Why I Will Be Posting Less at c99 until after the General Election's Over
Frankly, I need to rejuvenate and heal up after what's been a brutal schedule blogging about this election over the last eight months here, and elsewhere.
I've made no secret that I suffer from an autoimmune disorder that I've been living with for the last 23 years, or roughly 40% of my life.
My chronic illness and other health issues have been steadily declining as I've gotten older, and particularly in the last year as I devoted (for me) an extraordinary amount of time covering this election cycle. I've posted over 160 "essays" at caucus99percent alone since becoming a member in March. These have included everything from general analysis and opinion pieces to what I would label citizen journalism (e.g., my coverage of possible infiltration of the Sanders' campaign by Clinton operatives, evidence of election fraud, Clinton's shady fundraising activities, etc.).
I also became very actively involved in working as a high profile volunteer for the People's Revolution in connection with their event held on July 23rd in Philadelphia, The People's Convention. During June and July, I often spent 10-12 hours a day promoting the event here and on other social media platforms, fundraising, and performing numerous other tasks, including outreach work that ultimately helped us get Nina Turner and Jill Stein to appear at The People's Convention as our featured speakers. I also traveled to Philly to work the event and attend other DNC protests. To be blunt, I massively overextended myself and am now paying the price for doing that.
After I returned from Philadelphia, my health declined precipitously. I literally wore myself out physically, emotionally and spiritually. That explains the decrease in posting here over the last month and my more frequent use of YouTube videos in place of written essays. I simply lacked the energy to do much else. And like many of you, I've felt angry, depressed and stressed out over what happened at the DNC and at all the other crap that occurred thereafter. In effect, I've been running on fumes for quite some time, while trying to pretend such was not the case.
Thus, for a while now I have been contemplating significantly reducing my blogging activity here and elsewhere. Next week, I have some unpleasant (for me anyway) medical procedures scheduled. Hopefully, things will work out for the best and I'll be able to regain a measure of improvement in my health that will permit me to get back to doing what I love most - writing about the issues I care deeply about. None of them at this point involve writing about the details of an election campaign that I've increasingly come to see as a toxic, meaningless and futile exercise, at least from my perspective. I have never been a big general election blogger anyway. Never has appealed to me, despite the time I devoted to doing it this year.
I do intend to post few more videos (two - maybe three) over the next few days because I have a few things I still want to say before taking my leave of absence (don't worry, none of them will have anything to do with any request to "moderate" the words you use to describe a certain lying, deceitful, corrupt, venal war criminal running as the Democratic Party's nominee for President). I'll do my best to keep them brief and to the point. I'll post one here later today that explains in greater detail the reasons why I am "moving on" from anything having to do with the general election.
I won't completely absent myself from c99. I'll probably still read and comment here occasionally, but don't expect to see much of me as an "essayist" for a while (i.e., until after the coronation).
As for c99 in general, I hope the fundraising drive goes well so JtC can continue keep this place open. This site has meant a lot to me personally, and I'm willing to bet it means a great deal to many of you, as well. In any event, it's been a lifesaver to have such a site available where I can post my stuff without fear of censorship or trollish personal attacks from Hillbots, especially in light of the fact there are so few "left wing" forums online anymore where one can feel safe expressing an opinion that is not 1000% in support of Hillary and Team Blue.
So, this isn't a "so long and thanks for all the fish" post, but more a "I'll see you when I see you" one, and rest assured I will be seeing you. In the meantime, all my best to everyone who comes to this site, whether to post an essay, comment on said essays, or merely to read the highly informative and quality content c99 has to offer.
Steve
Comments
Take care of yourself! N/T
Democrats, we tried to warn you. How is that guilt and shame working out?
Best of luck.
It's good for everybody mentally and physically to walk away from the political issues once in a while.
I myself make several trips every year to a remote location where I leave behind the phone, internet, tv and the other trappings of modern life. It does wonders for my well being.
Try leaving everything but survival necessities behind and see what wonders it can do for you.
Again, best of luck on your self imposed hiatus.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
Resting will be good
Hope you have some good books, movies and music to settle in and relax with.
We'll carry on
Just get healthy. You can't aid the effort from the other side of life.
Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.
Rest up and rejuvenate but
I will miss your cogent, at all times informative, and insightful essays. Many times during the 2016 sham TPTB have called a primary, your essays were a bright light, illuminating what was really happening despite the unified MSM's attempts to herd us into the abyss. Get strong, Steven D, and come back to us as soon as you are able.
Take good care of yourself
and thank you for all the work you've done to keep us so well informed.
Most important, take good care of yourself.
Please, now and then, post a brief essay, letting us know how you're doing.
Hope you find activities you love, other than "election stuff" - read some of your favorite books, find new ones to enjoy too.
Be well.
Will do
Thanks.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
Take care of yourself, Steve.
You will be sorely missed.
There is very little to be gained from the presidential election discussions. All of the options are problematic.
Very few of us will have the opportunity to cast a vote for a liberal.
I am going to start thinking in terms of basic necessities I will need when rationing during the Big War starts.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
take care, steven...
i hope that your procedures go well and that you take your time and heal up afterwards.
thank you for your many contributions at c99, we'll look forward to seeing you when you get back to 100%.
We understand, but will miss you! You are a terrific writer
and political analyst. Do check in once in a while and let us know how things are going.
Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.
Wishing you my best, Steven_D
You've contributed so much. Please rest and take care of yourself and get better. We love you!
x0 x0 ~OaWN
~OaWN
Enjoy your time away and best of luck with your health.
You did work your behind off on behalf of us all, and at this point, I don't see any way to change anything regarding this election except to hope she gets freaking indicted. Even then, so what. Trump? Biden? pfft. Take care Steven. Hope you will let us know how your tests work out.
dk
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
If there is anything worth telling
I will dkmich. Thanks.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
Well, I will miss hearing from you
Always great to see what you had to say -and you kept our spirits up when they were dragging along the bottom many times. Thank you so much.
And, get better. No use running yourself ragged. No use for you, no use for anybody. It is not usually said, but you have to take care of YOURSELF first. Have to. I had a saying around my house when the kids were little -if mom is not happy, no one else is either! So be happy, get well/better.
And thanks!
take care of yourself, Steven ...
... and hope to see more of you on the other side. Be well!
Peace and Health go with you, Steven!
As an autoimmune myself, I understand the pains you suffer.
Care well for yourself and heal!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Sorry to hear that
I hope you are in a good place with managing your pain right now, or if not that you have a good support system. Life's a B ... Oh wait, better not start that up again.
Thanks.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
My AI isn't too bad, thank Cat.
So far, it's just psoriasis all over the freakin' place. But as I grow older, I know from my mother's experience that this can evolve into psoriatic arthritis, which can hurt lots worse.
Again, my best to you. Solidarity!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Bitter pill to swallow sometimes.
You were going to say that, right?
Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.
Yes
Yes I was. Thanks for refreshing my recollection.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
Get and stay as healthy as you can. I also have an
auto-immune disease, and I know what an utter drag it can be, not only putting up with the symptoms, but knowing that nothing can currently be done to cure it. Good luck with fighting it into some sort of manageable problem.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Sorry we have that in common
It's funny how many people I come across online that have autoimmune problems of one kind or another. I hope the best for you as well.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
Rest up and recover, Steven!
Are your adult kids off to school and work now? Less mess that way. Take care.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
My daughter is back at school - Senior year, undergrad
My son works and lives with me, but we get along great. I probably lasted as long as I did because they are both very good people, and have been (mostly) very supportive of the father's odd and eccentric habits.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
The obvious comments here are...
a) I'm glad you'll still be hanging around
b) Take care of yourself first.
I don't know if I've ever said this directly before, but I appreciate the stories you do. Thanks for the effort.
A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard
Wish you well, Steven. Another member's
recent break from a series, prompted me to reappraise, or examine my own situation, and what I felt was the beginning of 'burnout'; therefore, cutting back from blogging from 14-18 hours a day, to barely a quarter of that time--as well as allowing myself days off. Of course, since your're a prolific essayist, I can see where 'cutting back' may not be a sufficient remedy--there is a big difference.
Bottom line, sometimes folks sorely need some R&R. Glad you're taking care of yourself, and your health. Hope your tests render very good news, and that you'll drop back by to keep folks posted.
Everyone will look forward to reading your posts again, when you're ready to resume. Without a doubt, this has been the most grueling primary and general election cycle that I've ever observed. Frankly, it won't end soon enough for me and mine.
Take care . . .
Mollie
“I believe in the redemptive powers of a dog’s love. It is in recognition of each dog’s potential to lift the human spirit, and, therefore, to change society for the better, that I fight to make sure every street dog has its day.”
--Stasha Wong, Secretary, Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD)
National Mill Dog Rescue (NMDR) - Dogs Available For Adoption
Update: Misty May has been adopted. Yeah!
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Thanks Mollie
I love those dog pictures of yours. I should have told you before now. I'll be back - don't worry. But as you said after a while it's a recipe for flaming out if you keep going over the same shit time and time again.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
You're a stand-up and honorable guy in my book, Steven.
It was a great pleasure and uplifting to have met you in person, and everyone else who made it to Philly for the C99 meetup. That in-person bond of sharing and opening up to each other is what solidifies real community that at the end of the day really can change the world, or at least nourish the well-being of folks like us here, who aren't content with the status quo and have the courage to stand up to do something about it. We must do it again.
Taking some time to yourself, especially now after having been at it so intensely lately, is probably the best decision you'll make right now. The weather upstate is probably perfect. Restore yourself with it, read books, take walks and remember the small things that make it all worthwhile, such as family, friends, community and fulfilling endeavors that give you joy.
Thanks again for your commitment and dedication. It's people like yourself who give me hope. If in taking some time off you decide NYC is in your plans don't hesitate to get in touch.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
It was great to meet you too Mark
and your family, despite the somewhat bizarre circumstance of hiding out in the subway and then that tent(?) at the Liberty Bell while all that hard rain came down on us. In the end, it turned into a beautiful night and I give you a lot of credit for that. Take care.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
Steven
When we first started talking about giving certain writers front page status, your name was the first one that came up. Your writing has always been well researched, timely, cogent, and well beyond the quality of most essays. I will sorely miss reading your essays for now.
I hope that you will take care of your health and hopefully it will improve for you in the future. I also hope you will drop by from time to time to let us know how you are doing. Thank you for all your wonderful contributions and may all good karma come your way. Nancy
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Well thanks for telling me that
It's much appreciated. Of course, in my view there are a lot of great writers here, and not much crap to wade through to find the good stuff. I am consistently impressed by the quality of the people who write and comment at this place. Was so refreshing after having spent so long working away for nothing in Kos' gulag, lol.
Know that this place has been one of the major bright spots for me since I joined.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
Take good care
We're in similar boats. I realize it's not easy to balance self-care.
'What we are left with is an agency mandated to ensure transparency and disclosure that is actually working to keep the public in the dark' - Ann M. Ravel, former FEC member
I admire you greatly as a writer and thinker, Steven
... and even more as a compassionate human being. I hope rest and self-care have you in a better place soon, whatever you then choose to do. It is always a pleasure and a privilege to read or watch you.
Be well, focus on peace and happiness in your life, and join us when you can.
Please help support caucus99percent!
Much love and many hugs, Steve!
You have been such an important part of this website ... I didn't really realize how much I depended on seeing your essays everyday until I saw your title here and let out an involuntary NOOOOOOOO!
Like everybody else said, please take care of yourself first and then come back to us when you are able. I would also like to point out that there are some Open Threads going and, even if you don't want to be political, you can still "hang out" and shoot the shit.
I'll be thinking of you and sending you good vibes, sir.
I miss Colorado.
Maybe after next week Shiz
I'll give that a shot. Thanks.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
Best wishes.