Sicko

[rebgirl420]

Which is of course Michael Moore's new movie abou the healthcare system of America.
Sicko - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

He even goes to Cuba to try to prove that their system is better than ours. So what do YOU think?

rebgirl420 Reviewed by rebgirl420 on 05-10-2007. Sicko Which is of course Michael Moore's new movie abou the healthcare system of America. Sicko - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia He even goes to Cuba to try to prove that their system is better than ours. So what do YOU think? Rating: 5

[delusionsofNORMALity]

....the guy has found his niche.

by amplifying the negative aspects of society and downplaying the positive he has created a rather enviable spot for himself. he has managed to place himself in the position of being both reviled and revered, but even his most ardent admirers seem to view him as a bit of a self-important prick. considering his methods, a rational person should probably view his work with a healthy dose of skepticism.

however, considering the limited number of rational people in the world today, his place in history is most likely assured. for the next 15 minutes, at least.

[birdgirl73]

At least in Cuba the poor and uninsured have health care, Rebgirl. That is an advantage, despite what people may think, and those folks are very happy with that fact. Ask most Cubans who're old enough to remember whether they're in better shape under Castro and Communism than they were before 1959 and they'll tell you yes across the board.

I can say this with a relative degree assurance since my husband works in medicine and since I am training to do the same. No matter how much people disagree with Michael Moore and his political stance, the facts are that pharmaceutical companies and big insurance DO drive our health care here. It's downright scary, too. Yep, the people who are insured can access quality health care in America, but the ones who are not cannot. They can't usually even get inferior care. And they certainly can't afford drugs. And now it's been fixed for at least another political season that no one in the U.S. can import drugs from less expensive places such as Canada.

Someday if you're ever in Texas, I'd like to take you to an average doctor's office and let you watch the goings-on for, oh, about four days. You'll see the pharmaceutical reps come in constantly all day long and bring lunch for the entire office staff, give gifts, push free samples of the newest (and most expensive drugs) so the docs will write scripts for those and not the more affordable ones. They pay for trips and junkets for doctors and pay stipends so they'll prescribe those meds. Most doctors just roll over and lap up all the freebies and money. That ought to be illegal. It's payola for doctors just like paying bonuses through HMOs to under-treat is--or like special interest money is for politicians. Docs like my husband, who resist the hard sell and shun the money and trips and freebies so they can maintain their objectivity, are very rare. Fortunately, cardiologists treat a large percentage of elderly patients, so they have to make sure they're prescribing the less expensive drugs.

Our medical system is scary as hell in its current state. And with each passing year, fewer and fewer people can afford to get treatment or care and more and more influence is exerted from big Pharma and big Insurance. That's a crying shame.

[Psycho4Bud]

The healthcare system is a mess but Micky mouse Moore doesn't care.........look at his fat ass and tell me he's concerned about health care. He's a twinky away from a heart attack right now.....hope he stays in Cuba after his treatment.:thumbsup:

Have a good one!:s4:

[RamblerGambler]

It's always refreshing to see Michael Moore pop up, just to see the sputtering outrage that follows. He may not always be right, but he's learned to produce the same kind of attacks repubs have always favored, and turn them back on their makers. If you can't stand the heat...

[rebgirl420]

At least in Cuba the poor and uninsured have health care, Rebgirl. That is an advantage, despite what people may think, and those folks are very happy with that fact. Ask most Cubans who're old enough to remember whether they're in better shape under Castro and Communism than they were before 1959 and they'll tell you yes across the board.

I can say this with a relative degree assurance since my husband works in medicine and since I am training to do the same. No matter how much people disagree with Michael Moore and his political stance, the facts are that pharmaceutical companies and big insurance DO drive our health care here. It's downright scary, too. Yep, the people who are insured can access quality health care in America, but the ones who are not cannot. They can't usually even get inferior care. And they certainly can't afford drugs. And now it's been fixed for at least another political season that no one in the U.S. can import drugs from less expensive places such as Canada.

Someday if you're ever in Texas, I'd like to take you to an average doctor's office and let you watch the goings-on for, oh, about four days. You'll see the pharmaceutical reps come in constantly all day long and bring lunch for the entire office staff, give gifts, push free samples of the newest (and most expensive drugs) so the docs will write scripts for those and not the more affordable ones. They pay for trips and junkets for doctors and pay stipends so they'll prescribe those meds. Most doctors just roll over and lap up all the freebies and money. That ought to be illegal. It's payola for doctors just like paying bonuses through HMOs to under-treat is--or like special interest money is for politicians. Docs like my husband, who resist the hard sell and shun the money and trips and freebies so they can maintain their objectivity, are very rare. Fortunately, cardiologists treat a large percentage of elderly patients, so they have to make sure they're prescribing the less expensive drugs.

Our medical system is scary as hell in its current state. And with each passing year, fewer and fewer people can afford to get treatment or care and more and more influence is exerted from big Pharma and big Insurance. That's a crying shame.

I myself am against socialized healthcare of ANY type however I do know what you mean. When I had cancer there were those free sample people EVERYWHERE! I also know that they take out the doctors too. It's shady yes, but to me I feel its better than having the government take over.

[Psycho4Bud]

It's always refreshing to see Michael Moore pop up, just to see the sputtering outrage that follows. He may not always be right, but he's learned to produce the same kind of attacks repubs have always favored, and turn them back on their makers. If you can't stand the heat...

Any examples on that one? The last anti-dem flick that I can recall good ol' Bill Clinton demanded that it be edited and it was!

Have a good one!:s4:

[rebgirl420]

Michael Moore Faces U.S. Treasury Probe
Thursday May 10 5:27 AM ET


Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore is under investigation by the U.S. Treasury Department for taking ailing Sept. 11 rescue workers to Cuba for a segment in his upcoming health-care documentary "Sicko," The Associated Press has learned.

The investigation provides another contentious lead-in for a provocative film by Moore, a fierce critic of President Bush. In the past, Moore's adversaries have fanned publicity that helped the filmmaker create a new brand of opinionated blockbuster documentary.

"Sicko" promises to take the health-care industry to task the way Moore confronted America's passion for guns in "Bowling for Columbine" and skewered Bush over his handling of Sept. 11 in "Fahrenheit 9/11."


The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control notified Moore in a letter dated May 2 that it was conducting a civil investigation for possible violations of the U.S. trade embargo restricting travel to Cuba. A copy of the letter was obtained Tuesday by the AP.

"This office has no record that a specific license was issued authorizing you to engage in travel-related transactions involving Cuba," Dale Thompson, OFAC chief of general investigations and field operations, wrote in the letter to Moore.

In February, Moore took about 10 ailing workers from the Ground Zero rescue effort in Manhattan for treatment in Cuba, said a person working with the filmmaker on the release of "Sicko." The person requested anonymity because Moore's attorneys had not yet determined how to respond.

Moore, who scolded Bush over the Iraq war during the 2003 Oscar telecast, received the letter Monday, the person said. "Sicko" premieres May 19 at the Cannes Film Festival and debuts in U.S. theaters June 29.

Moore declined to comment, said spokeswoman Lisa Cohen.

After receiving the letter, Moore arranged to place a copy of the film in a "safe house" outside the country to protect it from government interference, said the person working on the release of the film.

Treasury officials declined to answer questions about the letter. "We don't comment on enforcement actions," said department spokeswoman Molly Millerwise.

The letter noted that Moore applied Oct. 12, 2006, for permission to go to Cuba "but no determination had been made by OFAC." Moore sought permission to travel there under a provision for full-time journalists, the letter said.

According to the letter, Moore was given 20 business days to provide OFAC with such information as the date of travel and point of departure; the reason for the Cuba trip and his itinerary there; and the names and addresses of those who accompanied him, along with their reasons for going.

Potential penalties for violating the embargo were not indicated. In 2003, the New York Yankees paid the government $75,000 to settle a dispute that it conducted business in Cuba in violation of the embargo. No specifics were released about that case.

"Sicko" is Moore's followup to 2004's "Fahrenheit 9/11," a $100 million hit criticizing the Bush administration over Sept. 11. Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" won the 2002 Oscar for best documentary.

A dissection of the U.S. health-care system, "Sicko" was inspired by a segment on Moore's TV show "The Awful Truth," in which he staged a mock funeral outside a health-maintenance organization that had declined a pancreas transplant for a diabetic man. The HMO later relented.

At last September's Toronto International Film Festival, Moore previewed footage shot for "Sicko," presenting stories of personal health-care nightmares. One scene showed a woman who was denied payment for an ambulance ride after a head-on collision because it was not preapproved.

Moore's opponents have accused him of distorting the facts, and his Cuba trip provoked criticism from conservatives including former Republican Sen. Fred Thompson, who assailed the filmmaker in a blog at National Review Online.

"I have no expectation that Moore is going to tell the truth about Cuba or health care," wrote Thompson, the subject of speculation about a possible presidential run. "I defend his right to do what he does, but Moore's talent for clever falsehoods has been too well documented."

The timing of the investigation is reminiscent of the firestorm that preceded the Cannes debut of "Fahrenheit 9/11," which won the festival's top prize in 2004. The Walt Disney Co. refused to let subsidiary Miramax release the film because of its political content, prompting Miramax bosses Harvey and Bob Weinstein to release "Fahrenheit 9/11" on their own.

The Weinsteins later left Miramax to form the Weinstein Co., which is releasing "Sicko." They declined to comment on the Treasury investigation, said company spokeswoman Sarah Levinson Rothman.

[Fengzi]

At least in Cuba the poor and uninsured have health care, Rebgirl. That is an advantage, despite what people may think, and those folks are very happy with that fact. Ask most Cubans who're old enough to remember whether they're in better shape under Castro and Communism than they were before 1959 and they'll tell you yes across the board.

I can say this with a relative degree assurance since my husband works in medicine and since I am training to do the same. No matter how much people disagree with Michael Moore and his political stance, the facts are that pharmaceutical companies and big insurance DO drive our health care here. It's downright scary, too. Yep, the people who are insured can access quality health care in America, but the ones who are not cannot. They can't usually even get inferior care. And they certainly can't afford drugs. And now it's been fixed for at least another political season that no one in the U.S. can import drugs from less expensive places such as Canada.

Someday if you're ever in Texas, I'd like to take you to an average doctor's office and let you watch the goings-on for, oh, about four days. You'll see the pharmaceutical reps come in constantly all day long and bring lunch for the entire office staff, give gifts, push free samples of the newest (and most expensive drugs) so the docs will write scripts for those and not the more affordable ones. They pay for trips and junkets for doctors and pay stipends so they'll prescribe those meds. Most doctors just roll over and lap up all the freebies and money. That ought to be illegal. It's payola for doctors just like paying bonuses through HMOs to under-treat is--or like special interest money is for politicians. Docs like my husband, who resist the hard sell and shun the money and trips and freebies so they can maintain their objectivity, are very rare. Fortunately, cardiologists treat a large percentage of elderly patients, so they have to make sure they're prescribing the less expensive drugs.

Our medical system is scary as hell in its current state. And with each passing year, fewer and fewer people can afford to get treatment or care and more and more influence is exerted from big Pharma and big Insurance. That's a crying shame.

There are pros and cons to each Birdgirl. My experience with socialized medicine is that it's great for basic things but when something really goes wrong you're screwed. I got serious food poisoning when I was living in China and had to go to the hospital. A day at the hospital, with all kinds of tests, and a sack of meds cost me 25 yuan, about US$3.00. The last time we took our daughter back she got bad bronchitis and we had to take her in to the hospital. Her doctor visit and meds were free. Sounds great, right? But when my father in law got cancer, there was no one around for miles and miles who could treat him. Fortunately he knew somebody, who knew somebody, who knew somebody who was a specialist in Shanghai and agreed to see him, but only if he could come up with US$30K. Fortunately between my wife and I, and my brother in law, the money wasn't a problem but that's not the case with the vast majority of folks.

Socialized medicine really seems like a damned if you do, damned if you don't type of thing. And, until our government starts to think that it's better to spend billions a year to keep our citizens healthy than to kill Iraq's, it always will be.

[rebgirl420]

^^ The thory of it is good: Why shouldnt everyone have health coverage? But like most liberal ideas their good on paper but they just dont pan out.