Happy Blogiversary To Me

(bumped to the top for the week. There's new stuff below)

Somehow, I've been doing this blog for five years. I can hardly get my mind around that reality.

As of today, 248,078 people have visited the site, generating 290,957 page views. That's about 110,000 unique visitors this year, which is a new record. The site keeps growing, and I thank every single person who makes this site a part of their day. It's truly an honor.

Last year I ran a little experiment on Blogiversary Week. This hobby takes up a ridiculous amount of my time, and while I'm happy to do my part as an engaged citizen, there's precious little reward for all the time reading, organizing, emailing, and doing the leg work to make this blog happen. I don't do this for money, but I do believe that there is some value here, and maybe you feel the same way.

The donation button in the right-hand column links to my Paypal account. If that doesn't work, my Paypal name is d_dayen-at-yahoo-dot-com...

(I deleted the donate button in this post because it didn't work even though it used the exact same code as the one on the right-hand side. The one in the right-hand column appears to work. Also, you know, my Paypal name.)

I don't want to put on my public radio hat, but if you feel like this is a good place to spend part of your day, consider dropping a few coins in my account. My goal is to outraise Roland Burris' entire fundraising total for the first quarter of this year: $845. I think it's reachable. Ultimately, we have to build models of sustainable activism, so that we have people committed full-time to progressive causes. Fundraising drives for low-dollar donations are an example of how we get there. So I hope you can participate in my funding drive this week. Thanks so much.

dave