By Brad Friedman on 1/24/2011, 8:05am PT  

Here we are. A full seven years as of today, after I began, on a complete lark, what I had thought would be little more than something to keep me occasionally occupied after I had finished up a different project I'd worked on for five years prior. I had no idea or hopes for what it would, and has become --- or that it would keep me from being able to make the living I had been able to before starting --- or even that I'd find myself, with disturbing regularity, having nearly front-row seats to moments of historic importance, as witness to the unraveling of a nation.

But here we are. Seven years later, and still at it, still digging, still fighting, still crying, still laughing, still witnessing in wonder as the unraveling continues, and still more disturbed by it all than I could have ever even imagined.

For those of you who have joined us for all or any part of the long, strange journey along the way, I can only hope it has been as thought-provoking, informative, and enlightening as it has been, at times, absolutely maddening.

But here we are still. Still fighting many of the same battles, still witnessing many of the victories and disappointments over and again. We don't drive the bus, however. We just ride along with it, and help, to the best of our abilities, in trying to steer it back on to a road toward sanity, peace, love, hope, and improvement tomorrow over failure yesterday and today.

Were it not for the support of many of you out there, we'd not be here today at all. As I have to point out too often when folks ask how we make a living at this: we don't. Truly independent investigative progressive bloggers with specialties in muckraking, trouble-making, snark, whistleblowing and election integrity don't make nearly the great fortune that one might think.

Instead, we beg, borrow, try not to steal, and hope to keep on keeping on, with your support, whenever and however possible. To that end, yes, I will again ask for your support in a moment, even as I offer a purposely and extraordinarily vague hint about possible changes (both positive and likely temporary) coming in the weeks and months ahead, if I am able to see things through as I hope. But more on that later as/if things develop.

So with that small vagary, please forgive my using this moment for what I am so loath to do, even as so many other news and blog sites do so with far more regularity than I ever feel comfortable. Please consider supporting The BRAD BLOG with a "birthday gift" of any amount. Of course, the larger --- as you are able to afford and still take care of more pressing priorities --- the better. You are, and always have been, by and large, what stands between our ability to keep going at whatever it is that we do, and the (always) far more plausible notion that we'll be forced to simply roll up our tent of ever-good intentions in order to find a much more reasonable way to pay a meager rent, put food on the table, and some gas in the tank.

One-time donations are, as ever, tremendously appreciated. Even more so are sustaining, automated, monthly contributions of any amount you can comfortably afford. For the latter, please see the form in the light blue box mid-way down our right sidebar. Monthly sustaining support is a quick and easy matter to create, via credit card or PayPal, as you prefer, and will hopefully take you less than three minutes or so to set up.

One-time donations, also via credit card or PayPal, can be made right here. Snail mail support to "Brad Friedman, 7095 Hollywood Blvd., #594 Los Angeles, CA 90028" is similarly welcome and greatly appreciated!

Most of all, of course, your support --- by reading, clicking, commenting, DIGGING, REDDITing, Tweeting, Facebook "sharing," and/or emailing the fruits of the efforts of myself and of all of those many who have contributed here in any way over these past seven years --- continues to be the greatest gift of all. Without you, as they say, we are nothing. So for that, as we head into Year Number Eight(?!) I thank you yet again, from the bottom of my ever-exhausted, yet still hopeful, heart.

Onward. Peace.
-- Brad
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