Cyrano's Journal

Bush Administration

Goes After SiCKO

By Michael Moore

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We reproduce below the complete background to the controversy involving Michael Moore and the Bush regime, for alleged transgressions of this country's hypocritical laws regarding Cuba, which in this particular case infringe on the Constitutional freedom of US citizens to travel and move about in the world without prior government consent. After all, isn't that what we're fighting for? —Eds.

(1) The Background, as reported by AP, and then his open letter to Henry Paulson, currently in charge of the Treasury Department.

mMooreMay 10th, 2007 4:19 am
Michael Moore In Trouble For Cuba Trip

Treasury Investigation; Moore Took Sept. 11 Workers To Banned Island For Treatment

(AP) Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore is under investigation by the U.S. Treasury Department for taking ailing Sept. 11 rescue workers to Cuba for a segment in his upcoming health-care documentary "SiCKO," The Associated Press has learned.

The investigation provides another contentious lead-in for a provocative film by Moore, a fierce critic of President Bush. In the past, Moore's adversaries have fanned publicity that helped the filmmaker create a new brand of opinionated blockbuster documentary.

"SiCKO" promises to take the health-care industry to task the way Moore confronted America's passion for guns in "Bowling for Columbine" and skewered Bush over his handling of Sept. 11 in "Fahrenheit 9/11."

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control notified Moore in a letter dated May 2 that it was conducting a civil investigation for possible violations of the U.S. trade embargo restricting travel to Cuba. A copy of the letter was obtained Tuesday by the AP.

"This office has no record that a specific license was issued authorizing you to engage in travel-related transactions involving Cuba," Dale Thompson, OFAC chief of general investigations and field operations, wrote in the letter to Moore.

In February, Moore took about 10 ailing workers from the Ground Zero rescue effort in Manhattan for treatment in Cuba, said a person working with the filmmaker on the release of "SiCKO." The person requested anonymity because Moore's attorneys had not yet determined how to respond.

Moore, who scolded Bush over the Iraq war during the 2003 Oscar telecast, received the letter Monday, the person said. "SiCKO" premieres May 19 at the Cannes Film Festival and debuts in U.S. theaters June 29.

Moore declined to comment, said spokeswoman Lisa Cohen.

After receiving the letter, Moore arranged to place a copy of the film in a "safe house" outside the country to protect it from government interference, said the person working on the release of the film.

Treasury officials declined to answer questions about the letter. "We don't comment on enforcement actions," said department spokeswoman Molly Millerwise.

The letter noted that Moore applied Oct. 12, 2006, for permission to go to Cuba "but no determination had been made by OFAC." Moore sought permission to travel there under a provision for full-time journalists, the letter said.

According to the letter, Moore was given 20 business days to provide OFAC with such information as the date of travel and point of departure; the reason for the Cuba trip and his itinerary there; and the names and addresses of those who accompanied him, along with their reasons for going.

Potential penalties for violating the embargo were not indicated. In 2003, the New York Yankees paid the government $75,000 to settle a dispute that it conducted business in Cuba in violation of the embargo. No specifics were released about that case.

"SiCKO" is Moore's follow-up to 2004's "Fahrenheit 9/11," a $100 million hit criticizing the Bush administration over Sept. 11. Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" won the 2002 Oscar for best documentary.

A dissection of the U.S. health-care system, "SiCKO" was inspired by a segment on Moore's TV show "The Awful Truth," in which he staged a mock funeral outside a health-maintenance organization that had declined a pancreas transplant for a diabetic man. The HMO later relented.

At last September's Toronto International Film Festival, Moore previewed footage shot for "SiCKO," presenting stories of personal health-care nightmares. One scene showed a woman who was denied payment for an ambulance ride after a head-on collision because it was not pre-approved.

Moore's opponents have accused him of distorting the facts, and his Cuba trip provoked criticism from conservatives including former Republican Sen. Fred Thompson, who assailed the filmmaker in a blog at National Review Online.

"I have no expectation that Moore is going to tell the truth about Cuba or health care," wrote Thompson, the subject of speculation about a possible presidential run. "I defend his right to do what he does, but Moore's talent for clever falsehoods has been too well documented."

The timing of the investigation is reminiscent of the firestorm that preceded the Cannes debut of "Fahrenheit 9/11," which won the festival's top prize in 2004. The Walt Disney Co. refused to let subsidiary Miramax release the film because of its political content, prompting Miramax bosses Harvey and Bob Weinstein to release "Fahrenheit 9/11" on their own.

The Weinsteins later left Miramax to form the Weinstein Co., which is releasing "SiCKO." They declined to comment on the Treasury investigation, said company spokeswoman Sarah Levinson Rothman.

Dateline: Fri May 11, 2007 at 07:28:50 AM PDT

Letter sent to DailyKos by Michael Moore: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/5/11/93540/9491

Hello Kossacks, Michael Moore, here. I know you all are aware of the controversy surrounding my recent trip to Cuba with a group of 9/11 heroes for my upcoming movie SiCKO and the subsequent letter I received from the Treasury Department letting me know I'm now being investigated. Well, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you my letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. I just put it in the mail this morning...

Michael Moore's diary :: ::
May 11, 2007

Secretary Paulson,

I am contacting you in light of the document sent to me dated May 2, 2007, which was received May 7, 2007 indicating that an investigation has been opened up with regards to a trip I took to Cuba with a group of Americans that included some 9/11 heroes in March 2007 related to the filming of my next documentary, on the American Healthcare system. SiCKO, which will be seen in theaters this summer, will expose the health care industry’s greed and control over America’s political processes.

I believe that the decision to conduct this investigation represents the latest example of the Bush Administration abusing the federal government for raw, crass, political purposes. Over the last seven years of the Bush Presidency, we have seen the abuse of government to promote a political agenda designed to benefit the conservative base of the Republican Party, special interests and major financial contributors. From holding secret meetings for the energy industry to re-writing science findings to cooking the books on intelligence to the firing of U.S. Attorneys, this Administration has shown time and time again that it will abuse its power and authority.

There are a number of specific facts that have led me to conclude that politics could very well be driving this Bush Administration investigation of me and my film.

First, the Bush Administration has been aware of this matter for months (since October 2006) and never took any action until less than two weeks before SiCKO is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and a little more than a month before it is scheduled to open in the United States.

Second, the health care and insurance industry, which is exposed in the movie and has expressed concerns about the impact of the movie on their industries, is a major corporate underwriter of President George W. Bush and the Republican Party, having contributed over $13 million to the Bush presidential campaign in 2004 and more than $180 million to Republican candidates over the last two campaign cycles. It is well documented that the industry is very concerned about the impact of SiCKO. They have threatened their employees if they talk to me. They have set up special internal crises lines should I show up at their headquarters. Employees have been warned about the consequences of participating in SiCKO. Despite this, some employees, at great risk to themselves, have gone on camera to tell the American people the truth about the health care industry. I can understand why that industry's main recipient of its contributions -- President Bush -- would want to harass, intimidate and potentially prevent this film from having its widest possible audience.

And, third, this investigation is being opened in the wake of misleading attacks on the purpose of the Cuba trip from a possible leading Republican candidate for president, Fred Thompson, a major conservative newspaper, The New York Post, and various right wing blogs.

For five and a half years, the Bush administration has ignored and neglected the heroes of the 9/11 community. These heroic first responders have been left to fend for themselves, without coverage and without care. I understand why the Bush administration is coming after me -- I have tried to help the very people they refuse to help, but until George W. Bush outlaws helping your fellow man, I have broken no laws and I have nothing to hide.

I demand that the Bush Administration immediately end this investigation and spend its time and resources trying to support some of the real heroes of 9/11.

Sincerely,

Michael Moore

--Unfortunately, I won't be able to stick around to answer questions this time (SiCKO premieres at Cannes next Saturday and my schedule is crazy) but I want to be sure you know where I stand. I hope you will stand with me. Thank you for your support and I promise to return again soon for a more involved chat. MM

A physician's take on "SICKO"....
by mehamo [as filed with DailyKos : http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/5/11/142416/924 ]

Fri May 11, 2007 at 11:30:12 AM PDT

I am on the neurology housestaff for a major university hospital in the NY Metropolitan area who deals with the travesty of health insurance and uninsured patients everyday. I applaud Michael Moore for his movie exposing some of the horrors of healthcare that I deal with everyday.

mehamo's diary :: :: Mr. Moore is correct in his assertions regarding the health care industry.

As I'm a resident physician on the front line of the health care crisis in America, I see first-hand how horrific the insurance companies treat my patients. I get calls, along with my attending physicians, from insurance claims supervisors constantly questioning my management of each patient.

For example, just the other day, I saw a patient in the ER with signs and symptoms of a new stroke. The standard of care is to obtain an MRI, especially if the patient presents to the hospital before 6 hours of symptom onset (this patient had come within 3 hours after he first noticed symptoms). The patient was fully insured, but his insurance required approval for tests that are $500+. My attending physician and I, knowing that time is of the essence in stroke cases, disregarded the protocol to call for approval from the insurance company until after we did our emergent job...for the benefit of our patient.

After the MRI was completed, we called the insurance company. After waiting for 30 minutes to speak with someone, I was put on the phone with a claims supervisor (a lawyer with a medical textbook next to her at her desk). Because we didn't call for approval beforehand, the hospital will not be paid by the insurance company for the MRI. The lady also had the audacity to tell us how to proceed with the case, directing our standard of care as if she was the attending physician.

This happens day in and day out at my institution. As a neurologist who deals with stroke victims everyday, I know that time is of the essence, yet there are non-medically trained people who control the purse strings for their policy holders who believe that they can direct medical care from afar. This problem is only growing and I almost feel like soon, I'll have to lie in order to get my patients approved for needed diagnostic tests and procedures.

I see post-9/11 emergency workers all the time in my institution for problems of the brain, such as traumatic brain injury. I'm appalled that most of them have to pay out of the pocket as their government insurance refuses to acknowledge the extent of problems they have. There is a refusal to accept that certain medical conditions can be attributed to the cleanup effort.

Overall, I'm just sick of this culture. I came into medicine thinking that I was doing something noble for people, only to find out that the reality of the situation is that I'm prevented from doing my all by people who control the payments. Its disconcerting that health care in this country is treated like any other business in a capitalistic society. The insurance companies are only concerned about profit and the bottom line. This is immoral and wrong.

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