I am a sophomore at Amherst College, in western Massachusetts. Originally from a small town in central California called Tehachapi (of Grapes of Wrath pseudo-fame), I now reside in Corona, California, about an hour and a half outside of L.A.
At Amherst, I am Managing Editor of The Indicator, a biweekly journal of political and social thought. I am also Vice Chairman of the Amherst College Republicans and the resident libertarian voice and club pariah of sorts (on account of my forceful support of Ron Paul).
I am undeclared, but in the next two semesters I plan to declare either a history or American Studies major. I hope to pursue a Ph.D. after graduating, probably in early U.S. history and American historiography.
This summer -- of 2008, that is -- I am a visiting summer fellow at the Mises Institute, researching and writing a libertarian reply to the neo-Straussian conception of Natural Law. The tentative working title for my paper is, "Rationalizing the Leviathan State: Straussian Natural Law as a Pretext for Tyranny."
Oh, and I ought to explain my screen name: Lord Jeffery Amherst is our college mascot. He was a British military official who was, allegedly, the commanding mastermind behind the plot to distribute smallpox-infected blankets to Native Americans in the region. This act, once undertaken, became the first case of actual bioterrorism in American history. And that is why Amherst College has embraced "Lord Jeff" as our beloved icon -- go figure.