Sen. Joe Lieberman is a terrorist. After all, Lieberman can be seen in this video giving a fist bump to someone at what looks to be a golf game, judging by Lieberman s polo shirt and khaki pants. Do we really believe that Joe Lieberman is a terrorist? Of course not! But if we were loyal FOX News viewers (perish the thought), we would have come away from Hill s show thinking that Obama was a terrorist over the innocent hand gesture he gave his wife upon clinching the Democratic nomination. And then we would believe that Lieberman, along with all of the people seen here in Media Matters gallery of fist bumps, were terrorists as well. We created this little spoof to highlight the dangers of FOX s slander. What s it going to take for FOX to be held to a higher standard of accuracy, or any standard for that matter?It s not as though FOX learned its lesson over the terrorist fist jab fiasco. They may have canceled Hill s show, but she s still with the network (and as FOX Attacks Jonathan Kim noted, there were other issues at play). No, FOX went right back to its old insulting antics and scare tactics. In the last few weeks alone, they have referred to Michelle Obama as Obama s baby mama ; falsely claimed Iranian missiles could hit the U.S; convinced a Tennessee Democrat that Obama was terrorist-connected ; and erased McCain saying he didn t really love America, then un-doctored the transcript to make it seem as though nothing was amiss. Clearly, it is up to us to hold FOX accountable. One of the saddest parts of all of this is that FOX tainted a truly genuine moment in which a presidential candidate was making history in our country. Obama s fist bump epitomized his whole campaign message of change, or as the Washington Post called it, the first bump heard round the world. But thanks to FOX s smears, Obama is now reluctant to use that signature gesture. Yesterday, CNN reported that Obama refused to bump fists with a boy in Ohio, saying, If I start that ... His voice trailed off, but it was proof of just how toxic FOX can be.

Joe Lieberman is a war hawk, plain and simple. He staunchly supports George Bush s War in Iraq and John McCain s plan to stay in Iraq for 100 years. But Lieberman s new alliance with the Republican Party runs even deeper. He has endorsed and stumped for McCain, wants to be the star of the Republican National Convention, and has even served on a 527 group that smeared Barack Obama with a nasty attack ad. And yet Lieberman still holds a top rank within the Senate Democratic Caucus as chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The Senate Democratic Steering Committee needs to know just how much of a conflict of interest this is. That s why we created Lieberman Must Go. Here s what you can do: Sign our petition today and tell the Senate Democratic Steering Committee to strip Lieberman of his leadership role in Congress. Then, e-mail this video to everyone you know and spread it on sites like Digg and elsewhere. Recently in Talking Points Memo, Josh Marshall suggested that the best way to limit Lieberman is by encouraging the Steering Committee to render him powerless in 2009. Lieberman must go, and you can make that happen by donating to Brave New Films today.

Gas prices are hitting all-time highs. Our country is in the midst of a recession thanks in part to our crippling dependence on oil, so what s John McCain s plan? Will he hold the corporate leaders of the energy industry accountable when he addresses them today in Houston? Probably not, considering they are some of his biggest fund-raisers. The Center for Responsive Politics finds that McCain has accepted over $1 million from the oil and gas industry. Many of McCain s top advisers have lobbied for big oil, which is why he now acts in their best interests, opposing environmental legislation and alternative energy plans. And that s exactly why we want everyone to know The REAL McCain. McCain is desperate to distance himself from President Bush. But according to the Center for American Progress Action Fund, McCain has received millions in donations from the same oil, coal, nuclear, chemical, utility, and auto companies that helped the Bush administration create its energy plan a plan that has raised gasoline to $4 a gallon. Here s what you can do: Send this e-mail to ten of your friends, family members, and colleagues. Tell them to send it on to ten people they know. And don t forget to Digg it! Spread the word that McCain is taking major contributions from wealthy oil executives like Bob Mosbacher, just one of the special interest leaders he ll be addressing in Houston. Make sure everyone gets to know The REAL McCain, subscribe to Brave New Films today.

John McCain s record on reproductive rights couldn t be more appalling. There, we said it! We said it because the corporate media won t confront McCain on the real issues in this election. They won t tell you, for instance, that McCain has consistently received a big fat zero from NARAL on its pro-choice scorecard. Nor will they tell you that McCain has flip-flopped on Roe v. Wade and now supports overturning this all-too-crucial case. Because the corporate media has failed to do its job, we have to work extra hard to do ours. And so we ve created McCain s Clinic, a sneak peek at what a women s health clinic could look like if McCain were elected. Yes, we re presenting McCain s reproductive rights record through comedy, but our hope is that it will help get our point across effectively. We must spread awareness about McCain s record now, especially considering a recent Planned Parenthood Action Fund poll found that half of female voters in 16 battleground states don t know enough about McCain s views on reproductive health. What s more, one in four pro-choice McCain supporters would be less likely to vote for McCain after knowing he opposes Roe v. Wade and backs abstinence-only education. Here s what you can do: send this video to everyone you know and Digg It! By taking these steps, you can help educate female voters in battleground states about McCain s anti-choice record. And don t forget to donate to Brave New PAC so we can continue our campaign to bring you the REAL McCain. We re talking about a man who has voted anti-choice 123 out of 128 times. A man who wouldn t require prescription coverage for birth control. A man who voted against allocating $100 million to preventative health services that would have reduced unintended and teen pregnancies. A man who could irreparably damage women s rights in our country unless we get the word out about him now.

Sen. Jim Inhofe has failed the troops time and time again. His lack of integrity is staggering. He has repeatedly voted against bills to provide the troops with adequate medical care, body armor and equipment, yet he claims ‘you won’t find a better record of support for our men and women in uniform.’ All it takes is a quick check of his voting record to see that he s a fraud. That’ s why we made the video. People in the film: Chris Ritter (Gulf War Vet) - US Navy (Ret), OK National Guard (Active)Nathaniel Batchelder (Vietnam Vet) - Specialist 5th Class, US Army (Ret)Miranda L. Norman (Iraq War Vet) - Specialist, Oklahoma Army National Guard (Ret)Col. (Ret) Katherine Scheirman - Medical Doctor, US Air ForceJim Inhofe s votes on vets:March 21, 2003 S. Amdt 385 to S. Con. Res. 23 vote 74 To increase FY 2004 funding for the discretionary programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs by $1,019,000,000, so it matches the level proposed by a coalition of veterans groups in the Independent Budget; to decrease the deficit by a similar amount; and to use the un-reconciled tax cut to pay for it. (Two days after the invasion of Iraq) INHOFE: NO (The amendment failed 49-51) March 25, 2003 S. Amdt 324 to S. Con. Res. 23 vote 81 To allow full access to TRICARE for National Guard and Reserve Personnel and their families on a continual basis, offset with reductions to the tax cut. This would increase funding to TRICARE program by $20.3 billion over 10 years to grant greater access to the health care program. The increase would be offset by a reduction in tax cuts. INHOFE: NO (Amendment rejected 46-51) March 25, 2003 S. Amdt 411 to S. Con. Res. 23 vote 83 To provide an additional $13 billion for veterans programs. The substitute amendment would reduce all tax cuts in the resolution by $1.24 trillion, fund President Bush s proposed $75 billion war supplemental bill, and increase homeland security spending by $80 billion, spending for a Medicare prescription drug benefit by $194 billion, spending on veterans programs by $13 billion and spending on transportation and infrastructure by $71 billion. INHOFE: NO (Amendment Failed 43-56) April 2, 2003 S. Amdt 452 to S. 762 vote 116 To appropriate $1, 047,000,000 for procurement for the National Guard and Reserves. INHOFE: VOTED TO TABLE (The motion to table passed 52-47) October 2, 2003 S. Amdt 1917 to S. 1689 vote 376 To provide an additional $322,000,000 for safety equipment for United States forces in Iraq and to reduce the amount provided for reconstruction in Iraq by $322,000,000. INHOFE: VOTED TO TABLE (The motion to table 49-37) October 14, 2003 S. Amdt 1823 to S. 1689 vote 379 To provide emergency relief for veterans healthcare, school construction, healthcare and transportation needs in the United States, and to create 95,000 new jobs. Included a $1 billion increase in funding for health benefits. The amendment would reduce the amount provided for Iraqi reconstruction by $5.03 billion and redirect that funding for domestic programs including $1.8 billion for veteran s health benefits. INHOFE: VOTED TO TABLE (The motion to table passed 59-35) November 12, 2003 S. Amdt 2178 to S. Amdt 2150 to H.R. 2861 vote 449 Appropriations bill that included $122.7 billion in fiscal 2004 for the Dept of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and other related agencies. INHOFE: NO (The motion failed 44-49) March 10, 2004 S. Amdt 2745 to S. Con. Res. 95 vote 40 To create a reserve fund to allow for an increase in Veterans medical care by $1.8 billion by eliminating abusive tax loopholes. INHOFE: NO (Amendment rejected 46-51) June 23, 2004 S. Amdt 3303 to S. 2400 vote 136 To amend title 10, United States Code, to reduce the age for receipt of military retired pay for non-regular service from 60 to 55. Inhofe: NO (The motion was rejected 49-49) March 1, 2005 S. Amdt 23 to S. 256 To clarify the safe harbor with respect to debtors who have serious medical conditions or who have been called or ordered to active duty in the Armed Forces and low income veterans. The amendment would clarify that bankruptcy courts could consider military service as a special circumstance when making individual bankruptcy determinations. Inhofe: NO (The amendment agreed to 63-32) March 16, 2005 S. Amdt 149 to S. Con. Res. 18 vote 55 To increase veterans medical care by $2.8 billion in 2006. INHOFE: NO (Amendment rejected 47-53) April 12, 2005 S. Amdt 344 to H.R. 1268 vote 90 To provide $1,975,183,000 for medical care for veterans. The money provided for the VA by the underlying amendment will help the VA to cover the costs of caring for these new veterans and ensure that the VA is able to provide them with the care they deserve. INHOFE: NO (The amendment failed 46-54) September 22, 2005 S. Amdt 1852 to H.R. 2528 vote 242 To provide an additional $10,000,000 for the Readjustment Counseling Service, with a corresponding offset from the HealthVet account. INHOFE: NO (The amendment failed 48-50) October 5, 2005 S. Amdt 1933 to H.R. 2863 vote 248 To increase by $360,800,000 amounts appropriated by title IX for Other Procurement, Army, for the procurement of armored Tactical Wheeled Vehicles for units deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to increase by $5,000,000 amounts appropriated by title IX for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Defense-Wide, for industrial preparedness for the implementation of a ballistics engineering research center. INHOFE: NO (The motion was rejected 56-43) October 5, 2005 S. Amdt 1937 to H.R. 2863 vote 251 To ensure that future funding for health care for former members of the Armed Forces takes into account changes in population and inflation. INHOFE: NO (The amendment failed 48-51) November 17, 2005 S. Amdt 2634 to S. 2020 vote 343 To provide an additional $500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010, to be used for readjustment counseling, related mental health services, and treatment and rehabilitative services for veterans with mental illness, post-traumatic stress disorder, or substance use disorder. INHOFE: NO (Amendment rejected 43-55) February 2, 2006 S. Amdt 2735 to S. Amdt 2707 to H.R 4297 vote 7 To support the health needs of our veterans and military personnel and reduce the deficit by making tax rates fairer for all Americans. Amendment would provide $19 billion for military and veterans hospitals, offset by limiting the dividend and capital gains tax rates to individuals earning less than $1 million. INHOFE: NO (Amendment failed 44-53) February 13, 2006 H.R. 4297 vote 15 Motion to instruct conferees to insist that the tax reconciliation conference report includes funding to support health needs of veterans and military personnel in lieu of an extension of capital gains or dividends tax breaks for individuals with incomes of more than $1 million. (health care vs tax breaks for millionaires) INHOFE: NO (Motion failed 40-53) March 14, 2006 S. Amdt 3007 to S. Con. Res. 83 vote 41 To increase Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion in FY 2007 to be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes. INHOFE: NO (Amendment rejected 46-54) March 16, 2006 S. Amdt 3141 to S. Con. Res. 83 vote 63 To provide an assured stream of funding for veteran s health care that will take into account the annual changes in the veteran s population and inflation to be paid for by restoring the pre-2001 top rate for income over $1 million, closing corporate tax loopholes and delaying tax cuts for the wealthy. INHOFE: NO (Amendment rejected 46-54) March 16, 2006 S. Amdt 3143 to S. Con. Res. 83 vote 67 To prevent the imposition of excessive TRICARE fees and co-pays on military retirees. INHOFE: NO (The amendment failed 46-53) April 26, 2006 S. Amdt 3642 to H.R. 4939 vote 98 To provide an additional $430,000,000 for the Department of Veteran Affairs for Medical Services for outpatient care and treatment for veterans. INHOFE: NO (Amendment passed 84-16) March 23, 2007 S. Con. Res. 21 vote 114 The 2008 Budget Resolution that included $3.5 billion increase in funding for veterans healthcare programs. INHOFE: NO (The bill passed 52-47) December 18, 2007 H.R. 2764 vote 441 An omnibus appropriations bill that included $3.7 billion in emergency funding for veterans programs. INHOFE: NO (The bill passed 76-17)

People in the film: Chris Ritter (Gulf War Vet) - US Navy (Ret), OK National Guard (Active)Nathaniel Batchelder (Vietnam Vet) - Specialist 5th Class, US Army (Ret)Miranda L. Norman (Iraq War Vet) - Specialist, Oklahoma Army National Guard (Ret)Col. (Ret) Katherine Scheirman - Medical Doctor, US Air ForceJim Inhofe s votes on vets:March 21, 2003 S. Amdt 385 to S. Con. Res. 23 vote 74 To increase FY 2004 funding for the discretionary programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs by $1,019,000,000, so it matches the level proposed by a coalition of veterans groups in the Independent Budget; to decrease the deficit by a similar amount; and to use the un-reconciled tax cut to pay for it. (Two days after the invasion of Iraq) INHOFE: NO (The amendment failed 49-51) March 25, 2003 S. Amdt 324 to S. Con. Res. 23 vote 81 To allow full access to TRICARE for National Guard and Reserve Personnel and their families on a continual basis, offset with reductions to the tax cut. This would increase funding to TRICARE program by $20.3 billion over 10 years to grant greater access to the health care program. The increase would be offset by a reduction in tax cuts. INHOFE: NO (Amendment rejected 46-51) March 25, 2003 S. Amdt 411 to S. Con. Res. 23 vote 83 To provide an additional $13 billion for veterans programs. The substitute amendment would reduce all tax cuts in the resolution by $1.24 trillion, fund President Bush s proposed $75 billion war supplemental bill, and increase homeland security spending by $80 billion, spending for a Medicare prescription drug benefit by $194 billion, spending on veterans programs by $13 billion and spending on transportation and infrastructure by $71 billion. INHOFE: NO (Amendment Failed 43-56) April 2, 2003 S. Amdt 452 to S. 762 vote 116 To appropriate $1, 047,000,000 for procurement for the National Guard and Reserves. INHOFE: VOTED TO TABLE (The motion to table passed 52-47) October 2, 2003 S. Amdt 1917 to S. 1689 vote 376 To provide an additional $322,000,000 for safety equipment for United States forces in Iraq and to reduce the amount provided for reconstruction in Iraq by $322,000,000. INHOFE: VOTED TO TABLE (The motion to table 49-37) October 14, 2003 S. Amdt 1823 to S. 1689 vote 379 To provide emergency relief for veterans healthcare, school construction, healthcare and transportation needs in the United States, and to create 95,000 new jobs. Included a $1 billion increase in funding for health benefits. The amendment would reduce the amount provided for Iraqi reconstruction by $5.03 billion and redirect that funding for domestic programs including $1.8 billion for veteran s health benefits. INHOFE: VOTED TO TABLE (The motion to table passed 59-35) November 12, 2003 S. Amdt 2178 to S. Amdt 2150 to H.R. 2861 vote 449 Appropriations bill that included $122.7 billion in fiscal 2004 for the Dept of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and other related agencies. INHOFE: NO (The motion failed 44-49) March 10, 2004 S. Amdt 2745 to S. Con. Res. 95 vote 40 To create a reserve fund to allow for an increase in Veterans medical care by $1.8 billion by eliminating abusive tax loopholes. INHOFE: NO (Amendment rejected 46-51) June 23, 2004 S. Amdt 3303 to S. 2400 vote 136 To amend title 10, United States Code, to reduce the age for receipt of military retired pay for non-regular service from 60 to 55. Inhofe: NO (The motion was rejected 49-49) March 1, 2005 S. Amdt 23 to S. 256 To clarify the safe harbor with respect to debtors who have serious medical conditions or who have been called or ordered to active duty in the Armed Forces and low income veterans. The amendment would clarify that bankruptcy courts could consider military service as a special circumstance when making individual bankruptcy determinations. Inhofe: NO (The amendment agreed to 63-32) March 16, 2005 S. Amdt 149 to S. Con. Res. 18 vote 55 To increase veterans medical care by $2.8 billion in 2006. INHOFE: NO (Amendment rejected 47-53) April 12, 2005 S. Amdt 344 to H.R. 1268 vote 90 To provide $1,975,183,000 for medical care for veterans. The money provided for the VA by the underlying amendment will help the VA to cover the costs of caring for these new veterans and ensure that the VA is able to provide them with the care they deserve. INHOFE: NO (The amendment failed 46-54) September 22, 2005 S. Amdt 1852 to H.R. 2528 vote 242 To provide an additional $10,000,000 for the Readjustment Counseling Service, with a corresponding offset from the HealthVet account. INHOFE: NO (The amendment failed 48-50) October 5, 2005 S. Amdt 1933 to H.R. 2863 vote 248 To increase by $360,800,000 amounts appropriated by title IX for Other Procurement, Army, for the procurement of armored Tactical Wheeled Vehicles for units deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to increase by $5,000,000 amounts appropriated by title IX for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Defense-Wide, for industrial preparedness for the implementation of a ballistics engineering research center. INHOFE: NO (The motion was rejected 56-43) October 5, 2005 S. Amdt 1937 to H.R. 2863 vote 251 To ensure that future funding for health care for former members of the Armed Forces takes into account changes in population and inflation. INHOFE: NO (The amendment failed 48-51) November 17, 2005 S. Amdt 2634 to S. 2020 vote 343 To provide an additional $500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010, to be used for readjustment counseling, related mental health services, and treatment and rehabilitative services for veterans with mental illness, post-traumatic stress disorder, or substance use disorder. INHOFE: NO (Amendment rejected 43-55) February 2, 2006 S. Amdt 2735 to S. Amdt 2707 to H.R 4297 vote 7 To support the health needs of our veterans and military personnel and reduce the deficit by making tax rates fairer for all Americans. Amendment would provide $19 billion for military and veterans hospitals, offset by limiting the dividend and capital gains tax rates to individuals earning less than $1 million. INHOFE: NO (Amendment failed 44-53) February 13, 2006 H.R. 4297 vote 15 Motion to instruct conferees to insist that the tax reconciliation conference report includes funding to support health needs of veterans and military personnel in lieu of an extension of capital gains or dividends tax breaks for individuals with incomes of more than $1 million. (health care vs tax breaks for millionaires) INHOFE: NO (Motion failed 40-53) March 14, 2006 S. Amdt 3007 to S. Con. Res. 83 vote 41 To increase Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion in FY 2007 to be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes. INHOFE: NO (Amendment rejected 46-54) March 16, 2006 S. Amdt 3141 to S. Con. Res. 83 vote 63 To provide an assured stream of funding for veteran s health care that will take into account the annual changes in the veteran s population and inflation to be paid for by restoring the pre-2001 top rate for income over $1 million, closing corporate tax loopholes and delaying tax cuts for the wealthy. INHOFE: NO (Amendment rejected 46-54) March 16, 2006 S. Amdt 3143 to S. Con. Res. 83 vote 67 To prevent the imposition of excessive TRICARE fees and co-pays on military retirees. INHOFE: NO (The amendment failed 46-53) April 26, 2006 S. Amdt 3642 to H.R. 4939 vote 98 To provide an additional $430,000,000 for the Department of Veteran Affairs for Medical Services for outpatient care and treatment for veterans. INHOFE: NO (Amendment passed 84-16) March 23, 2007 S. Con. Res. 21 vote 114 The 2008 Budget Resolution that included $3.5 billion increase in funding for veterans healthcare programs. INHOFE: NO (The bill passed 52-47) December 18, 2007 H.R. 2764 vote 441 An omnibus appropriations bill that included $3.7 billion in emergency funding for veterans programs. INHOFE: NO (The bill passed 76-17)

...Just take what you love doing and do it with enough other people to make it the future , Carl Pope - This Brave Nation I think I m pretty lucky. As the associate producer of This Brave Nation, I got to watch hours of conversations between everyone from Van Jones to Tom Hayden to 17-year-old peace activist Ava Lowery. Watching the conversations between these progressive change makers inspired me in different ways. There was never a moment when I wasn t excited about a poignant statement from Carl Pope, an insightful exchange between Majora Carter and Pete Seeger, or engaged by a flash of vulnerability on Anthony Romero s face as he related a story from his youth. Looking for the footage used in each of these episodes immediately drew me into one social movement after the next. Listening to Tom Hayden talk about Freedom Summer made me understand the struggle for civil rights in a way I never did before. Feminism takes on a deeper meaning when Dolores Huerta talks about organizing in the fields or when Naomi Klein talks about the experience that pulled her into activism. What was most common among everyone we spoke to outside of the fact that they were inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., beyond the fact that many of them had lived through the resistance to the Viet Nam war, despite the fact that they are all still part of huge social movements is that they all began making a difference, joining movements, taking risks, making change in a big way, at a very young age. The good news? You re going to get to see all the best parts of these conversations in one place - BraveNation.com - every week. This Brave Nation was a series created to honor courageous activist that have made changes to create the Brave Nation that you and I inhabit and to encourage a new generation of brave activists. We hope you enjoy Carl Pope and Van Jones in this, the first episode of This Brave Nation. Be sure to visit BraveNation.com to see future episodes and nominate a local young activist for the Brave Nation award. Visit us on MySpace and on Facebook

There s no question John McCain is getting a free ride from the mainstream press. But with the power of YouTube and the blogosphere, we can provide an accurate portrayal of the so-called Maverick. We can put the brakes on his free ride! Since we first released The Real McCain a year ago, our REAL McCain series has garnered close to 2 million views, with over 13,000 comments and tens of thousands more in petition signatures! Clearly, John McCain s record is something the public wants to discuss, and yet the corporate media is doing NOTHING to present the truth. We feel obliged to continue countering the mainstream media s love of McCain. And so we thought it was high time for a sequel: The Real McCain 2. We re doing everything to get the facts out there about McCain. Join us in making a concerted effort to tell the story that corporate media refuses to tell. E-mail this video to all of your friends and family members, news blogs and other local media outlets. And don t forget to Digg it! According to Cliff Schecter, author of The Real McCain: Why Conservatives Don t Trust Him And Why Independents Shouldn t: It is dangerous for a democracy when a presidential candidate can lie with impunity, change positions on a whim, and physically and verbally threaten others and virtually none of it is reported by a besotted media eagerly awaiting the next moment when he might slap their backs in friendship. The mainstream press may not do their job, but we can surely do ours. It is crucial that we alert the public to the REAL McCain, and it is crucial we act now, before it s too late.

You may have heard of Rev. John Hagee, the McCain supporter who said God created Hurricane Katrina to punish New Orleans for its homosexual sins. Well now meet Rev. Rod Parsley, the televangelist megachurch pastor from Ohio who hates Islam. According to David Corn of Mother Jones, Parsley has called on Christians to wage war against Islam, which he considers to be a false religion. In the past, Parsley has also railed against the separation of church and state, homosexuals, and abortion rights, comparing Planned Parenthood to Nazis. John McCain actively sought and received Parsley s endorsement in the presidential race. McCain has called Parsley a spiritual guide, and he hasn t said whether he shares Parsley s vicious anti-Islam views. That s because the mainstream media refuses to ask. And so, we ve taken matters into our own hands, joining Mother Jones to present the truth about McCain s pastor. Since the media won t question McCain about his deeply bigoted pastor, it s up to you to call attention to this issue. Make McCain s pastor problem a major story by forwarding this video to your family, friends, and colleagues. We can t let McCain get away with aligning himself with a religious leader who s called for an all-out war on Islam, someone who draws no distinctions between Muslims and violent Islamic extremists. Now is the crucial time to act.

Yesterday, 10 members of the Working Families Party were joined by 5 SEIU 1199 members and 25 members of SEIU Local 32BJ outside the Waldorf Astoria, where Billionaire tax-avoider Henry Kravis of the private equity firm KKR hosted a Columbia Business School award dinner. We had an award for Henry too, the Loophole of the Year Award, for the man who single-handedly dodged his way out of $96 million in taxes in one year alone. Holding the award plaque and a giant banner, we protested and passed out leaflets to passersby asking why Kravis gets to pay a lower tax rate than nurses and hotel doormen. As tuxedo-clad guests streamed in to the event, we got some great reactions. No one was willing to give Kravis our award for us though, and the Hotel claimed to have lost our tickets. Guess we ll have to keep looking for Kravis at his next gala event. Sign our petition and tell our presidential nominees to close the Kravis tax loophole.

It is deeply detrimental to the longterm interests of democracy when Democrats praise and support FOX News. This would be true regardless of who that Democrat is, but it s particularly heinous when Terry McAuliffe, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is singing their praises. Let me congratulate FOX, McAuliffe said this past week, because you were the first ones to call [the Pennsylvania primary] for Hillary Clinton. McAuliffe, who is also chairing Clinton s Presidential committee, actually echoed the FOX mantra by calling them fair and balanced. What is so dangerous about McAuliffe s praise is that FOX is now using his words as a TV ad to prove just how fair and balanced they are. The rest of us know the truth. Jonathan put together this video as a reminder of how exceedingly unfair and imbalanced FOX actually is. These are just few gems to let McAuliffe and others know that FOX is the foe, has always been the foe, and will continue to be the foe of accurate reporting. Please help us in this quest by sharing what you think have been the worst FOX moments in the comments section below. We will send the list to McAuliffe as a firm reminder that he must not applaud FOX!

FOX s objective is clear: carpet bomb Barack Obama with negative stories, distortions, and smears before the Pennsylvania primary in an attempt to skew the outcome toward the Republicans preferred adversary, Hillary Clinton. But did FOX imagine that the liberal media would be such willing accomplices? Check out our latest episode of the gameshow sensation that s sweeping the nation THE FOX IS WRONG: OBAMA! Play along as FOX guests and personalities distort and misrepresent the statements of Obama and those around him, only to have that pesky liberal media pick up the smears and keep on running! For the finale, watch in wonder and amazement as ABC s George Stephanopoulos allows Sean Hannity to actually spoon-feed him a question on Hannity s radio show, then parrots it almost word-for-word a day later during ABC s infamous Democratic debate in Pennsylvania! For an added bonus, check out our last video to see what nine minutes of FOX on Obama looks like (don t worry, the video is just 54 seconds). There you can get a small taste of FOX s strategy to saturate their viewers with as many negative Obama stories as a cable line can carry FOX spews more Obama smears in nine minutes than most networks deliver all day! And remember, this is just a summary of NINE MINUTES on FOX there are 1,440 minutes every day... Watch the videos, sign the petition, and fasten your seatbelts we ve got a crazy few months ahead, and the media won t reform itself

Last week s Democratic debate in Philadelphia was an abysmal display of journalism. By sticking to trivial topics for half of the debate, ABC sought to provoke controversy without asking the candidates serious questions. The Huffington Post s Jason Linkins wrote that the debate ventured into territory so utterly asinine that I could scarcely believe what I was witnessing. Ironically, the mainstream media have been giving John McCain a free ride while trying to pin Clinton and Obama with manufactured gotcha questions. In fact, they don t seem to be challenging McCain at all. So there s no reason to think ABC s brand of pseudo-journalism won t continue tomorrow morning, when George Stephanopoulos will interview McCain on his show. We used satire in this video because we felt it s our most effective way to make a point about the shoddy journalism coming from ABC. The network was so desperate to stir up controversy at the debate that Stephanopoulos took incendiary remarks from FOX s Sean Hannity and tried to pawn them off as his own question. We can t let the FOXification of the mainstream press continue. What s more, we can t allow journalists like Stephanopoulos to give John McCain a free pass. What are the satirical questions you think Stephanopoulos and his colleagues should be asking McCain? Post them to the website on let us know just how shoddy their journalism has become. We ll award the best (meaning worst) satire. It s high time we hold ABC to higher journalistic standards! And please support the work of Campaign for America s Future in forcing intelligent questions onto Sunday news shows. Weekend Watchdog s Bill Scher wants Stephanopoulos to ask, among other things, why McCain hasn t given consistent straight answers about what seven years of conservative economic policies have done to the American economy? Weigh in with your own substantive questions.

We are airing a 30-second version of this film tonight.

Thanks to a new report from ABC News, we now know that Condoleezza Rice led White House meetings authorizing torture that were so detailed, the interrogation sessions were almost choreographed. How can we express the terrible shock we have felt from the fact that our government is using torture? How can we express what so many of us are thinking that it is absolutely appalling to know that our representatives are implementing barbaric instruments of torture as policy? How do we express our moral outrage? Perhaps more importantly, how do we begin to take steps towards ending this heinous crime? Sign the petition and demand Secretary of State Rice to resign. Our allies at True Majority, USAction, and Democracy for America have launched a campaign to start calling out our leaders by focusing on Condoleezza Rice. No, she is not the President. But we want to call attention to the fact that the Secretary of State called for torture when she was National Security Adviser. This is our campaign to get all three Presidential nominees to call for Rice s resignation. Accountability must start with her, especially now that she s being mentioned as a potential Vice Presidential candidate. We want to push all the Presidential candidates on this issue. They need to make a public stance: Condi Must Go! Join us in taking action. Join us in creating a firestorm while the traditional media is missing in action. Join us in spreading the word to mobilize our country. We cannot tolerate officials with a blatant disregard for human rights!

The cost of the Iraq War is a grave issue. We are committed to spreading awareness about the devastating financial toll the war is taking on each and every one of us, let alone our economy.$3 trillion. That is what Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz estimates the war will cost our country. Make no mistake, this $3 trillion bill is crippling our economy and causing our Iraq recession. To put this colossal amount of cash into perspective, we ve designed a game to help people really understand what $3 trillion dollars can buy. Get ready to go on a 3 Trillion Dollar Shopping Spree!When the war was already hurting our economy two years ago, President Bush announced that Americans should go shopping a brilliant plan to remedy our ailing economy. So follow the President s advice in this virtual shopping bonanza and rack up a $3 trillion tab like he has in real life. All you have to do is stroll down through our online store, add items to your cart for yourself or friends, and check out. It s just that easy!Whether you buy serious gifts like healthcare for all Americans or frivolous ones like building the world s tallest building, we hope you ll begin to see just how far $3 trillion could go and help others understand the cost of this war.This game is designed to build further awareness, and we need your help to make that happen, just as you have done on previous successful campaigns from FOX Attacks to the War on Greed to Hurricane Katrina recovery. Please buy gifts for your all your friends and loved ones, and send them e-mails to let them know you ve found better ways to spend our nation s money than the President. We need to help Americans understand the war s economic toll.

Robert Lopez served 8 years in our military, fighting in Iraq as a tank commander. He was told he d get his whole education bill paid for when he got out of the service, but like so many others, Mr. Lopez has faced the bleak reality of a government that has turned its back on its veterans. That is why Senators Jim Webb and Chuck Hagel proposed the new GI Bill, which would bring back WWII-style standards of providing vets with full tuition, room and board. And that is why 51 senators have signed on, including 9 Republicans like John Warner, giving this GI Bill tremendous bipartisan support. But it isn t enough. Faced with unprecedented filibusters, the only way to ensure Senate passage of the GI Bill is to get 60 co-sponsors. So far, John McCain has refused. The same McCain who insists he supports our troops. The same McCain who is voting lockstep with the Bush administration (who have also resisted this bill). We need to get John McCain to lead to sign now and signal to other Republican leaders that we should be strongly behind our vets. Robert Lopez thinks John McCain ought to stand in his shoes to know how difficult it is to be a vet and have to pay staggering education costs. THIS is your call to arms. Pass the video along and implore your friends to sign the petition. Vote Vets, WesPAC, and Brave New Films feel passionately about giving our veterans the support they rightly deserve. Our government owes our troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan the opportunity to receive full educational benefits. These patriots have fought hard for our government; it s time our government started fighting hard for them.

Every year, dedicated high-school students are denied the chance to attend college, based solely on their undocumented status. These young patriots are doctors who will never get the chance to heal us, teachers who won t be able to educate our children, police and firefighters who will never be able to protect us all because their dreams have been deferred. All three presidential hopefuls co-sponsored the federal DREAM Act, yet it has never been made law. The DREAM Act would enable states to grant in-state tuition to these hardworking immigrant students, making higher education (and eventually citizenship) a real possibility. We need to put pressure on all three presidential candidates to commit to securing America s future by enacting the federal DREAM Act in their first 100 days of office. Sign the petition so that we can show our elected officials that the dreams of students must not be sacrificed to the anti-immigrant, anti-American status quo. In addition to the video, with help from our friends at the MIRA coalition, we started a blog at adreamdeferred.org to provide a platform to these young student DREAMers to tell their own stories. Let me introduce you to Dream Activist, The Dream Advocate, FASH, IAmAShadow, Newsie and Sayuri Jane, who have underscored the urgency of this issue. This has become a major collaborative effort with dozens of organizations to call attention to this breakdown in our educational system, and now is your chance to join us. As the anniversary of Cesar Chavez s birthday approaches, we feel that A DREAM Deferred pays tribute to this great man and his truly extraordinary efforts. Chavez once said, Real education should consist of drawing the goodness and the best out of our own students. What better books can there be than the book of humanity? We must honor Cesar Chavez by taking action, not just talking.The name A Dream Deferred was inspired by the Langston Hughes poem of the same name. It s worth a read.

This week, Jim Gilliam received the 2008 Maria Leavey Award at the Take Back America conference in Washington D.C. During his acceptance speech, Jim reflected on his own road to activism, and challenged us all to engage others in progressive campaigns. And here is the trailer for This Brave Nation, that Jim mentions at the end.

A quick look at Robert Greenwald s Brave New Films, our campaigns and successes up to March 2008. Together we can pave the way to victory in 2008 and beyond.

No surprise that FOX has been at it again: smearing, distorting, attacking Obama. What is infuriating and requires IMMEDIATE ACTION is that so many in the media have been catching the FOX virus and spreading it. By way of a cure, we bring you the next installment in our highly successful FOX Attacks! series. Together, we have battled them effectively, halted their fake debates, and put pressure on Bill O Reilly for on his attacks on homeless vets. And so far, over 6 million people have seen our FOX Attacks! A special thanks to all of you who contributed to the tickers for this film! Your contributions made this video possible. You turned this into a collaborative filmmaking process, declaring our collective outrage over FOX s propaganda. If you didn t get the chance to contribute this time around, you can put your message to Murdoch in the next FOX Attacks! film for a contribution of $199. Space is very limited though, we can only include 25 messages. Of course, Obama isn t the only Democratic nominee that FOX and their ilk have gone after in this Presidential race. Chris Matthews, once a Roger Ailes hire, has been demonizing Hillary Clinton every chance he gets. Our friends at Media Matters have more on how Matthews is modeling himself after Bill O Reilly. With your support we can and will continue the fight.

Yesterday, John McCain had lunch with George Bush at the White House, and then received his endorsement in the Rose Garden. A vote for John McCain is a vote for a third Bush term.Check out our new video, and these facts compiled by our friends at ProgressNowAction:McCain Is Exactly Like BushMcCain Cast 377 Votes in Support of President Bush s Position, Supported Bush a Majority of the TimeMcCain/Bush Friendship Based On Shared Views On IssuesMcCain Steadfast And Outspoken In His Support For War In IraqMcCain Said Stay The Course, Downplayed Violence And Denied Civil WarMcCain Supported Bush Escalation, Claimed Success Despite Previous CriticismMcCain s Reputation Tied To Bush s Handling Of Iraq A Consistent Supporter Of Personal Social Security Accounts ; Helped Sell Bush OverhaulFlip-Flop On Bush Tax Cuts A Breathtaking Turnabout McCain Supported No Child Left BehindMcCain s Health Plan Just Like Bush s Failed Health PlanMcCain Supported Bush NomineesLearn more at JohnMcBush2008.org.

There is no issue more serious then the continued militarization of our country and our culture. We have seen this and exposed this from Uncovered to Iraq for Sale to Fox Attacks Iran. But right now, we want to call attention to someone who not only embraces the song of war, he literally sings it! We bring you that Oldie but Baddie: John McCain sings Bomb Iran. The mainstream press is absorbed in the presidential race -- the latest poll numbers, the in-fighting between Obama and Clinton -- while we seek to expose the true story humming just beneath the surface (yes, this calls for some major puns in a matter very serious... sometimes satire can be the most effective way to reach people). Take a moment to spread this video. Let everyone see firsthand (with a little help from our composers) that the senator embraces war in a dangerous and irresponsible manner.

Since the traditional media has obsessively focused on McCain s alleged liaison with Vicki Iseman and smearing The NY Times, we felt compelled to take action. Jason, Phillip, and Dallas raced to the editing room, turned off the phones, locked the door, and focused on the real issue about McCain s lobbyist ties.It s not a pretty picture. But here s our chance to get the truth out there for everyone to see.With inspiration from the insightful blogs of FireDogLake s Jane Hamsher, Christy Hardin Smith, and Marcy Wheeler, we found footage and music to show the story not being told.We use humor, we use pop culture, we use McCain s insistent use of the word friends! We hope you will send it along to your friends, foes, and media outlets.John McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, and yet he said I m the only one the special interests don t give any money to. Sign the petition demanding McCain return the millions of dollars raised by lobbyists.

Thanks to the casting sensibility of Arianna Huffington, we learned that John McCain has been channeling Dr. Strangelove! Duly inspired, Phillip and our Issues 2008 team jumped into action, and 24 hours later, here s the video!Pass it far and wide and pitch us your casting ideas for John McCain in the comments.

Ryan was the first vet I interviewed that day at U.S. Vets. As I talked to him, I simply couldn t believe that Ryan was just 21. It s not that he didn t look young, but the way he talked and what he was talking about reflected the experiences of someone much older. By the age of 18, Ryan was fending for himself and figuring out what to do with his life while I was enjoying the training wheels/daycare we know as college. During his two and a half years in the Navy, Ryan was grappling with the forces of life and death. When he got out, Ryan was forced to experience the warped priorities of our government and face a country that claims to revere soldiers while leaving them out in the cold. At 21, I was coasting through my senior year of college, trying not to think about the future. At 21, Ryan had done what he was supposed to, but had no idea what the future held. At 21, Ryan was homeless, and the country he served didn t give a damn. At 21, Ryan is a guy who should have his whole future in front of him. He should be looking at a world of limitless possibilities. That s what America is supposed to be all about, right? But because he served our country and because our government has little interest in supporting those who served, Ryan, at 21, is in trouble. He doesn t know what s going to happen to him. One slip up and he could be out on the streets again. He feels like the country he served has turned his back on him and that he has no place in it. Ryan wants to get a job, have a place to live, and be just like everyone else. He s not asking for anything special. He s trying, but his government isn t helping. If it weren t for the good people at U.S. Vets, it s hard to know where Ryan would be right now. He might just be another statistic, another number lost to addiction, mental illness, or suicide. A number with no name or face. Bill O Reilly wants to pretend that everything is great. That homeless vets want to be homeless, that vets with substance abuse want to be addicts. He wants to blame Ryan s problems on Ryan, not the system and people who ignore him. I don t mean to diminish him, but Ryan is 21. He s just a kid. Where were you and what were you doing at 21? What had you seen and experienced? What had your country done to you? Ryan served his country for 2 years. His country said it would welcome him back with open arms and help him get a good job at a good wage so he could make a good living because he deserves it. At 21, Ryan is living at U.S. Vets in transitional housing while millionaires who never served like O Reilly shit all over him. There s something wrong with that picture. You know it. I know it. And Ryan knows it. In fact, Ryan has to live it. If you want to help vets like Ryan, go to U.S. Vets and the Fitzgerald House. They spend every day doing what people like Bill O Reilly won t.

Now is not the time for progressives to be silent. With Clinton and Obama battling each other we MUST start telling the story of McCain and his support for war. We have been barraged with folks asking us to take action. And we have. In less than week, Jason, Leda, Philip and Lissette put together these two fantastic short videos. And we have a major BNF strategic campaign to reach hearts and minds. We need $100,000 immediately (like in the next week), so we can continue making these high impact videos, full-time, around the clock. Can you chip in $50? We ve got to start now. Make an investment here. While we re using a little HUMOR in our opening effort, the war is deadly serious, the deaths to Americans and to Iraqis. We have seen and experienced the terrible pain and suffering. But our job right now is to reach millions of people who have erected emotional walls to any more painful news of death and destruction. So we went to the personal, the cost to each and everyone of us. And we did it by hacking the techniques of Madison Ave, a joke that gets the attention, and then makes the point. We re very excited about this campaign, so excited that we wanted to get you involved now before we even have a proper website set up for it. Please post a comment below with your ideas for future videos, a campaign song, a cartoon, and additional ways to get the word out. Let s keep working together to tell America about John McCain s vision for our country: Less jobs, and more wars. I ve got a hunch Joe Scarborough is going to regret ever making that joke.