MTV Does A Hatchet Job On Sicko - Fight Back Here! Now!

"Heavily Doctored" by MTV's venerable newsreader, Kurt Loder, is an embarrassingly flawed and tendentious attack on Michael Moore's new documentary "Sicko". This tediously protracted diatribe is neither a review nor a balanced examination of the important public policy issues raised by the film.

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The article begins with Loder reciting several of the health care horror stories exposed in the film. His tone is deceptively favorable as he describes the purpose of good muckraking. But it doesn't take long for him to plant his ideological flag. After alleging that Moore is a brazen con man who cherry-picked facts and manipulated interviews, Loder lobs this rhetorical grenade:

"As a proud socialist, the director appears to feel that there are few problems in life that can't be solved by government regulation..."

Moore regularly articulates his pride in being an American - and one who advocates the fruits of capitalism for himself and all Americans. But Loder doesn't stop with this ad hominem insult. He continues with the utterly false and unsupported (and prejudicially phrased) assertion that "Americans have never been keen on socialized medicine." Someone needs to introduce Loder to the most popular government-managed programs ever created - Social Security and Medicare. Additionally, polls show that Americans would overwhelmingly approve of a national health insurance program, even if it would require higher taxes (64% for, 35% opposed).

Still, Loder persists in mischaracterizing the reality of the health care crisis and the response to it in the United States and around the world. In a rebuttal to Sicko, he offers up a short and undistinguished 2005 documentary called "Dead Meat." This film is the flip side of Sicko, recounting alleged horror stories of government-managed health care. Although he devotes six paragraphs to the film, Loder neglects to provide some illuminating facts about Dead Meat and it's producers.

The film made its debut at the Liberty Film Festival, which describes itself as "a forum in the heart of Hollywood for conservative and libertarian filmmakers." In 2006 the festival operations merged with ultra-right wing provocateur David Horowitz' Freedom Center.

The film's credits include special thanks to the rightist Manhattan Institute, the Pacific Research Institute, and the Heartland Institute. The latter is particularly notable for its refusal to acknowledge the dangers imposed by global warming or smoking - both of which they feel are frauds based on junk science.

The producers have also released films critical of immigration reform protests and what they perceive as a left-wing assault on free thought in U.S. universities.

Health care expert, Loder, doesn't hesitate to dispense advice on policy matters. His prescription for reform is firmly planted in the free-market medicine camp. And despite the fact that there is nothing identifying this article as an editorial, it is overflowing with opinion and innuendo. Here is another example of his insertion of bias that is presented without context but with the expectation that we accept it on faith:

"When governments attempt to regulate the balance between a limited supply of health care and an unlimited demand for it they're inevitably forced to ration treatment."

Loder doesn't seem to appreciate that there is no system that produces a greater degree of rationing than one that denies care to all but the fortunate. The kind of system that is presently in place in the U.S.

The rest of the article provides incontrovertible evidence that, in addition to being an inferior analyst and a prejudiced observer, he also lacks any sign of a sense of humor. He totally misses the satirical points made in episodes involving French excesses in care and the now famous Guantanamo landing. As such, Loder proves that he is ill-suited for this type of assignment. His readers would be better served if he would just put his sunglasses back on and take his mark on the red carpet in time to welcome back the Spice Girls.

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•  This is an overtly anti-universal...

  ...health care screed disguised as entertainment reporting. We have to let MTV know that we won't stand for it.

  There is a form at the bottom of this page to send  comments about this article. Use it.

  by KingOneEye on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 02:27:11 PM PDT

  •  People should put their parental locks on MTV

    and then write them to let them no they won't be letting their family listen to their bullshit any longer.

    by Pen on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 03:17:23 PM PDT

  •  Wrote Kurto a missive:

    Kurt, you missed the boat on Sicko. Sicko is a real story about a real problem in America. The only Americans who won't back Michael's story are those bought and paid for by the huge corporate interests he threatens.

    I don't see how a credible journalist could label Michael's work on Sicko a socialist's work. France, with its national health care plan, just elected a rightwing leader, as Canada did in the last election. The Canadian who talked with Mike in Sicko was a member of Canada's Conservative Party, not a liberal. The Canadian said all deserved health care, regardless of political affiliation.

    As a major national domestic policy failure in America, we need to join the rest of the developed world in assuring Americans that an illness or injury won't destroy their financial future. And that, I believe, is the true message of Sicko: Americans want, need and deserve a good national health care program, and we are nowhere near getting one.

    by 4Freedom on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 04:36:39 PM PDT

•  Kurt Loder

  "Hey kids!  I swear I'm cool.  No, really.  I'm totally cool!  See, I'm on MTV!"  

  It's a good thing nobody cares what Kurt Loder says, or he'd be in a news position that mattered.

  by otto on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 02:30:07 PM PDT

  •  Sure, he's an ass...

    ...but so is Bill O'Reilly. That doesn't mean that they have no influence on the unsuspecting viewers that happen to encounter their broadcasts.

    by KingOneEye on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 02:37:46 PM PDT

  •  what fucking scum bag.

    Hey assholes I've got mine! STFU Commies.

    This dickhead might be the new Reagan.

    by Salo on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 02:57:11 PM PDT

•  What the fuck is Kurt Loder doing

  commenting on national health care policy when he should be telling me about the kickass riffs on the new White Stripes CD?

  by Sam Loomis on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 02:32:28 PM PDT

  •  Kick ass?

    I love them but i thought it was disappointing.  I'm still listening to the latest Ted Leo record.

    by RockRichard on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 02:43:32 PM PDT

•  Sad..

  At one point, Loder was a credible journalist, in the music realm anyway.

  Let's not forget that Mtv is a subsidiary of Viacom, who has a lot to gain from keeping the GOP in power (see: deregulation).

  by RockRichard on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 02:36:57 PM PDT

•  the irony is that...

  those who watch mtv are exactly the ones who are going to face a huge health care crisis in a few years. whether they are kids who are young enough to still be covered by their parents' health insurance or those who are entering the job market, they are in for a rude awakening when they see that health insurance is not a guarantee that they will not be stuck with large medical bills or that health insurance is just too damned expensive, so they will have to take their chances that they won't get sick. telling them otherwise is irresponsible. i wonder how much loder was paid by the insurance lobby,

  by nonnie9999 on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 02:39:41 PM PDT

  •  It's just unconscionable...

    ...to use the MTV platform to propagandize young people in favor of an unfair, ineffective free-market health care policy.

    by KingOneEye on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 02:45:59 PM PDT

    •  it is irresponsible and disgusting....

      he is talking to people who are still at the age when they think they are immortal. they don't think about getting sick, let alone having devastating diseases that will cost them a fortune to treat.
      when does he start propagandizing them about social security?

      by nonnie9999 on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 03:02:00 PM PDT

•  The only question I have...

  is who’s paying him?

  by fly on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 02:41:37 PM PDT

  •  See my comment above.

    by RockRichard on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 02:44:11 PM PDT

•  I wouldn't worry too much about Loder.

  For the following reasons:

  1.  Most of the viewers are younger and don't vote that much; and

  2.  Of the ones that do vote, the trend is heavily Democratic.

  The one threat that I see is that because most of the viewers are younger, almost all of them are unaware of the financial problems that will happen to them as they get older if the problem is not solved.

  by OkieLawyer on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 02:43:23 PM PDT

  •  Sorry but...

    ...neither of those points are relevant.

    The real problem with pseudo-journalism like this is not that it might affect how someone votes. This is not political. The problem is that it could dissuade people from seeing the film and actually learning something. And it's not just this article. The effect is cumulative and it builds with all of the other news sources that spew this garbage.

    Their goal is to depress the audience for the film, not change anyone's vote.

    by KingOneEye on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 02:59:38 PM PDT

•  That's it. I'm not watching MTV anymore.

  And I'm making this policy retroactive to 1986.

  by pat208 on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 02:44:06 PM PDT

•  what the hell is MTV doing

  getting into the health care debate...last time I heard MTV stands for Music Television.

  They should be reviewing stupid reality shows and teenybopper albums...

  by michael1104 on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 02:47:19 PM PDT

  •  Do they still play music?

    Every time I turn it on, there's the same interchangeable selection of sexy young adults talking smack against each other between displays of biceps and boobs, except when some Ode to Avarice (Pimp My Ride, Cribs) is on.  

    by Yamaneko2 on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 03:06:23 PM PDT

    •  Exactly what I was thinking.

      Materialistic
      Tele
      Vision

      by KingOneEye on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 03:22:03 PM PDT

    •  MTV2 plays some videos

      It's actually good for about two hours a week, when they play Headbanger's Ball. Apart from that it all sucks.

      by metal prophet on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 03:59:40 PM PDT

      •  From the get-go.

        I watched MTV for years from the very first show to ....? Then one day I realized MTV was missing. As a channel surfer I was passing it by because of the crap they were broadcasting. Mtv  had died and I hadn't noticed. It died around the time the spaceman intro was changed.
        So sad.

        by AuntieM on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 05:41:02 PM PDT

•  If the youth of America don't have health care

  they're certainly not going to listen to some dufus telling them that everything is ok. I'm not worried about it. Young people are natural rebels against status quo, it's only when they get older, greed corrupts and blindness set in when it comes to knowing what's right and what's wrong.

  by leftbird on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 02:53:12 PM PDT

•  Kurt Loder

  Kurt Loder is like that scary creepy 40 something loser hanging out at a popular 20 something club.

  L O S E R

  by pissedpatriot on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 02:56:36 PM PDT

  •  Wait a minute...

    That could be me too.

    I still go to see live bands all the time. I'm usually the oldest guy in the room.

    by KingOneEye on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 03:02:28 PM PDT

  •  as a creepy 40 something

    I think he is closer to 60.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.

    by MadAsHellMaddie on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 03:05:01 PM PDT

    •  Loder

      was born May 5th 1945.  He is 62 years old.

      by MadAsHellMaddie on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 03:08:35 PM PDT

      •  Older

        by four months.
        Enjoyed the original format for years.
        MTV rip, the music has died.

        by AuntieM on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 05:47:17 PM PDT

  •  In *my* day...

    ...we didn't have any gummint health care!  We bought our own leeches!  And we liked it!

    by varro on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 03:30:46 PM PDT

•  Loder's review was Doctored.

  One of the things he questioned in his review was MM stating that 18k people die each year from lack of healthcare. He asks where did MM get this figure. Well, here it is from the Institute of Medicine

  Lack of health insurance causes roughly 18,000 unnecessary deaths every year in the United States. Although America leads the world in spending on health care, it is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not ensure that all citizens have coverage. To help policy-makers, elected officials, and others judge and compare proposals to extend coverage to the nation's 43 million uninsured, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies offers a set of guiding principles and a checklist in a new report, Insuring America's Health: Principles and Recommendations.

  by Unbozo on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 03:49:00 PM PDT

  •  Actually, Loder got it completely wrong.

    He seems to think that Moore was predicting that 18 million would die. Loder asks:

    "how does he know 18 million people will die this year because they have no health insurance?"

    Of course, Moore was referring to 18 thousand that have already died. But what's a few facts when you're trying to deceive a nation?

    by KingOneEye on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 04:00:09 PM PDT

    •  Did anyone see Sanjay Gupta's "fact checking"

      on Anderson 360 after the Larry King Live interview of MM?

      I thought it was pretty biased reporting as well. I guess Gupta has to answer to his corporate masters.

      by Unbozo on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 04:06:14 PM PDT

•  That's some fucked up shit

  I thought that Loder was a liberal. I guess I was wrong. I seem to recall him slamming Reagan for trying to appropriate "Born in the USA." I suppose he sold out between then and now.

  by metal prophet on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 03:57:34 PM PDT

•  Um, does anybody really watch MTV anymore?

  maybe my age is showing, but I thought it was so '80's and not really much of a player anymore.

  by blue armadillo on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 03:57:44 PM PDT

  •  I try once in a while.

    It's a bunch of crappy reality shows.  Music?  Hmmm, didn't see any.

    by CJB on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 05:04:40 PM PDT

    •  Don't

      watch, too crappy. Music? ha {:>(

      by AuntieM on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 05:54:07 PM PDT

  •  Money for nothing and

    your chicks for free.  I'd still watch some if they just played hit-or-miss music videos all the time.

    Was Kurt Loder wearing a big red nose, grease paint,a and honking a little hand horn when he delivered his heavy analysis?  That's the only way this would work.

    by Riff on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 05:07:45 PM PDT

•  Just got home from watching the brilliant SICKO

  and this sounds like the health care industry is on the attack, courtesy of MTV.  How much money does MTV make from health insurance companies or pharmaceutical companies?  Follow the money, folks.

  It's all about money and keeping the poor and lower classes in a state of despondency so they DON'T VOTE.  Sick and hopeless keeps the masses from rising up and pulling the plug on these greedy, money-grubbing, heartless health insurance and pharmaceutical companies.  They are collecting BILLIONS every year, while turning away anyone they can who tries to make a claim on their health insurance.

  America is a pitiful, embarrassing failure at caring for the health of it's citizens because Americans are being systematically duped and bilked by insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies.  If you don't believe me, go watch Michael Moore's SICKO.  It's a brilliant, powerful, entertaining expose that every American should see NOW.

  by Little Lulu on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 04:46:35 PM PDT

  •  Academy Award material

    I laughed, I cried, but it wasn't corny, it was inspiring. I'm inspired to change America now, and if it doesn't, WE'RE LEAVING!

    by aigeanta on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 04:55:49 PM PDT

•  Loder's point well-taken..

  any and all opposition to the complete transfer of wealth to a fraction of the top 1% is by definition, socialist.
  Damn them Reds! The baseball hat is a disguise.

  by BWildered on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 05:16:36 PM PDT

•  Loder Is On The Right Wing Mailing List

  You can tell that by his prediction that "Inconvenient Truth" would win an Oscar.

  Actually, the best film in this category is Amy Berg's devastating "Deliver Us from Evil," a true investigative report on a shameful cover-up by the Roman Catholic Church of 20 years of child-molesting by one of its priests, Oliver O'Grady. But Al Gore's environmental alarmism — much of it since heavily questioned — no doubt plays better in Beverly Hills.

  Loder is getting his info from all the wonderful free market think tanks that are linked to "Dead Meat" and trashing global warming. If we want to get a sense of what Canadians think of their health care system, look at who they chose to be "The Greatest Canadian" in a 2004 TV series.

  On November 29, Tommy Douglas won the title as CBC's Greatest Canadian. He had been at first place for almost the entire contest. Douglas is famous as a father of Medicare. Prior to his political career, he received his Arts degree at Brandon College, where he met his best friend Stanley Knowles as well as his wife. He became a Baptist minister in small prairie towns such as Carberry, Manitoba, before he became a minister in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. During his time as a minister in Weyburn, Douglas began and completed his Masters thesis entitled "The Problems of the Subnormal Family".[1] At the height of the Great Depression, local farmers would come to him for help, since many of them were losing their farms to holding corporations as they were unable to pay their bills on time. Douglas helped start up the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation as a lobby group of farmers, and it became a political party. Soon, people of the working class wanted to be part of the group, although they traditionally never got along with fellow farmers. While Douglas was Premier of Saskatchewan, he was able to help farmers keep their property, and introduced many social reforms including automobile insurance and Medicare (although it was not passed until a few weeks after Douglas resigned as Premier of Saskatchewan). While leader of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP), with backing from the Progressive Conservatives, he was able to pressure the federal Liberals to introduce such policies as the Canada Health Act. Actor Kiefer Sutherland, star of the TV series 24, is Douglas' grandson, and a noted supporter of Medicare to this day

  by HL Mungo on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 05:28:15 PM PDT

  •  Wow. Thanks for the Inconvenient Truth thing.

    Loder is apparently fully subscribed to the anti-science, free market philosophy of the three institutes cited above (whom I will now refer to as the "Dead Meat Coalition" because that perfectly describes the contents of their craniums).

    by KingOneEye on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 08:45:14 PM PDT

•  MTV owned by VIACOM= conservative

  MTV owned by VIACOM= conservative (0 / 0)
  MTV is owned by VIACOM which has greatly benefited under the rule of George Bush.

  It is nice to know that Kurt Loder is a cheap whore for the price of a job.  Viacom said kiss it and Kurt gladly got on his knees and puckered up giggeling all the way "yessum sir yessum"

  Always look for who the owner is behind the scenes.  Especialy when bush and the former repub congress did a lot of deregulation of media which = $$$$$ Kaching for Viacom.  It also should be noted that VIACOM wants people to spend their entertainment dollars on mindless movies they have out at theaters via their Paramount Studios movie division instead of spending your hard earned dollars on a documentary they have no investment in.

  by jimmyboyo on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 06:00:17 PM PDT