They Said They Would Push Me "Off a Cliff" by Michael Moore

[Starry Messenger]

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/11/17-14

Yesterday, on the TV and radio show "Democracy Now" hosted by Amy Goodman, the former Vice President of CIGNA, one of the nation's largest health insurance companies, revealed that CIGNA met with the other big health insurers to hatch a plan to "push" yours truly "off a cliff."

The interview contains new revelations about just how frightened the health industry was that "Sicko" might ignite a public wave of support for "socialized medicine." So the large health insurance companies came together over a common cause: Stop the American people from going to see "Sicko" -- and the way to do that was to cause some form of harm to me (either personally, professionally or...physically?).

Take a look at this stunning section of the interview with Wendell Potter:

WENDELL POTTER : ...We were concerned that the movie <"Sicko"> would be as successful as "Fahrenheit 9/11" had been. And we knew that if it were, it really would change public opinion about our health care system in ways that would be harmful to the profits of health insurers. So, it was very important for this campaign to succeed. At one point during a strategy meeting, one of the people from APCO said that if our efforts, our initial efforts, were not successful, then we'd have to move to an element of the campaign to push Michael Moore off a cliff. And not meaning to do that literally, but to—

AMY GOODMAN: Are you sure?

WENDELL POTTER: Well, I'm not sure. To tell you the truth, when I started doing what I'm doing , I was concerned about my own health and well-being, maybe just from paranoia. But these companies play to win. And we're talking about some big bucks at stake here—billions and billions and billions of dollars.

AMY GOODMAN: So what were they talking about when they said, "If this doesn't work, we're going to push him off the cliff"?

Yoiks!

more at link.

[myrna minx]

1. Yay! - I recced it up to zero.

:D

[Starry Messenger]

3. Thank you myrna minx.

It's a very interesting interview. I thought people here would like it. There's video of the Democracy Now interview on MM's website: http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mike-in-the-news/push-michael-moore-off-cliff

Lots of wonky insider stuff and a bit of cloak and dagger to boot!

[RainDog]

2. yeah, they're all about public heath...

:puke:

at this point, I don't know why health insurance cos aren't considered criminal enterprises.

[Starry Messenger]

4. They care so much, they'll threaten a man's life.

Or livelihood, as is probably more likely. Hell Raindog, even the *outright* criminal enterprises don't get punished. Everyone is sunk up to their necks in chasing profits. Honor among thieves and all of that.

[RainDog]

5. we're drowning in corruption

at least it feels like it.

surely it's time for the pendulum to swing back to something better.

honestly, I don't know how much more people can take.

[Starry Messenger]

6. I don't know either, but I have a nasty feeling we're going to find out soon.

I don't think things are going to get better for quite awhile.

[RainDog]

10. did you see the executive order?

no, not for THAT issue... that issue is about civil rights and people's well being.

the executive order that allows tax payer money to go to fund religious organizations that are allowed to discriminate against people who are concerned with THAT issue - the civil rights one.

tax payer money going to fund religious education... so, now we have to contend with proselytizing on the tax payer's dime - proselytizing that some humans are less than human - oh, but that doesn't mean evolution because evolution is, of course, a lie and the earth is 6000 years old and it's possible to cure people of heterosexuality, too.

my head wants to explode.

[Kievan Rus]

13. They're just a glorified Mafia

[GreenTea]

7. The ONLY people who will criticize the film-Sicko-are the same sheep who were told not to see it

and haven't!

Thanks to Wendall Potter - First saw the 'whistle-blowing" soft-spoken Mr. Potter well over a year ago on Ed Schultz Show on MSNBC.

Thank you Michael Moore!

The very same people who will criticize the excellent film "Sicko" will be the very same sheep who haven't seen the film and were told not to see Michael Moore's film....

Yet these same people keep giving their money to the extremely wealthy insurers, insurers who receive billions of our tax dollars for their own profit......unbelievably, these same Michael Moore blinded Fox news sheep keep giving their money to the same extremely wealthy insurers who also receive billions of our tax dollars (corporate welfare) for their profits.

Did you get that? The same extremely wealthy corporate insurers also receive billions of our tax dollars for their own corporate profits.

Because sick people cost the insurance corporations profits., so does potentially sick people, even the healthy who become sick, it's far more profitable ("billion and billions of dollars") to just find way to dump the sick - and there are many, many ways that the insurance corporations do this everyday.....

Watch the great film "SICKO" though so many were told & instructed not to see the film, and complied like good little sheep, but they should rent (DVD) and see it on their own....and for a change instead of simply protecting the greedy manipulating self-serving insurance corporations as Fox news, the corporations & republicans told them to.

There are over 59 million (at last count) people, many of whom are hard working tax paying people who don't have health insurance simply because they just can't afford it.....As well as the tens of millions more who are under insured - Who pay the insurance corporations outrageous premiums in exchange for very little coverage in return by the same insurance corporations.

The worst of it all is that our tax dollars (hundreds of billions in subsidies) goes to insurance companies, directly to the insurance companies executives, CEO, for their private jets, yachts, mansions while still raking in tens of millions of dollars in bonuses from their over-priced health care premiums & from our tax dollars....while over 100 million uninsured & under-insured go without any or very little health care coverage.

It's truly shameless that this is allowed in our great country and to our own people!!

[Starry Messenger]

8. Excellent post GreenTea.

I did see the film (in the theater) and I'm among the under insured. These companies are like corporate fiefdoms now. They act like rogue nation-states.


I'm looking forward to the revelations in MM's next article on the felonies committed to suppress attendance of the film.

Potter believes his work to defame "Sicko" succeeded, as the film didn't end up posting "Fahrenheit 9/11" grosses. To be clear, "Sicko" went on to become the 3rd largest grossing documentary of all time at that point. And as the release of "Sicko" in June of 2007 was the first time since the defeat of Hillary Clinton's healthcare bill in 1994 that the issue of health insurance was brought to the forefront of the national media, I believe it helped to reignite the issue during the 2008 election year by exposing millions of Americans to the truth about the health insurance industry. More than one person on Capitol Hill will admit that "Sicko" was a big help in rallying public support for the compromise bill that eventually passed earlier this year. But I agree, their smear campaign was effective and did create the dent they were hoping for -- single payer and the public option never even made it into the real discussion on the floor of Congress.

(There was really only one reason "Sicko" didn't sell as many tickets as "Fahrenheit" and that was because of a felony that was committed -- a felony that I will discuss for the first time on this site in the coming weeks or months ahead. Stay tuned.)

[leftstreet]

14. +1

[elocs]

9. Well, this thread about "push me off a cliff" from earlier today has 88 Recs:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9576905

You can still kick and rec this earlier one too.

[kentuck]

11. Michael Moore is a radical...

in the truest and best sense of the word...

[laughingliberal]

12. K & R nt