Moore And Stewart: Hilton, Health Care, Hegemony
For those who’ve missed it and would like a gander, here is Michael Moore’s recent visit with Jon Stewart on the Daily Show, courtesy of Comedy Central:
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
23 Responses to “Moore And Stewart: Hilton, Health Care, Hegemony”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
June 28th, 2007 at 1:38 am
Michael Moore does an amazing job. You can never argue with what he says.
June 28th, 2007 at 3:12 am
I wouldn’t go that far, Scott. Anyone who’s been to a clinic or an emergency room (in Southern Ontario, at least) knows that the average wait time is not 20 minutes, as the movie erroneously implies.
June 28th, 2007 at 5:03 am
even cancer should turn a profit. thats a line that sticks out so so much and is so true. instead of trying to rid the world of it its how much money will some one pay me to rid the world of it
June 28th, 2007 at 5:04 am
invade Canada lol.
June 28th, 2007 at 5:18 am
but if it’s an average across the country wouldn’t a longer than 20 minutes in SW ON make sense?
June 28th, 2007 at 5:30 am
i loved his comparison of which was apparently more important to media/ the american public: paris hilton or health care crisis… what a way to legitimize a movie that points out that too many ppl don’t care about a health care system the majority of americans cannot afford. wait or no wait, i’m glad my family members are able to get a surgery without selling the family farm. paying for crutches seems reasonable after hearing about ppl having to choose between fingers!
June 28th, 2007 at 5:51 am
[quote comment="17133"]but if it’s an average across the country wouldn’t a longer than 20 minutes in SW ON make sense?[/quote]
It wasn’t an average. If you watch the film he walks into an emergency clinic (I think) near Windsor and proceeds to ask people how long they’ve waited to receive treatment. The average answer is about 20 minutes. He then uses those answers to conclude that wait times aren’t so bad under our health care system, which to me is untrue.
By all means, we’re much better off than our neighbours to the south, but I can remember waiting 9 hours in an emergency room after having an Asthma attack.
… That’s the other thing - there’s a clip of George W. Bush discussing the fact that there’s a doctor shortage in the states. I realize that the focus is on American health care, but he tries to emphasize the fact that Doctors under our type of Health Care are paid enough to live contently. While I agree they’re not underpaid, I don’t believe too many Canadian doctors are content. Why else would we see so many of them leaving to work south of the border?
I liked the movie both as a piece of comedy and as a wake up call to the lagging American health care system. But to say that you can never argue with what Michael Moore says is just bollocks.
June 28th, 2007 at 6:11 am
I don’t believe he’s always right, but he has some very good opinions about issues that very few people have the balls to explore, and publicy. I cannot wait to see the movie. Some of his moves are just so… gutsy.
June 28th, 2007 at 6:23 am
Did you all see the Lewis Black rant on last night’s Daily Show? Absolutely hilarious. http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/index.jhtml?ml_video=89307
June 28th, 2007 at 7:12 am
[quote comment="17137"][quote comment="17133"]While I agree they’re not underpaid, I don’t believe too many Canadian doctors are content. Why else would we see so many of them leaving to work south of the border?[/quote]
I would suspect that most Canadian doctors that move south are going there for the money. As everyone has just been saying, the medical world in the States is far more focused on money making. Most people would rather make a great living rather than a good living if it required little to no more work on their part.
June 28th, 2007 at 7:48 am
“They dont like to invade other countries” (roughly paraphrasing what Moore said). I’d have to disagree with him here as well, as he is forgetting that one need not invade a country - all one needs to do is be behind the imperial troops as they stomp their way into another country.
June 28th, 2007 at 8:43 am
Pretty funny. I don’t know if I’ll go see the movie…. how much are these fingers worth?
June 28th, 2007 at 9:37 am
I don’t think I’ve ever had to wait less than 2 or 3 hours in an emergency room. Granted I’ve never been there for anything life threatening, but still.
June 28th, 2007 at 10:23 am
I don’t generally like Moore but Sicko was quite good. It reminded me alot of Bowling for Columbine in that it was particularly non-partisan and (fairly) well balanced. He over simplifies things quite a bit (the Canadian health care system and the Cuban -especially the Cuban- health care system are not nearly as good as he makes them out to be).
Actually, now that I think about it, his comments about the Canadian industry might not be too far off. Keep in mind, that Sicko is not a critique of the Canadian system, but of the American one. So of course he wouldn’t delve into the deficiencies in ours simply because that’s not the point. And although there are many areas we can improve our system, I don’t think any normal Canadian would argue that it far surpasses the American one (which is practically non-existent).
Now Canada vs European health care. Totally different ball game.
June 28th, 2007 at 10:23 am
DISTRACTIONS. ‘Mericans will not question inadequate health care, the huge profits of pharmaceutical companies who are owned by multinational agribusinesses, the war in Iraq, the pathetic response to Katrina, etc., etc. as long as we keep them chock-a-block with infotainment.
I don’t agree with all of his angles or methods, but at least Moore challenges the status quo and calls bullshit where no one else–(least of all the anemic ‘Merican media–) has the cajones to do it.
Like Borat~showing us the ugly truth about our society that we choose to ignore, or delude ourselves into thinking isn’t so.
meanwhile…with the death and carnage in Iraq, it’s good to see the U.S. Supreme Court is taking care of biznizzle here at home. They ruled against a 23 yr. old man’s right to freedom of speech because he held up a banner proclaiming “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” at a high school rally when he was 16 (it violated the school’s anti-drug policy :) now THAT is vital to maintaining democracy…
June 28th, 2007 at 10:29 am
[quote comment="17150"]I don’t think I’ve ever had to wait less than 2 or 3 hours in an emergency room. Granted I’ve never been there for anything life threatening, but still.[/quote]
It largely depends on where you live. I come from a town that has woefully inadequate health services (usually a 3 - 4 hour wait and occasionally the ER actually closes). Now however, I live in a town (of roughly the same size) with 4 clinics, an optometrist, and a dentist all in the same building. And that’s excluding the doctors inside the hospital next door. This is all within walking distance. The average wait time at both the clinic and the hospital has never been more than 15 minutes, and that was without an appointment.
I think wait times are far more serious in regards to surgery, which definitely needs to be addressed.
June 28th, 2007 at 10:33 am
WOohoo!!I just turned on my radio and playing was Born Losers on the Bear in Ottawa! Great to hear the new single on the airwaves instead of my iTunes!
June 28th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
I manufacture dissent.
(even if it is good, I take everything he says now with a pillar of salt)
June 28th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
wow..i’ve been misquoted..misread and had words put in my mouth…must be a red letter day…
buffalo…all i’m saying is that if the wait in SW ON is typically longer than 20 minutes…and the wait elsewhere in Canada is less than 20 minutes…the average could be 20 minutes.
you said the average wait time in at least SW ON is longer than 20 minutes…i don’t know what you’re basing that on….it could very well be true.
I’m speaking critically of the term average by definition and the possibility of a wait in fact being on average 20 minutes in Canada…..i’ve not seen the movie…but i don’t need to to speak to the literal definition of the term ‘average’ here.
I’ve never said you can’t argue with Moore.
Paul Gifford…You meant to quote Buffalo yeah?
June 28th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
[quote comment="17189"]wow..i’ve been misquoted..misread and had words put in my mouth…must be a red letter day…
buffalo…all i’m saying is that if the wait in SW ON is typically longer than 20 minutes…and the wait elsewhere in Canada is less than 20 minutes…the average could be 20 minutes.
you said the average wait time in at least SW ON is longer than 20 minutes…i don’t know what you’re basing that on….it could very well be true.
I’m speaking critically of the term average by definition and the possibility of a wait in fact being on average 20 minutes in Canada…..i’ve not seen the movie…but i don’t need to to speak to the literal definition of the term ‘average’ here.
I’ve never said you can’t argue with Moore.
Paul Gifford…You meant to quote Buffalo yeah?[/quote]
Re-read my second post… it seems I’ve been msiquoted, misread, and had words put in my mouth.
June 28th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
I just got home from seeing SICKO….
I was howling and then recoiling in disgust….I do enjoy the contrast of his movies…the humor and ugliness…
June 29th, 2007 at 5:55 am
how have i misquoted or misread you? (other than saying SW ON vs S ON) I’ve spoken in hypothetical and conceded hypothetically that your claim could be true.
[quote comment="17128"]I wouldn’t go that far, Scott. Anyone who’s been to a clinic or an emergency room (in Southern Ontario, at least) knows that the average wait time is not 20 minutes, as the movie erroneously implies.[/quote]
I was referring to the average that you feel the film could potentially erroneously implies.
“It wasn’t an average. If you watch the film he walks into an emergency clinic (I think) near Windsor and proceeds to ask people how long they’ve waited to receive treatment. The average answer is about 20 minutes. He then uses those answers to conclude that wait times aren’t so bad under our health care system, which to me is untrue.”
You refer to an average and then claim that the sample population that Moore investigates differs from your experience (a sample population of one). And that the conclusion based on his small sample is untrue because it differs from your the results of your experience - a sample of one.
I don’t see how, critically speaking, I’ve mis-read you…it’s possible.
Other than quoting my comment could you show me where I did?
I even conceded that your claim could be true…so I’ve not placed any words in your mouth as far as I can see…
I’m hypothetically proposing, that on a large enough scale the average wait time of a clinic in Canada - or even S Ontario could show that the average wait time is in fact 20 minutes.
As for my being misquoted and having words placed in my mouth I was referring to the commenter that quoted me with your comment. I was only referring to you having mis read me when I was addressing the term average - in it’s most literal sense.
June 29th, 2007 at 5:58 am
This supports your claim however.