Ninos Pierre Malek Email: ninosmalek@hotmail.com "But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to  to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without  commiting a crime." Frederic Bastiat "Many people want the government to protect the consumer. A much more urgent problem is to protect the consumer from the government." Milton Friedman "He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in Him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord." Isaiah 26:3
	VCHS Graduation Speech 2009 Verses for Encouragement Books on Faith and Hope Recommended Books for Economic Way of Thinking Online and Print Publications CLASS LINKS: San Jose State University Valley Christian High School
						Economics and Public Policy Links: Ludwig von Mises Institute Cato Institute Independent Institute Acton Institute Mackinac Center Heritage Foundation Reason Foundation Hoover Institution Smith Center for Private Enerprise Studies Citizens Against Government Waste Family Research Council American Center for Law and Justice Institute for Humane Studies Mercatus Center Foundation for Economic Education Foundation for Teaching Economics National Council on Economic Education Econoclass.com Association of Private Enterprise Education Federal Reserve Federal Reserve Education Department of Commerce Wall Street Journal The Economist The Dismal Scientist Freakonomics Everyday Economics Invisible Heart Larry Elder's Homepage John Stossel's Homepage Arnold Schwarzenegger's Homepage Sean Hannity's Homepage Glenn Beck's Homepage Laissez-faire Books Liberty Fund Capitalism.org Dr. Walter Williams' Hompage San Jose State Economics George Mason Economics Mark Skousen Homepage Christianity and Theology Links: Living on the Edge Ankerberg Theological Institute Christian Research Institute John MacArthur Ministries Ligonier Ministries In Touch Ministries Truth for Life Winning Walk Wall Builders American Destiny Miscellaneous Links: United States Marine Corps Dallas Cowboys Muscle and Fitness Republican Party Libertarian Party Fox News Rick Steves' Europe Let's Go Travel Bobby Flay Official Site Food Network Travel Channel UFC
		About Me: I am currently a George Mason University Ph.D. candidate in Economics. I have completed all my Ph.D. coursework and I have passed my comprehensive exams in microeconomics and macroeconomics and my field exams in Austrian  and Public Choice economics. I am still working on my dissertation involving the topic of economics education. In addition, I teach at San Jose State University and De Anza College as a part-time Economics lecturer and at Valley Christian High School as a Government/Economics and Advanced Placement Economics teacher. My father is Assyrian (from Iran) and my mother is from Ecuador. I was born in San Jose, California on August 23, 1971. I speak Assyrian and Spanish and I studied some Italian at San Jose State University. My parents are Roman Catholic, so I was baptized as an infant in the Roman Catholic church. I also received my First Communion at Holy Family Catholic Church in San Jose when I was in elementary school. However, my parents enrolled me in a conservative Baptist school (Liberty Baptist) where I attended from the first grade until my sophomore year in high school (I then transferred to Santa Teresa High School my junior year and graduated in 1989). Today, I can best describe my views on fundamental theological and moral issues as conservative, non-charismatic, evangelical Protestant but my views on "liberty issues" are arguably more liberal. Politics fascinated me since I was a young boy starting with Ronald Regan's presidency. When I turned 18, I registered as a Republican. However, as I matured and continued my studies in economics, my views became more closely aligned with the  Libertarian philosophy. So, my political philosophy can best be described as conservative/libertarian (depends on the issue). To be clear, even though my positions on some public policy topics are philosophically Libertarian, this does not mean that I support the morality of the issue at hand. . In other words, I agree with the conservative perspective on the morality of many issues but not the role of government regarding those issues. My college years were spent at San Jose State University where I was a member of Theta Chi Fraternity, the Speech and Debate Team, and student government as Interfraternity Council President in 1993. I received my B.A. in Economics with a minor in Speech-Communications in May 1995. At first, I wanted to be a stockbroker after watching the movie Wall Street. However, after working at Merrill Lynch as an intern one semester, I realized that a career involving sales was not for me. I decided that I wanted to pursue law school and a career as a JAG officer in the United States Marine Corps. I applied and was accepted into United States Marine Corps Officer Candidates School in Quantico, Virginia in the summer of 1993 in order to receive an eventual commission as a Second Lieutenant. However, because of a medical discharge, my training was cut short and, due to subsequent major shoulder surgeries, my pursuit of the military ended. However, the time I did spend at OCS had a tremendous impact on me personally and later professionally as a teacher.  I ended up not going to law school but rather entered the Master's program in Applied Economics at SJSU. It was during this time, and specifically after reading a book entitled Economics on Trial by Mark Skousen, that I became a "born again student" and my appreciation for the economic way of thinking and free-market economic ideology grew (my first real exposure to classical liberal/free-market thought was Frederic Bastiat's The Law which was given to me by a teacher when I was a young teen). I also studied Austrian economics through summer programs at The Ludwig von Mises Institute, located at Auburn University,  and at New York University (NYU). After receiving the M.A. in Applied Economics in December 1997, I sent my resume to several financial firms, but I had a difficult time finding a position. I was eventually hired at a major law firm in Palo Alto working in information technology support. After four months of this, I decided to try teaching. After a short time of substitute teaching, I started teaching full-time at Valley Christian High School in San Jose in April 1998. At the beginning of the fall 1998-1999 academic year I also started teaching  economics during the evenings and weekends at San Jose State University and De Anza College. I did this until I left in August 2003 to pursue the Ph.D. at George Mason. I returned to San Jose in 2006. My interests and activities include reading ( mostly nonfiction books dealing with theology, public policy, and economics), writing opinion articles, working out at the gym,  some sports (however I am not into "X-games" related activities nor am I a "thrill-seeker"), attending my church (Venture Christian Church), going to the movies, grilling and cooking, watching TV (especially the news, Glenn Beck, Travel Channel, Food Network, UFC, and football--especially the Dallas Cowboys), and keeping up with the political scene. Finally, I enjoy traveling. I have seen most of the United States from our major cities to the middle of nowhere--especially since I completed a cross-country drive from Washington D.C. to California in spring 2006.  In addition, I have travelled  throughout Europe on four separate occasions (fall 1997 and summers 2001-2003) doing the backpacking, train, and hostel routine. On those trips I went to Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, and Italy. I have also been to Ensenada, Mexico and  Nassau in The Bahamas.