Not long ago I managed to get myself into a pissing contest with this guy, who runs a sort of libertarian/neocon rant site called The Redhunter.  Some of  the details are still available if you follow the links below, but Mr. Redhunter has since banned me from commenting there.  He apparently objected to the way I discussed the culture war and abortion with Jason Corley in response to this post and this one at The Western Experience, and didn’t like the way I debated his views on soveriegnty in comments to this post at his own site. 

Too “condescending” and “elitist,” he says, without naming names, in this post on commenting.  I find this interesting, given his own “holier-than-thou” attitude, but I don’t mind: it’s his blog.*

The real reason, I suspect, is that I annoyed and shamed Mr. Redhunter with a couple of references to his strategy for defeating Communism by reading a library of books by hacks like Thomas Sowell, Michelle Malkin, and Michael Ledeen.  For a combat soldier who  made real sacrifices to protect the United States, chickenhawks like Redhunter sort of piss me off, and I guess it came through in my comments.  I don’t apologize for this–I think I’m right, and if he is so confident that his reading and writing helped  defend the country, my opinion shouldn’t shake his faith.  Sticks and stones, after all.

Upon reflection, I thought it would make sense to say somthing about comments and banishment myself.  You can get the full set of rules on this page, but the short version is that while I reserve the right to modify, edit, or delete comments at my own discretion, I don’t think that banishment serves any purpose except in the most egregious circumstances.  A condescending attitude, of all things, won’t get you kicked off Foggy Bottom Line, and frankly I sort of expect smart people with strong opinions to have enough faith in their views to seem a bit arrogant about it.

So blast away.  Twenty years as a combat soldier thickened my skin–I can take it.

*If he meant this as punishment, by the way, I don’t feel chastised.