Michael Moore writes letter to CNN about Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Sicko and CNN responds!
I have been following this story, and all it does is make me think even less of Michael Moore! I am not going to explain it myself, I am going to let y'all read it right here!
Michael Moore vs. Dr. Sanjay Gupta.. On health care! Does Michael Moore make anyone else "Sicko"?
Ok, first of all, let me say that I agree our health care system could use some help, and does appear to be "broken," but that doesn't mean getting universal health care! I have not heard one good thing about universal health care. On the surface, it seems great, but it does not end up being cheaper, as many facts have shown. It also means longer wait times, which many reports have also shown. Also, I am not a huge fan of Michael Moore, but I do believe he brings up some valid points in his films, I just believe they are very skewed to make a lasting impression.
I don't understand how Michael Moore can sit on any TV show and preach about "fudging facts," when his "documentaries" (which are NOT documentaries at all!) are totally based on fudging the facts! Does Moore present some good information, OF COURSE, but he goes into production with his own biases and he finds whatever information he can, or skews it, to fit into the direction he wants his film to go... This is NOT the definition of a documentary, at all.
When Moore would repeatedly say things like, "your facts are so skewed and wrong," I would have loved to see Dr. Sanjay Gupta respond by simply saying, "Mr. Moore, how can you, of all people, sit up here and accuse me of "skewing facts"?
While I wish Moore would present his facts accurately and abide by real journalism and documentary ethics, I do think his film "Sicko" does bring up some important issues. As a consumer, we just need to know the facts, rather than taking Mr. Moore at his word, or any reporter/journalist for that matter.
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If you are interested in reading the article by CNN, I have included it below, for you to read:
"(CNN) -- Filmmaker Michael Moore, whose new documentary "Sicko" takes on America's health care system, faced off Tuesday with CNN chief medical correspondent and practicing neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
Michael Moore and CNN's Sanjay Gupta argued Tuesday about Gupta's report on Moore's film "Sicko"
Moore criticized a report Gupta did on CNN Monday on "Sicko."
"He said the facts were fudged," Moore said, referring to Gupta, on CNN's "Larry King Live."
"That's a lie. None of the facts are fudged."
Moore and Gupta shouted and argued over data Gupta used and data Moore used. Moore said his staffers backed up the film's facts to Gupta before the report aired and that Gupta aired it knowing his facts were wrong.
Gupta disputed that.
"We try and look for some of the best sources we can possibly find," he said. "Michael has a lot of different numbers. ... You're sort of cherry-picking data from different reports." Don't Miss
Both agreed, however, on the basic premise of "Sicko": Problems abound in America's health-care system and need to be fixed.
"I thought it was a good movie, and I wanted to say that," Gupta said. "I think it strikes at the irrefutable fact -- it's broken. We get it."
He praised Moore for raising awareness of the issue.
However, Gupta said he was concerned that the movie -- which notes that other developed nations such as France and Canada have universal health care --suggests that health care in those countries is free.
While patients may not pay for services at the doctor's office, they do pay high taxes to fund such a system, something Gupta said he was concerned that "Sicko" audiences might not realize.
Moore responded by saying Americans pay more in copays, deductibles and insurance premiums. "We [America] have a system built on profit," the moviemaker said.
He asked Gupta if the current system, which requires him to receive approval from an insurance company before performing some procedures, is cumbersome to him.
"It's a shameful system, especially when I'm dealing with some of my patients," Gupta said.
But he questioned Moore's apparent solution -- putting health care in the hands of the Bush administration, which Moore fiercely criticized in the past, particularly in his film "Fahrenheit 9/11."
"The government actually used to do things right," Moore said in response. "The problem is who we put in power." advertisement
Moore has adamantly opposed the war in Iraq and said the government should re prioritize -- a position he took many years before skepticism of the war's success abounded in Washington.
"I am sorry we've taken so much time trying to correct [Gupta's] facts here tonight instead of talking about the real issue" -- the ailing health care system, Moore said"
