Over the past month I have read a multitude of "Best of the Decade" articles on anything from movies to music to athletes to news events. I suppose I could write a best of list about any sort of cultural artifact. However it is people that move me. People that inspire me. People that energize me. With that in mind, I'm going to write about the people and friends that I have met at some point during the past 10 years that have had an impact upon me. (I could write a book about my friends that I have known longer than 10 years.) Some of these are close personal friends. Others are those that have had some impact upon my life even though we may not know each other that well. All are people that I would love to spend more time with. As I compiled this list I was stunned at the amazing people that I have met in the past 10 years. Hopefully I am a better person for having known each of these people. Books, movies, music, etc will eventually pass away. People last forever.

Check out the new interview with Mary Jane Mahan, author of "Love At The Pub". I love this story that Mary Jane tells about a great pub and more importantly a great place for community and conversation. The Brick Store Pub in Decatur, GA is one of my favorite places in the world, as much for the great community as for the world-class beer. In this interview, Mary Jane and I discuss how she came up with the idea for her book, the importance of "Third Place" for community, and love for great conversation, community, and beer. Cheers! Related links:

• Love At The Pub
• Brick Store Pub
• Buy at Amazon
• Twitter
• Facebook group

I am often accused of being a right-wing conservative "Rethuglican" by those on the Left and a bleeding heart commie liberal by people on the Right. And the synthesis of these criticisms often make me out to be a moderate. While I am certainly not a moderate, I very much believe that we need moderate rhetoric and temperament in our political dialog and debate. A good friend of mine made this case far better than I can so have I included it below:

What bothers me is the absence of moderation--not necessarily in terms of political views but in terms of temperament and judgment--that is highlighted by shrill, self-promoting Manichean partisans like Malkin, Coulter, Olbermann, Maddow, etc. Honestly I don't remember a time in recent memory where I was less interested in politics. I'm not saying this is all good. After all, this is a time when our country is having big debates over important issues like health care. One big reason is that I still believe that the differences between our political parties, while real, are exaggerated. I realize that both sides vote differently (sometimes) and offer different agendas (if at all consistent)--but the reality is that together they have created the political culture in which major decisions are made and legislation is crafted. It's not just that they are bought and paid for by their respective interests and indulge in brazen hypocrisy as we've seen in the case of Christopher Dodd--though that's certainly the case. It's not simply the seduction of greed, perks and influence, though that certainly seems true. I'm thinking about how the Republican Party and Democratic Party have together created the channels and culture in which they operate, debate, compromise, pass legislation, and indulge in institutionalized, legal corruption. All this in an environment in which the electoral process powerfully shapes how decisions are made and votes are cast. The bailout vote in October was a powerful expression of this--Obama, McCain, Pelosi, Reid, Bush, the Republican leadership--all game and all in need of each other to support this. These parties are in a death spiral together and as Will has experienced and pointed out before, they control the electoral levers to prevent serious reform in the form of a major third party.

Much of the news of the past week has been dominated by the story of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates being arrested at his home by Cambridge police officer James Crowley. At a press conference last week, President Obama addressed this issue and eventually suggested that Gates and Crowley join Obama at the White House to discuss things over a beer. While most talk surrounding this story has been about questions of race and law, I'd like to address the beer question. Specifically, what beer would be appropriate for Obama to serve? Let me first preface my recommendations by stating that I hope and pray that Obama will eschew the typical American offerings of Bud/Miller/Michelob/Coors. Would Obama serve boxed wine or jug wine at a meeting at the White House? I don't think so; therefore he shouldn't serve the beer equivalent. Additionally, while it is often recognized that Belgium makes the best beer in the world along with Germany and England, I think we can assume that Obama is going to serve American beer. So Mr. President, if you are reading this...try one of these world-class American beers.

Listen in as I interview Jeff Shinabarger of Gift Card Giver.

"Four friends had an idea to collect gift cards and give them to people in need. They went to a gathering and asked 8 people how much money in unused Gift Cards they had in their wallets and walked away with $50 in Gift Cards to help people in need. GiftCardGiver.com was born. Gift Card Giver is a new form of giving. The Gift Card industry has risen to be a 60 billion dollar industry. Ever wonder how many gift cards are unused? More than 10%. That means billions of dollars are waiting to be used for good on Gift Cards."

Now this is my kind of news...

Items mentioned in this video:

Items mentioned in this video:

• 
  Is the U.S. No Longer a Christian nation?<!--li>
• Facebook comments
• Kevin McCullough
• Os Guinness: The Case For Civility
• Liverpool FC
• St. Bernardus Abt 12

In order for this to be a conversation, I need your help and participation. While most people are comfortable with text comments on blogs, I think we miss out on the spoken word and hearing from real people. As such I would ask that you click the icon below to be connected to my voicemail to leave your thoughts on this week's topic. While I would prefer that you leave your name and where you are calling from, it isn't required. Feel free to leave comments below as well.

Items mentioned in this video:

• 
  Jon Meacham's Newsweek article
• Joe Scarborough video with Jon Meacham and Tim Keller
• Michael Spencer's article "The Coming Evangelical Collapse"
• "UnChristian" by Gabe Lyons and Dave Kinnaman
• Bill Simmons: "Choosing my EPL team"
• Liverpool FC
• Unibroue Trois Pistoles

In order for this to be a conversation, I need your help and participation. While most people are comfortable with text comments on blogs, I think we miss out on the spoken word and hearing from real people. As such I would ask that you click the icon below to be connected to my voicemail to leave your thoughts on this week's topic. While I would prefer that you leave your name and where you are calling from, it isn't required.

Over the years, I have come to see the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday as a black holiday, one in which people who know more about race relations than I contemplate the life of this remarkable man. I suspect that I am not alone among my white friends in having an attitude that has ranged from ambivalence to respect for something I am not supposed to understand. But in giving more thought to the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. I have realized that the last thing I should do is ignore the words of this man. And I have realized that he was speaking just as much to me as he was to any black man.