<p>&ldquo;I love it,&rdquo; says Professor Robert Lipkin when asked about his blog, Essentially Contested America. Only a few years ago, he would never even have considered the possibility that he might be writing his own blog, but in September of 2006, he wrote a response to a post about judicial activism on a constitutional law listserv. His response led the poster of the original comment to ask Professor Lipkin to post on Ratio Juris, a blog edited by Dean of the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville Jim Chen, and before long, people were asking Professor Lipkin why he had not started his own blog.<br /><br />Interested in the possibility of starting his own blog but unsure of the technical requirements, Professor Lipkin approached Widener Law&rsquo;s webmaster, Cassandra King, and asked for her help. Now armed with the skills to create his own blog, he launched Essentially Contested America, a blog focused on &ldquo;The Burdens of Judgment in Law, Politics, and Culture&rdquo; with an inaugural post on October 20th, 2006. &ldquo;It forces me to write everyday,&rdquo; he says, adding, &ldquo;What's great about blogging is that it is self-publication without the negative connotation of a 'vanity press'.&rdquo;<br /><br />Professor Lipkin hopes to some day collect some of the better entries on Essentially Contested America into a book of essays, noting, &ldquo;Essay writing is a lost art.&rdquo; He encourages others to try blogging as well, declaring, &ldquo;If I can do it, anyone else can do it, but you have to want to do it.&rdquo; &ldquo;Overall, it&rsquo;s been a great experience. I have Jim and Cass to thank,&rdquo; says Professor Lipkin with a smile.</p>