Thanks again
You may have noticed that I’ve allowed the post about donating to PayPal to migrate down to its rightful place on the page. The “Donate” button remains, of course, and feel free to use it to your heart’s delight.
But I just wanted to repeat myself and say to all who donated a deeply appreciative “thank you.” I’ll try to be worthy!
Thanks to YOU, neo!!!! You have created a wonderful community, indeed. I can hardly believe that it is more than a year and a half since I first encountered a post of yours, and found it so compelling that I wrote you and became a regular, as well as feeling a need to read a good way back in the archives which further enhanced my regard for your work.
I think you’ve made so many of us readers feel “we’re not alone” as Glenn Beck often reminds his viewers (and this is NOT meant to compare you to him in any way!). I am rarely as frustrated as I used to be when I regularly found myself compulsively yelling back at the TV set. Though I haven’t been as active a commenter of late, I am a devoted reader – you’re second only to The Wall St. Journal on my daily list.
I thank you, and also all the many other regulars whose wit and wisdom in the Comments section always accentuate your posts. It is most interesting to realize over time how much some bloggers and their readers do become linked beyond that anonymous contact that promotes much of Internet communication. When FredHjr died so suddenly this past year, I remember feeling, upon hearing the news, that I had been punched in the stomach. But what was more amazing, it was clear from your own comments and others’, that we all felt a similar loss, as if he had been a personal friend. And he was, in a way, as we have all become a part of each other’s daily lives even if only known by screennames.
As you may remember, I now live on post-Madoff budget, but am most happy to contribute what I can now, and hopefully more in the future. I’m sure you are now aware that you are widely read. Comments are surely posted by only a very small portion of readers. But we keep coming back for more, because you are giving a lot. While doing what you love to do (must do?), you are also providing a service, a much-valued one, to your readers, and should be compensated for that. Unfortunately, the Blogging world has not yet formulated a fair and successful means for compensating the best and most popular Bloggers. The ad format is an “iffy” factor at best; when one logs on every day looking for your post, the eyes tend to pass right by any ad structure as it’s not what is being sought. Similarly, the formula of subscription newletters (much used in specific industries or in the financial sector) is not workable because it’s difficult to cull readers who are compelled to pay for unknown content before they know what it is. However, for what it’s worth, I regularyly stop to think how much work you do: how broadly read you are, how much research you do whether it be to support your on theses, or to vet others’ which you include in your writing to support your points. It awes me, and I appreciate the links and refererencing in your articles as well as commenters. For those who really WANT to know, there is no better forum for learning as this wonderful thing know as the Internet. I cannot imagine what life was like before I used my first computer, let alone how it has changed since then! (I regularly think about how different the college experience would have been (I graduated 30 years ago!) and I frequently wonder if current students appreciate the advantages they now have? Can you imagine still writing your articles after reading, going to the library to research, making notes on index cards, outlining, and then rewriting and typing until finished product were ready? Uhhh, how many articles would you publish per week?) Truly a different world, and all of us better off for it, even if it is taken for granted by many!
Much thanks! I hope you will regularly move that Paypal button to the top of the page, seeing as how there is currently no other satisfactory way for you to receive just compensation for your work! It won’t hurt anyone. It shouldn’t offend anyone who seeeks out and appreciates your work, and it permits you to continue what is your job. Just because you do something that you love doing, and began doing it without promise of compensation, does not mean that you need continue doing so.
(Sorry for the overly long comment. Long time, no comment. I have loved “belinging” to your site” and felt the need to verbalize the reasons while expressing my gratitude!)
csimon: No need to apologize—it’s music to my ears!
That paypal button is still on top, by the way—it’s on the right sidebar. It’s the post announcing it that’s been slowly disappearing across the event horizon.
When I started this blog, one of my goals was to create a community where people could discuss the sort of matters that we talk about here. In my “real” life, it was always hard to find. And it gives me great satisfaction to see it here.
I, also, find it difficult in “my real life” to find a community — let alone a friend — with whom I can freely discuss politics & find others with empathy, let alone tolerance! I don’t know why, but it seems like nearly all my friends are liberal Democrats, too. Perhaps because I grew up in insular Jewish area and to this day, so many Jews are automatons voting for Democrats. Alas, age, knowledge and wisdom, in addition to rational thought doesn’t seem to make a difference. I just ordered the Norman Podhoretz book “Why Are Jews Liberal” which you mentioned in a post not too long ago. Can’t wait to get it. My father thinks as I do, though he is not as passionate and preoccupied with current events as I am. (I think, at 87, he feels it is a privilege of age to not frustrate oneself with that he cannot change). But all his buddies are diehard Democrats and were so pro-Obama that after his reguar days of card-playing, he’d come home wondering how so many bright, extremely successful men could be such short-sighted, clueless boobs when it came to politics! Were we not on post-Madoff budget, we discussed ordering Podhoretz’ book and sending it anonymously to all of them! Interestingly, he noted that these days, nearly all of them are rather silent these days, avoiding political discussion, particularly when it comes to Obama!
I’ll repeat what i said in the “Note” line @ my paypal contribution: Sorry, I couldn’t be more helpful.
What I omitted, though (which I thought was obvious, but bears repetition): I’m grateful for your work.
Thank you!
Tatyana: thanks. And believe me, every single bit is helpful.
Well, I just donated $50. I was trying to get that apple out of the way but I guess we will have to wait for awhile for that to happen. And happen it will, you know. Now that you have broken into the Big Time with the article in the Big Name journal you will be tapped for more because you can write circles around most of them. You will be invited to be on panels, there will be publicity photos and one of these days we will be able to Google “Jean Kaufman,” and it will be there. It’s inevitable.
Thank you kindly, grackle!
But the apple—it’ll be a while before that disappears.