Trying to get bad writing out of my system

Norman Mailer died a few days ago. Although I've never read a single book he's written, I came across his name countless times. However, I cannot remember exactly when or where I did. Nevertheless, when I read that he had died, I pored over several articles singing his praises in lieu of his passing. Something in one of those articles, published in the New York Times, caught my eye. It was a description of what Mr. Mailer did during his sophomore years. He changed his major from aeronautical engineering to literature, because he found it to be more of his liking. What was more interesting though, he "set himself a daily quota of 3,000 words of his own, on the theory that this was the way to get bad writing out of his system". So, seeing that he became a great writer because of or at least in part due to what he did, I'll try and do so too. Maybe not 3,000 words, but some words definitely on things I find out everyday that make me think. I don't intend to be a professional writer, just being a good one will suffice. Hopefully this works out well. Here's to Mr. Norman Mailer, who continues to inspire even after death.

Here's something that made me think today. An article in Counterpunch.com written by Alan Gresh, the editor of Le Monde Diplomatique. It was about the United States' new backyard: the Middle East. From what I understand, being the U.S.' backyard means that the focus of their worries are on you. Previously, Latin America was the worry because of its close geographical proximity. Nowadays, with the great advance in technology, distance supposedly means less. People, or more specifically terrorists, are now able to cross borders much faster, which makes the Middle East, where supposedly most of the terrorists come from, a region to be very much concerned about. However, the Middle East differs from Latin America because the latter was "never a crucial battlefield in a third world war". Europe was. It's the Middle East now. It's where the "crucial ideological battle" is being fought. So, the Middle East in the 21st Century is of much greater concern because it is the new U.S.' backyard and it's where all the action is. Hence, be sure to check in on your local news channel later. They might mention something about this.