Putting a Match to the Leaves We Raked in 2011

As the final leaves fall off the 2011 tree, it's time to jump into the pile and make a few observations about what we raked up here at WhatWeThinkandWhy this past year.

I'm fairly certain that almost everyone who reads this blog was irritated (at a minimum) with something I wrote or something I posted in the sidebar this year. It's not surprising since I picked on Democrats and Republicans with almost equal relish.

Okay, I picked on Democrats more, but only because they are the ones who have made the most progress in the war on freedom lately. Republicans, who regularly fail at whatever they try to do, haven't been able to accomplish that part of their agenda recently. In that regard, gridlock in 2011 was a wonderful thing.

The so called "progressives" (most of whom decided they don't want to be called "liberals" anymore after their stepchildren Fannie and Freddie were shown to be the biggest cause of the housing bust and the ensuing financial chaos) took as much of an intellectual beating on this site as my old brain could muster. But so called "conservatives" who, like their hero GWB, are not really conservatives at all, also got pounded whenever I got the chance. People like Mitt Obama were my most aimed at targets, but since there were so many of them, the accuracy wasn't as good as I would have liked.

So let's look back at some topics that were addressed:

In January we took a look at education and Obama-care.

In February it was taxes and hypocritical politicians from the Republican side.  It also was the month that I made the second most popular post this blog has ever published. It was titled I Was Not Trying to Find Paradise, I was Trying to Escape Hell.

In March I beat on Obama a few times (mostly in a lighthearted way) and praised Ike while concentrating on politicians again.

April was a pretty big month during which some of the most viewed posts were made. We poked more fun at Obama, introduced Gary Johnson and the beginning of the Ron Paul candidacy, and then got serious about budget and monetary blunders before ripping Republicans again. The most important post of the month concerned the imbecilic notion that the country can tax its way out of the debt crisis and featured a terrific video (still appearing on the sidebar) which shows graphically, even to the mathematically and philosophically challenged, exactly why that is so.

May addressed health care lunacy and the issues of social security, medicare and why socialism in general is adolescent. It also was the month when I wrote what I think was my best effort of the year. It was a piece about the childish notions the electorate has come to embrace and why grow-up time is here for sure. It was also the most widely read piece and people from all over the world continue to hit the page almost daily after finding it in a Google search.

June revisited entitlements again and a post about Gary Johnson garnered a ton of interest again as well.

July, August and September are my busiest golf months and most of the posts concerned different politicians and their ideas, good and bad.

October was a month for exposing media incompetence, exploring the goofy OWS movement, and a well read piece about an important issue concerning our rights, capital punishment and the frightening developments in unconstitutional governance. 

November featured a series of interviews with Thomas Sowell, which many of you enjoyed if  private email remarks are an accurate judge. For some reason most of the readers of this blog won't help me out by "voting" in the small polls on the sidebar concerning their enjoyment, or lack thereof, of content in the main section where the posts are found. Oh well, I guess I'll never figure that out. The month also had one of the best received posts of the year. It was titled History, Music and Redemption and people loved the story of the old hymn Amazing Grace. Perhaps it was well received because it lacked any political content.

December wrapped it all up with some videos concerning the Paul candidacy and one important post about how we just lost some of our most important rights. The right of Habeas Corpus was legislatively eliminated. I hope you were alarmed by that piece, but I suspect most people who read it have already relegated the issue to the recesses of their memories. It's hard enough to believe what happened and even harder to keep focusing on it. As a memorable line from a movie went, "Sometimes I think the shit comes down so heavy I need to wear a hat." So we just put on our hats and try to forget news like the post delivered. That's human nature I guess.

In another recent development, I was asked to write for another website on a formal basis and I agreed to do so. The site is The Left Coast Rebel and I have already written a few things for them. That makes three sites (including this one) where my "stuff" is "published."  The Humble Libertarian is the other. So for better or for worse, more people are exposed to my opinions, which are hardly unique, and my writing, which has improved but still remains dreadful on occasion.

A few companies have actually sent me money after reading some of my posts and deciding that having a few links to their sites on old posts that have related content would benefit their clients. That is the reason  for the "Tip Jar" on the sidebar that some of you might have noticed recently.

They paid me via that "Tip Jar" and it wouldn't hurt my feelings if you felt led to drop a few bucks in there as well. I'm sure most of you tip bartenders and waitresses far more for far less effort. (I know I do.) Writing and editing this content is a lot more work that it looks like. But since I do this for the love of liberty, the future of my offspring, and the enjoyment it brings to me personally, a few bucks is just an extra kiss anyway. But who doesn't like kisses? The money is just the lipstick on my editorial collar.

The year end is also another opportunity to thank all of the people who helped the site be better than it otherwise would be. Some sent the articles and pictures that ended up as ideas for some of the subject matter and others like Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute and Wes Messamore of the Humble Libertarian  graciously allowed us to re-publish some of their work because of their love of liberty and country.

Special thanks to Jim Lakely of the Heartland Institute for giving us the heads-up on published research articles before they become old news. Cato and Heartland are two of the most important and successful organizations ever to dedicate themselves to returning this country to its original intent, partly by exposing the nonsense that passes for contemporary wisdom nowadays. I treasure whatever help I get from them. It is my hope that in some small way I have helped them too.

Lastly, I'd be remiss if I didn't thank my unpaid proofreader for keeping the secret that I can't spell worth a damn and that I make the same punctuation errors endlessly. If my stuff is even partly readable it because of her patience. It's only a part time job for her. Her real job is to be my wife, a much tougher job and one that requires even more patience.

So that's the heap of  "leaves" we raked up here last year. I hope you found value in the content. I hope it made you laugh sometimes and pissed you off sometimes. But mostly I hope you didn't get so pissed off at me that you won't feel led to keep supporting this site. I'm even crazy enough to hope you recommend it to your friends when we rake up something important.

Here's wishing you all the best for the year 2012. It's sure to be one of the most important one in our lives.