It comes as no surprise to me that some ISU donors are threatening to pull out their money if the university pays political jester Michael Moore to speak at our school. This is a guy that many of our nation’s leaders — on both sides of the aisle — regard as a nuisance.

He quotes nobodies on the street and then packages their responses to sound like fact. He equates yelling into a microphone with hard-hitting reporting. And his portrayal of the United States military as an indiscriminate killing machine is appalling and treasonous.

I recommend to those of you who have run out and bought multiple copies of “Fahrenheit 9/11” to examine what the film has accomplished. The Europeans love it; it gives them another argument as to why they should never help us over in Iraq. Yes, it hurts Bush politically, because people assume that what’s being said is on film must be true. But it also undermines our whole effort in Iraq and in the war on terrorism in general.

I feel that the university should at least have a conservative speaker to debate Michael Moore so that he would not be able to rant and rave without his facts being checked.

You may feel that by pulling their money out, the donors are stifling free speech. But they are not required to let such an extreme view be presented on their dollar.

It shames me to learn that my student fee will be given to one of the most radical and hateful persons of our time.

Dan Turnbull

Senior

Marketing