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Michael Moore Angry at CNN for Objective Reporting: Publishes Open Letter

Aggravated that CNN would dare to objectively critique his latest film, which is a critique of America’s healthcare system, obese filmmaker Michael Moore has sent an open letter to the news network outlining his complaints. “I went on their show out of the goodness of my heart to talk about my movie before it was released in theaters,” said Moore in between bites of his stick of butter, “and what do they do? They objectively review the movie. Talk about ungrateful.”

In response to the letter, which CNN initially threw away but came across later on the internet, a spokesman released the following statement: “It’s ironic that someone who has made a career out of holding powerful interests accountable is so sensitive to having his own work held up to the light by impartial journalists, as we did in our examination of ‘SiCKO.’ It’s not like we pointed out the irony of a morbidly obese individual criticizing the very same healthcare system he’s going to need in the very near future.”


The spokesman continued, “We appreciate Mr. Moore’s attention to the important subject of health care and have featured him on CNN four times to discus his movie and our reporting on it. While Mr. Moore may want to continue the discussion in order to drive publicity to his movie, we have presented the facts and are comfortable letting the viewers judge for themselves.” Experts agree that it is this unbiased presentation of the facts that has roused Moore’s anger.

“We have zero vested interest in shading the numbers to tell a certain story,” concluded the spokesman.

In response to the statement, Moore replied, “To imply that I would do anything other than present all of the facts objectively is absurd. My movies are documentaries, they don’t tell a story, they just present information to the public. If I accidentally leave out 90% of some itty-bitty facts, the audience is going to pick up on that and take it into account when deciding for themselves what to believe. I only have 90 minutes, it’s not like I have two hours to present all the information. But the 10% I do report is the truth, and that’s what matters.”


Moore and all of his chins have appeared on CNN several times to discuss the issue of CNN’s lack of objective reporting, something he feels has been a problem for far too long. The letter was a result of CNN not issuing an apology, retraction, or correction for their “glaring mistakes,” even though the one mistake that CNN did admit to, apologized for, and corrected was that the US spends $7,000 per person on health versus $25 per person in Cuba, when in reality the actual figures are $6,096 for the US and $229 for Cuba. The Cuban official who reported the incorrect sum to CNN has since been executed.

Moore’s letter to CNN can be viewed in its entirety on Moore’s website: www.dunkindonuts.com.

[http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/15/moore.gupta/index.html]
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27 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]
1. August 9th 2007 @ 23:11. D. Armenta Says:
Hahahahahahaahh!!

Moore and his chins...the man's got more chins than the Chinese White Pages.

Glad to see you, P.----
2. August 9th 2007 @ 23:13. D. Armenta Says:
P.S.--as a researcher/grad student in the health arena, what is your personal opinion of "Sicko"?
3. August 10th 2007 @ 00:38. Damo Says:
Old enemies hack at each other.

4. August 10th 2007 @ 02:59. Mrs M Says:
I watched Sicko on the weekend. Scary stuff.

Love & stuff
Mrs M
5. August 10th 2007 @ 06:03. Louie Says:
maybe he is bulking up for his next movie.....
6. August 10th 2007 @ 11:33. youranter Says:
Moore is a world class whiner. We could all learn from him. Sniffle.
7. August 11th 2007 @ 09:30. Ahmed Says:
Moore puts conservatives in their place, everytime he makes a new movie you have conservatives lft right front and center trying to justify the unjustifiable.

For instance, how can a first world country have so many people with no healthcare?

How can a first world country KICK RECOVERING PEOPLE OUT OF HOSPITALS?

Oh, because neo-cons, evangelicals and other stupid morons think it's for the good of the country.

and then some.
8. August 11th 2007 @ 21:24. youranter Says:
Geez Ahmed, when will it sink into your shallow mind that liberalism must be counteracted by conservatism? Otherwise, there are no checks and balances. You proclaim to be the prophet of true and pure justice and health and knowledge, etc. but when you spew this type of trash, you just dimiish yourself. Get a grip and get over your over inflated ego of your self.
9. August 12th 2007 @ 01:00. Ahmed Says:
Hahaha, have you seen Sicko? You really should.

THey say in it, quite clearly, 'it is not a matter of being a liberal or conservative, everyone deserves healthcare'. In fact thats how it is in many countries, no one will dare try to privatize the public health system because it isn't a matter of conservative or liberal principles, people need healthcare.

Now in the US, the situation is terrible, yes, there have been instances of kiciking people out of hospital beds because it was discovered they couldn't pay for their healthcare (no insurance), yes, there have been instances in Hospitals were people have been outright denied healthcare because of a lack of insurance. Theres been an instance in the US where a man ha slost the tip of his finger and he had to pay $16000 to hvae it re-attached when in Canada a man lost all his fingers and he had them re-attached for free.

Believing in healthcare for everyone isn't a matter of being a conservative or liberal, it's a matter of being compassionate or not, to understand that either Insurance companies must be heavily regulated or th egovernment should supply the healthcare.

In the US, neither is happening, in fact the insurance company is regulating the government. Supposedly the most powerful country in the world, and every year 18000 people die because they don't have helath insurace. Nice eh?
10. August 12th 2007 @ 09:26. Ahmed Says:
Also, if you ever read my comments you'll notice how I don't tend to take political sides, I've attacked left wing and right wing politics all the time, I have my own set of beliefs and I don't just subscribe to one or the other because such and such preson wrote this or such and such person thought that. If someone thinks something, I make sure I don't think the same unless I came to the same conclusion through solid hard unbiased facts.

In reality I don't comment on matters I haven't looked into, I see right wingers continuously bashing 'An inconvenient truth' but I'd hazzard to say they haven't seen it. Neither have I, but I don't use it in any argument, for or against, to me it's a non-issue that al gore said such and such.

So you have to understand, unless you've seen 'sicko' I can't takeyour opinions, I've seen it so I comment on it, if I hadn't seen it I wouldn't be commenting on it. In fact anyone here who is commenting on Sicko or Michael Moore in relation to his views on healthcare without actually seeing the movie has automatically lost quite a bit of credibility with me.
11. August 12th 2007 @ 12:02. youranter Says:
Ahmed, do you really think that man in Canada had his fingers re-attached for free? We all pay for health care here, through our taxes. No one gets a bill on their way out of the hospital, so it looks like it's free. It isn't, full stop. I haven't seen the film, but I watched Moore being interviewed about it and I don't think you can get closer to the horses as..uh..mouth than that, and he came away looking like a snake oil salesman. I'll admit right here that I haven't seen Gore's film either but from all the reports I read about it, both lib and cons, I don't want to see it. Even the UN is debunking him now. Do you honestly think that just because something is on film it's true? Have you ever heard of judicious editing? You claim to have such an open mind. maybe you want to use before you spout off about what a hero Moore is. Health care should be available to everyone, I'll give him points for that. However, to claim that it is free in Canada is total shit.
12. August 12th 2007 @ 12:12. Ahmed Says:
When I said 'free' I was of course referring to the fact he wasn't wlel over $100,000 out of pocket. If you lost all your fingers would you be able to afford to have them reattached by *paying* for it? Go to the US and provided you do have health insurance you're still actually paying more for it, than if you were just paying taxes. $6000 per person per year for healthcare in the US, canada, Australia, France and all these other countries (which have proven better free healthcare) only spend $2000 per person. The money is put to better use because the government can't shortchange the populace like a greedy corporation can.

I don't believe everything on film is true, what I do know is that CNN did try to debunk Michael Moore but they didn't do it very well. I also know that anythign Michael moore makes will come under heavy scrutiny so if he's wrong anywhere he's gonna have to answer, though it really wasn't the case. by and large his words were true, the US is 27th in healthcare in the world (so much for most rich and powerful?), to put that in perspective Cuba is 29th, Cuba is a third world country and is only two places below the US! Australia, france, and a variety of other countries with free healthcare placed at the t op.

We also pay less for it, about $4000 less per person, talk about a great deal eh?

The only reason free healthcare isn't available in the US and so much money is still spent on it is because the health insurers aren't regulated and congress is pretty much in its pockets. At the heart of it all that was what Michael Moore was trying to get across, that the US healthcare system is broken.


I know you probably don't want to believe me on the matter of how badly they treat patients, but they do actually kick them out of beds, literally drag them out and dump them in front of homeless shelters. You don't have to take Moores word for it, you see it for yourself.
13. August 12th 2007 @ 12:24. youranter Says:
Yep, I've seen reports on hospitals dumping patients. It's so wide spread it must be true. Hogwash. One hospital does it and you brand all others with it. It makes the news because IT'S A ONE OFF DEAL! And the hospital was taken to task for it.
No doubt the US could have a better system in place. I've railed about their health care vs ours for years. But until the citizens decide to do something about it, they are stuck with what they have.
14. August 12th 2007 @ 12:27. Ahmed Says:
He even goes and shows the 9/11 rescue workers who have fallen ill from ground zero dealing with various illnesses as a direct result of helping out, punished for such things as lung problems and post traumatic stress disorder.

Rudy Giulliani claims he was a '9/11 rescue worker', yet the real heroes are sick and dying, the US government has all but forgotten them.
15. August 12th 2007 @ 12:32. Ahmed Says:
Well at one single homeless shelter there have been like 18 reported incidents in the last 6 months, two are shown in Sicko.

It isn't so much 'one hospital does it', it's the fact of the matter, it has happened. I mean, you tell me, if one infant is dumped in a trash bin seconds after birth does it make it ok? It would be unacceptable and the society that produces such a heartless woman has a problem.

Were not daeling with quantity here, were dealing with a very big issue and this is an extreme example of the problem, that average, everyday americans are denied healthcare, ultimately some of them die because of this.
16. August 12th 2007 @ 12:38. youranter Says:
Okay, point made and taken. Just out of curiousity, can you recognize satire when you read it?
17. August 12th 2007 @ 12:54. Ahmed Says:
Depends on the execution.

For instance here: "I've seen reports on hospitals dumping patients. It's so wide spread it must be true"

I recognize it, and respond with the following:

"It isn't so much 'one hospital does it', it's the fact of the matter, it has happened. I mean, you tell me, if one infant is dumped in a trash bin seconds after birth does it make it ok? It would be unacceptable and the society that produces such a heartless woman has a problem."

Also worth noting theres only 10 minutes dedicated to this one issue about patients being tossed out of hospitals. If you were going to make a documentary about a desensitized society and want to get the point across you will bring upan extreme example of it, it's very common to do so, basic shock tactics. Everyone does it, conservatives and liberals.

It's difficult to find any 'lies' in that documentary, heck, you probably agree with 99% of what Michael Moore says in that movie and no thats not satirical.
18. August 12th 2007 @ 16:42. youranter Says:
Haven't I said that I don't agree with the American system of health care? Geez, learn to read Ahmed. And after you've grown up a bit, get back to me. What I meant about satire was the article itself, this one. Sorry you missed it. Plagman is notorious for his scathing satire. Too bad you don't get it.
19. August 13th 2007 @ 02:05. Ahmed Says:
It must hurt you deeply that you agree with Michael Moore...
20. August 13th 2007 @ 09:59. youranter Says:
Give it up Ahmed. Go back to playing with your kiddie games. You are just too tiresome. I've stated my case and like a pitbull you can't read or let it go. Good bye.
21. August 13th 2007 @ 10:05. Ahmed Says:
I don't know what you want me to respond to, everything you're saying is in agreement with Michael Moore yet you insist you disagree with him...

Unless of course it's all just satire

Yep, it hurts. Hurts you right down to the core of your existence. You can't bring yourself to even admit it. You wanna see the documentary, you know it's interesting, you know you're going to agree with it, so you're scared of even thinking about watching it.

Ah well, tough luck. At least I know theres some sense in you, even if you're too scared to admit it
22. August 13th 2007 @ 19:44. youranter Says:
When did I say I disagreed with him, Ahmed? All I said was the way health care is paid for in the states sucks. And it's not free in Canada as he makes it out to be. Is that clear enough for you? Get a clue or go back to reading class.
23. August 13th 2007 @ 23:49. Ahmed Says:
Wel you implied he was a class A whiner, from that I can deduce that at the very least you dislike him, so agreeing with him after blindly insulting him for pretty much all your life must be painful.

"And it's not free in Canada as he makes it out to be"

WRONG! HE says it himself, in 'how do they afford this? they must be drowning in taxes'.

You say silly things because you haven't seen the documentary, is that clear enough for you?
24. August 14th 2007 @ 10:03. youranter Says:
" I can deduce that at the very least you dislike him, so agreeing with him after blindly insulting him for pretty much all your life must be painful." From that, I can deduce you're pretty much an a-hole. What the hell do you know about my life and how dare you make such assumptions?
25. August 14th 2007 @ 10:41. Ahmed Says:
Hey, you're the neo-con, not me, you're the one calling Moore a class a whiner, not me, you're the one commenting on a movie you haven't seen (kind of badly really), not me.

How dare you make assumptions about a man whose movies you don't even watch? Hmm?

Oh the hypocricy.

Oh, I'll say it again, Moore puts it quite clearly, on the french and public healthcare:

'how do they pay for all this? they are drowning in taxes'.

He never said it was free as you thought, why not watch the movie, you don't have to agree with it but at least you won't sound dumb when commenting on it
26. August 24th 2007 @ 20:54. Plagman Says:
Damn, how'd I miss all that, it usually emails me about comments. I'm not going to read all of that, but did you take into consideration that most other countries aren't over-populated by fat-asses? No healthcare system in the world could accomodate all the needs of our fat-ass country. Spend some time shadowing physicians then tell me if it's possible to pay for 200 million tubbies' healthcare (answer is no).
27. August 25th 2007 @ 03:00. Ahmed Says:
No country in the world spends $6000 per person on healthcare yet somehow managed to exclusde 50 million who get $0.

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