Michael Moore is smart. He wouldn’t have made a few million off of propaganda films if he wasn’t. Now he’s snared one of his critics in his new film, “Sicko”, and he’s done it in a way that makes him look magnanimous. But make no mistake– he’s far from charitable. The entire reason he did this was to help sell his movie in a grand publicity stunt.
Of course, this eludes Newsweek. Jim K, operator of Moorewatch and Right Thoughts, also skirts around it (but, knowing Jim K, I think he does it mostly out of gratitude to Moore and he doesn’t want to come off like an ungrateful ass).
Here’s a little bit of the backstory. Jim K’s wife has been ill for some time. From what I can gather, it’s a chronic condition, and because it’s pre-existing, it’s almost impossible to insure. As a result, Jim’s medical costs are a few thousand bucks a year, and although he’s does pretty well, he doesn’t make nearly enough to float such a cost. So he’s been scrambling to pay the bills. He also is the webmaster for a block of blogs (Right Thoughts, Moorewatch, and Right-Thinking). But, as anyone who blogs can tell you, you can’t make money in the biz. Unless you’re Andrew Sullivan and you threaten to stop blogging unless you get $100,000 (he’s still blogging, so you tell me what happened– it’s like Oral Roberts threatening that God was going to call him home unless he got some cash).
Moorewatch has been around for a while. I was more active around the Fahrenheit 9/11 portion of the website, but Jim K and Lee and Paratrooper have been vetting Moore since Bowling for Columbine. The site never makes enough to cover server costs (and server swindles– Jim’s really had a rash of bad luck), so it naturally won’t make him rich.
His wife has struggled with this illness off and on for a while, and if you know Jim, you know that his wife is the center of his world. Jim often would ask for contributions and he’d get some extra funds from readers, but he never would get enough to cover her medical costs.
Until one day when he got an anonymous email that offered to pay for 1 years worth of medical premiums. Jim took the money (he’s not stupid) even though he had a nagging suspicion that it was a set-up. But the check cleared, and he didn’t think anything else about it.
But, then he gets a call from Michael Moore, who reveals to Jim that yes, he is the mysterious benefactor. Most people would think, “Wow, what a great guy to help bail out his opponent like that!” But was it really charity? Moore revealed to Jim K that he put his whole “charity” event into the movie.
The definition of charity is a term in Christian theology (one of the three theological virtues), meaning loving kindness towards others; it is held to be the ultimate perfection of the human spirit, because it is said to both glorify and reflect the nature of God. In its most extreme form charity can be self-sacrificial.
Charity is supposed to be a selfless act. If I give money to someone in a charitable way, I don’t expect the money back. Nor do I expect that person to spend the money how I want them to spend it. It is assumed that when I give the money, it is to help the person.
What Moore did was invest his money. By making a $12,000 investment, and now promoting it in the news and in his movie, he uses that “charitable” act to make himself magnanimous and “above the debate”, which is total bull. His movie stands to make millions, and this little stunt is sure to attract at least 1200 people to the movie theater at $10 a pop (notice how that’s $12,000?). Now he gets free press from Newsweek as well as other sources. In addition, it’s sure to stir the hornet’s nest over at Moorewatch and produce even more buzz about his film, a film that very few have gotten a chance to see. He gets advertising from the gift, which will translate into revenue for the movie and DVD sales.
As Christ said, “When you give alms, your left hand should never know what your right hand is doing.” He knew the power of charity, and how it can be misused. This has nothing to do with charity. Far from it. It’s exploitation of the sick. And that makes Michael Moore a true “Sicko”.
The Autopsy 
Wow, what kind of hardhearted cynical human being are you, ? Moore has never claimed to be Christian, and I don’t think he could give a damn about criticism. Just thank the guy and move on, don’t scrutinise his deepest motives and try to turn a gift into something sinister. None of our motives are that pure, if that was the case Jim should publically thank Moore and continue his Moorewatch site regardless.
Just read the Moorewatch site and discovered that Jim did actually thank Moore. Still if we are going to get serious about motives here Jim and the Moorewatch site would look a lot less like hypocrites if they insisted on paying Moore back.
Michael Moore is, if nothing else, good at what he does even if it is twisted truths and half truths.
What gets me though, is that Moorewatch, a once bold critic, now seems to be in the process of committing suicide.
I encountered the site about a year ago and found the subjects discussed to be informative as well as eye opening, and the people discussing them to be open minded if a bit feisty at times.
Not so now.
The forum is now populated with sycophantic brown nosers who operate a ‘blood in the water’ method of debate. By this I mean that they will gang up en masse on one dissenting opinion, cherry picking comments rather than referring to the whole, and battering them off the board. The forum seems light on comprehension.
If Jim comments (which now seems to be nothing more than low intellect foul mouthed abuse,) then all hell breaks loose and the victim has no choice but to give up or respond in kind and get banned. The hive mind lives, all hail the hive mind.
Michael Moore has won at the end of the day because his most ardent critics now seem to be nothing more than venomous, foul mouthed, narrow minded idiots who, like a school playground will go with the majority view and shout abuse at anyone different from behind the safety of the bullies back.
Solipsism at its finest.
In short nobody in their right mind will register with the sight after perusing the forum, and those that do will not hang around long unless they too are accepted into the little fan club/hive.
What a shame.
wtf andy do you got this post hotkeyed i seen it on 2 site so far same word for word bs
mm is a pedo in diguise, jhe trying to save his soul by turning us into socialist while being an overweight suck resources fat ass pedo( he likes lil boys)
Wow Ken, how eloquent. Do the words LIBEL and SLANDER mean anything to you? How about the words EMAIL and ADDRESS? Or how about IP and ADDRESS. I wonder what a good lawyer would make of your comment?
Look, if you two want to get into a pissing match, fine, but take it to email. I’m not going to tolerate this garbage.
Sorry Doc i wont, I’ll be a kinder and gentler person
and andy since you have never heard my voice how is it that i slandered anyone?
I’ll be nice, unlike the Moore disciples that send so much hate mail to moorewatch wishing that he and his sick wife would die or burn in hell
what movie has mm ever produced, that wasnt taken out of context , alright lies, profit driven, even f911 was to get scarey elected and failed , why cant you see that this distorted man does give a shot about you its mo money bra
Its great to see neocons twist their “christian morality” to any extreme to bash a person who tries to do good in the world. Every single last republican I know is exactly like this: Republicans don’t want universal
healthcare – BUT they want THEIR healthcare. They don’t want to pay TAXES
but they want everyone ELSE to pay taxes. They don’t want to keep jobs here in the U.S. but they don’t want their jobs outsourced. They want to force your religion to be Christianity but they don’t follow even one
commandment.
Question for you “good christian” If Jesus came back to earth but he came back other than a “Christian”, how would YOU know him. The fact you can’t answer this is the height of your hypocracy.
(In response to what joe said)
Although the republicans could be right about the whole notion of free-market economics being “fair” (poor people didn’t EARN government handouts… we live within a system, and they didn’t contribute to the system), it is really kind of amusing that they (the republicans) still try to claim the highground of christian morality.
Jesus didn’t ever say anything about being fair, did he? No.
I’m pretty sure he advocated compassion, and giving to those who did NOT deserve… doing things (at your own expense!) for the LEAST of people, who cannot (for whatever reason) do it on their own.
If you believe in fairness, that’s fine… fairness makes sense. But, don’t claim to be a christian.
“If you believe in fairness, that’s fine… fairness makes sense. But, don’t claim to be a christian”
So when you watch the Simpsons and you witness Homer taking advantage of Ned Flanders (yet again) what do you think? Do you think, “Ned is a fine Christian example.” or do you think, “What a doormat!”
“this little stunt is sure to attract at least 1200 people to the movie theater at $10 a pop (notice how that’s $12,000?)”
quick note, $12k from ticket sales would not go directly into moore’s pocket. not that i’m saying he wouldn’t have made his money back from doing it, but you don’t appear to be above twisting the facts yourself.
but anyway. i have only seen sicko. i have not read around it much. i have not read any comments from moore other than what was in the film. it is his only film that i have seen at this point.
first, at no point does he state that what he did was an act of charity, or magnanimity. if others are saying that, it’s there business, and perhaps they are wrong to say it as i’m sure he knew it would be good for the film. but for you to say that moore did it to ‘appear charitable’ is again, another manipulation of the facts.
i believe, that moore did what he did to make a point. would he have done it if not in the process of making sicko? most probably not. he did it as a part of the film. did he do it to appear benevolent in the film? i don’t think so either. his point, was irony whereby which he was being attacked by someone he was now trying to save via the film, in promoting universal health care. his film was about how the us system of health care has crippled people, and destroyed their lives, and eroded their freedom by removing their means and ways. this was now happening to someone who was likely to criticise moore for his latest film, and who has done so since its release. to simply include this fact in the film would have been callous, like pointing and laughing at the sick and the maim. in fact, moor *had* to bail this guy out, even if it meant keeping moore watch alive, if he wished to include it in the show. however, i don’t imagine he had any real objection to this, since i expect that he, as i do, believe in free debate.
what is important, is that we do not allow the point that moore was able to make by including this section in the film, become lost in this swamp of petty argument concerning whether or not this act was altruistic. because it was not.
the point moore was making is *inarguable*. which is no doubt why neither you, nor anyone else i’ve seen, has tried to argue it, but has instead chosen to waltz around the greatly watered down issue of ‘is moore really charitable or was this a strategic manoeuvre’
the point, was that *because of* the US health care system, the guy running moorewatch was going to have to close down his site. he was going to have to end his anti-moore propaganda.
the point, was that *if* he had lived in the UK, or France, or Canada, or even Cuba, he would have lived more freely that he does in the US, because he would have had access to free, high quality health care for his wife, and had no problem continuing to exercise his right to freedom of speech.
But because you are scared of socialised health care, because you have been told, and taught, and trained to be terrified of all things socialist so the profiteers can continue their work unimpeded, he could not.
I’m from England, and I’ve lived in Pars for the past year and a half. I can tell you that his portrayal of both the UK system and life in France were fair, and accurate.
There is constant debate in the UK regarding the ‘state of the NHS’, about the ‘length of waiting lists’ and other problems. It’s true that the NHS is a very difficult and expensive system to keep running, and we need to improve it, and we are working to improve it. But as it stands, I would much rather live in a society where we need to improve universal health care, than one where we don’t even have it. The waiting lists I speak of are for low risk surgeries that *can* wait, even if it’s not desire that they do. And, if one wants, the option to go to a private hospital if one wishes and even to take up health insurance, still exists in the UK. but you know what, very few people do. why not? because we don’t have to.
we have a society that does everything in its power to help *everyone*. you don’t. those are the facts that you cannot argue against.
what i do not understand now, is how you can possibly think your way is better.
I agree i live in New Zealand a country alot smaller in size and in wealth compared tto the us and we have the same health care as the u.k and cuba and where better off for it. I would hate to be in the states and get sick,michael moore did the people of America a favour by makeing sicko and hopefuly it will give the people the balls to stand up to there goverment and demand better health care
I think you are a bit confused eh? I have watched the movie and I have heard none of “Charity” or words related to it. So, my point is, Moore wasn’t donating. He said clearly that he gave him money, not making a charity.
“Michael Moore is, if nothing else, good at what he does even if it is twisted truths and half truths”
Andy
I agree with Andy
Michael Moore just gave the other cheek (if you want to see only the christian point of view). And yes, maybe at the end he saved the life of that woman, you never know.
Arguing for the sake of argument. What’s wrong with MM making $$$ from his film in which time and resources were spent on making it. Business is business. And the 12k sure is after all a brilliant move. A small price to pay for promotion but it sure go a long way for a sick person in need of health care. But, it is also educational, an eye opener, that there is no such thing as free health care. Just who pays for it and how it is being paid for. By the people who paid taxes, for the people themselves and to those that did not pay, or simply chose not to pay and are not eligible to pay. But, how much of the monies allocated for such health care often reach the people. Many a times it is filtered by crooked politicians in collaborations with businessmen. Just remember you may have all the money in the world, but you may also not be healthy enough to enjoy it. What !? You want health care … sure … gimme all ya money !!!
p/s: I am recovering from a health condition and thank goodness it did not “cost” me my freedom !!!
Yeah, socialism really increases your freedom.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3646522.ece
At least in America I can get my teeth looked at without going to a golf course.
P.S.
Stop confusing government largesse with CHrist-like giving, Kris.
P.P.S.
Why don’t you calle for Moore to give his millions to help people without health care? Why can’t willing individuals do it, why must it be the government? Oh, because people like Moore would rather not have to put their money where their mouth is.
Born and raised in Ontario, Canada. I love the health care system here and after seeing that movie and seeing the health care in numerous other countries and how good it is and then seeing the United States health care system I thank God I was born here. Seeing all the movies it just increases my thankfulness.
I live in a major US city near the Canadian border. There are lots of ex-pat Canadian doctors here. My last two have been such. Apparently, its not unusual for them to come to the US because they cannot save for retirement in Canada. Some come to shed the indentured servitude that is student loans before they are 90.
In fairness, they do plan to move back, but only after they are paid for their skills here.
I live in England and use the NHS and have to say it could be improved, but so could a lot of things. However I do think that Universal Healthcare is better than a system which bankrupts you. If not that I wouldn’t want the worry of thinking about it. By the way Falconish, how ‘socialist’ do you think the UK is? Do you honestly think that we have worse Civil rights and freedoms than in America? By the way you shouldn’t believe everything you read in a newspaper, papers like the Times are notoriously well known for having a stab at the NHS.
And yes Moore is incredibly intelligent, if not that you have to agree he is good at what he does. He doesn’t really care about the state of the US health system though, he just correctly thought it would make good television.
The guy who runs the Moorewatch website should put his money where his mouth is. Since he continues to criticize Moore and to scrutinize Moore’s actions in a vitrolic manner, he should send the $12,000 back and find another way to afford insurance for his ill wife with the pre-existing condition. He says that he would have found a way to cover the cost – well, then I challenge him to do so without taking money from someone he bashes continually. Otherwise, he just loses credibility since it makes him seem even more like nothing but a cowardly shittalker.
Michael Moore made no claims about his donation being a selfless act of charity. If you’ve seen the movie, you’d know that he claimed only to have donated money to help with Jim K’s medical expenses so that he may continue to float “Moorewatch.” Moore cited the first amendment, claiming that our shamefully inadequate and and profit-driven healthcare “system” should not impede on our freedom of speech in addition to our right to life. In other words, Moore believes that Jim K should not have to choose between exercising his constitutional right to speak freely and saving (or even just improving) the life of his wife.
There is a key element to this argument that I believes proves Moore’s true intentions. He donated the $12,000 anonymously. Only after the check had been cashed and the proper healthcare had been given did Moore publicize himself as the benefactor. Unlike the HMO bastards who rule our healthcare system, Moore actually wanted the money he donated to do some good for a certain American citizen. Whether the profits of the money counteract the financial “loss” Moore took in making the donation is not the point. And furthermore, do you think that by granting citizens (lets say ONLY insured citizens, for argument’s sake) the care that they require to continue leading a long and healthy life, the insurance and healthcare companies would even suffer a monetary loss? Nope. They’d only have to forfeit a bit of their grotesque profit margin. In layman’s terms, keeping Americans healthy wouldn’t cost them anything, but they won’t do it because they just won’t MAKE enough to finance all those million-dollar super sweet 16 galas for the daughters of the CEOs. Hmmm. Priorities, people.
The guy who runs Moorewatch is an embarrasment to the right and conservative values. I don’t lke Michael Moore and I believe what he did was a stunt, a bit of shameless self promotion to help Sicko at the box office. But JimK is just as much of a disgrace, the man has no values or self respect, if he dislikes Moore so much, he should have done the honorable thing and given the money back (I’ve seen the website and the pathetic excuses he makes regarding the money), because he hasn’t done that it makes a mockery of Moorewatch. I believe this whole debacle is not a left or right issue, its a question of dignity, and neither individual in my opinion has any, both Michael Moore and JimK are attention seeking media whores and neither of them represent any kind of truth.
I won’t hold Jim’s feet to the fire, because I know his wife is his world, and to get her adequate health care was, and should be, the first priority in his life. Moore sucker-punched him, taking advantage of his vulnerability to make a political point.
JimK and I have had differences of opinion in the past, and he’s probably more Libertarian than Republican. But, IMHO, he did the right thing to look after his family first.
You guys offer not solution, just complaints. Were any of you going to cover Jim K’s wife’s medical bills? If MM kept it hush hush, he was buying Jim K’s silence, if MM made a public case about his gesture, then he’s taking advantage of the situation. You guys are pathetic. This exemplifies the state of our health care system. Let the free market run it’s course and rely on the generosity of pr*cks like you guys, lol
Jim,the Anti – moore always blame moore for making money by making movies but he doesn’t mind getting money from his website ads – though that didn’t saved his wife.Thaks to moore who has given him money for his wife.
If Jimk always say, moore is a big fat media businessman,why he didn’t return the money once he”discovered” it was moore’s?
With all due respect, I find this discussion to be an approximate average of most debates I’ve had with Americans.
It always seems to boil down to left versus right, red against blue, etc., with pro or anti Moore(for example) proponents defending the party line blindly.
Michael Moore doubtlessly edits, embellishes and takes things out of context, as well as being painfully self serving at times. Even so, he makes good films that make people pay attention to the subject matter.
What happens afterwards is a frenzied regurgitation of the “facts” as proclaimed by Moore, with double the passion and half the composure or coherance.
On the other side of the coin, people who get their propaganda from a Moore(Sic) conservative source attack, as blindly, any points of the Moorish acolytes, more often than not, without seeing the films or even knowing anything about the subject matter. Furthermore, bringing Christian ideology into the equation to defend your feeling of ire is ultimately self defeating, as faith and political beliefs are entirely seperate entities(seperation of church and state).
My point, long winded as well it may be, is that after you watch Sicko, watch the rebuttal. That goes for everything, Governmental reports, inquiries, get your news from several sources, you may find that they’re all spinning it slightly differently.
And if the news is telling fibs, then surely the subjective viewpoints of Film-makers and their critics cannot be gospel, can they?
To summarize; think for yourselves, and see what the rest of the world thinks of US problems, there’s approximately 6 billion of us and we know where your country is on a map.
Just a suggestion…
You can all slam MM as much as you guys like. Call him names, post his motives etc but at the end of the day your health care system continues to fail and your loved ones continue to die on the sole basis of Americana and its greed. So cheers to your pigheaded ways…
Maybe he should have not given the money and let his wife get seriously ill? would that have been the desired outcome for you? A lot of charity, unfortunately, is done for reasons like this but lets be grateful that money is given out to people at all, because, without this sort of charity there would probably be even more than 18,000 deaths a year from lack of insurance.. sort your views out and stop chatting so much shit please.
First I’m Spanish and a thousand years ago have not written in your language. So I am using the google translator. Sorry for possible inconsistencies.
In Spain we are near the disaster: evicted families, corrupt banks, miners on strike filled the news. And yet, I feel much safer than in a country without universal health service. Why?, because I have no fear to being sick. And do not give it away, we all pay (yes, some more than others, and I am among those who pay, I’m working and 13% of my work are Social Security taxes, and being young and healthy get little), but nobody, absolutely nobody, is rejected in a hospital.
Too many people die so inevitable. If a single death or pain can escape, is a moral obligation to avoid it. Anyone without distinction, good, bad, brave, cowardly, rich, poor … persons.
In a country, health is essential, primary. Everything else is secondary (education, work …) and things like armies, churches and mosques are trivial. I always preferred an ambulance to the rites.
Thank you, and think that omitting aid is killing.
1stly moore helped his enemy or sought of money with a social cause for health problems. Its not a charity. 2-ly y so much problems if he is promoting it? he has done a good cause hes showing it. its his movie if he wants every1 to c then its a good thing as the movie talks about the health problems and gets to the problems faced by americans. 3rdly, if any1 thinks of it as an investment, then let me tell u this- if he makes such movies its not for the money. even if it for the money, theres nothing wrong in it as hes doing a good work. 12000$ aint cheap folks. i wud like my name to b known if i donate even 1000$. 4thly its between moore nd jim k. whether he accepts or denies. its no1s business to poke.
Who wrote this article is a real moron. Michael Moore helped the man’s wife and did a great movie about an all american tragedy (the health care system). Open your eyes, be thankful and actually watch the movie Sicko. It’s what you don’t want to see, right in front of you. It’s America. And yes, you can be american and be objective in the same time. Moore is just an objective american, that’s it. The movie it’s so so sad…and you know it’s just the truth about your fool health care system.
While the documentary only shows one side of the issue, that being the people effected by our lousy health care system and the people who do have federal based health care, it doesn’t show the other side, the debt this gets some countries in.
However, we screwed ourselves over on the debt. You don’t see Canada trillions of dollars in debt.
But this article states that the SOLE reason he gave Jim K money was to exploit it. This is false, to a point, because he didn’t bring it up in advertisements. It was, however, a punchline and jab at critics that, in my view, is the funniest bit in a very serious movie.
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Michael Moore only deals with facts, not propaganda.Propaganda is unproven facts and half truths. The fact that the US healthcare system is driven by profits at the expense of providing healthcare( i wont even say affordable healtcare because thats just a strech) to its citizens is a reality and not something which is made up. People are refused a basic service and yet his haters get angry at hearing the truth.
I live in South Africa . We have government hospitals and clinics with pharmacies and dispensiries which cover most medication and medical procedures. We also have health insurance which cost anywhere between 10% and 25% of your salary. a friend of mine went for surgery on his brain a month ago and his medical aid(insurance) billed him R88000 ($8712). That is nothing because depending on your option you can get between R1 million($99000) up to R5 million($495000) per year and a hot government policy topic at the moment is that government wants to do away completely with health insurance. What is my point? While we have health insurance and the CEOs are making ridiculous profits there is still a level of service delivery ie they still make profits and provide quality healthcare to its members. offcourse certain very minimal procedures are excluded only from day to day out of hospital procedures but then it means you chose the option where you pay a very minimal amount. There is definately something wrong with the US system and Michael Moore only seeks to address those injustices.
Unless you see Sicko there is no way that a potential viewer will know that he donates to one of his haters. You only get to see that when you actually watch the movie.
His motivation was not self gratification or a publicity stunt. Go to youtube and you will find full MM docies on there. Ask yourself why does he not remove it because of copyright infringment? Clearly because he does not have an alterior motive as his haters would like us to belive. By donating the 12000 he was merely and very powerfully making a statment and proving a point that there is no factual basis for his haters bashing him and that it can not get any more real then when a prominent hater(Moorewatch) is been crippled by the very system he so feverishly defends. The critisism of MM is thus baseless and much anwarrented. IF ANYTHING THE MAN DESERVES A MEDAL
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Hi guys,
yesterday I watched SICKO for the first time and after some investigation about JimK I landed here. I only would like you to know that we all were shocked about this medical system. Paying a lot of money if you get ill? That’s a terrible thought. Deeply immoral, antisocial.
Just my two cent.
Take care and do not get ill
The bible also says that you, as a human, cannot and MAY not pass judgement onto other humans.. You only read and apply the parts of the bible that benefit YOU. That will get you into Hell! You are actually using His holy word to benefit your own insignificant conquests..
If you are only half a Christian, you take down this article and repent your sin. According to His scripture, you are making a dire mistake.