Will Ferrell vs. insurance CEOs
Do wealthy Hollywood celebrities have the right to criticize wealthy health-insurance executives?
Still image from Will Ferrell's and Moveon.org's new advertisement
(funnyordie.com/moveon.org)
“Feeling sorry for insurance company executives?” said Katherine Q. Seelye in The New York Times. If so, you can “weep along” with a new online ad from Will Ferrell, some fellow actors, and MoveOn.org that “pretends to stand up for corporate titans and their business practices” (watch “Protect Insurance Companies PSA”). MoveOn says the ad’s humor should remind us—or at least younger adults—what’s at stake in the health-care debate.
Humor? said Allahpundit in Hot Air. Like all “spot-the-celebrity political spots,” the Ferrell-MoveOn video is “boring and three times longer than it needs to be.” And how is it that actors who “make millions churning out one unwatchable piece of bilge after another” feel no shame in “accusing insurance executives of being overpaid?”
Sure, cue the “predictable” sniping at Will Ferrell and Co. from Hot Air and others in “Right Blogtopia,” said Tyrone Steels II in The Moderate Voice. I personally don’t care if they are rich “latte liberal elites,” or whatever, but I do think they could put their “sizable cash reserves” where their mouths are—by starting a better insurance company, or a hospital or clinic.
Oh, lighten up, said Jane Wells in CNBC. For a group “not known for its sense of humor,” this effort from MoveOn is “funny. Very funny.” Of course, whether you find it humorous probably depends on “how you feel about the president’s health-care plan.” If you’re against it, Will Ferrell—who “ends up, as always, with the best lines”—and friends look silly. But if you support it, the ad is a “potent weapon” for persuading any friends still “on the fence.”
Show: Oldest | Newest
13 Comments
Posted by Chris, Wednesday, September 23, 2009, 1:56 pm To respond to Allahpundit in Hot Air... actors can accuse insurance executives of being overpaid because the public can CHOOSE to watch/not watch the actor's films, which provide entertainment and an uplifting spirit for most in hard times, while it is not an OPTION to have insurance for most. I could easily stay away from a Will Ferrell film if I couldn't afford to watch it for a much smaller amount, no less, even free on the internet, while I can't opt out of health insurance. People are being taken advantage of, therefore it's not the same
Posted by ANDRE FLEMING, Wednesday, September 23, 2009, 3:42 pm HOW CAN PEOPLE WHO MAKE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS LAUGH AT THIS HEALTH CARE PLAN . THIS PLAN IS GOING TO HELP 46 MILLION OF UNCOVERED PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE HEALTHCARE. iTS A SHAME THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS MOCKERY CAUSE THEY ARE POOR . WHERE ARE THESE PEOPLE HUMILITY. SHAKING MY HEAD .
Posted by Amiee, Wednesday, September 23, 2009, 5:33 pm Andre, 46 million Americans are NEVER DENIED health care. No one in America is denied health care, ever. The crime? FORCING people who pay for their own health insurance to go under a governmentrun system. click on usdebtclock.org and watch the live accounting of our debt. Look at the lower left corner and see Medicare debt. Taxpayers cannot afford one more HUGE bill. Congress is spending money WE cannot afford to pay. Why would any sane person want our taxes to pay for MY insurance, which i already, willingly, pay? that makes NO sense to me.
Posted by Edde Scudder, Wednesday, September 23, 2009, 5:49 pm Amiee, thanks for being a much needed voice in the Because I Say It It Is So Tribe. To rebut, I have personally been DENIED health care on several occasions. There is no law anywhere that makes it illegal to be denied coverage or treatment in any hospital. And the reason it is called a public option is due largely to the second word. It is an OPTION. If you don't want to take part, keep your insurance and don't OPT to use the public option. Regarding your last question: If I have no children, why am I still forced to pay school taxes?
Posted by Amiee, Wednesday, September 23, 2009, 6:06 pm Yes, you can be denied insurance, but you cannot be denied CARE. insurance companies are in business to make money, not loss money. that makes no sense. on the other hand, doctors and hospitals cannot deny care. find a lawyer. The public option is a misnomer. everyone MUST be under the same plan. i agree with you, Edde, why are we paying for school taxes when we have no children? because we all benefit from educated kids. that's the story they're selling to us.
Posted by Amiee, Wednesday, September 23, 2009, 6:06 pm sorry. LOSE money. not loss money.
Posted by Aimee is retarded, Wednesday, September 23, 2009, 6:54 pm Aimee you are retarded. My grandfather, a man who worked his entire life, paid his taxes was DENIED CARE. He was suffering from complications from diabetes and had problems with his feet. After a surgery to fix the problem he went to the hospital and told them he was in excruciating pain an dying. They told him, Sorry, but unless you are indeed dying, we can't help you. His insurance wouldn't cover the test needed to check his blood. He died three days later from an infection. Fck you Aimee. I hope you and your child die bc you were denied
Posted by Not Republican, Friday, September 25, 2009, 9:46 am Everybody has to die sometime.
Post a Comment