Really, no shit he is. I was downright stunned after I read his review of Fatburger Customer of the Month, Michael Moore’s latest propaganda film Sicko.
Unfortunately, Moore is also a con man of a very brazen sort, and never more so than in this film. His cherry-picked facts, manipulative interviews (with lingering close-ups of distraught people breaking down in tears) and blithe assertions (how does he know 18,000* people will die this year because they have no health insurance?) are so stacked that you can feel his whole argument sliding sideways as the picture unspools. The American health-care system is in urgent need of reform, no question. Some 47 million people are uninsured (although many are only temporarily so, being either in-between jobs or young enough not to feel a pressing need to buy health insurance). There are a number of proposals as to what might be done to correct this situation. Moore has no use for any of them, save one.
As a proud socialist, the director appears to feel that there are few problems in life that can’t be solved by government regulation (that would be the same government that’s already given us the U.S. Postal Service and the Department of Motor Vehicles). In the case of health care, though, Americans have never been keen on socialized medicine. In 1993, when one of Moore’s heroes, Hillary Clinton (he actually blurts out the word “sexy!” in describing her in the movie), tried to create a government-controlled health care system, her failed attempt to do so helped deliver the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives into Republican control for the next dozen years. Moore still looks upon Clinton’s plan as a grand idea, one that Americans, being not very bright, unwisely rejected. (He may be having second thoughts about Hillary herself, though: In the movie he heavily emphasizes the fact that, among politicians, she accepts the second-largest amount of political money from the health care industry.)
Awesome!
He may be socialist and proud of it, but I’d rather throw money at creating a federal healthcare plan than having our “fearless leader” President Skippy Mc-Douchebag piss away literally hundreds of billions of dollars liberating the poor unfortunate oil wells in Iraq in the name of false religion and national security.
Capitalism has failed….it’s time to try something else.
i still don’t understand what the fuck your problem is with people being taken care of.
I’m goddamn sick of everybody thinking they’re entitled to things. If you want health care, get a fucking job, or some insurance, and pay for it just like a huge majority of society already does. Well, a majority of PRODUCTIVE society anyway.
Go live in North Korea Phuked
Awesome. Someone remind me why FaaQ even has the power to post on the main page, again?
Ronnie Woo Woo – You obviously didn’t see the film so you shouldn’t comment. The film was about people who HAVE healthcare.
The whole idea of having a universal healthcare system is this: When something really bad happens (eg. heart attack, cancer, car accident) and the medical bills start adding up into the HUNDREDS of thousands of dollars, then you can concentrate on getting well knowing that your care is paid for, instead of worrying about selling your home and going into debt for the rest of your life. I’m an RN and trust me, health care is not cheap on my unit. Stay for 3 days? Expect a bill over $75,000. So ask yourself, would it be better to pay a few dollars every paycheck and know that you are covered for everything…or keep the status quo and have something bad happen and get a nice 6 figure bill in the mail? HMOs don’t cover squat, they make a profit by denying you coverage. Watch the movie!
Don’t join an HMO. Why are people poor? Because they government doesn’t allow the econmoy to grow. War is a big government idea…I have no fucking clue how people can call the republicans pro small government when they do that. war is another huge waste of money.
Ronnie Woo Woo…you said “If you want health care, get a fucking job, or some insurance, and pay for it just like a huge majority of society already does.” The problem is, with the minimum wage still at $5.15 an hour, there are FAR too many people working 40+ hours a week who can’t afford health care. 40 hours a week before taxes comes out to under $850 a month. Do you buy food or health insurance? No one should have to make that choice. (BTW, opposed to what so many republicans say, don’t think there aren’t plenty of people working for minimum or close to minimum wage).
People who make min wage don’t pay taxes. Min wage earners make up less than 1 tenth of 1% of the entire work force. Most uninsured in the US choose to be uninsured because for the most part they can afford insurance, yet choose not to. Catastrophic insurance (the kind that protects you if you have a major illness) is very cheap, less than 100 dollars a month for many people.
It is not government responsibility to care for the people. Its the peoples responsibility to care for themselves.
Bravo. Exactly what that guy said. I just want everybody to take care of themselves. I work my ass off to be able to pay for things that I deem a necessity (health insurance among them)…I refuse to have to work my ass off to pay so other people can enjoy the same luxury.
Well, he did cherry pick facts and interviews, but I read elsewhere, that it wasn’t to speak with those who don’t receive healthcare, or who can’t get it, rather he focused on those who paid all the fees their whole honest lives, and when they were in need of the service, they were rejected, which is really f’ed up.
And about capitalism:
Morals and ethics don’t exist, because they ultimately do not affect the bottom line.
I feel we can fix ourselves, this country is extremely stable, even in times of unrest and civil disobedience. All change takes time and people to rally and rise to the challenge of expanding our knowledge of what controls our daily lives, and how to spread that knowledge to others who also want to make a difference.
Unlike what asshat John Bolton (US ambassador to UN) said on The Daily show about how “the president only works for the ones who voted for him.”
joe
Actually, the president only works for those with deep enough pockets to support his regime and the interests of his “base”.
And I’ll disagree with the “morals and ethics” statement by saying, they do affect the bottom line, because corporate morality and ethical behavior tends to be expensive. It’s a direct proportionality. As your morality goes down, so does the cost of business.
Be that as it may, when I make in excess of $200k per year, maybe I’ll think more about sending some shill of a republican to office by wasting a vote. Unfortunately with a republican you get America’s version of the Taliban, when it comes to religion, so the tax cuts aren’t enough benefit to seat another one of those assholes in power.
As for a federally sponsored healthcare plan, should healthcare really be something that’s commoditized? Should it really be a priviledge to expect quality care of a nations sick when we’re supposedly the most modern and advanced nation on the planet? It’s not like I’m saying we should mandate that satellite TV be given to every homeless schmuck in the US on our dime. I don’t think federally sponsored healthcare is too much to ask since we spend thousands of dollars a month on bullshit like iphones, shitty PS3s, and 26″ rims. At the end of the day, we’re still going to get taxed, so I’d rather see my money go towards something useful than in some cock-smoker politician’s pocket to pay his legal bills, or feeding the fucking war-machine so they can occupy 3rd world countries for no reason.
FaaQ – you miss the point. It’s not about affording to get Health Care its about HAVING it and being screwed up the wazzoo trying to actually get the benefits promised. Major health care “providers” in the US care nothing about “care” they only care about the bottom line and cold hard cash.
I’m actually very pleased with my health care provider.
lol @ FaaQ for thinking “Min wage earners make up less than 1 tenth of 1% of the entire work force.” Stop spreading misinformation you douchebag. In 2006, 1.7 million U.S. workes earned at/below the min. wage. That’s about 1.3% of the workforce. And that number doesn’t take into consideration the millions of people who *barely* make above minimum wage. If you earn $5.20 an hour (like I used to at Wendy’s) then you aren’t in that statistic.
Capitalism and our republic would work fine, if we as citizens would stop treating our political parties like sports teams. If a politician is taking money, making decisions based on a minority, or just plain not doing their job, don’t reelect them. Its time to do away with the people in our government, not the government itself. If we did that, health care reform would be as simple as having the government force insurers to hold to their contracts.
Thanks Paul! FaaQ, I used minimum wage as an example. In most places in this country, anyone making under $10 an hour has a tough choice to make of whether to buy health insurance or not. That doesn’t mean catastrophic injury insurance. What happens when you get strep throat or break a leg? It may not be a million dollar medical bill but when you’re making under a thousand dollars a month, several hundred or a few thousand dollar bill IS CATASTROPHIC as far as you’re concerned.
You say, “Most uninsured in the US choose to be uninsured because for the most part they can afford insurance, yet choose not to.” Are you serious??? Who CHOOSES to be uninsured? Being able to AFFORD insurance doesn’t mean sacrificing necessary things in life…food, transportation, etc.
This republican attitude of only taking care of yourself is crap! We live in a society to both rely on and help each other. So those in poverty, people who have never been given a break…should we just brush them aside because they’re not us?
You’ve got your own blog. Go post there and leave your Fox News nonsense off bamf.
Unfortunately, health insurance is only financially feasible if you’re sponsored through a company’s health plan. If you’re trying to do something like Cobra on your own, even making more than minimum wage…forget it. Hell, even if you’re making $10/hr nowadays, there’s no way you can pay all that plus buy food, and pay rent/mortgage. Now add kids in the mix? You wonder why so many people are on WIC.
You can find health insurance for as low as 82 bucks a month, probably less if you are younger. If you can’t afford that, then tough shit.
As for the lark of using the min wage as a statistical indicator of ability, the fallacy remains. Even with 1.5% of the population reporting making the min wage, is that enough to justify the massive tax increases needed to pay for a universal health care system? Nope.
FaaQ, A) Point me to the company offering DECENT health care coverage at $82 a month and I’m sure you’ll have people lining up! Plans that cheap usually don’t cover much…or are only for catastrophic illnes or injury. B) I love those statistics that say the number of minimum wage workers keeps dropping. That’s because you can’t live on minimum wage. 1.5% of the population may be making $5.15 but how many people are making $5.25? Depending on the study you read, the average person pays at least $168/month with a $4000 out of pocket policy. How does someone making under $10 an hour afford that?
isn’t that why you should work your butt off to get your education? So you can take care of yourself and maybe family? P.S. if you can’t support your family, don’t freakin have them yet. It’s not an entitlement to have kids and/or wife that doesn’t work who has to be supported by you, it’s a priviledge. If you work a $10 an hour job and 40 hours a week and that doesn’t work for your bills, work more hours, or take night classes or something so you can get educated and make ends meet. Or, join the army/navy/air force/marines, where the healthcare is pretty comprehensive as are the IEDs. Options are out there
Kurt Loder of MTV news posted that?
That’s surprising in the same way that discovering that Bob Saget is actually a filthy comedian and not a family fun guy was.