“Something’s Gotta Give.” One of those old fashioned yet unique stories that I, and maybe two or three other people on earth love. The other day, in the home movie theatre (at an undisclosed location) I met a man who told me only to refer to him on here as “Father Time”. This is his blog if you’d like to visit, http://fathertimespeaks.blogspot.com/.  This guy was awesome. He said that in the one hour we sat and spoke alone in the empty theatre, his life was changed. I don’t know about that, but it was one of those rare moments that makes a day special. He gave me a gift, I picked it, a necklace and a bracelet. I told him I like things that are symbolic and have spiritual meaning – so what I chose is above. It was very kind of him to give me what he called a late birthday present from July 12th, and the other I won in guessing the city he was born. I love games, I love movies, and I love meeting people with stories and unique perspectives on our world. He’s promised me more movies, and in a theatre like that, I can’t say I’d vote no. To “Father Time”, you know who you are, thanks. And this is for you:

Now I’m convinced that
what I think about you is right.

You’re a tower of strength.

Try not to rate my answer.

I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry, but…
You know what you’re like?

You’re like one of those great portraits
you see over a fireplace.

Words have been invented
to describe women like you.

Such as?

Flinty.

And…

…impervious.

So you think I’m inhuman?
No. I think you’re formidable.

Cold, distant, like I’m frozen
in some painting?

Not at all.

But I do think you use your strength
to separate yourself from everyone.

But it’s thrilling when
your defenses are down…

…and you’re not isolated.

That, I believe, is your winning combo.
Killer combo, actually.

You know, I can’t decide if, God,
do you hate me?

Or if you’re the only person
who ever really got me.

I don’t hate you.

You don’t?
No.

Above is an archived interview of a debate between my friend and mentor Captain Paul Watson, and an anchor for the Mike Duffy Show on Canadian TV.  The interview took place in 2006, and concerns the annual Canadian baby harp seal slaughter.  A must watch.

The grand purpose of The HSUS, as established by our founders, was to see that the United States had a powerful organization that could take on cruelty on a national scale and strike at the practice at its roots. As communications, transportation and the economy have gone global, it’s required that The HSUS increase its scale to meet modern day challenges. During the last 20 years we’ve made aggressive efforts to expand our scope to cover Canada, Europe, and other parts of the world. Today we saw a dramatic demonstration of our global capabilities as we struck perhaps the biggest blow against Canada’s barbaric seal hunt—the world’s largest slaughter of marine mammals.

When I took the post of president and CEO, I asked Rebecca Aldworth, our Canadian wildlife director, and our entire organization to mobilize to fight this hunt and to do so on multiple fronts—with a seafood boycott here in the United States, with an awareness campaign and documenting of the hunt in Canada, and with efforts around the world to close markets for seal skins.

This morning, the European Parliament took its final step to ban the import of seal pelts in the 27 nations of this geopolitical entity. I’ve asked Rebecca to give you some of her heartfelt thoughts about this achievement, which our members and our key backers made possible by supporting this campaign over the last five years and giving us the tools we required to trump the government of Canada.

Today, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strong ban on trade in seal products, closing one of the largest markets for the global sealing industry. Because the European Union took this compassionate action, millions of seals will be spared a horrible fate.

© The HSUS/Glover
Rebecca Aldworth

As I watched the vote, images of so many suffering and dying seals in Canada flashed through my mind … the baby seals we could not save from this greedy industry, the pups we had to watch die an unbearable death. There is nothing we can do to change what happened, but from this point forward, we know so many baby seals will live in peace.

This is a phenomenal moment for our movement. Thousands of animal protection groups and hundreds of millions of people all over the world have been united for decades in the struggle to stop Canada’s cruel commercial seal slaughter. Today, the EU brought us a major step closer to that goal.

The Canadian government estimates the loss of the EU market will cost the Canadian sealing industry $6.6 million annually. Given last year the seal hunt brought in less than $7 million, the implications are enormous.

Now, with the sealing industry weakened, we have to fight harder than ever to achieve our ultimate goal: Canadian legislation that will end the commercial seal slaughter for good. Never has the ProtectSeals seafood boycott and our political work in Canada been more important. Never have we been closer to achieving a final end to the commercial seal slaughter.

But for today, we should all celebrate. United, we can achieve anything. The seals could not ask for better allies, and The HSUS could not ask for stronger supporters. On behalf of the countless seals that will be spared because of your efforts to achieve this ban, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Dear Jamie,

There’s been a huge victory for seals today! Thanks to the tireless efforts of members and supporters, PETA has scored a major victory for baby seals who have their heads bashed in or are shot for their skins in Canada’s annual massacre on ice.

Following PETA Europe’s campaign, in which more than 100,000 compassionate members and supporters urged their Members of European Parliament (MEP) to vote for a ban in the E.U. on seal fur products from Canada, the MEPs have voted in favor of seals, recognizing that these “hunts” can never be humane. The ban sends a resounding message to the Canadian government that this bloody massacre must stop once and for all and that the world will not stand by as baby seals are bludgeoned to death in front of their wailing mothers for a product that no one needs.

The world is demanding an end to the slaughter. But the massacre is not over, and seals still need your help.

All eyes are on Canada as it prepares to host the 2010 Winter Olympics. Now is the time to demand that the Canadian government hear the worldwide call to stop this bloody massacre of seals.

Please seize this opportunity to urge Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee to use their clout to help stop the slaughter.

For all you’ve already done—and will do—to help with this historic campaign, thank you.

Sincerely,

Ingrid E. Newkirk
President

Commentary By Captain Paul Watson

The first season of Whale Wars was a 7 hour series that became the highest rated Animal Planet show ever. It was dramatic, controversial and cutting edge, and it was an enormous success. It aired in the ..United States and Canada in November and December 2008 and is currently airing in Latin America in Spanish. It will be airing very soon on Discovery in  Great Britain, Australia, and France and will be reaching audiences in numerous other countries over the next year. Hopefully it will even air on Discovery Channel in Japan.

The filming of Whale Wars Two is now completed. Three months on the most remote and hostile seas in the world provided  a thousand hours of video as the raw material for the 2009 airing of the Sea Shepherd voyages to defend the whales from the illegal whaling activities of the Japanese whaling fleet.

Whale Wars Two will be far more intense, dramatic and entertaining than even Whale Wars One because the 2008/2009 campaign was more intense than last year. The Japanese whalers have become more frustrated, angry and aggressive and the conflict has escalated considerably.

Whale Wars Two will be at least 10 hours and possibly longer. Many of the same crew will be back minus last year’s defeatists, whiners and complainers and there are quite a few new faces onboard for this second season.

The Japanese whalers hate the show, understandably so and have tried to pressure Animal Planet to cancel it. They even forced the Australian Federal Police to confiscate the video tapes when the ship returned to Tasmania. Fortunately the tapes had been copied and the police returned the originals three weeks later. This move backfired on the Japanese adding the element of a Federal police raid to the show and heightening the drama for the new season.

And Whale Wars has certainly raised the profile of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. In a recent trip across the ..United States, I found myself being recognized in Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Washington D.C.and Seattle.U.S. Customs officials stamping my passport back into the country recognized me and even in ..Europe.. numerous people approached me who had seen the show. Finally our campaigns had reached the audience of middle America and this is scaring the hell out of the Japanese whalers and the politicians that support them.

It took Deadliest Catch, the top rated show on Discovery a full three years to reach the level of popularity that Whale Wars has captured in the first season and Whale Wars Two will elevate the success of this program even more.

When I first spoke to Animal Planet about the show, I pointed out that the Deadliest Catch was Discovery’s most watched show and all it had was a bunch of men sailing into remote freezing waters in hostile conditions to catch crabs for money.

What Sea Shepherd could offer was a crew of volunteer men and women on a larger ship sailing into far more remote and much more hostile and colder waters to defend the great whales for reasons of compassion. In Deadliest Catch, the crabs don’t fight back. In Whale Wars the whalers retaliate with concussion grenades and bullets. With Deadliest Catch, you get crabs and more crabs. With Whale Wars you get whales and leopard seals, albatross, penguins and Orcas. You also get magnificent icebergs and deadly ice floes and growlers.

And you get passion, the kind of passion that can only be found in dedicated volunteers like Giles and Pottsy boarding a Japanese harpoon vessel at full speed or crewmembers standing firm in the face of concussion grenades and bullets.

I learned long ago that the most powerful weapon on the planet is the camera and it is these cameras that will win the war to save the whales.

During the last few years, three major documentaries have been produced about Sea Shepherd campaigns. The first was ..Rob Stewart’s Sharkwater and in the last year Ron Colby released A Pirate for the Sea and Dan Stone released At the Edge of the World.

A Pirate for the Sea is a biography of myself that ..Ron Colby spent 8 years making. Ron participated in the 2005/2006 Antarctic campaign. At the Edge of the World directed by Tim Gorski covers the 2006/2007 Antarctic campaign.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has signed for a third season of Whale Wars and when we return to those treacherous Southern Ocean waters in December, Animal Planet will be onboard with my crew and I again.

To stop the criminal whaling operations in ..Antarctica.. we need more than imaginative and courageous confrontations. We can’t stop these vicious killers with just rotten butter and  harassment tactics. We need the power that only a hit television series can provide and we have that hit series.

With Whale Wars we have the key to silencing the harpoons in the Southern Oceans once and for all because we now have the ability to bring the world into this horrific slaughterhouse at the bottom of the world to see for themselves the agonizing death of the whales and the viciousness that the Japanese whale killers exercise in defence of their bloody illegal business.

This kind of raw sordid horror cannot survive such extensive exposure and we will beat the whalers down with episode after episode and our cameras will not stop rolling until the whalers retreat from the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary forever.

Official Press Release From Animal Planet

Captain Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Battle Whalers, the Elements and One Another in Dramatic Sophomore Season with New and Returning Crew Members

(New York, NY, April 8, 2009) – Last month, when the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society vessel The Steve Irwin docked in Hobart, Tasmania, it was met by two dozen members of the Australian Federal Police.  They were there to confiscate hundreds of hours of videotape, launching an investigation into what was one of the most intense and dramatic campaigns ever conducted by the Sea Shepherds in their 30-year history. It was a life-changing experience for those on the boats and will be an extraordinary television series for audiences when WHALE WARS returns for a new season, premiering on June 5, 2009, at 9PM (ET/PT)

Those seized tapes and hundreds of hours of other footage comprise the second season of Animal Planet’s WHALE WARS, the best-performing series in the network’s history among adults 25-54 (529,000 viewers) and men 25-54 (309,000 viewers). And Season two looks to be even stronger than its previous campaign as Animal Planet follows the 10-week voyage that proves to be more dangerous, more drama filled and more controversial than last season.

This year, there were collisions at sea; tense times as The Steve Irwin, with its non-ice worthy hull, was trapped in ice fields; harrowing nautical maneuvers; and use of more aggressive defenses against the Sea Shepherds, including the use of high-powered water cannons and use of Long Range Acoustical Devices (LRADs), sonic devices that cause intense pain and could cause permanent hearing damage.  The Japanese whaling fleet suffered a deadly loss as one of its workers slipped and fell overboard (not during an engagement with the Sea Shepherds) and whose body was never recovered.

“WHALE WARS has proven to be truly compelling television and has engaged our audience with stellar storytelling,” notes Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet Media.  “This series has created a national conversation about conservation, while showcasing a group of deeply passionate people risking their lives for a cause. Our sophomore season shows the intense danger in battling the elements in a harsh environment as well as how perilous it is for these groups to engage each other at sea.  Not only are the lives of whales important, but human life is at stake.”

“I have always said that we would do everything we can short of hurting people to end illegal whaling in the Antarctic,” says Watson. “We have done everything we could with the resources available to us this year.  We shut down their illegal operations for over a month in total.  We cost them money, and we have saved the lives of a good many whales.”

This season on WHALE WARS, in addition to returning crew members ..Peter Brown.. (First Officer), Peter Hammarstedt (Second Officer), ..Chris Aultman.. (Helicopter Pilot/Aviation Director), Laurens de Groot (Deckhand), Ben Potts (Helicopter Crew) and ..Shannon.. Mann
(Quartermaster), the Steve Irwin is joined by Jane Taylor (Quartermaster), Luke Van Horn (Communications Officer), Andy Perry (Leading Deckhand), Molly Kendall (Deckhand) and Laura Dakin (Chief Cook). These featured crew members help comprise the 40 international crew who spent the winter putting their lives on the line for whales.

To support the new season of WHALE WARS and engage an active fan base, AnimalPlanet.com will relaunch the series site and add new features including maps, a virtual tour, view and vote, tactics, history of whaling, top 10 moments, meet-the-crew logs and producer behind-the-scenes commentary.

WHALES WARS is a production of Lizard Trading Company and RIVR Media for Animal Planet. Liz Bronstein is the executive producer, and Jason Carey is the executive producer at Animal Planet. Charlie Foley is the development executive for Animal Planet. WHALE WARS as a 2009 recipient of the 2009 Television Academy Honors, bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for “television with a conscience.”Animal Planet Media (..AP..M), a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications, is the world’s only entertainment brand that immerses viewers in the full range of life in the animal kingdom with rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized online, television and mobile community for immersive, engaging, high-quality entertainment, information and enrichment.  APM consists of the Animal Planet television network, available in more than 95 million homes in the US; online assets www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for all things animal; the 24/7 broadband channel, Animal Planet Beyond; Petfinder.com, the #1 pet-related Web property globally that facilitates pet adoption; and other media platforms including a robust Video-on-Demand (VOD) service; mobile content; and merchandising extensions.

KYODO SENPAKU KAISHA, LIMITED INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUST ACT AGAINST SEA SHEPHERD MARITIME VIOLENCE 10 February 2009

ICR: The owner of the Japanese research vessels in the Antarctic said today that the international community must start applying global maritime laws, which protect ships and their crews from the type of violence being perpetrated on the high-seas by the renegade Dutch vessel, Steve Irwin.

Captain Paul Watson: I believe the international community must start applying international global conservation laws against illegal Japanese whaling activities. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is also very concerned for the type of violence being perpetuated on the high-sea by the renegade Japanese whaling fleet.

ICR: “A group of extremists is deliberately ramming vessels and trying to disable their propellers. The United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) establishes clear rules to prevent the high seas from being a lawless zone. Living up to these UNCLOS obligations represents a test for the governments of the Netherlands and Australia, which have so far hesitated to apply agreed international maritime rules to prevent these criminal acts,” The President of Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha, Limited, Mr Kazuo Yamamura, said today.

Captain Paul Watson: A group of extremist whalers were deliberately trying to ram the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin and trying to disable the ship’s propeller. In addition they used a long range acoustical weapon on the ship and the ship’s helicopter while it was in the air. The United Nations World Charter for Nature establishes the foundation for Sea Shepherd to intervene against illegal Japanese whaling activities.

Living up to the enforcement of international conservation law represents a test for the member nations of the International Whaling Commission which have so far hesitated to apply agreed international regulations to prevent criminal whaling of endangered whales in an established whale sanctuary in violation of a global moratorium on whaling.

ICR: “Over the last week, we have witnessed Sea Shepherd members firing projectiles at the Japanese vessels, throwing acid-filled glass bottles onto our decks and deploying specially-designed fouling lines to damage our propellers, among other illegal acts. Then they escalated the attacks by ramming two of our ships – the Yushin Maru No.2 and Yushin Maru No.3. The vessels have been considerably damaged.

Captain Paul Watson: Over the last week we have witnessed and documented Japanese whalers throwing projectiles at Sea Shepherd crewmembers, hitting crewmembers with high powered water hoses, using an acoustic weapon device against Sea Shepherd crewmembers and deploying fouling lines to damage our propeller, among other illegal acts. They attempted to ram the Steve Irwin. The Steve Irwin did not ram any of the harpoon vessels. The Steve Irwin collided with two whaling ships when they illegally passed the Steve Irwin and created the conditions for the collisions. The ships were not considerably damaged. Hundreds of whales have however suffered and died an agonizing death from harpoons fired illegally by the Japanese ships.

ICR: “Failure to apply international agreements provides support to this animal rights group’s use of violence and undermines the rule of law. By allowing this Dutch vessel safe haven in port, the Australian Government is complicit in sanctioning criminal acts on the high seas. These maritime laws are not options. If they are not applied, they are of little value.”

“The escalating terror attacks will necessitate consideration of new security strategies to protect our ships and crews,” Mr Yamamura said.
Captain Paul Watson: The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is not an animal rights group, we are a marine conservation organization. Japanese activities undermine the rule of law and pose serious concerns for the health of oceanic eco-systems and the conservation of endangered species. If international conservation laws are not applied, they are of little value.

The escalation of violence by Japanese whalers will necessitate consideration of new tactics to protect our ships and crews from the criminals involved with poaching whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

ICR: “This is no longer an issue of whaling, but has become more about the international community permitting this Dutch ship to commit criminal acts at sea and thereby putting our crews’ lives at risk.” Mr Yamamura urged the governments of both Australia and New Zealand to no longer allow the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society safe haven in either country.

Captain Paul Watson: The Japanese may not want it to be an issue of whaling but illegal whaling is the issue. We would not be interfering against their activities if not for the fact that Japanese whaling activities are illegal under IWC regulations and the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the Antarctic Treaty and a Federal Australian Court Order prohibiting whaling by Japan in the Australian Antarctic Territory. Sea Shepherd is pleased that the Japanese whaling ships are not allowed to utilize Australian and New Zealand ports because of the recognition and condemnation by these wo nations of Japan’s unlawful whaling operations.

The Sea Shepherd is currently active on Operation Migaloo II.

Read Paul’s complete blog here.

Helping those who have served our country honorably to live with dignity and independence whether they are visually impaired or have other special needs, by using guide dogs, service dogs, and innovative technologies

The VetDogs project is a new program from the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Inc. Since its beginning in 1946, the Foundation has always served the needs of veterans, but it has done so as part of its overall mission to improve the quality of life for people who are blind or visually impaired.

In recent years, the Foundation has come to recognize that as veterans age, and as wounded soldiers return home from the global war on terrorism, there would be a greater need for guide dogs and specialized service dogs to help them maintain mobility and independence.

Thus VetDogs was born. We realized that it was important to consolidate our outreach to disabled veterans to address these increased needs. By building cooperative relationships with the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and by forging strategic partnerships with other guide and service dog schools to widen the options and availability of services to the veteran, we will ensure that disabled veterans receive all the benefits they need to live in dignity and independence.

We will train and supply guide dogs for the visually impaired veteran and service dogs for those who have disabilities other than blindness. In addition, training on Trekker, an orientation aid that uses GPS technology and digital maps to help blind and visually impaired people navigate unfamiliar territory, is also being offered.

The Guide Dog Foundation plans to be the standard by which the military and the VA measure assistance dog providers, and VetDogs is our way of recognizing the sacrifice made by our men and women in uniform. All of our services are provided at no cost to the veteran. 

If you are interested in helping the cause please go to http://vetdogs.org. 

Thank you Kathy!                                               

This means a great deal to me — Thank you Leander, and to you as well.

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year — may your 2009 be filled with continued health, love, and positivity. Thank you everyone for all your unyielding support. Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right. Should I say it? Really? Ok, I digress — here it comes — keep moving forward. You know who to blame for that pearl.

I think in terms of the day’s resolutions, not the year’s.
- Henry Moore

The Old Year has gone. Let the dead past bury its own dead. The New Year has taken possession of the clock of time. All hail the duties and possibilities of the coming twelve months.
- Edward Payson Powell

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
- T.S. Eliot, “Little Gidding”

See you next year,
Jamie Leigh

I noticed something strange going on here at the website earlier and wanted to see if anyone noticed anything aside from me?  Please do me a favor and click on the link below and let me know if you encounter any problems. Thanks in advance.

(You may need to click on the title of this blog post first before being able to access link.)    
                                                                                                                            Click Here

Barack Obama.  The 44th President Of The United States, 11/4/08 11:00pm est.

Jamie –

I’m about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first.

We just made history.

And I don’t want you to forget how we did it.

You made history every single day during this campaign — every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it’s time for change.

I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign.

We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I’ll be in touch soon about what comes next.

But I want to be very clear about one thing…

All of this happened because of you.

Thank you,

Barack

      http://www.barackobama.com/live/

Dear Jamie,

Take a bow. You rewrote history for animals.

Thanks to you, 20 million animals in California will soon be spared the worst abuses of factory farms. And I’m confident that we’ll look back at Prop 2 as a pivotal moment in how our nation treats animals who are raised for food.

Early returns tonight show that more than 60% of Californians voted for Prop 2. This is a tremendous victory for animals, for The Humane Society of the United States…and for you. We were able to reach millions of California voters with our message of compassion only because you stood with us – by taking action, by donating to the campaign, and by telling those you knew in California about Prop 2 and what it would do for animals and for citizens there.

This was a momentous election for the nation. I’m so grateful and honored for everything you did to make Prop 2 a big part of the story. Please read my blog over the coming days for my take on Prop 2 and what it means for animal protection.

Sincerely,

Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States

On the other side of the country, Question 3 passed, which will ban greyhound racing in the state of Massachusetts by 2010. We have long supported the fabulous team of activists there and thank all of you who have worked so tirelessly to see this victory become a reality. Dogs who are used for racing typically spend 20 hours per day confined to cages measuring only 32 in. by 42 in. by 34 in. Many of the dogs can’t even stand completely upright. The animals are also highly susceptible to injuries, including fractures, dislocations, lacerations, and amputations. And because injured dogs are no longer of use to the industry, they are often simply killed.

Together, we can keep the momentum going!

Sincerely,

 Ingrid E. Newkirk

Peta, Humane Society Global Team Inc.

Editor’s note: Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist and CNN political contributor, was a political consultant for Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign in 1992 and was counselor to Clinton in the White House. Begala is not a paid political consultant for any politicians or candidates. His new book is “Third Term: Why George W. Bush Loves John McCain.”

Paul Begala says candidates should wait until after the election to put partisan differences aside.

(CNN) — Despite John McCain’s announcement that he is suspending his campaign, chances are there will be a debate Friday night at Ole Miss. And with all the challenges and changes facing the American people, a good partisan debate may be the thing we need most.

The dirty little secret is that debates are not as difficult as some may think. The issues to be discussed are usually pretty predictable: good moderators (and Friday night’s debate will be moderated by a very good one, the estimable Jim Lehrer of PBS) don’t play gotcha.

Both candidates are intelligent and articulate. They can work on an economic bailout plan in Washington, then fly to Mississippi for the debate. But they’d better come ready to disagree. iReport.com: Do you think the debate should continue?

The job for each candidate in the debate will be to focus on the issues where he can draw strong, clear distinctions between his ideas and values and his opponent’s.

So both Barack Obama and McCain need to drop this kumbaya stuff about the bailout bill and talk about where they disagree. “Now is a time to come together Democrats and Republicans in a spirit of cooperation for the sake of the American people,” the two candidates said in a joint statement Wednesday.

That sounds nice, but it’s wrong. This actually is the time for partisanship. The purpose of a campaign is to test two different partisan philosophies against each other.

McCain has a long record of opposing government regulation of business. Obama sees a stronger role for government to set rules of the road. Instead of blurring those distinctions, a healthy, honorable debate should sharpen them. If we can’t debate our partisan — and honestly held — differences in the final six weeks of a campaign, when can we?

The Book of Ecclesiastes teaches us there is, “A time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to shun embracing. … A time to tear apart, and a time to sew together; a time to be silent, and a time to speak.” A presidential debate is the time to throw stones, it is the time to shun embracing, a time to tear apart, if you will. In other words, the two candidates have an obligation to talk about their differences.

Then, after the election, it will be time to put partisan differences aside and work across the partisan divide. But during a campaign, that partisan divide is essential. Al Gore and John Kerry would have been very different presidents than George W. Bush. And John McCain would be a very different president than Barack Obama.

They’re both good men; both patriots. But they have fundamentally different views about the future of our nation. Debating those differences is a beautiful form of patriotism.

I can’t wait to see them have at it. And, gentlemen, spare me the platitudes about bipartisanship. This country needs a thorough and thoughtful airing of the two very different governing philosophies the two parties and their candidates embody.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.