Mrs Duck Returns:Movie Review-Sicko 3 quacks
We saw Sicko by Michael Moore on Friday night. Now before my conservative friends out there go into a crazed tizzy, the movie does a fine job of skewering both parties and shows how the healthcare system is a mess, no matter who you will vote for. Yes, there are a couple of the shrubs excellent quotes, including the OBGYN one, a personal favorite of mine, but its not a Republican Bashfest. The first hour and a half cruises along and gives alot of information. The Cuba part, which Michael Moore got in trouble for, was kind of a waste of time. Comic relief I guess. But, I highly reccomend it.
And now, in the italics, will be the thoughts of the brillant and beautiful, Mrs Duck.
“The American Dream” should really be called “American Greed”. How do we as Americans except that the United States has the worse health care system in the world? I mean here we are approaching the worse health care crisis ever and what do we care about? Me Me Me!
I am a 36 year old with a 60 year old mother, who luckily is quite healthy. How many of us have parents that are Baby Boomers or are Baby Boomers themselves? How is your health? Could your pocket book survive this healthcare system? We have a huge problem! We have a healthcare system that is completely unethical. Preventive care is non-existent and the abuse of the Pharmaceutical industry is mind blowing! How about all of our parents and not to mention ourselves that have pre-existing medical conditions?
We now depend on our jobs to not only provide a roof over our heads, food on the table, but also to pay for our ridiculously outrageous healthcare. We work too hard to accept this.
Talk about STRESS! I now have 80% coverage and god forbid my husband or I have some major health crisis! We will be responsible for 20% of the bill; and if the healthcare system we are covered under claims that this is a pre-existing condition we will be stuck with the total cost. Healthcare should never bankrupt anyone! And the reality is that it can and will bankrupt too many of us!
Wake up AMERICA! We need to demand that the Insurance companies are brought under control – what about them being not for profit? What about them not controlling who gets care and who doesn’t. Gasp! I know this sounds SHOCKING!
Pharmaceuticals do good for many people, but the mark-up is outrageous and totally unacceptable. How unacceptable is that we have Pharmaceutical companies running 3 to 4 minute commercials and 3 page magazine ads advertising drugs. Is there no end to this behavior?
I say to my husband all of the time that we need someone to run for office that does not care about what the party thinks. Shocking Thought! The President, Congress and Lobbyist should not be in bed with major companies. Companies should never dictate what the American people need. I stress NEED!
How can Hillary Clinton accept donations from the Healthcare Insurance Companies when they made such a mockery of her in the 90’s? It is such a disgrace what politicians will do to get the vote. Hillary has lost my vote, she made a mockery of a fight that is so worth winning.
Here is the question, if every other modern country in the world can make socialized medicine work; why can’t we? Our government needs to stop brain washing Americans with lies and distractions and really start to fix this healthcare crisis. We as voters need to demand better!
25 comments:
I dont like movies like this at all as I usually stick with my romantic comedies but I enjoy reading reviews..Thanks Mrs.Duck
Great thoughts Mrs. Sparky, especially your closing statement.
well named, sicko, 3 sucks
Even turning insurance companies non profit will not really help. They still have to make enough to cover what the hospital systems charge. Keep in mind the hospital systems and the insurance companies are usually seperate.
In my humble, been in the business for 20+ years opinion, it is going to have to be a national health plan.
And don't get me started on the drug companies. Burroughs Wellcome, nee Glaxo Wellcome, has more blood on their hands from their pricing of AZT in the 80's and 90's than your average despotic leader. I picketed them on more than one occasion.
We found out today that we are spending 10 billion dollars a month on the wars. Having that money to care for the people of our country would be a good beginning. Big Pharma makes sure that no pol. gets any funky ideas about national health care. That's the sin and the crime.
I like what Michael Moore does, but he is really quite self-absorbed...And that's alot of absorption. Cheers Sparky!!
There's an old saying: Once the camel gets his nose under the tent, it isn't long before the whole camel is in the tent with you.
Big business has been in the tent in Washington for years and Big Pharma is in the doctor's tent now. When my cholesterol got to 200, my doctor immediately wanted to prescribe something. I demanded to allow him to give me 3 months to work on it myself and Viola! 160. The easy road would have been a drug, but once I read that 44% of Americans are taking at least one prescription drug, I decided I wanted to be one of the 56% for as long as possible.
Advertising works the consumer end with "ask your doctor if [drug] is right for you." Preventative care is up to the patient, when it should not be.
Many doctors are more interested in prescribing something than they are in your actual health.
That's sad.
Oh boy, I get to disagree with a bunch of blogging buddies today. Michael Moore is a communist idiot, and he's only trying to get rich off of the idiots who believe him. Of course our health care system isn't perfect. However, it's much better than any other country. And if we can get government out of health care it would be even better.
Okay, rant over - still my friend?
:P
of course we are still friends
I can accept a disagreement on Michael Moore, because everything that can be said about him can also probably be said about the blonde "female" commentator whose name I refuse to mention, except insert fascist or nut job for communist. MM is like Letterman or Leno, if you like one, you don't like the other usually.
But, to say that our healthcare system is better then any other in the world is just flat out wrong. It is well accepted factually that we fall somewhere in the middle of the pack with all other countries. Now, while we maybe coming up with new technoligies and ideas that could not have been conceived earlier, hospitals in rural and urban areas are still suffering.
as for less govt, again, an arguement can easily be made for more govt or staying the same in healthcare, but less government would just send bills even higher, which means less people can afford necessary things.
I haven't seen Sicko, nor do I intend to. My mother went to see it this weekend and liked it well enough, though she said there was less she agreed with than previous MM films.
My own experience with the American health care system is mixed. I hate having 9 different scrips to fill each month (when you include test supplies, syringes, insulin, and oral meds).
Working for Chick-fil-a I enjoyed taking catering orders for drug reps because I knew it usually meant a decent tip, but at the same time I knew that $130 they were spending on that one doctor's office was just one of probably a thousand such transactions happening across the country that day.
I knew that this had to be part of the reason I was changing meds every 2-3 months beacuse my insurance company decided they did not want to pay for the one that my doctor gave me samples of and was WORKING!
Seriously, I started on Januvia and with my own efforts (excercise and diet) I lowered my A1c level from 10.6 to 7.1. Under 7 is considered normal, and the insurance people decided they didn't want to pay for an actual scrp. So the solution? I went back to the doctor and she gave me more samples, enough to cover to my next 3 month check-up!
Oh yeah, and Frigga you should be safe, for even though political views may vary, Sparky and his friends are generally accepting of those of us who disagree with the liberal media-driven propoganda that is the news in this country. :)
Yes, I agree, our health care system is NOT perfect. And yes, it is possible that you might prefer another countries system better, I personally don't.
However:
Sparky why on Earth would you want the same people who run the DMV to also be in charge of your health?
The average person is smarter and more capable then liberals give 'em credit for, and if they aren't smarter - oh well tough shit for them, it shouldn't be my responsibility to care for the morons of the world. Phew! :-)
Ya, I guess I'm a lot more Libertarian than I admit sometimes.
:-)
Great commentary Mrs. Duck.
And can I just make an observation here?
My dear American friends - Your healthcare system is a travesty (sorry Frigga, no offense, but if you or your loved ones got seriously ill, perhaps you'd see just how unfair it is. God forbid.)and despite your own political views, you NEED to see this movie. Who cares if it was made by MM or Steven Spielberg -- the facts are clear. You're being cuckholded by corporations who are getting fat while your citizens are being denied the basic right of healthcare.
I lived in Canada and Bermuda. No, neither healthcare system is perfect - far from it -- but at least I won't have to call my insurance company for pre-approval if I need an ambulance to pick up my bleeding/unconsious self!
My point - don't look at this movie as a political statement, view it as a wake-up call that YOU ALL NEED TO SEE. Even you, Amy ;)
Well said Wylie, I don't know if I can top it.
I will make one arguement, the same people that run the DMV also run schools, fire, police and the mail. Its all just about an allocation of funds. While teachers are grossly underpayed in some places, they still make more then Martha at the DMV
Okay, first Wylie - I would like to say that I have a friend who lives in Canada and has been on a waiting list for a couple YEARS for what is called emergency surgery, that does NOT sound better to me. Also, I have a coworker who was an EMT before she worked here, YOU DO NOT NEED INSURANCE to have an ambulance pick you up and treat you. In fact it's illegal to be turned down at an emergency room regardless of insurance. Many many many emergency rooms have been closed down here in So Cal for this very reason, people being treated who never pay, the hospital can't afford to stay in business anymore.
Now on to Sparky - That is a very valid point, and one that proves my case. I disagree with the way schools are run (remember, I'm here in Cali, we pay one of the highest per pupil, yet our education is one of the worst - that's government run for ya), Fire Fighters get paid for sleeping & shopping and just hanging out because they work shifts of over 24 hours, instead of a regular 8 hour shift, so we pay them to sleep, not just to work - that's government waste for ya!
I personally think government should be out of health care and out of education all together.
It's time we bring personal responsibility back.
Oh, and thank you for such a lively debate - I find this all pretty interesting! :-)
la la la la la la la la la la la la
smiles, bee
You don't want to get the insurance companies under control, you need to marginalise them completely. Medcal treatment should be a public service, not a luxury commodity. Insurance comanies exist to make money for their shareholders, which is why they employ people -- lots and lots of people -- whose sole function is to find ways that they can get out of paying claims. Socialized medecine (no one calls it that except Americans) exists to heal the sick and injured, not make people rich. It boggles the mind that people who would really benefit from a decent healtcare system still believe the old scare stories about healtcare overseas, and cling to the belief that, in providing treatment according to need, not the ability to pay, every other country has got it wrong.
Just want to say that any piece of video that Michael Moore produces can not be seen as anything other than a political statement.
It seems that Moore's crediblity is influenced by his political choices.
Would you still view him the same if Sicko were his first movie, and he had not yet made Farenheit 911?
I'm saying that sometimes, ones political slant influences others viewpoint of the story he tells.
In Moore's case, his reputation and politics do not do him any good. It's wrong, of course, much in the same way that any beautiful woman should not be taken seriously merely because she is beautiful (and therefore thought to be a bimbo).
Try to separate yourself from politics when you are thinking about public issues.
The problem is, though a "film maker" by trade, Moore operates in the political genre of documentary.
My mother is the type to not spend money frivolously. She never buys DVDs because once is enough for any she spends to see. She may watch it again on TV or such, so it was a bit of a surprise when she bought her first and so far only DVD. It was Farenheit 911.
I guess it's safe to say I am more politically aligned with my father (a conservative Vietnam veteran) than my mother.
Thank you for all of your comments. My point of this article was awareness. Whether or not you have been affected or not, if you allow the corporations to take over every aspect of our lives you will be sorry.
Please take a look at your own coverage and analyze what the cost to you will be if you have a major health care emergency. You may be surprised at what you find.
-Mrs. Duck
A-FUCKING-MEN, Mrs. Duck!
:P Yup I'm back! Okay, don't worry, this time it's just to tell ya I've nominated you for an award! hehe :-)
Don't get me started!!Health care is a BIG issue in our house with 2 Diabetics with $1000 deductible for medical supplies that keep my son alive annually. It just Blows my mind!
AMEN, Mrs. Duck!
Right on, Sister! Can I vote for you, Mrs. Duck? Mr. Duck can be the VP.
We got so lucky w. my FIL. He was in the hospital for a month before he died: $50,000!!! But, he had TWO insurance plans. My MIL paid about 200 bucks. Lucky yes, but for years and years he paid for insurance he never, ever used.
Personally, I think all insurance is legalized racketeering. We pay gobs and gobs of money to these companies and they just do what they want.
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