Mark emailed me the latest hit piece by the Hiller/Reagan Times against Moore.
It’s disgraceful.
MICHAEL MOORE’S “Sicko” focuses on how profit motives keep Americans from receiving quality medical care. But health insurance companies aren’t the only ones in the documentary with revenue at stake: Moore himself stands to make a mint on the film…read on
I guess Moore is not supposed to turn a profit while he exposes our health care problems. How many pieces has John Horn penned attacking actors and the Hollywood elites for the profits they make? Isn’t that the American ideal? What a tool. Email him at john.horn@latimes.com and tell him how insulting his latest column is and the LA Times in general.
Filed Under: Health/Science, Media Bias, Media Criticism, Movies / Movie Reviews
One Trackback To “Another attack piece on Michael Moore by the LA Times“
foist?
First!
And screw LA times; anyone have to make a living, what the hell he is talking about!
What a steaming load. The article should’ve just gone on about how fat he is.
I saw the film today, it was great. Moore thrusts an overdue question into the national discourse and makes an engaging and entertaining film at the same time.
F@#$@ the LA Times propaganda. I wonder how many kickbacks they got for running that drivel.
second!
[Sorry Darkhawk973. Several of your posts got caught in the spam filter-Sitemonitor]
Actually, I didn’t the article was that bad, and Moore just seemed to let the criticism he is doing well slide off his back?
I was expecting a real diatribe?
Compared to the Pyschos that usually go after Michael, this was warm milk and cookies…
Talk about class warfare.
First let me say it is awesome that a commenter is calling themselves Darkhawk. What’s next, Sleepwalker192?
Second, I read this over lunch and don’t see the big deal. The article gave Moore all of the choice quotes and he explained himself adequately. I think the article actually goes a way towards dissarming Moore’s critics of being able to use this exact charge.
as a fan of Moore, i would hardly consider this an attack piece. I thought he allowed moore to represent himself accurately and through his own quotes. John Horn lays out the argument that Moore earns large profits to become financially independent in order to gain complete creative control. Hey John Amato i love the site, but is this seriously considered shameful? pull the stick out of your a$$
This is a classic reactionary attack. When a left wing cause makes money, they cry and say, but you leftist aren’t supposed to make money, you are being a hypocrite. Absolute argumentative nonsense. Success is success, whether you are left or right. If you got your success attacking the right for exploiting the weak, so what?
They are pulling the same stuff with Edwards. Elizabeth Edwards called out Coulter, and then sent an email requesting donations to fight the attacks by Coulter, this results in more money for the Edwards campaign. Then Chris Mathews cries to Edwards saying, you shouldn’t profit by complaining about Ann Coulter, that is hypocritical to gain money from counterattacking Ann Coulter. It’s simply nonsense. Edwards absolutely can benefit from attacking Coulter, Coulter makes a living off of attacking Edwards, there is zero hypocrisy there. A populist can be rich, a leftist can benefit from attacking a rightwinger.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/.....-responds/
How dare His HOLYness be critisized!! Michael Moore is our guide to the infallible truth?!
let’s see….invest’s his own money to expose something that’s wrong with America,and they chastise him for turning a profit.How the money loving repugs can argue that he’s just out to make money is ass backwards.The repugs worship money…whats wrong with this picture.
Al Gore’s electric bill!
“Sicko” is a great revelation. I can understand why the media, representing big business, the health industry and the government want to discourage Americans from viewing it. We as a nation have been royally screwed since the Nixon years. We’re the only country in the western hemisphere without universal healthcare. See the movie and see the light. Bring kleenex.
I wonder how much money John Horn made off writing that article? Maybe he should donate that paycheck to the Red Cross or an organization that provides medications for the un and under insured. Otherwise he might just be making a profit off denouncing someone else’s profit.
Laszlo Panaflex @ 12:
Bill Clinton’s BlowJob!
Translation of attacks on Moore:
1. “The film is just a bunch of anecdotes, there are no facts, not a real documentary…”
Translation: “We are not bothered by completely dry, boring, irrelevant documentaries that the average person is not interested in and will therefore never watch. This film is disturbingly enjoyable, and the idea that many of the common folk might actually see it is infuriating and terrifying to us.”
2. “Michael more is just trying to get rich, he doesn’t really care about the issue…”
Translation: “The fact that an individual can generate enough interest in ideas which conflict with our own to make a profit can only be explained by trickery. To admit that this is an indication of a real interest in change by the people is entirely too disturbing an idea. Nope, hes gotta be a trickster.”
3. “Michael Moore is fat.”
Translation: “I do not want to grow up. I am a toys-r-us kid.”
First of all “Joe” -stop yelling.
Secondly,no I think “Rush” is the infallible one isn’t he?
Meh. Read the article, wasn’t disgusted with any particular bias. It’s interesting to know how much Moore is making if only because he’s his own producer, writer and director. He had a lot riding on this film and I’m glad it’s paying off. It’s good business.
Wow, Mike must be pleased. He really trod on some fat-cat toes with this one, didn’t he.
More power to him.
3.”Michael Moore is fat”.
translation:I’m a “fathead”.
If we could harvest all the hot air from Bill Clintons blow job we could seriously put a dent in the energy crisis….wheres Monica when we really need her
joe! @ 10:
Did you mean Critter-sized or Super-Sized?
Actually, Joe, Michaels great TV show was actually called “The Awful Truth” but so glad you support his work!
I heard Michael say this documentary and the research convinced him to eat a healthier diet, cause getting sick in the US with our health care can be hazardous to your bank balance!
Michael Moore’s controversial film SiCKO opens nationwide this weekend. Hailed by critics and widely praised across much of the political spectrum, Moore’s look at the failing American health care system is already generating the predictable smear campaign from the insurance industry, the pharmaceutical lobby and their allies on the right.
But before the inevitable discussions about the accuracy of the film’s portrayal of the U.S. health care system and the plight of insured middle class American come to dominate the airwaves, you can make up your own mind. Perrspectives has reached into its archives and combed through other recent research to produce a quick look at the U.S. health care morass by the numbers. The summary below includes comparisons of the American health care system relative to other countries and between the states, data on the uninsured, rising health care costs, the woes of Medicare and Medicaid and more.
For all the details, see:
“SiCKO Required Reading: U.S. Health Care by the Numbers.”
Michael Moore is a true American Hero & a patriot.
LA Times is typical…… when you don’t like the message, kill the messenger.
joe!
Spell! (Five points each if you can guess which two of your 15 words were mangled. Hint: The fun of the all-capped HOLY almost made up for the misspelling of one.)
Okay! Then if all else fails, try clicking the spell check button!
Now, when you’re done (deadline: a week from Saturday), go figure out something to… uh, how do you say… say!
Great!
To Any Subscribers To The Los Angeles Time:
It’s time to cut the cord. I subscribed for 18 years. It’s a tough habit to break, but it’s worth it. If you need any help coming up with reasons, I wrote an extended analysis of why the Times is a waste of time:
A Declaration Of Independence From The Los Angeles Times
It’s been two months and I don’t miss it one bit. Cancel today - You’ll be glad you did.
I think this goes to show that making profit, whether through moviemaking or providing healthcare and health insurance, is not a bad thing.
Profit is an incentive to give BETTER products and services, because one has to WORK for ones meal. Having a garunteed customer base through the form of an enforced tax (think medicare) will remove that motive to do a good job, since you dont have to worry about making the sale or persuading the customer to do business with you; they have no choice but to buy your product. Thats what a tax is.
Don’t you just hate the “give all your earnings to charity to prove you’re sincere” crowd? They usually come out against those who actually deserve their keep, and not the tycones who were outed for the good of the public. Not to be too simplistic, but we sometimes call them right wing nutjobs.
Here is my email to John Horn:
Mr. Horn,
I just read your article today on Michael Moore “Michael Moore’s finances in robust health”. You attack Mr. Moore for making money? Do you work for free? I doubt it. At least Mr. Moore is getting the word out on how broken the health care system is in our country. What are you doing about it?
Is this what passes for journalism these days? If it is, then journalism is as broken as health care.
I didn’t think it was terribly chastising at all; in fact, I thought it actually promoted Moore’s savvy business sensibilities. I certainly don’t think that Moore would feel shamed by this article or that this will keep people from seeing Sicko. Isn’t Sicko his baby? Doesn’t he deserve to enjoy the fruits of his labor? Read the article–he’ll probably just redistribute it anyway in the best way he sees fit.
This is not some knee-jerk conservative reactionary attack on Michael Moore in my opinion. If it was attempting to be then it was obviously not quite convincing enough. Disgraceful? That’s a bit reactionary.
lol — like these right-wingers do all their work for free!!mmhmm! right!!
Cythraul @ 16:
I love you.
joe! @ 10:
why is that a question?
Last night I was flipping channels and stopped for 15 seconds at the beginning of Anderson Cooper. They were going to have a segment on “fact checking” Sicko.
Funny, I don’t recall a media fact check of the hit job “The Path To 9/11″, any Coulter book or appearance, or even frigging speeches by Bush or Cheney.
I wonder why they felt it necessary for Sicko.
Ah, the liberal media.
Brad @ 29:
Very well said. Short and pointed.
And the reasoning behind any filmmaker being paid for the work writing and filming, or for producers making a profit from box office and distribution receipts is … ?
What is it about these right wing apologists that expect anyone on the left, whether in an artistic profession or other endeavor, to be homeless and unemployed? Is it that we don’t live
updown to their stereotypes of unemployed dirty hippies?My objection to profiteering in media is when people steal what isn’t theirs from the communal trust, by selling or otherwise abusing public resources that aren’t theirs to sell. (cf, Russert, Tim getting rich abusing the public airwaves to toss hard right Republican salad.)
That’s different than a filmmaker like Moore making dollars in the marketplace because his talent or work product draws a large audience which elects to go there and buy tickets. Anyone who objects to his style of documentary making is free to dispute his facts, which are on public display. I haven’t seen an effective takedown in that arena yet, just rhetorical wind. That isn’t good enough, though TW loons often think it is.
I agree with Kusinich and Gravel who both say that it’s time to end the for-profit system of health care in America. If Moore can bring the problem more into the public forum all the better. The level of attack that he will receive is nothing, in my view, but the guilt pangs of a system of greed and incompetence.
michel moore gets to sell tickets and ann coulter gets to sell books its the american way as it should be let the better man win
Here is the problem with Michael Moore making money off the film. First of all, he makes the money honestly by investing other profits of his own to fund the film. Not like the corporations in the health care industry that use investor money to make their product, advertise it with misleading ads to sell it. He also does not make money dishonestly by sending our nation to war so the military industrial complex, oil companies, Haliburton and private armies like Blackwater can overbill or fix prices for their services. So, I guess Moore just isn’t making money in the traditional way.
Reich-wingers only care about a person’s wealth if that person is a Democrat or progressive.
As far as fact checking goes, CNN online has the story up “Sicko by the numbers - and they are mostly correct”
Who would have thought you could tell the truth, be entertaining, and make a profit!
Damn that Michael Moore!
Better a to have a “Limo Riding Liberal” who cares, than a Limo Riding Republican THIEF!
The way I see it is, there are 300 million Americans, and half voted for Bush, so that’s makes 150 million assholes, or too many to e-mail about every stupid thing they say, and that 150 million says WAY more than their fair share!!! All I can do is ignore them. Paying attention fuels them further. I haven’t watched an O’Reilly clip or Coulter clip for ages. Not ’sending them my energy’. (It’s yoga stuff; about energy.)
I did send an e-mail to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, along with many others, and now Pace is gone. That’s good stuff to do (good energy expenditure.)
scioto @ 34:
There are NO facts in a speech by Dick Cheney. Only lies, distortions, propaganda and pure concentrated evil….
But that’s the capitalist ideal: Doing good while making a profit.
Aren’t these corporate shills ragging on their own professed ideals?
After being bumped for Paris Hilton on the Larry King Show, Michael Moore will be the guest on tonight’s program. If I had been in his place, I would have told King and CNN to go to hell.
Really, this is just the same old BS. John Edwards is rich, so he can’t possibly care about the poor - so vote for someone who openly despises the poor! Michael Moore can’t possibly really care about health care - so listen to the folks who will happily screw you over! It’s funny how conservatives and scolds are never for the free market when it strikes out at them.
An ad hominem attack designed to breed cynicism to lessen the affect brought out by the facts of the film. There are many powerful people, interests and institutions that would like nothing better than tokeep the unjust and embarrassing health care industry as it is.
Typical bottom feeding for idiots. Because, like, those other First World industrialized countries with national health care are all communist, right? You just try to start a business in London and they’ll ship you to a reeducation camp in Scotland herding sheep at night and reciting Karl Marx during the day, right? Right?
Trawling for fools. The internet is great. I’m glad other people are following the MSM for me these days so I don’t have to.
Aaron Kinney @ 27:
Obviously you haven’t seen the film. I have. I have also lived the story. I worked for a major insurance company who had more money in its reserve than it had a right to, and later had to declare itself a for profit company or break up into individual divisions. That is how it ended up in the life insurance business as well as health - so it didn’t have to declare itself a for-profit business. When I worked for said company, I threatened to go to the news with stories af the abuse of subscribers if it didn’t pay the benefits it “provided” when people signed on.
In other countries health care is free and available to all - with no health insurance necessary. The medical providers thrive, the patients