Trouble at Truthdig

Senior editors and contributors at @Truthdig announced a work stoppage to protest unfair labor conditions and the attempt by the publisher to remove the Editor-in-Chief and co-owner of the site Robert Scheer. https://t.co/OSkOHs8zJg

— Chris Hedges (@ChrisLynnHedges) March 12, 2020

The Journal of American Greatness

Another busy week for me draws to a close. The September issues of Harper's and The Atlantic came in the mail today, and both are substantial reads. The Atlantic mentions, in an article called "Trump's Intellectuals", a short-lived website called The Journal of American Greatness. Online for only four months--it closed in June--JAG "made a highbrow case for overthrowing America's existing political order and replacing it with the raw, dynamic, intoxicating energy of Donald Trump."

JAG Recovered lists the titles of articles published on JAG, if not always the articles themselves, which were deleted.

At least some of them were republished elsewhere, e.g., "A Coherent 'Trumpism.'"

The Week: Trumpism for Intellectuals.

R. I .P. , Gilles d'Aymery

Gilles d'Aymery, founder of Swans.com, has died, I have just found out. I hope Swans can continue to be published. It was one of the most original webzines I've read. And I've donated money to them from time to time, not necessarily because I agreed with everything written there, but because of the quality of its content and because Gilles was totally upfront about how donations were used. The yearly budget was roughly $4,000, less than some magazines spend on snacks. A breakdown of expenses is below.

"You send us money. Here, in total transparency, is how it is spent:
•Internet access and costs: Web, satellite, land-line access, TV: $1,900 a year
•Hardware/software maintenance and upgrades: $1,000 a year
•Press and book purchases: $1,000 a year
•Miscellaneous: $450 a year
•This is a very conservative accounting of our overall costs."

Huffington Post Wins Its First Pulitzer

When The Huffington Post first appeared in 2005, I thought it was Arianna Huffington's vanity project, and wouldn't last. As it grew, the HuffPo grew on me. It was and is a mixture of hard and soft news, but with this Pulitzer Prize, it has come of age.

FERN: Food and Environment Reporting Network

is a new nonprofit journalism organization about food and the environment.

Fundraising Update from Antiwar.com

"In the first fifteen days of our fund drive, you contributed $61,873. Please help us reach our goal go keep Antiwar.com running for the next quarter."

CounterPunch and Antiwar.com Fundraising Updates

From CounterPunch:

Our fall fundraiser has almost run its course. We’re nearly there. But not quite. Nearly 1500 CounterPunchers from every state in the union, from every continent have rallied with money and messages of support. For us here at CounterPunch it’s always a nail-biting business. We tell you the truth every time. We don’t make our $75,000 target, we have to think about cutting back. Then you rally. If you haven’t yet, the time is now. We have just THREE DAYS, ending Sunday, to make our target.

From Antiwar.com:

In the first five days of our fund drive, you contributed $25,931. Please help us reach our goal go [sic] keep Antiwar.com running for the next quarter.

The situation for Antiwar.com is more dire; their site could end if they don't raise at least $150,000. They're one-sixth of the way.

Swans should have a fundraising update next Monday.

==
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists also needs your help.

CounterPunch and Swans Fundraising Update

From CounterPunch:

"We’ve been telling you for two weeks that either we meet our fundraising goal of $75,000 over the next three weeks or we'll be forced to drastically curtail the operation of our website.
Hundreds of you have rallied with donations. With two more weeks of our fundraiser to go, we’re more than half way to our target. And now a CounterPuncher has stepped forward with a magnificently generous pledge.

"This CounterPunch supporter will match every donation of $100 or more, to a combined total of $20,000. That means that any of you out there thinking of donating $50 should know that if you donate a further $50, CounterPunch will receive an additional $100. And if you plan to send us us $200 or $500 or more, he will give CounterPunch a matching $200 or $500 or more."

Day 14
Donors: 750
Amount: $50,200
==
From Swans:

"FUNDRAISING DRIVE: Thanks to the helping hand of Louis Proyect (see his message below) and the generosity of 13 donors we've raised almost $600 in the last two weeks. This is good news! But it also means that we need to raise another $1,900 before the end of the year. You do remember what Swans is about, right? "In a time of revisionism, faux-semblant, spinning news, and skewed information, Swans is about thinking, questioning, observing, and providing ideas that are lacking in the mainstream media." (It's also about Arts & Culture.) We've been doing it for almost 15 years with authors from many countries who appreciate and agree with our quiet radicalism, our Web exclusivity, and dedication to proper editing. Please help us carry on our tradition of providing you with only original work, not multi-posted stuff you find in most Web publications... Donate now!

"Many thanks to Louis Proyect, Alex Munro, Cecilio Morales, Samuel Bennett, Michael Yates, William O'Connor, Richard Brand, Nick Harlow, John Halle, Raymond Alford, Claudia Resch, Isidor Saslav, and Michael Fahey for their generous contributions."
==
James Wolcott joins the effort on behalf of CounterPunch.

The underlying lesson is that if you have money to spare, donate some to your favorite magazine.

Cockburn vs. Proyect

In his column praising the TEA Party, Alexander Cockburn slags Louis Proyect:

"Who says these days that in the last analysis, the only way to change the status quo and challenge the Money Power of Wall St is to overthrow the government by force? That isn’t some old Trotskyist lag like Louis Proyect, dozing on the dungheap of history like Odysseus’ lice-ridden old hound Argos, woofing with alarm as the shadow of a new idea darkens the threshold."

Proyect responds:

"This is the kindest thing I have heard from a Nation Magazine writer ever since Marc Cooper called me a 'prolific buffoon'. ...
I should add that I spotted Alex’s fulmination not 5 minutes after sending in $25 to the Counterpunch fund-drive."
==
As for myself, I'm taking CounterPunch's appeal (below) in stride. As of day eleven, 605 donors have given a total of $32,500. At this rate, CP should meet or even surpass its goal in three weeks.

"CounterPunch needs your financial support! Either we meet our fundraising goal of $75,000 over the next three weeks or we'll be forced to drastically curtail the operation of our website.That’s the bottom line reality for us, every year. We’re not sitting on big reserves. We operate on a very thin margin."

Instead, I'm more inclined to feed Swans. As I learned from another Louis Proyect post, Swans is also holding a fundraiser for $2,500 (a mere 3.33% of CounterPunch's goal).

Some background on Swans.