Easton's historic state theatre is hosting a debate featuring four candidates -- Republican, Democrat, Libertarian and Green -- for the House of Represenatives.

The event will be held Thursday, Oct. 14 at the State Theatre on Northampton Street in Easton, Pa. It is sponsored by the Express-Times (Easton's daily newspaper), moderated by State Theatre Executive Director Shelley Brown, with questions asked by members of the newspaper staff (though according to an ad in the Express-Times yesterday, those questions will be at least partly based on questions submitted by the public.

The candidates include Candidates include Charlie Dent (Republican), Joe Driscoll (Democrat), Rich Piotrowski (Libertarian) and Great Brown (Green). Admission to the event is free, and those who can't make it can catch the live broadcast on Channel 69 (which is what I'll probably end up doing).

On a strictly personal note, I'm very pleased to see that this debate includes third-party candidates. I find it extremely disconcerting that 3rd party candidates are routinely excluded from the national presidential debates, especially considering that both the Libertarians and Greens are on the presidential ballot in a great many states.