Moore vs. CNN

In the words of Stephan Colbert, our champion of truthiness and gut feeling, "I called it!"

Within mere hours after my previous post, sure enough, the corporate media launched another one of its attacks on Michael Moore. CNN's Wolf Blitzer was kind enough to feature an interview with Moore, but not before Dr. Sanjay Gupta offered, for our edification, a "reality check." Yes, the corporate media felt the public couldn't handle a simple interview with Moore without first putting its own spin on the health care issue.

Over the banner reading, "A Healthy Look at the Facts," we were shown Gupta's alternative "facts" and figures. Moore reported that, according to the Bush Administration’s Health and Human Services, annual health care expenses are approximately seven thousand dollars per person in the U.S. This was challenged by Gupta's six thousand and something dollars. No reason was offered why CNN chose a source whose stats were lower. While accusing Moore of "fudging the facts," Gupta then posted across the screen what he claimed was Moore's stated cost of Cubans' annual care at $25. Wrong. "Sicko" showed that to be closer to $250. Still, not bad for a poor third-world island under oppressive economic sanctions. The U.S. is ranked embarrassingly close to Cuba in health care.

Gupta tell us, “You won’t find a medical utopia elsewhere.” I guess we should just forget about it, then.

You can't blame Corporate News Network for trying. SOMEONE has to defend the big guys.

While Moore was shown in the interview to be a little over-animated at moments, he did hit Blitzer with every sane American's question, "Why don't YOU tell the truth? You're the ones fudging facts about this issue and the war. Why didn't you do your job before the war?"

It's about time someone called out the media for their dereliction of duty and demanded that they apologize. We'll probably still be waiting after the next war for that honesty and apology.