There's nothing funnier than a partisan attempt to stymie free speech and promote censorship calling itself "Move America Forward."

Really, what's more amusing than silencing critics? What's more progressive than painting people of peace as apathetic to the needs of our armed forces, or encouraging others to promote a system of empire-building, murder and torture?

Move America Forward's founders would make Big Brother proud; its mission statement reads like it was penned by the Ministry of Truth. Where else can you find a "grass roots" movement headed by the influential GOP public relations firm Russo, Marsh & Rogers with a message that is spewed straight from the Oval Office? These are the same right-wing scumbags who chaired the Recall Gray Davis Committee and spearheaded the campaign to nix a miniseries about Ronald Regan, and they are as close to the living embodiment of irony as it gets.

The sole purpose of Move America Forward is the barring of Michael Moore's documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" from the masses. The web site contains a list of theaters committed to screening the film and encourages devotees to call and harass theater owners into canceling their commitment. Some have received death threats as a result.

It's hardly surprising that the big guns are being rolled out this week. All reports seem to suggest that the film's incendiary topics — the Bush family's Middle East ties and Dubya's corporate favoritism — are just the things those in control don't want you to see.

And yet it's exactly the kind of thing that needs to be seen. It's subject matter that, if we live in a free society, shouldn't be hounded from the public because it might get some people angry. For Move America Forward to feverishly pursue a doctrine of censorship while trumpeting the "Western ideals that America stands for" on their site, they have to be indulging in some of the most serious doublethink imaginable.

"Fahrenheit 9/11" will likely make a lot of money. The controversy between Disney and Miramax surrounding its distribution in the United States alone has increased its public awareness is high. There's a genuine interest out there for this kind of information. And even though it's being filtered through the lens of a blowhard demagogue like Michael Moore, at least some of the truth is revealed, even if it's not enough.

You know what, though? That this movie even has to exist is shameful.

Why? Because the American press is an embarrassing mess. Thanks to complete media ownership by a select few, all of this shocking and inflammatory information has been suppressed from the average citizen. Nothing Michael Moore presents on screen will be news to anyone who's sought out how things really are around the world, because the foreign press is a little more open to skewering the United States. Granted, Americans don't want to hear the atrocities its government commits on a daily basis, but the past two years have been a whitewash of what's really happened.

Look around — the 9/11 commission is a charade that will satisfy no one, Ashcroft is pointedly refusing to let members of Congress see his files, torture and abuse continues to rise, people are dying and even more are being exploited. The Bush administration is hardly what I'd call a glowing period in American history. But the people still deserve to know what's going on. Let them figure out if they support our actions both domestically and abroad. Never in our society have so many mediums been available for people to learn. Never in our society has so much knowledge been hidden by those who are sworn to keep us informed.

That's why it's so irritating that even two hours of documentary footage is such a struggle to broadcast. Why should it be such a fight to learn what the government is really up to? Why is it that every time I ask for a little accountability from my elected leaders I instead get a slick smear campaign calling me an ungrateful supporter of terrorism?

I actually care about my country and how it's perceived around the world, something I can't say about most of the people on Capitol Hill. I care about our soldiersenough to want them to return home. If those thoughts don't move America forward, I don't know what should.

Groups like Move America Forward don't want you to refocus your commitment to the troops, they want you to ignore the realities going on outside your bubble. The last thing they want you think about is the war on terror, because you don't tow the party line when youthink about how our actions only instigate more terrorism and violence throughout the world. That kind of crimethink is totally undesirable.

You know who else set out to protect the people from the vagaries of war by censoring a film? Hitler — he banned "Gone With the Wind" in Nazi Germany. He knew seeing the physical and emotional damage even in a bygone battle like the Civil War might've stopped some Germans from giving their all in the European theater. Even though Hitler privately enjoyed the film, keeping his people docile was more important thantheir freedom.

"Fahrenheit 9/11" is hardly the most important movie you'll ever see. It is subjective and completely biased, and for those completely out of the loop it might be fun to peek behind the curtain for 120 minutes and pretend. But larger issues hang over those presented in the film, and it is that obfuscation that Move America Forward is pushing. Want to see how you're being played by your government? Buy 1984 — it's never been more timely.

Canon Fodder is a weekly analysis of politics and society.