When SICKO was released in 2007, it resulted in an all-out smear campaign by the health care industry, so much did they fear it. According to Wendell Potter, the former Cigna exec who was interviewed recently by Bill Moyers in a program entitled "Profits Before Patients," they were afraid because they knew that what SICKO documented was true, and if the American public found out about what they were doing, their industry would be toast. (If you haven't seen the Moyers/Potter interview already, make sure to watch it too, and send it to your friends and family, and even more importantly, your legislators. Let's make it go viral!)

So the health care industry spent untold dollars insisting that Moore's claims in SICKO were false, and trying to suppress the film, but as intrepid Kossack jamess noted in his excellent recent diary, Moore fought back, and even took on CNN's Sanjay Gupta when he tried to discredit SICKO.

So, if you missed it before, or want to watch it again, here's your chance to see SICKO. Showtime will be airing it several times this month on it's cable channels TMC (The Movie Channel) and TMC Xtra. Make sure to click on "More Air Times," or, for your convenience, check out the info below:

Sicko

Program Details Description Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, that lightning rod of sociopolitical controversy, continues his provocative cinematic crusade with this incendiary, highly critical examination of the greed fueling America's private enterprise health care system. Year: 2007

Rating: PG13

Duration: 123 Mins



AIR TIMES: On TMC Xtra

08/05/09 at 7:30 AM On TMC Xtra

08/05/09 at 7:30 AM On TMC Xtra

08/05/09 at 2:15 AM On The Movie Channel

08/07/09 at 4:15 PM On The Movie Channel

08/07/09 at 5:00 AM On TMC Xtra

08/10/09 at 9:30 AM On TMC Xtra

08/05/09 at 2:15 AM On The Movie Channel

08/07/09 at 4:15 PM On The Movie Channel

08/07/09 at 5:00 AM On TMC Xtra

08/10/09 at 9:30 AM

If you get any grief from those who would continue with the smear of SICKO, you could refer to Michael Moore's Factcheck page, where all the false claims are debunked with reliable data. You could also check out thewiki on Sicko. And why not ask your legislators to watch it too?

Finally, I hope you'll take a moment to thank Showtime (it appears that Showtime owns TMC and is in turn a part of the CBS network) for airing SICKO. You can contact Showtime here, but unfortunately it looks like they require a registration and login to comment and I also found this contact info, although I'm not certain if it's good:

You can contact Showtime Entertainment by calling 1-800-646-0608 or sending an email to dave@eshowtime2000.com..

Probably better is to contact CBS directly,here or call at 212-975-4321. Please do this, because you've gotta know that once the opponents of health care reform get wind of the airing of SICKO, both CBS and Showtime are sure to be bombarded with anti-SICKO emails.

They have the money, but we have the passion. Medicare for All!

UPDATE: For those who don't have cable, there apparently is a site where you canview SICKO online. Hat tip to reflectionsv37 for finding the site. He/she says that the quality is uncertain, but even if it's not so hot, it's worth watching.



UPDATE 2: Another hat tip, this one to TrueBlueMajority who has found another link to SICKO for online viewing. It'shere. According to TrueBlueMajority,

...the first link (reflectionsv37's) is a .swf (shockwave flash format) file, and some computers find that easier to play.

while the second one

is an .avi file (audio visual interleave--a kind of RIFF file) and [some computers have] an easier time with them (you have to have Windows Media Player 9 or higher)

Of course, if you don't have one of the cable stations in question, you could always bribe a friend that does have the station with a bottle of wine or other enticement. ;)