John Curry to Wapakoneta Daily News: Michael Moore can ill-afford more propaganda?

John Curry to Bill Laney, June 26, 2007
Subject: Michael Moore can ill-afford more propaganda?

Mr. William Laney - Editor - Wapakoneta Daily News

Mr. Laney, would you please see that Mr. Burkholder gets this reply to his editorial entitled "Michael Moore Can Ill-afford More Propaganda" which ran in the Wapakoneta Daily News and is listed below my letter. I would also ask that it be published in the Letters to the Editor column. Thank you.

John Curry
(Address)

Mr. Burkholder,

You know, you might just be right...and then some. However, Michael Moore can afford more ill propaganda better than Americans (many of whom are ill sans health insurance or underinsurance). In case you haven't checked, there are more than 40 million Americans without any healthcare insurance.

Emergency rooms are plagued with unneeded lines of people who are refused treatment at doctor's offices because they can't afford the visit. So...the ill flock to the emergency rooms to be treated and...the hospital bill doesn't get paid. The end result of this is that you and I end up paying the tab in our super-sized medical bills. This sad scene isn't repeated in all the other "industrialized" countries of the world due to their compassion for their fellow citizens. In our country, great as it is, dignity for one's fellow humans takes a back seat to the dollar bill.

As I write this, physicians in this country are paring their patient lists to care for only a fraction of Medicare recipients because Medicare pays an amount not to their liking. For the other Medicare aged ill, it's "try going to another doctor's office to see if they'll treat you." I'd call that a "long wait" for treatment, wouldn't you? I wonder why that "long wait" allows Canadian citizens to live an average of three years longer than the average citizen?

Our country's "medical fiasco" doesn't stop at the hospital or doctor's office. It continues on with U.S. Pharmaceutical manufacturers continuing stranglehold on the U.S. Congress by their lobbyists who seem to have been able to aid the majority of our senators and representatives in beating down prescription drug reimportation into this country. During the past several years, the pillmakers lobby has spent more money than any other lobby to wine and dine our representatives to maintain our country's "protectionist" stance when it comes to profits by pharmaceutical companies. These are companies which are wallowing in the profits trough of billions of dollars obtained through the inflated prices they are charging the very same U.S. Citizens who subsidized many of their wonder-drug discoveries by U.S. taxpayer dollars that were sent to the National Institutes of Health in state universities throughout this country to aid in the development of these very same miracle drugs.

If you get some time, take a few minutes...go to Google...and enter "pharmaceutical manufacturer" and "fraud." Then hit the "search" button and you'll find a host of articles relating to the hundreds of millions of dollars that were forked over by pharmaceutical companies mostly in "out-of-court" settlements to state governments, state retirement systems, and our own federal government. These "settlements" by the pillmakers are factored into the cost of their product and are viewed as simply the "cost of doing business." The CEO's of the pharmaceuticals walk away from the settlements while smiling....all the way to the bank!

Mike, I see that you also mention the term "bureaucratic red tape" while discussing universal healthcare. Did you ever have to wade through the "bureaucratic red tape" that is entailed with a minor visit to your friendly local hospital? First, it's the billing procedure....not from one entity but from a host of specialists who are involved in the procedure. One then (if one has healthcare insurance) has to fight the battle of coverages, deductibles, out-of-pocket expenses, billing codes, in vs. out-of-network physicians, pre-authorization restrictions, and other assorted hassles which drain the life-blood out of an already ill patient. Americans deal with more medical procedure red tape than can stomach.

Finally, let's take a look at the dominant control of the Executive Branch and Legislative Branch of our federal government by the majority party (GOP) during of the past decade. George Bush, who's inauguration was primarily paid for by the CEO of a major pharmacy benefits manager (PBM), has done little to ensure that Americans will enjoy a better quality of life. He, and his congressional friends, have attempted to "privatize" almost any and every aspect of modern-day medicine. Mr. Bush even attempted to introduce privatization into our national Social Security program but....cooler heads finally prevailed and that movement has been put on George's "back burner." So, Mr. Burkholder, I end by urging you not to worry too much about whether or not Michael Moore can "ill-afford" more propaganda but...to worry about whether Americans can ill-afford more illness without fear of bankruptcy. The leading cause of bankruptcy in this country? It is now bankruptcy caused by inability to pay for medical bills. Imagine that!

Sincerely,

John Curry
Retired Wapakoneta City Schools Educator
Member of Concerned Ohio Retired Educators

Michael Moore can ill-afford more propaganda

By Mike Burkholder
Assistant Managing Editor
Wapakoneta Daily News
June 26, 2007

Film maker Michael Moore unleashed more political rhetoric and GOP bashing disguised as documentary with the release of “Sicko,” a pointed look at the health care system in America. Moore is no stranger to controversy and actually seeks it out as is evident in his previous films. “Bowling for Columbine” was an anti-gun movie linking NRA lobbyists to the Columbine tragedy and “Fahrenheit 9/11” portrayed Bush as inept in the months leading up to the terrorist attacks in 2001.

The latest installment of the Moore propaganda machine examines the difficulties in obtaining and maintaining affordable health care in America — a task no one can argue is easy. However the way Moore goes about it illustrates he is just out of one thing — to make Republicans and the Bush administration look like fools.

Moore gives detailed accounts of patients’ horror stories in coping with paying mounting medical bills. In one segment, Moore interviews a couple living in their daughter’s basement because of soaring bills and a man who must choose between which of his two fingers he wants reattached after he cut them off.

Where Moore strays from a true documentary into a twisted tale of slanted political propaganda is when he travels to other countries to compare health care systems. The film maker compares the U.S. system to those systems in England and France.

Moore goes off the deep end when he is shown bringing sick patients from the 9/11 cleanup crew into Cuba for medical treatment. The segment shows the patients getting free examinations and treatment and paints Cuba as an ideal place to live — tell that to the millions living in poverty under a Communist dictator.

There is no question “Sicko” will get people talking and put the Bush administration’s feet further in the fire — Moore’s apparent M.O. The issue of health care reform is a hot topic in the 2008 race for the White House and is something that needs to be addressed as an aging population continues growing older.

The problem is Moore’s film accomplishes that for all the wrong reasons. No where does Moore depict the problems with universal health care — long waits for treatment and bureaucratic red tape. Moore’s convenient exclusion of the other side discredits his character as a maker of documentary films and further illustrates he is just out to serve is own agenda. Moore should revert to his “Roger and Me” days and make films that tell a story, rather than what amounts to political ads attacking Republicans and the president.