Mail Bag About Bush

Last screening: coffee and cigarettes by Jim jarmusch. Viewed the film because it was said to be about a bunch of cool people having cool conversations in different casual settings. Reminded us of what we are trying to do with Transcendence Television, the reality show, that's the running name now. But after 36 minutes I turned it off. Forced, stilted, transparent, insulting it was so bad, utterly meaningless. I had such hopes for it. how can you ruin such a brilliant idea as a movie about coffee and cigarettes? But it is everything that we are trying not to make. It has illustrated for me clearly that we are on the right path with this non-reality reality-show idea. Let it be real. Just real. No planning shit. No telling people to improv shit. Just catch the action and emotion of the human experience in the moment and edit it all together. show us what we are.

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And now for a few from the mail bag:

From New York City

<<From: Nicole Henderson
New York, NY
Sent: Friday, November 05, 2004 11:03 AM
Subject: I wanted you to know.

I am writing this letter to the people in the red states in the middle of the country -- the people who voted for George W. Bush. I am writing this letter because I don't think we know each other.

So I'll make an introduction. I am a New Yorker who voted for John
Kerry. I used to live in California, and if I still lived there, I
would vote for Kerry. I used to live in Washington, DC, and if I
still lived there, I would vote for Kerry. Kerry won in all three
of those regions.

Maybe you want to know more about me. Or maybe not; maybe you think
you know me already. You think I am some anti-American anarchist
because I dislike George W. Bush. You think that I am immoral and
anti-family, because I support women's reproductive freedom and gay
rights. You think that I am dangerous, and even evil, because I do
not abide by your religious beliefs.

Maybe you are content to think that, to write me off as a "liberal"
-- the dreaded "L" word -- and rejoice that your candidate has
triumphed over evil, immoral, anti-American, anti-family people like
me. But maybe you are still curious. So here goes: this is who I
am.

I am a New Yorker. I was here, in my apartment downtown, on
September 11th. I watched the Towers burn from the roof of my
building. I went inside so that I couldn't see them when they fell.
I had friends who were inside. I have a friend who still has nightmares about watching people jump and fall from the Towers. He will never be the same. How many people like him do you know? People that can't sit in a restaurant without plotting an
escape route, in case it blows up?

I am a worker. I work across the street from the Citigroup Center, which the government told us is a "target" of terrorism. Later, we found out they were relaying very old information, but it was already too late.
They had given me bad dreams again. The subway stop near my office
was crowded with bomb-sniffing dogs, policemen in heavy protective
gear, soldiers. Now, every time I enter or exit my office, all of
my possessions are X-rayed to make sure I don't have any weapons.
How often are you stopped by a soldier with a bomb-sniffing dog
outside your office?

I am a neighbor. I have a neighbor who is a 9/11 widow. She has
two children. My husband does odd jobs for her now, like building
bookshelves. Things her husband should do. He uses her husband's
tools, and the two little girls tell him, "Those are our daddy's
tools." How many 9/11 widows and orphans do you know? How often do
you fill in for their dead loved ones?

I am a taxpayer. I worked my butt off to get where I did, and so
did my parents. My parents saved and borrowed and sent me to
college. I worked my way through graduate school. I won a full
tuition scholarship to law school. All for the privilege of working
2,600 hours last year. That works out to a 50 hour week, every
week, without any vacation days at all. I get to work by 9 am and
rarely leave before 9 pm. I eat dinner at my office much more often
than I eat dinner at home. My husband and I paid over $70,000 in
federal income tax last year. At some point in the future, we will
have to pay much more -- once this country faces its deficit and the
impossible burden of Social Security. In fact, the areas of the
country that supported Kerry -- New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts -- they are the financial centers of the nation. They are the tax base of this country. How much did you pay, Kansas? How much did you contribute to this government you support, Alabama? How much of this war in Iraq did you pay for?

I am a liberal. The funny part is, liberals have this reputation for living in Never-Neverland, being idealists, not being sensible. But let me
tell you how I see the world: I see America as one nation in a world
of nations. Therefore, I think we should try to get along with
other nations. I see that gay people exist. Therefore, I think they should be allowed to exist, and be treated the same as other people. I see ways in which women are not allowed to control their own bodies. Therefore, I think we should
give women more control over their bodies. I see that people have awful diseases. Therefore, I think we should enable scientists to try to cure them. I see that we have a Constitution. Therefore, I think it should be upheld. I see that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Therefore, I think that Iraq was not an imminent danger to me. It seems so pragmatic to me. How do you see the world? Do you really think voting against gay marriage will keep people from being gay? Would you
really prefer that people continue to die from Parkinson's disease?
Do you really not care about the Constitutional rights of political
detainees? Would you really have supported the war if you knew the
truth, or would you have wanted to spend more of our money on health
care, job training, terrorism preparedness?

I am an American. I have an American flag flying outside my home.
I love my home more than anything. I love that I grew up right
outside New York City. I first went to the Statue of Liberty with
my 5th grade class, and my mom and dad took me to the Empire State
Building when I was 8. I love taking the subway to Yankee Stadium.
I loved living in Washington DC and going on dates to the Lincoln
Memorial. It is because I love this country so much that I argue
with my political opponents as much I do.

I am not safe. I never feel safe. My in-laws live in a small town in Ohio, and that town has received more federal funding, per capita, for
terrorism preparedness than New York City has. I take subways and buses every day. I work in a skyscraper across the street from a "target." I have emergency supplies and a spare pair of sneakers in my desk, in case something
happens while I'm at work. Do you? How many times a month do you worry that your subway is going to blow up? When you hear sirens on the street, do you run to the window to make sure everything is okay? When you hear an airplane, do you flinch? Do you dread beautiful, blue-skied September days? I don't know a single New Yorker who doesn't spend the month of September on
tip-toes, superstitiously praying for rain so we don't have to relive
that beautiful, blue-skied day.

I am lonely. I feel that we, as a nation, have alienated all our friends and further provoked our enemies. I feel unprotected. Most of all I feel alienated from my fellow citizens, because I don't understand what you are thinking. You voted for a man who started a war in Iraq for no reason, against the wishes of the entire world. You voted for a man whose
lack of foresight and inability to plan has led to massive
insurgencies in Iraq, where weapons are disappearing into the hands
of terrorists. You voted for a man who let Osama Bin Laden escape
into the hills of Afghanistan so that he could start that war in Iraq. You voted for a man who doesn't want to let people love who they want to love; doesn't want to let doctors cure their patients; doesn't want to let women rule their destinies. I
don't understand why you voted for this man. For me, it is not
enough that he is personable; it is not enough that he seems like one of the guys. Why did you vote for him? Why did you elect a man that lied to us in order to convince us to go to war? (Ten years ago you were incensed when our
president lied about his sex life; you thought it was an impeachable
offense.) Why did you elect a leader who thinks that strength
cannot include diplomacy or international cooperation? Why did you
elect a man who did nothing except run away and hide on September
11?

Most of all, I am terrified. I mean daily, I am afraid that I will not survive this. I am afraid that I will lose my husband, that I will
never have children, that I will never grow old and watch the sunset in a backyard of my own. I am afraid that my career -- which should end with a triumphant and good-natured roast at a retirement party in 2035 -- will be cut
short by an attack on me and my colleagues, as we sit sending emails
and making phone calls one ordinary afternoon. Is your life at
stake? Are you terrified?

I don't think you are. I don't think you realize what you have
done. And if anything happens to me or the people I love, I blame
you. I wanted you to know that.

From Holland, the Netherlands:

Hey fishy,
 

I think it’s sad that Bush is president again….
But I don’t like your election system at all. Two choices you can only make, which is sponsored by tuns of money.... and a lot of media etc. So: Thát is not democratical at all. It’s manipulation etc. So what do you want in america? What example is this for people..?

So that’s where it starts. And that Bush became president. I think it is painful for the world, for all the things he did and the violence he uses. He is too persistant and that is not what the world needs: attacking evil with evil. He should read the bible more and understand the essence of love and peace more how you can do something positive with attention in the world....  He should do avatar! For a better world.
I wish you all the best. Send him much love!! And maybe by that he’ll feel appreciated and relax more in his ‘being’ instead of doing.

Love!

A

Another from Netherlands:

Reelection of Bush, amongst my friends American and world-wide, 15% voted for Bush. The feeling is that we have a wrong leader and that he, by Iraq, has made the world more polarized and dangerous.
Love,
Mirjam

From Chile:
 

All I can say is that the results of the election reiterates that unfortunately the majority of the population of the US is very ignorant and easily persuadable...

Unfortunately there wasn’t a strong opposition: Kerry’s weak tactic of just highlighting Bush’s mistakes lacked energy. He looked like the bullied kid who can only defend himself by saying that his opponent is bad, without showing what he could do differently.
I feel confused. I would have expected more intelligence from Americans. But again, it’s not like they had another choice. Kerry did not inspire me.

I heard somebody said this when we found out about the elections’ result:

“Kerry no calienta ni a su señora” which translates into HE DOESN’T EVEN TURN HIS WIFE ON.
ES


From New York:

NEW YORK (AP) -- A 25-year-old from Georgia who was distraught over President Bush's re-election apparently killed himself at Ground Zero.

From Australia:

G’day Fishy,
 
What I observe is two nations yours and mine so easily manipulated by its leaders thru the deliberate the escalation of fear…take a tragic act of insanity…sept 11 and the Bali bombing and use what ever means available…media…rhetoric…lies (Bush and his hidden agenda re Iraq …Howard and the lies over The Tampa ‘children overboard’ incident just before the previous election) to keep that fear alive then intensify it…and you very quickly have the attention of the masses particularly those people who have yet to be awakened to the effect of their own indoctrinations…religions throughout time have used this form of control for thousands of years (its easier to control people by feeding their fears than to have them move forward thru their inspiration…one controls the other liberates) its what fundamentalists have used and continue to use today …the level of dishonesty in both leaders reveals a lot about our collective dishonesty and it’s a reminder for me to take responsibility for my part in the collective dishonesty in the world… to do what I can to be fairer and more real in my dealings with people and with my self…& to support the awakening of realness on the planet …I believe this retrograde step can  be turned around if people around the world decide to become more honest…with themselves and others and choose to act accordingly.
 
Love,
 
Kate

From Italy:

Ciao Fishy,


what can i say, i hate all this and i can not understand how is possible he has been reelected. why after all this problems, all this war, all this blood, you let him win. maybe he did something in the election, do you think is possible that he stole votes? cause i can not belive americans still trust him. for example the film or the books of Michael Moor didn't have any emotion on you. when i saw at that film i was so upset and i felt so stupid and small. i will do every thing to convince all the people i know to don't vote for berlusconi. 


You remember i always have been warried about the healt of the planet i'm scared about what can happen in few years but now i'm more scared on what can happen to that poor people and of course to us. is a stupid war we are in the 2004 and we still kill each others. we should try all togetar to do somthing good for the planet and you Americans  have to do something to change your president or as you can to put some limits on his powers. any way let me know if the election was 'legal' and what is happening there if there are manifestation to put him down. to conclude i 'm sad and scared  because i know this is  real bad time for all the world.
hope to see you soon, hope to hear about his death soon.
a big kiss. tua amica, D

Another from Italy:

Ciao il mio fratello! I donno what to say but all here in Italy feel bad coz bush take it again. U know how italian suffered coz there is money and Italian soldiers in Iraq and all this becoz of bush. In israel the situation is different coz jews are happy about bush but the palestenian not, coz bush didnt care enough about the middle east , for example like klinton did. I am disapointed coz i feel that the situation will more bad with G. Bush. In general in Europe the people are scared and disappointed,

Ciao, M

From Estonia:

Fishy,

I just wrote a column on the subject that was published on the election day for the newspaper that I work for (one of the 2 biggest dailies here):

    http://www.epl.ee/artikkel_277699.html

Well, it is written in Estonian of course, but the basic idea of the article is that Europeans don't have any problems with Americans or their values, it's the Bush administration that we (and not only we) have a problem with. If there is anything anti-American people were hoping for, it's the Bush re-relection. Nobody, even Osama Bin Laden or Saddam, has been able to destroy American values as effectively as Bush has.

Of course, we were all hoping for Kerry. We really really were. And of course the outcome was a huge disappointment. However, the fact that over 40 % of the American people voted for change is a very important signal, especially for us, Europeans. A really good signal.

All the best,
M.R.

From Japan:

Hi Fishy,
 
Good to hear from you, and I am good! I have been checking your transcendent activities through your newsletters, and congratulations for all your wonderful achievements over the last months. :-)
 
About Bush reelection I am very disappointed. I am against Bush's policies regarding Iraq which are causing many innocent Iraq citizens die every day, and for the same reason I am against our own Prime Minister who is riding on his coattail.
 
When the final election result was reported on the news, my husband said "Why again Bush?!",  I guess it was a question a lot of Japanese had when we heard about the reelection, and I wonder how the feeling is in the U.S., especially in Florida. Can you fill me in?
 
Love,
Kimi

From France:

Hi Fishy!!!

I hope you're fine. About Bush being re-elected, I simply couldn't believe it, I mean in France we really don't like him, considering all the measures he had taken as a president concerning so many things, such as environment, social life and obviously his dealing of international matters. He has killed so many people in Iraq now. It's true that we don't know many things about Kerry, but here, in France, we had thought that the American people would vote for anyone but Bush and i was pretty sure Kerry would be elected because American people couldn't accept being lied to and manipulated that way by Bush. So the news was a real shock and I still don't understand what made the majority of America vote for him. I hope I’ve clearly expressed my point of view and have news from you soon,
Bye. Nat

More from France:

I feel terrible. The vibe is pretty horrified, people offering condolences. Much anger, belief he stole the election again (8 million new Bush voters from where?), worries about US militarism and religious fundamentalism and the basic ignorance of the american people, if they did actually vote him in. Last election they gave the American people some slack, empathy, first as he lost the popular vote and second as the voters did not know how bad he was. This time neither apply.  Anything can happen in the next four years.

RS

From France:

Dear Fishy,

I wasn't surprised by the outcome. Many people I spoke to expected this and many also said Bush should finish what he started. As for
my own opinion, I would have liked to have seen a change but the choice
wasn't that great. Kerry lacked leadership qualities to move him forward, but was a much better candidate for America. People are usually taken by character rather than by actions.

Jazzy

From Spain:

Hey Fishy!

Hey, Bush again? What the hell happened? I don't trust the newspapers
(everything is so manipulated everywhere); I'd like to know what's
happening in the States, just explained by an American. Can you give me
some first-hand information?

I was really convinced that this time Kerry would win, after all that
has happened in the late two years.... How can it be that he won
again??? What is wrong over there with you guys? I trust you didn't vote for Bush?

Well, well. What about you? What are you doing in NY? It's now one year
and a half that we don't meet; I really would like to come to NY to see you soon!!!!!

Kisses,
M

Hey Montse, 

We are in shock here. there is nothing we can say about it. let me know if you ever want to come to New York and I will let you know next time I come to EU. You are lucky there. we here have been taken over by a bunch of simple-minded religious-righters who think that the terminator is a positive influence on political thinking who want to take us back to the dark ages.

Your friend in shock,
Fishy

From Israel:

So, does your voice count? Who voted for Bush?
You should only think positive, what has been done, is done (like starting a war on innocent people from the first place). And what have happened, happened, tough- but you can't change it! Look at this, this way stability is good against predators, And from my experience, lac of authority interpreted as weakness, you must have stability with the government to show your power, sad but true. 

I tolled you before I think one of the main problems in Israel is lac of stability in the government, and corrupted leadership. we are like third world country in that meter because it seams to me that politicians only care about their position, personal power and their mark, not the people, it shows very obvious in local parties, they have absolutely no shame in "the city authority". for me 1995 was a brake point, my prime minster Rabin was assassinated by a fanatic person with no respect for human beings, and  the rule of democracy. I can say that that  pretty much made me loose hope (with people? with authority? with peace? I don't know with what) around the same time there was heavy terrorism in my beloved city, the bus I use to take to school, non stop every day bombs explodes, ambulance sirens, braking news on t.v. It was no fun, may be that's why I was a depressed teen ager. And you've probably seen the "looser candidate speech" on t.v,
Well, Kerry him self said some thing important, the people most be united, because no meter how weans (if you can call it like that), naturally there will always be opponents, and in democracy we most respect the results.
Soon, Kat.

Another from Israel:

Hello dear friend,
If it o.k. to be a little bit more "ram" I would like to repeat something I believe:
"There is no "reality" only perception". If you really want to change something Start With your own perception and when you will feel more safe in the world Inside and Outside, It will empower and inspire others too.

Which creation are you going to feed with your attention, trust or fear? It's maybe the only Thing that is really a choice here.

My way of handling the continued attacks to Israel is exactly this...just to lower For one Degree the seriousness-fear and then to raise for just one degree the Trust-playfulness.
This one degree is not changing the world but it is certainly shifting me. I recommend the same thing with your country’s problems with Bush reelection.

Fishy I have a lot of appreciation to your Humanitarian Identity.
Love, Ram

From Guatemala:

Hi Fishy,
 
To my belief, Latin America is not swallowing the "pill" that the war against terrorism is the true objective of the permanence of the US in Iraq. At the beginning, after Sept. 11, we were sympathetic with Bush and America when it attacked Afghanistan. Later, when it attacked Saddam Hussein, we raised an eyebrow, still thinking that the purpose was to eliminate one big bandit and we still coped with the idea.  But when the US remained with artillery and warfare in Irak, we no longer sympathize with the idea since so many children, women and innocent children die and suffer from that invasion.
 
Americans living in our countries are more keen to understand that democracy is something that has to be achieved by ourselves and not by some external foreign government like the US. Most of the free countries around the world feel that the US invasion in Irak goes against their true freedom. On the other hand, if we talk about environmental issues, with Bush, we can surely forget he will do something substantial about it.

Climate change is at our footstep and Bush doesn’t want to recognize it. He is neglecting to sign the Protocol of Kyoto, even though the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has urged him to do so. 
 
Some Congressmen make sure that the American economy does not alter, and they say that their life style is not negotiable. They also stress that global warming has not been proven and is merely stuborness from the environmentalists. But Science is clear. Each year more than 3 billion tons of the carbon emmisions stay in the air and nature cannot absorve them. Almost two thirds of the carbon emmisions come from transportation and generation of electricity and the most powerful countries are the most responsible for that. The life style of Americans has been built through cheap energy and the activists in Washington, in favor of fosil fuel, want it to continue in the same fasion. They say that if they would ratify the Protocole of Kyotto, the American Dream would end.
 
But life as we know it, will end soon, and not just for Americans but for the entire world if something is not done quick enough. Climate Change needs to be detained and the U.S. should comply with lowering  5%  the level of  its carbon emmisions or know that climate conditions will worsen each day. United States, Australia and Canada are the ones who contaminate the most and are the most responsible for global warming, countries who have not signed the Protocole of Kyotto because their economy would alter.
 
The Protocole of Kyotto needs to be signed by the most powerful nations on earth, which are the ones which contaminate the most, like the U.S., something that Bush neglects to do.  Bush is covering his eyes and ears to all reason, even though has seen dramatic climate change phenomena with the last hurricaines that wiped out many homes in the States, one after the other!!!  Bush has even gotten proof from the Pentagon on future disasters that will  possibly wipe out part of the Eastern Coast of the U.S. by the year 2007, but still Bush doesn´t want to hear. It is his own country which will be suffering, but he doesn´t want to hear. In those terms, most of our foreign countries do not see with kind eyes this new election. We wanted to see CHANGE. We perceive the contrary, Things won´t change with him around. For the time being, the big American industries who presure Bush to keep things the same way, and that don´t want to suffer economical consequences due to the changes, will in the long run suffer along with the rest of the Americans. Because money doesn´t buy it all.

We should all tell Bush that our atmosphere is not negotiable and that money won´t be able to counteract the horrendous climate phenomena that is already forthcoming due to his neglect of signing the Protocol of Kyoto.

Love you,
V

From Turkey:

'ALLAH' you are funny not like Steve Martin but you are good.:):):)
(I think The God had left us for a long time ago!!!!!!!!)
 
I prayed. But it seems that the election will not be concluded as we wish and supporters of the war are going to win. I am very sad......
 
Tülin

From Germany:

Good to know you are in the democratic N.Y. now buddy!
Need still some more time to recover from the hit on my head when I checked the results on Wednesday morning (our time). Seems we have to carry along and out what we created during the last decade and Kerry is just a soul too brave and accurate to get our foolish argument in the future, the one we can point on to have a hit why everything struggled and failed. I lately heard that our leaders are just our own representation on another platform we do not act upon, but they play on the stage we support and provide. Maybe if we eat this our digestion may rise and what we leave behind will be another leadership in the future. So I agree with you to pray. Praying for better food for our minds to act in a way that manifestation can give us again a pure result of reflection in the future, but than the one we are proud about and one we love to see. Until than: a lot of air in the stomach and colon producing exactly the music we hate to hear, to see, to smell. Paralyzed by sense we wish we could point on and say: it was not me who….but we know it just came up as the result from just the wrong diet over a long, long time.

God may be with us all on this planet that is still our mother and love, although the “Texan Exxon Cowboy“ is blaming the meadows and hurting the horses. The right whisperer is going to come if we stop crying and arguing about the situation but go ahead for better foundations. Let’s act, baby!

Cheers brother!
Bernd

From Brasil:

Hi Fishy,
For me it feels unbelievable that a country re-elects a president that is pro-wars. Nowadays the whole world tries to find the most creative solutions in order to avoid wars and the "country number one" (as Americans call themselves) chooses somebody that think that the best solution for problems is war. And even more, it's obvious and it's worldwide known that Bush and Bin Laden's family have a close connection, basically they help each other. Don´t you think? Just reflect about what happened during the election's week!
Patti (Brazil) 

From the Ukraine:

Hi Fishy,
I don't support the politics of Bush and hoped that would win Kerry. As the person Kerry is more attractive, because Bush makes impressions of the man with a low I.Q. But the position of both candidates to Ukraine is identical, and for us it wasn’t important, who will win.  
We are interested more by own elections now.

The political analyst S.Bgesinskij has said that he can’t make the prognosis about results of elections only in two countries: in USA and in the Ukraine. Your elections were finished, and we wait for the second round. I was in Italy two weeks ago, in Milan and Venice and spoke with two Americans about elections of the president in USA. They are the businessmen and have said that both your candidates are not so different in economic politics. I think, that for USA the choice of the president is not very important, because their status obliges leader to act definitely. So the search of an external enemy and fight for petroleum will continue, even if would win Kerry. It is not bad. Simply it is life. Know, we have such joke about the American politics: you do not know what it is a democracy by the American way?!! Then our fighting fly to you!
Anna

From a Northern State (this is hilarious):

http://www.fuckthesouth.com/

From Canada:

I think Bush being re-elected is a good thing for Canada as Bush is open to trade
between the US and Canada. Our country does so much exporting with the US.
Kerry on the other hand is very Pro America and would prefer to keep all business, all jobs in the US and close trade opportunities with Mexico and Canada. However, I think Kerry is a better choice for World Relations.
Bush scares me.
Darc

From England: