About the Blogger:
My name is Ryan
Silberstein. I hail from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and now am a
student at the University of
Delaware
, where I major in Political Science and Economics. I graduated
from Archbishop
Ryan High School
in
2004, and entered Delaware the following fall. For those keeping track,
that would make me a junior.
Here is where the name of this blog comes from.
Education/Politcal Experience
I have always loved politics, from the time I was a young child. I vaguely remember the fall of the Berlin Wall (I was 3), remember well the 1992 Presidential election (8 years old), the Republican Revolution of 1994 (10). I have many early Republican-tinted memories most likely due to my parents. During the 2000 election, as a freshman in high school, I vowed I would stay awake until Tim Russert called the election. That lasted until about 3:00PM the next afternoon, when I practically passed out after getting back from school.
I had never considered becoming active in politics until my senior year in high school. My plan prior to that time was to be some kind of lawyer (probably tax), and amass enough funds to run for Congress. However, my senior year, some pretty significant events happened to me. I took AP Government & Politics, and I started to realize just exactly how much I did like politics. Also during that year, I met Tucker Carlson, while he was speaking at a lecture at DeSalles University. Upon speaking to Tucker, I realized that I did not need some fancy law degree to get started in politics. Chris Matthews' book, Hardball, required reading for my AP Gov't class, has also been influential to me.
By the time the 2004 campaign season came around, I was ready for action. I never counted how many volunteer hours I did, but it was quite a lot, especially as I was trying to balance campaign activites with my position as a tuba player in the University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hen Marching Band. This time, I was able to stay awake long enough to see the results.
In December of 2005, I was elected Chairman of College Republicans, University of Delaware Chapter. I ran unopposed, but this was my first time serving as an elected member of a political organization. I did not seek reelection in December of 2006 to pursue other interests. At the present time, I plan on entering graduate school after graduating with my Bachelor's in Spring 2008.
In the summer of 2006, I was an intern at Morton Blackwell's Leadership Institute. It was a great experience, and one I will always value and treasure.
Poltical Thought
I have said that I am a "conservative first and a Republican second." This is why you may find Republican dissenting on these pages. I also hold my political beliefs to be fairly secular, though my Catholic faith does strongly influence them. I stongly favor limited government, a strong foreign policy, free trade, and stong homeland security, especially border control. I believe the United States and the West to be engaged in a clash of civilizations with a radical element of Islam, and that we need to be acting as such. I would most likely be described as a paleoconservative, though I shun labels like that, and would merely classify myself as a Burkian conservative after the tradition of Edmund Burke and G.K. Chesterton.
Works influential to my political thought:
Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke
The Road to Serfdom by F.A. Hayek
Winning the Future by Newt Gingrich
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
1984 by George Orwell
Running On Empty by Peter G. Peterson
Death of the West by Pat Buchanan
Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
Other Interests
Space travel: I have always wanted mankind to exlpore the heavens, and right now, NASA isn't doing a great job, and the private sector is slowly picking up the slack.
Climate Change: Michael Crichton's State of Fear really opened my eyes to how powerful the Global Warming lobby is, and I will do my best to expose it.
Economics: Fascinates me
History: Always enjoyed knowing where we came from. Particular preiods of interest: British Empire, World War II, American History, The Crusades/Medieval Europe
Favorite Things
Favorite Fiction Authors: Neal Stephenson, George Orwell, Michael Crichton, Jeff Shaara, Don DeLillo, John Scalzi
Favorite Music: Rush, Bruce Springsteen, The Beatles, Billy Joel, Warren Zevon, The Kinks
Favorite Movies: Jaws, Ghostbusters, Clerks, Chasing Amy, James Bond movies, High Fidelity, Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Thank You for Smoking, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, Bullitt, North by Northwest, Patton, Fletch, Red Dawn, Apollo 13, Unbreakable, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Batman Begins, Young Frankenstein, The Sting, Miracle, United 93
Here is where the name of this blog comes from.
Education/Politcal Experience
I have always loved politics, from the time I was a young child. I vaguely remember the fall of the Berlin Wall (I was 3), remember well the 1992 Presidential election (8 years old), the Republican Revolution of 1994 (10). I have many early Republican-tinted memories most likely due to my parents. During the 2000 election, as a freshman in high school, I vowed I would stay awake until Tim Russert called the election. That lasted until about 3:00PM the next afternoon, when I practically passed out after getting back from school.
I had never considered becoming active in politics until my senior year in high school. My plan prior to that time was to be some kind of lawyer (probably tax), and amass enough funds to run for Congress. However, my senior year, some pretty significant events happened to me. I took AP Government & Politics, and I started to realize just exactly how much I did like politics. Also during that year, I met Tucker Carlson, while he was speaking at a lecture at DeSalles University. Upon speaking to Tucker, I realized that I did not need some fancy law degree to get started in politics. Chris Matthews' book, Hardball, required reading for my AP Gov't class, has also been influential to me.
By the time the 2004 campaign season came around, I was ready for action. I never counted how many volunteer hours I did, but it was quite a lot, especially as I was trying to balance campaign activites with my position as a tuba player in the University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hen Marching Band. This time, I was able to stay awake long enough to see the results.
In December of 2005, I was elected Chairman of College Republicans, University of Delaware Chapter. I ran unopposed, but this was my first time serving as an elected member of a political organization. I did not seek reelection in December of 2006 to pursue other interests. At the present time, I plan on entering graduate school after graduating with my Bachelor's in Spring 2008.
In the summer of 2006, I was an intern at Morton Blackwell's Leadership Institute. It was a great experience, and one I will always value and treasure.
Poltical Thought
I have said that I am a "conservative first and a Republican second." This is why you may find Republican dissenting on these pages. I also hold my political beliefs to be fairly secular, though my Catholic faith does strongly influence them. I stongly favor limited government, a strong foreign policy, free trade, and stong homeland security, especially border control. I believe the United States and the West to be engaged in a clash of civilizations with a radical element of Islam, and that we need to be acting as such. I would most likely be described as a paleoconservative, though I shun labels like that, and would merely classify myself as a Burkian conservative after the tradition of Edmund Burke and G.K. Chesterton.
Works influential to my political thought:
Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke
The Road to Serfdom by F.A. Hayek
Winning the Future by Newt Gingrich
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
1984 by George Orwell
Running On Empty by Peter G. Peterson
Death of the West by Pat Buchanan
Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
Other Interests
Space travel: I have always wanted mankind to exlpore the heavens, and right now, NASA isn't doing a great job, and the private sector is slowly picking up the slack.
Climate Change: Michael Crichton's State of Fear really opened my eyes to how powerful the Global Warming lobby is, and I will do my best to expose it.
Economics: Fascinates me
History: Always enjoyed knowing where we came from. Particular preiods of interest: British Empire, World War II, American History, The Crusades/Medieval Europe
Favorite Things
Favorite Fiction Authors: Neal Stephenson, George Orwell, Michael Crichton, Jeff Shaara, Don DeLillo, John Scalzi
Favorite Music: Rush, Bruce Springsteen, The Beatles, Billy Joel, Warren Zevon, The Kinks
Favorite Movies: Jaws, Ghostbusters, Clerks, Chasing Amy, James Bond movies, High Fidelity, Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Thank You for Smoking, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, Bullitt, North by Northwest, Patton, Fletch, Red Dawn, Apollo 13, Unbreakable, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Batman Begins, Young Frankenstein, The Sting, Miracle, United 93
TV
Shows I Watch: The Simpsons, Mythbusters, Meet the Press,
Jeopardy, Firefly, The Office, 30Rock,
Last
updated 2/4/2007
