The two faces of patriotism

Matt Yglesias is wrong about the similarity between conservative and liberal patriotism as I think there is a very clear difference between the two.

I would classify the conservative view of patriotism as 'childlike' and liberal patriotism as 'adult' in that a traditional conservative's love of country matches the love a child feels for its parent and the liberal's love of country matches the love an adult feels for his or her parent. As a child, my parents existed as infallible beings and my love for them was unquestioning. Conservatives view love for country in the same way- the entire 'Love it or Leave it' serves as a testament to this world view.

For liberals however, love of country is complicated -just like the love I feel for my parent's is complicated. As I have gotten older, I see my parents as human and capable of making mistakes. Yet, it is their humanity which makes them all the more lovable (and sometimes maddening).

Testing the saddle again

Lots of stuff has happened since the last time I graced these parts, namely the birth of my first child. But, with the prez election coming up in such a short time, I figured if I didn't add my two cents to this horrorshow, I would probably go crazy. Hopefully my other two contributors will follow along.

Chris Dodd takes Bill-O to the Woodshed

This guy is such a clown, it cracks me up, it's hard to believe this is serious.