Feds might confiscate "Sicko" before it is shown.

[k4kyv]

Michael Moore's new film, "Sicko," will have its world première this Saturday night at the Cannes Film Festival. The film has been kept under wraps, to be shown to virtually no-one before its première in Cannes. Said Moore, "...my silence was because I knew that the health care industry -- an industry which makes up more than 15 percent of our GDP -- was not going to like much of what they were going to see in this movie and I thought it best not to upset them any sooner than need be."

On May 2nd the Bush administration initiated an action against Moore over how he obtained some of the content they believe is in the film. None of them have actually seen the film, but they apparently decided not to wait until the film was out of the gate and too far down the road to begin their attack.

Bush's Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, launched an investigation of a trip Moore took to Cuba to film scenes for the movie. The pre-emptive action taken by the Bush administration on the eve of the "Sicko" première in Cannes led his attorneys to fear for the safety of the film, noting that Secretary Paulson may try to claim that the content of the movie was obtained through a violation of the trade embargo that our country has against Cuba and the travel laws (that violate US citizens' internationally recognised right to travel outside the country).

Moore says that his lawyers are fearful that they might actually confiscate the film. "These days, anything is possible. Even if there is just a 20 percent chance the government would seize our movie before Cannes, does anyone want to take that risk?" So last week he spirited a duplicate master negative out of the country just so no-one from the government could take it.

I'm sure many of our "freedom loving American" neo-con friends will be delighted if the government confiscates the film before it can be shown. But regardless of your opinion of Moore, this is America and NO-ONE should ever have to fear such a thing. To me, if this claim by Moore is factual and his lawyers even considered giving him such advice, this is downright scary to say the least.

Moore is on his way to Cannes right now, a copy of the film in his bag. "Don't feel too bad for me, I'll be in the south of France for a week!" But then it's back to the U.S. for a number of premières and benefits. June 29th is when the film is scheduled to open in the USA and Canada. For the rest of the world, it opens in the fall.

Of course, if the Feds really were to try to confiscate the film, this would generate more publicity, free of charge, than even Michael Moore could afford to purchase via the advertising media.

For full details on this story, check out Moore's website (http://michaelmoore.com/).

[K7JEM]

Sounds like a ploy to get headlines and drum up attention.

Our healthcare system needs repair, but I doubt MM has the answers. Maybe a good starting point, though.

Joe

[K3XR]

"Sicko" sounds like El gordo's autobiography. What a joke. Sure glad I put fat boys website on my favorites list.

[KC0VWU]

As a Republican and a neocon, I hope the film is confiscated and I hope that Mr. Moore is prosecuted for economic terrorism.

[N2RJ]

Vote Republican, the constitution be damned!

I don't doubt that they may take it. It is a very real possibility.

They could use some BS reason like they're holding it for evidence or something, just like they're using the whole travel ban to Cuba because Mike makes the failed Bush administration look bad.

[w3scm]

As a Democrat, I am appalled that anyone would imply that this upstanding young crusader would cook up a wild story of persecution and ill intent just to stir up publicity for himself. Yes, appalled. My hands are red from wringing. Oh, the humanity!

[K6BBC]

Quote[/b] (KC0VWU @ May 21 2007,10:10)]As a Republican and a neocon, I hope the film is confiscated and I hope that Mr. Moore is prosecuted for economic terrorism.
Fascist pig. What else can one say about that?

bbc

[n2ize]

What is the administration so afraid of that they see a need to suppress this film ? If our system is so filled with virtue and good then let Moore's film be shown. The perfection of our health care system and the virtues of our present administration will shine through Moore's proaganda. If anything the administration should be insisting that Moore show his film.

[N6KX]

The govt doesn't have a leg to stand on. #This is a classic First Amendment case. #As the Supreme Court ruled in the Pentagon Papers case over 30 years ago, the government cannot impose prior restraint of someone's right to publish (or, in this case, show) material.

Even when the source information is stolen, even when the source information is considered secret, there is a right to freedom of speech. #Unless the Justices can be persuaded that publication presents a clear and present danger to the United States, they will not impose prior restraint. #At least that's the legal precedent. #(Of course, with Alito and Scalia on the bench, the importance of precedent is being eroded.)

And, as we all know, the release of the Pentagon Papers, which the govt emphatically said would irreparably harm the United States, harmed only the reputations of the knuckleheads who made the claim and laid bare the misuse of "national security" as a ploy to cover up official misconduct and incompetence.

Back in the late 60s/early 70s, it was the Republican administration of Richard Nixon and its attempt to repress opposition to the Viet Nam war - now in the early 21st century, it is the Republican Bush administration and its desire to repress any opposition to mega-business (insurance, oil, defense industry, etc.). #Same sh*t, different day.

http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[WA3WDR]

Moore is only doing a job that no American wants to do. Anybody who opposes him must be a Racist.

[KI4PEQ]

Moore is a perfect example of the north end of a southbound donkey. All this noise about the U.S. government taking his precious movie is just that. Noise. It would never happen, and he knows it. But to people who believe every half-baked conspiracy theory, it is plausible.

Now what the government CAN do is confiscate the U.S. profits from this film under the guise of the Trading with the Enemy act. #And THAT is what I would like to see.

As for WDR's comment about anyone opposing Moore being racist, since I am white, conservative, and Southern, I am called that epithet every day. Not true, but I do have an extremely low tolerance for liberal bull$h*t.

[nx6d]

Quote[/b] (KI4PEQ @ May 21 2007,15:17)]Moore is a perfect example of the north end of a southbound donkey. All this noise about the U.S. government taking his precious movie is just that. Noise. It would never happen, and he knows it. But to people who believe every half-baked conspiracy theory, it is plausible.

Now what the government CAN do is confiscate the U.S. profits from this film under the guise of the Trading with the Enemy act. #And THAT is what I would like to see.
Typical brain-dead response from our resident government leech, PEQ.

Trading with the "enemy"? Get Real. As usual, you don't know what the heck you're talking about.

Dave NX6D
Tulelake, CA

[w4wtf]

Considering how many lies, distortions and half-truths his other films are filled with, I doubt I will bother seeing this one.

[NC5P]

I don't really like Moore, but I am appalled that the government would try to cease the film. Makes you wonder what's in it that they are so scared of. The healthcare industry in this country is royally screwed up. For one thing, it takes days if not weeks to get into see a doctor. If you need a specialist figure six months, sometimes a year. Thousands of Americans die every year because they can't get into a doctor who could save their life. These people have insurance, it's just that medical care in this country is rationed tightly. Doctors typically work 80 hours per week their entire career. They rarely get to take vacation. The big problem is the US government limits admissions to medical schools to deliberately limit the number of doctors. There is a severe shortage of not only doctors but other health care occupations. The government again is to blame. While the Republicans are guilty, Democrats crow about health insurance, but that isn't going to help as long as people can't get into see a doctor. Both parties must be blamed for this mess, it existed during the Clinton years, too.

Mental health care is even worse. In the southwest, there is a severe shortage. A man who badly needed medication changed tried for days to get in. They couldn't fit him into their schedule for weeks. He was so bad that he ended up killing five people in one day, including two cops. As long as greed runs rampant and DC continues to cater to the industry, there will be more problems like this.

[K3XR]

And the list of all the movies, books etc. confiscated by the Feds, over the years, can be found, where??

[w4wtf]

Quote[/b] (NC5P @ May 21 2007,18:21)]I don't really like Moore, but I am appalled that the government would try to cease the film. #Makes you wonder what's in it that they are so scared of. #The healthcare industry in this country is royally screwed up. #For one thing, it takes days if not weeks to get into see a doctor. #If you need a specialist figure six months, sometimes a year. #Thousands of Americans die every year because they can't get into a doctor who could save their life. #These people have insurance, it's just that medical care in this country is rationed tightly. #Doctors typically work 80 hours per week their entire career. #They rarely get to take vacation. #The big problem is the US government limits admissions to medical schools to deliberately limit the number of doctors. #There is a severe shortage of not only doctors but other health care occupations. #The government again is to blame. #While the Republicans are guilty, Democrats crow about health insurance, but that isn't going to help as long as people can't get into see a doctor. #Both parties must be blamed for this mess, it existed during the Clinton years, too.

Mental health care is even worse. #In the southwest, there is a severe shortage. #A man who badly needed medication changed tried for days to get in. #They couldn't fit him into their schedule for weeks. #He was so bad that he ended up killing five people in one day, including two cops. #As long as greed runs rampant and DC continues to cater to the industry, there will be more problems like this.
I have never waited more than 3 days to see a doctor when it was important but nor ER type urgent. Typically I can be seen my my primary care physicain within 24 hours if its urgent.

All that without insurance. I am actually eligable for 100% VA care, but I pay cash for all my routine stuff rather than tie up the VA resources that someone my very well need more than me.

The problem is that we have gotten away from actually paying for care ourselves and expect someone else to do it, and all that billing various insurance companies costs the physicians and hospitals more and takes some of the common sense away.

Health insurance should be for emergency and expensive care, not everyday doctor vists. And even then the individual should get billed and the insuramce company pay you... not direct pay. When did we stop expecting to actually pay for stuff and expect to have someone else handle it all?

Ohh, and because I pay cash and they get thier money right away without having to bill and do all that paperwork, I pay around 50% of what you guys do.

[kc7jty]

Quote[/b] (n2ize @ May 21 2007,12:06)]What is the administration so afraid of that they see a need to suppress this film ?
The ire of their insider lobbyist friends of the medical industry.

[N4AUD]

I don't like Moore, but I don't think they can seize his film. He may be in trouble for the trip to Cuba, but seizing the film would be playing into his hands, IMHO, and cause more the administration lots of trouble. I would bet either he'll get out of the trouble over the trip or end up paying a fine.

[K7JEM]

It's just publicity. No-one is going to take his film.

Hype, FUD, and paranoia.

Joe

[ka5piu]

Hello.

If one wants to go to Cuba, they can go and there is nothing the US can do to stop them.
How can that be? simple, this is a US travel ban, no other country in the world is as uptight about it.
Canada?
http://www.gocuba.ca/en/travelTips.asp
Mexico?
http://www.peoplesguide.com/1pages/best/cuba/cuba.html
So, why this travel ban?
Cuba is a communist country.
But, so is China, and a very strict one at that.
But, than predident Richard Nixon opened trade with China and that somehow makes it all good.
So, what is the truth about Cuba?
The US supported the Batista regime, and this was communist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulgencio_Batista
So, what was the issue?
Simple, organized crime ran a lot of operations in Cuba, and the revolution ended that.
In fact Fidel Castro had first asked the US for help but was turned down.
Fidel, being the resourceful leader, simply asked the Russians for help.
Now, all of a sudden, this became an issue of communism.
Now we have major retailers and manufacturers who have an entire business model that is based on having product built in China.
Both China and the UAE have very poor human rights track records, both country have very strict rules about internet use, yet this is not an issue.
Fly an aircraft over China and drop leaflets like "brothers to the rescue" and the Chinese military will take that aircraft out, and nothing will be said about it, it has already happened.
Fly an aircraft anywhere near the UAE without the correct permits and there will be a military intercept, so far no confirmed downings.
But, after all is said and done, the US is worried about some flake and his movie?
Who knows, the US has done stranger things.

[n6yg]

Quote[/b] (w4wtf @ May 21 2007,19:10)]Quote[/b] (NC5P @ May 21 2007,18:21)]I don't really like Moore, but I am appalled that the government would try to cease the film. Makes you wonder what's in it that they are so scared of. The healthcare industry in this country is royally screwed up. For one thing, it takes days if not weeks to get into see a doctor. If you need a specialist figure six months, sometimes a year. Thousands of Americans die every year because they can't get into a doctor who could save their life. These people have insurance, it's just that medical care in this country is rationed tightly. Doctors typically work 80 hours per week their entire career. They rarely get to take vacation. The big problem is the US government limits admissions to medical schools to deliberately limit the number of doctors. There is a severe shortage of not only doctors but other health care occupations. The government again is to blame. While the Republicans are guilty, Democrats crow about health insurance, but that isn't going to help as long as people can't get into see a doctor. Both parties must be blamed for this mess, it existed during the Clinton years, too.

Mental health care is even worse. In the southwest, there is a severe shortage. A man who badly needed medication changed tried for days to get in. They couldn't fit him into their schedule for weeks. He was so bad that he ended up killing five people in one day, including two cops. As long as greed runs rampant and DC continues to cater to the industry, there will be more problems like this.
I have never waited more than 3 days to see a doctor when it was important but nor ER type urgent. Typically I can be seen my my primary care physicain within 24 hours if its urgent.

All that without insurance. I am actually eligable for 100% VA care, but I pay cash for all my routine stuff rather than tie up the VA resources that someone my very well need more than me.

The problem is that we have gotten away from actually paying for care ourselves and expect someone else to do it, and all that billing various insurance companies costs the physicians and hospitals more and takes some of the common sense away.

Health insurance should be for emergency and expensive care, not everyday doctor vists. And even then the individual should get billed and the insuramce company pay you... not direct pay. When did we stop expecting to actually pay for stuff and expect to have someone else handle it all?

Ohh, and because I pay cash and they get thier money right away without having to bill and do all that paperwork, I pay around 50% of what you guys do.
Maybe because large corporation's use health care is an employment incentive. and may be its because Dr.'s tell patients what they want to hear not what they need to hear!

Oh and by the way we do pay for our everyday health care, Last time I checked we were paying close to $600 a month for 3 people. I don't care if I have a hang nail If I need to see a Dr. your dam right the insurance is going to pay for it. Actually considering we are paying over $7200 a year, Doesn't that in reality mean that we are paying for it. Besides it benefits the health care provider's to insure it's patients are receiving preemptive care and annual screening for early detection of what could be expensive complications.

Now I do know people who abuse their health insurance and subsequently bear the responsibility of increasing the cost of health coverage for all of us. For instance I know a family where every single member is really overweight. Here's a bit of history

They live on fast food, and I mean that's about all they eat! I don't think they even own a cookware set. The only food I see in the house is left over fast food, the fridge is a barren waste land of empty fast food containers. Now the father is a good friend of mine, and I feel sorry for him. About the only time he eats a good home cooked meal is when his Mom or I cook for him and his son.

Now I completely refuse to cook for his wife. I'll invite my friend and his son over, but tell him to leave his lazy wife at home. The fact that I have a wall full of BBQ trophies and cooking awards is plenty of incentive to leave the lazy wife at home. He knows all to well my views, I just have no respect for a woman who refuses to learn how to feed her own children!

She actually expects her husband to bring fast food home everyday. She is so lazy that it drives me absolutely crazy! I'll give you an example, my friend and I went to see a movie as we have done once a month for the last 10 years. Well this was one of our first times so it was close to 10 years ago. Anyhow when the movie was over and we were in the car driving home, he checked his voice mail. His VM box was full of angry messages from his wife. "Your son and I are hungry, stop off and pick us up some food at MD" after about the 20th message she was becoming really really angry. OK you want to know the part that pisses me off? We were at least an hour and a half away and the MD she wanted him to go to was only about 2 blocks from their house and she has her own car! She is so lazy that instead of getting dressed and driving two blocks to get something to eat she waited 4 hours.

This scenario happens all the time. That particular time instead of going to MD (I was driving) I stopped off at a grocery store. When we got to his house she demanded "where's is the food" I opened the grocery bag tossed a couple of cans of tuna fish, a loaf of bread, some cheese and some mayo on the counter and said hey try being a mom for once and make something for your child to eat, I'm sure the TV will be there when you are done! She got so irate that she actually started throwing stuff at me. Anyhow later that I day back at my house I taught both my friend and his son how to make tuna melts.

That being said, the mother and son are at the Dr. at least 3 times a month. The Kid is about 15 and is diabetic with all sorts of respiratory problems. His mom has so many medical issues I don't even know where to begin. combined they have more prescriptions than the geriatric wing of your local care facility. Of course none of this could possibly have anything to do with eating a diet consisting of 100% fast food and watching 18 hours of TV a day.

You want to fix the health care problem in this country? Maybe we should tackle the problem at the root.

[KI4PEQ]

Quote[/b] (nx6d @ May 21 2007,17:20)]Quote[/b] (KI4PEQ @ May 21 2007,15:17)]Moore is a perfect example of the north end of a southbound donkey. All this noise about the U.S. government taking his precious movie is just that. Noise. It would never happen, and he knows it. But to people who believe every half-baked conspiracy theory, it is plausible.

Now what the government CAN do is confiscate the U.S. profits from this film under the guise of the Trading with the Enemy act. #And THAT is what I would like to see.
Typical brain-dead response from our resident government leech, PEQ.

Trading with the "enemy"? Get Real. As usual, you don't know what the heck you're talking about.

Dave NX6D
Tulelake, CA
As for what I think of YOU, Dave...check your PM.

Saying what I think of your statement in an open forum would cause me to join your close personal friend K1OU in the banned section. You aren't worth it. In fact, you're not worth a whole lot at all.

YOU don't have a clue. Look up the Trading with the Enemy Act. Here, you can click on the link.
Trading with the Enemy Act (http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/legal/statutes/twea.pdf)
Not only can Moore be fined, he can have the profits from his latest bit of propaganda forfeited to the U.S. Treasury. The act does not allow the President to seize the film, that is spelled out in the language of the act. He can seize the proceeds earned by Moore should the administration so choose.

We do not have diplomatic relations with Cuba due to their status as an enemy of the United States.

[w2amr]

Quote[/b] (nx6d @ May 21 2007,16:20)]Quote[/b] (KI4PEQ @ May 21 2007,15:17)]Moore is a perfect example of the north end of a southbound donkey. All this noise about the U.S. government taking his precious movie is just that. Noise. It would never happen, and he knows it. But to people who believe every half-baked conspiracy theory, it is plausible.

Now what the government CAN do is confiscate the U.S. profits from this film under the guise of the Trading with the Enemy act. #And THAT is what I would like to see.
Typical brain-dead response from our resident government leech, PEQ.

Trading with the "enemy"? Get Real. As usual, you don't know what the heck you're talking about.

Dave NX6D
Tulelake, CA
"Trading with the "enemy" !
I love it. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[kb2vxa]

It happened to Martha Mitchell, it can happen to Michael Moore.

[WA3WDR]

What, Moore is selling tickets in Cuba?

Trading with the enemy - like selling military stuff to Iran to get money to fund an unfunded war, as in Iran-Contra? Did anybody notice how many beneficiaries of Iran-Contra Amnesty there are in the Bush administration?

Oh, and my joke about Moore only doing a job that Americans don't want to do, and anybody opposing him must be a Racist - it was exactly that, a joke. I know they are hard to recognize without a smilie, but such is life.