Comments on: SiCKO http://peter.beachheadonline.com/blog/2007/09/29/sicko/ Word is born. Wed, 07 Jan 2009 08:07:01 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Peter http://peter.beachheadonline.com/blog/2007/09/29/sicko/#comment-8242 Peter Wed, 03 Oct 2007 13:09:07 +0000 http://peter.beachheadonline.com/blog/2007/09/29/sicko/#comment-8242 Yes, I would say <em>SiCKO</em> is a less insightful film but still quite good. You should see it. And yes, aging populations are surely a key factor. I believe more and more of American health care money is being spent on non-medical expenses, too (from insurance to administration to corporate profits). Yes, I would say SiCKO is a less insightful film but still quite good. You should see it.

And yes, aging populations are surely a key factor. I believe more and more of American health care money is being spent on non-medical expenses, too (from insurance to administration to corporate profits).

]]> By: Max http://peter.beachheadonline.com/blog/2007/09/29/sicko/#comment-8230 Max Tue, 02 Oct 2007 22:43:24 +0000 http://peter.beachheadonline.com/blog/2007/09/29/sicko/#comment-8230 I see...yes, what I appreciated most in <i>Bowling</i> was that Moore didn't take the easy way out. He could've easily rallied the troops by just hammering on the NRA for an hour and a half, and I think it's a testimony to his integrity that he chose not to "blame the gun," so to speak. Every mass movement needs a Devil, but Moore chose not to identify a clear enemy in that film. If he were just your average demagogue, I doubt he would've done that. He did exit with a nasty dig on Charlton Heston, and that's what a lot of people remember -- but in a way, I'm surprised gun owners don't appreciate his candid acknowledgment that widespread firearms ownership doesn't make for a violent society. I haven't seen <i>SiCKO</i>, but it sounds less insightful than <i>Bowling</i>. I started to watch Fahrenheit 9/11, and to be honest, it didn't really grab me. I got distracted by dinner or something and just never came back to it. I suspect health care is becoming more and more of an issue as a result of an aging population, but that's just a wild guess. The boomers are sweating bullets now that they're all getting cancer. :-) I see…yes, what I appreciated most in Bowling was that Moore didn’t take the easy way out. He could’ve easily rallied the troops by just hammering on the NRA for an hour and a half, and I think it’s a testimony to his integrity that he chose not to “blame the gun,” so to speak. Every mass movement needs a Devil, but Moore chose not to identify a clear enemy in that film. If he were just your average demagogue, I doubt he would’ve done that.

He did exit with a nasty dig on Charlton Heston, and that’s what a lot of people remember — but in a way, I’m surprised gun owners don’t appreciate his candid acknowledgment that widespread firearms ownership doesn’t make for a violent society.

I haven’t seen SiCKO, but it sounds less insightful than Bowling. I started to watch Fahrenheit 9/11, and to be honest, it didn’t really grab me. I got distracted by dinner or something and just never came back to it.

I suspect health care is becoming more and more of an issue as a result of an aging population, but that’s just a wild guess. The boomers are sweating bullets now that they’re all getting cancer. :-)

]]> By: Peter http://peter.beachheadonline.com/blog/2007/09/29/sicko/#comment-8225 Peter Tue, 02 Oct 2007 18:46:35 +0000 http://peter.beachheadonline.com/blog/2007/09/29/sicko/#comment-8225 Yeah, I was amplifying a bit. =) Maybe I should change that to politicians are heartless bastards. That being said, this has not been a really powerful issue for many people, voters and politicians alike, or our dysfunctional health care system wouldn't have lasted as long as it has. The evidence you sight and Democratic presidential candidates making noises about universal health care all suggest that things may be tipping in a better direction. I just hope people don't try to pull some stupid shit like that Californian proposition that would be required all employers to offer health care. I guess what I was getting at is that is that, unlike <em>Bowling for Columbine</em>, in this film Moore doesn't try to dig deep and understand why the system is the way it is. Blaming everything on Kaiser and Nixon is a cop-out. I'm interested in the sociology and psychology of it all, as that's the basis for everything. Yeah, I was amplifying a bit. =) Maybe I should change that to politicians are heartless bastards. That being said, this has not been a really powerful issue for many people, voters and politicians alike, or our dysfunctional health care system wouldn’t have lasted as long as it has. The evidence you sight and Democratic presidential candidates making noises about universal health care all suggest that things may be tipping in a better direction. I just hope people don’t try to pull some stupid shit like that Californian proposition that would be required all employers to offer health care.

I guess what I was getting at is that is that, unlike Bowling for Columbine, in this film Moore doesn’t try to dig deep and understand why the system is the way it is. Blaming everything on Kaiser and Nixon is a cop-out. I’m interested in the sociology and psychology of it all, as that’s the basis for everything.

]]> By: Max http://peter.beachheadonline.com/blog/2007/09/29/sicko/#comment-8224 Max Tue, 02 Oct 2007 18:00:42 +0000 http://peter.beachheadonline.com/blog/2007/09/29/sicko/#comment-8224 P.S. "Of course we don’t! We’re heartless assholes that [sic] would rather destroy ourselves than do anything remotely socialistic!" What's with the self-stereotyping? <i>Destroy ourselves?</i> That shit is shrill enough to break a wine glass. In truth, <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9e06e7d71631f931a35750c0a9619c8b63" rel="nofollow">polls show that</a> "a majority of Americans say the federal government should guarantee health insurance to every American, especially children, and are willing to pay higher taxes to do it." (<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/US/healthcare031020_poll.html" rel="nofollow">ABC News</a> reports the same.) P.S. “Of course we don’t! We’re heartless assholes that [sic] would rather destroy ourselves than do anything remotely socialistic!”

What’s with the self-stereotyping? Destroy ourselves? That shit is shrill enough to break a wine glass.

In truth, polls show that “a majority of Americans say the federal government should guarantee health insurance to every American, especially children, and are willing to pay higher taxes to do it.” (ABC News reports the same.)

]]> By: Max http://peter.beachheadonline.com/blog/2007/09/29/sicko/#comment-8223 Max Tue, 02 Oct 2007 17:23:54 +0000 http://peter.beachheadonline.com/blog/2007/09/29/sicko/#comment-8223 Speaking of sic(k): "I can saw [sic] that my experiences with the French and British systems were very good. It was very cool being given an NHS number when I was living the London [sic] just because I was living there legally for over six months...Sure Moore takes some pot-shots at HMOs, but he really doesn’t indite [sic] American society the way I would have liked." Sorry, couldn't resist... :-P Berating people is what Nick Kristof does for a living -- as far as I'm concerned he jumped the shark when he actually suggested that he'd have to <i>shoot a puppy in the head</i> to get the attention of his heartless, benighted readership. (How's that for patronizing?) One reason <i>Bowling for Columbine</i> was such a good movie was that it was really rolling-on-the-floor funny, but that kind of humor is basically impossible to sustain if the whole thing becomes an exercise in holier-than-thou finger-wagging. ("People wouldn't be dying in the street if you could just be bothered to tear yourself away from American Idol and give a shit about your fellow man blah blah blah blah blah.") Speaking of sic(k): “I can saw [sic] that my experiences with the French and British systems were very good. It was very cool being given an NHS number when I was living the London [sic] just because I was living there legally for over six months…Sure Moore takes some pot-shots at HMOs, but he really doesn’t indite [sic] American society the way I would have liked.” Sorry, couldn’t resist… :-P

Berating people is what Nick Kristof does for a living — as far as I’m concerned he jumped the shark when he actually suggested that he’d have to shoot a puppy in the head to get the attention of his heartless, benighted readership. (How’s that for patronizing?) One reason Bowling for Columbine was such a good movie was that it was really rolling-on-the-floor funny, but that kind of humor is basically impossible to sustain if the whole thing becomes an exercise in holier-than-thou finger-wagging. (”People wouldn’t be dying in the street if you could just be bothered to tear yourself away from American Idol and give a shit about your fellow man blah blah blah blah blah.”)

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