Chris Hitchens opines on the new Michael Moore film, Fahrenheit 9/11, in today's Slate.

money quote: "To describe this film as dishonest and demagogic would almost be to promote those terms to the level of respectability. To describe this film as a piece of crap would be to run the risk of a discourse that would never again rise above the excremental. To describe it as an exercise in facile crowd-pleasing would be too obvious. Fahrenheit 9/11 is a sinister exercise in moral frivolity, crudely disguised as an exercise in seriousness. It is also a spectacle of abject political cowardice masking itself as a demonstration of "dissenting" bravery."

This is not to say that I endorse all of Hitch's ideas, but I am a fan of his brand of loud-mouthed intellectualism. Moore, on the other hand, single-handedly does more to quiet real political debate than anyone else I can think of and moves us very close to the place where all you can have is discussions on the level of Michael Moore v. Rush Limbaugh. Pedantic and played for cheap laughs and cheap shots. That having been said, I haven't decided if I'll see this film yet. I'm pretty sure I won't pay money for it.