Who We Are, and Why We Do What We Do…

It being a slow news day, I’m going to throw in a change of pace post.

I’ve gotten a huge number of kind and supportive posts, and a few critical ones.  There were also a couple of wingnuts.  But overall, very positive.

One email particularly struck a note with me, and I wanted to share it by way of explanation of why we do what we do here. 

” You guys are such a relief. I’ve been sending your site link to everyone I know. And I consider myself very conservative, but not this fascistic neocon crap. Lately it’s looked like we were about two months months away from Fox News giving some rightwing goon’s opinion that we should round up the Jews because they forced the government to make bad loans to poor blacks in order to bankrupt the country so the Illuminati could take over the country. The article on free market’s in free fall would be a great basis for my contention that free market theory is not to blame, but rather it’s not having free markets for the last 30 years or so. They’ve all been rigged to concentrate wealth at the expense of the poor and middle class: media, health care, insurance, oil, banking, politics, in one big daisy chain of greedy cocksuckers, who co-opt for their own profit those benefits of the people that can only derive from a collaborative, just, elected capital, such as utilities, transportation, mail, defense, education, and safety. Why best derived from there? Because when profit instead of service is the motive, difficult or inconvenient parts of the population are ignored because they are not profitable. Well, I’d rather read what else you come up with than blather on about freedom, rights, and equality. But I do have a slight request that I think would make recommending viewer to your site more successful in terms of impact and repeat visits. I wouldn’t change a thing about the site. It’s true and cleverly done. But if the articles stuck to their very intelligent arguments without the self-indulgence of little jibes, more visitors would be stay to read, rather than getting their hackles up on what is after all a touchy subject, especially these days with all the cult of personality going on. Even something so slight as Reagan’s being said to skip on to the scene is at best self-indulgent and at least antithetical to your attracting a huge following, which I would like to see you do. Sincerely, A.S.”

First, I appreciate his comments in general, and I agree generally with his arguments.  And I understand his suggestions about the tone.  Believe it or not, I do consciously edit the tone in order not to offend the sensibilities of too many people. 

Because I’d like liberals, disenfranchised conservatives and libertarians to feel welcome in my audience.  And if communists, socialists and Presbyterians want to join in, the more the merrier.  I may have tremendous affection for Hunter S. Thompson, his writing and his gonzo sensibilities, but I similarly respect the pen of William F. Buckley, whose vocabulary, subtlety of expression and occasionally withering wit inspire my continuing efforts at refining my own sense of expression.

May the Higher Power of your choice open hearts and minds, and move us all to meaningful action