I just got home from a preview screen of Michale Moore's new movie, Capitalism: A Love Story. Every citizen of this country should have to see this movie. Not only did we get to see the movie, Michael Moore was there and did about 30 minutes of Q & A after the movie.
Representative Marcy Kaptur also attended and Representative John Conyers was there for the screening. All I can say is wow. Moore hit the nail on the head, not only Republican heads, but he bonks a few Democrats on the head too. As usual Moore hits all the right buttons and at the end tells the people, this is our country and we have to take it back. He obviously doesn't advocate violence, but he does advocate a peaceful revolution. He calls the corporate criminals out for what they are robber barons.
One thing I learned about that explains a lot are what's called "dead peasant" insurance policies. Apparently Wal-Mart used this practice, but has since abandoned it. A dead peasant policy is where a corporation takes out an insurance policy without the insured's knowledge and if that person dies, they collect on the policy. Moore told the story of a woman that worked for Wal-Mart. She had very bad asthma and was only 27 years old. Wal-Mart had a dead peasant policy on her and when she died, Wal-mart got $81,000 and the family got nothing.
I helped organize a single-payer town hall meeting last week and someone asked the question, why isn't corporate America behind health care reform? You would think it would be in their economic interest to get behind even a single-payer health care plan. So, it occurs to me, what if corporate America had dead peasant policies on lots of their employees, without anyone's knowledge and they actually had a vested interest in some of their employees' deaths? Wouldn't that explain a lot? Just asking. This is a picture of me with Representative Marcy Kaptur of Toledo, OH.
We have been busy, these past two weeks...and we deserve a bit of a break before we get right back at it tomorrow...so to that end I have two “mini-stories” for you that will give you a chance to be ahead of the curve, to jump in on something new—and in one case, to help pull a major public prank.
Along the way, I have some “don’t miss” video for you to see—including a 1960s classic that is utterly and completely disconnected from politics in every way...but is still the perfect thing for a Monday.
And just to show what a help I can be, I’m even going to leave you with a story idea you can run with that has been almost entirely ignored by the larger media.
AP: Judge's ruling keeps Michigan do-over Democratic primary in limbo. "We need those lists to prevent people who voted in the Republican primary from voting in the Democratic do-over. Those are DNC rules," said Michigan Democratic Party spokeswoman Liz Kerr, referring to the Democratic National Committee. "This is basically the final straw in preventing us from having a do-over election."
Michigan Messenger: It's dead. No, it isn't -- but time is fast running out for a Democratic primary do-over. "Each day that goes by, the political momentum to find a solution is lost," said Dave Woodward, chair of the Oakland County Democratic Party. "The conventions have been canceled because there is a conversation to say, 'Is there is a different way to select these delegates to ensure they could get seated?'"
AP: Court says Moore did not defame Iraq war veteran with documentary. "A federal appeals court has ruled filmmaker and Michigan resident Michael Moore did not defame an Iraq war veteran when he used a clip from a television interview without his permission in the anti-war documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11.'"
WXYZ: Mayor Kilpatrick Taking Online Donations. Channel 7 has a list of Kwame's major donors.
DetNews: Brown eyes run for mayor, Congress. "Flush with $3 million from a whistle-blower settlement, fired Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown is taking aim at the family of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, mulling a run for his job or the congressional seat occupied by his mother."
Skubick: Ride'em Cowboy. A suburban Republican offering to "help" Detroit? There's always a catch.
Bay City Times: Rep. Jeff Mayes (D) files for re-election. "I am proud of my involvement in the 21st Century Jobs Plan and in efforts to reform Michigan's energy policy to improve our state's economy; however, we still have work to do," Mayes said in a news release.
State Government/Legislation
AP: Counties to Get Detroit Zoo Tax Authority. Granholm signed the bill yesterday. Now it's up to Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties to keep the Detroit Zoo alive.
AP: Mich. Senate tries to boost home sales with tax changes. "Many Democrats supported the bills but some criticized the GOP for reducing tax revenue without making corresponding spending cuts."
AP: Mich. Senate votes to make state government use green energy. "It's a very low-hanging piece of fruit," Sen. Liz Brater, an Ann Arbor Democrat, said of making government buy green power. "We see this only as a first step."
AP: Granholm signs bill putting more children in safety seats. "We know that deaths related to motor vehicle accidents are the No. 1 cause of deaths for children in Michigan," Granholm said during a bill signing ceremony at the Capitol. "We want to make sure that our children are safe."
Democratic Edge: Dean Calls on GOP-led Senate to Increase Higher Education Access. "As the Kalamazoo Promise continues to prove successful, State Representative Robert Dean (D-Grand Rapids) today called on Senate Majority Leader Michael Bishop to pass the Michigan Promise Zone Act, which will ensure access to higher education for thousands of students throughout the state who want to go to college."
AA News: Lack of health care reform is killing us. "A stunning one in three people surveyed said they have skipped getting medical care because of cost. Nearly a quarter of the roughly 26,400 survey respondents said they had serious problems paying for needed health care."
Environment, Energy & the Economy
Saginaw News: College numbers to shrink. "After years of receiving an annual deluge of applications, higher education institutions will over the next decade recruit from a pool of public high school graduates projected to decline roughly 10 percent or more in non-Hispanic white students, the population that traditionally is most likely to attend four-year colleges."
DetNews: Detroit scores with March Madness. "This rolling revue of sports spectacles hosted by Metro Detroit the past few years is slowly changing the image of the region, say political and business leaders."
Odds & Ends
Michigan Messenger: FBI informant organized racist Kalamazoo rally, group says. "Turner's rally drew about 60 white supremacy supporters, sporting swastikas and Confederate flag motifs on their clothing. The rally cost the city of Kalamazoo more than $80,000 for police protection and tied up more than 400 officers from several police agencies."
Let me know if I forgot anything. Drop your links in the comments section...
Adrian Campbell was chosen to star in Michael Moore's hit documentary about America's disastrous health care system about her nightmare experience trying to get treated for cervical cancer at age 22.
I interviewed Adrian Campbell on my community television show tonight, Michigan Progress. Adrian was in the Michael Moore movie, Sicko. Adrian had an amazing story to tell. If you've seen the movie, she is the American that goes to Canada to get her medicines and ends up going from clinic to clinic. She contracted cervical cancer at age 22 and when her doctor recommended the most effective treatment, her insurance plan rejected payment for the treatment because they said that treatment was only for women 26 years old and above. The procedure cost approximately $5000, which she is paying off at $5.00 per month, due to the fact that she lost her job working at Meijer because her boss didn't like the fact that she appeared in the movie, and being in a movie is not a protected class of citizen.
When a story appeared in the Livingston county newspaper about Adrian being in the movie, the comments on the newspaper web site called her names, such as liberal whore.
On September 28th, there will a candle light vigil at the Lincoln Memorial for those that have lost their lives due to not having health care. On September 29th there will be a march to Capitol Hill.
Adrian together with Donna Smith, another person that appeared in the movie have started a web site, http://www.APUHC.com... American Patients for Universal Health Care. On that site they are collecting health care horror stories. If you have one, please stop by the site to tell your story and e-mail it to Donna. Donna and Adrian will also be appearing before Congress to talk about their experiences and present other peoples health care horror stories.
Adrian and Donna are more examples of involved Americans making a difference.
There is no way to donate to the cause at this time, but I will keep you updated should the need arise.
Olbermann had a good piece yesterday on the dustup between Michiganders Michael Moore and Dr. Sanjay Gupta (CNN). Look for more discussion about this tonight at 8 o'clock on MSNBC.
Also...Media Matters has a new report out taking Dr. Gupta to task for his hit piece and subsequent defense of it. on Larry King. Read it here. So very glad to see that Tommy Thompson connection getting so much play. ;)
Meanwhile, in case you missed it on Kos yesterday, DarkSyde had an excellent point: what if...instead of going after Michael Moore and producing their typical fluff, CNN and Gupta actually decided to take a serious, hard, and in-depth look at the U.S. health care system?
Wait...nevermind. That's just too crazy to even consider.
UPDATE 2 by Hazen Pingree:Sweet! We're linked on the front of Michaelmoore.com! Thanks, guys! Server don't fail us now...
Looks like CNN is coming back for seconds. Part two of Michael's interview with Wolfman Blitzer airs tonight at 7. Then our guy from Davison goes head to head with Novi-native Dr. Sanjay Gupta on Larry King. That's at 9.
CNN, I'll be expecting my payola check any day now.
Also...Michaelmoore.com now has his itemized list of grievances against CNN here.
I have a suggested addition. The list mentions the CNN quote from a guy at the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. Well, guess who just happens to be the "independent chairman" of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions? Why it's noneother than the Hon. Tommy Thompson, George Bush's former Health and Human Sevices Secretary and John Engler clone ex-Governor of Wisconsin.
Nice balanced sourcing there, CNN.
I'm told that Michael visits - or at least is aware of - Michlib. Hopefully he sees this or comes across this info on his own before he goes on TV.
Either way, I'm getting my popcorn ready.
UPDATE by Hazen Pingree:
Here's the full version of yesterday's appearance - including ALL of Dr. Gupta's so-called "reality check":
It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made my blood pressure rise and it terrified me. It made me flirt with the idea of moving to Canada, France, the UK and yes, even Cuba.
Say what you will about Michael Moore, but it's hard to distort the facts. Healthcare in the U.S. is just plain rotten. As a frequent flyer who's always been insured, I'm more than qualified to make that statement.
Contrary to what you might have heard or think, this is not a film about the uninsured. It's about the 250 million of us who are insured, and how screwed we all are by the health care and insurance industry. If you read my stuff, you know that my favorite statistic of all time is how medical debt is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy, and I bet not a one of us are too surprised to learn that. (Watch the trailer here)
Sicko is Moore's tribute to the trials and tribulations of the average, insured American.
It's about the 9-11 workers who have been suffering ever since and facing denial after denial from the insurance company and the hacks behind the 9-11 fund.
It's about being punished because you went and had cancer, a heart attack, or got hit by that drunk driver.
It's about doctors who are promoted and showered with lavish salaries and bonuses when they purposely deny life-saving organ transplants, expensive medicines, and other treatments that cost the insurance company.
It's about how most members of Congress have been bought and paid for by the Insurance and Pharmaceutical industries.
If you're starting to feel a little sicko just reading this, consider what it's also about -
It's about why universal healthcare isn't a four-letter word.
It's about governments that are saving people, and keeping taxes down while they do it.
It's about doctors who are rewarded when they keep their patients healthy and out of the hospitals.
It's about hope, and what we as a people can do to change our own government and dictate our own healthcare.
If there's one movie that you need to see before you vote in the next election, it's Sicko.
If you thought Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth set off a revolution, Sicko is sure to ignite a firestorm across the state and the land.
They say ignorance is bliss, but with this country's healthcare system, ignorance may just be the real prescription for death.
UPDATE: Tickets for both showings are sold out, wait-list only.
That's this coming Saturday in Bellaire, MICHIGAN (up in beautiful Antrim County) - not California. Patti Fox has this firsthand update to pass along...
I have seen the movie and it is magnificent, mature Michael Moore who made me cry repeatedly although I rarely have cried at a movie before. Alternately I was laughing my head off with his wonderful ironies and clever zings. He is apolitical in his zinging, John F. Kennedy and Hillary catching some -- although not as much as Bush. But Bush does it to himself. Moore simply provides clips of Bush opening his mouth and inserting his whole leg. Warning to future viewers. Do not miss the first minute of the movie for the best of this Bush.
Moore is simply determined to get his message across -- that we are 37th in the world in medical insurance coverage and that even that isn't good. He provides devastating examples of the greed of the pharmaceutical industry. His much maligned --by the feds -- trip to Cuba is not a huge part of the film but includes the most moving segment. Havana's fire department honors the 9/11 first responders Moore took to Cuba for treatment at Guantanamo -- ignored -- then Havana -- caring care.
Moore personally is looking for a phrase to replace "socialized medicine" (a never, never use) "universal health coverage" (still considered slightly socialistic so therefore just short of communistic), and wonders about "Medicare Extension." I'm sure your readers would like to get in on this naming problem.
Both the brunch before the first showing at 1:00 and the party between that and the 4:30 showing have been sold out since the second day tickets went on sale. There are a few tickets remaining for each showing at the Bellaire Theater in the village of Bellaire, Michigan, and can be purchased on line with PayPal by going to antrimdems.org and clicking on SiCKO. The cost is $40, proceeds going through the Antrim County Democratic Party to health related needs in the county. The first check for $2,000 was delivered Thursday, June 7, to the Ironman Health Center based in Mancelona which provides free mental and physical health services to students up to 21 years of age for all of Antrim County.
BTW, in case you hasn't heard, Michael Moore also recently helped purchase Traverse City's historic State Theater for use in the annual TC film festival (July 31-Aug. 5, 2007) - and to make quality independent films available in Northern Michigan year round.
Jeez, we sure could use Michael's help down here in Lansing, where we haven't had a real independent movie house since they killed the Odeon 10 years ago. Sadly, all of the old theaters have been completely destroyed - most of them converted into parking lots. In their infinite wisdom, the city fathers tore down every single downtown theater in both East Lansing and Lansing. It's pretty amazing...especially when you realize that Lansing and East Lansing once had nine different downtown and neighborhood movie venues - including the beautiful old Michigan Theater. I guess that's what they call "progress." But I digress.
Michael, if you're reading this, congrats on the film - can't wait to see it. And thanks for giving back to Michigan.
Many of you have already seen his post on dKos, but I'm crossposting the intro here nevertheless:
Hello Kossacks, Michael Moore, here. I know you all are aware of the controversy surrounding my recent trip to Cuba with a group of 9/11 heroes for my upcoming movie SiCKO and the subsequent letter I received from the Treasury Department letting me know I'm now being investigated. Well, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you my letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. I just put it in the mail this morning...
On a related note...
You can see Michigan's own Michael Moore and Japanese director Kazuo Hara - TOMORROW (Sat.) evening at Ann Arbor's Michigan Theater. The event is free. Details here.
