Look out! It's political!

California State University, San Marcos has decided to cancel an October 13 appearance by Michael Moore. The school's Director of Communications, Rick Moore, said that CSUSM could not use state money to finance a partisan speaker — especially not in an election year. "We were not able to find someone in time to balance Moore," Rick Moore said. "We weren't sure we could've done this legally. A private party could've come back and tried to sue."

Michael Moore was also scheduled to speak last October at CSUSM, but that appearance was cancelled on account of forest fires. "Moore had not politicized himself last year," Rich Moore said, "but we had to be careful because now we are in the middle of a competitive election."

Let me get this straight. Moore had not politicized himself before? (Oh, that's right. Before Farenheit 9/11, he only filmed feel-good romps.) Although not a new development, I'm saddened by how the term "politicized" has become a dirty word in this country. To the scaredies and the dupes, only those who would criticize the president (or his war) now register as "political."

I do hope that, having screened Supersize Me on the CSUSM campus, the school will allocate some state money to help McDonald's present its case. And the next time comedian Andy Dick is invited to perform, the school had damn well better feature a balancing comedian — one with a precisely opposite set of jokes.

Especially in this election year.