There's truth -- then there's "Republican Truth", something that arguably is true (sort of) in a purely literal sense, but that bears no relation whatsoever to reality. And THEN there are the Bush-Cheney apologists who have been responding to Salon as of late, claiming (last week) that Iraq was behind 9/11 after all, and (this week) that Michael Moore's 'Fahrenheit 9/11' has been "thoroughly debunked". My understanding is that Mr. Moore has long since acknowledged his error regarding the timing of the first flights allowed to leave the U.S. after the attacks, but that his film, including the Afghanistan pipeline, is otherwise accurate.

Acccording to National Review Online, such a pipeline WAS seriously considered in the 1990's, but the energy company in question withdrew from a consortium pursuing the deal in 1998 for economic reasons. Which I would interpret as meaning their interest might be rekindled under more favorable circumstances (which I suppose could result from a more friendly government in Kabul); but in any event, the pipeline was hardly a fabrication. So it doesn't sound to me like 'Fahrenheit 9//11' has been "debunked", thoroughly or otherwise, unless purely as a matter of faith in the right wing echo chamber [see: WMD in Iraq, etc.].

With respect to Mr. Blumenthal, whose writing I admire and enjoy, I didn't make it past his first sentence before I had to respond that David Letterman was among the very first to notice, prior to the 2000 "election", that Junior is not just stupid but actually dangerous. Dangerous because he's weak, and therefore susceptible to being dominated by such macho posuers as Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, et al. No fighting in the war room!

Someday will we look back on these supremely dramatic moments, when Keith dared to speak out from inside the corporate media, as the tipping point that led to We the People stopping neo-fascism (let's call it by name) before it completely engulfed the United States, and before war completely engulfed the world? Will future generations write that Letterman begat Stewart, who begat Colbert, who begat Olbermann (who begat Lauer?), and that the revolution not only was televised, but was must-see TV? Stay tuned . . .

I wonder if the "dysphraxia" mentioned a few letters back could possibly explain why the Bush-Cheney regime started a war against Iraq instead of going after al-Qaeda. Maybe Junior's posse sincerely confuses Saddam Hussein with Osama whatshisname(the one who bin-forgotten). Is there such a thing as collective dysphraxia, A.J.? Could it explain something as senseless as invading Brazil in response to being bombed at Pearl Harbor?

Darrin Johnston is correct that three of the five republican justices, apparently for the first and only time in their respective legal careers, suddenly discovered the equal protection clause. He is wrong, however, about pretty much everything else. The obvious remedy would have been to direct Florida to establish uniform statewide standards under which all of the votes would be counted -- in other words, order Katherine Harris to do her job, which she had till then refused to do. Instead, the five republican justices (and only the five republican justices) ordered the counting stopped, thus declaring Bush-Cheney president. The rest, as they say -- the looting of the U.S. Treasury, the 9/11 attacks, the failed war in Iraq based on lies, one-party rule and the gutting of civil liberties in the U.S., the phony "war on terror" -- is history.

-- The republicans, with the help of good ol' Joe Lieberman, insisted that hundreds of untimely and therefore illegal absentee ballots be counted.

-- The republicans reportedly imported out-of-state operatives to stage the violent riot that caused the counting of votes to be stopped in one county.

-- Prior to election day, one or more republican operatives reportedly violated Florida law in the registering of voters or the preparation of absentee ballots.

-- Prior to election day, republican officials systematically, incorrectly, and illegally disenfranchised many likely Democratic voters as "convicted felons".

Greg Palast and "Vanity Fair" have reported extensively on these outrages, which I am discussing from memory (so excuse me if I have incorrectly recalled any details.) The gist, however, is clear: contrary to Johnston's assertions, the very LAST thing the so-called republicans wanted was for the laws to be followed. The U.S. Supreme Court meanwhile cashed in 200 years of legitimacy in exchange for a Bush-Cheney presidency, by way of a joke of a partisan decision. Try to imagine the five republican justices going to the same trouble to jump through the same unprecedented hoops of legal reasoning if the situation of the parties had been reversed, and if the result of their party-line vote would have been a Gore presidency. Try not to choke on the absurdity of such a scenario.

Anonymous (and others) have hit the nail on the head: right-wingers are so frustratingly ignorant of the world, for the simple reason that they've never seen any of it. Except for spring break south of the border, or else on shore leave courtesy of Uncle Sam -- neither of which is a good way to learn anything about other people, yet is the only experience of the outside world that Bush Jr. and his know-nothing apologists are likely to have.

Such ignorance enables the most conservative portion of the population to believe not only that their country, their religion, their politics, and their culture, are superior to all others, but that the rest of the planet will be better off embracing that which is superior, even if it must be forced to do so at the point of a gun. Such ignorance led to 9/11; and such ignorance led to the invasion of Iraq and the absurd and doomed attempt by the world's Christian superpower(s) to impose a legitimate government on the Muslims.

The Saudi monarchy is fighting ignorance and hate by financing a new program enabling thousands of its subjects to study in the U.S. This is surely a step in the right direction; and it's just a shame that so very many Americans choose to never venture beyond Tijuana.