Counter the Right Wing Revolution's Ability to Buy Success

At Salem-News.com, we published our 18,247th article today.

Are you going to let this keep happening? Support Salem-News.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - The deep pocketed conservatives who have the money are spending it hard and fast right now. Perhaps largely driven by a feeling of desperation, the folks who brought you things like nuclear power plants and stand behind federal laws against medical marijuana, are on a spending campaign hoping to swallow up pockets of resistance along the way.

As cloud-born radioactivity from Japan's nuclear disaster lands in Oregon, and the mainstream news anchors keep telling you how safe Oregonians really are, think about the other things that have been going on:

• The governor of Wisconsin strips educators of their right to collective bargaining while he and every one of his cronies root for his success. Democrats left the state in protest and the GOP members pushed Walker's anti-educator bill through.
• Oregon AG John Kroger had the owner of Oregon's largest medical marijuana clinic arrested for not having filed personal taxes for two years; regarding the event as some kind of victory. As I write this, two West Hollywood medical marijuana clinics are being raided.
• Oregon's KUFO Radio, a 21-year old cutting edge hard rock station that hundreds of thousands knew and enjoyed, disappeared today and is replaced by an AM station's signal that belches audio from people like Glenn Beck. People like Beck are the lingering remnant of the George W. Bush presidency. And why the swastikas with this guy?

Media freedom fighters like Salem-News.com are barely holding ground, seeing no groundswell of support as a response, but I continue to believe that someone, somewhere, will recognize the dedication that has taken place here. I believe that could happen. If we had financial support we could greatly amplify our reach.

It seems appropriate since the people with the money and control are spending it the way they are; knowing we are routing them online and getting information out that they would like to suppress. They also know that with control of the money, they can keep swallowing up pieces on the gameboard and they have no morals resembling ours. For the record, our basic belief platform, borrowed from our heroic writer in Gaza, Ken O'Keefe, is simply 'Truth, Justice, Peace'.

And if you didn't know, Salem means 'peace'.

As I write this we know Ken was involved in the rally that went violent in Gaza today. I'm not feeling very positive about what is taking place but I do know that the right wingers buying and converting their way to success would love to see us disappear. They brand our friends 'terrorists' for standing against oppression. Everything is upside down in this world and it is largely due to greed and a desire to control human beings.

The truth is a real nag in a nuclear powered war minded society like ours. I believe it is important that Salem-News.com makes the cut and grows to become an even larger, more powerful tool for peace.

As of this day, our daily average visitor count; halfway through the month, is 25,188; and that the highest we have ever seen. An average of 79,563 articles and pages are being opened and read every 24-hours. It almost seems bizarre that we are struggling and desperate just to maintain this. Advertisers need to understand the value of advertising to that many people; it is cheap.

If that number continues to grow at the rate it is, we will eventually see the collision of real truth with mass society. Our visitors by demographic are a bright group, but it is important that we reach everyone.

Many journalists today live in utter poverty, we know we are not alone; we've given everything we have to get this far and we've hung in there because of this amazing invention called the Internet. I sometimes feel like I'm driving the Queen Mary through the Straits of Fear while fighting for a minimum wage paycheck that never comes. Our stories have saved and impacted lives, and that compels us to keep pushing forward. And it is a trap; trying to manage the endless flow of news, which in turn steals time from the 'sales' side of the business. We need a generous partner to help us sustain the flow of information.

We have been able to build this from scratch over a six year period with the help of our Web Designer Matt Lintz and as a result; from Israel to nuclear energy, veterans health issues to cutting edge reports on the Mexican drug war, crisis in Africa to medical marijuana to racism in Oregon prisons; we rally for the poor and fight the good fight, and we have the guts to criticize governments and the police for their ever expanding power. We believe in the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

At Salem-News.com, we published our 18,247th article today.

Seven days a week with the help of 78 volunteer writers in 16 countries and an endless list of news contacts, we endeavor to show the world that honest news has a place. If you have resources to share with us please let us know. We also have a PayPal account at the top of the front page and every cent counts, believe me. If you can appreciate what we do, then please help.

If this world has a chance then we are a large part of the potential answer. Maybe you are too.

Sometimes I think we started this too soon. I would like to be wrong. One thing is for sure, we have been at it hard every day for a long time and we have a serious archive system and every aspect of what we offer is always available to our viewers for free, unlike other media.

Please help keep Salem-News.com alive. I am always available to answer questions, my email is listed below.