The thesis of every Michael Moore film is the same: Americans are in a state of horrific, suicidal self-delusion. I happen to agree with him 100%, plus I find his films entertaining, so nit-pick away, Stephanie Zacharek, but you're just making yourself look foolish.

If a person disagrees with Moore's recurring thesis, or doesn't find his films entertaining, or doesn't like Moore himself, then those are the other sides, the ONLY other sides of an argument with a Michael Moore film. Within the actual ISSUES that Moore addresses in his films, gray areas are not examined, and multiple sides of the issue are not given equal coverage, because there are no REAL gray areas or REAL other sides of the issues. There are FAKE gray areas, and erroneous arguments for the FAKE other sides of the issues, but these are just simplistic diversions parroted by film critics and media talking heads.

Many tax-paying, healthcare-coverage-premium-paying Americans are dying needlessly because they are not receiving adequate healthcare. True or False? Black or White? Dead or Alive?

In several countries other than the U.S., citizen-taxpayers are not dying needlessly, at least not for lack of adequate healthcare. True or False? Well, True, but . . . . But what?

They spend more time working out to Richard Simmons tapes than Americans do? They want to live long, useful, productive lives, and Americans don't? Whoa! Watch out! You're getting dangerously close to Moore's thesis, and we sure wouldn't want to go there. No sirreee!!! That would require some measure of honest self-examination, and that's just not the American Way.

Delusional people love the Non-Solution. As when Bush, during one the 2006 Presidential debates, laid out his solution to the healthcare crisis as follows (I'm paraphrasing): "Once we get all the medical records computerized, that'll shake $80 billion out of the system!" That was his complete, entire solution to the crisis: a total Non-Solution that doesn't even make sense. And nobody questioned it. Nobody.

Michael Moore obviously enjoys filmmaking, and he's very good at it, and a lot of people enjoy his films, and that drives a lot of other people crazy, but the bottom line is that Moore's thesis was proven a long time ago. And he didn't even have to prove it. America did it for him. As Moore himself has said (totally without sarcasm), "This is a great country."

Well, he would know.

Bush has no gut, and he's not stubborn or strong-willed. He's just too lazy to change his mind.

Hey! This "corporate branding" thing is a cinch! How about this one: "Mitt Romney for President. Nobody can outsource THIS outsourcer!"

This is just off the top of my head, so it may need a little tweaking, but here goes: "Why NOT Mitt Romney? You trusted the drunkard son of a failed President twice, but you don't trust Mitt because he's a Mormon? Aw, come on, now! That's not fair!"

Okay, one more for the road: "You want Big Love? Vote Mitt Romney for President!"

Note to Romney campaign: Yes, I'm available.

P.S. I charge by the word.

I like "wonder woman's" response, and not just because I'm also a student of Zen.

Even as a very young child, I can remember becoming so uncomfortable around obnoxious people that I would have to cover my ears or, if possible, just leave the room. I know now (that I'm 50), that the problem was my own insecurity and low self-esteem. Why else would I have such a personal, visceral reaction to some irritating little thing that somebody else said or did--something that didn't have anything at all to do with me?

Several years ago, I was watching Chris Rock doing standup on tv. One of his bits went something like this: "Whenever I hear a white guy whining, saying, 'I just don't GET rap music,' I tell him, 'That's because it's not FOR YOU!'." Wow! Talk about a zen koan! I can honestly say that what Chris Rock said changed my life--for the better. Now, when I encounter, say, a "Parrothead," or a Barber Shop Quartet enthusiast, I just nod and say, "I'm not really familiar with [whatever it is], but it sounds like you're a big fan." That's the nicest way I've found of saying, "That's not my thing. I've listened to it, and I just don't get it. At all. But if you like it, then that's great. Go for it."

In closing, and just to show that I don't consider myself to be Enlightened, or even consistent, let me just advise everyone to avoid H.R. departments at all costs. In my half century of experience, I've never know of an H.R. department that couldn't, as my grandpappy used to say, "F_ck up a soup sandwich."

If Bush starts pardoning "certain people" in the next couple of weeks, that will be All She Wrote.

Not OUR choices, of course, but Obama's curious choice of a black African father and a white American mother.

I mean, you have to question the judgment of a person who would choose his parents so carelessly. He should have foreseen at least some of the problems caused by his parentage: having to constantly defend his "blackness" to black people and his "whiteness" to white people; having to constantly defend his early career choice of community activist when everybody knows that the smart move is to do a "Clarence Thomas" and play the Affirmative Action card--especially when you know that if you REALLY play your cards right, you can slam the Affirmative Action door shut on all of the "black" people trying to come in after you.

And then there's the (hopefully) final outrage: marrying a black woman???!!! How cravenly political was that?