Comments

About the possibility of moving to Substack — 58 Comments

1. I subscribe to a couple of Substacks like Bari Weiss but only for the free offerings. For me it’s a combination of time and the fact that I subscribe to enough (probably too many) things from Netflix, Amazon, etc. and there has to be a limit somewhere.

   This is a tough one for me because I get that people can’t just give their work away for free but as I said I pay for a bunch of things and a line has to be drawn somewhere with the cost of so many things going up right now.

   Also do you have to be a paid subscriber to comment?

2. People contribute $$ to neo’s blog, some regularly. Not a tithe, but you be you.

3. The question about having to be a paid subscriber to comment was more about Substack in general. I know at Locals you have to a paid subscriber to comment.

4. I like your blog the way it is. I do read some writers on Substack, but I don’t go to it to browse, so can’t say I’ve discovered any new writers there. As far as your book– well, Gerard has been promising/threatening to publish a book-length selection of his classic posts– maybe the two of you could compare notes on the work involved in hard-cover publication and go from there.

5. I greatly value the ability to comment here and on other blogs. I’m put off when a site requires me to register in order to comment, I take it as a requirement designed to put me on their daily mailing list. I also find it off putting when constant pitches for monetary contributions are requested and loathe superimposed popups that appear just as I start to read an article or post.

   I too only visit substack when a particular piece appears on an aggregate site and catches my attention. It’s never occured to me to go there to browse. Does substack have an aggregate page listing the articles posted upon it? That would encourage me to explore it more thoroughly.

6. }}} And after all, I earn some money here, and perhaps I should just step up my pleas for donations if I want to earn more.

   I’d suggest you consider opening a Patreon. That would likely net you the best bang for the buck.

7. I read a few writers there, but have never just browsed the place.

8. I’ve been substack curious, but not enough to actually go there. I listened to Bari Weiss podcast, enjoyed it, caught every episode, and then dropped it cold turkey when she had Liz Cheney as a guest. I’m definitely interested in hearing new voices. Glenn Greenwald isn’t one. However, substack seems to be gaining a few.

   One thing on the economics is as Griffin noted, subscriptions. To date, I avoided subscription blogs. I do like to donate, but I’ve only done so irregularly, as I’m sure neo can attest. Even then, I’m not as big a tipper as I am at the local diner, and really the content here is good. Anyway, I’m getting off my point. I think with this coming recession, bloggers of all types are going to need to earn a living, and I suspect subscription models to be a good one. Unlike Griffin, I long ago cut out Netflix, and I’d dump Amazon Prime if not for the cheap free shipping (and yeah, that equation used to be the reverse). That said, I do patron a few youtubers on Patreon. I find that easy. I could do the same for neo.

9. I free subscribed to 2 substacks. One used to allow comments (Berenson) but now is paid subscribers only. The other (Malone) only allows paid subscribers. It must be determined by the author; Alex was getting too much negativity because he’s become nasty.
   Anyhow they both missed out on me alerting them to something which should be a big story: Medicare no longer covers the blood test for Vitamin D, which is an important factor in severe illness or death from covid. The elderly (and the overweight) are more likely to be deficient. I know this because my elderly Mom was severely deficient had to take Rx to restore level to normal and needed retest. So sometime after her test in 2021 to the follow-up early 2022 they stopped covering. Seems borderline criminal. Something so easy to remedy with supplementation. Also fyi the normal range is really too low for many disease states.

10. Respectfully suggest that you go to substack if it will serve some purpose for you or help you achieve an objective of yours. Like you I am a creature of habit and regularly (daily, at least) visit. Like others commenting, I subscribe to a bunch of other substack folks (Greenwald, Weiss, badcat) and likely would for you if you were there.

11. I have only recently and just a few at that read substack articles, I would follow you there but like it as is now.
    Been reading long time as a daily reader of Legalinsurrection.com for well over a decade and love all the links from there.

12. Neo, I make a serious attempt to read your blog every single day. Your writing is clear and concise, always interesting; you are able to lay it all out for us, and I generally (99.9% of the time – actually it’s probably 100%) agree with you. Honestly, you’re a “good read.” Thank you for that. Having said all that, I’ve just made a small donation in the hopes that you keep doing what you’re doing. I trust others will do the same. Hats off to you, Neo.

13. Best, most informed, least repetitive comment threads anywhere. Whatever you do, I hope the comments and commenters continue.

14. I wondered what substack was. So, I went to their website. Hmm. They’re a platform for writers who want to get paid for their writing. Seems reasonable. Get 10,000 subscribers that pay $100/year – that’s a Million Dollars! Not bad. Is it feasible? How many loyal readers do you have? How much will they pay? Do the math.

    I would follow you to substack, but I like this format and your group of followers a lot. Would that all change at substack? That’s the question, but if you can make big money there, why not give it a shot. Their website says you can leave at any time and take all your followers with you. Not like the Hotel California. 🙂

    I used to be a big blog reader, but with compromised eyesight and needing to spend more time dealing with such necessary things as dressing, meal prep, cleaning, and yard work, (My speed is now slow and slower 🙁 ) I’m down to reading here WUWT, and Insty. Sad. But we all get old, so it’s nothing unusual.

15. One thing I have discovered is that I subscribe to blogs with the best comments section.

    Not where people agree, but where they disagree politely. And where people know when to end an argument.

    Nothing will get me off a blog faster than every comment section being endless battles between one or two commenters and the rest.

16. I subscribe to several Substack authors. It works well. But the authors I follow post long articles a few times a week, not several every day.
    I hope you will stay here, Neo. This blog works well, but changes would be needed for it to be worth moving to Substack, and they would not necessarily be good.

17. I subscribed to Berenson’s free Substack, and I don’t read it there; I read his emails. I made a small donation to his Twitter lawsuit fund.

    I have begun donating here, in a modest way, and will continue. Like you, Neo, I find change somewhat overwhelming. If you go, I’ll follow — unless your price is too high. 🙂 Do you get to set your own price over there? I suppose it needs to be enough to cover their hosting service fees. I subscribe to the WSJ, which is expensive, and to a few conservative reporting sites.

18. You might look at SubscribeStar as a way to augment your existing blog.

19. I’ll have a few separate comments regarding your question, neo. There are multiple angles to this…

20. No matter what you decide regarding blog’ging, I really, really encourage you to write a book. I won’t pretend to know 99% about you, but from what I’ve learned from you in your writing here you seem like someone who would have written a book. Whether it sells many copies (and I think it is likely it would) I can’t imagine you would regret doing it. There are some things we do in our lives to check a box. Scratch an itch. To say we have done them; experienced them.

    You obviously have a drive to write and have been very successful. You are probably more widely read than the average author with a published book. Your writing is frequently referenced by other writers, pundits and academics. Your writing has garnished you spots on national radio programs. And your writing has earned you money. As I wrote, you have accomplished more with your writing than most people who write a book.

    But there is still something about writing a book. I would argue it’s no more or less prestigious than what you do through your blog, but it is a physical thing you can have on a shelf in your home. From what you have written about your family, your parents, grandparents… They seem like the type of people who would be very proud to have raised a daughter with a published book. It seems like a mountain you are destined to have to attempt to scale.

    Now, how to write a book?

21. How to Write a Book

    This is where you need to get creative. The good news is; you’ve almost certainly already written it! You have a true knack for writing and have been quite prolific.

    There are people who are really good at the other stuff; compiling, editing, formatting… I would recommend you use your blog to reach out for a collaborator, someone who really enjoys the nuts and bolts work of research and editing. There are some commenters whom I read her that I am almost certain have that talent and would be willing to be your aide de camp or gal (or guy) Friday.

    Find such a person and just continue being you. Keep the blog (or substack) going and leave the task of organizing and editing your work to her or him. As the book takes form there will likely be sections that require some new, original writing from you. You and your editor will work that out and my guess is you’ll be inspired to write the additional material.

    Think of your beloved Bee Gees or Leonard Cohen. They were very good at creating, but they had agents whom they shared a percent of their revenue with who were good at wrangling, booking jobs, managing their schedules… Some people really enjoy that kind of work and are good at it and many creative people are much more creative when they have such a person managing that aspect of the job.

22. I follow links to substack, I’ve never gone there to look around. I do not plan to subscribe to anymore that I already do. I do a blog, few look at it. I realize how it costs to maintain a major blog with many viewers. However, as much as I like your posts, I have them in an rss feed so I do not miss one, I would probably never pay to read at substack. (notice, spellcheck doesn’t like it either)

23. Regarding whether to Substack or not;

    I don’t have a strong opinion on that, one way or another. Moving there could be life changing. It’s entirely possible, I just don’t personally have a strong “gut” feeling on the subject regarding your blog. For writers with a regular following being pushed away by newspapers, blogs or twitter it’s a more obvious decision.

    However, it seems like you can do an experiment without having to move and with very little change to your current set-up. You’ve already got your “Donate” button and a few times a year you remind folks it’s there. As others have mentioned, there are things like Patreon. Why not take a stab at more aggressively soliciting contributions? You can do it in a fun, non-annoying way.

    There is a podcaster I listen to, Andrew Heaton. He has several podcasts, but on his main show, “The Political Orphanage” he makes a plea for funding near the beginning and end of each show. His approach is very nice, friendly and fun. He sometimes shares what it means in his day to day life; (“if just 100 more people pledged $10/month I could do more travelogues, or devote time to a long form piece on such and such a subject…”). One thing he often says is, “If you listen to my 1 hour, weekly podcast on your drive to work each morning just imagine me as a fun co-worker who rides along with you each day, keeping you entertained in the rush hour traffic. If I really was your co-worker wouldn’t you buy me a cup of Starbucks every week in return for my telling you jokes on your commute?”

    This New Yorker piece by Malcolm Gladwell on Ron Popeil, “The Pitchman” https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/10/30/the-pitchman has stuck with me for over two decades. It’s an interesting insight into the man who brought us the Pocket Fisherman and rotisserie chicken, but the part that really resonated with me was when Popeil discussed how he hired salesmen. He explains that it wasn’t too hard to find people who could explain a product and get people excited about it, but, he said, most of them don’t want to ask for money. You have to ask for money when the pitch is over.

    So, ask for the money. Maybe come up with fun tiers and post a list of commenters in the sidebar who are members of the tiers (and, of course, allow folks the option of remaining anonymous). Neophiles, neophytes… Platinum, Gold, Silver… Lincoln, Reagan, Roosevelt (Teddy), Coolidge…

    It always helps to give suggestions and guidelines and if people see others are doing it they are more likely to do it. Give it a few months. Maybe you’ll find there’s no reason to consider a move?

24. I will add:

    I don’t have a feeling for how much the money means to you, or whether you would do this if people didn’t donate.

    As I’ve written before; I co-wrote a blog for about 5 years that had a large readership; tens of thousands a day. We made enough off ad revenue to pay for hosting costs. From time to time my colleague and I would discuss monetizing it and asking for subscriptions but we decided we didn’t want to mess with it. He and I were in it to scratch an itch for writing and chat with commenters in the comments. We also had very good day jobs. The blog was purely for fun.

    You have every right to solicit money from your readers. Your daily labors add to our lives. You inform and entertain us. Do you want more money from this blog? If it’s not about you maybe you could earmark the money to your grandchild(ren)’s college fund? A charity you like?

    Don’t be shy about letting your readers know if you would like money or even about how you would use it. Michael Malice notifies his followers of crazy things he wants to buy, tells them how much the items cost and shares information about receiving the items when his followers donate the needed amount.

25. I think I started reading your blog the first year you put it up and I read it almost every day, checking in several time a day when the comments are interesting. I do like the site the way it is now, I have sent a few dollars you way and need to send some more. I you went to a subscription situation I would follow you over however if the number of commentors was reduced I might not read your postings as often. Your decision should be based upon what is best for you and we, your loyal followers, will adapt.

26. I don’t have strong feelings either way about a move to Substack. I’ll continue reading either way. But from your (Neo’s) personal pov, it might be a good move for increased visibility. I read your blog pretty much every day, and it serves almost as a news aggregator for me, for certain types of news anyway. Blogs are, I think, considered pretty passe by people under 50 or so (60? 70?).

    Substack might attract more younger readers. But then…I don’t like seeing this in myself, but I’m more and more inclined to think young people are, well, kind of stupid. And the majority of Americans under about 45 or so a lost cause. They were born after the revolution of the ’60s was pretty well entrenched and don’t know the old world to which so many of us remain loyal. And I don’t mean in a dumb back-to-the-’50s way, but in recognition that many fundamental decent ways and views have been lost.

    But I digress…

27. I’m selfish and cheap. I don’t have the money to spare to subscribe: five bucks here, six bucks there, fourteen bucks here, and so on. It adds up really fast. I had almost recovered from the last economic downturn…

    I’ve been reading you regularly for long time: Close to seventeen years, I think. I always know where to go. If you move to substack and are free, I’ll still read you. If I have to pay, I’ll really miss reading your posts.

    A lot of the originals have left: died or moved on. I miss them. Gay Patriot is gone. Fausta. Sister Toldjah. A bunch of others who aren’t on your blog roll…

    Please don’t go.

28. There is a golf writer named Geoff Shackelford who has had a blog for many years and a couple of years ago he started a substack but still keeps his blog by posting some things there but also linking to his substack which you usually have to be a paid subscriber to read.

    I don’t know how this works for him financially but it seems like he is trying to keep a foot in both worlds.

29. I too follow Greenwald and Weiss on Substack, but struggle with the economics for ME not the writers.

    Used to be you subscribed to a good newspaper. They had reporters who actually reported. They had editors who brought each edition together gracefully. They had an editorial position. You paid $X. If you had the wherewithal you could subscribe to more than one newspaper and some magazines to gain a greater diversity of views. $X x n. The number was fixed and it fit into your budget. You got lots of viewpoints, ordered and edited professional writing, and had the option of cancelling and finding a replacement if you wanted.

    As I understand it, Substack provides a platform without the bias and resulting cancelled writers/reporters that is killing the printed news media. It hosts folks like Greenwald and Weiss who have been “cancelled” out of the old world.

    Here is the readers challenge: subscribe to writer one – $5, writer two – $7 and on and on. Not so easy to manage in a budget and not so easy to gain rich, diverse, and ordered (edited) information.

    This blog was a wonderful find. A great host/writer and very intelligent commenters and discussions. I would miss the entire experience if you became a Substack person.

    However, as noted above, the bucks can add up. Greenwald is reported to make between $80k to $160k per month with between 20k to 40k paid subscribers. I enjoy his writing but there can be no cozy, sit around the fire discussions like those found here between 40k folks.

    There are some good ideas in the comments above that might allow you to enhance your financial returns (well deserved) while retaining the value of limited subscribers and the freedom of being exactly who you are.

    Whatever you choose, let your journey continue to be a joyous one.

30. Lee Also:

    You can still find Sister Toldjah at RedState.

31. Consider locals.com as well.
    Good luck, no matter what you choose.
    You have clear sight, mentally as well as (now) physically.

32. About the book idea.

    It’s very easy to write a book. Most people think they can do it. Many of them can.

    It’s very hard to sell a book. You have to either have a captive market you can sell to directly or work via a publisher.

    The first method gets decent returns for book sold, but you won’t sell many unless your reach is very large indeed.

    The second method is tiresome, as you have try to get a publisher interested. That requires a “hook” that is different from what others offer. And then the publisher makes almost all the money.

    For every JK Rowling there are thousands who would make more money flipping burgers.

    A book should take 1,000 hours or so to write, edit, layout, flog to publisher etc. That means you need to make $10,000 or you might as well flip burgers. So you have to sell 5,000 copies. That is very, very hard. Are there 5,000 people who would pick up what you have in a store and say “yes, that it something I will pay decent money for?” My wife runs a book store. To sell more than 10 copies of a book requires it to be very popular. Most books sell a couple of copies a year. So you have to get your book into thousands of stores, and somehow make it stand out among the 4,000 other books in the store (and, yes, even a small book shop has over 4,000 titles).

    Lots of people self-publish. They almost all make a loss. Do not self-publish and print books that you do not already have orders for!

    The economics of selling books is horrible. Write if you want to, but don’t expect to make a cent.

    The only real way to make real money from a book is to have it picked up by a movie studio (TV documentary for non-fiction), a book club or if you are already famous. Or you are an academic and you have to write a book, even though it won’t sell well, because they have to publish. A LOT of modern books are in that category.

33. “I’m not a big one for change”

    Haha

34. Writing a book which is a compilation of old posts is tricky – they have to be current enough to draw readers, but not so locked to current events that they are stale.
    The perennial winners are the best choice (IOW – what have you pulled out of the archives and linked within recent posts?)

    On publishing – the final step: listen to Sarah on this at the beginning of her weekly feature.
    https://accordingtohoyt.com/2022/05/15/book-promo-and-vignettes-by-luke-mary-catelli-and-nother-mike-with-a-bonus-public-service-announcement/

    IF you don’t know how to publish your book indie and don’t want to spend time submitting to traditional publishers, ask in the comments. Yes, you can HIRE copyeditors, cover artists, etc, and bring the book out yourself, under your full control. No, it’s not the same as having a “publisher” ask you for money.

    Please, I beg you with tears in my eyes: before giving money to a vanity publisher, contact me, or Cedar Sanderson, or TXRed, or a dozen other people. We can at least point you in some direction (even if my time availability is crazy right now.) And I can send you the names of copy editors and cover artists. (I can do a post with those, if people want.)

    JUST don’t give away your hard work, and pay for it being buried out of sight of the buying public. You’re better than that.

35. “The only real way to make real money from a book is to have it picked up by a movie studio…”

    Perhaps, but that really shouldn’t be an issue once the screenplay gets for written for the movie about the trials and tribulations, adversity and adventures, despair and hope regarding that left eye…and an agent found to flog it.

    FWIW, I’d try to get Daniel Day Lewis for the title role—he’s really good when it comes to left-side body parts—and maybe even give that masterful California doctor a cameo.

    The riveting result would be nothing other than a profoundly moving, poignant, never-give-up—and surely educational—blockbuster for the entire family….

36. Your blog is perfect as is. Your writing is superb, interesting, and trustworthy. The layout of the page is simple and clean, easy to read and navigate. You cover the important stuff and give us a variety of surprises. You and your commenters are an important part of my day.

    Thank you. I will contribute more often, you’re worth it.

37. Oh, and as for that last question, whether I look for and discover new writers at Substack: no, but it’s nothing to do with Substack itself. I just don’t go looking for new things to read. I spend too much time online as it is.

38. I guess I’m a big fan of DIY.

    If you move to Substack I’d likely check it a couple of times a week. Instead of daily.

    But I’m a boomer retiree trying to clean out the house of … stuff … none of “the vipers in my bosom” I’ve raised want. Just kidding Children.

    Anyway, living on a fixed income means we’ve cut out lots of subscriptions and stuff like that. I try to contribute something to you every year or so. But if you need more money – and who doesn’t – just make sure any new platform will provide that.

    Good luck either way!

39. I’ll have to agree with Mac — I too spend too much time online. At the expense of things I used to do, and don’t any longer. Like fishing, which I enjoy, although I am always perturbed to think how often those extremely low intelligence creatures outsmart me.

    Substack? I’ve gone there infrequently. First to read Bari Weiss, and later to read Glenn Greenwald. I guess it is possible to make a lot of money there, and I have considered doing so myself. But as others have commented, they’re cheap. I am too, a product of depression-era parents. I would follow you if you go there, though. Your writing is high value for me, in part because of the commenters.

    I enjoy the ability on other on-line products (Wall Street Journal, for example) to interact with other commenters. I don’t know if that would add to or detract from this current format you have. Every day there are several comments on here that I would like to give a thumbs-up to, or make a comment about. You have some really good commenters, as others have noted.

    As for writing a book, I decided about three years ago to do so. I really started out for my daughters — wanting to leave them something with which they could remember our life in the Foreign Service, spending many years all around the world. It turned out to be a 400+ page project that took me a couple of years to produce, and I self-published through Lulu. I had two printings of around 25 copies (!) each, really meant for family and close friends. The second printing was because I was getting request for copies for THEIR friends. I had far more compliments than I anticipated when I set out to write it.

    I did not try to find a publisher, because I’ve heard so many sad stories of people being asked to participate in the marketing of their book. That would cut into the time I now spend online! But a big part of the reason I didn’t try to find a publishing house to handle it is because it really needs maps, photos and line drawings. I just did not want to get into all that. Now I have a friend trying to convince me to self-publish through Amazon or somewhere, but with maps, photos and line drawings.

    There are 7 copies left of the second printing. Anyone interested, let me know. ( ; < )

    Bottom line: substack would be a good move if you want/need more income, Neo, but I think it would change the tenor of the discussion. Perhaps continue this blog AND do a substack offering too? Of course that's more work, and it sounds like you barely have enough hours in the day for what you do now.

40. I’m glad you’re considering Substack, Neo. Because I strongly believe in your voice and want more other people to be reading what you write and thinking about it. Lots of good comments.

    “it might be a good move for increased visibility.”
    Better visibility. More serious bloggers are moving there, because of its advantages. Perhaps especially money.

    More money. A LOT more money. I’d be surprised if you didn’t have hundreds of $5/month subscribers within 6 months of starting. Say $200/month. And, within a year, 10% chance of over $1000/month.
    Even with inflation.
    You can decide to allow open comments or just for subscribers.

    Arnold S. Kling is my second favorite blogger (after Neo); he blogs about the political economy. He had ASKblog for many years, but last year added Substack, and a couple months later switched totally. So I advise against trying to keep two. “Substack makes it easier for people to receive email notifications and for me to tweet my posts.” Bookmarks change easily.
    https://www.arnoldkling.com/blog/
    https://arnoldkling.substack.com

    He’s not doing it for the money, but more for the ease of connecting with others and, I believe tho he doesn’t quite say it, a feeling that Substack is the current sweet spot for public intellectuals.

    Folks can also look at my very basic Substack, including my first posts about Fantasy Intellectual Teams. An idea and a project from Arnold Kling for choosing and watching pundits, then getting points when a pundit on your team scores. In April of 2021, each team was 15 (way too many), and I included Neo on my team. In May (the beta version), each team only had 5.

    Needing Kling as a referee for point scoring doesn’t scale. The idea of promoting better pundits is such a good idea I’m still following it.

    Neo is fantastic news analyst. The best on the web. So I want to promote her because she’s so great. Another good analyst is Richard Hanania, here is his post on moving:
    https://richardhanania.substack.com/p/why-you-should-be-on-substack?s=r
    “Building a readership, and how markets and innovation can help protect free speech online”

    He convinced Libertarian professor Bryan Caplan to join up (Bet On It), who is also now advising it:
    https://betonit.substack.com/p/who-should-switch-to-substack?s=r
    He lists 7 top objections (#1 – Hard. A: No, it’s easy)
    #2 – “What happens to all my old posts?” There’s a very good utility to import old posts. I had a grad student to help me, but he says it was easy.

    So, I was planning to tell him about Neo – but thought I’d tell Neo directly.

    The real negatives are related to success:
    a) more readers,
    b) too many commenters,
    c) change, possible loss, of cozy “everybody nice, all welcome”.
    d) small, one-time transition issues

    Without more success, the negatives are mostly negated.

41. I read Neo because she does have the best analysis and there is minimal crap in the comments, and they are few enough to actually read them all. I simply don’t read the comments on sites that have hundreds or thousands of comments. I don’t have the time. I don’t have to subscribe or register. I don’t get spammed by providing an email.

42. I read Bari Weiss but I never subscribe to anything (and that includes Pajama Media).

    “But as others have commented, they’re cheap. I am too, a product of depression-era parents.” – same thing with me!! $5 a month here, $6 there, $8 somewhere else – it adds up. I already cut the cable chord and am not interested in adding to my monthly expenses.

43. So it seems substack enforces a 5 dollar minimum… Are there other platforms that allow a lower subscription fee?

    If you get 12 or 24 dollars a year from the large number of people who are loyal but never contributed all these years (like me)… That could add up.

    With the current exchange rate a 1 dollar/month subscription works out to 5 shekels/month here in Israel. Sorry, I can’t afford the equivalent of 25 bucks a month for one blog/stream.

44. Whatever happened to “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”?

    OTOH, if our gracious host can go from blogs to riches by joining Substack, then who are we to deny her this…especially since inflation is just getting started…and food has to be put on the table; the gas tank topped up, the birdfeeder filled, etc…

45. }}} Lincoln, Reagan, Roosevelt (Teddy), Coolidge…

    Cleveland. Grover Cleveland.

    The last truly Great PotUS, the last one who truly understood the proper limits of government…

    😉

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Cleveland#Vetoes

    (see also the sidebar nearby: “Cleveland’s third annual message to Congress,
    December 6, 1887” — 3rd SOTU)

    I love Teddy, but he started us down the modern over-government path with lots and lots of alphabet agencies instead of getting industries to properly self-regulate with their own oversight boards. And only Coolidge did anything to slow that trend, much less actually reverse it.

46. OBloodyHell,

    I agree with you regarding Teddy. And Lincoln. Two great, Republican Presidents who did tremendous good in their time, with the tools at hand, but expanded government in ways that make things worse in our current time.

    We have to judge historical figures by the times they lived in.

47. Rufus,

    The History Channel is airing a two part docu drama on Theodore Roosevelt starting on Memorial Day evening.

    I have the same reservations about him as you mentioned but TR was by far the most interesting president we have ever had and anything about him is worth a watch.

48. }}} We have to judge historical figures by the times they lived in.

    Oh, I amply agree, one reason I tend to smile when someone refers to “The Tyrant Lincoln”.

    Yes, he broke “States’ Rights”, which was bad, but, when the “states’ rights” include violating the civil rights of their citizens by holding them enslaved and not allowing them to leave the state, I take issue with those “states’ rights”.

    For the most part, I assert that the States are all limited to the powers granted to the Federal government, in regards to the civil rights of the citizens. They don’t get to do anything the Fed isn’t allowed to do (I’m open to argument for individual points, but consider this to be largely widespread and inviolate)

    They needed to ack this after the Civil War, but failed. Perhaps had Lincoln lived, it would have been different.

    And, as I said, I do like Teddy a lot. I just wish he hadn’t opened the floodgates on the slippery slope of Mass Government.

49. Griffin, are you at all familiar with S.M. Stirling?

    He has an alternate history series in progress (up to 4 books atm)

    In it, Instead of Teddy dying unexpectedly, Taft does (Taft was a walrus, it’s hard to believe he lived as long as he did, while the fitness/health nut Teddy died young).

    As a result, Teddy runs again in 2012 unopposed, and beats Wilson. So he’s in charge as WWI heats up. I won’t reveal anything more, but things diverge quickly from our timeline by that point. Some ways good, some ways bad.

    Stirling is one of those guys who works hard on getting the history as correct as he can, so he studied Teddy quite a bit before writing the stories. If you meet him at a Con he often talks about oddball things about Teddy. The guy was both a character and had character. Unusual combo, there. Probably one reason he’s so appreciated and respected a century later.

    The first book:
    https://smstirling.com/books/black-chamber/

    P.S., Stirling is probably the best alternate history writer out there. Turtledove could win this, but I think Turtledove phones it in too often — he’s done WWII 3 times, and a lot of times it just feels like he’s taking actual history and changing the setting somehow, e.g., taking the Americas and the American Revolution and setting it on a large subcontinent “Atlantis” existing in the Pacific. Ditto some of his long arc of South Wins to WWII (not “Guns of the South” — a long series that goes through the South winning, then a second war between the states, to a WWI with a divided America, an interregnum, and then a WWII with a divided America. An awful lot of the events and descriptions of that involve just taking actual events (e.g., the Siege of Stalingrad) and scraping the names and places off to turn it into a Siege of Pittsburgh.

    It’s entertaining but not all that inventive/creative as far as alternative history goes…

    So Stirling wins, esp. with this series added to his oeuvre.

50. Obloodyhell,

    I’m not familiar with Stirling but since TR was very vociferously pro war in the early days of WW1 I would imagine we would have got involved much earlier and in much bigger way if he was in office.

    1912 is right up there with 1860 and 1864 as the most impactful presidential elections for the future of the country.

51. Griffin, OBloodyHell,

    In T.R.’s day the nation was testing the limits of freedom. He did miraculous things with public health while leading New York and something had to be done regarding the monopolists and robber barons. In a perfect world state legislatures would have done the work, in cooperation with one another, but people were truly suffering and T.R. did much to improve conditions for the common man and woman.

    I’m also a fan of his nature preservation work and the panama canal. I assume states were compensated for the national preserves he promoted?

    The longest palindrome I know: A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!

52. Perhaps, but that really shouldn’t be an issue once the screenplay gets for written for the movie about the trials and tribulations, adversity and adventures, despair and hope regarding that left eye…and an agent found to flog it.

    Nah, the good money is in selling the rights to your book and then walking away.

    Pure profit.

    A friend of a friend got paid $500,000 for rights. The movie was never made.

53. I read and subscribe to several substacks. I can’t say I would care much one way or another as a reader if you moved. I haven’t used the browsing feature of substack, the ones I read I either looked up or found via a link. It does appear to be primarily a way to easily monetize blog style self-publishing, secondarily it may provide some protection from possible censorship by a platform like Blogspot or publishing tool like WordPress given that the folks running SubStack have been vocal about providing an open platform. I don’t see much cross-Stack synergy that is anything different than the usual author linking to another author. The comments can be more controlled I think though I have no experience on the publishing side of SubStack. Bottom line I wouldn’t spend the effort to switch unless you need income or are worried about WordPress or your other platform providers possibly trying to exercise message control.

54. I find this format far more inviting than any of the Substacks I follow, and I don’t think Substack would suit Neo’s multiple short posts each day at all.
    And I’ve never seen a youTube video posted on any of the substacks I read.

    Getting a PO Box so those of us who don’t do online credit card payments can support her would increase her funding while maintaining her privacy.

55. I agree with whoever suggested Patreon – although I don’t know that it’s for “blogs” as opposed to “vlogs”. Not saying it isn’t, just don’t know.

    I don’t patronize Substack, and am like you – finding change a bit difficult. So, I’d love to find you here several times/week.

    Very much appreciate your take on a lot of things, and have learned a bit here and there, as well.

56. Patreon is one of those site where you pretty much just say “here’s money. Give me whatever you want for it.”

    The main benefit is that it can be automatically paid, tied to a CC or Debit card, and so acts like a subscription payment.

    I don’t know how much they take off the top, which is clearly relevant, and there are other alternatives.

    Nominally, Neo could create an e-mail on a free mail account (mail.com, gmail.com, hotmail.com, whatever) and then tie it to a Zelle account (a bank account, too, but it can be totally isolated from any of her other personal accounts — exist solely to accept payments — and hence be controlled/tracked quite well — possibly even set to send the money to another external account if it goes over a minimum amount) and people could literally give her money with no charge applied.

    The main benefit of the Patreon is it’s like a subscription, so it gets automatically collected with no input needed from either the patron or the recipient.

    A Zelle account is free of charge, but does require some action on both sides routinely, and people forget.

57. Commenting late, but I love this format. I read the posts a couple days late so I can read a lot of comments, so it’s rare that I comment.

    I think Patreon would be good, or even better – do a quarterly donation reminder! I usually donate when you ask annually. Obviously, I’d donate a lesser amount each time (if quarterly as opposed to annually) but I’d bet I’d donate more over the year then.

58. @ Faith2014 >
    I generally leave posts up, opening a new window each day, and circle back to see what shows up in the comments after we’ve “moved on” –

    This is the only blog in my “must read” list for which I read all the comments on every post (there are a few more that I dip into sporadically, depending on the topic and time constraints), for the same reasons others have noted: reasonably short threads, reasonably civil writers, and mostly people of a similar POV with enough differences in age, profession, ideology, education, personality, and life experiences to keep the discussion interesting.

    However, even though running two sites would be something of a chore, if Neo kept doing the same thing as always, but occasionally* posted one of her longer or more complex political articles on Substack as well as here, maybe she could get the best of both worlds.

    *(some authors are only posting a couple of times a week or less)

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