Hey Seth, come join our contest! I bet even some conservative crazies piss you off, find some comment that even you think is beyond the pale and enter it into our contest.

Pinko, I've been there and, even though I am the first "victim", love it, it's definitely a lot of fun. :-)

I may take you up on it as I read a variety of comments. I also hadn't been to your site before, and I must say it's the most enjoyable portside blog I've been to yet, by far.

Portside indeed.

I was in the Coast Guard, Shingles, LOL, and port = left. You are hard to port, and I'm Hardastarboard.

I know what portside means.
It also means something else, to those in the know (me and about five other people); something a little "less manly", if you catch my drift.
Which is certainly true in Pinko's case.

I am hard to port?
Tell me about it!
Especially after a bottle of scotch.

Oh, you mean politically?
Don't automatically assume that everyone who disagrees w/you on some issues is coming from the left. FYI, I come from the libertarian side of things - which means that sometimes I end up leaning left, sometimes right. It all depends on the issue.
The sad thing is that when I take those tests to determine where I fall along the political spectrum, I end up getting lumped in with the centrists.
Which kind of pisses me off.
But I digress.

Shingles--

First, my apologies for the delay in your comment being posted -- there was a technical issue I was not aware of until a mere few minutes ago(the phone lines have been down around the hotel I'm staying at, they just fixed the problem), as I was unable to get on line for several hours.

If you've ever read any of my lengthier diatribes, you'll know that digression is my middle name.

I have mixed views on a lot of social issues.

My biggest overall gripe to that end, as I'm a strong advocate of limited government and also of states' rights is that I don't believe that half the issues that go to the Hill or in many cases even the Court belong there, social issues should be addressed on a state level at most.

The port side(my definition of same, not yours, LOL) tends to want to make a federal case out of everything.

I'm very conservative on issues like national security{some dare say I'm downright Macchiavellan about it}, rights of ownership(property in particular), the 2nd Amendment, punishing criminals so they know they've been punished(there should be no "convicts' rights" --having dealt with some serious career criminals I do not believe in the benign concept of rehabilitation. Let them pay a serious price, hard labor, shitty food, being treated like they're in USMC boot camp, circa 1968, every minute; Though I do believe in teaching them trades so they'll have an option when they get out, rather than an excuse that they can't find decent work so they had to go back to crime. Second offense, they're history, Methusalah behind bars).

I'm pro-life.

I believe that we were right to go to Iraq and fire Saddam, and that what we're doing there now is right, both for the Iraqis and for the security of the U.S. and our friends.

I also believe that those on the port side(again, my definition, although most portsiders of your definition are actually of both "port" definitions), including politicians on the left side of the aisle and the MSM are so wrapped up in their hatred of Bush that they're willing to abandon all common sense and endanger Americans both here, in Iraq and elsewhere, just to try to obstruct and discredit the President at every opportunity.

I was raised a conservative Democrat and went into my twenties with liberal leanings, and then Jimmy Carter came along and changed my point of view. I couldn't get to the polls quickly enough to vote for Reagan and I've been a Republican ever since.

I've never been able to understand exactly what is meant by a "centrist", so I see where you might become peeved at the label. In the center of what?

Libertarians are often confusing, because y'all(I'm about to close on a house here in Charlotte, North Carolina, so I need to brush up on my Southern) are completely different from one another, there's no set pattern there.

So I'll apologize for lumping you with Pinko, Verplankton and those other hardaport folks.

Damn libertarians!
It's true; they're all over the map.

It seems to me that most start off at roughly the same place, at least intellectually; Believing that the smaller the government the better and that individual rights and freedoms are paramount.

But then they come face to face with reality and have to adjust their ideals accordingly. So you've got your left wing libertarians and right wing libertarians, christian libertarians and then libertarians who hate religion, etc.

For me, governmental power should be kept in check - so I tend to oppose both the left and right whenever each seeks to enlarge the power of government. And then after that, my opinions tend to align with a) whatever seems to be more practical and work better and b) the lesser of two evils (since often there are no ideal choices).

So, in general I end up favoring limited government. Which means that unlike most of my pals on the left, I favor state's rights (balanced w/the protection of minority rights), I support strong property rights, as well as no restrictions on the right of free assembly or freedom of speech. Likewise, unlike my portside buddies and despite not owning a gun, I'm a fan of the Second Amendment; believing that an armed citizenry is the ultimate check against tyranny.

We disagree on the whole Iraq thing though.
You see it as part of the war on terror, I see it as distracting from the war on terror. But that's another argument for another day.

Hope you had a fine Christmas holiday.

Ooops, I mean Hanukkah!

Awesome, thanks, hope your(Christmas/Hanukkah) has been great as well.

I'm enjoying the hell out of my Hanukkah up here in D.C., spending it with a woman of whom I've grown profoundly fond in every way over the last few months.

I think history(of the short term variety) is going to prove my views on Iraq much better than any present debate can.