As usual, my dear Cat, you provide lots of bases for exploration ... I'll limit myself to just a couple, as I'm already late to begin dinner preps (Enchilada Extravaganza again, with chocolate mousse for dessert).

I think that principles are personally held, and therefore are subjective, but to be meaningful, must be rooted in reality. Thus, to me it makes no sense to call oneself a libertarian -- which is generally understood to mean one who upholds the non-aggression principle -- and to support eminent domain proceedings against anyone's home. Other people apparently don't see the contradiction here that I, and others, do. But then, principles are often shown to have slippery slopes in reality too ...