The Best Part of This Week

When I started this site, one of the things I wanted to have was a high-caliber, vibrant comments section. You’ve helped us achieve that. Everyone who writes here deeply appreciates knowing people are interested enough in what they say to say something back. The feedback you give, even when it comes in the form of corrections, makes all of us better informed and sharper writers.

This fundraiser is coming to a close on Thursday so if you haven’t have a chance to give yet, please go to the Tip Jar, which tells you how to donate by check, credit card, or debit card. Every dollar you give now goes to fund more original reporting.

Over the past few years, and especially over this past week, you have shown me that we are actually a community, a group of people who believe together in justice. Individually, you decided to put your resources on the line to make sure that we keep going, grow, and get better, that our words and ideas matter. This is essential, it’s the first step in creating a different society, where we assert our own collective dignity.

Let’s get to 1750 donors. We’ve just broken our donor target of 1500, so help us reach this new goal before the fundraiser ends. Click on the Tip Jar now.

Over the next year, all of us here look forward to keep puncture the perceived monopoly of wisdom the Very Serious People have over economics and finance. It is a real testament to this community that our traffic has held solid despite continuing campaigns by Google and Facebook against independent websites.

It’s ultimately a collective endeavor to do develop critiques and foster approaches because ideas cannot be divorced from the networks of people who carry them. It’s remarkable that we are actually a community, as well as a website, and I’ll be thinking hard about how to make sure we manifest that going forward.

We’ve gotten input and encouragement from many of you, including some important journalists who have told us more than once that Naked Capitalism informs their work. We also have been told by professional writer regularly that they are in awe of how much high quality material we produce, week in, week out, with such a small staff. As David in Santa Cruz pointed out:

There’s a reason that the framers of the U.S. Bill of Rights made freedom of speech and of the press part of the First Amendment. However, I accept the contrarian view expressed by our Supreme Court that money is speech. Without money, there were no printing presses, and today there can be no websites. Speech is only free if it may be widely disseminated. The simple truth is that takes money.

In addition, quality reporting also takes money. Reporters don’t just need decent computers and software, or access to the Internet and subscriptions to publications and research. Good reporting requires travel, it requires paper filings, it requires postage, it sometimes requires good legal representation. Reporters are also human: they need to be housed, they need to eat, they need to rest every now and then.

Individuals acting collectively might well out-spend the monopolies and oligarchs who have taken-over our capitalistic media outlets. This is why the Koch Brothers and their ilk are attacking unions. I regularly donate to Naked Capitalism because I believe that our collective voices are being heard through the dogged and outspoken journalism practiced here.

I thought I’d share a few more comments from my inbox this week:

From Brian C:

I am happy to help however I can. I really enjoy NC and I also think that you are a remarkable individual. You have my highest respect for your life’s journey and sharing of your acquired wisdom along the way. More than just a thinker, you are a doer, and when need be, a determined and effective fighter. You have also done well to attract a great group of readers and contributors. I try to make as many meetups as I can because I always enjoy the company of you and your NC posse.

And Eudora Welty

Considering this is fundraiser week (I’ve given twice so far), all this confusing news about the dead guy in Saudi Arabia/ Turkey reminds me that the impenetrability of the crisis with hurt children in Syria & pressure on Obama to do something militarily in 2012/13 is what led me to find NC. I recall that there were 300+ comments, and I kept excitedly refreshing to read more thoughts of the commentariat. Exactly what I was looking for!

I’m so much more inforned than I was prior to finding this site. Thank you.

From Helen B:

NC matters for many reasons, not least of which is that history matters. Those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it.

And tongue firmly in cheek, from Phil in Australia:

It’s thanks to NC that I’m shunned by all my associates and suspected of being a commie subversive by the Government.You’re doing an almost unbelievable job.

Please don’t burn up.

From Carla:

I’m a monthly subscriber, but I couldn’t resist making an extra contribution to this fundraiser in support of the Comments section. Many thanks to all of the Commentariat — you truly add to the quality of my life!

If you’ve already given, thanks for sending the message that this site matters, that we can create leverage in the world from our own corner. If you haven’t, there’s still time (though not that much of it), so please proceed to the Tip Jar now! I guarantee you that in a few years, you will be proud of being a part of building this community. You will have shown that there are parts of this world that believe that integrity and dignity matter.

That’s what you’ve shown me.