Long-time participants in the blogosphere — a group in which I’d include lurking readers — will be familiar with the term “blegging.” It was coined, I believe, by Jonah Goldberg, of National Review, who used it to indicate a blog post begging for information from readers. Our current bleg is for financial support, as Monique explained to Matt Allen, last night, on the Matt Allen show. Stream by clicking here, or download it.
Monique and Matt are absolutely correct that, to the extent that we’re able to raise money from readers, we won’t have the appearance of being beholden to any particular interests. I’d stress, though, that our ideological drive and (at least my) stubbornness are strong protection against corruption-by-financing. This is currently volunteer work for all of us, and our sense of the project has been formed in that crucible, regardless of our ability to become, as Monique put it, “semi-pro.”