Empathy for the Devil

James Taranto's Best of the Web Today feature at the Wall Street Journal's free web page, opinionjournal.com, is about as essential to my existence these days as a Saturday night New York Rangers game was to me as a kid. I can't get along without it.

Today's edition starts out with an item about a seminar on "Fighting Terrorism with Empathy" being offered at a college in Minneapolis next weekend. Taranto quotes from a description of the seminar:

In November 2004, Osama Bin Laden released a tape giving his recipe for a healthy nation. This seminar would dissect his message and use audience participation in doing so. Discussion points would include counterterrorism methods, the possibility of peace, empathy etc. The aim of this seminar would be to help understand the position of Osama Bin Laden as presented in the video and explore in what ways the origins of terrorism are to be found, not in some foreign citizen, but in the actions we take out of fear, hate and retribution.

All I want to know is whether Ward Churchill and Scott Erb will be there.