So-- you come down hard on me and call me names. I come back tough on you and frankly, it's okay. There are SOME criticisms that I hear and take to heart, discuss with our extraordinary editorial board, and then make changes in policy or website design.
Your criticism, today, I, instead, fight back against. You play dirty, throwing in the fundraising we have to do. That's okay. I'm used to it. Matter of fact, if you're a regular reader, and you've never given, why haven't you? OEN depends upon reader support and if you're a regular reader, and you can afford to go out to dinner or buy a pack of cigarettes or a bottle of wine, why haven't you prioritized OEN so you've given $5 or $10 or $25. or set up a monthly, regularly scheduled contribution? Why not? Here's an opportunity to remember. Click here to donate to OpEdNews today, right now.
Or maybe, my friend, you think I should be ashamed of asking for contributions too? Remember, when you point one finger at me, there are three fingers pointing at you.
So go sit on your judging chair, pontificating on how to be a kinder and gentler progressive, in other words, an impotent democrat, a losing progressive, a supporter of failed candidates. But you won't find any traction here.
I'll go a bit futher. Democrats, and progressives, have been beaten in the past BECAUSE we have not been tough enough. The battle for America will not be won in the parlour or at tea parties. It wil be won by tough, brutal confrontation that requires digging up all the dirt that we can. Failure to do so will lead to... failure. That means the fight will require us getting dirty, going places that are uncomfortable. As long as our goals are clear and our intentions honorable-- taking back America, protecting our constitutional rights, upholding and protecting democratic principles, then we are on the path we should be on, even if that means going after Sarah Palin's private life.
Outraged? Stop visiting the site. Don't post articles. Unsubscribe to the newsletter. Read Readers Digest or a soap opera magazine or some escape fiction, because the only way progressives are going to take back america-- from the right wingers in both parties, is to kick butt and take no prisoners.
Tonight, I'll be interviewing on my radio show, Andrew Bacevich, author of , THE LIMITS OF POWER: THE END OF AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM. He writes about how we have distorted the idea of "freedom" to mean freedom to consume, to use up resources, to imperialistically take more, to consume more. That's become the driving value of the conservatives on the right-- the right to consume, at the cost of American security, American jobs, America's integrity. The progressive vision is one that believes in balance, in protecting the commons, in sharing responsibility for the weakest and most vulnerable.
Even Machhiavelli, advising his master, in THE PRINCE, suggested that being weak leads to suffering among the masses. Conservatives would interpret this as an excuse to build up military forces and expend hundreds of billions on a miltary budget. I say it means that being weak, not standing up and challenging the integrity and character of appointees, will lead to massive suffering by all the people the right wing conservatives will tread all over if we allow them to win.
OEN is a tough progressive site. That's the way it is. And we'll stay that way even if we lose some monthly contributors, editors, writers and subscribers. If you agree with me and our editorial staff, thank you. If you REALLY agree with me, then consider, if you haven't ever or in a while, made a contribution, making a contribution to support what we do, because our brand of TOUGH progressive media gets a lot of the people at foundations, who pass muster on funding, in a fluster, so we really do depend almost entirely upon you.
Thanks,
rob kall
PS, if you can't afford to make a contribution, we really do still love you, but try volunteering in some way. Check our FAQ for ways to volunteer.
And, for a bit of levity, here I am, properly holding a teacup-- or as close to i as I could grab this morning. And note the pouty lips-- quite British proper. And my feet are still ready to kick some right wing ass-- through writing and activism-- of course.
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