Roger Ebert: Political Hack

Roger Ebert must really be living in the ether these days. Now, I'm not saying that I expect movie reviews to be politically neutral (it would be nice, but really). But I do think that the start of Ebert's review of Al Gore's flick is out there (all emphasis is mine; I just bolded the funny parts):

I want to write this review so every reader will begin it and finish it. I am a liberal, but I do not intend this as a review reflecting any kind of politics. It reflects the truth as I understand it, and it represents, I believe, agreement among the world's experts.

Global warming is real.

It is caused by human activity.

Mankind and its governments must begin immediate action to halt and reverse it.

If we do nothing, in about 10 years the planet may reach a "tipping point" and begin a slide toward destruction of our civilization and most of the other species on this planet.

After that point is reached, it would be too late for any action.

These facts are stated by Al Gore in the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth." Forget he ever ran for office. Consider him a concerned man speaking out on the approaching crisis. "There is no controversy about these facts," he says in the film. "Out of 925 recent articles in peer-review scientific journals about global warming, there was no disagreement. Zero."

Well, I'm glad that there was a consensus on these known truths back in the 1970's when we all knew that the ice age was coming....

Then, we get to this little gem towards the end:

I believe that to be "impartial" and "balanced" on global warming means one must take a position like Gore's. There is no other view that can be defended.

Nothing like allowing for discourse and the open exchange of ideas, eh? Of course, the Journal's Robert Pollack takes such single-mindedness to task.

Ebert's missive/rant/declaration is humorous, but also sad. It is sad that the people of Hollywood are so narrow-minded that they take anything liberal politicians put in front of them at face value. It is sad that they are so committed to opposing the diversity of thought, both on film and in public discourse. It is why Hollywood is so disconnected with the rest of the country. Ebert just showed it in a rather bizarre way.