In the seemingly never-ending argument over the political leanings of the Erie Times-News -- some say we're a right-wing, reactionary newspaper, while others claim we're a mouthpiece for the liberal wing of the Democratic Party -- I came across an interesting report.

It's a note by Al Tompkins, who writes a daily on-line report for the Poynter Institute called "Al's Morning Meeting." In today's column, Tompkins writes that blogs written by families of soldiers say that recent Doonesbury comic strips about the role of lap tops are right on target.

"Soldiers in Iraq use their laptops to reassure loved ones that they are OK," Tompkins writes. "When electronic messages fail to make it home, some families panic."

Tompkins' note seems ironic to me because the Doonesbury strips, which ran in early September, were at the heart of a huge dispute with about a half-dozen readers who charged that they were "un-American drivel that plays directly into the hands of our enemies."

I heard this about 10 different ways, but it all came down to the fact that Doonesbury author Garry Trudeau is a "leftist who's against the war and all the soldiers there."

Now, it appears that the soldiers' families have spoken, and Trudeau had it right. In fact, if you go on line and re-read the strips, it's quite a poignant account of what life might be like when you're serving in some faraway land, and you're trying desperately to connect with your family.

Personally, I'm not a big Doonesbury fan. Half the time I don't quite get the strip. He's a little too cerebral for me, but what would you expect from a Beetle Bailey fan? Occasionally, though, Trudeau strikes a chord that rings true. I wouldn't read much more into these particular strips than that, but those who complained bitterly that "he sold our soldiers out to the enemy" had it wrong.

Now that we've cleared that up, let's return to our political argument.

-- Kevin Cuneo