Quick note

I know I said I was taking the day off from blogging, but I just wanted to say that I spent the Fourth a good way: We saw Fahrenheit 9/11.

It is, as most critics have said, a very well-made movie. I'd also note that it stands up well to scrutiny - certainly based on what I know I saw no errors.

It also is worth mentioning in that regard that the right-wing attacks on it fall into three categories: ad hominem assaults on Roger Moore, attacks that actually are against its point of view rather than anything it says, and criticisms of fact. The last category is by far the smallest and is usually based on nit-picking or interpretation. If after all their efforts, this is the best the wingnuts can do, the movie must have been very well vetted indeed.

It's also not as conspiratorial as you might have heard. What Moore does is suggest that Bush's extensive ties to the Saudis colored his judgment with regard to dealing with bin Laden prior to and immediately after 9/11. That hardly sounds like a big conspiracy theory.

(Admittedly, since I suggested pretty much the same thing in May, 2002, just seven months after the event, my view may be somewhat colored as well. This is what I said then:

I mean, just how big do the dots have to be before they get connected...? At what point do we shift from suspecting incompetence to suspecting willful ignorance? And just what role does the Bush administration's connection to the Saudis have to do with this? Now, I don't believe that even the people around Bush would knowingly allow September 11 to happen. But I do wonder how much a concern about offending the Saudis - which aggressive attention to al-Qaeda certainly could threaten to do - lead to a policy of handling things "carefully" which in turn lead to downplaying the potential, and in retrospect, obvious, threat.)

Bottom line: If you haven't seen it, do.