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MAF News and Press Releases PageListed on this page are news articles talking about the activities of Move America Forward, as well as copies of organizational press releases. This page is updated constantly with new information, so remember to visit regularly. You can also click on an individual article's byline to see the story in its original publication.Note: Some news organizations do not maintain their archives for very long, so links to older articles may not always be available.
Thursday, April 17th, 2008
From the May 2008 issue of Newsmax magazine:
Thursday, March 27th, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pro-Troop Group Demands of US Attorney: “Investigate Anti-American Activities in Berkeley” City Accused of Encouraging Interference with Federal Officers SAN FRANCISCO---A law firm representing a pro-troop organization has sent a letter to the U.S. Attorney in San Francisco asking the federal government to investigate whether the Berkeley City Council’s official anti-Marine position and encouragement of anti-war groups to “impede” the work of Marine recruiters constitutes a breach of law. If the City Council violated the law, the letter asks the U.S. Attorney to prosecute the perpetrators. The letter was drafted by the attorney for pro-troop organization Move America Forward (website: www.MoveAmericaForward.org), which is the nation’s largest pro-troop grassroots nonprofit. The correspondence also voices concerns that the Berkeley Police were unresponsive and negligent to public safety during a protest the group organized in Berkeley on Feb. 12, 2007. The original copy has already been mailed and an additional copy will be hand-delivered Monday morning with a press conference immediately following. Click here to read full story
Saturday, February 2nd, 2008
Feb. 2, 2008
BERKELEY – Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, convicted of stealing 1,000 free newspapers from the Daily Californian newsstands in 2002, is at it again. The Mayor is attempting to steal the free speech rights of the United States Marine Corps by harassing the recruiting center into abandoning its lease. Move America Forward has launched a petition drive denouncing the Mayor and the Council, while demanding an apology to the USMC at its website www.moveamericaforward.com The response was so overwhelming it crashed the site within minutes after launching, fueled by intense coverage from bloggers, talk radio, Internet, television reports and pro-troops organizations like the American Legion and Vets for Freedom. Move America Forward plans to deliver the protest petitions at the Berkeley City Council’s next regularly scheduled meeting on February 12th. “We are looking at all options to stop Berkeley from issuing gifts of public funds, such as free parking spaces, and violating the Constitution,” said Catherine Moy, Executive Director of Move America Forward. “We have contacted all branches of our government to redress these issues, and will explore all legal, legislative and executive avenues to stop the injustice perpetrated by the Berkeley City Council.” A national backlash erupted last week over Berkeley’s attack on Marines. Mayor Tom Bates was forced to reconsider resolutions telling America’s heroes they are “intruders.” Bates has taken a further steps to shutter the doors of the Marine’s recruiting station. Bates told the Contra Costa Times that he would broker a deal to release the Marine’s from their building lease. But the Marines said they will stay. “Mayor Bates, in his arrogance, has crossed the line by trying to steal the Marine’s First Amendment Rights, and we will not stand for this treasonous behavior. His stunning offer to “broker a deal” to release the Marine’s from its building lease shows the depth of his contempt for our military men and women,” said Melanie Morgan, chairman of Move America Forward. “Our group will stand with the Marines until their attackers stop.” The Berkeley council on Tuesday passed two resolutions condemning the Marines as part of a campaign by anti-war activists to shut down the recruiting center. The council also gave Code Pink, a leftist group that daily harasses the Marines with hate speech, a free parking place and noise permit. Move America Forward (Move America Forward), initiated a campaign for people to call and email the rogue City Council. Thousands of e-mails, calls and letters of denunciation have poured into the offices of Bates and other council members who support the efforts to drive the USMC out of town. Move America Forward applauds the proposed legislation by U.S. Senator Jim DeMint to strip Berkeley of all pork barrel spending, amounting to $2.1 million dollars. A companion bill in Congress is now being prepared to do the same.
Click here to read full story
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008
** NOTE: Graphics concerning this action follow the press release copy at the bottom of this page.
January 30, 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IN BERKELEY, CA
SAN FRANCISCO – The City of Berkeley, California has passed two resolutions attacking the United States Marine Corps, calling the Marines, “uninvited and unwelcome intruders in the city.”
The Berkeley City Council voted to condemn the Marines on Tuesday night (January 29th) as part of a campaign by anti-war activists to shut down a U.S. Marine Recruiting Center located in the city of Berkeley.
The votes by the Berkeley City Council were immediately condemned by Move America Forward (website: www.MoveAmericaForward.org), the nation’s largest grassroots pro-troop organization.
“It is disgraceful that in the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement, anti-military activists would attempt to silence the same military men and women who serve this country and give their lives to protect the free speech rights of all Americans, including these ungrateful and despicable people on the Berkeley City Council,” said Melanie Morgan, Chairman of Move America Forward.
The actions by the Berkeley City Council followed continuous protests by Code Pink and other anti-military organizations that vandalized and defaced the U.S. Marine Recruiting Center in September 2007.
One of the two resolutions passed by the Berkeley City Council last night granted a parking spot in front of the Marine Recruiting Center to be used by anti-military activists to harass Marine recruiters. The anti-military activists would not need to apply for a sound permit for the next six months – allowing them free reign to disrupt the day-to-day operations by the Marines.
Move America Forward organized a counter-protest in support of the Marines last October that attracted over 400 pro-troop supporters who stood in solidarity of the Marine Recruiting Center.
“We have hundreds of thousands of military men and women serving honorably overseas to protect our freedoms. Imagine how they feel when they go to turn on the news and see that they are being stabbed in the back by shameful people here at home, it’s disgraceful!” said Catherine Moy, Executive Director of Move America Forward.
This release posted at: http://www.moveamericaforward.org/index.php/MAF/MAFNews
 Click here to read full story
Monday, January 14th, 2008
January 14, 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Exposed as Erroneous by Pro-Troop Group SACRAMENTO- Move America Forward (website: www.MoveAmericaForward.org), the nation’s largest grassroots pro-troop organization, today announced that after vetting the numbers cited by The New York Times in their Sunday, January 13, 2008 story, “Across America, Deadly Echoes of Foreign Battles,” it became clear that the Times had engaged in demonstrably erroneous and false reporting. It took seven New York Times researchers to find 121 cases in which veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan committed a killing in the United States, or were charged with one, upon returning home to this country. The Times made the false conclusion that: “Taken together, they paint the patchwork of a quiet phenomenon, tracing a cross-country trail of death and heartbreak.” The Times documentation of 121 potential killings out of more than 1.5 million veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq) and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), divided by 6 years of conflict results in a murder rate of just 1.34 incidents per 100,000 veterans per year.*** That murder rate is far lower than the murder rate for the general population, demonstrating that the experiences of military service – including having served in Iraq and Afghanistan – actually made it less likely for returning veterans to commit murder once they returned home, than the general population. Given a census-estimated population of the United States of 300,000,000 persons in this country as of October 2006, and FBI-compiled statistics of 17,399 homicide offenders for 2006, the murder rate of the general population was 5.80 offenders per 100,000 on average – and a rate of approximately 7.67 per 100,000 for men. Since all but one of the veterans cited by the Times who committed a killing in the U.S. was male, the comparable rate is approximately 7.67 incidents of murder per 100,000 people among the general male population, compared to just 1.34 incidents per 100,000 returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans (of both genders). “It’s obvious that the New York Times has an agenda of undermining the missions of our troops in the War on Terror, so much so that they are willing to resort to demonstrably false statistics to support their anti-troop bias,” said Melanie Morgan, Chairman of Move America Forward. “The slander of our troops and veterans by the New York Times is unfortunately all too familiar. We heard this kind of nonsense about our returning veterans from Vietnam. It’s the same insult, different war. “Perhaps the shameful staff of The New York Times has run out of war-time secrets to publish for America’s enemies to read, because now they’ve resorted to an all-out smear campaign of America’s finest men and women, who have served this country bravely and with distinction,” Morgan said. In place of hard data to support their premise, The New York Times was instead forced to devote almost the entire portion of 6,321 word hit-piece to anecdotes of wrongdoing by individual veterans. The New York Times even went so far as to trace back the phenomenon of murderous veterans to Greek mythology to back up their assertions of their report. “The real mythology is the reporting by The New York Times,” Move America Forward’s Melanie Morgan concluded.
NOTE TO REPORTERS/BLOGGERS: Melanie Morgan and a delegation of staffers from Move America Forward have just returned from a 10-day trip interviewing U.S. troops in Iraq and Kuwait. To schedule an interview with Melanie Morgan or the other members who traveled to Kuwait and Iraq including: Gold Star Mom Debbie Lee (mother of first Navy Seal killed in Iraq), MAF Communications Director, Danny Gonzalez, and MAF Deputy Executive Director, Mary Pearson, contact Ryan Gill of Move America Forward at: (916) 441-6197 or via email at: mary@MoveAmericaForward.org
>> You can link to this report, which is published at the Move America Forward website, at this location:
*** Note that the central statistical measure is how many instances of alleged killings take place per 100,000 Iraq/Afghanistan war veterans who returned home. The New York Times might argue that our statistics are incorrect since the 1.5+ million Iraq/Afghanistan veterans have not been home during the entire 6 years of the war (especially since in the early onset of Operation Enduring Freedom troops were just arriving into the war zone). However, Salon.com reports that as of January 31, 2005 there were 1,048,884 Americans who had fought in Iraq or Afghanistan. One can then calculate statistics from that point onward. Let’s give the New York Times the leeway of saying their alleged 121 incidents of killings by veterans occured during just the three years that elapsed since that time to the present. The murder rate per 100,000 people would still be approximately 3.5 incidents of murder per 100,000 returning Iraq/Afghanistan veterans. Click here to read full story
Monday, December 10th, 2007
Click here to read full story
Friday, October 19th, 2007
 Mark this day down folks. It was Wednesday, October 17, 2007 that hundreds of pro-troop supporters turned out for a giant pro-troop rally in Berkeley, CA (one of the most anti-military & anti-war cities in this nation). Not only did the size of the rally shock the San Francisco Bay Area news media, it surprised the anti-war activists at Code Pink who were outnumbered on their own turf!. Move America Forward and other pro-troop organizations and leaders put on a pro-troop rally to counter the harassment of the U.S. Marine Recruiting Center by Code Pink in Berkeley. For 3 weeks the U.S. Marine Recruiting Center has faced protests (including vandalism and defacing of their building) and taunts against the Marines that they were “traitors” and “liars” and “murderers” and guilty of “assassination.” MAF Blogger Danny: SEE RALLY PICTURES & VIDEO - HERE!!! Debbi’s Dribble Blog: More Pictures - HERE WorldNetDaily: Taking Back the Streets from Code Pinkos Human Events: Showdown at Berkeley! Michelle Malkin’s Blog: Red, White & Blue in Berkeley - HERE Pipeline News: Move America Forward Counter Demonstration Crushes Code Pink In Berkeley - HERE Contra Costa Times: Flag-waving demonstrators far outnumbered a group of peace advocates Daily Californian: Protestors Clash Over Military Recruitment Wake Up America Blog: Making Them “Pink” With Frustration MAF Daily File: Catherine Moy Gives a First Hand Report - HERE Winter’s Soldier Blog: Melanie Morgan, MAF Rout Code Pinkos in Berkeley! Cal Patriot Blog: Pictures from UC Berkeley Cal Patriot
Monday, September 24th, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – September 24, 2007
To Columbia University (SAN FRANCISCO) – The nation’s largest grass-roots, pro-troop organization, Move America Forward (website: www.MoveAmericaForward.org ) has issued the following statements in reaction to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech to Columbia University: STATEMENT BY MELANIE MORGAN, CHAIRMAN MOVE AMERICA FORWARD: “Today’s lies and distortions by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were disgraceful. Iranian agents and weapons are killing American troops in Iraq. British sailors who were in international waters were recently abducted by Iran. And yet Ahmadinejad claims that Iran, the leading sponsor of Islamic terrorism, is the victim. “Ahmadinejad is this generation’s Hitler and instead of being provided a platform to spew his hateful propaganda he should have instead been arrested for having committed crimes against the international community.” STATEMENT BY LT. COL. BUZZ PATTERSON (USAF, Ret.), VICE CHAIRMAN, MOVE AMERICA FORWARD: “Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claims to be an academic, however he is no more an academic than serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. “Mr. Ahmadinejad traffics in murder, death and terrorism. He seeks to bring about acts of terror and tyranny against free people and free nations. It is a disgrace that he has been invited to speak at the United Nations and Columbia University.”
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Thursday, July 26th, 2007
July 23, 2007 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Supporting Missions of Troops in Iraq (SACRAMENTO) – With General David Petraeus set to report to Congress by September 15th on the progress of “the surge” of U.S. troops in Iraq, supporters of Operation Iraqi Freedom are preparing to launch a massive public effort to show support for the missions of U.S. troops in Iraq. From September 3, 2007 through September 15, 2007 the nation’s largest grassroots, pro-troop organization, Move America Forward (website: www.MoveAmericaForward.org) will lead more than 10,000 supporters in a cross-country caravan called the “FIGHT FOR VICTORY TOUR.” The caravan will stop for more than 25 pro-troop rallies along the way. Thousands of Americans have already signed up to join the tour in just the first few days since it was announced online.
 “We need to convey to our troops and the world in general that America doesn’t lose. We don’t turn our backs on our courageous men and women in uniform and we don’t walk away from the Iraqi people who desperately seek democracy and freedom,” said Lt. Colonel Buzz Patterson (USAF, Ret.) who serves as Vice Chairman of Move America Forward. “The Fight for Victory Tour is absolutely essential to demonstrate our support of our troops and to send a clear signal to the anti-military folks in this nation that we will not let them bring about an American defeat in Iraq or the greater war on terror. Victory is the only option and we’re not backing down from the fight at hand,” Colonel Patterson said. The caravan will be led by veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom & Operation Enduring Freedom, along with Gold Star Families (who lost a loved one in Iraq) and Blue Star Families (who have a loved one serving in Iraq). “We’re going to send a message of support for our troops that will be heard from the shores of the Pacific Ocean all the way across this country to the Atlantic Coast – we support our troops and their missions and we won’t let anyone force them to surrender to the jihadists,” said Melanie Morgan, Chairman of Move America Forward. The current schedule for the caravan includes pro-troop rally stops in more than 2 DOZEN cities across America including:
* Carson City, NV
More details can be found about the upcoming “Fight for Victory Tour” at: www.MoveAmericaForward.org
Tuesday, July 24th, 2007
 Grassroots Group Organizing ‘Fight for Victory’ Caravan (CNSNews.com) - While lawmakers argue over the Iraq war, activists who support it plan to launch a cross-country caravan in September to urge continued support of American troops. The Sept. 3-15 “Fight for Victory Tour,” organized by Move America Forward, will end with a pro-troop rally in Washington, D.C., on September 15th - the day that General David Petraeus, the U.S. commanding general in Iraq, delivers his report on the troop surge strategy to Congress. “We’ll launch the cross-country caravan Monday, September 3/super rd/nosupersub , with rallies outside the offices of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in California,” said Melanie Morgan, chairman of Move America Forward. “During the cross-country caravan, we will stop and conduct pro-troop rallies that will be attended by thousands upon thousands of patriotic Americans who believe that our leaders cannot be allowed to undercut our troops who are bravely serving on the frontlines of the war against Islamic jihadism,” said Robert Dixon, executive director of Move America Forward.
The current schedule includes pro-troop rally stops in more than 2 dozen cities, including Carson City, Nev.; Sacramento, San Francisco, Modesto, Fresno, Los Angeles and San Diego, California; Yuma, Phoenix, and Tucson in Ariz.; Las Cruces, N.M.; El Paso, San Antonio, Waco, Crawford, and Dallas, Texas; Oklahoma City; Wichita, Kan.; Kansas City, Mo., Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Chicago; Indianapolis; Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pa.; and finally Washington, D.C.
 Pro-troop rally coming to Yuma
FROM STAFF REPORTS
From Sept. 3-15, the caravan will stop in about 25 locations around the country from California to Washington, D.C., in what a Move America Forward news release describes as a series of “pro-troop rallies.” The Yuma rally in what is being called the “Fight for Victory” tour is scheduled to for Sept. 5, according to the group’s Web site. As Move America Forward leaders head for a larger Sept. 15 rally in Washington, they will make about 25 stops in cities around the country - including Yuma, Phoenix and Tucson in Arizona - to meet with local supporters. The Sun attempted to contact Move America Forward organizers Monday, but calls and e-mails were not returned. The caravan and rallies are scheduled to coincide with Gen. David Petraeus’ report to Congress on Sept. 15 of the results of the troop surge in Iraq. It is intended as “a massive public effort to show support for the missions of the U.S. troops in Iraq,” according to the release. The release states that “thousands” have already signed up to join the tour.
For more information, contact the group office in Sacramento, Calif., at 1-916-441-6197 or visit www.moveamericaforward.org.
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