Dear Friends,
I can’t believe it’s been a year since I launched this letter.
What a scary time in this world, and in our nation. With so much anxiety, uncertainty, and outrage, you and this community have been a constant. It means more to me than you can possibly imagine.
A heartfelt thank you to all the brave souls who’ve been here since the beginning, and all of you who have joined along the way.
I like to think of myself as an analytical person, but I’ll be honest — when I jumped into this endeavor I had no idea what to expect. Nada. Zilch.
One piece of advice I got was not to post 7 days a week. I was warned that only a glutton for punishment would try to keep up that pace.
Well...oops. Guilty as charged. I guess I just enjoy connecting with you too much. My apologies for the crowded email inboxes. But hey, you signed up, right?
Over the past 12 months, I like to think we’ve gotten into a bit of a weekly rhythm — Monday’s and Tuesday’s analyses, Wednesday Office Hours, Thursday’s broader look, Friday’s history (sometimes personal history), Saturday coffee klatch podcasts with Heather Lofthouse, Sunday caption contests, and your fabulous comments.
We’ve covered breaking news. We’ve shared videos. We’ve reminisced. We’ve raged. We’ve comforted. We’ve laughed. We’ve cried. (I will refrain from asking if it is better than Cats.)
September 20 will mark one year.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this possible — for your feedback on what you’ve found most useful, for your thoughtful discussions, for your honest contributions in the comments, and for your financial support to sustain this effort.
In one year you have helped build this community.
I hope you share my view that it’s been worth it.
America is threatened both by lies from the authoritarian foes of democracy and by increasing amounts of big money from corporations and the ultra-wealthy.
These are two sides of the same coin. If millions of people give up on democracy because big money is rigging the system, they’re easy prey to Trump and Trump-like demagogues promising to be on “their side.”
This is why I’ve aimed to expose where power is lodged in the system. Followed the money behind what lawmakers, CEOs, and journalists are doing. Revealing breaches of trust and integrity. And showing historic roots, such as my series on the Roots of Trumpism and my thirteen-part course on Wealth and Poverty.
And I’ve tried to leaven this with some humor.
In the next twelve months, there will be more content. More analyses. More connections among law, politics, history, and economics. More personal history bearing on what’s happening or likely to happen. More podcasts and drawings. More opportunities to engage.
But what I really hope for is more of your involvement. I’m just one voice. In a democracy it’s about all of us coming together. I look forward to hearing more from you, and to you hearing more from each other, as we continue to communicate around truly vital topics.
The next twelve months are likely to be critical, for all of us — from the final January 6 committee hearings and its report, to Merrick Garland’s decisions about prosecuting Trump, to the start of a new Congress and the beginning of the presidential contest for 2024, and efforts to avoid a recession.
My goal is to keep this community going for everyone who wants to read, listen, and contribute each day.
But please don’t feel compelled to pay to be a part of this community. These are tough times for so many.
That said, if you can support us to keep generating new content, we welcome it. If you’d like to become a paid subscriber with access to everything we’re doing, great. A founding supporter, enormous thanks. Give a gift subscription, wonderful.
We do need help to sustain this effort. Your contribution allows us to post the vast majority of content without a paywall, and ensures we keep getting the message out.
On to year two?! You betcha.
All best,
RR
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