Moore worth less

eorge Mason University in Fairfax, Va., cancelled a scheduled appearance by controversial filmmaker Michael Moore. GMU released news of the cancellation to the public before contacting Moore. While the university could learn a thing or two from Miss Manners, we support GMU for canceling Moore's speech. But, it has nothing to do with his subject matter -- it's strictly a matter of economics.\nSee, it would cost GMU $35,000 to have Moore speak, and that is an awful lot of money to pay a speaker, especially when that money comes from taxpayers' pockets. Even though GMU forgot its manners, the university did the right thing by cancelling. In light of the looming election, spending public moolah on a highly partisan speaker just doesn't feel right.\n"We just felt it wasn't the most appropriate use of (public) funds, so we decided the best thing to do was cancel," said school spokesman Daniel Walsch in a report in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Walsch is right. For $35,000, a university could do an awful lot to promote voter registration and political activism, which was the purpose of Moore's speech. \nUniversity officials won't say if Moore can come if he waives his fee, and they haven't started looking for private donations to pay him. But if the school is as dedicated to free speech as it ought to be, it will allow him to speak. The students of Virginia have the right to hear Moore speak, just not on the public's dime.