The purpose of this blog.

For a while now, I've been considering putting together a blog for myself, some space where I can put to paper (or at least to screen) my ideas, opinions, and considerations of life and events. I won't lie though, there are other purposes to this as well. As a (hopefully) up and coming scholar, I hope that eventually, this blog will attract the notice of the right people, and eventually become a source of opinion that academics and non-academics alike will appreciate. I know it's not the goal of all scholars to become policy-makers, but I feel torn between both worlds. I absolutely want to be a professor, to work on grand theory that attempts to explain the world. But I also see foreign policy decisions being made at the highest levels and think, "if only I were in the white house, at the state department, DoD, somewhere, we would not be making these mistakes." I realize this is absolutely the height of hubris, especially given where I am right now, not even a college graduate from San Francisco State, which for all its merits is not an elite institution. But that is not going to prevent me from speaking out, and hoping that one day my work can make the world a better, safer, more prosperous place. Or, if not that, than at least a better educated one as to WHY we have the problems we have. According to me. Anyone who reads this is absolutely free to discount any and all of my opinions, theories, or policy prescriptions as being cruel, asinine, theoretically bogus, or all of the above. This is just one man's opinion, and even though *I* feel they have something to them, it is your right as a reader to disagree. I welcome all comments though, so if you think I'm wrong about something, please tell me why.


I should be posting about once a week, mostly related to the work I am doing in or out of school, but I will at times post my opinions on events, politics, policies, or whatever else I feel belongs here. I will eventually add functionality that will allow the reader to ask questions (e.g. What do you think the US should do about North Korea?) and I will attempt to answer them in future blog posts. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy whatever comes after this, and I promise to attempt to always be as fair, open, and intellectually honest as possible.