The Enter Stage Right Link of the Month

The American Partisan

Partisanship is wrong. At least, that's what we've been told for years by journalists and politicians who praise bipartisanism...at least when the right folds and gives in to the agenda of the left. You only have to watch CNN since 1992 for a multitude of examples.

I'll be perfectly frank. I am a partisan. I have no intention of compromising my principles when it comes to changing society. As Ayn Rand wrote, "In the compromise between food and poison, poison always wins."

That said, I admit I have a weakness for debate. I like to see all sides get together and settle an issue with good old fashioned talking, arguing the details, expounding on the bigger picture, maybe even coming together to the right conclusion. Okay, maybe I went too far with the last one. Sometimes I just like to see a good argument

American Partisan may not guarantee that all sides will come together and get along, but it does guarantee that many sides will be heard. As its name suggests, the American Partisan is home to opinions of any partisan who cares to contribute: left, right, libertarian, socialist and everything else on the spectrum. On any given day you'll be treated to the opinions of someone who doesn't like Bill Clinton and some who does, someone opposed to the Yugoslavian "war" and someone who supported it, someone who thinks Waco was the scene of a mass murder and someone who thinks it was a proper use of law enforcement.

Along with the articles, American Partisan's front page also features a section which provides multiple links for a single weekly topic, allowing visitors to get background material and essays from different sources. Visitors can also sign up for an e-mail service to receive articles from their favourite columnists as they published.

While it is bipartisan in nature, American Partisan does sometimes seem to betray its libertarian-conservative roots. Some of the people behind it were also responsible for Right! The Online Magazine -- ESR's January 1999 Site of the Month -- and while that may not reflect in the daily lineup of articles featured, American Partisan does seem to feature more writers from the right then the left, though I believe that simply to be a deficiency of liberal writers.

Technically, the web site does what it's supposed to with a minimum of things getting in the way. Articles feature links to other pieces by the same columnist and background information they've provided as well as links to other sections of the web site. It's not groundbreaking design by any stretch but by sticking to the basics it doesn't break down in any browser I viewed the web site with.

Contingent upon getting more people from the left onboard to contribute regularly and perhaps increasing its daily number of articles -- currently three to five -- American Partisan is one of the better reads on the web and one of my first destinations in the morning. It's better than the noxiously liberal reads that Salon and Slate are while providing viewpoints from columnists I rarely agree with. Partisanship can be good after all.




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