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My February birthday fund-raising campaign for this website, Behind the Black, is now over. Despite a relatively weak initial three weeks, the last week was spectacular, making this campaign the second best ever.

 

Thanks to every person who donated or subscribed. It continues to astonish me that people who can read my work for free like it enough to donate money voluntarily. Words cannot express my appreciation for that support, especially in these uncertain times.

 

If you have been a regular reader and a fan of my work and have not yet donated or subscribed, please consider doing so. I take no ads, I keep the website clean from pop-ups and annoying demands (most of the time). Thus, I depend entirely on my readers to support me. Though this means I am sacrificing some income, it also means that I remain entirely independent from outside pressure. By depending solely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, no one can threaten me with censorship. You don't like what I write, you can simply go elsewhere.

 

You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
 

3. A Paypal Donation:

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5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
 
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History: CNBC, the tea party, and this week’s debate

Link here. The essay is a fascinating look back at the factors that generated the tea party movement in 2009, centered greatly on a single commentary that took place on CNBC at the time. The essay then notes how NBC then revamped CNBC’s lineup, making it far more liberal and Democratic, which is why we had what we had at the Republican Presidential debate this past week.

It is very much worth a read, as it gives some very important background to these events. It also makes this point, which I think is quite significant:

[I]t was Cruz’s defense of the entire field, and of all conservatives, that was like a game changing pick six in football. The debate was instantly different. That was the match and the gasoline to another conservative explosion. I contend nothing will be the same in debates any time soon, or in any liberal media interviews for that matter – and this is critical. [emphasis in original]

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

3 comments

  • danae

    I think Ted Cruz’s exasperated response was a galvanizing event for Republicans in general, and conservatives in particular.

    The administration and the liberal media refer to the Tea Party contingent of voters as if it were universally understood that it’s a bunch of kooks whose time has passed. This may be because the conspicuousness of their presence at large public rallies and outspokenness at town hall meetings has dropped off markedly. However, I think the movement has, if anything, held its own during Obama’s tenure in office. While relatively silent in public, I think Tea Party folks have been keeping abreast of legislative and supreme court developments and doing a slow burn, becoming more outraged and more determined than ever to actively back candidates they believe possess the principles and fortitude to wrest control of government from the the hands of our current crop of corrupticrats. Admittedly, my view of the situation may be overly optimistic; a year’s time will tell the tale.

  • Steve

    I hope you are right. I am dismayed at the lack of public outrage at the daily news, where are the demonstrations? The original protests were directed at TARP, since then that has been dwarfed by additional spending and waste….

    Not only has the outrage over spending and waste gone “underground” but where is the outrage over the lack of consequences for blatent criminal acts? Why has no one gone to jail? Has anyone even lost their job? The IRS scandal alone should have sent dozens to jail. Lois Lerner is still getting paid! If the IRS had pulled this on behalf of Republicans you can bet that the NYT and every other media outlet would be screaming for heads….

    I really do hope that the Tea Party or some other incarnation of it rises up again, but I fear we have become numb to constant scandal, kind of a universal version of Clinton fatigue, where the bad news is just waved off as “old news”.

  • danae

    I know how dispiriting it is to watch what’s been happening in the country for the last seven years. Your fear that the citizenry is jaded may be valid, but, with a decent, articulate candidate, I feel that more voters can be brought to the realization that life is better when government is less confiscatory and intrusive.

    The main benefit of the public emergence of the Tea Party may have been to demonstrate to right-thinking people that they were not alone, contrary to the media’s steady barrage of left-wing propaganda. What was accomplished by public displays before may still be possible to bring about with less fanfare if we roll up our sleeves individually and do the work. We shouldn’t give up. Lefties never, ever do.

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

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