Thoughts:
First of all, I'd like to thank Stu. It was his post which inspired me to stop treating my blog like an inside-joke forum and really begin writing. I've written three major posts since then and am tremendously proud of myself for actually putting my thoughts down in writing. For one thing, it's helped me understand how I actually feel about the topics I'm writing about. Sometimes we have a vague response to a particular story or idea, but until we express ourselves I find that I, at least, don't have a concrete grasp on what the hell I think. Particularly for me, I have a very hard time articulating verbally. I've always thought to myself that as a comedic actor I have great timing and a flair for delivery, but absolutely no improvisational skills at all. (IF by some chance, dear reader, you do not know me personally, take it for granted that I have an ego roughly the size and disposition of the Hindenberg.) All of which boils down to my having a hard time executing an opinionated conversation unless I'm thoroughly versed in the subject. I guess I'd characterize myself as intelligent, but not knowledgeable. This blog has become an exercise in self-improvement, and a demonstration that when I take the time to get my thoughts in order, I actually do have something to say.

I've recently become very interested in the political process. I've always vaguely identified with liberals, mainly due to the fact that a) my mom is a liberal, and b) my life became a lot easier when I distanced myself from my upper-class white suburban upbringing. (QED for above - I only realized part b as I was sitting at my desk writing this.) Those of you who know me well may scoff at this, but consider: did my first impression come off that way? Or was it once you became a trusted friend that I invited you to a weekend on the Cape?

Recently, as I've been voraciously reading anything and everything I can get my hands on, I've noticed something. While I still find the extreme right to be abhorrent distorters of truth, the far-left isn't appealing to me at all either. Indeed, rational, moderate conservatives like Andrew Sullivan and Glenn Reynolds are extremely intriguing to me. My Dad always says that he doesn't discuss politics with people because it's too much of a hassle. But I'm beginning to think that, like me, he feels he doesn't fit into any particular category and wouldn't want to be labeled with one. I guess if anything I'm a left-leaning centrist; but really I'm still defining myself politically. I'm thinking about moving the blog to MovableType, because I want a built-in comments system that visitors can read without clicking, and because Daniel Drezner told me to. The only drawback is that I need a hosting webserver first.

Next on my list: getting one of either Ann Coulter or Sean Hannity's books, and forcing myself to read through it to see if anything they say sounds remotely reasonable. After all, as I said below Intellectual Laziness is the bane of the modern day American. I can hardly hold myself to a lesser standard and base my opinion of them on the work of someone who dislikes them and is diametrically opposed to their views.


-Jordan