'Sicko' On Google Video

Michael Moore's latest film Sicko has appeared online. My wife and I watched it in its entirety on Google Video last night. It has been removed since then, though it's no doubt still available on various file sharing networks.

I'm tempted to send Mr. Moore a check for the $20 we won't be spending at the movie theater this summer, but to do so would be to shortchange him.

Sicko is a profoundly compelling film and if it has the effect on the rest of America that it had on me, Mr. Moore will have done this country a far greater service than can be paid back in dollars.Whether you lean right or left or off the charts, you will be moved by the grotesque inequity in the U.S health system that Mr. Moore documents.

You may not agree with Mr. Moore's argument that the U.S. should nationalize health care. You may not agree with the rhetorical techniques he uses to make his points. You may find his personal politics contrary to yours. But if you see Sicko, I suspect you will find it hard to deny that the U.S. heath-care system needs to change.

Writing about the unauthorized release of Sicko, The New York Times said, "Moore, 53, has been vocal in his support of downloading pirated movies as long as movie pirates don't profit."

If only the health care industry shared Mr. Moore's willingness to think of something other than profit, fewer U.S. citizens would die for the sake of some insurance executive's bonus.