The WMTN Profile

Shamelessly lifted from the Normblog via Kim du Toit.
Why do you blog? Because after 9/11 I became a news junkie and there seems to be so much out there to comment on and I'm vain.
What has been your best blogging experience? Every now and then I'll write something that pleases me and someone will comment on how they liked it too. My puny ego needs that.
Who are your intellectual heroes? Recently I have become a Norman Borlaug aficionado. If I can do 1/100 of what this man accomplished, I'd be very content. Abraham Lincoln is brilliant, perhaps the most brilliant writer I have ever read.
What are you reading at the moment? I hate to admit this, but I am between books at the moment.
Who are your cultural heroes? Tough question. There are a lot of actors, directors and musicians I like, but few rise to the rank of hero. I think what James Brown did to quell any potential violence after MLK was murdered was heroic.
What is the best novel(s) you've ever read? Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary. I seem to have a penchant for unfaithful women.
What is your favourite poem? Probably, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at A Blackbird" by Wallace Stevens, because I feel it echos some of my West Hartford experiences
What is your favourite movie? Millers Crossing. It's a very handsome movie and just once I'd of liked to have uttered some dialogue as clever.
Who is your favourite composer? J. S. Bach. I know some may think he's too mathematical but the order appeals to me.
Can you name a major moral, political or intellectual issue on which you've ever changed your mind? I go back and forth all the time on capital punishment. On one hand I think that if you have complete control over someone it's immoral to kill them. On the other hand, how complete is that control when murderers are set free after 10, 15 years in prison only to murder again. If by our squeamishness or moral vanity we somehow suffer a convicted murderer to live and he kills again, the responsibility is ours, not theirs.
What philosophical thesis do you think it most important to disseminate? Equal treatment before the law is as good a place as any to start, after that it would be hard to screw things up completely.
What philosophical thesis do you think it most important to combat? Wahhabism will be the cause of the next major world war.
Can you name a work of non-fiction which has had a major and lasting influence on how you think about the world? I guess the pat answer would be the Bible, there you have it.
If you could choose anyone, from any walk of life, to be President, who would you choose? Unfortunately they would have to be a politician because a normal decent person would be devoured in Washington, at this point I would have to say Rudy Giuliani. He's may be a ruthless bastard, but he's our ruthless bastard.
What would you do with the UN? Board it up, preferably while occupied, set fire to it, sow the ashes with salt so nothing will grow there again as testament to the complete mockery of all things decent and truly progressive the UN has become.
Do you think the world (human civilization) has already passed its best point, or is that yet to come? Oddly enough I think the next 100-500 years will see an explosion in human civilization. We will have some tough times, but I think it is our destiny to colonize the stars.
What would be your most important piece of advice about life? It's not all about you.
Do you think you could ever be married to, or in a long-term relationship with, someone with radically different political views from your own? Probably not. My wife and I have similar views on most things, but not exactly the same. I couldn't be in relationship with someone who is rabidly anti-American or pro-abortion.
What do you consider the most important personal quality? Kindness/Honesty
What personal fault do you most dislike? Dishonesty.
Do you have any prejudices you're willing to acknowledge? I think most liberals have never thought out their positions because they have never been challenged on them. Which is why someone like Naomi Wolf, who is supposed to be bright, responds with "I can't believe you think that...." when you disagree with her. Notice, there's no argument there, just an expression of disbelief.
What is your favourite proverb? It's easier to wear slippers than to carpet the world. I like that one because it's kind of stupid and funny, yet some people need to hear it
If you were to relive your life to this point, is there anything you'd do differently? More education, less menial jobs.
Where would you most like to live (other than where you do)? Ireland, Montana, New Zealand, Argentina, anywhere there are lots and lots of big trout.
What would your ideal holiday be? A year long sailing, fishing adventure with my family. We'd stop in different countries hang out a bit, teach the kids something about where we were, do some fishing then head on out.
What talent would you most like to have? I'd love to be able to sing like Pavarotti, if I sounded like that you'd never shut me up.
What would be your ideal choice of alternative profession or job? Writer for David Letterman or Dennis Miller .
Who is your favourite comedian or humorist? Dennis Miller.
Who would play you in the movie about your life? Colm Feore.
Who are your sporting heroes? Lou Gehrig and Ted Williams. Sad to say, but modern sports stars are stars not heroes.
If you could have one (more or less realistic) wish come true, what would you wish for? A president, congress and senate committed to conservative principles.
How, if at all, would you change your life were you suddenly to win or inherit an enormously large sum of money? I would be difficult to find for a long while, that whole fishing and sailing thing. That and have all me enemies killed.