Via Instantman:

The True Majority wants your participation. They are offering to send a fax to your Senators. The suggested language was as follows:

I am a constituent of yours and I write today as a participant in Win Without War's Virtual March. I am one of the majority of Americans concerned that President Bush's rush to war is dangerous and unnecessary.

Our nation needs to support tough United Nations inspections. Going to war with Iraq will kill thousands of civilians and soldiers, create an atmosphere that breeds terrorists, and divert money from programs that can really create a safer and more just society.

Please do everything you can to support the inspections process and resist our nation rushing to war.

Well, I am a lawyer, and I make my living by the pen, so to speak. When I read that proposed message, I thought it could be improved. No surprise there. All lawyers think they write better than anyone else. So I got out my virtual blue pencil and started making changes. This is the end result:

I am a constituent of yours and I write today to take advantage of the facilities provided by Win Without War's Virtual March. I am one of the majority of Americans concerned that President Bush's failure to commence hostitlies in Iraq is dangerous.

Our nation has supported tough United Nations inspections. The inspectors are sneered at and ignored by Iraq. Additional inspections, longer inspections, more intrusive inspections are not the answer. Not even France supports more "muscular" inspections (at least not a couple of months ago).

The opponents of this war claim that it will result in thousands of civilian and military casualties. The same claim was made before (and during and after) the campaign in Afghanistan. That claim was not true in Afghanistan and I believe it will also prove to be untrue in Iraq.

Opponents of war with Iraq also claim that it will create an atmosphere that breeds terrorists. "Atmosphere" does not create terrorists. A perception on the part of potential terrorists that there is no cost associated with becoming a terrorist creates terrorists. Direct and indirect support from a government helps, as does support from extremist clergy.

Opponents of the war claim that it will divert money from programs that can really create a safer and more just society. "Programs" won't stop airliners from flying into skyscrapers. Programs deal with the death and destruction created when airliners are flown into skyscrapers.

Opponents of the war claim that there is no evidence that Iraq supports terrorists. That is simply not true. Among other things, Iraq proudly announces that it pays large sums of money to the the families of suicide bombers in Israel. Then, of course, there is the presence of Abu Nidal in Baghdad. The hijacker of the Achille Lauro lived out his life under the protection of the Iraqi regime. I have no doubt that there is much our government doesn't know. I am sure that there is even more that I, personally, don't know. But money and safe haven for terrorists constitute support for terrorists and terrorism. Any argument to the contrary is just plain wrong.

Finally, opponents claim that we are "rushing" to war. I must say that this has to be the slowest rush I have ever witnessed. It has been twelve years since Iraq agreed to disarm in order to evade the consequences of its invasion of Kuwait. During that time, it has been provided with opportunity after opportunity to disclose and destroy the weaponry it agreed it should not have. If it has not done so in twelve years, why should I believe that it will do so in the future?

Please do everything you can to oppose further inspections and to commence hostilities in Iraq quickly, for reasons both tactical (we can't have the current military build up there indefinitely, we must use it or recall it) and strategic (changing the course of Middle East politics, raising the costs associated with both opposition to the US and with supporting terrorism).

If the True Majority folks refuse to deliver my message as promised, do I get to claim that my First Amendment right of free speech is being suppressed?