I was actually pretty disappointed by it, and went in with high hopes. Not that he didn't make some excellent points, but the overal presentation wasn't very convincing. Rather than making his contentions through statistics, facts, figures etc, he seems to have cherry-picked whatever facts backed up his arguments. All he did was take horror stories from America and stories of happiness and success from socialist medical systems. That's a bit rediculous, considering I could go to any country with a half competent institution and find stories of either horror or hapiness if I just find the right person.

When looking at the Canadian medical system, and the Americans going to Canada to recieve treatment, he left an imression that we live under some socialist paradise. No mention whatsoever of the shortage of doctors and nurses, of the exceedingly long waiting lists for major surgeries, or the lack of critical equipment like MRI's and the such (albeit the equipment shortage isn't too bad as of late).
This is not to say I don't appreciate our medical system, Canada still rates much higher than the states by most international organizations, but its' a tossup. I've seen Rheumatologists, Neurologists, GP's, and Neurosurgeons again and again. I'm ever grateful that I didn't have to pay a single penny, especially since I'd never be able to afford even one of these trips in my current financial situation, but you also have to keep in mind that it takes an average of 6-8 months to see any of these (for me).

He probably should have mentioned as well that the socialist medical systems in Europe are indeed very good, but that's because they allow private practice as well. Everybody in North America is so bent on the notion of outright rejection of socialist or privitized medical, that nobody considers we could perhapse take the best of both. Extremes are seldom the answer. Funny how Moore presented it like Britian and France were 100% socialist.

And lastly, he argued the superiority of certain medical systems based on average life expectancy. Life expectancy has far more factors to it than what medical system is available, including national diet, lifestyle, and climate. I have no doubt that the sunny climate and more laid-back lifestyle of Cuba contributes to their longevity, or the fact that in France people work 4 days a week and take more time to relax.


America desperately needs to fix its medical system and start taking care of it's people, or more accurately start putting its people first. It seems Republicans have so thoroughly managed to instil a fear of SOCIALISM DUN DUN DUNNNNN.... that Americans treat it like a dirty word in and or itself and fear eternal hellfire if they only consider the possibilities of such.

Am I the only one who believes we can accomplish more when we drop extremist ideologies and start living in balance?
Gandalf_The_Grey Reviewed by Gandalf_The_Grey on . "Sicko", Moores best yet. SiCKO Is Michael Moore's Best and Most Powerful Documentary By David Corn, TheNation.com. Posted June 23, 2007. Michael Moore's new movie is a dead-on dissection of America's sick healthcare system. Funny, sad and moving, it's the best of his films. In 1971, Edgar Kaiser, the son of the founder of Kaiser Permanente, one of the first big HMOs, went to see John Ehrlichman, a top aide to President Nixon, to lobby the Nixon White House to pass legislation that would expand the market for Rating: 5