Welcome to my new blog. I want to thank The Patch for giving me this opportunity to talk to you.

My blog is going to serve a single purpose. I want to raise and discuss issues of importance to all of us. I will talk about principle over policy – about what should be, rather than what is.

I want to talk about issues that are important for all of us, but the subjects will not be limited to local politics, or even current events. My focus is on ideas. I want to talk about principle, and how those principles should be applied to our lives.

What holds us together? What separates us? What values do we hold in common? Can we find common language to discuss the most volatile issues? Are we proud enough of what we share that we are willing to defend it? Are we committed enough to our common goals to sacrifice personal goals? We all favor a society based on “merit”, but do we agree what “merit” is? Do we know the difference between ordered liberty and simple license? Do we have a government, or does the government have us?

I want to find out.

I want your comments, and your ideas. I especially want your ideas for topics. What’s hot in Mendota Heights? Let me know, and we’ll talk about it.

Please feel free to post, and even to flame. The conversation in this blog is important. I hope to provoke you, and to make you think. If you read my blog and get mad, then I want you to tell me why. If in the end you come away with new insights about the ideas that have been guiding you, even if you hate them, then we have success.