Michael Moore is ALIVE AND WELL........read this......(please)

[a kennedy]

Friends,

Just a quick note to let you know how things are going.

Back in February, I asked if people would send me letters describing their experiences with our health care system. I received over 19,000 of them. It was truly overwhelming as we literally took a month and read them all. To read about the misery people are put through on a daily basis by our profit-based system was both moving and revolting. That's all I will say right now.

We've spent the better part of this year shooting our next movie, "Sicko." As we've done with our other films, we don't discuss them while we are making them. If people ask, we tell them "Sicko" is "a comedy about 45 million people with no health care in the richest country on earth."

But like my other movies, what we start with (General Motors, guns, 9/11) is not always what we end with. Along the way, we discover new roads to go down, roads that often surprise us and lead us to new ideas -- and challenge us to reconsider the ones we began with. That, I can say with certainty, is happening now as we shoot "Sicko." I don't think the country needs a movie that tells you that HMOs and the pharmaceutical companies suck. Everybody knows that. I'd like to show you some things you don't know. So stay tuned for where this movie has led me. I think you might enjoy it.

At this point, we've shot about 75% of "Sicko" and will soon begin putting it together. It will be released in theaters sometime in 2007.

And if you don't hear much from me in the meantime, it's only 'cause I'm busy working. I realize that my silence doesn't stop the opposition with their weird obsession for me! It seems like not a week passes without my good name being worked into some nutty news story or commentary. (I have to say, though, I did enjoy Tom Delay blaming me and Ms. Streisand for why he had to resign from Congress!)

I hope all of you are enjoying your summer. If you're near the state of Michigan later this month, I'll be putting on the second annual Traverse City Film Festival in Traverse City, Michigan. I've personally selected 60 or so movies that I love, many of which did not get the notice or distribution they deserved. Others are brand new independent movies and documentaries that I hope will find a large audience when they are released.

The film festival will take place in this beautiful town in northern Michigan, from July 31st to August 6th. Appearing in person with their films will be David O. Russell ("Three Kings"), Lawrence Bender ("An Inconvenient Truth"), Terry George ("Hotel Rwanda"), Larry Charles ("Borat"), plus Jeff Garlin, Jake Kasdan, and other filmmakers. We're also going to show every feature film made by the greatest American director of all time, Stanley Kubrick. Joining us in person will be his executive producer, Jan Harlan, and actors Malcolm McDowell ("A Clockwork Orange") and Matthew Modine ("Full Metal Jacket"). We'll also be presenting a special salute to films made in Iran (a sort of "Let's get to know them first this time!" effort).

If you'd like to see the entire list of films, click here. Tickets go on sale today (July 7) at noon. To purchase your tickets (all seats $7), click here or call 231-929-1506. Last year we had 50,000 admissions, and we expect most films to sell out early this year.

Well, that's it for now. Bush has quietly closed down the special section of the CIA that was devoted solely to capturing Mr. bin Laden, so we can all rest easy now. I wonder who his next scary evildoer will be. A fearful nation awaits its marching orders, sir!

Yours,

Michael Moore
[e-mail]

P.S. Don't forget to visit my website which I update every day with all the news the Bush stenographers (a/k/a "Mainstream Media") fail to put on page one.

[e-mail]

[herbbrown]

1. I'm There

Was also there for the inaugural, just a wonderful event, great movies and great people in a great town on Lake Michigan...what more could you ask for?

[Giant Robot]

6. Tickets went fast today

So if there was something you wanted to see....order them now. And welcome to our wonderful little city.

:hi:

[herbbrown]

14. Yep got everything I wanted

except "An Inconveniant Truth", hoping to get in on stand by. What a great event, I can't wait.

[TheDebbieDee]

2. I remember that first week after the levees broke during

Katrina, it was mentioned several times on CNN and MSNBC that Michael Moore was in New Orleans filming for Sicko......

In fact, I think he was filming in New Orleans the same time that Oprah was in New Orleans (at least, I think Oprah was in New Orleans).

[uppityperson]

4. He sent several people down to talk, film, help out

I'm thinking there were 4 people that came down to Camp Covington and helped with all sorts of stuff, along with talking to people and doing a bit of filming. There was a rumor on the internets that he had made a movie, but it was not real. Yet. MM wasn't there that I saw, but I saw 3 (or was it 4) of his people there.

[otohara]

3. Too Bad Sicko Won't Be Around Before Elections

I would wait until towards 08 to release.

[halobeam]

5. More truth from Michael Moore. A very good man indeed.

Thanks Mr. Moore. Thank you so much for your heart.

[insane_cratic_gal]

7. I work in a hospital

Man I could tell you horror stories, stories that would break your heart.

I see it every day I work, people just going without insurance because they can't afford it. Some hedge their bets drop the insurance for awhile to catch up on bills, that's usually when they get sick.

Working in the ER has convinced me, we need a national health plan.. too many people go without.

If you make more then 200.00 a week supporting a family you don't' qualify for medical assistance!
You can't eat and pay bills on that amount.

I guess for bill to recongize the serverity of the problem they have to loose everything and survive on nothing before they will come around to the idea of nationalized health care.

I know it has its issues, but anything has to be better then nothing

[LibDemAlways]

9. And with employers cutting back on coverage,

insurance itself is becoming a joke with high deductibles, co-pays, exclusions, and more and more physicians asking to be paid up front.

It's a travesty that politicians on both sides of the aisle have failed the American people on such an important issue and that so much suffering has resulted.

Meantime taxpayers are footing the bill for the generous health plans provided to members of Congress. Disgusting.

[knitter4democracy]

11. You got that right!

My hubby is an internist (and totally for a national health care plan, btw), and the practice where he works has health insurance for everyone, and it sucks. We didn't even have dental until last year, and we don't have vision coverage (and now need glasses). The dental coverage is weak but better than nothing, and we can't even get our labwork done at my hubby's office--their lab isn't in their own insurance's plan.

If doctors have crappy coverage, that should tell you something. This is why we need a national health care plan--the insurance CEOs are making millions while too damn many are going without care. Those with insurance are almost always underinsured, and people are really hurting and dying from this.

[LibDemAlways]

12. Our dental coverage was recently weakened and neither

my husband's company nor the carrier bothered to let us know. We now have to go to one of their "approved" dentists in order to be covered at 80%. Otherwise the payout is 50% of what they allow (after a huge deductible is paid) - which is considerably less than what the dentist is actually charging for the service. I found this out the hard way when my daughter needed three fillings and I got hit with a large, unexpected bill. (Of course premiums haven't gone down any, so we're paying just as much for decidedly crappier coverage.)

I checked the list of approved dentists and none of our longtime trusted providers is on there. It's all people in sleazy storefront locations with big ads in the phonebook. Yeah, right.

Screwed over yet again.

[knitter4democracy]

20. Oh, Ick!!!

That's awful! I would hate to lose ours--he's so good and easy to get into (relatively) and has a great staff. I would just hate to lose him.

That was bad of them not to tell you about it, though. Aren't they supposed to?

[LibDemAlways]

24. Sure they're supposed to, but who are

we going to complain to? It's all but impossible to speak with an actual human in the benefits department. If you have a comment or complaint, you are supposed to send them an e-mail and wait for a response - which never comes.

We're biting the bullet and will continue to see our regular dentists and hope to God we don't ever need anything major done.

[Fleshdancer]

18. that is completely messed up

Doctors with crappy coverage...wow. :wow:

[knitter4democracy]

21. I've heard of some going without.

It's in been in AMNews and hinted at in other journals.

The New England Journal hhhhhaaaaatttteeeesssss, hates, hates the Bush administration. It's fun to read, actually, since they make it very obvious just what they think of the policies that are hurting patients and the medical system.

[Mr_Spock]

8. Glad to hear he's still fighting the good fight.

I'm looking forward to his next movie...

[texpatriot2004]

10. Michael Moore is a REAL Patriot! Thank you Mr. Moore. nm

[Catchawave]

13. "Dude, Where's My Country?"

Finally getting around to reading it, and enjoying it very much :patriot:

[lonestarnot]

15. Will do Michael Moore!

"Sicko" is "a comedy about 45 million people with no health care in the richest country on earth."

[DemonFighterLives]

16. The Righties just love him

:sarcasm: At least they never fail to bring him up. I was arguing with a friend and another guy when MM came into the conversation. I informed them after blasting them for not seeing Fahrenheit 911, that Michael Moore was one of the greatest American Heroes.

Why do the righties that know basically nothing about MM feel the need to bash him?

[lonestarnot]

17. hmmmmf. got this

<[e-mail]>:
User's Disk Quota Exceeded.
Sorry, your message cannot be delivered as the recipient has exceeded
their disk space limit for email.

[grannylib]

19. Something has got to be done about the health care crisis...been a victim

myself.
Hubby got flesh-eating bacterial infection two years ago; he had been laid off and was working a seasonal temp job with no bennies; I had also been laid off (different company) and we could not, of course, afford COBRA payments; I had gotten another job but had not been there a month yet, so was not eligible for insurance, so when he got sick, we had NO coverage.
He spent three and a half weeks in the hospital and had 3 surgeries during that time, and 5 more after he got out, and we are still paying for what the county (i.e., the good taxpayers of our state) didn't help cover...
And he was out of work for over a year as a result, and we will probably never catch up from that; he had no disability coverage or anything of the kind...

And I know there are many in even worse situations.

[w8liftinglady]

23. as a nurse,I've seen them...

people losing everything-families torn apart-patients waiting until they are losing a limb,because they have no insurance-losing their sight,their kidneys.pregnant women dying because of no prenatal care.people losing all their teeth by the age of 30 because of no dental care.this in george Bush's state.Shame on America for allowing this to happen.

[nolabels]

25. On the bright side, some in the medical profession are able to make.......

the payments on their BMW's. I feel so privileged to live in this greedy small minded country.

The marketeers have done a fantastic job convincing the general public that the road to happiness is attainable.

The key is to just satiate any desire with it's immediate fulfillment as quick as possible,
and let all others worry about themselves :argh:

[Cha]

22. Here's to you, Michael Moore!

:toast: I like how you keep Busy!

And how you and Barbra brought down the Hammer(Weenie)!