Back in the day, the old Iron Blog was a great place to have a political debate. Larime Taylor ran the site and each week--barring any complications--two bloggers typically of differing ideologies would battle it out over a topic chosen by The Chairman. They were weeklong battles involving an opening and closing statement, as well as two posts in the middle primarily intended to shore up their arguments and poke holes in the arguments of their opponent. The format was fun and I spent time there both as an observer and commenter, as well as a judge for some of the battles. I made some good online friends at the forum, from both ends of the political spectrum. The site worked surprisingly well at bringing together people of differing political ideologies and creating friends and a solid dialogue.

Unfortunately, the site did not last. However, it has now been reborn as a part of Blue and Red, an online political magazine also run by Larime Taylor. The format has changed, though, and now the focus is not on arguing with each other but on an Iron Blogger and a Challenger creating their own series of posts--dishes--that create a coherent menu. The goal is to decide on the best blogger, not necessarily who makes the best argument. The way the battles are now set up, there is not really any responding to the other person's posts.

Anyway, the first battle has begun at it is Battle Objective Journalism. As Iron Blogger Culture, I was the first person to be challenged and I'm taking on Lindsay Beyerstein of Majikthise. Our first dishes have already been posted on Iron Blog. Here is my first dish in its entirety:

Suppose, for a moment, that you support Social Security privatization. You believe you should be able to invest your money in a private account and reap the rewards of your shrewd financial decisions. Now, after a long wait, Senator Chuck Hagel has finally introduced a plan into the Senate and you eagerly read the details in a Los Angeles Times story. As Campaign Desk--a media watchdog blog run by the Columbia Journalism Review--notes, the Times article reads as such:

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