To unsubscribe please visit: http://www.chuckmuth.com/remove X-ListMember: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
********************************** A Debate We'd Pay Good Money to See Resolved: There are people of good conscience and sound mind who disagree on the impending Iraq war. Few come from Hollywood or the Left, of course. Certainly not bozos such as Sean Penn, Martin Sheen or Barbra Streisand. But on the right, there are legitimate, thoughtful disagreements on the need and wisdom of military action to run Saddam Hussein out of Baghdad on a rail. Such a debate has broken out between two of the more articulate, thoughtful and passionate editors of conservative/libertarian web sites on the planet. If you have an interest in really understanding this issue, here's the debate you should pay attention to. Tom Adkins is the editor of "The Common Conservative" (www.commonconservative.com). You can call Tom a lot of things, but no shrinking violet is he. Ditto J.J. Johnson, editor of "The Sierra Times" (www.sierratimes.com). I consider both to be brilliant Americans, with Tom being a little more conservative and J.J. being more to the libertarian side in philosophy. On Saturday, Tom penned a column titled, "Snappy Answers to Stupid Liberal Soundbytes" (http://commonconservative.com/adkins.html). As usual, it was acerbic, funny and thought-provoking. He refers to the anti-war left as "idiots," which, in fact, they are. They oppose the war because...well, they can't really explain it. They just are. Somebody might get a boo-boo or something. However, J.J. also opposes military action in Iraq. And he's not from the left, nor is he an idiot, nor is he a pacifist (he thinks Jimmy Carter should have "leveled Tehran on day ten of the Iran Hostage Crisis"). And in a rebuttal column today, Johnson lays out a thoughtful, constitutional case against Iraqi action, countering Adkins' argument point-by-point. (http://www.sierratimes.com/03/03/03/jjjohnson.htm). This is a public policy discussion that EVERY American should read. In fact, a televised debate on this issue between Tom and J.J. would be "must-see" TV for the politically-intelligent (sorry, that leaves Susan Sarandon out). Forget the liberals, forget the Hollywood left, forget the politicians on both sides, forget the mainstream press and forget the blow-dried anchors. Head-to-head, mano-y-mano between two true right-thinking Americans with a willingness to give it to you straight and in a manner the common Joe can understand. No rules. No punches pulled. Just wide-open political free speech, unencumbered by McCain/Feingold. It'd be worth the price of admission. In fact, I hereby volunteer to referee such a debate. I wouldn't miss this one for the world. How about in Phil Donohue's old slot on MSNBC? There hasn't been anything thoughtful there for, oh, about six months now. - Chuck Muth, Editor, News & Views
