The controversy surrounding Michael Moore’s latest film Fahrenheit 9/11 has brought to the forefront an old debate. Extremists. What are they? What is their place in American politics? Moore is often considered a liberal version of such conservative extremists as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, or Ann Coulter. Though this simplistic model of political views may make it easier for the average joe to understand, it is nonetheless a faulty assumption.

“President” George Bush surprised the world today by turning in his homework a full two days early, handing over sovereignty of Iraq earlier this morning. Now the administration has reached its goal from the beginning. A free and democratic Iraq? No, of course not. I meant having the ability to continue doing whatever they want, allowing the country to sink ever further into a whirlpool of chaos and destruction while passing off the blame on the Iraqi government. Yeah. That’s the ticket.

I went to see Michael Moore’s latest movie Fahrenheit 9/11 on Friday. And it was everything I hoped it could be. Every American should see this movie. For anti-Bush people it is a strong verification of their beliefs. For swing voters it is a powerful argument for why we cannot allow Bush to serve a second term. And for Bush supporters it is a glaring look at the consequences of their actions.

A much more thorough, point-by-point refutation of Hitchens’ article is available here.

Christopher Hitchens is often referred to erroneously as a “liberal,” so when his review of Michael Moore’s documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11, titled “UnFairenheit 9/11: The Lies of Michael Moore” came out the week before the film opened, it was joyously recieved — as so much of Hitchens’ work is — by the conservative right as evidence that even liberals hated Michael Moore.

Ah, memories. It seems like just yesterday that the conservatives had unleashed their attack dogs in a concerted effort to bring down President Bill Clinton. Actually, it was yesterday. That’s because the Citizens United group is running a commercial entitled “My Fault” criticizing Clinton’s handling of terrorism. All of this is a reaction to Clinton’s new book My Life. And it has brought out all of the conservatives trying to pin the blame for 9/11, terrorism, and any other bad thing they can think of on Clinton. So for those of you who miss the petty whining of Republicans, enjoy this moment.

Well, the presidential campaign ad wars are in full swing now. And “President” Bush has wasted no time in getting dirty and smearing Senator Kerry the way he did with Senator McCain in the 2000 Republican primaries. As of May 31 a whopping 75% of Bush’s ads were negative compared to only 27% by the Kerry campaign. Most of these ads are aimed at painting Kerry as a person who “flip-flops” on the issues. As Bush said in a stinging criticism of his Democratic rival in March, “In fact, Senator Kerry’s been in Washington long enough to take both sides on just about every issue.” And the scary thing is it seems to be working.

CIA Director George Tenet surprised the country today by announcing that he is resigning his position as head of the Agency. Tenet has taken quite a bit of heat lately due to intelligence lapses concerning the September 11 terrorist attacks and weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Now, amidst rising criticism of the Bush administration and calls for resignations of many high ranking officials, Tenet is stepping down.

Time Magazine reported this week that George W. Bush keeps the pistol Saddam Hussein was captured with as a souvenir. Bush keeps the empty gun in a study next to the Oval Office. According to the article, “‘He really liked showing it off,’ says a recent visitor to the White House who has seen the gun. ‘He was really proud of it.’”

I have posted before about the possibility of a return to the draft. Talk about the draft has unleashed a flurry of rumors and speculation over the past several months. Many in both the media and the government say a draft is unlikely. Yet, as the Associated Press reported today, the idea just doesn’t seem to be going away. Does that mean that there is something to all the talk? Or is all this simply the result of an overzealous internet rumor mill? Just how likely is a draft anyway?