I was pleasantly surprised to find a very rational and thorough review of Michael Moore's "Sicko" by none other than MTV's Kurt Loder. Now, I know it's not good to generalize people, but I wouldn't have expected anyone from the MTV staff to be so rational about such a topic. My apoligies to Kurt Loder.
 
But, on to the story. We all know (or should) that Michael Moore is a sensationalist who will twist any statistic or anecdote to make a particular point. His movies are not documentaries, they're fictional and based only thinly on valid evidence. He's even admitted as such in the past, and I believe this to be a fair paraphrase: he's a propagandist, not a documentarian.
 

There is no such thing as a neutral documentary. All are skewed in some manner.

The documentary process makes neutrality impossible.

I know. I have been connected to or responsible for many hours of televised programming, most in the documentary genre. What I write about is universal to even so-called news pieces

Any time a camera enters a situation, it alters the situation by its very presence. Watch The History Channel and really listen carefully to their narration of so-called factual presentations. You will find propaganda and factual misrepresentations. Often old clips from feature films are intercut with newsreel footage. Their misrepresentations are some of the worst because they are presented under the guise of objective history.

Mr. Moore is no worse than most others. And his films are created to shake up the status quo. His purpose is to show what our society currently takes for granted and present it in a light that at least sparks discussion.

Via the Copious Dissent blog, here's a short piece on the Canadian healthcare system. A quote from the post:
 
If you want to find the real story of Canada’s failed Universal Healthcare system, look no further than America’s boarder cities. The Buffalo News just reported a story about, Lindsay McCreith, a 66 year-old Canadian retired auto body shop owner. This story, accurately reported by Henry L. Davis, demonstrates why Michael Moore’s new propaganda film, “Sicko” is patently misleading.
 

If enough people have this sort of reaction to Michael Moore's "Sicko," then our helathcare system in trouble. There's nothing worse than an ill-informed mob out to lynch someone. 
 
Boing Boing, of course, sees this as just the greatest thing.

Boing Boing wants to see the healthcare debate an entirely one-sided affair, with the one side being... Michael Moore. They're publicizing a MoveOn effort that calls on presidential candidates to refuse money from the healthcare industry, and they're doing so by handing out flyers at screenings of "Sicko."
 
I fear for the future healthcare of my children. Michael Moore is known by everyone to make exploitative, sensationalist movies (which I refuse to call documentaries) that twist and evade facts to make his point. That anyone would consider this to be the definitive statement on healthcare, and to want to disallow the healthcare industry from trying to influence in some way the laws that will destroy their ability to provide quality care, is beyond my ability to comprehend.