A note from the Editor

Hello there! My last name starts with “Sam”. I always say I am far from that Uncle Sam in every regard! Over the years, I have held the title of manager, entrepreneur, management consultant, technology strategist, software architect and an engineer. I have done these for almost 15 years and I even enjoyed it to some degree. Whether it is my educational background, or circumstance, or pride, something had kept me going.

One day I asked myself what is the one thing that I love doing most, if money is not an issue. What is the one thing that would make me wake up every morning with fire in my belly, and go to do something that I truly love?

But the problem was I do not know what that was. It seems like I am always on a quest to create something big and remarkable. After thinking hard and squeezing my brain, all I can come up with was how I like to browse the web, read a lot, listen to music and watch political shows. (I am not mentioning any professional sports because I am already too old to start on any of that!) Seems like a lazy bum, right? Isn’t everyone like that?

If I dissect the above, I can see beneath all these, the true reality :  I love to absorb new ideas and information. I love discussing them. Whether it is about philosophy or politics, I realized deep in my heart that I love being able to bring in positive change to people’s lives. i love discussing against the social injustice in public policy making, with the hope that compassion can resurface. Something somewhere must change. I love promoting ideas that tend to help people and promote social justice. Some paint this as progressive and liberal. I call them just.

I came to realize that life is short and knowledge unless shared is useless. It dies with you.

Why not pursue that something that I love and be in a position to help people who shared my thirst for knowledge? However silly / unreachable / financially unwise - my plans sound, I started MayFog with the hope that someday it will be “the place to go” for people who love information; A place where powerful public policy ideas originate; A place that feeds your thirst for news and opinions; A place where our collective voices make politicians think twice; A place as diverse as each one of us, that it actually brings joy for many through a diverse set of topics; A place for us to engage in one our instinctive human behavior - exploring;

Above all, I simply cannot be not on a quest to create something big. Armed with the hope for luck, and passion as my ally, I embark on this journey.

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Politics and beyond
MayFog explores issues in-depth and takes liberal positions on most issues and conservative positions on some. When it comes to politics, the mission here is to rise to the occasion, expose hypocrisy, confront it with the keyboard and exert influence (however tiny it may be) to build a better society based on our greatest American traditions. MayFog explores the Supreme Court, the constitution, and debates politics but it doesn’t just stop there. It also explores art and culture, Style and Fashion and anything in between. If you want to learn more about MayFog’s Core political beliefs Click here.

Liberal or Conservative?
As JFK once beautifully put, If by a ‘Liberal’ they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a ‘Liberal,’ then I’m proud to say I’m a ‘Liberal. Only few members of the progressive base have the audacity to proclaim that they are liberal. It is those few, who stand up to fight and maintain their positions, even after the (progressive) political pundits that you hear on TV fold aside. It is that liberal spirit that abolished slavery, gave us civil liberties, helped women to vote, welcomed immigrants, propelled America forward, embraced change, and continue to fight for the right to have healthcare for all. It is that spirit, whether you call it liberal or progressive, that fights for the weak and unprotected. Ironically the thing that you feel as “the right thing”, comes from the left, not the right!

Don’t get me wrong. I strongly believe fiscal conservatism is something that you cannot ignore. It is that very intellect that keeps us from going bankrupt and end up on the streets. I am all for ending the abuse of our welfare system and getting people off of welfare and putting them back to work. We must listen to passionate pro-life-ers with an open mind, yet not let government intervene on whats happening inside a woman’s body. The people on the right do have opinions and in many cases those opinions are valid, and deserve to be heard. I intend to shed light on those viewpoints as well.

What inspires MayFog?
Well, for starters how about the preamble of the United States Constitution: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. How about the declaration of Independence and everything the founding fathers intended? How about magazines like The American Prospect, The Nation, Slate, TNR, Mother Jones, NewYorker and countless great magazines led by fearless editors? How about the ordinary people who put their lives at risk to help others? How about great political speeches that are delivered with passion and true beliefs? Even the interesting things we encounter in life such as -  iPods. Starbucks. Gisele. Podcasts. Wine. Seattle. SanFran. App Store. Obama in 2008. - All of these do make us think and be inspired in some way!

Whether it is style and fashion or political history, it would be fair to say that MayFog is evolving as a result of many interesting things and it is only fair to admit evolution of ideas within a person is somewhat influenced by the environment. In order to take the hypocrisy in our society head-on, one must first admit without fear that their own beliefs change or evolve over a period of time.

Now I know why PBS chose ‘Be Inspired’ as their slogan! I hope to keep my inspiration alive and to inspire you by bringing information that is interesting and worthwhile reading.

Warmest Regards,
Principal Editor,
Mayfog Magazine.