Hi! Not much to say, really. I'm originally from Oklahoma (a state I dearly love despite its backward politics). I now live in the D.C. area, which blows me away almost every time I leave the house. I'm interested in the life of the mind, although I've recently decided to pursue it as an amateur instead of continuing on in academia. Accordingly, I love politics, philosophy, economics, history, and public policy analysis. I'm what you might call a Millian Liberal, and I cannot stand the Conservative movement in its current guise. I'm convinced Republicans as they are now are much more the party of Nixon than the party of Lincoln, and I wish they would go the way of the Whigs. Maybe that way, we could get an honorable (i.e. Burkean, pragmatic, and morally upright) party to complement the Democrats. I'm also an atheist who was raised a Muslim--my dad is from Pakistan and my mom is American--so I often find myself in an interesting position when it comes to discussing religion. But I guess the most important thing to know about me is that I love popcorn.