Talk:PoliticalMavens.com
Placing unsourced copy and paste here. Diane Farsetta 13:57, 21 February 2008 (EST)
Political Mavens
politicalmavens.com
According to Technorati, there are tens of millions of blogs currently being published around the world. We’re told that a new one literally launches every minute. These online journals cover every imaginable topic — and some we’d rather not imagine. So why create PoliticalMavens.com and why do so now?
Though only a few years old, the blogosphere has already accomplished some amazing feats. “Citizen journalists” were instrumental in sending into early retirement a seasoned network news anchor and humiliating news organizations. They’ve rallied and impassioned grassroots America.
They’ve also given a voice to those who otherwise wouldn’t have them.
And that’s not necessarily a good thing.
For all the hype — and let’s not delude ourselves, there’s A LOT of hype — too many blogs are contributing to the coarsening of American discourse. With stiff competition, and most averaging only a few hundred readers — at best — daily, for bloggers on both sides of the political aisle, being shrill and negative seems to have translated into influence and, one suspects, receiving the attention they so crave.
It needn’t be this way.
As a former rabbinical student who spent years studying the Talmud, I know a thing or two about debate. Pursuing Truth and truth is not about zingers or implied accusations. It’s about ideas — right as well as wrong. It’s about informed analysis rather than speculation. And, most importantly, it’s about being passionate.
The goal of PoliticalMavens.com is to serve as a forum of enlightenment in an effort to clarify one’s thinking. Those who have been invited to become PM “fellows” are aboard because of their accomplishments. They deserve to be heard for one reason: Their hard earned experience. Among our contributors are a former governor and a mayor of a major metropolitan city; former ambassadors and a presidential deputy chief of staff, studio heads, Pulitzer and Emmy winners, cultural icons and New York Times best selling authors. You get the idea.
With two prominent political parties in America, there’s a prevailing belief that being bi-partisan is synonymous with being disloyal and weak. Opinion makers continue to preach the need to choose sides — and stick with your choice no matter what. Such is not the thinking man’s way.
PoliticalMavens.com is for thinkers.
Authors
Dan Ackman
Arnold Ahlert
Robert Alt
Sheryl J. Anderson
Jeff Andrus
Bob Asahina
Thomas Fox Averill
Gerard Baker
Jeff Ballabon
Anne Bayefsky
Arnold Beichman
Ralph Kinney Bennett
Claire Berlinski
Brendan Bernhard
William Beutler
Chip Bok
Jerry Bowyer
Joe Bob Briggs
Peter Brookes
Dennis Byrne
Colleen Carroll Campbell
Amb. Richard Carlson
Charles Robert Carner
Ron Cass
Jim Ceaser
Lauren Chapin
Lionel Chetwynd
Ron Christie
Andrew Colarik
Phil Cooke
Seth Cropsey
Greg Crosby
Stanley Crouch
Monica Crowley
Gordon Cucullu
Keith Curtis
Lee Casey & David B. Rivkin, Jr.
Mark Davis
Sam Dealey
Brad Dickson
Alan W. Dowd
Steven Emerson
Tucker Eskew
Amitai Etzioni
Karen Feld
Robert Ferrigno
Suzanne Fields
Peter Fox
Cory Franklin
Ilana Freedman
Will Friedwald
Doug Gamble
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
Jeff Gedmin
Robert A. George
Dan Gerstein
George Gilder
Benjamin Ginsberg
Seth Gitell
Mark Goffman
John Steele Gordon
Julia Gorin
Lloyd M. Green
Paul Greenberg
Cynthia Grenier
Jennifer Grossman
Judy Gruen
Allen C. Guelzo
Michel Gurfinkiel
Jonathan Gurwitz
Dennis Hale
Karen Hall
Eldon L. Ham
Earl Hamner
Matthew P. Harrington
Aaron Keith Harris
Betsy Hart
Sam Haskell, III
Jacob Heilbrunn
Mark Hemingway
David Henderson
Scott Hennen
Amb. G. Philip Hughes
John Hughes
Patrick Hurley
Blake Hurst
Susan Isaacs
Donovan Jacobs
Dallas Jenkins
Marianne Jennings
Bridget Johnson
Melodie Johnson Howe
Brian C. Jones
Mark Joseph
Mark Judge
Stefan Kanfer
Jeff Katz
Jonathan Kay
Jack Kelly
Paul Kengor
Larry Kenny
Andrew Klavan
Judith A. Klinghoffer
Eytan Kobre
Elizabeth Koch
Dave Konig
Eugene Kontorovich
Dave Kopel
Elie D. Krakowski
Michael Krauss
Josh Larsen
Michael LeGault
Eli Lehrer
Allan Leicht
Michael Levine
Nathan Lewin
Amy Linker
Mike Long
Laura Lorson
Douglas MacKinnon
Harvey Mansfield
Stephen Mansfield
Rich Markey
Josh Marquis
Dana Marshall
Craig Mazin
David McFadzean
John Meroney
Herbert E. Meyer
Richard Miniter
Howard Mortman
Gerald Nachman
Noam Neusner
Anna Nimouse
Cyrus Nowrasteh
Mackubin Owens
Kathleen Parker
Marilyn Penn
David D. Perlmutter
Phil Perrier
Peary Perry
Eric Peters
Paul Petersen
Walid Phares
Lisa Pinto
John J. Pitney,Jr.
Stephen Pollard
Steve Pomerantz
Steve Pressfield
Arch Puddington
Jeremy Rabkin
Rachel Raskin-Zrihen
David Reinhard
Lisa Reitman-Dobi
Richard Riordan
Heather Robinson
Dave Rosner
Evan Sayet
Felice Schachter
Abby Wisse Schachter
Richard Schifter
William Schmidt
Sam Schulman
Sherwood and Lloyd Schwartz
Peter Schweizer
Todd Seavey
Jeremy Shane
Neal M. Sher
Dave Shiflett
Marvin Silbermintz
Max Singer
Curt Smith
Scott Stantis
Steve Stark
Harry Stein
Neil Steinberg
The Stiletto
Glenn Sulmasy
Joel Surnow
Seth Swirsky
Steven L. Taylor
Keith Thibodeaux
Bruce Thornton
Jonathan S. Tobin
Kelly Jane Torrance
Prof. Bob Turner
Cynthia Vance
Laura Vanderkam
Chris Warren
Ben Wattenberg
Ken Weinstein
Barry Weiss
Gary Weiss
Claudia Wells
Christine B. Whelan
John O Whitaker Jr
Kaitlyn Wilkins
William Wintersole
Kate Wright
Meyrav Wurmser
Toby Young
Bryce Zabel
Robert Zelnick
John Ziegler
PM Fellows
Dan Ackman Arnold Ahlert Robert Alt Sheryl J. Anderson Jeff Andrus Bob Asahina Thomas Fox Averill Gerard Baker Jeff Ballabon Anne Bayefsky Arnold Beichman Ralph Kinney Bennett Claire Berlinski Brendan Bernhard William Beutler Chip Bok Jerry Bowyer Joe Bob Briggs Peter Brookes Dennis Byrne Colleen Carroll Campbell Amb. Richard Carlson Charles Robert Carner Ron Cass Jim Ceaser Lauren Chapin Lionel Chetwynd Ron Christie Andrew Colarik Phil Cooke Seth Cropsey Greg Crosby Stanley Crouch Monica Crowley Gordon Cucullu Keith Curtis Lee Casey & David B. Rivkin, Jr. Mark Davis Sam Dealey Brad Dickson Alan W. Dowd Political Mavens Editor Steven Emerson Tucker Eskew Amitai Etzioni Karen Feld Robert Ferrigno Suzanne Fields Peter Fox Cory Franklin Ilana Freedman Will Friedwald Doug Gamble Daveed Gartenstein-Ross Jeff Gedmin Robert A. George Dan Gerstein George Gilder Benjamin Ginsberg Seth Gitell Mark Goffman John Steele Gordon Julia Gorin Lloyd M. Green Paul Greenberg Cynthia Grenier Jennifer Grossman Judy Gruen Allen C. Guelzo Michel Gurfinkiel Jonathan Gurwitz Dennis Hale Karen Hall Eldon L. Ham Earl Hamner Matthew P. Harrington Aaron Keith Harris Betsy Hart Sam Haskell, III Jacob Heilbrunn Mark Hemingway David Henderson Scott Hennen Amb. G. Philip Hughes John Hughes Patrick Hurley Blake Hurst Susan Isaacs Donovan Jacobs Dallas Jenkins Marianne Jennings Bridget Johnson Melodie Johnson Howe Brian C. Jones Mark Joseph Mark Judge Stefan Kanfer Jeff Katz Jonathan Kay Jack Kelly Paul Kengor Larry Kenny Andrew Klavan Judith A. Klinghoffer Eytan Kobre Elizabeth Koch Dave Konig Eugene Kontorovich Dave Kopel Elie D. Krakowski Michael Krauss Josh Larsen Michael LeGault Eli Lehrer Allan Leicht Michael Levine Nathan Lewin Amy Linker Mike Long Laura Lorson Douglas MacKinnon Harvey Mansfield Stephen Mansfield Rich Markey Josh Marquis Dana Marshall Craig Mazin David McFadzean John Meroney Herbert E. Meyer Richard Miniter Howard Mortman Gerald Nachman Noam Neusner Anna Nimouse Cyrus Nowrasteh Mackubin Owens Kathleen Parker Marilyn Penn David D. Perlmutter Phil Perrier Peary Perry Eric Peters Paul Petersen Walid Phares Lisa Pinto John J. Pitney,Jr. Stephen Pollard Steve Pomerantz Steve Pressfield Arch Puddington Jeremy Rabkin Rachel Raskin-Zrihen David Reinhard Lisa Reitman-Dobi Richard Riordan Heather Robinson Dave Rosner Evan Sayet Felice Schachter Abby Wisse Schachter Richard Schifter William Schmidt Sam Schulman Sherwood and Lloyd Schwartz Peter Schweizer Todd Seavey Jeremy Shane Neal M. Sher Dave Shiflett Marvin Silbermintz Max Singer Curt Smith Scott Stantis Steve Stark Harry Stein Neil Steinberg The Stiletto Glenn Sulmasy Joel Surnow Seth Swirsky Steven L. Taylor Keith Thibodeaux Bruce Thornton Jonathan S. Tobin Kelly Jane Torrance Prof. Bob Turner Cynthia Vance Laura Vanderkam Chris Warren Ben Wattenberg Ken Weinstein Barry Weiss Gary Weiss Claudia Wells Christine B. Whelan John O Whitaker Jr Kaitlyn Wilkins William Wintersole Kate Wright Meyrav Wurmser Toby Young Bryce Zabel Robert Zelnick John Ziegler