Just a libertarian-leaning newshound who likes to read FR!

Here are some of my general philosophies:

• I usually follow Occam’s razor, and thus don’t have much patience for conspiracy theories.
• I like to keep things practical. Utopian dreams of revolution producing a new society are a child's game. There will never be a utopia on this earth, only in the afterlife; the political and social reality that we face is the world as it exists right now, not in some idealized future.
• I believe in trying my best to understand our world (and the people in it) as it exists today, and that scientific inquiry is one of the best ways to get at this truth. I like reading about polls, new economic & scientific research, and opinion/blog articles from all sides.
• I am very cynical about the virtue of politicians and TV talking heads (this has gotten me in trouble a couple times on FR). Imagine the kind of person who succeeds in politics and/or entertainment: they're incredibly narcissistic people more interested in furthering their careers (& selling more books) than helping the people they claim to represent. This applies, in varying degrees, to almost everyone on TV and in government, from Olberman to O'Reilly. The public personas of pols & TV talking heads have always seemed a little too rehearsed & phony to me—like watching pro wrestling—and I could never blindingly trust one of them.
• Having more information is always better.