What he hell are artists for if not to get folks talkin', thinkin', disagreein', stirred-up, blah, blah. And I have no time to talk to people who honestly think that whatever the "news" told them is the Truth about anything. Dig a little deeper or go pay some attention to your own life instead. I recall being "prejudged" in Berkeley in 1970 by an African American intellectual who immediately despised me because my VW bus had a South Carolina license plate! I'd grown up knowing, fishing with, working with, and hanging out with about 100 times as many of his race as he had in Berkely. It took me about two weeks to become his friend - and we both learned a lot. I know plenty of spaced-out kids John Walker's age. They do a lot of goofy stuff they'll likely regret later. Like lots of us did. I don't know what made Walker get involved with the Taliban maniacs. And I'm too busy to dwell on it. I want to know how "W" thinks he can stop this foolishness. Steve Earle is a damn good writer.