C&L Fundraiser 2012

Crooks and Liars, one of the coolest big blogs, is holding a donation drive. I imagine most readers here are familiar with Crooks and Liars, but if not, it's a great place to catch up on political video clips. I periodically guest post over at C&L as part of the Mike's Blog Roundup crew, and C&L is really unique among bigger blogs in consciously, deliberately trying to spread the love and link smaller blogs. It's one of the blogs I give to every year, and if you've got the means, it's worth considering a donation, however modest. Funds have gotten tighter, as founder John Amato writes:

As C&L continues its donation drive I thought I'd clear something up. Yes, we do have ads on all of our pages. It's because of the way tags and html work that they show up on every page, but not all ads are equal. First party ads are buys that give bloggers a great CPM ratio, but now they are disappearing in favor of cheap Google ads which pay pennies to the blogs on which they appear.

It used to be that progressive groups, presidential and congressional campaigns, think tanks and the like would buy first party ads on all of our sites. That funding stream is crucial to our survival, but in the last two years many have switched their buys, including prominent groups that claim to support progressive media. It's frustrating on many levels, but the simplest reason they should buy first party ads again is because we are the only sites that carry a distinct progressive message. Also, we reach vast audiences on a daily basis that these groups need to support them in these troubled times. We often promote progressive causes of these groups when possible, but nowadays it's not reciprocated. I hope that changes.

You've seen the amount of money flowing into the market during this election season. There's no reason for them to shortchange some of the people most responsible for turning the tide against conservative rule. Do we have work to do? Absolutely, but a movement takes time to build. It took conservatives many decades to achieve what they had hoped. The blogosphere has given us a vehicle to express our ideas to a vast audience like never before. The progressive movement will grow too, but we can't get discouraged by short-term setbacks.

Here at C&L we will continue to cover the news and also support progressive groups and media. Please donate what you can. It is very appreciated. The monies collected will support our staff and our ongoing web improvements.

Emptywheel Fundraiser 2011

I'm late in posting this, but last month, Emptywheel (Marcy Wheeler) asked readers to "Please Help Support My Next 525 Posts on Torture":

Just over two years ago, right around the time I reported that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times in a month, many of you chipped into the “Marcy Wheeler fund” to support my work; that generosity paid my way until a short time ago. Here’s what that support made possible.

Between May 1, 2009 and yesterday, by my rough count, I wrote 525 posts on torture. I unpacked the torture memos, the CIA IG Report, the OPR Report, and thousands of documents released through FOIA. I showed the bureaucratic games they used to set up our torture program, early efforts to place limits on things like mock execution, followed by more bureaucratic and legal means to get away with violating even those limits. I showed how they hid documents and altered tapes to hide evidence of their torture. I showed how, after CIA and parts of DOJ tried to put limits on torture in 2004, they again used bureaucratic tricks and ridiculous legal documents to reauthorize it. I’ve tracked DOJ’s kabuki claims to investigate torture (though bmaz gets credit for forcing DOJ to admit John Durham’s torture tape investigation had run out the clock on Statutes of Limitation). And I’ve tracked the Obama Administration’s successful efforts to suppress all evidence of torture. And all the while, I’ve relentlessly pushed back against the torture apologists’ lies.

Of course, while writing about torture is a major part mapping out the decline of the rule of law, it’s not the only part. Since May 2009, I’ve written almost 200 posts on wiretapping, almost as many on our Gitmo show trials, posts about state secrets, drones, fusion centers, the forever war metastisizing around the world. I’ve written about Wikileaks and Bradley Manning’s treatment and the banksters and the auto companies.

Emptywheel's blog is part of the Firedoglake network. FDL is asking for memberships, but there's also a page for one-time donations. Personally, I don't agree with some of the FDL diarists, but Emptywheel, David Dayen and TBogg do excellent work. (One of TBogg's beloved basset hounds, Fenway, is currently sick but slowly recovering.) When it comes to covering the Bush torture regime and its aftermath, Emptywheel has been absolutely invaluable. Personally, since I care about the subject passionately, but have limited time to write and sometimes even to read, I'm very grateful that Marcy Wheeler is on the case.

Keeping the Blog Fires Burning

("I'm coming for you, Nixon!" )
Two of my favorite blogs, Digby's Hullabaloo and Crooks and Liars, are holding their annual fundraisers. I'm sure many people are tapped out financially, especially with the holidays coming up. (I've seen - and posted on - more blogger tales of woe this year than in previous ones.) But I'm sure even small donations and kind comments go a long way. I've guest-posted both places, and for me they're welcome voices of information, sanity and insight. Happy holidays, and happy blogging.