I like being uncomfortable. Meeting and listening to people I may disagree with. Just to learn. To understand. I'm very fortunate that through the readership of REDEF I get to meet a lot of people. Every few weeks I write in this rant some of those I want to meet. And without fail, there is somebody to connect me. It is THE perk of the job. Whether a talented storyteller such as SAM ESMAIL. Or a brilliant legal mind like FLOYD ABRAMS. I try to meet new people I admire and want to learn from every single week. As you know I'm a political novice. And was never much was interested in government policy. But what has woken me up is the mean of it all. I hate mean. The GOP has been allowing mean to further policy. I want a healthy, sane, moral, fair GOP. And DEMS too. My friend BETSY MORGAN came in with the assist when I wanted to meet conservative journalist and commentator S.E. CUPP. She hosts SE CUPP UNFILTERED on HLN. And is often on CNN. She's a voice I needed to hear. She's smart, principled, sensible, dedicated, and conservative. But most important of all? She consistently puts country over party. She is not abandoning her party. But when wrong is wrong, she doesn't flinch to say so. I cannot tell you how rare that is these days. CNN leans left. And I'd like to see her on CNN a lot more. Such an important voice to bring us to the middle. She's super active on social media. She writes a column. And her shows have an array of topics and pundits who aren't insane. Represent all views. Not like 75% of FOX NEWS. And no one seems to talk over each other. Another rarity. She was kind enough to sit with me in her office on another crazy news day. Not sure if you've visited a newsroom recently but the energy is nuts. The anxiety is there. I can see legs shaking, glancing at TV screens, and people constantly looking at their phone. There is no rest. I can't imagine what goes through her head at the end of the day. Is there ever calm time? We discussed the middle. We discussed the fringe. She suggested some conservative columnists that I should read. And others to stay away from. She's firm in her beliefs. And when she disagrees with her party, she says so. But doesn't abandon the conservative ideals that she believes the party should stand for. When her admirers on the other side admonish her for not leaving the party over recent issues, she stands firm. Why? Because to her, it's her party and the fringe are just that; they don't represent the ideals and policies she supports. Whether taxes or whatever. A combination of decency and fortitude. Here she is on immigration debacle from this week. Do yourself a favor. Follow her. Read her. Watch her. It's helped me... One massive bill, two legislative bodies to pass, ten thousand opinions. Can music and tech companies convince WASHINGTON to improve the way musicians and composers are paid? And is that in fact what they're doing? MusicREDEF SET: "Money for Something: Debating the Music Modernization Act"... Happy Birthday to MARK COHEN and TIM HESLIN.