Some of you may have been wondering whether this was even going to happen this year, but here we are, happy to welcome you once again to our year-end begging season (where I shamelessly ask you to send me your hard-earned money to support this site and keep the lights on for the upcoming year).

The reason I held off launching this pledge drive until now is that I was feeling incredibly embarrassed and ashamed of myself because an entire year had gone by (once again) without the website being updated and rebuilt. So our big news: this is now underway! Woo hoo!

Somehow I just couldn't bring myself to ask for more money without finally making good on this long-standing promise, which is why I held off on this announcement until today. Last year, I had actually picked out a web developer and started the process, but he quickly left for foreign shores and "ghosted" me, so it wound up not going anywhere (and leaving me awfully frustrated).

But now I have settled on a new web developer, and the plan is to get a test site up and running before the end of the year. I will then publish a link to this site, so readers can go and try it out, while it is still amorphously under development. This way, you'll have a chance to offer up feedback on what you like, what you hate, or what you want to suggest for additional features.

The main goals of this upgrade are to: (1) make the site accessible from mobile devices and smartphones, (2) beef up and improve the commenting function, (3) update all the stuff on the site to modern standards, and (4) greatly simplify the layout, so it doesn't look like precisely what it is: a site designed and coded in 2007. The archive will be preserved during this process, meaning all the old columns and comments will still be viewable after the upgrade is complete.

My timeline for the whole project is to get the test site up and running before the end of the year, and then finalize everything and make the big transition at some point in January. This seems do-able, and I will keep everyone posted on the progress as it happens.

This year's been a rough one (obviously) for many out there, as we all deal with that sinking feeling every morning, as we sit down to take a look at the news: "Oh what fresh Hell is happening now?" It's been hard to take for all of us, but at least you readers can take a break whenever you need one -- here, I am obligated to follow it all no matter how bad things get. But we've all made it through almost the full first year of Trump 2.0, so I am feeling better about making the commitment to continue coverage throughout 2026. I always look at these pledge drives as forward-looking, which means when I do finally hang up my spurs and decide to stop blogging, you will likely learn about it at this time of year -- because I will post a message stating: "There will be no pledge drive this year because I can't take it anymore."

But I am even feeling a wee bit optimistic heading into the new year this time around, since it will be a midterm year and (gasp!) the Democrats actually seem to have the wind at their backs. It will be interesting to follow the developments of the midterm campaigns all year long, and hopefully we'll all get some welcome good news at the start of next November. One can only hope....

In any case, I am busy working on tomorrow's column (the first installment of our year-end awards) so forgive me for being brief in this announcement. I didn't even have the time to search for new adorable kitten photos! Here is one from a previous year, though, just so nobody gets disappointed at the lack of furry schmaltz:

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

I apologize for recycling the kitten photos, but it's been a rather busy week here! In any case, our goal as always is to raise enough funds to cover the costs of the website itself for the whole next year -- although I still have the money from last year that I earmarked for the site design upgrade, so I am keeping the fundraising goal more moderate this year. I just wanted everyone to know that I'm not double-dipping by asking for more money to rebuild the site -- you all already took care of that last year!

In any case, here are some more recycled kittens and even some recycled text to go along with it, to explain how to donate:

"So how do I donate?" you may be wondering. It's easy!

Throughout the month, at the top of each article and the main page, there will be a thermometer showing the progress of the pledge drive. Please note, this doesn't update itself automatically, but I try to keep it as current as I can to reflect the donations pouring in. Clicking on this graphic -- or clicking on the "Donate" item in the top menu bar -- takes you to a page with full instructions on how to donate by PayPal, credit or debit card, or check.

Or you can just click on the Donate button at the top right of every column, which will take you directly to our PayPal donation portal:

They have updated this link, so it is a lot easier to use. You will be directed to PayPal, where you will be asked to enter an amount to donate to "Pamphleteering Press," which is our corporate entity. There are buttons to donate from your own PayPal account (if you have one) or to donate via debit or credit card. And they've even added a little check box if you want to cover the PayPal fees that otherwise get deducted from your generous donation, which is always appreciated.

It's so easy to do!

So that's it -- that's my plea for the year. I want to provide this site completely ad-free for another year for everyone to enjoy, and I am asking everyone to give what they can to achieve that goal.

And within a very short period, I will publish the link to the test site, so you can all play around with the new design (even on your phones!) and tell me what you think. As I said at the start, I felt that this was mandatory for me to even ask for donations this year, so look for it soon!

Have a very happy holiday season, everyone!

"Are we done yet? Can I take this silly suit off now? Please?

-- Chris Weigant

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant