Underwriters – republished 17 September 2017 – Not an appeal for donations

  Government-leaks

(re-published as a re-statement of SST policy)

Having had 17 million, 200 thousand visits in the last 12 years, (now – 17 September, 2017 – half a million more page views) I have decided once again to seek underwriters (sponsors) for my blogging efforts.  This is a small operation.  It takes a lot of time.  There are opportunity costs for me. 

Foundations (preferred) or corporations that make grants to my blogs should understand that the money will go in my pocket in payment for what I do.  I will pay whatever costs the blogs have.

What the underwriters will get is an acknowledgement on the blogs (if they want that).  They will also assure that I continue doing this for a while.  What they will not get is editorial control, content control or title.

I hope that pranksters do not bother me with foolishness that wastes my time.  Enquiries should include full contact data; website, phone numbers, a responsible person to contact, etc. 

I am grateful to all those individuals who have made donations in the past.  pl

———

Surprisingly – someone wrote to me yesterday (16 September) to attempt to exert editorial control specifically on the basis of a past donation.  This was accompanied with an exhortation to be more solemn and professional  and to stop calling you "pilgrims."  I told this person that I will continue to write as I please.  pl

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28 Responses to Underwriters – republished 17 September 2017 – Not an appeal for donations

  1. Jonathan House says:

    I’m not a foundation or corporation, but I chose to use this post as a reminder to myself to contribute.
    All the best to you and to all here at SST,
    Jonathan House

  2. trinlae says:

    Respected Colonel,
    I am afraid that you cannot eat it, but i trust the Nepali letter opener sent to your publishing address in December will at least save some time opening boxes and related risks of paper cuts and the like!
    Godspeed for 2017 and beyond!
    Trinlae

  3. turcopolier says:

    trinlae
    Thank you. I have not yet received such an object. pl

  4. LeaNder says:

    Take care, be well. This is an odd day, lots of irregularities all around. Don’t like that, since I am a last minute gal. … on the other hand? Hmm. cp?
    In the end it worked.
    As others, pleased you share time with us. Not least this nitwit. 😉

  5. As a suggestion, have you considered joining an ad network like Google AdSense? https://www.google.com/adsense/start/#?modal_active=none
    There are other ad networks also
    it’s turn key, just copy & paste the code into your site once
    &
    you’re paid per 1,000 visitors — you can choose just 1 discreet square ad or whatever number & size you prefer

  6. Larry Kart says:

    I’m in for the duration, amount(s) to be determined. I assume you’ll provide some guidelines there, as in “No sum would be too large. but if it’s below [sum x], spend it on kibble.”

  7. turcopolier says:

    Larry Kart
    Any offering however large or small is appreciated. pl

  8. turcopolier says:

    buddhistharmony
    I HAVE tried that. The actual advertisers do not seem interested in SST. “We few…” etc. pl

  9. trinlae says:

    You’re welcome and sorry to hear you haven’t seen it yet there!
    USPS priority mail tracking says it was delivered to Leesburg Dec 23 and is available for pick up. You may have to ask for it at the counter.
    (priority #9505 5115 9487 6356 0300 64 posted 12/21)
    I did bring a spare so can always re-send it: use these vids to wet your whistle:
    https://youtu.be/qol5Ey3sImQ. (on mfg)
    https://youtu.be/mES3j-SR00A (on British service issue)

  10. ah, sorry to hear that, your military intel site has been very informative vs. the mainstream media
    for additional funding instead of ad network, there’s direct affiliate marketing:
    since there’s alot of ex-military & outdoorsman viewers, your site might be a good fit for that targeted audience so an affiliate to the SportsmanGuide (for hunting, guns, boating, sporting goods, et)
    as well as Amazon (you get paid a percentage of sales thru clickthrus) for books you recommend as well as any other items on a banner ad
    SportsmanGuide affiliate link http://www.sportsmansguide.com/ourcompany/affiliateprogram
    & signup:
    https://signup.cj.com/member/signup/publisher.cj?cid=3616712
    And Amazon affiliate link program:
    https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/

  11. Babak Makkinejad says:

    Don’t feel too bad about the gambling bit, we all got married.

  12. Mattias says:

    Have you considered creating an account at https://www.patreon.com/ ? Makes it very convenient to send small donations monthly.

  13. turcopolier says:

    Mattias
    Many people have various kinds of suggestions for SST. pl

  14. PVP says:

    I tried to donate but it appears you have to have a US zip code (I live in the UK). Any ideas of how to get around this?

  15. turcopolier says:

    PVP
    I think I receive money from the UK through Paypal regularly. pl

  16. Bill H says:

    According to one Patreon user, the results for his blog include that $1/month subscriptions net him 77&#162 and that “First, I no longer have to fight off trolls and filter spam from the comments. Second, the quality of the comments, which are now hidden behind the paywall, has improved greatly and now make very interesting reading, often as interesting as the blog posts themselves.
    Seems it might kill two birds with one shot.

  17. The Porkchop Express says:

    Col – I doubt advertising is the kind of thing you’d be interested in doing and I have no idea what their blog/website policy is, but who knows? I listen to a lot of podcasts that have a revolving group of advertisers (roughly 10-20) that cycle through the podcast world.
    Several of which, Bill Burr especially to say nothing of Norm MacDonald’s infamous Mangrate advertisement, allow them to say mostly whatever they want about sponsors. I can’t say I have any idea of how they would respond to a Current Affairs/Warfare/Middle East blog but several have contacts (I don’t have specific names or contacts, just general contact info I found on the web):
    Me Undies (support@meundies.com ), Stamps.com (http://www.stamps.com/affiliates/), Zip recruiter (advertising@ziprecruiter.com), Draft Kings (https://www.draftkings.com/affiliates), Lyft (press@lyft.com), Winc (press@winc.com), MVMT (https://member.impactradius.com/campaign-campaign-info/MVMT-Watches.brand)
    There are more, but those are just off the top of my head. Probably not your cup of tea but just a passing thought.

  18. aleksandar says:

    I like ” pilgrims ”
    ” The people of God are of two kind : those who see that they are being made to journey, those who see themselves doing the travelling “.
    Ibn-e-Arabi

  19. TonyL says:

    “attempt to exert editorial control specifically on the basis of a past donation. This was accompanied with an exhortation to be more solemn and professional and to stop calling you “pilgrims.””
    It is amusing that this person would be that ignorant. A regular reader/commenter here would never think to tell the Colonel how or what to write.

  20. turcopolier says:

    TonyL
    The “pilgrims” thing is a conceit playing off “The Pilgrim’s Progress,” and the Duke’s “Well, Pilgrims…” pl

  21. LeCashier says:

    I first saw you on the News Hour way back during Gulf War 1 explaining what was happening. When this Syria stuff hit the fan I thought you might be doing some analysis on TV, but couldn’t find anything. Then finally found SST. Thanks for the on going commentary and the archives, a great treasure.

  22. I like “pilgrims” too.
    “…We are not now that strength which in old days
    Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
    One equal temper of heroic hearts,
    Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
    To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

  23. turcopolier says:

    EO
    I think I first read TPP as an undergrad in a course on various 17th Century bits and pieces, Milton, etc. There is an excellent French TV series “Les hommes de l’ombre.” In it the wife of the French president says of him that he is just trying to realize (objectify) his conception of himself.” PL

  24. turcopolier says:

    LeCashier
    It is as much my fault as that of anything else that I stopped appearing on TV. My indolence and unwillingness to get up off my haunches to get in the limo to go to a studio combined with neocon efforts to get me out of the public square to eliminate my transient talking head life. pl

  25. Nick Smith says:

    I’ve always loved the Pilgrims touch. I rarely if ever feel like commenting, but that crosses the line and its absolutely appalling someone thought their money meant they could get rid of it.
    Thanks for all your troubles over the years. I have recommended the blog to friends over the years, mostly MBA types who would be otherwise oblivious to the subject, the feedback is wildly positive- someone actually told me they were “confused” by how much more informative a blog was than the WSJ’s coverage they been reading and tuning out.

  26. Well, Colonel, I’ve just been brought back to real life with a bump. The car radio this morning had General Petraeus on the BBC. If I recollect the interview accurately Petraeus wanted us to know that we live in a rules based international order. That man could talk the hind leg off a cow and the cow would say thanks. Information content – nil. Business as usual therefore.
    So, to go instead to a truly great poet, the ending of “Dover Beach” sums it all up far better: evil about and us peering through the fog of disinformation unable accurately to determine what it’s up to or why. A fog your website dispels for us rather more than the BBC cares to. Here’s Mathew Arnold, from all that time ago, telling us what it’s like to be us today:-
    “”And we are here as on a darkling plain
    Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
    Where ignorant armies clash by night.”

  27. Colonel – on TPP, I did not recollect that title for some time. You do not cosset your readers. For me there’s another echo, the Pilgrimage of Grace, of which Wiki says “The traditional historical view portrays it as ‘a spontaneous mass protest of the conservative elements in the North of England angry with the religious upheavals instigated by King Henry VIII’. Historians have noted that there were contributing economic issues.” Economic issues meaning happy time for the king’s men. The cronies were looting with an abandon that would turn our own swamp green with envy.
    “Conservative Elements” could serve as Prog-speak for fed-up deplorables and “religious upheavals” are a foretaste of today’s ideological battles. Those adjustments made, for me the Pilgrimage of Grace is further warrant for the term “Pilgrims.” But I must now look up the OK Corral and see whether the good guys won.

  28. Daniel says:

    Indeed, I’ve always felt “pilgrim” to be something to aspire to, and am always grateful to be reminded of it when I come here – thank you.

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