So what's the story with Sanjay Gupta?

[Kittycat]

Is he on the team, or not?
(pending confirmation of course, but did he even accept)

[geiger]

1. good question. what's going on. His fresh face would be a logical and upbeat presence.

[ThatPoetGuy]

7. You can't be serious.

This is the fatuous idiot who heard that the Raelians had cloned a human being, and breathlessly ran the story on-air without doing ANY fact-checking of the hoax.

This is the despicable bastard who inserted his ego into the national health-care debate, issuing a series of falsehoods about Michael Moore's call for health-care reform, and issuing a series of deliberate lies to cover his ass after the fact.

He's incompetent, he's dishonest, and he's evil. He's up there with members of the Bush administration for the most vile, anti-American cretins.

[truedelphi]

8. Don't know that he is evil, but he could be. He certainly loves

GMO's, any and all vaccines, the FDA and large corporations.

There has to be someone better. Don't know who peddles these types of appointees to Obama.

[Honeycombe8]

12. Gupta is an honorable, respectable, brilliant, highly respected neurosurgeon. Hope he gets theappt.

I'm unaware of those incidents you refer to, but I've seen and heard his stories countless times on CNN and in separate documentaries. I'm unaware of any egg on his face for not fact checking.

As a documentary-nut who has watched more documentaries in her life than I care to admit to, I can pretty much spot the viewpoint of the documentarian, whether there are things not being said, a point of view not being given, a lack of fact checking, etc. Gupta is pretty spot on in his stories.

But as I said, I'm unaware of the incidents you refer to. But it wouldn't surprise me if he's made mistakes, since he's human and all.

[BlooInBloo]

14. Well, except when he's making shit up.

[Honeycombe8]

20. Untrue. Unless you provide a link to several "made up" stories. Otherwise...

your prejudice is showing.

[ThatPoetGuy]

18. Not honorable. A disgrace to medicine and to journalism.

There is something terribly wrong with the tendency to assume actions are simply errors. "It wouldn't surprise me if he's made mistakes, since he's human and all," you said, but that's a tremendous warping of the truth.

Michael Moore's documentary, "Sicko," analyzed the American health care system. It was meticulously factual and it was also a clarion call to Americans: we can do better. We can care for the sick and the elderly, better. Thins don't have to be the way they are.

Gupta performed a fact-check on CNN. Except it wasn't a fact-check; it was a hit piece. It was constructed of falsehoods, from start to finish. He falsely accused Moore of playing fast and furious with the facts; Gupta's own claims were false, line by line. You can read it about it here: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/top10/299 . He's listed as number 9 on the Top Ten Conservative Idiots.

Gupta was caught in a ream of falsehoods, because he's completely, totally incompetent. He only retracted one of them, because he's self-serving. He'd rather destroy the momentum of health care reform in America than admit he doesn't have a sixth-grader's ability to check the facts.

Gupta interviewed an "independent expert" on American health care, a guy named Keckley. Gupta did not point out that Keckley was no medical professional, and no expert on anything, but actually a representative of a right-wing think tank. After Moore called him on it, Gupta claimed Keckley's "only affiliation is with Vanderbilt University. We checked it, Michael. We checked his conflict of interest. We do ask those questions."

Vanderbilt University said that Keckley had never been affiliated with them. Gupta, once again, had no clue what he was talking about.

Later, Gupta debated Moore. In the debate, Gupta once again had all his facts wrong. He has not apologizing to Moore for all his falsehoods, or to the American people for the evil he did by swift-boating health-care in America. Gupta has no clue how to distinguish truth from lies, ever, and he's too vile a human being to admit his mistakes. He is a man with no honor, none; a man with no patriotism, no insight, and no compassion.

Sanjay Gupta is an arrogant child with his head in the clouds who is willing to harm his country for personal advantage.

[Honeycombe8]

21. He's an honorable and highly respected neurosurgeon. You are all wet with

your prejudicial accusations and viewpoint.

Forget he's "not like you" (in whatever way that may be), and recognize a good physician, surgeon, and scientist, when you see one. Not just one that says what YOU think s/he should say. That's what we've had for the last 8 years. I'm ready for change.

The country would be lucky to get Gupta as Surgeon General. I hope it comes to pass.

[Colobo]

24. Excellent post. Some people here just hate Gupta because he

disagreed with Michael Moore.

[Honeycombe8]

22. Re Keckley....irrelevant what his affiliation or lack thereof. What IS relevant...

and what you don't discuss at all, is what Keckley said that was "warped" and a lie. Interesting you should leave that out.

That's called diversion, in debate tactics. Talk about the person, when you can't attack the message.

Anyway, I saw Gupta's piece on Moore. It wasn't entirely correct, and I spotted unfairness IN PART. But he did make some good points, in pointing out things that Moore did NOT say in "Sicko." (I saw "Sicko," BTW...excellent movie.)

That's okay that Gupta points out what is wrong about France's healthcare system that Moore didn't point out. As Moore has said many times....he has a viewpoint; his documentaries are not merely strings of facts. He is pointing to a problem and presenting a viewpoint on it.

Gupta's piece on Sicko, while I was not entirely pleased with it, was okay. And he did make some good points that Moore most definitely left out of his movie. Not that Moore SHOULD have included everything in his movie; that wasn't the purpose of his movie. It's no problem that Moore leaves things out of his documentary-movies, and it's no problem that someone points that out.

Case closed, as far as I'm concerned. I'm very okay with someone who is not a "yes" man. Gupta is, BTW, in favor of healthcare reform, and thinks something should be done to provide healthcare to the millions who don't have it or are underinsured. Hardly a rightwingnut position (they think if you don't have healthcare, it's because you are a lazy good for nothin' socialist who is responsible for not having adequate healthcare and who wants a rich person to pay for his healthcare).

Gupta, U.S. Surgeon General. We should be so lucky. (At least Obama won't make the decision on one viewpoint any of his cabinet members has taken regarding a Moore documentary-movie. That would be very silly.)

[BlooInBloo]

2. Being vetted now, apparently.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanjay_Gupta#Surgeon_General_candidate

[Maccagirl]

3. Excellent question

I was wondering that myself, since there has been nothing but silence since December. Not that my opinion matters one whit, but I think he'd be fine.

[BlueCaliDem]

4. After how he trashed Michael Moore's "Sicko", calling what Moore said were "lies"

I don't know if he'd be a good pick for Surgeon General.

Michael Moore, NOT a doctor, explained our sick-care system in his movie and Doc Gupta was CNN's answer to debunk him. He couldn't, but I don't think he apologized to Moore either. Either way, Gupta most likely did Corporate News Network's job by trying to discredit Moore's accusations, and when they turned out to be true, Gupta fell silent.

Gupta is another corporate hack, so I don't think he'd be a good Surgeon General who is tasked with informing Americans about health issues, not be in the tank for incorporated health insurance, Big Pharma, and hospitals.

[Skittles]

5. Gupta is a corporate tool

he's a disgusting choice for Surgeon General

[ROFF]

6. He is a waste of space

As a Canadian I was deeply insulted when he had a segment on CNN about our health care system. One of the first sentences out of that liars mouth was about "elective" surgery. The rest of his presentation refereed to elective procedures without using that word giving the impression that all Canadians have to wait a long time to get treatment. He knew better. He just wanted to mislead.

[Skittles]

13. WELCOME TO DU, ROFF

:hi:

[NorthCarolina]

17. Ditto n/t

[MannyGoldstein]

9. Someone Should Ask "Why Did You Lie Horrifically, Then Deny It?"

At his confirmation hearing. It'd be fun to see him hung out to dry.

[AtomicKitten]

10. Maybe Obama is reconsidering. n/t

[phillysuse]

11. Maybe he didn't pay his taxes or

maybe he has a nanny problem.

Just a speculating.

You betcha!!

[Thrill]

15. I don't think he got the job, because last week he was back on CNN

In fact he's on now

[Raine]

16. I hope they find someone better than him

I don't like what he did to Moore. x(

[JI7]

19. I like Dr. Charles Rosen from California who is on the short list

he teaches at UCI. there were a few articles on him and he said he thinks Gupta will be picked but this was some time ago and since nothing has been announced i'm guessing they are still not decided.

here is one article on Rosen and there are some others. i think those who like openness when it comes to medical industry and product advertisement would like him.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/rosen-says-medical-2277588-industry-surgeon

[Iwillnevergiveup]

23. Sanjay

reminds me of our slick, empty suit mayor of L.A. - Antonio Villaraigosa.
Greatest accomplishment: self-promotion.

[Jakes Progress]

25. Say buh bye

to Healthcare reform.

"Luv me some big pharma" Gupta at SG and "Big med sucking" Daschle at HSS.

That's great. Just fucking great.