A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL

Buzzflash isn't just celebrating 9 years of feisty online progressive journalism this year, we are celebrating a reader-supported, corporate advertising free model of a pro-democracy, sustainable, liberal community.

What makes BuzzFlash different and worthy of your financial support?

1) BuzzFlash sees the "Forest through the Trees."  Beginning with the theft of the election from Al Gore in 2000, we have offered a perspective that doesn't get distracted by Republican talking point "details."  This is most recently evident in the corporate media -- and to a large extent progressive media -- taking the GOP bait and focusing on Nancy Pelosi's minorest of roles as a duct-taped recipient of some vague information on interrogation techniques instead of continuing to keep the heat on Cheney, Rumsfeld and Bush for being the architects and managers of torture that led to murders.  We have written at least 5 editorials and commentaries about holding the drivers of the torture and murder bus accountable, instead of falling for the Republican hysteria about a witness.

BuzzFlash was the first site to point out that after 9/11 Bush and Rice were lying when they said that there was nothing that they could have done to prevent the tragedy, when they were warned of an impending Al-Qaeda attack. Al-Qaeda had threatened to attack from the air before, and Rice was dishonest in saying that they couldn't have stopped 9/11 because they didn't know that Al-Qaeda would fly planes into buildings, because if she and Bush had alerted airports to heighten security before 9/11, they might have prevented the hijackings in the first place -- but they just ignored the warnings.

There are literally hundreds of examples of such common sense analyses on the part of the BuzzFlash staff (and we have grown from one volunteer staffer to about 14 people who are in some way financially compensated -- although minimally, alas -- as a result of our reader support, because we are 100% reader supported.)

And BuzzFlash has never stopped punching away at hypocrisy, racism, gender bias, hypocritical politicians, and reactionary right wing shibboleths.  We are free to pound away, because we are not supported even remotely by any corporation or politician, just you.

2) Some people think that we push too much to get readers to buy premiums. We too wish that we could be less nudgy.  But we barely make it by each month -- and when we do have a little extra on the 30th or 31st, we put it into growth (or pay back loans by the editor and his wife to BuzzFlash, which are borrowed.)  So, we are both just at the edge of survival and growing at the same time.

But our BuzzFlash progressive store is actually the second part of what makes us a model worth supporting.  Because we are also trying to encourage progressive consumer choices.  That's why we offer Fair Trade items to help ensure social justice.  That's why we will be expanding green items to help reduce wear and tear on our planet.  That is why we offer progressive books and DVDs, and so many other products for people who care about democracy, economic justice, secularism and a better world. The progressive community needs to support its own writers, artists and musicians -- instead of letting right wing authors dominate the bestseller lists.

We combine a hard-hitting progressive journalism with a chance to buy liberally and support an emerging progressive, Fair Trade and sustainable living economy.

3) Thirdly, we will be increasingly focusing on sustainability, both in our original commentary and in our BuzzFlash progressive marketplace.  That is why we recently offered stainless steel water bottles to help people wean themselves from resource wasteful, plastic polluting, and privatized for profit store purchased water.

So when you support BuzzFlash (and we have another $15,000 credit card bill coming up on the 28th of May for the premiums that we send you), you are supporting a one-of-a-kind model for the future of progressive journalism: liberal commentary, progressive products, and sustainable living all in one expanding site (and its affiliate network of sites).

We sometimes are amused at all the articles that we read about future models of journalism.  With the generous support of our readers -- and a staff willing to work for little, along with an editor and his wife who are willing to occasionally borrow to keep BuzzFlash afloat -- we have for nine years offered a "future model" that spanned the Bush years and helped lead to the Obama Administration.

But BuzzFlash is about more than politics; it's about how we choose to live our values in the public arena.

We don't like to run a main headine appealing for money for days on end, but just read our original BuzzFlash content over the past week.  Read our blog.  Read BuzzFlash.net. Read BuzzFlash on Twitter. Read Last Chance Democracy Cafe -- and our columnists and so much more (not to mention 190 headlines a day, 24/7 since May 11th of 2000.)

Invest in a model of progressive journalism that makes changes not just in words, but in what we buy and how we live.

BuzzFlash doesn't believe that we are only dependent on what happens in Washington, although that is very important; we believe that we are reponsible for ourselves and our pro-democracy, secular, sustainable living values.

It's exciting to be a part of a new model of journalism -- and all our readers, buyers and donors are in this as partners with us.

BuzzFlash is struggling to stay alive while also expanding.

We can't pull that one off without you.

A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL