Here we are. A full seven years as of today, after I began, on a complete lark, what I had thought would be little more than something to keep me occasionally occupied after I had finished up a different project I’d worked on for five years prior. I had no idea or hopes for what it would, and has become — or that it would keep me from being able to make the living I had been able to before starting — or even that I’d find myself, with disturbing regularity, having nearly front-row seats to moments of historic importance, as witness to the unraveling of a nation.
But here we are. Seven years later, and still at it, still digging, still fighting, still crying, still laughing, still witnessing in wonder as the unraveling continues, and still more disturbed by it all than I could have ever even imagined.
For those of you who have joined us for all or any part of the long, strange journey along the way, I can only hope it has been as thought-provoking, informative, and enlightening as it has been, at times, absolutely maddening.
But here we are still. Still fighting many of the same battles, still witnessing many of the victories and disappointments over and again. We don’t drive the bus, however. We just ride along with it, and help, to the best of our abilities, in trying to steer it back on to a road toward sanity, peace, love, hope, and improvement tomorrow over failure yesterday and today.
Were it not for the support of many of you out there, we’d not be here today at all. As I have to point out too often when folks ask how we make a living at this: we don’t. Truly independent investigative progressive bloggers with specialties in muckraking, trouble-making, snark, whistleblowing and election integrity don’t make nearly the great fortune that one might think.
Instead, we beg, borrow, try not to steal, and hope to keep on keeping on, with your support, whenever and however possible. To that end, yes, I will again ask for your support in a moment, even as I offer a purposely and extraordinarily vague hint about possible changes (both positive and likely temporary) coming in the weeks and months ahead, if I am able to see things through as I hope. But more on that later as/if things develop.
So with that small vagary, please forgive my using this moment for what I am so loath to do, even as so many other news and blog sites do so with far more regularity than I ever feel comfortable. Please consider supporting The BRAD BLOG with a “birthday gift” of any amount. Of course, the larger — as you are able to afford and still take care of more pressing priorities — the better. You are, and always have been, by and large, what stands between our ability to keep going at whatever it is that we do, and the (always) far more plausible notion that we’ll be forced to simply roll up our tent of ever-good intentions in order to find a much more reasonable way to pay a meager rent, put food on the table, and some gas in the tank.
One-time donations are, as ever, tremendously appreciated. Even more so are sustaining, automated, monthly contributions of any amount you can comfortably afford. For the latter, please see the form in the light blue box mid-way down our right sidebar. Monthly sustaining support is a quick and easy matter to create, via credit card or PayPal, as you prefer, and will hopefully take you less than three minutes or so to set up.
One-time donations, also via credit card or PayPal, can be made right here. Snail mail support to “Brad Friedman, 7095 Hollywood Blvd., #594 Los Angeles, CA 90028” is similarly welcome and greatly appreciated!
Most of all, of course, your support — by reading, clicking, commenting, DIGGING, REDDITing, Tweeting, Facebook “sharing,” and/or emailing the fruits of the efforts of myself and of all of those many who have contributed here in any way over these past seven years — continues to be the greatest gift of all. Without you, as they say, we are nothing. So for that, as we head into Year Number Eight(?!) I thank you yet again, from the bottom of my ever-exhausted, yet still hopeful, heart.
— Brad
Way to go Brad!! It’s been great being able to take on the issue of election integrity with you in our society. Thanks!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY 🙂
Wow! How time flies!
Thanks for being in the fight for our very rights to govern ourselves.
You’re The Man!!!!
Kudos
– Pat
Gratz on making it to seven and am looking forward to eleven 🙂
Many thanks to you, Brad. You are an information warrior. We know that the only kind of war we advocate for is the war on lies, and our only weapons are honesty, courage, and well chosen words. You are a high ranking officer in this information war.
We know that the ones we are opposing are the ones that so advocate for the bloody kind of war, where innocent people are getting slaughtered. They may claim otherwise, but honesty, integrity, and capacity for objectivity is sadly lacking on the right wing side, and they have in place of those characteristics, name calling, jokes, extra oil to slip and slide with, deflection and manipulation. Also, I’ve noticed on the opponents’ threads, other blogs, (Right wing) as you prove them wrong, they will delete your posts. Honesty, is not required in their war.
Hats off, and applause to you, sir!!! I know for sure, you’ve added greatly to the confirming of facts. The liars, and willingly oblivious have a much more difficult time, because of you. Many thanks. Congratz, as well!
Happy Anniversary!
Happy Birthday Brad Blog!! Just checked the lotto numbers, nope didn’t win anything. Wish I could give you a kazillion. THANK YOU, you are one of the best!!!
Congratulations, Brad, and all the folks at BradBlog! And let me take this opportunity to thank you, Brad, publicly (as opposed to the many times I’ve thanked you in person) for all that you’ve done for the election integrity movement.
On a more personal note, I want to again thank you, this time publicly, for all you did to help and support me and my wife during my legal troubles when I was the “Diebold Whistle-blower.” Your support, your blog posts, the many times you mentioned my case on-air on various radio shows, and the article you wrote about my case for Hustler Magazine — and by the way, having my name and picture in Hustler is still the most kitschy thing that’s ever happened to me, I loved it! — were invaluable in raising awareness not only about my case, but more importantly, about what Diebold was doing to cheat and defraud the taxpayers and to disenfranchise the voters.
Again, I thank you for all you did and are doing. Long may you wave, Brad Friedman.
Congratulations Brad! Your blog has done a great job of educating me across a whole host of subjects. Keep up the great work you do.
Thanks for your tireless work on the behalf of all of us, Brad – keeping us in the know through this long, hard, endless slog.
Happy Birthday! Let’s close our eyes and imagine a time when your work is no longer necessary and you can go back to doing whatever it is that you would be doing if you didn’t have to be doing this!
Joan Brunwasser, Election Integrity Ed., OpEdNews
Congrats Brad. America – or at least the many Americans I have turned on to your work – thanks you.
Met you at the first national Election Integrity Conference we had here in Nashville. You inspired many of us there, and we kept up the fight, coming daily to your blog for insight, knowledge, inspiration and attitude. Here’s to you and the many who have marched with you.
Congrats. We’ll never give up. Or maybe we will, but then where do we go? Belize? Denmark? Somewhere that has free and fair elections…
shw
Thanks to you all for the exceedingly kind words.
(And, as well, to the two folks, so far, who took me up on my shameless, but necessary, plea for a birthday trip to the tip jar!)
Happy birthday, BradBlog, and thanks for your OUTSTANDING work — as the hashtag I added to the RT says: #investigativejournalismparexcellence
Brad — Congrats on your anniversary. Many of us appreciate all your hard work and have come to rely on your fabulous blog. Keep it up forever!
Happy Birthday BradBlog!
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Seven years! Good on you, cobber! and here’s to many more…
[hcpb]
Happy Birthday Bradblog!
Keep up the outstanding journalism and activism.
Brad,
Congratulations and thanks for all your efforts.
just found your blog and looking forward to following along….and Happy Birthday BradBlog!!!
Eheu fugaces, Postume, Postume – My how the time does fly by when you’re witnessing the demise of civilization! Congratulations, Brad, on your dogged devotion to Truth! The world is a better place for your work! A happy birthday to you and the gang!
Congratulations Brad! Wow… can’t believe it’s been that long.
I don’t post as much here as I used to, but I’m definitely one of the “6 or 7” still reading.
Keep fighting the good fight – we’ve still got your back.
Many congratulations, and I wish you greater success in the future. Keep up your good work secure in the knowledge that it will ultimately be noticed and rewarded.
Seven years old?!? From where I sit, you don’t look a day over six (really). Happy birthday. Thanks for all you do.
Hopefully I will be moving to a paper ballots state soon — Tennessee’s legislature has been taken over by overt racists, pug-ugly jackals and ex-Hooters girls, thanks to ES&S and Diebold. When the bluest city in the South (Memphis) elects an entirely Republican slate in August, it’s time to dim the lights on Beale Street and ride (fast) into the setting sun.
Give Desi a big hug for me. Take care of yourselves.
From your favorite felon, domestic terrorist, marijuana martyr (or all of the above)
Happy Anniversary and thanks for the investigative reporting I’ve come to enjoy here @TheBradBlog and The Green News Report!
Cary
Yes, KBE!!! I too remember when there were 6 or 7 of us! I hope you and yours are well and happy!
Well done and happy birthday to BradBlog. Keep the faith Brad.
Congratulations Brad!!!
My blog is just 3 years old, but i’m on my way to be a lot more of time… 😀
“I was a lot older then, I am a lot younger than that now …”
Congrats, Brad! Life is so full of twists & turns. Hard to keep track of it all. You will find a little gift (long overdue) in the PayPal inbox. A different name, but my heart is here with you & other truthtellers! Thank you for your sacrifices and integrity! My saying in hard timess: the only solution to any problem is to keep breathing… Long may you breathe,rad!
Boy, do I wish the text box would do that thing where the text automatically returns, like it is now. So, long may you breathe, Brad! It really is up to ALL of us to stand up & insist on getting our country back to the Constitutional foundation that has given the world such hope. If the people can stand up against the despots in Tunisia & Egypt, then why not HERE!?
It is not hyperbole to say that do not know how I would’ve survived my mortifying 2006 video investigation into the FL-13 super-notoriously-botched election without this blog.
Checking in w/ Brad in L.A. to find the only in-depth reporting about what was happening on the ground in Sarasota was a mental healing balm; my *only* real news source; the *only* one reporting the knee-slapping horror story voters were living first-hand in Sarasota; the only one holding Kathy Dent’s feet to the fire for losing 18,412 votes on the ES&S machines in an election decided by a vaporous 369 vote margin. (Yes, the statistics still haunt, always will. I still cite them to anyone who will listen, and I still find myself stressed and devastated to learn over and over again that impossible math never seems to make a dent to a voter who hasn’t yet been “gored”.)
Election reform has been a crazy-making slog I bear more wounds from than any other knife-fight (should’ve brought a gun) and one that left me with a forehead of trench-wrinkles from my face being frozen for two years in a permanent state of “WHAaaAA????”
Brad (and Ernest) – I can’t say it enough. Thank you for everything you have done and continue to(somehow) to do.
…wishing I had so much more money to give you for your herculean efforts on behalf of this broken hearted voter.
Happy Birthday !
Congratulations! And thank you for your fine work on the travesty of the rightwing’s deceptive set-up of ACORN. That’s what originally brought me to your blog. You, Rachel Maddow, and a handful of legislators who refused to vote against canceling some government contracts with ACORN are the paltry few who exhibited real integrity during this despicable witch-hunt of an organization devoted to empowering the poor.
Correction…a handful of legislators who refused to vote FOR canceling some government contracts with ACORN.