Tell Us About Yourselves
Kevin Drum has a post asking commenters to tell a little about themselves, including:
City, country, age, gender, educational background, profession, hobbies, how they define themselves politically, favorite sites, etc. sort of thing.
To this I would add: tell us something interesting about yourself — especially something most people don’t know.
It has proved an interesting thread, and I’d like to try it here. I’ll start:
Marina del Rey, California; USA; 36; male; B.A. in English and music from Cornell University; J.D. from University of Texas at Austin; attorney.
I enjoy playing with my kids, blogging, music (I play piano and guitar, have written a little rock and classical music), reading (especially narrative non-fiction like Ed Humes), and yelling at the L.A. Times.
I am conservative but not doctrinally so: for example, I am pro-gay rights; in favor of a “beyond all possible doubt” standard for death-penalty cases (and am very concerned about innocents on Death Row); anti-Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly, and other conservatives whose rantings give sensible conservatives a bad name.
I hesitate to name sites I visit, for fear I’ll leave some out, but I definitely never miss Instapundit, Captain’s Quarters, Power Line, Michelle Malkin, Pejmanesque, Spoons, Xrlq, Beldar, Hugh Hewitt, The Interocitor, JustOneMinute, Tim Blair, How Appealing, Romenesko, L.A. Observed, PressThink, Volokh, Kevin Drum, Winds of Change, Calblog, Baldilocks, PrestoPundit, BoiFromTroy, Dean’s World, and many others.
I was a very good golfer as a little kid. I won a kids’ tournament and was runner-up the next year. Ben Hogan told my dad I was good! Then I screwed up Ben Hogan’s opinion of me by hitting his golf cart while he was shagging some balls out on the course. He jumped in the air when I did that.
How about you?
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Patterico's Pontifications » Another Plug for Getting to Know the Readers (0c6a63) — 5/9/2005 @ 1:51 pmBrady Westwater; Downtown Los Angeles, CA, USA; 56; four years at UCLA with five majors but left without degree; writer (novels, screenplays, memoirs, http://www.lacowboy.blogspot.com) president of Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council, now up to 29 pro bono boards, committees and commissions; former profesions include wild horse breaking, bar fighting and repossessing airplanes in South America, among other things;working out, grappling, art, architecture, reading, hiking, anything outdoors; radical pragmatist – liberal on social issues and conservative on economic issues. Gays get get married and have abortions as long as they don’t raise my taxes. As for sites I visit – all of those you mention plus Kausfiles and all the pressclub bloggers and many, many more.
Brady Westwater (72f6df) — 5/8/2005 @ 12:30 amYou said the magic word, golf. Do you still play?
Will (c3b939) — 5/8/2005 @ 8:33 amSeattle, WA; 42; University of Washington, 2 BAs: Political Science and Business Administration (Accounting); Professional financial advisor for wealthy individuals and families; Civic activities include: NASD arbitration panelist, officer of neighborhood community council, advisory panel on a city-wide capital spending program; Married w/children; Generally lean libertarian (small-l);SoundPolitics, Ace of Spades and Wizbang.
Regret (9cd6cd) — 5/8/2005 @ 8:49 amMy dental site will tell all: http://www.smilesforalifetime.com
I am conservative, Roman Catholic and have been active in Republican Party politics, including being a member of the California Republican Pary for a number of years (not currently).
Have four children- two in law school (Southwestern in Los Angeles)and two at Purdue undergrad.
Enjoy blogging, and arguing politics.
Flap (bef92f) — 5/8/2005 @ 9:38 amSorry my dental link is incorrect above, it is http://smilesforalifetime.com/
Flap (bef92f) — 5/8/2005 @ 9:41 amWhittier, 68, BA Duquesne, MPA USC, retired Probation Officer. Born and raised in Pittsburgh. I love golf, but am not very good. I love to read nonfiction, mysteries, and classics. Arguing politics with my extended family, most of whom are liberal, is very enjoyable since I win most of the arguments. Married with two adult children, one of whom is a liberal college professor. That’s OK, I was a liberal when I was his age. He has written a book called Where The Ball Drops. It’s a history of Times Square. You can get it from Amazon or check it out of the LA Public Library. I am a conservative with strong libertarian leanings. I support the war in Iraq and favor keeping taxes as low as possible, but criticize GOP for excessive spending. I have no personal objection to same sex marriage, but adamantly oppose changing definition of marriage by judicial fiat. In addition to this one, my favorite blogs are HughHewitt, Conspiracy To Keep You Poor and Stupid, Econopundit, Powerline, Instapundit, Kudlow, Little Green Footballs, Real Clear Politics, Becker-Posner.
Stu707 (b13883) — 5/8/2005 @ 10:52 amHmmm…
Coweta County, Ga, USA; 43; male; B.A. CSU Sacramento (poli sci), A.A.S. U. of Alaska Fairbanks (applied business); profession: general pain in the neck; hobbies: (see previous); conservative with libertarian leanings; favorite sites: I suppose the ones on my sidebar under “News & Opinion” and “Top Hands” would qualify.
To this I would add: tell us something interesting about yourself – especially something most people don’t know.
I’m really a 14-year-old Catholic school girl.
McGehee (acc74b) — 5/8/2005 @ 12:59 pmAtlanta, Ga, 32; female…sister to Patterico and aunt to his cute kids. Undergrad and graduate degrees from Texas A&M University. Profession: teacher at small private Christian academy. I love to run, read mysteries, hang out with the nieces and nephews, and eat lots of chocolate. I am a varsity cross country coach and a varsity track coach. One of my runners just set a new state record in the 400 meter dash! I am generally conservative, although some of my conservative friends believe me to be a tad on the liberal side, comparatively. I am not against gay marriages, although as a Christian I believe homosexuality is against God’s plan for His world (is this going to cause a huge stink?). I’m not much into the blogging thing so I don’t have any favorite sites other than this one. I’m sure I am not the typical Patterico reader…
susan myers (f7b134) — 5/8/2005 @ 5:28 pmHey, sis! I’ll call you . . .
Patterico (756436) — 5/8/2005 @ 5:31 pmWaldport, Oregon, 26, Male, B.S. in Criminal Justice done Feb ’06. I’m doing menial jobs at the moment while I complete school. Not really interested in being a “cop”, so I’ve been exploring some options at some federal agencies, as well as some other stuff.
Hobbies include Chess, Baseball Statistics and Fantasy baseball, Reading (history and science mostly), Politics, and almost anything dealing with computers and technology.
I hate labeling myself with any political label, but for this I’ll say it’s a mix of some Conservative ideals, Republican ideals, Libertarian ideals, and a touch of complete independence. About 90% of issues for me are solved with an ideal of fundamental fairness. I’m also very states rights as well as financial responsibility. No one is doing much for either at the moment. My hot button is the 2nd amendment. I see red concerning this issue, and just to spice it up, with the exception of only a few felons, I think gun ownership rights and voting rights should be reinstated. (…for another day).
Favorite sites. I know there are some great ones out there that I’m missing out on, but I only have so much time to read them. My list, as pulled directly from my aggreggator, Little Green Footballs, Powerline, Poli-Pundit, Michelle Malkin, The Immigration Blog, Captains Quarters, Sound Politics, The Volokh Conspiracy, Insta-pundit, Patterico, and Xrlq. Also, as per my 2nd amendment flash point, Of Arms and the Law, Triggerfinger, Smallest Minority, Heartless Libertarian, and Sayuncle.
I’m a veteran of the U.S. Army, and to this day get a lump in my throat when I think of my experience in there. It was a life changing event. I now am finishing my education, and at 26, feel like grandpa compared to my peers. I am married to a Texas gal and we have two little boys, 3 and 1, who are the best ever. I play matchbox cars in the sandbox more now than I did as a kid.
One final note, since I know a lot of bloggers and blog readers are not from my generation. Don’t give up on my generation. A lot of them are dead weights on society, but it’s the loudest people who are always noticed first.
dkm (e0f207) — 5/8/2005 @ 9:00 pm51 year old in San Diego, California. College dropout who reads a fair bit, likes to learn new things, and doesn’t get out enough.
On disability thanks to clinical depression. Blog and write to keep myself busy. Just went on new medication, and I’m actually getting out more.
A moderate on most things. Pro choice , pro death penalty, and pro freedom. I know damn well the War on Tyranny is one we and our descendents shall be fighting from now until the end of time. Against despots and men on white horses you must always be on guard.
These days I visit 2Blowhards, ENworld, Roger L. Simon, Buzzmachine, The Blog is Full of Crap, and The Panda’s Thumb on a (more or less) regular basis. Meryl Yourish, Kesher Talk, Austin Bay less regularly, but fairly often.
Blogging philosophy? Be honest with your reader. And write about what interests you. You do a better job when blogging about stuff you’re into.
Current projects include a book about dragons, a fantasy world, and saving up for a new Macintosh. (Donations gladly accepted. 🙂 )
Little know fact about me? If I knew how old I truly am – not this life, me – I wouldn’t believe it. I was there when the pyramids were built, and not a frickin extra terrestrial in sight. We built the pyramids, not some Kraut bigot’s wet dream. (You asked. 🙂 )
Looking forward to getting older, my next life, and the establishment of permanent settlements off-world. Also looking forward to the discovery of the sasquatch, yeti, alma, and orang pendak. And a cure for depression, diabeties, and nerve damage. Among other things.
That’s it as of 11:44pm PDT on May 8th 2005 But this story is no where near ending. 🙂
Alan Kellogg (b351a8) — 5/8/2005 @ 11:46 pmConsider works of (1) Edgar Cayce and (2) Seth and Jane Roberts.
Yi-Ling (4a1caa) — 5/9/2005 @ 12:02 amI prefer to show only a tasteful bit of ankle via my blog and let your imagination fill in the rest.
Sissy Willis (f94e37) — 5/9/2005 @ 6:47 amI am pre-Me generation. Grew up during WW II, twenty years formal education. Have a profession, not law. Do not have a blog. Now live in northern California…8 years US military… Enjoy reading intelligent bloggers at least 150% more than responding to the grunts and nods of some really not-so-bright neighbors where I live. Lived one year Thule Greeenland courtesy of the USAF, hence the name Nanuk… The rest is unimportant but I will say some lawyer people have very tricky, tricky minds, like my brother. Just trying to keep the mental machinery tuned in. Blogs help.
Nanuk (44269d) — 5/9/2005 @ 8:24 amVentura County, CA; female; 41; happily married w/3 daughters (ages 11, 13 and 15); graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from Pepperdine University; worked for a few years in television news and entertainment; also worked for non-profit Christian ministry before taking on the full-time, stay-at-home mom role (best job ever!); conservative in all ways — politically, socially, economically, religiously…; literacy and public library advocate, involved with annual Children’s Book Week events in my community; active volunteer at my daughters’ public schools, church youth ministry, and the public library; with time left over, I dabble in writing for children — have magazine stories published, but no book contracts — yet! Favorite websites besides this one: Michelle Malkin’s and LaShawn Barber’s blogs…
Ann (8a85c8) — 5/9/2005 @ 8:51 am50 years old, no fear at all of labels: I’m a conservative Roman catholic, member of a Tridentine Rite parish. I commute every day from Richmond, VA to DC where I work for a smallish federal agency (forgive me father, for I have sinned). Graduate of University of Miami (BBS, Finance) and Thunderbird (Master’s in International Management). Collector of 18th century English literature; also partial to Wodehouse, Waugh, George MacDonald Fraser, Patrick O’Brian, Vladamir Voinovich, Conan Doyle (the Brigadier Gerard stories). Married to a lovely Chilean woman (whose family fled Allende). Two children: one a fine artist, the other . . . well, I figure he’ll either be President one day or trustee in a prison library; hard to tell. Love swing music; boogie woogie the highest of all music forms in my highly biased and musically uneducated opinion. As a teenager, owned two Plymouth Superbirds, wrecked both of them. New dream car: a 1939 Packard touring sedan (still looking).
D. Carter (385d49) — 5/9/2005 @ 9:01 amBurbank, 46, B.A. Macalester College, J.D. Loyola Law School.
Happily married to stay-at-home mom, Henry is 10, Emma 5. Two dogs, two cats, two turtles, three hermit crabs, all came after she had her tubes tied… It’s like freaking Noah’s Ark over here.
I write and produce movies and television.
I started blogging two months ago after my wife told me to do it and stop arguing with everyone around me. So now I blog and still argue with everyone around me. That’ll show her.
I’m pretty liberal socially, but a hawk on foreign affairs.
All the stuff you hear and read about the Hollywood monolith of thought is right on. I was literally thrown off of several A level e-mail (daisy)chains in the run-up to the war because I would actually suggest that the hundred or so liberals agreeing with each other and congratulating each other for being so much smarter than the rest of us, were wrong.
I link on my webpage to my credits and actually have three horror projects going back-to-back in the coming months.
Patterico rocks. So does lgf, Roger L. Simon, Hugh, Betsy’s Page, Democracy-Project, and… wait. This sounds like an acceptance speech where if you leave someone out you’re going to hear about it. Your agent won’t return calls (not that he does anyway), your lawyer will bill you for those previously chatty calls.
Anyway, as soon as I decide what my weblog is supposed to be, I’ll lock into a format and maybe even hire some kid to figure out what things like skins and templates are.
reelcobra (f47396) — 5/9/2005 @ 9:14 amSince my CV is linked to my website, I’ll include just a few points.
Both parents are Cornellians. I’m a product of an imperfect but challenging Catholic secondary school, the US Army, and Texas A&M (BSEE and BSME). I expect to complete the formal educational process soon with several degrees from Purdue.
It is not possible any longer for me to categorize myself politically. Rather, I prefer to categorize and investigate the current modes of political thought.
I visit sites to test my understanding of things and to challenge those I run across to do likewise. Therefore, sites such as L2R, Becker-Posner, Leitner Reports, etc tend to appeal to me for specific purposes and up to the limits of the authors and participants. I visit sites such as PoliPundit, Powerline, etc to keep up with the news and appreciate their occassional insights.
Paul Deignan (44451c) — 5/9/2005 @ 11:20 amCity, country, age, gender, educational background, profession, hobbies, how they define themselves politically, favorite sites, etc. sort of thing.
Los Angeles, CA–26–Male–BA Political Science/Philosophy from Columbia University, JD from Loyola Law School in about 6 days, bar exam in July–then a commission in the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps
Hobbies: Baseball, curls, military history, yelling at the TV, and pretending to kill dragons on my PC
Politically–Center Right. Sympathetic to economic libertarianism, not so sympathetic to social libertarianism.
Favorite Site–Why, Patterico of course!
Something people don’t know
Christopher Cross (35294c) — 5/9/2005 @ 11:25 amI giggle like a schoolgirl whenever someone says “titmouse.”
Dave Gudeman (aka Doc Rampage), Burlingame, CA, male, PhD in computer science (along with BA, general studies, and MS, CS all from Arizona), only worked in computer-related fields. Interests in formal logic and empiricist philosophers, but don’t blog much about those things because it drives away readers :-). Write fiction (lots of it on my blog) but have never tried to publish any.
I tend to be on the conservative side politically, but very often that is motivated by the fact that I think the country is governed unconstitutionally and undemocratically from the left. If the constitutional political process gave us gay marriage and open immigration, I wouldn’t care very much. But public officials that subvert the democratic process by pretending that the courts have more authority than they do or by just ignoring the laws that they swore to uphold, give me the hives. Love Coulter (although she does go over the top occasionally), dislike O’Reilly (but he’s not a conservtive, so that doesn’t really say anything).
My blog reading consists of just going down my blogroll (which is pretty short), but due special mention are Back of the Envelope, La Shawn Barber, Monday Afternoon, and Mostly Cajun.
When I did this on my blog, I got two, count them: two responses. Can I have your readers?
Doc Rampage (47be8d) — 5/9/2005 @ 1:40 pm54 years old,MD;taking a year off;(well a little free clinic work and 1/2 day a week paid).I’m getting back into running (althoug you can tell your sister that in h.s. I always considered 400 meter runners to be masochists.)I consider myself generally conservative.I don’t invest much thought in abortion,because I feel it’s unassailable at present.However.I do feel terminaing a potentially viable foetus s both a sin and murder.I am basically displeased with the fact the left wing has become so rage and hate filled and dishonest.I am vey impressed by the work of some of the blogosphere in disseminating information and correcting itself when they’re are wrong.Finally,does anyone have a discrete way to tell an ex(we have a good relationship) that she is really putting on weight?
lincoln (dfaf29) — 5/9/2005 @ 2:32 pm38, Stanislaus County DDA, Penn, then newspaper reporter (LA Daily News), then Bob’s Waffle Hut and College of Law.
I’m an avid bridge, poker, and fantasy sports player.
I grew up with the LA Times and still have a soft spot for it. I think some of the reporting is better than anything else out there, and I strongly prefer the LA Times to, say, the NY Times. I think some of this web page’s criticisms are misguided, but I think the bulk of the criticism is well-justified.
As a newspaper reporter, I was considered some sort of right-wing freak. At the Waffle-Law Hut (actually a now-defunct Bakersfield law school with another name and no waffles) I was considered a leftist nutball. My politics haven’t changed much; I’m a stop-spending, socially liberal Republican.
I’m a big fan of Volokh. I am not a Libertarian, and believe members of the Libertarian party would often do well to consider medication, but I like many of Volokh’s measured Libertarianish arguments.
Earlier this year, my comment got a spelling error fixed on the LA DA page telling us about Steve Cooley (with a very nice note from the webmaster thanking me for catching it). I covered Cooley many years ago when we were both in Lancaster.
John R. Mayne (de6363) — 5/9/2005 @ 2:49 pmToo old to be a Baby Boomer though I served on a real Boomer (subs) during the cold war. Lived all my life in California, and four years ago moved to New Jersey – haven’t looked back yet.
I now own a 300 year old home in a little town near Trenton. If I could get away with it – George Washington may have slept in this house…OK no proof – but with so many old battle fields around here – who knows.
Never liked the LA Times – of course the SF Chronicle was not much better. I gave up on newspapers long ago, and now do my own research for new – like I find here and other blogs – I know what I am getting (as long as there are links so I can go find out myself).
I work in the electric utiloity industry, but not for any utility (reliability standards org). Sure would be nice if you all would goat Congress to complete the Energy Bill – we need it.
I drive two old Model T Fords, enjoy surfing the web, reading naval fiction, photography and collecting antiques (that are older than me).
John Theotonio (f45cba) — 5/9/2005 @ 3:09 pm20 years old, college student in Buffalo working on a B.A. in Economics. I’m studying Austrian Economics on my own time, while taking courses in spurious Keynesian pseudo-mathematics in order to better refute the interventionary sophists. I am heavily influenced by Bastiat, Madison, Hazlitt, Sowell, Mises, Rand, Twain, and Rothbard. I am a Constitutionalist, Capitalist, Classical Liberal, and a Constitutional Republican.
I am a bibliophile, have been bitten by a chinchilla, and lived in Senegal for a month to both learn Djembe drums and see what havoc socialism and Islam wreak on a society.
My favorite sites can be found on the sidebar of my blog.
Tom Treloar (29aa51) — 5/9/2005 @ 4:17 pmSunnyvale, CA, USA; fortysomething; male; BA (Computer science) from UCSD.
Eric Wilner (3936fd) — 5/9/2005 @ 4:47 pmCurrent occupation: engineer (electronics, software, some mechanical stuff).
Hobbies and such: tinkering, hiking, nature photography, costuming, filksinging, science fiction, etc.
Political alignment: basically libertarian, though I recognize the need for some government, and the potential for unconstrained private enterprises to become as bad as unconstrained government. My political philosophy has both progressive and conservative elements – after all, both are necessary, to find a course between stagnation and chaos.
Favorite sites: Instapundit, Normblog, Iraq the Model, Mudville Gazette, Egyptian Sandmonkey, Patterico, Michael Totten, Harry’s Place, LGF, Kim du Toit, ….
Something about myself: what is this, a Minbari rebirth ceremony? Well… most people don’t know that I went through a raving Wagnerite phase in college.
Wash DC suburbs. 72, Retired. BA, MS, PhD (Mathematics), NYU (Courant Institute). Lifetime registered Democrat who hasn’t voted for a Democrat in a national election since Lyndon Johnson in ’64, Taught for a while then had a 33-year career in the Federal civil service doing such wonderful things as debunking mathematical models and designing command and control systems. Favorite blogs include this one, Belmont Club, Scrappleface, and LGF. I do miss USS Clueless a lot.
vercingetorix (6e1ac2) — 5/9/2005 @ 5:48 pmClarksville, TN, USA. 51 yo. BS Chem Penn State. Retired from the Army in 1994, went back to work for them as a DA Civilian after 9/11, helping the 101st Abn Div (AASLT) deploy. Christian. Conservative myself, was libertarian in governmental matters until forced to endure things up with which I will not put. Considered myself independent until the Bork hearings, now am anti-Democrat. Hobbies reading and genealogy.
Robert Bell (56be0c) — 5/9/2005 @ 8:22 pmWell… most people don’t know that I went through a raving Wagnerite phase in college.
So you might be interested in my recent post about Wagner and Hitler.
Patterico (756436) — 5/9/2005 @ 8:34 pmSan Diego, CA; USA; 30; male; B.A., English, Cornell University; video game designer; spend my free time playing with my daughter, playing games, reading books and blogs; politically a bit mixed: I support capitalism, states’ rights, guns, drug laws, spreading democracy, and am anti-abortion, but also oppose the death penalty, favor gay marriage, and support the ALF; enjoy Volokh Conspiracy, Althouse, Instapundit, Powerline, Captain’s Quarters, Discriminations, Dave Huber, Xrlq, Clayton Cramer, and Bainbridge.
Nels Nelson (e88b48) — 5/9/2005 @ 9:35 pmDude, you sound a lot like me. Six years younger, but otherwise, very similar.
Patterico (756436) — 5/9/2005 @ 10:07 pmSydney, Australia, 19, Male, Journalism diploma, unemployed student, evangelical Christian…
Hobbies: Blogging, action movies, composing and listening to music, soccer, cricket (hopefully one day Americans will understand it), drinking Coca-Cola. Oh, and I’m the Protest Warrior chapter leader for Sydney, so counter-protesting as well.
Politically: I like to think I’m a moderate-conservative, but most people consider me to be an off-the-map right-wing extremist neo-conservative, so I guess I’m probably a conservative with neo-conservative leanings. I supported the war against Iraq, am anti-abortion, anti-death penalty, anti-gay marriage, pro-controlled legal immigration, very anti-UN Security Council/Human Rights Commission, and I believe strongly in fiscal conservatism, something which seems to escape most politicians. Ann Coulter is a hilarious comedian who can’t be taken seriously as a political commentator. Bill O’Reilly is noticably left of me.
Favourite Sites: The elite daily read blogs are A Western Heart (where I also post), Captain’s Quarters, Chrenkoff, LGF, Michelle Malkin, Polipundit, Right-Thinking From The Left Coast, Right Wing News, Tim Blair and Wizbang. Other blogs I read 3-4 times a week are this one, Blogs For Bush, Instapundit, Michael J. Totten, Patrick Ruffini and Roger L. Simon.
something interesting about yourself – especially something most people don’t know
I love Cannibal Corpse and many death-obsessed similar bands, but run a Christian youth group for kids aged 8-10.
Leigh (6ad34a) — 5/9/2005 @ 11:43 pmSacramento, CA, 25, Male, UC Davis, BA Economics, BA Political Science, Political Consultant/ Legislative Staffer, Spending Time w/ Family/ Hunting/ Fishing/ Camping/ Shooting, Traditionalist/ Extremely Pro-Gun/ Right to Lifer/ Capitalist-Pro Business/ Law and Order – Conservative, pcyr.blogspot.com/ Hugh Hewitt/ Roger Simon/ Power Line/ XRLQ / Patterico / Of Arms and the Law/ CQ/ Northern Alliance Folks / Instapundit/ Protein Wisdom and many more.
Mark (b722dc) — 5/10/2005 @ 10:55 amRancho Santa Margarita, CARichmond, VA, Male, B.A. from UC Riverside in German, Spanish and French, J.D. from UC Berkeley (Boalt). Grad school dropout from Northwestern in Linguistics. Regular reads include Patterico,Spoons,Say Uncle, Captain’s Quarters, Interocitor, Dean’s World, Michelle Malkin, Powerline, Volokh Conspiracy, too many others to count. Have lived in four countries andthreefour U.S. states, and either lived or worked in eight California counties. Have not lived in a single county formore than threefour or more consecutive years since 1981.Politically, I fall somewhere between conservative and libertarian. I don’t believe you have a First Amendment right to yell “fire” in a crowded theater or a Second Amendment right to fire in a crowded theater, but believe both Amendments protect almost everything short of that. Weakly oppose gay marriage on substance, neutral on civil unions, but strongly oppose either if done by judicial fiat. [10/26/06 update: not a big fan of constitutional bans on gay marriage, either, unless narrowly drawn to prevent judicial usurpation.] Would “nuke” the filibusters altogether if given the opportunity; failing that, “nuking” them for judicial appointees is a good start.
I was dropped as a baby, and drowned at 12. I’m also a Mayflower baby, but that’s not necessarily anything to be proud of, as the guy I descended from, John Billington, was a real S.O.B.
Xrlq (c51d0d) — 5/10/2005 @ 1:46 pmLos Angeles,39,Male,Moody Bible Institute,BA Communications, Regent University MA Film/TV Production,Writer for the largest toy company in the world,Hunting,Fishing,Shooting,Video Games-I own a PS2,GC,XBOX,DS and hopefully a PSP for an upcoming birthday,Pro Gun, Pro Life, Anti-Illegal Immigration, Married for 9 years with our first baby due this month. Hugh Hewitt, The Corner, LGF,Instapundit,IowaHawk,Powerline,Cathy’s World,Patterico
Eric Hardie (da185c) — 5/10/2005 @ 1:58 pmI don’t trust Big Government enough to be a Democrat(I thought the movie Brazil was a documentary) and I don’t trust Big Business enough to be a totally sold out Republican.My goal is to move back to a nice bright red state and bask in obscurity.
Rocklin,CA (Suburb of Sacramento) 53, BA Business Admin Sac State, Japanese American Male, born in Japan, raised in Hawaii, lived in CA since ’76, Southern Cal for 16. Occupation Construction Manager Registered Republican (libertarian at heart), loves to travel and photography. Fav blogs Michelle Malkin, Captains Quarters, Powerline, Polipundit, etc.
Randy Taketa (178f66) — 5/10/2005 @ 2:23 pmNative Angelino, 55 yrs old male. Full on Catholic education – Holy Name Sisters, Dominicans, then Jesuits. (Graduated before the “M” was added to “LMU”.) Quit practicing as a Catholic ’cause I couldn’t get it right. BS in Communication Arts, Masters in Info Systems management. 4-F in ’72, think I could have benefitted from time in the service. Learned not to confuse the war with the warrior.
One daughter, a tall, lovely and talented IP attorney. Share a house with my patient and tolerant S.O., 4 dogs, 2 cat, and several tanks of fish.
Read, compute, do stretch, Pilates and strength training, love Costa Rica, whitewater rafting, and my few close friends. Had a few bits of writing published here and there, along with a shelf (or two) full of technical manuals.
Dreaded the thought of losing one of my best friends last year to Hep-3. He got a transplant, and is doing great these days.
And, lincon, there is *no* way to do that in a way that doesn’t risk life and limb (yours), unless she asks first. Then, only the truth will do.
leelu (b5d255) — 5/10/2005 @ 5:37 pmRetired Military
JayHowardSmith (53d8ee) — 5/10/2005 @ 5:44 pmHome is Corpus Christi, TX, but go to school at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX (I’m an aggie). I’m a 21 year old Catholic male majoring in industrial engineering. My three major passions are music (mostly country rock, folk, and classic rock, but alot of other stuff and nothing really mainstream), boozing, and politics. I consider myself libertarian; however I have a few socially conservative views. I tend to favor Republicans, but at times I get annoyed by their religion in politics. While I am against abortion (that little guy has rights too!) and for civil unions, I just can’t seem to figure out why some Republicans will base their views such as abortion and homosexuality on the Bible and not on the Constitution (that makes sense, right?). And just as I get tired of that nonsense, “a lefty opens his mouth, suddenly I’m not quite as tired” (to quote a reader of Instapundit that was posted). For the war from the beginning, do not think Bush lied, firmly believe the spread of democracy leads to peace, even if that was not the MAIN reason Bush began this war. Blogs I frequent are Instapundit, Ace of Spades, Volokh, Hewitt, Kudlow, LGF, Captain’s Quarters, Althouse, Lex Communis and good ol’ Patterico. I can’t figure out if I like Huffington’s blog or not; time will tell . . .
TreyEvans (c10e4e) — 5/11/2005 @ 8:20 amI am 53 yrs. old and employed in a Jesuit School here in the Philippines. I just want to meet male friends who are single and is not a racist.
Gene C. Sandico (c48912) — 8/31/2005 @ 3:41 pmThank you.
I have a profile up at my MSN spaces site. I am currently recovering from illness and helping my recently widowed sister with my ill mother.
Charles D. Quarles (5d11c1) — 9/24/2005 @ 2:10 am41-year-old Midwestern Republican currently living in Philadelphia. Former legislative press secretary, speech writer, state agency PR type and statewide coordinator of testing for students with severe and profound disabilities. Big Ten football fan. “Enterpriser” on Pew’s political typology survey. Two-Ipod household. Decent cook. “ENTP” according to Myers-Briggs. Owner of a Fisher space pen originally purchased with Tang labels. Fan of Ingrid Lucia, Adrian Belew and the Beatles.
Bemac (3aa932) — 9/24/2005 @ 4:41 amOK, Patterico, I’ll bite!
42 years old (well, in November), wife, mom to a beautiful 9 year old daughter. Living in south central VA since Darling Husband retired from the Navy this year.
Hobbies: Cooking, quilting, reading, music, blogging (d’uh), RVing
Like: the color blue (well, all jewel tones), chocolate (hey! I’m female! LOL), champagne, home brewed beer, steak, sushi, EPCOT, Hawaii, travelling, learning, my car, driving, cotton fabric, Oreos, chewy brownies, and peanutbutter and honey sandwiches
Dislike: brussel sprouts, the color red (it looks terrible on me), rude people, golf, and keyboards that do what I TELL them to do, rather than what I WANT them to do! (PIMF), Cabernet Sauvignon, dial-up, clutter (but I live in it anyway *grf*)
Despise: the UN, whiney liberals, ad hominem attacks, Ted *hic* Kennedy/sKerry/Clintoon/etc., pedophiles, spammers
Politically I’m very much the Conservative Christian Republican, but I’m pretty upset with the republican spending habits of late, as well as the poor border control. I want every single illegal alien rounded up and kicked out; you want to come live here? Fine. Do it properly. I’m against abortion, pro-death penalty (*if* it’s followed through), and against gay marriage (e.g. I’ll vote against it, but if it passes anyway, it won’t really affect my world, I suppose).
I don’t mind people who don’t think like I do (heh, NOBODY does that, LOL), but I have far more respect and tolerance for someone who can be politely and rationally 180-degrees from me than for someone who is rude and unthinking who is similar to me.
Romeocat (9dce49) — 9/24/2005 @ 5:30 am52 year old white man, living in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania (by way of Wilmington, Delaware; Hampton, Virginia; Lexington, Kentucky; Portland, Maine; and Antioch, California), married for 26 years, four months and five days, with two teenaged daughters, one of whom wishes to bankrupt me by trying to get into MIT.
I’ve been in concrete construction, first as a finisher and then as a supplier for thirty long years now. My hobby (sure wish someone would actually pay me for it!) has been political writing, from the Kentucky Kernel (when I was in college) to Common Sense Political Thought, my website today.
I’m politically very conservative, extremely Catholic, pro-life on all issues (including capital punishment) and annoying as all get out. I have a face made for radio, a voice made for print, and an attitude made for the internet.
Dana R. Pico (a071ac) — 9/24/2005 @ 6:21 amI am 53 years old, live and work in Cedar Rapids an Electronic Technician for Rockwell Collins, I am FROM Western Ky, you will understand that my Grandfather Stonewall Jackson Puckett would roll over in his grave if I ever claimed to be from North of the Mason Dixon line.
My family on both sides sprung up from the bottom ranks in the last two generations, Grandfather Stonewall was a sharecropper, died of pneumonia before WW2 which was before antibiotics, Mom finished high school which says something about my Grandmother who was left a widow in the middle of the Great Depression, with 14 children, Dad was a 50 cent a day field hand in PA before he joined the Navy.
I was born Greencove Spring Naval Base FL, lived in New Port Rhode Islan, Norfolf VA and Midway Island Pacific Ocean FPO Pearl Harbor, we were NOT to mention the Island in any letters. We retired from the Navy and settled in Western Ky where Moms family is from, they are part Cherokee and the Family legend is we skipped out on the Army in that area during the Trail of Tears and the Indian part was a family secret for quite a few generations until being a Breed was no longer a Handicap.
I have had a varied life and eclectic experiences. President of the Honor Society at Paducah Community College, President of the Physcis Club and Deptmental Rep to the Student Counsel at UK.
I dropped out in my Sr year there being real slim pickings in that field and having lost weight due to lack of funds down to 130 lbs, and having gotten a letter that said Dear Mr Kauffan we think you should have graduated by now it is time to start paying back your student loan.
I got a job at a K-Mart as a Security Guard and then a Store Detective, a steady diet got me back up to 180 and I got a second job working on the Door of a Jazz Club and a Black Disco Tec. At the latter job besides the bartender and the DJ I was usually the only person on the premises with Blue eyes.
Later I worked a variety of jobs until at 43 I found a need to start over. Divorce does that losing everything does that too. I went back to school and got a 2 year degree in Electronics.
I sometimes Like to look at my Social Security Wage Sheet at a couple of years there in the 90s where my income did not exceed 6K I am doing MUCH better now since I joined Rockwell, good enough that in the last 8 years I have been to Russia about 10 times and Italy once, I have an interest in the Former Soviet Union and a tad of wander lust.
I consider myself a typical Jacksonian Libertarian, if typical describes that breed.
I have left out a lot, some day I will write more down and tell the tale of the time I gave a Burned Out Brain Dead Drug Addict who was holding a gun on me a dime to call the Police and have me picked up, he thought he was Serpico making a Bust, but that is another story. 😉
Dan Kauffman (b9ba52) — 9/24/2005 @ 6:37 amLongtime occasional reader, first-time commenter (I got the impression you wanted to hear from everyone who ever stopped by the blog).
SWM, age 28; from Sprinfield, VA, USA; currently living in East Lansing, MI, attending Michigan State U. veterinary school; B.S.-Biology from University of Richmond, 1998; U.S. Army field artillery officer 1998-2002; hobbies include running, playing sports informally, collecting music, playing pool.
Politically, I’m a recent convert to Republican, but no Rick Santorum (not even close!). Part of me is also a hands-off libertarian…get out of my wallet AND my private life. Just a dirty capitalist pig who shops at Wal-Mart ON PURPOSE. Stop by a lot of blogs, including this one, mostly Instapundit, Neal Boortz, HughHewitt, Powerline, PoliPundit, and RedState.
XSpyder (df0136) — 9/24/2005 @ 6:41 am50-year-old white male, attorney focusing on construction law who attempts to operate a blog on construction law (recently interrupted by preparation for and 5-week trial of a construction case, but a very good verdict this past Monday); currently riding out Hurricane Rita here in The Woodlands, 30 miles north of downtown Houston (my hatred of traffic jams is more intense than my fears of a CAT-3 hurricane: sitting on my ass smoking cigars and watching TV worked out pretty well after all); on my third marriage, 5 children by the first two ranging in ages from 14 – 25; very conservative; a “South Park Republican”; political news junkie; anti-abortion, pro-death penalty, pro-gun; big fan of Mark Levin, Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham and Dennis Prager; frequently surfs The Corner, Ed Morrissey, Michelle Malkin, Charles Johnson, PowerLine, Tim Blair, Glenn Reynolds, Howard Bashman and Patterico; liftetime goals still not achieved: to jello-wrestle Elizabeth Hurley, learn to bowl overhand, drive cross-country without a map and at least half-way in reverse gear, and join the Mile High Club even if I have to do it alone. Then jello-wrestle Elizabeth Hurly again.
Don Hawbaker (b2d03e) — 9/24/2005 @ 6:48 amAge 67, live near Salem, Oregon, retired. I have a doctorate in physics, which I taught at one time. I’m very concerned about the ongoing invasion of impoverished third-worlders. In our case, they’re coming from Mexico, but this is a world-wide problem for the West. This problem was presciently dramatized by Jean Raspail in his 1973 novel “Camp of the Saints.”
dchamil (39eab1) — 9/24/2005 @ 6:56 amWoman with a strong desire for privacy.
I’m an ex-liberal and I think that the Left’s view of human nature is laughably off-track. I considered myself a liberal only because I believed the lies that the Left said about conservatives. I now think that the Left has as much power as it does only because of those lies.
Viva the internet. I look forward to the demise of the Democratic party and to the healthy split of the GOP into traditionalists and libertarians. (A girl can hope, can’t she?)
Bostonian (34df6e) — 9/24/2005 @ 7:01 amAbout me.
Tom (2a3a11) — 9/24/2005 @ 7:32 amRochester, MI; female, 49; happily married to a man I met while working at the South Pole Station in Antarctic 21 years ago. (No kidding—I had to go to the ends of the earth to meet that man. J) We have 2 daughters (ages 13 and 16), and 2 sons adopted from Kosovo (22 and 24). I have a doctorate in systems engineering and am a professor of engineering, teaching and doing research involving electromagnetics at a local university. Working on my second book, tentatively titled “Evil Genes: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed, and My Sister Stole my Mother’s Boyfriend.” Learned Russian while serving in the US Army (started out as a private, ended up a regular army captain serving in what was then West Germany—I have the profoundest respect for those serving in Iraq and elsewhere nowadays.) Moderate politically–very much aware that Pollyanna liberalism has worsened many social problems (the law of unintended consequences). Although I’m not a Christian (I can’t take that leap of faith very easily, having seen how much one’s faith depends on the geography in which one was born), I feel very comfortable and accepted when hanging out with fundamentalist and conservative friends—much more so, in fact, than when hanging out with some of my more “tolerant” colleagues in academia. I think this website is the best I’ve ever seen at pointing out the disconnect between MSM versions of reality, and reality. I also read Instapundit, Powerline, Betsy’s Page, Roger L. Simon, University Diaries, and many others.
BarbO (a86dec) — 9/24/2005 @ 7:51 am49 married-third-time-female/one engaged son 26. Just when I think I’m super far right, my libertarian views kick in. I believe in law and order but think less is more. Involved politically, current President and newsletter editor for RWF club. Volunteer for many different charity events as “grunt”. (not involved at planning stage, hey grunts are needed just as much) Wake up and read all my favorite blogs: Ace of Spades, Amy Ridenour, Attack Machine, Bortz, Buzz, Calicapia, Cathys World, Hugh Hewitt, Infinite Monkeys, Lucianne, Michelle Malkin, Patterico, Polidundit, TKS on NRO, Vodkapundit, Xrlq, there are more…..I’m a mosaic artist and avid gardener who has won awards for both.
Dayna (37c317) — 9/24/2005 @ 8:24 amPlace:Oakville, Missouri, USA
Marv (e05868) — 9/24/2005 @ 8:58 amAge:53
gender:male
Occupation:past aircraft inspector, present paralegal.
Hobbies: Shortwave radio, computers, wood turning, Politics: fiscal and politically to the right.
Favorite sites: martindales, the reference desk, Right Wing Nut House, Patterico’s Pontifications, Cao’s Blog…….where do ya stop?
Mark Tillman; Memphis, Tennesse, USA, 43, B.A. from the University of Memphis with double major in psychology and philosophy, M.S. from the University of Memphis in Psychology. Computer programmer.
Enjoy: music – I’m an audiophile, my Siberian Husky dogs, electronics and food. (I’m actually going to to see the orchestra tonight, but that is really out of character for me – they’re doing a Beatles tribute and the Stones tickets are too expensive, anyway).
Liberal, but more of a centrist in a lot of areas, probably more fiscally conservative than most liberals. My grandfather was a judge, which influences some of my political philosophy. Was completely apolitical before college – so I tend to be cautious in what I claim to know. Made Patterico furious with my first comment on this site, but intend to show him that I am a worthy adversary. (Maybe I’m a troll here, but you learn little if you only talk to people who have the same ideas as you do. Classic liberal, right?)
I also read Kevin Drum, Billmon, Kos, Yglesias, Michelle Maulkin, Sullivan, Instapundit, to name a few. Josh Cherniss (“Sitting on a Fence”) is great, but he doesn’t post often. He teaches poitical philosophy at Yale.
Tillman (1cf529) — 9/24/2005 @ 9:20 am41-year old white female. Married 15 years. Two sons, ages 13 and 10. Junior/Senior High English teacher; BA (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa), Sweet Briar College & M.Ed. Secondary English Education, Lynchburg College, and working on Ph.D. in English Literature t Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
I enjoy reading (I love the Harry Potter books), watching good (usually old) movies, listening to music, and doing things with my family. We have 3 cats and a dog.
I read Little Green Footballs, Polipundit, Michelle Malkin, Iowahawk, Ankle Biting Pundits, Powerline, Instapundit, The Anchoress, Ace of Spades, Wizbang, Hugh Hewitt, Captain’s Quarters, Baldilocks, Patterico, and National Review Online daily, and other similar sites occasionally.
I am conservative, prolife, and strongly support tough immigration law enforcement. I don’t watch much MSM news because I tend to scream at the TV. I read Fox and CNN on line, and I read Slate for Christopher Hitchens and Dear Prudence (and sometimes Mickey Kaus). Mark Steyn is my favorite columnist.
I am Christian, and I really try to “walk the walk” in all I do.
goddessoftheclassroom (7eef1d) — 9/24/2005 @ 9:34 amSingle 63 year old, white male, Newport Beach Ca. A.A. photography. Independent reader, approx. 3000 books in last 40 years (estimate). Occupations: photographer, port police officer, test equipment engineer (yes you can be an engineer without an engineering degree if your employeer determines your accomplishments productive and qualified), electrician, finish carpenter, US Army Reserve medic, chauffeur and fired as an air conditioning repair trainee.
Politics, born conservative in Muscatine Iowa and stayed that way. Only mistake was voting for Jimmy Carter. Will not repeat that Left swerve.
Lived in Seattle from 1979 to 2003. Two ex-wives and two great children. Moved to Calif to assist sister in caring for mom who is 90 years old and is probably stronger than I am! Not working so as to do home-care for mom. While here am doing a couple www sites. One site on photography and one on politics. Bloging and web site maintenance help me to learn about digital photography and site creation. Two years ago I knew nothing about either.
Sites I visit the most are: Drudge, LGF, Michelle Malkin, Iowahawk, WorldNetDaily, TheViewThroughA Windshield, HughHewitt, AnnCoulter and Paterico.
Started my political comment site because the MainStreamMedia is just a mouthpiece for Democrat-socialist collectivist pap. Hollering at the TV and newspaper was not productive.
Todd Roth (d60990) — 9/24/2005 @ 9:37 amKansas City, MO. Age 57. Male. BS Geology. Own a small manufacturing company. Social Liberal – Fiscal Conservative. No labels – I like to take each issue individually and form an opinion. I am a lover of facts and detest spin and obfuscation. Veteran of the USMC (66-69) served in VietNam (68-69). Love everybody’s grandchildren including mine. All babies are born free of prejudice, bias, racism and political affiliation.
I am an avid golfer, playing some 150 rounds, on average per year. I enjoy reading (I try to read at least one book a week) and I read the newspaper (Kansas City Star) every day.
I intend to sell my business in the next year or so and retire. After retirement, I intend to attend Law School and become an attorney. My intention is to provide pro bono work in civil law, becoming, basically a non profit law center.
rls (0516f0) — 9/24/2005 @ 10:29 amThis is fantastic. I especially love hearing from the people who rarely or never comment.
Now, if I can just get you to *start* commenting!
Patterico (4e4b70) — 9/24/2005 @ 11:18 amI reside in NC, graduated Columbia ’61 (NYC), have been working on my golf game since I retired in 1978. Hope to shoot my age in the next 3-4 years.
rab (34f33a) — 9/24/2005 @ 11:45 amI’m proud of my country and Pres. Bush. Wish that he would STOP
legal and illegal immigration for a few years. Wish that he would stop calling Islam a religion of peace (pure PC) and get tougher on the WOT by extending the battle to Iran. And do not attempt to rebuild NO, its a no brainer. I guess that makes me a right winger.
I’m a Senior at NYU, majoring in History and English. I spearhead a profanity-laced blog that has little significance in the world as of yet, but will clearly become one of the most socially innovative projects in thie history of mankind. I’m a moderate Democrat, though that apparently means a Republican, according to the creepy people in my Socialist Theory class.
Emma Grimshaw (d2eff2) — 9/24/2005 @ 12:04 pmI’m a diehard Mets fan, still sleep with a moldy teddy bear that I received at my baptism, watch Law and Order SVU religiously, and have a shrine to Marlon Brando circa 1949 on my wall.
My favorite blogs are: Michelle Malkin, Captain’s Quarters, A Small Victory, Alarming News, Protein Wisdom and Powerline.
I have a cat named after Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Retired from being a Stagehand in Las Vegas for 35 years. I did lighting for many celebrities. I am a union member that disagrees often with the political recommendations of the union. (I’m not the only one.)
Retired Geezer (817e4e) — 9/24/2005 @ 12:07 pmMoved to Boise, Idaho where I could get my wife the horse I had been promising her for years. Of course that turned into 3 horses.
I’ve been blogging since January at blogidaho.com
Favorite sites: Ace of Spades, SondraK.com, Garfield Ridge, Michelle Malkin, CQ, Wuzzadem, Iowahawk, Powerline, LGF and of course Patterico.
I’m having fun and enjoying my Golden Years.
Orange County, California; 43; female; B.A. in history; self-employed proofreader (mostly for court reporters, have also worked on some published books); politically conservative; married w/4 children (homeschooling 3).
Avid film fan (esp. 1938-1963; love to read (esp. children’s books, politics, film, cookbooks, history, biography); finally on the road to becoming a better cook; love news/talk radio/blogs/magazines; spend a lot of time at Disneyland…an interesting fact is that’s where I met my husband :).
Favorite sites include Free Republic, Lucianne, Hugh Hewitt, Power Line, Captain’s Quarters…basically all the “big” conservative political sites…I am a reluctant TIMES subscriber (can’t get by without their Sports section) and check out Patterico regularly.
Thanks for the terrific job you do here!
Started my own blog this summer…usually a half-dozen or so links a day to an eclectic assortment of articles in my areas of interest, with varying amounts of accompanying commentary. Always happy to have new readers drop by for a visit!
Laura (8d0335) — 9/24/2005 @ 12:11 pmSee-Dubya, Northern Cal, low thirties, transvestite ballerina. I like tutus, pink slippers, and swans. Born in Congo but am mixed race (Sioux/Uyghur/Hmong) Educated in fine arts at the Sorbet in Paris. I’m a lapsed Unitarian, which means I believe in God. Politics are all over the place but I believe that if we can all hold hands and hum really loud divine cosmic energy will bring world peace. So hum, right now. HUM, DAMN YOUR EYES! And hold my hand.
See Dubya (806435) — 9/24/2005 @ 12:40 pmLansing, MI. 53, MBA-Accounting, BS-Management, Phillips ’70, slightly libertarian conservative. Regularly read Powerline, Patterico, Austin Bay, Belmont Club, Instapundit and others.
sjphoto (750f4c) — 9/24/2005 @ 1:10 pmA lurker checks in!
Female, 43, Los Angeles-bred, UCLA almost-graduate, disgruntled Republican. Immovably opposed to abortion and, living as I do in L.A., growing more and more impatient with illegal immigration.
Ancestry — nearly 100% Celt, and that mostly Irish. Red hair, and one of the whitest white people you’re likely to meet.
I read a lot but I’m picky; even well-done junk bores me senseless. But I love all movies and have a soft spot for cheesy, second-rate junk with people like Vin Diesel in it.
In real life, I’m a writer who has a weekly column in a national paper, and I also serve as second-in-command copy chief. I should be working right now, actually.
Bridey (358e29) — 9/24/2005 @ 1:18 pm“Name” (MD in Philly) is true. We’ve lived in Philly for the last 21 of my 48 years after getting my MD in ’84 and BS in ’80 (Biochem) from Univ. of Wisconsin (-“Madison”, but no one who went to Madison, the main campus, bothers to add that). Have always practiced in “underserved areas” in urban environment, muchas veces estoy hablando Espanol, including large percentage of work with patients with AIDS, travelling through neighborhoods and visiting in homes.
Grew up in a morally and politically conservative home, but little church/religious background. My own college-age questioning ended-up in my “becoming a Christian” in my junior year, and my previous career plans of basic research transformed into going into medicine. Hobbies I would enjoy more if I could would include music, esp. guitar; outdoors-camping, etc.; woodworking/”building things”; fencing (as in foil/epee’/saber); and engaging others in “discussion” about cultural/moral issues with intellectual integrity (That’s why I frequent patterico). All enjoyed more with my wife and two sons (19,17) and daughter (5) as they choose.
Politically, conservative background as I said, which does not mean one doesn’t have a social conscience. Voted for President Carter’s reelection as I liked his work for peace in the middle east, what I saw as his refusal to continue to back Somoza (sp?) in Nicaragua. Never voted for Reagan, still don’t understand why Oliver North is treated as a hero by some, but have come to appreciate Reagan’s stand against communism and lost respect for President Carter and all those who act as if all the world’s problems and mean people would just go away if the US was better. I don’t understand how people can think of the Holocaust and say “Never Again” when we allowed it to happen in the Soviet Union, Communist China, S. Vietnam, Cambodia, Rwanda, and the Sudan. Domestically, not being a Democrat actually doesn’t mean you want children to go to bed hungry at night (at least it doesn’t have to). Sometimes it simply means a disagreement as the best way to go about it.
Never was told I was particularly good in any sport, but my oldest was told he was “a pretty good fencer-when he pays attention” by a two time Olympian Gold medalist. (He decided to quit “paying attention” completely in the sport). I doubt I am one that Patterico wants to “get commenting” (any more).
MD in Philly (b3202e) — 9/24/2005 @ 1:26 pmMidwesterner, 53, MBA, widowed mother of three, “collapsed” 7th generation Episcopalian praying for schism. My family has voted Republican since Lincoln and so conservative that my grandmother would not allow us to have Roosevelt dimes (grin).
Lesley (a9eb8b) — 9/24/2005 @ 1:31 pmJackie, 46, New York City, lawyer. Former boss (one of several) of Patterico, although I had no idea that was his real name. (In case you were wondering, Patterico is indeed a very good lawyer.) Democrat, although increasingly in name only, and I fear that that the Dems are never going to get their stuff together. For the most part, I care more about maintaining (or re-establishing) the health of our civic, governmental, and cultural institutions than I do about particular policy questions. I fear that the U.S. and the world have entered an era in which hate and lies are in the ascendant and that no good can come from that. In addition to the blogs others have listed, I recommend Clive Davis.
Jackie (42bed3) — 9/24/2005 @ 1:43 pmNice to hear from you, Jackie. You haven’t commented in a while; I actually meant to write you to ask if you had stopped reading the site.
Patterico (4e4b70) — 9/24/2005 @ 1:58 pmIf you want to learn about me, just visit my blog and click on About 🙂
Yes, I know my blog is butt-ugly. Sekimori is working on it.
Voice of Reason (d427f3) — 9/24/2005 @ 2:18 pmI’m a 65-year old female who’s retired from the advertising business. Was a Broadcast Business Mgr. for many years. My hubby is also retired and we live in southern Calif. We both golf, play bridge and mess around on the computer for fun.
We’re both Republicans, but my husband is more liberal than I am. Other than Patterico, I also log onto Drudge and link to Lucianne. When I’m not surfing the web, I play Free Cell or Spider.
I have some college but no degree, two wonderful kids and 2 grandkids. Life is good, but I fear for our country sometimes – the political sniping that goes on on both sides is not doing us any good.
Jackie Warner (95d9f3) — 9/24/2005 @ 2:42 pmBorn in Congo but am mixed race (Sioux/Uyghur/Hmong)
MD in Philly (b3202e) — 9/24/2005 @ 2:59 pmHuntington Beach, CA, 56, male, BA History and graduate studies in Ancient History. Raised at the beach and still surf. I am currently a substitute teacher in Orange County. I started off as a knuckleheaded hs liberal and like many others was mugged by reality. I’m a neo-con(suspecting that most of what I believe will never happen). Favorite sites are here, Charmaine Yoest, Powerline, Civitas, Captain’s Quarters, Tim Blair, Surf Report, Davids Medienkritik and Waking Up on Planet X. I’ve discovered I like gardening and Gilbert and Sullivan.
Pat Patterson (5b3946) — 9/24/2005 @ 3:17 pm51 year old white male. Married for 15 years (1st marriage for us both). Two young daughters, 8 and 5, going to Catholic School, though I am agnostic. Just finished a 5-year stint as treasurer of the Libertarian Party of Maryland and I can tell you that McCain-Feingold immensely complicated that job.
Joe Miller (8d0335) — 9/24/2005 @ 3:20 pmI got a degree in Political Science from Brandeis in 1976 and minored in Economics. Tom Friedman was one year ahead of me. Did I ever run into him in the Economics Dept, you might ask. What do you think?
Patterico, I did a significant amount of drinking at Cornell and the surrounding environs in the mid 1970s. My cousin was going there at the time and belonged to Acacia. We spent time at the 9s, the North 40, the Boxcar, the Stables Inn, and the Thirsty Bear. I have very fond memories of the subs from King Subs.
I work for the National Federation of the Blind in Baltimore in the direct mail fundraising department. I’ve been a computer guy for 20 years now.
Something I’ve never told anybody: my highschool sweetheart, who ran off to California with a married man and later married and divorced him, might not have been as stupid as I thought at the time. In retrospect, I was a bit of a jackass in those days.
Those on the left have, since the 2000 election, put me in the position of constantly defending the President. I’ll never forgive them for that.
Hi everyone, long time reader, long time commenter.
I live in Los Angeles, and you can find me blogging about the law enforcement aspect of it a whole lot. I work in law enforcement, and my hobbies include reading, blogging, spending way too much time in traffic, and getting stuck in elevators in Los Angeles County buildings. I’m very right of center, hate wasteful government spending, and frequently guest-blog on Right-Thinking.com so I can tell the world about it.
Outside of that, much of my time is spent pestering Patterico.
Nick @ HBR (33e27c) — 9/24/2005 @ 3:30 pmI am 59 ( in a month), male, retired – because of job restructering, and staying that way because my wife is a retired teacher with a good retirement. I line in Colorado, presently have 3 cats. My “job” now is to excercise by bike riding and swimming. I read blogs and feel that I am much more informed than I ever was. I am a Navy vet. and a Republican (middle of the rode type). Voted for Bush twice and proud that I did. For the first time ever I put political signs in my yard.
LYNN (dc16bd) — 9/24/2005 @ 3:33 pmI am a 48-year old male. I own my own export business and work out of my home in Louisville, Kentucky where my wife and I have lived in the same home since 1987. A dog lover, I have two chihuahuas, Tiny and Pepe.
I am a Navy veteran – formerly a nuclear reactor operator on fast attack submarines. My wife and I are both proud Republicans. I enjoy blogs, golf, and Kentucky Wildcat basketball.
Glenn (c644be) — 9/24/2005 @ 3:49 pmThe group that has posted here would make a very interesting dinner party, some wonderful stories. First time commenter. Chicago, IL, 48, male, single, right of center politically though not doctrinaire. Independant real estate appraiser. fav sites: instapundit, powerline, lgf, Volokh, etc. Hobbies play guitar and singing hard core country songs which not many do anymore.
brian (995d4f) — 9/24/2005 @ 3:57 pmMale; 61, live in Glendale, CA; undergrad at San Diego State, JD from UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall; tapering off from career as lawyer; Democrat in name only since my political views skew right, although I vote for people in both parties. Hobbies include fishing, golfing, flying antique model airplanes, and serving on local boards and commissions. Lurker insofar as Patterico is concerned. Possess healthy contempt for hypocrisy and cant of all types, so am alternately distressed or amused at what I see among the political class.
Mike Myers (af3852) — 9/24/2005 @ 4:31 pmI am a 61, male, married, and live in Gautier MS. US Army Veteran, 1962 to 1965. California hippie and peace activist: 1966 to 1975. Education: BA in Biology (1975), Ph.D. Chemistry (1980), and M.B.A. (1999). I currently work for a large defense contractor as a materials scientist. Hobbies: reading (economics and science fiction, mostly), gardening, target shooting (I own 4 pistols and 6 rifles… I gotta buy another pistol), computers (built my first computer from a Heathkit, remember those?). Favorite websites: well, Instapundit, Powerline, LGF, Patterico…. The usual for a Libertarian/conservative, I guess.
Need any help with chemistry, science or materials questions? Shoot me an email.
Harold (2519b5) — 9/24/2005 @ 4:31 pmSan Diego, CA, 53, High School and a whole lot of computer technology courses over the last thirty years or so. Conservative, for the most part. Hobbies: reading (mostly sci-fi, fantasy, mysteries), motorcycly riding, shooting, music (listening), movies. Love being with my grandkids, daughter; they live in Georgia. Blogs/websites: Frontpagemag.com, annika’s journal, hogonice.com, michelle malkin…
Brad (f7842d) — 9/24/2005 @ 4:46 pmI check the following blogs before I go to work: polipundit, captain’s quarters, powerline, spectator.org, lucianne, and patterico. I also read instapundit, theanchoress, michelle malkin, hugh hewitt, lileks and gopvixen. I don’t even read the local paper anymore I’m 46, a college professor, and a resident of Florida. I have a husband (lawyer) and an 18 year old son and 14 year old daughter. My 18 year old is vascillating between going to college next year & spending 2 years in the Army. I’m ok with either – my husband is having a little harder time. He would like the son to go ROTC.
Mary (b2f9d0) — 9/24/2005 @ 4:49 pmCity: Phoenix, AZ
Ben (3e41ac) — 9/24/2005 @ 4:53 pmCountry: USA
Age: 39
Gender: Male
Educational background: School of Hard Knocks
Profession: Business Manager
Hobbies: Reading. Lots and lots of reading and now a little blogging, too. Blame Hugh Hewitt. I read his book.
Politically Defined: Used to be a registered Democrat. Now a registered Republican. Feeling the increasing need to register as an Independent. Wait a minute… …There. Just changed my registration.
Favorite sites: I keep a blog roll at Fox Gnaws, my blog. Nothing there that will blow anybody’s mind, but what the heck.
Something interesting about myself: I was once chased through an apartment complex parking lot by a woman’s machete wielding boyfriend. And no, I didn’t know she had a boyfriend, let alone a psychopathic one.
North Port, FL. 55 and male, BS/MS-Econ, PhD-Accounting, CPA, CMA. Retired university professor and PT farmer/accountant. Avid fisherman, former +2 golfer who is a fiscal/social conservative. In addition to this site I frequent instapundit, powerline, captain’s quarter, malkin, ace of spades, polipundit, the corner, lgf, imao, and some Canadian blogs, small dead animals, neale news, angry in the great white north.
Mikey (6a2878) — 9/24/2005 @ 5:58 pmI am retired and now live in Sanibel Fl. In my real life I worked for newspapers (business side) and before that I was an officer and intelligence analyst for the Navy in the early 60s.
Favorite blogs are (in no particular order) Powerline, Captain’s Quarters, Patterico, Instapundit, Wizbang, Publius Pundit, Instapundit and Irish Pennants.
I started reading blogs as a result of the Dan Rather fiasco. I finally found great writers who challenged the incredibly biased reporting of the MSM. Dropped my 40 year subscription to the NY Times at the same time for the same reasons. It’s not so much their bias, it’s that they totally fail to report news that doesn’t support their agenda. I cannot tolerate people or organizations who try to make things “unhappen”.
I stay active editing and writing for my local Power Squadron’s monthly magazine. If I had only known how much easier the editorial side of publishing business was, I would have abandoned the business side years ago.
Corky Boyd (a8cc75) — 9/24/2005 @ 6:20 pmBorn in Los Angeles, grew up in Granda Hills then behind the Orange curtain in Brea. Currently live in the strangely designated Inland Empire (which the LATimes, and most El-Lay media, studiously ignores). 51 [gasp], married, mom of 4 daughters (youngest just started college in Frisco), grandma [gasp gasp] to twin boys who turn 3 on Tuesday. BSIT but currently still a clerk at the DA’s office. I blame my dad for my news info/politics addiction — he started me at age 10 reading the LA Times in full after school then we’d discuss all the articles at the dinner table. He refuses to read the Times any more but we still dissect all events whenever we can.
I’ve been a full-time-homemaker, soccer/swim/band mom, PTA and very successful fundraiser and kid taxi service.
I flirted with the Libertarian party but their isolationism and the tendency to confuse being a libertarian with being a libertine has me back in the Republican party. My pet-peeve being those that deliberately conflate the social with the legal. Another reason I’m not comfortable with the “socially liberal” label. There are a lot of behaviors I have no trouble characterizing as “immoral” but about which the government has no business regulating.
I’m a fiscal conservative, pro-capitalist, live-let-live socially, and pro-death-penalty.
I’m in love with blogging because I don’t have to write letters-to-the-editor any more. I read whatever I can and always have an opinion. 😉
Darleen (f20213) — 9/24/2005 @ 6:41 pmLoyal lurker er…reader.
Orginally from Seattle, now living in Fontana Ca. via Germany, London and N. Ireland. Will probably move back to Seattle within the next 2 years.
55 years old, married 33 years, 3 children two grand children one cat aquired in England and still with us.
BA history from the University of Washington.
Quality Assurance Field Rep for Boeing, going on 28 years.
Politically and Socially conservative, like to jog and garden, read US history, political books and blogs.
I would like to try to establish a blog myself someday, but right now I have other priorities for my time.
Pete Mackay (f520ab) — 9/24/2005 @ 7:06 pmI am in my mid fifties BSME and MSIE from Mizzou in the 70’s
I spent most of my career in technical sales but now teach HS math in northern Mississippi where I now live. Married to a teacher live in an antebellum home ( the boyhood home of Shepard Smith of Fox news)
I like to ride a bicycle. I was once an expert bridge player and read center type blogs such as as this one instapundit donkelphant etc.
tom allan (a9eb8b) — 9/24/2005 @ 7:19 pmTom,
I love bridge! Mrs. P. and I used to play a lot more before we had kids. I learned as a kid; when Grandma came to town my parents needed a fourth.
Patterico (4e4b70) — 9/24/2005 @ 7:46 pmI’m Mike S. I’m a male, open minded, conservative, under 30, a computer engineer in Seattle, WA. I value tolerance, though I value truth more. I got into blogs from Powerline.
Mike (1f02e6) — 9/24/2005 @ 8:06 pmThe name is just like it says. I am 51, divorced, two grown children, 2.5 grandchildren (one due in February). I live in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, which is not the best place to admit that I attended the University of Texas. I served six years in the Army, including a stint in the Middle East; today I’m a hired hand on a server farm. My Web site went up in 1996, which in Internet terms is somewhere in the Old Silurian period, and is inexplicably still there. Politically, I follow the lead of Will Rogers, who wasn’t a member of any organized political party: he was a Democrat.
CGHill (43e777) — 9/24/2005 @ 8:21 pmHinckley, (central) MN. Male, 30 years old. Japanese/caucasian. As of recently, attorney. Born NYC, raised NY suburbs. Macalester College (English/East Asian Studies), Univ. of Wisconsin Law School.
Began this, my first rural experience, with my family a little over a year ago. 5-year old daughter, another currently on the way. Among the reasons for being here – opportunity arose through in-laws, living in the woods w/ my favorite people rocks, I love the homestead and, for the most part, the work that goes with it (chickens, wood heat, etc), and, finally, my idealization of Atticus Finch.
My views often place me as a liberal, but I am disenchanted with much of the nonsense, and political ineptitude, of that camp. (NYT printed my letter on that subject on 8/8 – my daughter’s birthday.) I believe the Second Amendment should be enforced like the First – unequivocally upheld and reasonably regulated. I am ardently opposed to the drug war. Because of continual political one-upsmanship, intelligent policies on drug control, sex offenders, and sentencing generally, remain so close, yet so far. But enough – I’ve spread my opinions on these quite generously on some of the threads here.
Nonexhaustive list of formative experiences: hitching from st.paul to albuquerque and back with a friend during college; studying in western china, including three weeks studying taoist tai chi at a famous temple; two and a half years (incl. two winters) as a roofer in minneapolis; trial internships with the Milwaukee public defender – adult and juvenile – during law school; parenthood. Was a pretty good HS wrestler, have played ultimate frisbee since then.
I am “fishetarian”, avid vegetarian cook. The fish part is mostly a concession to the limited dining-out options in the two-horse communities where I live and work.
I’ve attempted to start a blog several times, but admit it’s hard. The thoughts I really want to get down are not usually related to politics, thus I’d rather journal on my own. Why blog when you can kick up some dust on the PP threads? I scan maybe 20 blogs semi-regularly. Currently reading Murakami, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, for the second time. Highly recommend it.
biwah (573082) — 9/24/2005 @ 8:30 pmYeah–
I’m one of those not easily characterized or binned by the trendy liberals.
I’m a three degree (BS, MS, PhD) graduate in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley. I was there when Mario Savio climbed on top of the police auto to proclaim the Free Speech Movement (what a joke!). I was there when Noam Chomsky pronounced the acceptability of academic anti-Semitism. I was there when Gov. Ronald Reagan declared marshal law, and a bystander was shot off the roof in Berkeley.
Yeah, I’ve seen it all, and I’m bitter as Hell! That was 1969, the same year the scion of a dynasty founded on bootleg booze and prostitution (Ted Kennedy) literally got away with murder, thanks to mommy Rose and a highly compliant Catholic diocese in Boston.
Then comes that Kennedy satrap John Kerry in 1971 before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chaired by the highly dishonorable William Fulbright. I guess it doesn’t matter to liberals that not one of Kerry’s charges of U. S. war crimes in Viet Nam has ever been validated in a court of law. Too bad that the liberals can’t take the time to review Kerry’s checkered military war records and find the blatant contradictions between what he says he did versus what his fellow veterans remember happened.
I’ve worked with Oakies and Arkies in the Sierra foothills of California. I’ve worked with labor union members who only asked that I view their greivances with management equally with the views of management. More than once, I a Republican, sided with the unions. Those unions represented real working people, unlike the current leadership of the Democratic Party controlled by big bucks scumbags like George Soros,Terresa Heintz Kerry, and Air America founder Sheldon Drobny.
Mescalero (f903bd) — 9/24/2005 @ 9:06 pmSeattle WA, since 1991
single, male , 43 , religous
consider myself a conservative in the mold of President TR with a little libertarian streak. Perhaps best to think of my views as PJ O’Rourke
work as an in-house computer consultant and email manager (sendmail on RH9)
seePea (78b3da) — 9/24/2005 @ 9:27 pmbiwah-
MD in Philly (b3202e) — 9/24/2005 @ 9:45 pmI think we disagree more often than not, but those two qualities alone warrant my respect.
I’m a program manager for an education company, so I spend a lot of time flying around the country visiting Dental Schools. I am a voracious reader, love newspapers and periodicals, and being a conservative ( not to be confused with being Republican )I read your website with a wicked little smile. Every mark your whip leaves on the soft belly of the bloated LA times allows me – living vicariously through you – to forgive those around me who make stupid comments on issues they know little about other than what they read in the LA Times.
When I graduated high school I followed politics not at all. Around 24 years old I met a professor at the local community college who managed to offend every sensibility I had never thought I cared about, and in doing so inspired me to question what was, as I was told, common sense. This started me on that neverending journey to find out who I was. Through these many years I’ve come to believe that while perspectives cannot be categorized strictly, political perspective at its core is not a learned trait but an innate coloring of who we are, or even better – a template from which we define the conundrums that inevitably distort the life we had once thought owed us something. My grandfather put it best when he told me ” Its not experience that makes the man, its what man makes of his experience.” Too true…
So back we come to ‘ vicariousness ‘ – I treasure this site for that. I visit numerous sites, but this site is precious, in that it is one of the rare chances to witness arrogance addressed. MSM is no longer unaccountable. That is a good thing for us and the MSM.
Thanks!
Shane Borgess
Shane Borgess (92dff9) — 9/25/2005 @ 12:08 amAnaheim, CA
I’m a marketing / business development consultant for European high tech start ups and I live on the French Riviera. I have a blog which will probably explain my political viewpoints better than anythign I can write down.
I enjoy this blog because of its relentless takedowns of the LA Times and its moonbats. Somethign that I occasionally attmept with the UK equivalents.
Francis (cb60d0) — 9/25/2005 @ 2:43 amCheck out my Pajamas Media profile for a few clues:
http://www.pajamasmedia.com/index.php?p=2005/08/sisu_sissy_willis.php
Sissy Willis (1b37d3) — 9/25/2005 @ 3:29 amHi. I’m a lurker. I’m 43 years old.
University of Santa Clara (’84)
Worked as an accountant for a few years in
San Jose/San Francisco area.
For last 14 years have lived in Japan.
I just love to read about take downs of the MSM.
Let’s face it: The MSM is “The Man”.
Favorite sites:Iowahawk, Tim Blair, Powerline,
Instapundit, Patterico.
Enjoys: Film Noir, rap, Simpsons.
joeyjojo (46a579) — 9/25/2005 @ 5:20 amHey – I’m a lurker too. Maybe I left a comment once.
Like some above, I’m also very frustrating to liberals b/c I defy their usual stereotype of a conservative. Im 32, was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and am an attorney at a prestigious firm in NYC (“but Jeff, you’re a smart guy, how could you support Bush?”). I’m not religious, but I was raised jewish (my father was roman-catholic). I married a muslim woman (my college sweetheart) whose family is from Pakistan and we have an 8-month old son. My family is my entire life.
I guess you can call me a “9/11 conservative.” Everything changed for me when I saw the second plane hit the tower while sitting in my car across the river. In a nutshell, this is the greatest country in the world, no matter who is president. We can have our disagreements about how things should run, or what policies to enact, but lets have an honest debate about it. If you tell me the country is a “living hell” under Bush, you have no hope of convincing me of anything.
Its more of a political conservatism than a social one. For example, I’m fine with gay marriage – would probably vote for it. But I’m appalled at the idea that people think it would be ok for a judge to impose it on the entire country. Preserving our system of govenment is more important than any one issue. Just as congress should not be passing laws outlawing any type of abortion, neither should any judge impose a rule on the entire country absent clear direction from the constitution. But I do think one of the biggest problems in our country is the breakdown of the family, and parents not taking responsibility for the children they bring into this world.
That said, I also love music – from classic to modern rock, jazz and opera – football, and reading (usually non-fiction political books).
I like your site because you state your arguments clearly and rationally, and there’s generally no name-calling or ad hominem attacks on those you oppose. If you start doing that, you’re losing the argument.
Your commentary on bias in the mainstream press is excellent. It is that reason i like sites such as timeswatch, MRC, Newsbusters, etc.
Keep it up, and keep it honest, and I’ll keep coming by.
Jeff
Jeff T. (935204) — 9/25/2005 @ 6:19 amInteresting reading above! Am 70, born in a small town in Michigan. Was a foster child. Presently reside in retirement at a golf course resort in Sparks, NV. BS – University of Detroit; JD – Hastings College of The Law, University of California [order of the coif]. Practiced law in San Mateo County, California for almost 38 years.
Served as an officer in the Navy for 4 years between college and law school. Am a life long Republican, conservative but not doctrinare. Was the Republican nominee for Congress in the 11th. Congressional District in 1972. Served almost 5 years on the board of trustees for a large high school district in San Mateo County.
Am opposed to the death penalty, except the murder of a prison guard or another prisoner by a prisoner in for life without possibility of parole. Am neither pro choice nor pro life. Am not opposed to abortion in the first tri-mester, but am opposed to partial birth abortion and in favor of parental notification. Am 100% in favor of the Bush Doctrine and our efforts to liberate the people and Iraq and Afganistan. Consider the War on Terror to be the most important task ever taken by this country.
Golf – reading – betting on football games, etc. Am traveling extensively during retirement.
Charlie Chase (f88a15) — 9/25/2005 @ 7:21 amLurker, here. I’m a 38-year-old television writer/producer in Los Angeles and, while liberal relatives and colleagues accuse me of having “drifted to the right” since graduating from college, my sense is the Democratic Party leadership has taken a hard turn to the left.
I’m astonished at the seething hatred for President Bush and his Administration and how this hatred is so casually tossed about in Hollywood meetings having nothing to do with politics. It’s generally assumed that everyone in the room shares the same “progressive” [COUGH] viewpoints, and it’s expected that all will chuckle with appreciation when someone jokes, for example, about having the assassin in our story go after Bush & Cheney (witty, eh?).
I pick my battles carefully and respond only to the most egregious liberal drivel. Despite the Left’s oft-pledged commitments to “diversity” and “tolerance,” I know certain Hollywood conservatives whose careers suffered when their politics became known.
I’m married with a family, am an active member of my church, and — according to my wife — spend way too much time on blogs and fantasy football.
I find that the queasy feeling I get after reading the L.A. Times can often be soothed by the Tums that is Patterico. Thanks — and keep up the great work!
Scott H. (402fc9) — 9/25/2005 @ 8:26 amI am a 68 year old male graduate of U.C.L.A., and was an attendee at the Anderson School of Management at U.C.L.A. I started out as 1) a liberal Democrat, and 2) a CPA. I subsequently became: 1) a conservative Republican and 2) a real estate investor and developer. I am a conservative activist and am president of a conservative activist group in Los Angeles sponsored by Townhall.com, and I am also President of the San Fernando Valley Republican Club. I write a blog, Bear to the Right and you can read more about me there.
Gary Aminoff (4da7b3) — 9/25/2005 @ 10:58 amLongtime lurker here. 18 year old male, Jewish, grew up in Beverly Hills [yes, 90210] and now attending college at Washington & Jefferson College in Pennsylvania with an intended pre-law major. Political junkie since my freshman year of high school, self described libertarian [fiscal conservatism + social liberalism w/ a dash of neocon]. Avid guitarist [5 years], anime fan [7 years] and videogamer [12 years]. Favorite sites include Powerline, Michelle Malkin, Instapundit, most things NRO, Ace of Spades, and just for balance, a trip to Daily Kos and Atrios every now and then. Weaksauce Bush supporter who thinks he’s hurting more than he’s helping, but doing a better job than anyone the DNC could prop up. Pro-military, pro-closed borders, but not a major fan of the current warhandling. Legally pro-choice, morally pro-life. Thinks the government should pull out of marriage entirely to end the whole stupid debate. Pro-legalization of all drugs with strict federal oversight so at least we can stop letting criminal syndicates build a powerbase on it. Pro-gutting the federal budget of nearly all social programs and rerouting that money back to individual states, cities, and people. Extremely anti-censorship regarding all optionally viewed media, including television and radio.
As for the personal aspect of this signing – I’m not a strict follower of Judaism, but I highly value the moral tenets it imbues. I hated my prolonged Hebrew schooling, though. It sucked years out of my life. I’m extremely interested in musical theory and Asian culture in general, which explains most of my hobbies and hybrid hobbies – anime, videogames, anime music, videogame music, etc. My favorite anime series include Bleach, Naruto, Full Metal Alchemist, Samurai Champloo, Hunter x Hunter, Prince of Tennis, Detective Conan, Cowboy Bebop, and Flame of Recca, just to name some recent onces. Favorite videogames include most anything Final Fantasy and Street Fighter. Favorite bands include Thrice, Coheed & Cambria, 30 Seconds to Mars, Staind, The Used, Straylight Run, Mae, Chevelle, TRUSTcompany, Breaking Benjamin, AFI, Death Cab for Cutie, Incubus, Emery, My Chemical Romance, Papa Roach, Story of the Year, Gorillaz, The Postal Service, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Flogging Molly, Seether, Disturbed, Vertical Horizon, Goo Goo Dolls, Frou Frou, John Mayer, Elliot Smith, Nobuo Uematsu, Yasunori Mitsuda, and Koji Kondo.
If you don’t recognize those last three names, go to http://www.ocremix.org – you can thank me later.
Daniel L. (3274df) — 9/25/2005 @ 3:43 pm53, Single Male with a beautiful 7 year old daughter, BS and MS, West Point Class of 73, Arizona State (MS) In Mechanical Engineering in alternative energy. Too bad it’s so inefficent compared to oil. Former member of NOW and Sierra Club and boy have they gone off the deep end. Classmate (and friend – not close though) of John Abizaid CENTCOM Cmdr. Public safety conservative (includes National security, police and fire etc) libertarian on most social issues (stay out of my private life). Like to read historical non fiction, classics like the “Annals and Histories”, and political science, fantasy like Lord of the Rings, enjoy classical music, Bach to Rock, working out, and lively discussions. Think MSM has been this way since the mid 70s (I used to read the NYT). Probably could do an econometrics proof of it. Believe if we don’t take it to the enemy it will most certainly end up right here, again, and far more tragic. Enjoy most all blogs that have already been mentioned. But reader of blogs not a commentator. Although the “Bush lied People died” meme did get me going. The definition of lie means one must know the truth. And how could Bush know that? The idiocy and illogic (not to mention changing the definition of the word so our children are confused) are profound, so I did send off a note to O’Rielly who had some nincompoop on with that spin. Brought up Episcoplian, but have close Jewish family, believe in a greater purpose to it all, and in the immortality of our souls. But in my view this place (where we are) is supposed to be a boiling caldron of issues. For if it’s not, ie it’s perfect (the liberal goal), then how do we learn? How do we grow as individuals? I think liberals are wrong about this most fundamental issue. We cannot, indeed are not supposed to, and both mans and mother nature will always act, to prevent the creation of a perfect society of no poor etc. The universe grows better thru competition not abject cooperation.
Craig (60b0be) — 9/25/2005 @ 7:09 pmMy name is Robert O’Brien. I am a 27, male, and a grad student at the University of Florida (though I am a California native).
I am a social conservative who voted for Prop 22 and would like to see the CA constitution amended to exclude the possibility of gay “marriage.”
I am opposed to the Iraq war, though I am more sympathetic to the naive idealism that seems to be the chief impetus behind this war than I am to the oil concerns that motivated the previous war with Iraq.
I also dislike Ann Coulter and Bill O’Reilly.
Oh, and I think the principle of stare decisis is bunk.
Robert OBrien (d606a4) — 9/25/2005 @ 7:56 pmRetired telephone tech. Live in Babylon, Long Island. Some college, four years in the Navy ’63-’67 three tours off Vietnam. Saw the MSM misreporting back then, came home, got married and went to work. When the protester was shot at Kent State, I knew I probably would have reacted the same way the National Guardsman did, in my case out of fear in the face of a hostile rock throwing mob. After that I ignored politics and the editorial sections of newspapers. It wasn’t until the nineties that I became a participant in the political life of my country.
Dennis (cccca9) — 9/25/2005 @ 9:52 pmI’m a 31 year old Staff Sergeant [soon to be Technical Sergeant] in the USAF, stationed in Anchorage, AK. Originally from NY. I haven’t been deployed yet. The majority of folks in my career field do their work stateside, although I’ll continue to volunteer for any jobs “over there” that come up.
I’m really into photography. If you check out my site, you can see some of my photos; all were taken with a 25 year old Minolta X-700. Manual focus, exposure, apeture — great camera to learn with. I take my Ruger Super Redhawk .44 magnum to the range a few times a month, and I’ll be adding a Glock [9mm or .40] soon. Glock gives military [and firefighters] the same [huge] discount they give cops. They’ll get my $380 on principle alone.
I was more progressive before 9/11; voted for Nader in an uncontested state [NY] in 2000, and have voted for Schumer and Moynihan in the past. Voted for the President in 2004, and I’ve drifted from the left quite a bit. Don’t care for the religious right, but I hold my nose and vote republican or third party/independent.
I read Insta-dude daily; Roger Simon, RCP, Captain’s Quarters, and VodkaPundit as well. I read LGF, but almost *never* read the comments. I also digest Winds of Change, Belmont, Fourth Rail, Mudville, and a couple of other blogs that discuss the war. I miss Chrenkof. And I have a list of gun bloggers I frequent: Alphecca, American Dino, American Drumslinger, Smallest Minority, and my favorite — mASS backwards. There are a few others, too. I really enjoy sites that inform, and sites that fact-check the media, or highlight its biases. I don’t believe the media is evil, and more than I think politicians are evil. Blogs are to the MSM what the MSM is to elected officials, IMHO.
I started reading blogs during raTHergate, and I started a blog a few weeks ago. Got me an Insta-lanche! N.Z. Bear gave me a password, and I’ll be working on cleaning up the PorkBusters page this week.
JP (c532bc) — 9/25/2005 @ 10:43 pm59 y.o. WM Lawyer, Eugene, Oregon.
Born in Edinburg, Tx. Lived (in this order) in Salem, Or.; Portland, Or.; Albuquerque, N.M., Spokane, Wa.; Denver, Co.; Worcester, Ma.; Salt Lake City, Ut.; Nha Trang, Vietnam; and Eugene.
A.B. Philosophy, Holy Cross College, Worcester, Mass.; J.D., University of Oregon.
Only went to parochial school. H.S. and college with the Jesuits. Now am a C & E catholic only.
Registered Democrat (Nixon spoiled that one for me), but mostly libertarian in attitude. We need a government, but not all that much of one.
Was a staff writer for the Salt Lake Tribune right out of college, then, after being drafted, was an army personnel clerk in Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, and an army journalist in Vietnam.
Went to law school upon return to the states. Practiced mostly civil law, and I hope, mostly civilly, since 1975. Before being elected to three terms on Eugene’s school board (from which I have retired), I occasionally served as a pro-tem trial judge for the state of Oregon, and more recently on a teacher-dismissal appeal board.
Hobbies: Rose gardening; fly fishing; whitewater boating (I’m one of the few people on the planet who has run the Widowmaker on Oregon’s Owyhee river in a raft (in flood)); classical music (was on Symphony board of directors for 25 years or so); bridge; rail fan.
Subscribe only to Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Trains, and Macworld.
Married to a sweetie 19 years younger than me who is just about to finish up a 26 month tour as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Albania. I have visited thrice, and the last trip taught a course in “Democracy and Citizenship” to seniors at the university in Elbasan. (We don’t have kids.)
Don’t often comment on blogs.
Start every day with Instapundit, and go from there. Powerline, Captains Quarters, Little Green Footballs, Hugh Hewitt, Belmont Club, Patterico, Rantingprofs, Michelle Malkin, Oxblog, Roger Simon, Vodkapundit, Beldar, Daily Demarche, INDC, SondraK, Kurlander, Mudville, Iraqnow, Dafydd, Samizdata, Tim Blair (and Chrenkoff). I think I was one of HealingIraq’s and Iraq the Model’s first readers.
Dubya was the first Republican I have ever voted for as President. I don’t regret it. Though I wish he wouldn’t spend so damn much money.
And, am a firm believer in Originalists or at least people of that stripe on the Supreme Court. Why did it take me so long to start voting for Republican presidential candidates? Damn.
Mike in Oregon (c398f1) — 9/26/2005 @ 12:14 am41, Male, orthodox Jew, programmer, science fiction fan, and fairly doctrinaire libertarian. Born in Brooklyn, NY, USA, grew up in Melbourne, Vic, AU, and now live back in Brooklyn, about 15 minutes’ drive from where I was born.
Milhouse (dcec4f) — 9/26/2005 @ 4:04 am56, male, would-be re-born Protestant, MD, live in CT but have a farm in Mass., conservative-traditionalist (didnt leave the Dems – the Dems left me), hunter, fisherman, gardener, sailor, constant book-reader, Dylan fan (hence name of blog),like classical and pop music (gee – this sounds like a singles ad, but married 26 years with 3 great kids). A blogger with my small team since Feb, and getting a lot of fun from it and learning a bit too.
Charlie Gardner (8d0335) — 9/26/2005 @ 4:27 amSun City, CA, USA; 47; female; A.A in Humanities and Computer Information Systems from Mt. San Jacinto College in Menifee, CA; Office Assistant at a local county public health department(I decline to state what county, although some may figure it out. I don’t want to incur the wrath of my union).
I enjoy reading blogs, listening to music and watching old movies on TV or DVD. I currently live with my 81-year-old mother, who is still grieving over the loss of my father almost two years ago.
I registered Democratic when I was first eligible to vote in 1976; in retrospect, I think I did that to counter my parents, who were big Nixon fans. I never voted Republican in any presidential election (I voted for John Anderson in 1980) until last year. My disillusion began with the Clinton-Monica affair, when all the feminists were either silent or mildly critical. If it were a Republican president, all hell would have broken loose. When 9/11 happened, that sealed my break with the Democrats. I recently changed my affiliation to independent, mostly because I have a problem with the Republicans’ attitude toward gays. While I am not for gay marriage as such, I do believe in civil unions. I despise Michael Moore and Bill Maher.
The blogs that I visit the most, in no particular order: Instapundit, Power Line, Michelle Malkin, Lileks, LGF, Hugh Hewitt, Captain’s Quarters, Roger L. Simon, and Moorewatch. I wanted to register at Lucianne.com to counter some of the more outrageous comments, but it seems to be a closed club.
cj in sun city (7f281f) — 9/26/2005 @ 5:45 amBorn/raised in Modesto, CA. Went to school at Oberlin Conservatory in OH, majoring in music composition. Now I live in Las Vegas, NV where I teach elementary special education. I’m 23. White. Heterosexual. Christian. Male.
Despite where I grew up, I’m very socially and economically liberal. Because I follow the teachings of Christ (instead of merely invoking his name to condemn people), I believe that we all have a moral responsibility to make sure we’ve got ourselves together, then help those less fortunate than ourselves. This bottom-line value largely informs my political views on issues ranging from universal health care to equitable taxation to foriegn policy. (Just to clarify: I was not, however, sold on the “liberate the Iraqi people” line.)
I believe in equal rights under the law for all people, not just heterosexuals. Not only that, but I believe that the continued oppression of gays and lesbians perpetuated by rights-denying “compassionate conservatives” is stunningly immoral and outrageous. (I’m including this in my bio because this is a very important issue for me in the context of who my friends and family are.)
Little-known fact? Ok. For my senior composition recital at Oberlin, May 2005, I premiered my large-scale, sacred experimental work called Hymnalogy, for ‘experimental orchestra’ (forty or so singers, instrumentalists and dancers), saxophones, organ, gospel and traditional choir and audience. It was performed in the Meeting House of a 163 year-old Congregational church.
Tom (eb6b88) — 9/26/2005 @ 5:52 amOh yeah: blogs I visit (this’ll set everyone’s hair on fire):
Daily Kos, The Next Hurrah, This Modern World, Thought Mechanics and finally, my own personal teacher-journal blog, the bad, the ugly and the good.
Tom (eb6b88) — 9/26/2005 @ 6:02 amTampa, US, 43, Female, Masters in Math Education from USF, web developer, hobbies are reading and family, conservative Republican,
etc: Married for 10 years with two kids, 7 yr old girl and 4 year old boy
Kathryn (f81ab3) — 9/26/2005 @ 8:13 amWhat the hay, here’s a little about me.
City: Raleigh, NC
I. Ronnie (534807) — 9/26/2005 @ 10:23 amCountry: USA
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Educational background: Some college, no degree
Profession: Software Engineer
Hobbies: Spending time with my family
Politics: Very Conservative
Favorite sites:
http://www.instapundit.com/
http://www.groklaw.net/
http://www.drudgereport.com/
http://www.patterico.com/
http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com
http://www.cnsnews.com/
http://www.daybydaycartoon.com/Default.aspx
http://www.dilbert.com/
http://michellemalkin.com/
http://ars.userfriendly.org/
http://www.anklebitingpundits.com/
http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/
http://redstaterant.com/
http://www.willisms.com/
http://intherightplace.blogspot.com/
http://rightinraleigh.blogspot.com/
http://www.scrappleface.com/
Born & Raised: A farm in central Kansas
Favorite song: The Four Seasons – Oh What a Night (I was born “late December back in 63”)
Favorite lie: “I’m from the govt. and I’m here to help.”
Heritage: German descent, white anglo-saxon Christian
Pet Peeve: Selfish people
My Blog: http://nowthatsironic.blogspot.com
20, male, from NY but studying pre-law at UChicago.
I am generally right of center but mostly anti-Libertarian.
jvarisco (2c5028) — 9/26/2005 @ 10:37 amElizabeth City, NC (I am currently at sea), 46, male, some college, Military Sealift Command for 3 yrs after 24 yrs active duty Navy, sailing (I live aboard my boat and hope to cruise extensively when I’m done with this job.) Overall social conservative with variance on specific issues. Lots of sites: Michelle Malkin, Powerline, Captain’s Quarters, LaShawn Barber, lgf, Anchoress, Sister Toldjah, Polipundint, Instapundit…
Something interesting about myself… Aw, shucks. I don’t know. I don’t like to live life vicariously. I have lived and travelled overseas extensively and don’t ever want to stop. In case you haven’t guessed, I love the sea. (I was raised on a dairy farm in Wisconsin.) Crossing large bodies of water on little boats scares the hell out of me, but I love it. My ship is currently on the return trip after providing logistics support for Katrina and Rita.
Arnie (a7ef17) — 9/26/2005 @ 10:47 am46 year old, married, daughter of 14. Network infrastructure designer. Live in League City Texas, about halfway between Houston and Galveston near the Johnson Space Center. USMC 82-88, F4 missile control systems tech.
A bit right of center…at least that’s how I think of it. I could make an honest post that would have people here thinking I am a hopeless lib and I could also make an honest post on a different subject that would have people calling me a right wing lunatic. What interests me is political strategy – the way both parties and other interested parties (like the media) attempt to influence voters and the population in general.
Dwilkers (a1687a) — 9/26/2005 @ 11:04 am31-year-old gay male software engineer, bored of computers, hoping to get into law school in the fall. 🙂 Generally liberal-to-libertarian.
aphrael (e0cdc9) — 9/26/2005 @ 11:04 amI am a 59 y.o Clairol redhead who, seeking relief from harsh Upstate NY winter weather and an even harsher tax burden, transplanted herself in January to Winnsboro,Texas. I’ve been married 38 years, separated the past seven, and have a son, age 35. I’ve been born-again since 1976, leaning toward Reformed Baptist beliefs. Politically, I consider myself an independant conservative.
After burning out at Albany Medical Center School of Nursing, I took my LPN Boards and have enjoyed many varied and challenging jobs since, my favorite working as a corrections nurse in a medium-sized county jail. I am preparing for a career in counseling centered on scripture, Multi-Dimensional Human Design http://www.unifiedlifesciences.com, and metaphysical tools such as Tarot and I Ching.
I’ve had freelance writing published by Regular Baptist Press and in the daily devotional produced by the Institute for Creation Research. I have a couple of ideas for books about the physical/emotional/spiritual aspects of well-being, as well as for healing dysfunction within the local church.
My hobbies include reading, birdwatching, and herb gardening. I would love to have a koi pond and two salt water aquariums. The Akita is my favorite breed of dog; I have four at present. I enjoy wordplay…and no, that’s not conversation before lovemaking!
At this phase of my life, I feel like a moth emerging from its cocoon. Having undergone metamorphosis, I’m stretching my wings and wondering whether moth-life will prove as fulfilling as I’ve imagined. I sure hope so! Metamorphosis as a concept is wonderful; the reality, however, can prove daunting at times.
Barbara C (6ba628) — 9/26/2005 @ 11:05 amLos Angeles, CA; 47 and female. Originally from New Jersey and Philadelphia area. Conservative in nearly every way and proud of it. I love science, science fiction and mysteries. I listen to talk radio and Sonic Theater on XM. I’m a news junkie and read too many blogs and news sites to count. I make my living as a legal secretary in Century City.
Michelle Evans (fb9ad7) — 9/26/2005 @ 11:41 amA Maryland suburb of Washington DC, 38-year-old man, married/father of two, BSFS from Georgetown Univ/School of Foreign Service, MPP from Princeton Univ/Woodrow Wilson School.
Officer in the U.S. Navy’s reserve component. Civilian job supports Dept. of Homeland Security.
Websites (besides Patterico) that I enjoy: powerline, soxblog, lileks, michele malkin, instapundit.
CSG (cbea89) — 9/26/2005 @ 11:56 amThanks to my keyboard’s ergonomically laid-out page forward and page backward buttons (grouped in a six-key pad-style configuration with the four arrow buttons), I’ve now TWICE wiped this comment out with a stray button-press. To paraphrase Obi Wan, “Who is the greater fool? The fool who designs the keyboard or the fool who purchases it?” (I’m typing this in Word now. As a result, it seems to have gotten longer than all the other comments, though it’s likely less interesting than most of them.)
I’m a 36-year-old white male – a life-long resident of the Huntsville, AL area. I unfortunately detest the stereotypical southern (redneck) accent, which is rampant around here, as you might guess. I spent several years doing radio spots which helped me to get rid of most (hopefully all) of the blight from my speech patterns, though I’m sure there’s a lingering twang in some of my words (Patterico may be able to attest to this).
I have a phenomenal wife who homeschools our ten-year-old son and six-year-old daughter. While my beautiful wife has retained some of the aforementioned accent (I don’t detest her accent, of course), our children have learned to communicate articulately without it.
I’m finding that I’m apparently a little less socially conservative than I once thought I was (talking with my dad sometimes makes me realize this). However, I’m pro-life and I’m against state-sanctioned gay/lesbian marriage. I consider myself to be a political conservative. I’ve probably voted Republican in 90% of the instances in which I’ve voted for elected officials, but I don’t consider myself to be a staunch supporter of the Republican party. I’m an issue-based, rather than party-based, voter.
I’m a worship leader (a term I’m not fond of, but it seems to be the best one these days for articulating the position) at my Southern Baptist church. As an aside, I’m one of the odd/fringe Southern Baptists (don’t recall having met another one) who believes that the earth isn’t 4000 – 6000 years old, but was created by God closer to a few billion years old. So far, I believe this is in line with the Biblical Text as well as the natural record. I’m certainly no scientist (didn’t even graduate college, by the way), but this has become an area of fascination to me lately and I’m in the digging process (slight pun intended).
I play piano/keyboard and guitar, and I sing just well enough to keep church members from seeking out somewhere else to worship (hopefully that’s a joke). I also play at weddings and special events from time to time with my former 70’s and 80’s cover band, Juice. I enjoy playing FPS games on PC (not consoles), and I’m of the opinion that the game “Burnout: Revenge” is in itself a reason to invest in a PS2 if you don’t already own one, even if you’re not a fan of the racing genre. I’m a Monty Python fan, and I still have not read the LOTR trilogy, though I’m a rather big fan of the movies (yes, yes, this is probably heresy on some level, I know…).
Laudio (06d15b) — 9/26/2005 @ 12:23 pmSouthern California, male, white, 48. Married (2nd time), 2 great kids. Engineer (B.S. degree), doing mostly embedded firmware development. Registered Republican, but Libertarian at heart. OkCupid: Centrist – Social Liberal (65% permissive), Economic Conservative (60% permissive). Wife: artist, Democrat, and an exceptional woman. Pro: choice, death penalty, Iraq war, gun control, Schwarzenegger. Con: unions, gay marriage, indoctrination, reality TV shows, Pelosi. Christian, but non-religious. Cancer survivor (1 year and counting!) Fan of: Ultimate frisbee, crosswords, West Wing, books. Not usually this terse….
Lurker (a9d9b1) — 9/26/2005 @ 2:11 pmAll right, all right.
I live in northern LA county (Santa Clarita Valley), 45, married, with two young girls. I’m a Harvard educated (A.B) retired LAPD officer. I’m a former liberal, now right of center on most everything. I have a theory that all liberals will turn conservative once the following three things happen: 1) they get a real job 2) they live in the real world 3) they have children. (No, writing for a sit-com is NOT a real job. LA and New York are NOT the real world. Dogs don’t count as children.)
I never ever hardly ever post any comments anywhere– though I like reading them. I”m more interested in reading smart comments than (trying to) make them myself.
My every day sites are Patterico, Cathy Seipp (though she hardly ever posts daily), Slate, Washington Monthly (Kevin Drum), and Power Line. I also love Lucianne and I just can’t resist Huffington Post. I can’t bear to read anything Arianna writes, but I just LOVE reading some of those there, like Laurie David and Cindy Sheehan.
I got hooked on Patterico after the fight over that Proposition (can’t remember the number) that would have changed the 3 strikes law. Thanks, Patrick, I think we owe you for that one.
By the way, I just re-subscribed to the LA Times. The last time I cancelled was after the Schwarznegger slime. I am paying $1.30 a week, 7 day delivery, if you can believe that.
Susan R (5ad69c) — 9/26/2005 @ 2:28 pmPasadena, CA; 48; male; B.A. from Revelle College at UCSD in 1979. M.S. in Aeronautics/Astronautics Engineering Stanford Univ. 1983. Worked for Rockwell International (now Boeing) Space Division in Downey from ’83 to ’95 doing ascent/insertion/deorbit guidance, navigation, and control of Space Shuttle. After the Challenger accident in ’86 I led an effort to automate contingency abort maneuvers to help make the Shuttle safer. One highlight was John Young, the STS-1 commander and one of 12 to walk on the Moon, spent several hours with me in the Houston simulator testing out my new automated procedures for Shuttle emergencies. He was pleased and I was, of course, stoked. My current employer (10 years) is Jet Propulsion Lab here in Pasadena. I work attitude control spacecraft operations on the Cassini mission (currently orbiting Saturn).
I am married and we have a beautiful boy, Brian, age 6. We spend most of our time doing stuff as a family. Love sports including football, baseball, body surfing, aerobics, soccer, and volleyball (before I tore my ACL), skiing (ditto), and hiking. Of course all of the above take second place to my family now.
My favorite sites are Dennis Prager’s and Michael Medved’s. I am a huge fan of Dennis. I have many tapes of his lectures and they’re great. I’d like to get more (and some of Michael’s too) but they are pretty pricey. I am a big supporter of our President. To learn more about the Bush Doctrine, go to Commentary magazine and read the recent stuff by Norman Podhoretz. They have a great links page (as does Hugh Hewitt).
I read when I can. My favorite subjects are history, mathematics and science, Bill James’ baseball stuff, and religion (I’m a Catholic). I’m into the historical basis of Christianity (read William Craig and Craig Blomberg). My favorite authors are David McCullough, Dale Morgan (American fur trade of 1806-40), Richard Rhodes (Atomic Bomb and Dark Sun, but do check out his new bio of John James Audubon), and Rick Bragg.
Tom Burk (fdc16a) — 9/26/2005 @ 3:57 pmMy name is Andrew. I am 21 years old. I am student in PA studying computer programming. I play roller hockey, guitar, and banjo.
I’ve never posted, but I come here a lot.
Andrew (15e060) — 9/26/2005 @ 4:29 pmWashington, DC, 44, male, BS (Physics) + MA (Nat’l Security Studies), military officer, hobbies are fishing, jogging, and my kids; politically independent with libertarian bent.
Jal (a9eb8b) — 9/26/2005 @ 6:10 pmI’m 55 with over 20 years with IBM. I have a wonderful wife and a high school freshman daughter (Daaaadddeee).
After leaving IBM, in 2002, I completed my education; BS, Business Admin at the Leeds School of Business (University of Colorado) and am now looking for a job that fits me rather than the other way ’round. Best thing about returning to school late is that the professors no long intimidate me (although several tried), The kids attending along with me treated me as a resource rather than a hindrance.
I’ve lived in LA all of my life until we moved to Colorado and still like to keep in tough with the happenings there. I really like the way that PP pops the inflated egos and articles of the LAT and exposes them for what they really are; a propaganda machine for the Democratic Party.
I am a Broken Glass Republican who detests Hillary and all the other manipulators. I don’t have any trouble at all describing my beliefs and don’t think much of politicians who won’t do the same.
B Bolton (70d226) — 9/26/2005 @ 6:25 pmAddendum to above..
What I really, REALLY miss about LA is the sailing. I used to race sailboats all the time out of MDR, King Harbor and Pedro. But alas, Boulder and environs do not have much in the way of big boat sailing (sighhhh..)
BB
B Bolton (70d226) — 9/26/2005 @ 6:31 pm*cloaking device off*
Greetings and thanks to our host.
My touchie-feelie friends tell me that formal introductions are a good idea for any group. Unfortunately, I tend to overdo things and know just enough about html to be dangerous. Be happy, Casual Readers, you’ve been spared.
Shine on!
*engaging cloaking device*
HelenW (6e75d8) — 9/26/2005 @ 6:49 pmMy name is Jose Sanchez, 69, BS chemistry (U. Of Rochester), PhD organic chemistry (Brown), retired, living in Englewood, FL. Spent most of my professional career working in R&D for a company that produced organic peroxides. I authored 45 US Patents and 3 encyclopedia articles. I like to consider myself as a conservative atheist although I see nothing wrong with the Judeo-Christian culture and traditions of the United States and loathe efforts on the part of the ACLU to ban these religious traditions from our society. I vote Republican as does my wife and two adult children and I cannot contemplate voting for a Democrat unless he/she were strong on national defense and fiscal restraint. I love to play tennis (mostly doubles), walk, bicycle and swim. I generally read only books on science such as The Skeptical Environmentalist (B. Lomborg), Science on Trial (M. Angell), Junk Science Judo (S. Milloy), Naturally Dangerous (J. Collman) and The Solar Fraud (H. Hayden). I am very interested in nuclear power and energy issues and I am a skeptic with respect to anthropogenic global warming. I often visit web sites with these points of view such as Number Watch, The Science & Environmental Policy Project (SEPP), EnviroSpin Watch and Still Waiting for Greenhouse. In the cases of political issues, I frequently visit sites such as Ace of Spades, Captain’s Quarters, BeldarBlog, HughHewitt, Power Line, Belmont Club, SteyneOnLine, LGF, Patterico’s, & Melanie Phillips.
Jose Sanchez (b6474c) — 9/26/2005 @ 8:54 pmMoraga (SF Bay Area) CA, 44 years old, female, BA UCLA (English major), MBA Santa Clara University, formerly in the investment banking business, now a housewife.
I enjoy being a mom and a wife. I like to read, cook, write letters to the editor, and volunteer. I’m PTA president and spend a lot of my time helping out at school and being with my two boys, ages 6 and 9. I have a wonderful husband and a great life! I am a conservative Republican and enjoy reading Instapundit, James Lileks, Powerline, National Review Online, and Ann Althouse. Oh, and something interesting: I was a Peace Corps volunteer right out of college – spent two years in Liberia, West Africa, teaching English.
Julie (17c7d2) — 9/26/2005 @ 9:07 pmSherman Oaks (LA) CA, 47 years old, male, BS, MS Engineering Stanford, now engineering manager in an industrial electronics company.
I consider myself a “radical centrist”, but small “l” libertarian bent (socially liberal, economically conservative, BUT hawkish foreign policy). However, doctrinaire Libertarians give me the willies. I used to register Democratic, partly out of horror at Southern Republicanism, partly because it struck me that it was more useful to be able to vote in Democratic primaries in California, but can’t bring myself to do so anymore (but still can’t register Republican).
My “favorites” list of websites does skew conservative/libertarian, but some of my favorites are disenchanted Democrats like me: Instapundit, Volokh, Winds of Change, Roger Simon, Charles Johnson, Dan Drezner, Belmont Club.
Curt (370540) — 9/26/2005 @ 9:59 pmLongtime lurker based in Los Angeles, California, USA; 46; female; attorney. Married, step-kids.
Recently cancelled my subscriptions to the L.A. Times and the New York Times. I still read these and other MSM sources online to stay current, but rely on Patterico and other bloggers to help cut through the bias and b.s.
Hard to pigeon-hole my politics. Like many commenting here, I am a lapsed Democrat though I never voted party line. 9-11 helped push me even more to the conservative side but I maintain libertarian (lower-case “l”) leanings. The war against violent political Islamism and anti-Semitism are my hot-button political issues.
Was an early reader of special-interest blogs starting in the late 1990’s, but began reading political and media-oriented blogs more avidly after 9-11. Currently a regular reader of Instapundit, Little Green Footballs, Power Line, Michelle Malkin, Tim Blair, The Corner on NRO, Belmont Club, Lileks, Iowahawk, Kausfiles, Volokh, LA Observed, LaShawn Barber, Samizdata, Melanie Phillips, Vodkapundit, and others including, of course, Patterico.
Little known fact: I was a professional skier before law school.
Cassandra (a01207) — 9/26/2005 @ 10:50 pmMale, 61, WA. BS Forestry, Humboldt State, Arcata, Ca. Military; Corps of Engineers, Alaska 1969-1973. BP Oil 1973-1995. Unemployed but happy 1995-Present.
Words have meaning, Ideas have consequences, Personal Responsibility is the essence of Adulthood.
Former Democrat, current Republican. Walk Boldly and carry a Large Stick.
Pay yourself first. Wife nagged about dumping money in savings in the ’70’s and ’80’s, but purchased homes for two children last year.
Terry J (899ded) — 9/26/2005 @ 10:53 pmVancouver, WA, USA. 44 y.o. male, BA & MA, corrections officer, conservative Republican who has lived in liberal cities (Austin TX and Portland, OR) for 25 years. Regular reader of LGF, Malkin, Day by Day. Most people don’t know I’m a hopeless, optimistic romantic.
transplanted texan (8b99b3) — 9/27/2005 @ 3:56 amMale, b 1940, BS Civil Engineering Fresno State, draftee US Army 1963-1965.
Conservative, libertarian with irreverent quirks. Work days as professional engineer and land surveyor, evenings as string musician specializing in Greek, Serbian, Romanian and North Carolina dialects. The daytime associates have the merest clue about the after-hours ones, and vice versa. Musicians 99% lefties, engineers 60% conservative, hence my comments under the above handle.
Found blogs after 9/11 as a breath of fresh air, which has only increased as MSM under blog pressure has grown increasingly and viciously biased left. Happy with LGF, Morrissey, Power Line, Hewett, Patterico, Joanne Jacobs, Michelle Malkin, Sound Politics, Instapundit, on and on – and all the links these provide to others. Andrew Sullivan till he sailed off the edge of the world.
Read Economist, Seattle P-I to keep up on how the other half lives, avoid TV, like to hang out with folks who use wit and make up good tunes.
Insufficiently Sensitive (341526) — 9/27/2005 @ 9:07 pmMale, 39, Los Angeles (Westchester), BA Poli Sci UC Berkeley 1989, JD Univ So Cal 1993, remediation, contruction, real estate lawyer for a Fortune 500, married, trying to have kids.
Most appropo thing you don’t know about me is that I met Jeff Johnson at a mutual service provider’s client appreciation dinner a few months ago. By chance I sat right next to him. We talked all night about the LAT, LLL bias, etc. I even mentioned your blog as one I read, often before I even read the LAT, and that you’d had an outside the tent appearaance (congrats on the 2nd column!).
Politically, I’ve evolved, much to the dismay of my liberal friends. Being the son of family business owners I suppose I was always a kulak, but after years in Berkeley, living abroad in europe, and law school where I got to experience the fallacies of rent control, riots, diversity politics etc up close. My major intellectual hobby aside from current events is history. Read broadly – 60% thru the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Anyway – once you know history you start realizing how much the Left lies. Being a lawyer prepares you for rhetoric and piercing the Michael Moor propaganda stream
Neocon Don (226e19) — 9/27/2005 @ 9:53 pmMy wife kicked me off before I could finish and clean up my typos. Anyway, I read NRO, Instapundit, Kausfiles, American Thinker, Front Page Magazine, Belmont Club, Black Five, Tech Central Station, VDH, and Le Monde (to better know the enemy) daily. I’m a fiscal conservative but somewhat libertarian on some social issues.
Neocon Don (226e19) — 9/27/2005 @ 10:12 pmMale; 47; Concord, Mass. (Old North Bridge, Shot heard ’round the world – that Concord); BS & MS in Civil Engineering, DSc in Structural Engineering; single with two great kids just entering their teens and heading straight for the convent.
Just recently found the blogosphere and am eating it up.
Sine~Wave (80ccb0) — 9/28/2005 @ 6:52 amI am lazy. Thus, I just copy the formatting. I am a lurker, have been for quite some time.
Denver, CO (USA); 24; female; no college degree, weird smattering of classes such as Unix, Cisco Routing, EMT-B and Firefighting. Currently getting ready to take another stab at the college thing (Metro State in Denver) but still without a solid idea of what I want to be when I grow up.
I enjoy writing, emergency medicine/first aide, reading, shao lin kung fu (style: hung mei pai), music (play piano and koto), and generally geeky stuff like my PS2 & Xbox, roleplaying games, anime, and good sci-fi TV/movies. I take unholy glee in being mean about stupidity.
I’m considered conservative by quite a few of my group of friends, which honestly annoys the crap out of me. I’m very socially liberal, but fiscally conservative and happily in favor of capitalism. I just get handed a lot of crap because I had the bad taste to register Republican and vote for Bush. (And I’d do it all over again if I had to.) Just very, very, very sick of “Republican” being automatically equated with “insane conservative.”
I am far too lazy to name sites that I visit often. If you’re really that curious, there’s a sample of them on my LJ links list.
There isn’t much about myself that I’m not pretty open about (if my HellJay is observed) so it’s hard to think of something amusing to toss out there. So far, I’ve been to three countries outside the US (Japan, Australia, England) and I loved every minute of it. I pretty much work just so I can fund my travel, and about the only idea I’ve got for a career I’d want would be one that involved either a lot of travel or a lot of money and time off so I could travel when not working. I guess I’ve just got that itch in my feet. And I like getting fun/unique souveniers wherever I go – I got plastic wind-up sushi in Japan, a bottle opener made from a kangaroo scrotum in Australia, and a genuine British guy in England that is so polite and cultured he even washes the dishes when asked.
Katsu (ac4529) — 9/28/2005 @ 3:23 pm37 years old, married to a great guy, two cute kids three and four years old, conservative republican. Born and raised in Southern California and lived in San Bernardino, Palm Springs, Pasadena, Los Angeles (USC), San Diego. Then moved to San Jose– ugh! Met my husband on a blind date, got married three years later at the Lodge at Pebble Beach. It rocked! Thank you mom and dad. Moved from Newark, Ca. to Las Vegas earlier this year and we LOVE it.
Love to play golf, cook, the Food Network, the smell of my kids after their baths, swimming in the ocean (although our salt water pool is great), wine–especailly Pahlmeyer, my mom’s cheesecake and SC football. (I graduated from USC School of Dentistry in Dental Hygiene.)
I have twin nephews who are autistic. They’re 12 now and doing well. I was estranged from their mom who is my older sister for a few years, but we’re slowly reconnecting. She was here at the Bellagio this weekend, and as they say, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” I think we’re on a healing path.
Lib (47a6a7) — 9/28/2005 @ 5:52 pmI dislike limosuine liberals. Not liberals in general, just the limo liberals and Gulfstream envrionmentalists. I also dislike ill-mannored and disrespectful kids, cilantro, UCLA and ND football (just kidding), raw fish and meat, cake frosting/icing, donuts.
[…] Following in the footsteps of Patterico, who had a great idea at his blog last month by asking his readers and commenters to post information about themselves (like where they are from, what they do, their hobbies, favorite sports teams, etc etc) I’m asking the same of the readers and commenters here. […]
Sister Toldjah » Tell me about you (a936fc) — 10/5/2005 @ 6:22 amNominally West Los Angeles, 47, Male, BS UCLA Mathematics Computer Science PBK, Defense Contractor
jeff (4ffb12) — 10/29/2005 @ 12:32 amCountry 2 Step Dancing, Genealogy, lurking
Conservative/Libertarian/Agnostic limited government
Patterico #1 of course, Michelle Malkin, Power Line, Captain’s Quarters, Sound Politics (Stefan is doing yeoman’s work exposing the election corruption), Batesline, Confederate Yankee, Ace of Spades, JustOneMinute (although his Plame analysis makes my eyes glaze over), Balloon Juice, Tim Blair, Ranting Right Wing Howler, The QandO, Hard Starboard, protein wisdom, milblogs.
I spend a lot of time overseas for work where often the only TV available in English is CNN or the BBC. The blogosphere has been invaluable. Just like your website. Or is that unvaluable?
Age 30. gun dealer. In school for intelligence. enjoy competing in firearm matches.
Glock 9mm (379c23) — 10/1/2006 @ 2:14 am[…] We have some new readers now, so it might be a good time to add to that thread. Go to the post and leave a comment, even if you usually don’t comment. […]
Patterico’s Pontifications » Tell Us About Yourselves (421107) — 10/26/2006 @ 7:05 amChicago suburbs, early 60s, corporate financial job, BA/MBA (Ivy League, kinda), midwest native, worked in media in NY for many years. Wife and teenage daughters of different politics. Fairly active at Church. Read Instapundit, Powerline, Captain Ed, Hugh Hewitt, Michele, Tom Maguire, AJ, LGF, NRO, Slate, New Republic. Used to read Andrew, but it’s too tedious now.
Mahon (15e701) — 10/26/2006 @ 7:29 amI dunno how I managed not to post on here the first time through, seeing as I spend so much time here.
I’m a 42-yr-old white female, Fort Worth, TX (for the last 39 years), married (twice), 3 kids (1 from first marriage). I have a B.A. in communications (the yucky thing they call journalism nowadays), and a J.D. I’m probably the most over-educated stay-at-home mom there is because I decided taking care of everybody (which includes my 80-yr-old dad) was the most important legacy I could have. I figure they are more likely to mourn me than clients.
I’m pretty conservative politically. I used to be much more liberal, although I was never a moonbat. Voted for Bill Clinton in 1992 because he sounded like he was for the same things I was, then was horrified at what he wanted to do once in office. That made me an independent. I almost (!) Dubya in 1996 when I was in Austin on my honeymoon, but missed him because I was so insistent on staying with the tour guide. 😛
The thing I am most proud of is that I still managed to graduate from law school even after having 2 kids during it (my son was born early June after my 1L year, my youngest daughter was born in Dec. during Christmas break my 2d year). Maybe someday I’ll decide I actually want to practice, but I don’t see it anytime soon.
sharon (dfeb10) — 10/26/2006 @ 7:34 amOops, I forgot to put which blogs I visit. Here’s a list:
1. Patterico (naturally)
sharon (dfeb10) — 10/26/2006 @ 7:36 am2.Echidne of the Snakes
3. Ann Althouse
4. GetReligion
5. Huffington Post
6. Villainous Company
7. Accuracy in Media and F.A.I.R. (I read them together to balance out)
From ABQ, NM…
I dropped out of high school half way through sophomore year because I figured that if I was going to be bored I might as well be bored getting a degree (I’m 17, and not really all that bored). I immediately took my GED and started college courses. Kicked ass on my SATs, but I think I’m going to stay at UNM. With state lottery money, it’s essentially free, and I don’t want to enter the real world carrying 20k in school debt. I’m working on a B.A. in Political Science, and thinking about eventually applying to Berkeley for grad work (how is it as a school?).
I’m a Christian liberal who thinks that both parties are stacked with scummy politicians who need to be thrown out of Washington ASAP. I think a Parliamentary system would be ideal, but I’m not holding my breath.
I used to read a lot more than I do these days (which worries me on some level); currently I like to read the Atlantic. I love Steinbeck, Kesey, and Hunter S. Thompson. All the King’s Men is a great book, and 1984 is terrifying.
I like Cat Stevens, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, the Indigo Girls, System of a Down, and Rage Against the Machine (there are way too many others to list, that gives a general idea).
I watch the Simpsons on DVDs, and hardly ever watch TV.
Leviticus (43095b) — 10/26/2006 @ 8:02 amMale, 33, northern Indiana. B.A. poltical science; J.D. from a law school in the midwest. Worked as a journalist for several years, did a brief turn into corporate public relations for a large communications company; then enrolled in law school in my late 20s. Now practice general plaintiff’s tort litigation, along with some corporate litigation and appellate work at a mid-sized (for Indiana) law firm.
Politics: A social liberal, because I think America is too socially conservative; a relative economic conservative because, frankly, I think America is too economically liberal. Of course, if you average out my opposing leanings, I come out right in the center.
I believe that unregulated free market economics is the economic equivalent of legalizing rape, theft and murder — sure, it allows people to self-regulate their interactions with each other, but it also allows the powerful to take what they want from the weak. I believe that property rights, like all other rights, are things we give each other as part of a societal contract, not something we’re born with.
Blogs — XRLQ, when he used to post; patterico; andrew sullivan; Jane Galt; Malkin when I feel like being outraged at all the outrage; Little green footballs when I want to be reminded that average Americans are as capable of blind hatred as muslim extremists.
Phil (88ab5b) — 10/26/2006 @ 8:25 amI am soon to be 39 years old, live in suburban Deteroit and am a CPA with two daughters. I have been reading this site for about 3 months or so and stop by on most days, but post infrequently.
I have a fair amount of libertarian views, but don’t think that you can run a country with all their views.
I visit Althouse, Instapundit, Ace of Spades, Real Clear Politics and a few others that escape me at the moment. I don’t like the crazier sites that try to dismiss liberalism as a mental disease or a treacherous viewpoint. I read enough crappy psychiatry when I read left wing sites analyzing conservatives.
Doug (bfbba1) — 10/26/2006 @ 8:38 amHave been lurking for over a year – never commented here or anywhere else before.
Houstonian (6890b7) — 10/26/2006 @ 8:39 amOriginally from southeastern Oklahoma (yellow dog democrat country in those days) now living in Houston working for dreaded “Big Oil” on even more dreaded Sarbannes Oxley compliance projects.
49 yo m. female – BA English Ok State, MBA SMU Politics – broken glass republican – unfortunately represented by Sheila Jackson Lee in Congress.
Blogs visited most days – Instapundit, Powerline, Hugh Hewitt, Lucianne, Villanous Company, Kausfiles, Lorie Byrd. Occasionally check out Kos, Huffington for fun. Used to read Andrew, JWR, National Review but have lost interest in reading them daily.
Enjoy your efforts with the LA times – I follow a local radio station who constantly take on the Houston paper. We gave up our Houston Chronicle subscription (after 24 years) on principle a couple of years ago – do read their web edition for local happenings, but will not resubscribe as that could be seen as supporting their editorial positions.
Cheers –
I’m a 33 year old father and husband who works as a technical writer for a defense contractor in upstate New York. I have a Bachelor’s degree, am a registered Republican and a member of the Lutheran church.
My hobbies include skiing, gardening, online gaming and, until recently, blogging. Among my favorite sites are American Thinker, Blackfive, Gates of Vienna, Michael Yon Online Magazine, Michelle Malkin and Rightwing Nuthouse.
I recently came to the realization that being a good man is among life’s most difficult challenges. Perhaps this has always been true of the world, though, and I’m just slow on the uptake.
Sirius Familiaris (93f35d) — 10/26/2006 @ 8:41 amHusband for 28 years (and still counting) and father of two boys 17 and 20 years of age.
27 years (and still counting) as an FBI agent serving in Field Offices on both coasts investigating organized crime, white collar crime, narcotics, VCMO (violent crime and major offender), and counter-terrorism matters. Certified Public Accountant and 3500 hour commercial/instrument rated pilot. 12 years as a Hostage (or as is now in vogue “Crisis”) Negotiator.
Life-long Republican, married to a life-long Democrat. Avid reader of this blog, Hot Air, Michelle Malkin, Captain’s Quarters and RCP.
Tepid reader of the Sacramento Bee and Newsweek.
Watcher of Fox News and CNN.
Skiier, scuba diver, target shooter, gardener.
And profoundly grateful to have the oppurtunity to live in and defend this country.
CalFed (64ce06) — 10/26/2006 @ 9:05 am48 W M married w/ 2 little kids; attorney for 15 years, cop for 7 years before law school; daily lurker; never commented before on any blog. read Powerline, Instapundit, NRO, day by day, Irish Pennants, Best of the Web. Republican with libertarian tendancies & married to a moonbat Bush-hating Dem; who I love dearly despite her politics.
Road Dog (0f1c61) — 10/26/2006 @ 9:07 amCumming, GA, USA, 39, happily married to a beautiful and talented woman and father to three great boys; Male; recently converted to Catholicism and am a CCD teacher and studying to be a Stephen Minister; BA in Psychology from the University of Connecticut, MPM from Keller Graduate School; Compensation Consultant; most hobbies are in the past with three kids, a wife, and a mortgage payment, but have included basketball referee, drum corps participant, acting in community theater, and reading; I define myself politically as conservative almost to a fault (and believe me, my wife enjoys pointing out the faults!); Favorite sites include Powerline, Michele Malkin, Indepundit (Lt. Smash), OPFOR, LaShawn Barber, From My Position…, Blackfive, Day by Day, Blame Bush!, Little Green Footballs, Belmont Club, and BigLizards.
Kevin (56982b) — 10/26/2006 @ 9:37 amRather than comment again, I updated my prior comment.
Xrlq (f52b4f) — 10/26/2006 @ 9:54 amI am a self employed 48 yo male. I have a BA in English from UNH, which comes in handy when selling electronic components. I used to consider myself a moderate republican, but after reading some of the leftist blog BS I realized I am well to the right of Attila the Hun. I have some libertarian beliefs, but not enough to make me vote for one. I did vote for a democrat once. It was the first time I was eligible to vote and I voted for Jimmy Carter in 76. I still feel deep remorse for that and I have never voted for another democrat since.
patrap (3ef2c9) — 10/26/2006 @ 10:09 amMy woman friend is a democrat but I think I can convert her to the dark side.
I enjoy hunting and you could call me a gun nut, but only if you are also a gun nut. I’m also a New England Patriots fan.
I started reading political blogs about a year ago and I’ve had the bug ever since. I started with Michelle Malkin (big fan) which led me to Hot Air, which led me to Protein Wisdom, which led to Patterico, which led to LGF and run on sentences. I also occasionally leave silly comments at Teh Squeaky Wheel.
If you were ever at an Allman Brothers Band concert, chances are you may have run into me.
Idaho; 28; male; B.S. in Psychology (with the useless History minor); J.D. from University of Idaho; attorney, married, three kids who won’t sleep.
I enjoy reading, right now it’s Robin Hobb, golfing, reading lengthy vendor/sale agreements (NOT), and college football.
I am libertarian but certainly not in the anarcho-capitalist sort of way. I agree with the libertarians at the QandO blog (oh, excuse me, Online Magazine) most of the time; I agree with Patterico about the “beyond all possible doubt” standard for death-penalty cases but possibly not for the same reasons; I am religious and severely resent members of my own religion using said religion to bash me in political arguments.
Sites I visit: QandO, Instapundit, Althouse, Megan McArdles’s site, Beldar before he quit(and I miss him), Volokh, Baseball Crank, firejoemorgan.com, Patterico (duh), Vodkapundit, lots of others.
Interesting story which parallels Patterico’s because I am unoriginal like that: I once had a national horseshoe champion tell me that I could have a future as a horseshoe, uh, player. Talk about your odd compliment. I didn’t even have the presence of mind to ask him what that would pay, I just said, “thanks.”
jinnmabe (cc24db) — 10/26/2006 @ 10:12 amCurrently I am 42, third generation ethnic Swede/Pole, living with the love of my life that I met back in 1984, two maine coon cats, disability retired due to a host of afflictions, the longest of which is being diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic at 19. Previous to this my job was with the DoD working on everything from imagery analysis to digital pre-press to advanced geospatial R&D, and did the work of spelling exhausted coworkers getting info out just after 9/11 and in the build-up to Afghanistan. I am a trained geologist with a diverse interest across that and, really, many fields.
My previous avocation which lasted up to my current illness was doing game design work that stretched from the board wargaming milieu to RPGs to online cooperative games. I have read a lot of science fiction, although not widely across the field, but deep into individual authors, and my greatest loss is no longer being able to hold or appreciate long works of fiction mentally. From perspective I am a cross-field synthetic analyst using information from all realms to examine problems, problem spaces and help to define and setup means and methods of solving those problems. Because of all of this I must be fluent in multiple different realms of thought and ideas from metaphysical philosophy to wartime logistics to the bio-interaction of climate zones with long term geological activity.
My daily reading is scattershot and changes over time as subjects move in and out of the human space of interest, both the ideas themselves and the individuals examining them. Thus only a few are true ‘dailies’ for me: Instapundit, PJM, Gateway Pundit, LGF, JOM. I frequently visit The Belmont Club, PowerLine, MM and a few some few others as interests take me.
Politically I was brought up in a highly socialist household and got to see *that* first-hand, and have written about my problems with that conception. I was non-aligned then and remain that way. After reading the viewpoints of Steven Den Beste and further from there, I self-identified as a Jacksonian and it remains the best overall means of describing my political thought outlook. Thus I am neither Liberal nor Conservative, Left nor Right and hate the polarization that has happened in this Nation and the world due to the 20th century pushing extremism in all areas of life.
My physical strength and stamina are now hihgly limited and if it were not for the marvels of modern medicine I most likely would not have lasted past childhood. So when anyone asks the question: what would you do if civilization collapsed? I give one answer: I would die. And most likely sooner rather than later. Beyond gaming, reading SF/Fantasy/Horror/History/Science, collecting oddments of thoughts and thought methodologies, and such, I have had past-times in hiking, camping. Additionally I have a background in wines, beers, various spirits of the non-haunting variety, and loved to spend quiet evenings at bars and restaurants. Putting this all together I have an uncanny knack to find the best place to eat in any town I visit and very good places the locals do not know about. I have a firm capability to go back to *anyplace* I have been *twice* in my life from late childhood onwards.
Once I realized that my thoughts might be in critical danger of loss I committed to get them down for them to be made available. I have two web sites for that: Dumb Looks Still Free and The Jacksonian Party. They are freely available in case anything ever happens to me, as good ideas should go onwards or at least be available in case of need.
I really do see myself as a dull, ordinary, quiet and introverted individual who cannot be much bothered by things, and I have stated things that to me are positively and blindingly obvious. My deepest worry is that this is not the case. In which case we are all in deep trouble.
ajacksonian (841f28) — 10/26/2006 @ 10:22 amSilverton, Idaho but it hardly qualifies as a town, much less a city, 40 year old male, Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Florida, 1990, practicing pharmacist – currently retail but have practiced in hospital, long term care, and the Indian Health Service.
Married for six years, one five year old son. I enjoy skiing, hiking, backpacking, hunting, fishing, play guitar, making things with my hands (wood, acrylic paints, electronics – anything and everything.)
Socially I’m liberal enough to say individuals should be free to do pretty much whatever they want, but conservative enough to say that no one else should have to pay the consequences. Libertarian with a healthy respect for those societal elements that have enable western civilization to get this far. A student of the enlightenment who is disheartened to see the noble term liberal corrupted and co-opted by a decidedly illiberal leftism.
Favorite websites would be Protein Wisdom, Instapundit, Ace of Spades, One Cosmos and wherever the links take me.
ThomasD (21cdd1) — 10/26/2006 @ 10:28 amI was the second daughter of Ptolemy Auletes. After Julius Caesar arranged for my brother to die gloriously in battle, I became queen of Egypt. My first son, Caesarion, was murdered by Augustus, but my other children by Mark Anthony were raised by Octavia (Augustus’s sister and Mark Anthony’s wife from whom I stole him) after my suicide by asp. I have been reincarnated as a cranky middle-aged commenter on a
nk (4d4a9d) — 10/26/2006 @ 10:57 amn obscureprominent right-wing blog.Male, 52, Central Pennsylvania graduate of Penn State, work in accounting. Live in a gorgeous country setting with slow dial-up connection, no television, with my dog, care for elderly mother nearby. Recently ended a long-time relationship when my boyfriend left the area for career reasons, the country life is not for everyone, but mother is not one to move.
Dan (5c33ef) — 10/26/2006 @ 10:58 amKeep up on the world through Instapundit and his links, Realclear Politics and Hewitt, most of the Pajamas Media crowd, lots of lefty and news sites as well. Pretty much a moderate-libertarian politically, wish the people voting understood basic economics. Really tired of gripe fests and most partisan carping. Big believer in responsibility going hand in hand with our precious rights. Also think that we are in a very serious time of history.
Have met Andrew Sullivan a few years ago, lost all respect for the guy when he was rude and obnoxious to some good, well-behaved people, for no reason. Even my dog, who loves pretty much everybody, disliked him. Who appointed her queen? Not quite as creepy as Jimmy Carter, though, glad he rarely comes fishing around here anymore.
Enjoy your site, though it’s not as funny as Goldstein’s or Iowahawk’s. But I guess a lawyer can’t help that, huh?
City, country, age, gender, educational background, profession, hobbies, how they define themselves politically, favorite sites,
Oklahoma City; USA; 46; male; BAA and MBA from University of Texas, PHD from Ohio State; Professor of Economics; hobbies: hunting upland game, dog training, running dogs in hunt tests, coin and stamp collecting, tropical fish; conservative/libertarian
see my blog at http://provocateurjim.blogspot.com/
Jim (cfa4b0) — 10/26/2006 @ 11:15 amMale, 59, married (37 yrs), Ann Arbor MI area. BS and MS in mechanical engineering, registered PE in State of Michigan. Retired (5 years) from auto industry, now self-employed in consulting business. Enjoy woodworking, cosmology, travel, grandkids. No golf! I’m a conservative Republican on most issues, but have been known to vote for a democrat on occasion. Enjoy the blog – keep up the good work!
Rich B. (6e76d8) — 10/26/2006 @ 12:00 pmWest Texan here, 52 yrs old, happily married for 25 years (don’t tell but I had to do the math on that one), 2 teenage sons, UT-Law graduate and attorney. I happened onto Patterico’s website at a time when he was blogging about legal issues – I forget what – and I stayed long enough to realize that Patterico is articulate, makes reasonable points, hosts a civil forum, and seems like an all-around nice guy. Those are qualities I look for in person and online.
In addition to this site, I visit Instapundit, RealClearPolitics, Volokh, Powerline, and Mark Steyn whenever I’m online; and I visit a host of other websites every now and then. For family and professional reasons, my blogging time varies from several hours daily to nothing for days or weeks. BTW, I miss Beldar.
I grew up playing golf (I would have loved to see Ben Hogan, let alone meet him) and I played competitively through high school. I planned to play in college but a foot injury left me a Sunday golfer at best. In retrospect, it was “a lucky break” because I can truthfully say I still love golf after 45 years.
DRJ (1be297) — 10/26/2006 @ 12:00 pmYoungsville, NC; male, 61; M.A. Defense and Strategic Studies, U.S. Naval War College; and M.S. General Business, Salve Regina College.
Retired naval officer and naval aviator, F-4 Phantoms and F-14 Tomcats. Graduate U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. Duty assignments include carrier-based fighter squadrons, Naval Air Test Center, Pentagon, International Institute for Strategic Studies, and NATO Brussels.
Registered Democrat until Rep. McDermott et al visited Iraq in 2002. Now Unaffiliated.
Southern Baptist, but not a fundamentalist. Pro-life and against capital punishment.
Addicted to conservative/libertarian blogs. Convinced that the MSM is ideologically and politically in bed with the Democratic Party. Deeply concerned about Islamofascism and the failure of moderate Muslims (if there is such a thing)to seize the moral high ground. Strongly believe that the US and Israel are not the problem.
Mike Williams (85b6ad) — 10/26/2006 @ 12:13 pmA small update: I’m no longer a student! I’m now a software engineer! So much for the shitty economy!
AndrewGurn (c37ea2) — 10/26/2006 @ 1:03 pmBorn in San Diego, CA. 29, Female, married. BA in Spanish, 7 years in the army. Conservative Christian, libertarian views as far as the government is concerned. Pro-security, anti-terrorist, anti-illegal immigration. Hobbies including hiking, camping, shooting, and fishing.
SecretSquirrel (a5129b) — 10/26/2006 @ 1:43 pmMiddletown, NJ, work in NYC; male; 32; B.S. Chem Case Western Reserve; PHD Chem, U. Cal. Irvine; Business Developement Manager in the Pharma industry; Guitar, golf, investing, hiking, my Bernese Mountain Dog, snowboarding, fishing, Belgian beer and single malts. Raised a Buckeye, lived in So. Cal, Spain, now Jersey (woe is me!); Liberatarian,supply sider, somewhat spiratual, not religious, voted for Clinton and W twice, will be voting for Kean Jr; I regularly hit RCP, NRO, Tapped, Ace, Maguire, Patterico, Insta, Sullivan, Hewitt, Malkin, Ezra, Kudlow, The Big Picture, almost in that order. I absoluteley despise socialism. Currently reading 1776, Regan Letters
BlaBlaBla (c98917) — 10/26/2006 @ 2:02 pmMale, 24, McLean VA, married, BS in computer science. Politically, I guess I’ll have to just quote SecretSquirrel:
I like shooting stuff, (archery, trap/skeet, various rifle and pistol competitions, bow/rifle hunting, air rifles, toy cannons bored out to shoot airsoft pellets with black powder (really cool, by the way), etc.) building things (furniture making–not good enough to sell, but good enough that my wife asks me to build her stuff– and basic metal working), bicycling. Basically, I have the attention span of a 6 year-old on Red Bull, so I’ve got a ton of different hobbies. If it’s stereotypically male hobby, I have probably dabbled in it–my wife gives me grief about that from time to time. However, I find car repair entirely uninteresting.
AughtSix (c80eca) — 10/26/2006 @ 2:14 pmOh, since Patterico’s from Cornell, I might as well add that in, too. College of Engineering class of ’04.
AughtSix (c80eca) — 10/26/2006 @ 2:16 pmConcord, NC, 49, BA Chemistry Wake Forest University, have my own environmental consulting firm, mother of two, married 25 years.
Blogs: PP, Powerline, Captain’s Quarters, Salon (a guilty pleasure), Daisy Cutter, A Western Heart, The Wide Awake Cafe, Wizbang, Morning Coffee… it’s a long list, and I shamelessly plug HangRightPolitics… which should rightfully typecast me as conservative.
I’m a recovering Clancy addict (since he hasn’t written a decent book in a decade) and enjoy the obscure Daphne DuMaurier… have a passion for photography as it wraps up neatly with travel.
Top secret about me, double dome of silence, shhh!
Didn’t hear it? I’ll type louder.
I’m mischievous.
Kathy (c02b80) — 10/26/2006 @ 2:20 pmAge 69, male, Engineering degree(Columbia), retired at age 41
I voted for JFK and Jimmah Carter(probably my most uninformed vote) and am now VERY conservative. My wife, bless her heart, is further right than me. My hero of the last 25 years is Ronald Regan.
Fav sites: Belmont Club, Politics for Pros
This summer had a very long put to shoot my age and missed by 4 feet. My last remaining goal in golf.
The Democratic Party, in general, disgusts me.
rab (fb89bf) — 10/26/2006 @ 2:48 pmHouston, TX and Crested Butte, CO. Male. Capitalist, free economy proponent. 58 years old. Retired management consultant. Currently working with technology oriented startup companies. BS in Management Science from Okla. State U.
James Harrison (966056) — 10/26/2006 @ 3:07 pmEnterprise, Alabama 44, Male
BA Washington State U, MS Troy State U, Defense Acquisition University level III Cert
Retired Army Officer, now DoD Civilian employee
Home and Garden improvement, computers
Conservative Republican/Hawk
Patterico’s Pontifications (of course), Blackfive, Aaargh, Smash, LGF, Malkin, Hot Air
Something interesting: Did the “impossible” service acquisition–before getting a DAU certification…because I didn’t know it was “impossible.”
1560 SHP (4c1833) — 10/26/2006 @ 4:23 pmFemale Boomer. BA in Political Science from U of Illinois, MA in Communications from Northwestern University. Self-employed after a number of years in Corporate America.
Li (63c60e) — 10/26/2006 @ 4:47 pmI try to avoid labels but I guess I’d describe myself as a Goldwater Conservative (as I understand the term): a proponent of personal freedom, free markets, strong national defense, individual initiative, and fiscal responsibility by governments and individuals alike. Like Goldwater, I abhor zealots of any stripe.
My circle of friends include people of varying religions and politics which I am pretty sure gives me a truer worldview than that provided by the MSM.
I read many blogs regularly but seldom post comments. A few blogs that I particularly enjoy in addition to Patterico are Just one minute, Hugh Hewitt, TheAnchoress, Betsy’s Page, Dean’s World, Brendan Loy, ChicagoBoyz, and NeoNeocon. I start the day with Drudge. My favorite columnist is Mark Steyn.
I enjoy music of many styles and read a lot of books both fiction and non-fiction. About the only TV I can stand to watch anymore are sports.
When possible, I acquire for my collections handmade antique toys, and handmade home and farm implements made of wood.
My extremely large dog is a mixed breed; I’m guessing probably labrador retriever and shetland pony.
68-year-old semi-retired MD. Prior short career as an engineer and programmer of IBM 650 in 1959. Southern California (USC ’60, MD ’66). Five kids, two of them lawyers and a fireman. One still in high school :). Married three times. Surgery and trauma for 30 years, now just administrative stuff and teaching medical students. Wrote a history of medicine when I couldn’t find anything suitable for medical students. Now adopted as a textbook at a few universities. Hobbies, golf with 10 handicap until my back got too stiff two years ago. Sailing with a second overall in Transpac 25 years ago. Politics- libertarian/Republican. Mildly pro-choice, I saw a few botched abortions in the 60s. Disappointed with Bush and Congress on spending and with Bush on immigration. Favorite web sites (besides this one), Cathy’s World, NRO, Little Green Footballs, Iraq the Model, Black Five, Washington Monthly (to see if any sense has surfaced), Best of the Web, Hugh Hewitt, Volkh Conspiracy. Subscribed to the LA Times for 40 years and gave up in 2003.
Mike K (6d4fc3) — 10/26/2006 @ 5:02 pmPortland, Oregon, age 31, mother of a three-year-old boy, bachelor’s in music ed from Butler and master’s in choral music from U. of Illinois. I’ve been a music teacher and a book editor; I hope to go back to editing sometime when the boy is a bit older. I’m at a critical level of Blog Saturation and am finding it very difficult to read, comment, and maintain my own blog. I read Patterico, Hot Air, Xrlq, Malkin, Electric Venom, Alarming News, Junkyard Blog, Doug TenNapel, Lileks, Mike Lief, and many others when I have the time. Anti-abortion, fiscal conservative, in favor of strong defense and a healthy level of legal immigration, not in favor of letting people who do not want to become citizens leech off our country.
I was an air force brat and lived in seven towns in five states by the time I started high school. I’ve added three more states since.
Anwyn (d24425) — 10/26/2006 @ 5:25 pmconservative male okie, 50ish, ignorant divorcee living in okc(redundant?), probably sold a lab to jim (above), read ace, captain, strata, and powerline daily, and try to listen to laura at any opportunity. Kept in line by my three nyc att kiddos always trying to straiten me out. Is there anything better than sooner football? maybe gooner footie?
don (3c7246) — 10/26/2006 @ 5:48 pmHowdy from Houston, Texas! Here you have a 53 year old atheist (brought up that way – I have no problems with most religions) conservative guy, but not, as Patterico put it, doctrinally so. My B.A. is from the University of Texas and I’m a licensed geophysicist working in oil and gas exploration, something I do enjoy.
The things I feel strongly about are: capitalist endeavor as being the best route for the most people to enjoy a decent life, defending our Western culture, defending our borders, resisting the would be worldwide caliphate,1st Amendment rights, 2nd Amendment rights and countering all of the absolutely wacky stuff people believe about the oil and gas business.
While I visit many blogs, the ones I hit every day include (my home page) Michelle Malkin, Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch, Little Green Footballs, Ace of Spades HQ and the Strategy Page; and there are many more I visit often as time allows, such as Debbie Schlussel, Instapundit, Lileks, Blackfive, Mary Katherine Ham, etc. As well, I traipse about the many blogs linked on the aforementioned ones.
So, good to meet y’all!
AlphaCroz (9c3606) — 10/26/2006 @ 6:02 pmI’m a first time visitor to your site and bookmarked it in my new folder titled “NutCases”.
You’re doing a really great service! Keep up the good work!
p.s. I also visited Malkin for the first time and bookmarked her in NutCases also. I need to rethink that one though, she seems to be a completely unhinged nutcase….
OregonMark (a7321e) — 10/26/2006 @ 6:14 pmI am a retired 68 yo Professor of Microbiology, doctorate from Oklahoma State. I spent 32 years doing research, teaching medical students, and supervising graduate student research projects. My wife of 45 years and I live in Georgia. Our two daughters are home-schooling our 5 grandkids and doing a great job in my opinion. I spend much of the day supervising the stocks in my small mutual fund and we do travel several times a year to some place we haven’t been. I try to get to several blogs every day and Patterico is one of my must reads. Others are Instapundit, Iraq the Model, Michelle Malkin, RealClearPolitics, Steynonline,etc. I am fairly conservative and use my blog to comment on politics, liberal media, bad science, and other things which catch my interest during the day.
Gary Best (84f69d) — 10/26/2006 @ 6:34 pmSimply stated, I am a midwest born, southern raised, California teenager who stood in line 3 hours to vote for Goldwater in SC in Novembr of 1963. Just a dumb old southern redneck who has been twice to the Aspen Institute, been to MIT, and have ben described as a “distinguished” speaker at a number of universities. Went to high school in Campbell CA [1957] but escaped before things went crazy.
weber (9f37aa) — 10/26/2006 @ 7:01 pm51 year-old male married to 60-yr old Sophia Loren lookalike, I am an octaroon, one gay son/one lesbian daughter/one hetero son with 4 child support pymnts, 6 of 8 elementary school yrs@1-room parochial school in Juneau, Lewis & Clark College ’77 History, profession: peddler of semi-trailers (a very small fraternity) who works for the quietest 1 billion per yr co. in CA, politically: California Republican–a solid 7 on the Pete Stark>
Mr. Stokes (2e8400) — 10/26/2006 @ 7:19 pmBurbank, love it, from Upper West Side Manhattan, dad huge in public tv (we don’t talk politics anymore), thrown out of elite schools, on to NJ, on to the land of Muslim cabbies who don’t convey the good stuff, Macalester College grad, to LA for Loyola Law, grad in 1985, happily married father of two, boy, girl, and now I write and produce independent films, and am working on an internet experience called The Arena that will literally change everything political and media related. Hold me to that crazy boast. And from reading these entries, most of you are as crazy as I am. Patterico is a must stop for me everyday.
chris (d60cd7) — 10/26/2006 @ 7:21 pm48 year old male. San Diego Libertarian. MBA from Harvard, Masters degree in engineering from Stanford. Favorites are Instapundit, Volokh, RealClearPolitics, JustOneMinute, Kaus, JaneGalt, and of course Patterico 🙂
Took myself out of the rat race a few years ago to work on just being a good Dad. Although I’m a pretty hard core libertarian, I seem to root for the Right (rather than the Left, politically).
Ron (f41179) — 10/26/2006 @ 7:37 pmSacramento, CA. 32. Female. Bachelor’s in English. Freelance writer and stay at home mom. Hobbies are writing, marine aquariums, reading, and bitching about life in California (I really want out, to say… Texas, Georgia, or South Carolina.) I am on the conservative side of Libertarianism. My favorite sites are Satire Wire, The Onion, Hog on Ice, and your site.
I am completely uninteresting. But I suppose if someone were to ask, I could tell them I have been skydiving, I am scuba certified, I am going to do a great white shark dive next November in the Farallons, and I am a long distance runner. But really, there is nothing interesting about someone who runs. Seriously. We runners are BORING.
SM (35ad88) — 10/26/2006 @ 7:38 pmi’m a dissolute country squire in southern coastal oregon. native of pacific palisades, b.a. from pomona college, j.d. from hastings. in ’95, after 15 years of law practice, i got to where i couldn’t stand doing it for another minute and went inactive with the bar. the estate of a retired lawyer is equally honorable with that of a practicing one, and a helluva lot more fun! after that i co-founded a couple of dotcoms with a friend/former client, and in only a little over four years, we helped crater the tech market, whereupon i fled to the “beaver state”. single bachelor, looking! pagan, libertarian owner of three geese and a cat. fishing, gardening, cooking, astronomy, detective and spy literature! chess champ. i have some unusual fetishes. when i’m in a mall or an office building and there’s a door closing automatically in front of me, i like to dance through the closing space between the door and the jamb without fouling on them. i believe this not only brings good luck, it trains one to take advantage of opportunities which may only be available for a split second.
assistant devil's advocate (5fcc52) — 10/26/2006 @ 8:03 pmAlpha CRoz ” Here you have a 53 year old atheist (brought up that way – I have no problems with most religions) conservative guy”
I like to think of Orianna Fallaci who described her beliefs to be to act “as though God exists. ” She ascribed this sentiment to Pope Benedict. Sounds about right to me. She was a treasure.
Mike K (416363) — 10/26/2006 @ 8:36 pmMale, 20 years old, American History major, currently attending Kennesaw State University (school #3 of… I’ll get back to you on that)
Aspirations of enlisting in the Army or Air Force after school, whenever that may be.
I only became interested in politics after high school, and have spent the intervening years cultivating my political views. Would consider myself mostly conservative, made even more so by the hate-filled blatherings of “tolerant” liberals and the MSM. Just recently started reading blogs, which have been tremendously useful in helping me understand the way everyone spins things. Started with Powerline, found Patterico with Powerline’s link to the GTMO Stashiu interview. Great stuff, by the way. I’ll be making my rounds through all the above sites in the coming days, weeks, months…
DVollmer (310e9e) — 10/26/2006 @ 8:56 pmCity, country, age, gender, educational background, profession, hobbies, how they define themselves politically, favorite sites, etc. sort of thing.
Fort Worth, TX, USA. 25 years old, male. B.S. in Math & Comp Sci. Profession – temp in title department at a major north american auto company’s in house finanical services place. Equal parts libertarian, conservative, and South Park republican. Favorite sites – this place, Instapundit, Belmont Club, Fark, RightThinkingGirl.
James (caa432) — 10/26/2006 @ 9:15 pm50 year old male single computer manager in Orange County. Did aerospace software for years, then drifted to the Carib for 4 years, now back in OC. A Reagan Republican politically and a former LA Times reader and maybe future reader if they ever find the political center again. Favorite sites: Michelle Malkin, newsbusters.org, blackfive, babalu, Peggy Noonan, laobserved, and Patterico.
RobertD (e6ef54) — 10/26/2006 @ 9:45 pmTim Kronsell, 26 years old male, Brøndby, Denmark.
T'kron (7328c9) — 10/27/2006 @ 12:59 amHistory major at the university of Roskilde. A bit of a liberal in economics but “nordic-style” conservative on social issues. Favorite sites are: This place, Big Lizards, Powerline, Uriasposten.dk and Gates of Vienna.
Male, 46, born in Burbank, CA. Who’s Who athlete in three sports (swimming, track, soccer) in high school, graduated at 16. Numerous partial ride scholarship offers, but my dad split before my senior year, so off to work I went. Bank teller, auto mechanic, part time drummer, until Christ and the most wonderful woman in the world changed my life. Enlisted in the Navy as an avionics technician, worked on F-14 Tomcats most of my 21 years active duty, did two tours as a technical instructor.
When I was retiring, a rear admiral asked me what I believed to be the most significant achievement of my military career. The question was meant to catch me off guard, but immediately I told him, “Without doubt, staying faithfully married for the entire time.” Right behind on that list would be my two terrific children, the oldest in her freshman year at the school she dreamed of going to since she was 10.
Homebuilder of cars and computers, a voracious reader of sci-fi, crime, military and fantasy novels (35 to 40 books a year plus the Bible through four times a year), sing in the church choir, and coach boy’s baseball in a Christian league.
A constitutional conservative politically. I participate at Patterico’s, HotAir, LGF, Rottweiler, Captain’s Quarters, and Power Line. I lurk on about a dozen others regularly, up to three dozen periodically.
And if you cut me, I bleed Dodger blue.
Freelancer (f99e36) — 10/27/2006 @ 3:44 amHi, I’m just a lurker.
I’m 36 y/o Roman Catholic conservative mom homeschooling 3 kids. (ages 5, 9, 12). Not only are they indoctrinated by me in school, they attend the EIB educational institution every day from 12-3. I have only been homeschooling since January, but so far, my kids have learned what presidents President’s Day is for, we just celebrated Columbus Day. (and no, we didn’t learn that Christopher Columbus was an evil man who stole land from the Native Americans). Can’t wait for December to get here, so my kids can celebrate Christmas in “school” and not have to learn about Kwanzaa!
Other websites I go to: Lucianne, Drudge (thanks Drudge for all you’ve done), Free Republic (love their religion page), defamer.com
My husband and I are high school sweethearts from rural White Mountains of Arizona.
I have 2 bumper stickers on my SUV- one says “Land of the Free/ Because of the Brave”, and the other one says : Ted Kennedy’s car has killed more people than my gun. My new favorite game is to park right next to the loser at Whole Foods who still has their “kerry edwards”/George Bush Hitler sticker hopelessly stuck to their 82 Volvo.
Fun Fact: I am as conservative as you can get, but I was born in Humboldt California.
Arizona chick (cf47bb) — 10/27/2006 @ 4:11 am38, male, BFA from the University of Southern California, Portfolio Manager at Merrill Lynch.
Grew up in Brentwood, California, in a very liberal household. Came out from hiding around 1992, view myself as more a classical Reagan/John Dean conservative. I have real misgivings about the evangelical influence on the party and have strong libertarian impulses.
I think Bush has mis-managed this war and shown a complete inability to correct his mistakes and his unjustified blind loyalty to men like Rumsfeld, who has single-handedly ruined our chances for success in Iraq. I am very concerned about the outcome of this war and believe that we’ve lost our momentum.
I am the father of two young girls with a third child on the way. I moved from L.A. to Chicago about 6 months ago.
Matt
Matt (7c99ca) — 10/27/2006 @ 7:07 am#173 + #177,
I don’t mean to be combative (as they may have been typos), but guys…
ReAgan.
There’s an “a” in your hero’s name.
Leviticus (43095b) — 10/27/2006 @ 7:33 amThey could have been talking about Donald Regan. Just sayin’.
sharon (dfeb10) — 10/27/2006 @ 8:52 am“My hero of the last 25 years is Ronald Regan.”
-rab
It could be a typo; I just found some humor in it, that’s all.
Leviticus (43095b) — 10/27/2006 @ 9:08 amMale, 28 years old, Atlanta, Come here frequently, great web site. I’m conservative and have a few liberal leanings.
G (722480) — 10/27/2006 @ 10:47 amWow, there are sure a lot of smart people reading blogs that i read. Makes me feel good to know I am in the company of intelligent people.
mikeyslaw (a9eaba) — 10/27/2006 @ 11:23 amanyway, 62, married for 26 years to a woman who never voted in her life until 2000, and is now a raving conservative. starts in on me about two months before elections about voting. B.A. from small college in west Texas. Live in Dallas, Texas suburb. Work at a law firm.
(Traffic sucks worse every day.)
I love to read, my mom taught me how to read at age 5, and I have never stopped. read more than one book at a time (ADD, maybe?) just started a non-fiction book titled “Death in the Long Grass”, about a white hunter in Africa written in 1974, at the same reading “Assassin” by Ted Bell. I love books, collect them.
I am a conservative, worked in Barry Goldwater campaign in Texas. Pro-Life, Pro-Guns, Pro-Death Penalty (although re-thinking it lately), and against illegal immigration/amnesty. No gay marriage, but ok with civil unions. Bush is right on the WOT, taxes, and abortion, wrong, so very wrong, on spending, immigration, and education. Oh, and the U.N. is the most worthless piece of crap we pour money into right now.
I began reading blogs about three years ago, I read this blog, lgf, michelle, right wing news, ace, CQ, redstate, instapundit (sometimes) powerline, IMAO and just to see how stupid people think, Daily Kos (know thy enemy). Read the sports page of the Morning News, listen to ESPN because my daughter is a sportscaster. Began running marathons/half marathons in 2001. Running is great, helps reduce my frustration with liberals.
Capital District, NY; male; 49; married 16 yrs; some college and a lot of life education; former military currently retired (disability); libertarian.
Started reading this site about a year ago and like the opinions expressed. My wife was in Iraq at the time and I had lots of time to search the net for interesting blogs. Some of my favorites are Hog on Ice, Curmudgeonly and Skeptical, Black Five, Ace of Spades; Captians Quarters and Strategy Page. I’m a news and politics junkie who started reading newspapers daily at the age of 7.
As an interesting side note, I was an AAU (NYC & NJ) Golden Gloves and professional boxer before the age of 16. Used my brothers birth certificate to pull that one off. I was once a Ring Magazine “Prospect of the Month” (’73) and fought the 10th ranked light weight in the world (WBA and WBC) in Boston. My only pro loss in 11 bouts. (His name was Tommy “Bunny” Gant for you doubters.) A rival found out the truth about my age and I was banned from boxing a month after turning 16. I have no drain bamage.
Additionally, my wife was the female soldier who addressed President Bush in the televised interview from Iraq in October ’05. You might recall the media fire storm the ensued.
Celtics fan since ’67.
Randy (e93c5c) — 10/27/2006 @ 1:00 pmI was born in Grand Rapids, MI. while my father was in Korea. On my 3rd birthday, moved to a small town in southern Illinois, Marion, known for the federal penetentiary.
I attended the University of Illinois, Class of 1991, and after that entertaining 5 or so years, enlisted in the USAF, where I was trained as an Arabic Cryptological Linguist at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA. I got out of the service after a fairly nasty knee injury during the draw-down under President Clinton, and returned to the midwest, eventually, landing in Fishers, IN (suburban Indianapolis), where I met my future wife, and have been here since. I am an incredibly proud father of an angelic 5 yr. old, Kaitlin.
I currently work as an Independent Claims Adjuster, which has next to nothing to do with any of my prior training or education. I have little free time outside of work and family, and most of the existing free time is spent golfing, watching the Colts, the Fighting Illini, and my beloved St. Louis Cardinals 😉
I am borderline addicted to blogs, and frequent here, daily, though I do not comment often. I used to enjoy rightwingsparkle, prior to her all too sudden retirement, and enjoy protein wisdom, hotair, redstate, Ace, Yon, Instapundit, QandO, Riehlworldview, and Volokh, and will don my hazmat suit and wade into Kos, Atrios, Oliverwillis,etal … from time to time just to see what their talking points du jour are.
Politically, I vote for Republicans. That is not always because I like them the most. Actually, it is generally due to the fact that I expect them both to screw things up, but for the most part, even when they screw things up, the Republican postions are more likely to intersect with my beliefs than those of the Dems. I find myself becoming more and more libertarian in my social leanings, and more conservative in fiscal matters. I would describe myself as generally conservative, generally Republican, but most certainly not a conservative Republican.
I get out to LA often, as my mother works for a lawfirm right downtown, and Kaitlin is her only grandchild. I love to visit LA, and am always happy to return home.
I am off to take the little one on a Disney cruise for the next week … take care. Thanks for the great blog !
JD (e045e8) — 10/27/2006 @ 2:01 pmUnlike XRLQ, I don’t have the power to update my earlier entry, so:
I’m a 32-year-old gay white male living in the bay area. I used to live in Santa Cruz. I’m happily married. I’m a computer programmer who is tired of computers. 🙂
aphrael (e0cdc9) — 10/27/2006 @ 3:20 pmI was born in southern Georgia, and have lived in Ohio now for 16 years. I attended a New England Prep School, and went to Stanford, Georgia State University, and THE Ohio State University. (Not as impressive as it sounds, it took me nine years and three schools to round up ONE bachelor’s) I am married and have two young daughters.
My business, Killing Time, murder consultants, is moderately successful in the field of corporate and private entertainment. It is affected by governmental entities very little, except that it is very sensitive to the economy. That is how I know the economy is good right now!
I am a life-long Republican, though one who has wobbled back and forth in the Conservative to Moderate spectrum as I have aged. I have always been Pro-Choice, but I believe that Roe v. Wade was one of the great disastrous moments in our democracy. I believe in low taxes, and low government interference in our private lives.
I believe that the American Trial Lawyers (or whatever name they are now hiding behind) present a danger to our democracy and civil life that at least equals that posed by Islamofascism. And that is not a joke.
I read two blogs, Instapundit and Ace of Spades, every time I sit down at my machine, throughout the day. I visit Patterico, HotAir, Captain’s Quarters, The Corner, IMAO, Wuzzadem, and Gay Patriot about once a day. I probably advertise on blogs more than I comment on them….
Douglas Winship (647db2) — 10/27/2006 @ 4:34 pmWhat the heck, why not?
From Eastern PA, 59 yrs old, currently reside in King County, Washington (Seattle area). Retired military (20 years, USAF). Somewhere around here I have a piece of paper that says I have a Master’s degree (undergrad Penn State; grad – U of Northern Colorado). Currently an insurance underwriter for a regional insurance carrier. Married 30+ years, 3 kids, no grandkids. Avid square dancer (not real good, just avid…or rabid or one of those …ids).
Old enough to know better; young enough not to care. Livin’ on borrowed time after some adventures in the service. Tried to return to active service for Gulf War I, but health reasons brought that to a halt.
Bill M (d9e4b2) — 10/27/2006 @ 5:33 pmThere is no way I’m going to do this…
Bill Heald (d2a47b) — 10/27/2006 @ 9:36 pmMarried white male, 65. graduate of U.S. Naval Academy and Harvard Law School. I enjoy historical reading, foreign languages (I have been studying ancient Greek for 7 years), watching two grandsons grow up, and travelling. I have not watched television since 1998, and don’t miss it a bit. Got hooked on blogs during the 2000 election cycle
Stuart W. Settle (73a498) — 10/28/2006 @ 6:58 am48 year old male, living in NYC 4 years, native of California (LA mostly, tho did undergrad at UCSC, back to UCLA for MBA.) Unemployed, on verge of launching monster hedge fund so as to kick Soros’ ass. 19 years in finance, many of those in Tokyo. 2 kids, one and only wife. Pretty conservative but am reformed liberal. Used to be card-carrying communist. OJ did it. Like to vacation at nice seaside resorts. Waiting for DVD release of 5th season of 24. Dems suck in pretty much every way possible. Have a weakness for commenting at Greenwald’s site. (Please forgive me.)
Gotta Know (4abbad) — 10/28/2006 @ 10:15 am32; single female with no kids; public defender in rural Kentucky; fiscally conservative but socially liberal (I know, I know–taxes pay my salary).
Something few know? After I flunked out after my first attempt at college I joined a traveling circus for 7 months before figuring out there was an easier way to make a living.
Blogs/Sites? Althouse, Volokh Conspiracy, Tongue Tied, NYT, Gay Patriot, The Malcontent, Huffington Post, Rantings of a Sandmonkey, The Big Pharoh, Wonkette, Ace of Spades HQ, Above the Law, DailyKos
cab (1fa75a) — 10/28/2006 @ 2:58 pmSingapore, 40, married male, undergrad degree in business, accountant, seeing the world (59 countries thus far) and having as many different & unique experiences as I can (including staying in a tiny village in northern Thailand with no electricity, visiting a former nuclear missile base in Ukraine, dipping my feet in the Arctic Ocean, 4WDing the Australian Outback, whitewater rafting the Grand Canyon and trekking in the Bhutanese Himalayas, to name a few).
I am a moderate free thinker…liberals call me conservative and conservatives call me liberal…so I must be right. You see, if someone is liberal or conservative, I can tell exactly where they stand on issues without talking to them. Can’t do that with me. I try to understand an issue, pros & cons, and then decide for myself.
Drudge Report, ESPN.com, Expedia.
Something interesting about myself? I am a blood relative of Patterico.
NE Liberal (1ab59c) — 10/28/2006 @ 8:36 pm40, female, working in the film studios in the SF Valley as a production assistant. Born in CA, raised in L.A., married, BFA, politically liberal on such issues as women’s rights and health care, “conservative” on immigration, border security, criminal justice–and absolutely despairing of both of the political parties. Greatly enjoy the perspectives of Patterico and co., whether I agree or not(and I am NOT a blood relative!).
irene (da5dfa) — 10/29/2006 @ 11:32 amThought I’d replied a year ago but apparently I never did, so here goes…
52 yr old married female; born in Boston, lived 2 years in Dallas, then 32 years in Brentwood/Westwood (L.A.) before meeting my future husband online and moving to the Hudson Valley in NY. I don’t recommend ever moving from SoCal to NY; it’s hell. Went to private girls’ school and UCLA (psych); spent 19 years in retail and now am in IT in a household name corp. Just had my job outsourced to Brazil and was reassigned and it’s beyond dreadful.
Was a lifelong lefty Dem (first voted for McGovern, voted straight Dem thru Clinton twice) until 1998. Consider myself as hardcore a righty now as I was a lefty (I’ve never done anything by half-measures.) I listen to Rush usually by podcast on my iPod.
Blogs: Drudge, Instapundit, RedState, PowerLine, Blackfive, Hugh, Captain’s Quarters, Patterico, and then about 30 others when I get the chance. I was a lefty for so long I do not need to read the left side of the blogosphere. I get irate when anyone tells me I need to hear the “other side” of any given argument – I lived it!
Hobbies: politics, computers, reading (fiction and political non-fiction), music, photography, shopping.
I’d rather read a Vince Flynn thriller than eat or sleep.
I used to love going to the movies. I see maybe 1 or 2 a year now, I’m so deeply offended by Hollywood. Keep in mind I grew up around these people and went to school with their kids. I have a list a mile long of actors, singers, and artists whose work I boycott because of their in-your-face anti-Americanism (if they keep their mouths shut I don’t care what they think).
Likes: CSI (all 3), NCIS, Shark, The Unit, Seinfeld, and we are very into live music videos.
Something most people don’t know about me: I was an atheist and now consider myself agnostic, yet I am deeply distrustful of atheists and agnostics. I never attend church, but greatly admire and envy Christians their faith.
Peg C. (836973) — 10/29/2006 @ 3:07 pmWould like to contribute to your discussion, Patterico, but your spam filter has completely blocked me. I can’t even type one-word comments like “test”, “help”, or “thisreallyblows”.
I’m at work now. So this may well be my last time commenting as it kinda eats up my coffee breaks and it’s a shared computer anyway.
I shall miss this place.
– Christoph
Christoph (5ab65d) — 10/29/2006 @ 4:43 pm– Canadian (but thinking about changing that)
– centre-right
– work for a health insurance company processing paperwork and phone calls (will definitely change that)
– respect honesty in debate more than ideology, yet I despise certain ideologies
– lovely girlfriend
– yet I’m still her better half!
N.J. Shore town, 68, male, USMC 55-58, BA John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Retired Deputy Chief FDNY, volunteers with US Coast Guard Auxiliary, novels, hours a day reading blogs, have swung back and forth over the years- voted for Nixon, Goldwater, Nixon, McGovern, Carter, Reagan, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Clinton, Bush, Bush. Now firmly on Right since political correctness, multiculturalism of the 90s & 9/11, cancelled 30 year subscription to NY Times. Sites: Drudge, Malkin, Instapundit, Hewitt, Belmont Club, Right Wind Nut House, and anything Mark Steyn writes. Have a wonderful wife, 4 children and 6 grandchildren.
FKDENNY (a90377) — 10/29/2006 @ 5:17 pmRichmond, VA; 43; male; B.S. in physics and M.E. in nuclear engineering; nuclear engineer after 10 years as a computer programmer.
I enjoy reading, raquetball, blogging, playing with my children and brewing beer, although not necessarily in that order.
I’m a conservative with small-L libertarian leanings, which tends to make me both conservatives and libertarians consider me an apostate at times.
A small selection of the multitude of sites that I visit: Captain’s Quarters, Michelle Malkin, Vox Populi, Hog On Ice, A Small Victory when it existed, Faster Than the World now, Right Wing News, IMAO, Wizbang, Jeff Jarvis, Tim Blair, Hugh Hewitt, Dean’s World, Daily Pundit, Betsy’s Page and pretty much all of the MuNu blogs; all hail Pixy Misa! There are tons of others, but I’ll stop due to space considerations.
Something most people don’t know? Here’s one: I’m an ordained minister and have acted as officiant at two wedding ceremonies.
physics geek (5131c5) — 10/30/2006 @ 12:23 pmNo condo, no MBA, no BMW.
No hope, no prospects.
No wonder.
Vermont Neighbor (456914) — 11/1/2006 @ 1:31 pmChicago
39 Years old
Male
BA
Small business owner (advertising)
Running, Cycling, Wine, Architecture, Volunteering
Small “L” libertarian
Patterico, Power Line, Ananova, Lucianne, Newspapers
I am an avid follower of Patterico’s Pontifications as well as many other conservative blogs. I worked for one of the original commentary/political activism Web sites back in the late 90s. Thinking about the explosion of horizontal communication that the blogosphere offers keeps me hopeful for the future.
I am also hoping to use this comment as a plug for my fundraising activities for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. At the very least, the link may help my search engine rankings if someone clicks 🙂
Patterico – your work is much appreciated. Thank you!
Doug Miles (bf20a6) — 1/15/2007 @ 12:36 pmFlyover country
Dubya (c16726) — 1/15/2007 @ 1:55 pmMale
53
information security (paid paranoid)
registered Republican, but fed up with all those
bastardsin Congressjust right of and above origin in the Political Compass
34 yrs old, living in Sydney Australia with my girlfriend (name with held) and my best friend and dog (Harry).
I design computer systems and in my spare time I make homemade dog treats for Harry. That is when my girlfriend isn’t demanding to be feed. 🙂
Justin Bryce (c319ac) — 2/9/2007 @ 10:09 pmmy customers dont know it but this is my hobby and i get paid for it so it works both ways.
computer networking london (a38817) — 4/6/2007 @ 3:19 pmthats all about me
More on on wines…
It is right on that getting credible documentation on this topic can be difficult….
More on on wines (f98c20) — 7/28/2007 @ 5:34 amNow that the Senate has passed the 700 billon bailout has McCains destiny been sealed?
Chris Hutcherson (4f8f8f) — 10/2/2008 @ 10:43 amPianoMan…
Megacool Blog indeed!… if anyone else has anything it would be much appreciated. Great website Enjoy!…
PianoMan (fd785c) — 11/11/2009 @ 11:16 am