COMPARE AND CONTRAST

My lack of cable television has kept me from watching the Showtime channel movie “DC 9/11: Time of Crisis,” which follows President Bush as he learns of and reacts to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. This is a pity. I have a strong interest in experiencing the perverse and possibly disgusting, and would even have seen “Gigli” had I been able to swing a date. I rented “Showgirls” knowing of its awfulness and even shared such an experience early on with Radio Free Michael Scott Moore, the critic, novelist and essayist, for the movie “Ishtar.”

(Come to think of it, I ignored a very strong warning that the film “Lost in Space” was agonizingly bad and wound up actually, uniquely regretting it. While I thought that nothing could be as bad as the warning indicated, the film really was awful. Really. God, it was just bad, bad, bad.)

Where was I? Right: I haven’t been able to see “DC 9/11,” which is running throughout the month on Showtime, but reviews and articles have painted it as a piece of pro-Bush propaganda. It was done with the help of the White House -- director Lionel Chetwynd even scored a sit-down with the president -- and, somehow, Bush comes out of it looking like a hero. Go figure.

I wasn’t with Bush on that day in 2001, either, so I obviously don’t know firsthand how he behaved. But somehow I lean toward suspecting that “DC 9/11” is about as true to life as, well, “Lost in Space.” (The movie, not the television series. I’m not going to smear an innocent, unpretentious television show.)

My suggestion for anyone about to strap themselves down and prop open their eyelids for “DC 9/11” and a bit of the old Ludwig Van is that they also read through the Bush timeline at cooperativeresearch.org. Compare and contrast. Painstakingly pieced together from public and primary sources, all faithfully linked to, the timeline follows Bush’s actions on 9/11, inconsistencies, contradictions and mysteries in place.

Cooperativeresearch.org is an incredibly valuable resource, and it’s looking for donations to help keep it afloat. Check it out and see if it’s worth supporting. I think it is, and I plan to send a check.