Generally speaking, my partisan affiliation can be described as, "A pox on both your houses." I'm usually in agreement with the fiscal leanings of the Republican party (until *ahem* the current administration), though I'm a strong believer in a balanced budget. The Democrats have quite clearly gained the balanced budget high ground in the past decade.

I think our tax system is in dire need of complete overhaul (or, as an acquaintance once described a ramshackle old garage, "It needs explosive remodeling"), but neither party seems to be willing to run with that ball.

I don't quite see the point of having guns in urban and suburban areas, but also see them as indispensable for people who live in relative isolation. I think the Second Amendment is very clear in that it applies to "well-regulated militias."

I think the original framers of the Constitution put together a remarkable system and an exceptionally resilient document, but they couldn't possibly have anticipated all the problems new technology presents, and to think otherwise is absurd.

I see the current state of copyright and patent law as hopeless, and I wonder how we ever managed to turn intangible ideas into "property" like a piece of land (as an aside: What if there was a property tax on copyrights and patents? Every year, the rightsholder has to pay 1% of the estimated value of the copyright or patent. The tax can be escaped by putting the rights in the public domain).

I'm glad we got Saddam Hussein, but I'd be more glad if we'd gotten Osama bin Laden. After all, bin Laden is the one who actually attacked us.

I don't understand why people get so bent out of shape about same-sex partners. What ever happened to "live and let live?"

I am disappointed that our political system seems to have very few true leaders anymore, but a lot of politicians who spend endless hours scoring meaningless "points" against each other, and scripting every move with an eye to the next election.

I wish we could spend more time engaged in meaningful dialogue about the best way to ensure our future prosperity, rather than both sides simply talking at each other. When was the last time any politician's opinion was actually changed in the course of any political debate? Isn't that the purpose of debate?

I voted for Jesse Ventura, and would have voted for him a second time if he had run. The four years Minnesota spent in a three-way political deadlock were some of the most productive years in recent memory, in terms of passing real reforms and real solutions to real problems. Maybe that's why both major parties hated Jesse so much.

The religious wing of the Republican party frankly scares me. The "social justice" (for lack of a better term) wing of the Democratic party frankly scares me. Moral righteousness is no way to run a country.

Is there a political party out there for me? I fear I may be (to paraphrase the Army commercials) "A Party of One."