It takes a community…

As the wars the United States is engaged in around the world wind down and our troops come home to great fanfare and welcoming parades, it’s easy to forget that we still have thousands of men and women still serving overseas. These courageous members of the military sacrifice tremendously to help preserve peace across the globe and they are all too easily forgotten.

But our crew at Netroots for the Troops® is determined that at least some of them will KNOW they are not forgotten and we need your help with that.

Since 2008, Netroots for the Troops® has sent over 1,200 CARE packages to members of the military stationed over seas. The main event takes place at the Netroots Nation conference but fundraising happens throughout the year. You can see photos and a write-up of last year’s event HERE.

Fundraising is always a challenge and, as successive years have passed, fundraising for this project has become increasingly so. We have set a more modest goal this year of 150 CARE packages and to send these, we need to raise roughly $15,000. Fortunately, this year, an individual has stepped forward with a matching donation of $5,000 so we need to raise $10,000 to achieve our fundraising goal. I have set up a personal goal to raise $2,000 over the next two weeks and I am counting on YOU, my Eclectareaders, to help me achieve that.

Senator Sherrod Brown packs an NFTT CARE package in 2012

To make a donation, click HERE.

The money that we raise isn’t just for the contents of the CARE packages. On top of the expense of assembling all of the terrific stuff we put into them, this year the cost to send just one box has increased by a whopping $3. So, your donation is critical.

Please give what you can. Maybe it’s $10. Maybe it’s $50. Maybe you can give several hundred dollars. Whatever it is, know that your donation is being put to good use. Please donate today.

Thanks so much,
Chris | Eclectablog

Terri (CABerkeleyWV) and three members of the NFTT Board of Directors: Lynn (Velovixen), me, and Tony (TexDem)

Helping people frame the progressive message is what we’re all about

Welcome to Day 5 of our Second Quarter fundraiser. We’ll keep it short and sweet. The tip jar was pretty quiet yesterday so I’m hoping you’ll consider making a contribution today. Although we run ads on the site, they bring a scandalously low level of revenue so your direct contributions are extremely important.

Last night, I traveled to Grand Ledge, Michigan and spoke to the Eaton County Democratic Party. What’s amazing in Eaton County is that, largely because of the efforts of the grassroots organizers there, they have converted a Republican Red County to purple and now to Democratic Blue. They’ve done this by reaching out to their neighbors and coworkers and family members to talk about what progressive liberal values really mean to people in their everyday life.

Here at a Eclectablog, we try to help you have those conversations. Whether you’re convincing a stubborn relative, talking to uninformed people at work, or having an argument with a Republican that ought to know better, our goal is help you to be more convincing; armed with the facts and easy-to-understand framing of the issue. With LOLGOP’s brilliant essays, Anne’s graphical memes and quotes and me showing you things like how Democrats want to restore $1.5 billion to the middle class next year while the Republicans want to throw over 211,000 Michiganders off food assistance, at Eclectablog, you find new, effective ways to make your case.

I think we do that pretty well. In fact I know we do because people like you tell me so regularly.

Please give a bit back by dropping some folding money in the tip jar (also known as the Paypal widget) below. Change the amount to whatever you want it to be, preferrably making it a recurring donation.

If you’d rather send a check, email me and I’ll send you my address.

But, please do give. It helps US to help YOU. Plus it gives us hope that we’re not just wasting our time : )

- Chris, Anne, and LOLGOP

It doesn’t ALL go for beer

[All caricatures by DonkeyHotey from photos by Anne C. Savage for Eclectablog]

Hi, folks. Welcome to Day 4 of our Second Quarter fundraiser. As I have said in the past, we make scandalously little money from the ads on this site, despite our rather healthy level of traffic. Much like public television and public radio, our main source of funding comes from “Viewers Readers like YOU!”

Please consider making a donation using the Paypal widget below. If you are able, we’d love to have you make a recurring monthly donation. You simply plug in the amount and how many months you want your donation to go through and Paypal does the rest.

If you would rather write us a check (which avoids Paypal and the fee they take out of your donation), shoot me an email (CLICK HERE) and I’ll send you my address.

Can’t afford even a few dollars to support our work? Please help spread the word about Eclectablog. Share our posts on Twitter and Facebook and email. Put a “Like” on our Facebook page, too!

So, what do we spend your donations on? Well, of course there are costs to maintain the site. And there are also a lot of costs incurred traveling to events. But this past quarter we used some of the funds we raised for something really fun. We hired the legendary caricature artist Donkey Hotey to create a variety of images of our illustrious Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. Using Anne’s photos of Mr. Snyder, he created the images you see below. Even the background images are from Anne’s photos.

Thanks for making a donation and supporting our work here. We hope to continue expanding our work and bringing an ever-more informative, entertaining and useful site as we move forward and your financial contributions will help make that happen.

- Chris, Anne, and LOLGOP

And here are Donkey Hotey’s amazing images:

Although, if a free tote bag would get you to donate…

As it happens, this week is also the week of Michigan Radio’s spring fund drive. There’s a bit of irony in that because I donate several hundred dollars a year to them. Why? Because the news I get from NPR is invaluable. The reporting is excellent and I feel like I can rely on them to give me the full story. I also sometimes utilize their content and feel like they should be compensated for that.

During our quarterly fundraisers, we ask you to make the same calculation. Do you get value from what you find at Eclectablog? Is what we do here something that helps you understand the political world around you a little better or to debate an issue a little bit more effectively? If so, please consider making a contribution.

You can do so with this handy Paypal link:

Note that, like with NPR, you can make this a recurring donation by filling out the form accordingly. Perhaps you can afford $5 or $10 a month. If so, please consider doing that. It really helps us.

If you’d rather write a check, drop me a quick note as several others have this week using the contact button at the top left of the page and I’ll send you my address.

If even a small contribution is out of your budget, please consider sharing our stuff on Twitter and Facebook and putting a “Like” on the Eclectablog Facebook page. Every little bit helps.

Thanks so much,
Chris, Anne and LOLGOP

Citizen journalism DOES make a difference

Hi, folks. Welcome back to our second quarter fundraiser. It’s not something on I love doing but I have to if we’re going to continue to expand Eclectablog and bring on more writers and artists who I can pay at least something for their efforts. I did a quick calculation this morning while I was laying in bed and discovered something rather amazing. Eclectablog gets between 150,000 and 250,000 pageviews a month and around 100,000 unique visitors. If just ten percent of those visitors gave $20/year ($5/quarter), I could quit my full-time job and pay all the contributors a decent wage on top of it.

Sadly, we’re far from that. So, I’ll keep making my pitch. If you value the work we do — whether it’s the citizen journalism, LOLGOP’s brilliant essays, or Anne’s incredible photography — please consider making a contribution to help us achieve our goal. I know people do value Eclectablog because I hear it regularly. Here’s Progress Michigan Executive Director Zack Pohl:

Eclectablog is essential reading for political news and progressive views. Chris is always a step ahead of mainstream media outlets, making and breaking news stories. In this changing media landscape, Eclectablog is more important than ever to Michigan progressives.

Please consider making a contribution today. You can use the handy Paypal button below, changing the amount to whatever you wish, or you can send me a check. Drop me a note via our contact button at the top left of the page and I’ll provide you with my mailing address.

If you simply cannot afford even $5 or $10, please spread the word about Eclectablog. Share our posts on Facebook, Twitter and with your family and friends. Upvote our posts on Reddit. Follow us on Twitter (@Eclectablog, @Anne_Savage, and @LOLGOP). Put a “Like” on our Facebook page. Help us spread the word.

As a bonus today, here is a two-part interview I did with Bonnie Bucqueroux from Lansing Online News on citizen journalism and the role Eclectablog plays:

Here we are, hat in hand…

Hello, Eclectablog fans. It is that time of year again where we come to you, our loyal readers, and ask you to support what we do here at Eclectablog. In the past quarter, we were proud to be selected as the “Best state-based progressive political blog” by the Washington Post. The reason is clear: at Eclectablog, you can get the important news and analysis you need to stay informed about what’s happening in Michigan and across the country.

Your donations help to pay for our server costs and make possible the trips we take to cover events across the state and across the country.

Please contribute whatever you can to help us continue to bring you the top-notch reporting and writing that you’ve come to expect. You can use the handy Paypal link below and you can change the amount to whatever level you’d like to contribute. If you’d rather send a check, use the contact button at the top left of every page and I’ll send you my address.

One of the things we do best here is to get news out about the attacks on our union brothers and sisters that seem to be a nearly daily occurrence in Michigan. The attacks are particularly ferocious against our teachers and Eclectablog is there to expose these attacks whenever they happen. Here’s what Michigan Education Association president Steve Cook has to say about our site:

Eclectablog is a tremendous resource for the latest news and analysis of Michigan politics, particularly when it comes to exposing the corporate special interests who are trying to destroy public education and weaken Michigan’s middle class. Highly recommended reading.

Please help however you can. If you are union member, in particular, please consider asking your brothers and sisters to help, too. If you can’t make a financial contribution, please spread the word about Eclectablog and encourage people to put a “Like” on our Facebook page, as well.

Thank you so much.

- Chris, Anne & LOLGOP

DC bound…

I’m typing this as we drive down the highway, en route to the 57th Inauguration of the President of the United States. Vice President Joe Biden was sworn in just a short time ago by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The President will be sworn in a bit later.

Why today? Because today is the official Inauguration Day. Tomorrow’s public event at the Capitol Building will be for show only. From the official Inauguration website:

The 2013 Inauguration will be the seventh time the constitutionally-mandated Inauguration date has fallen on a Sunday. There is no precedent for a public swearing-in to be held on a Sunday so all seven times, the public ceremonies have occurred the following Monday. The Inauguration of President James Monroe in 1821 was the first time the constitutionally-mandated Inauguration date fell on Sunday. After consulting with the Supreme Court and other government leaders, the decision was made to hold the ceremonies on Monday since “courts and other public institutions were not open on Sunday.” The second time this occurred was in 1849 with President Zachary Taylor. In the case of Presidents Monroe and Taylor, no private swearing-in occurred on the Sunday. However, in 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes elected to have the oath administered privately in the White House Red Room on Saturday, March 3, with the public ceremonies occurring at the U.S. Capitol on Monday, March 5. In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson was privately sworn-in in the President’s Room of the U.S. Capitol on Sunday, March 4, with the public ceremonies on Monday, March 5. In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower took the oath of office in the White House East Room on January 20, 1957 with the public ceremonies following on Monday, January 21. In 1985, President Ronald Reagan had the oath administered privately at the White House and then due to extremely cold temperatures the public ceremonies were moved indoors to the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.

During this trip, in addition to attending the swearing-in ceremony, Anne will be taking lots of stock photos for the blog and, of course, we’ll have some photos from the event itself.

Trips like this are made possible, in part, by the generosity of our readers during our fundraising drives. Your donations allow us to pay for gas, equipment, meals and all of the other expenses that we incur along the way. In return, we give you a little taste of the inauguration experience.

Over the next couple of days, be sure to follow our twitter accounts @Eclectablog and @Anne_Savage for photos and some live-tweeting.

If you would like to support us financially here at Eclectablog, you can make your donation using this handy Paypal link. You can change the amount to whatever level you wish to give:

If you would prefer to send a check and need our address, send an email to me at eclectablog at gmail period com and I’ll give you the information that you need to do that.

If you can’t make a financial contribution, you can help us out by spreading the word about out site. Share links with your friends on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, etc.) Like our Facebook page and invite others to like it as well. Spread the word about Eclectablog and help us expand our readership.

Also, be sure to sign our petition asking Governor Rick Snyder to expand Medicaid in Michigan so that as many as 670,000 more of our friends and neighbors will have health insurance. You can sign the petition HERE.

Thanks for considering supporting Eclectablog. We appreciate it tremendously,

Chris, Anne and LOLGOP

Pure Progressive blogging

First, a big “THANK YOU” to everyone who has contributed during our first quarter fundraiser. It’s your contributions that keep us going and help us to pay the bills.

The face of blogging is changing dramatically. Daily Kos, which once was able to sustain itself on ad revenue, has changed to a membership approach because blogad revenues have plummeted in the past few years. Andrew Sullivan is now going to a similar model where his readers are paying his bills, making him independent of any media group.

And yet, if you look at this chart from the Pew Research Center, you’ll see that people are getting their information online more and more:

This includes blogs and blogs that focus on local and state issues along with analysis of national stories have a vital role to play. While we don’t focus exclusively on Michigan, our coverage of what’s happening here is an important component and has drawn national attention. Rachel Maddow even included us among the things she’s “thankful” for the night before Thanksgiving last November.

And it’s important, too, because what is happening in Michigan may well spread across the country if Republicans are successful. We are a bellwether.

So, whether it’s Michigan coverage that you’re looking for or smart analysis of national issues, Eclectablog is there for you.

Will you be there for us?

You can make your donation using this handy Paypal link. You can change the amount to whatever level you wish to give:

If you would prefer to send a check and need our address, send an email to me at eclectablog at gmail period com and I’ll give you the information that you need to do that.

If you can’t make a financial contribution, you can help us out by spreading the word about out site. Share links with your friends on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, etc.) Like our Facebook page and invite others to like it as well. Spread the word about Eclectablog and help us expand our readership.

Also, be sure to sign our petition asking Governor Rick Snyder to expand Medicaid in Michigan so that as many as 670,000 more of our friends and neighbors will have health insurance. You can sign the petition HERE.

Thanks for considering supporting Eclectablog. We appreciate it tremendously,

Chris, Anne and LOLGOP