Good morning all!
Last night I recieved exciting news from a man named Daniel Kovach. Mr. Kovach runs a company called The Daniel Kovach Foundation Scholarships (http://www.scholarships-ar-us.org/), and he has selected me to be one of 10 finalists for the first ever "Blogging Scholarship" for college students. The prize? $5,000 a year! Since I'm a college freshman, that means $20,000 could go my way, which not only would allow me to avoid greater debt from college, but also enable me to contribute some money to future Democratic campaigns.
But I need your help to fulfill that mission.
http://www.scholarships-ar-us.org/...
Read on below...
First off, a little about myself. My real name is Stephen Yellin, and I'm 18 years old. I'm a freshman at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, where I'll be probably majoring in American history with a minor in Writing.
I've been an active blogger since I was 13. After seeing Al Gore (a man I admire) give his beautiful concession speech in 2000 (I cried), I decided to get involved in politics. As luck would have it, about this time I also discovered the Internet. Being young, naiive and a good writer, I figured I could promote Democratic candidates and offer my two cents on politics online as well as offline.
The rest, they say, is history. After first posting at PoliticalWire.com (before it ended its comments section), I moved on to MyDD, then Daily Kos in early 2003. Kos made me a front-page blogger in the middle of 2003, when I was 15. You can read more about my early blogging and ideas at http://www.wired.com/... (written by Ryan Singel in January 2004).
Traditionally, I write about campaigns and elections : who's ahead, who's gaining ground, who said what and when, and who deserves either your support or derision. However, my biggest "claim to fame" came entirely by accident. It's actually what launched "Blogosphere Day" for posterity.
http://dir.salon.com/...
At the speed of blog
After a Republican congressman resigned unexpectedly, a lefty blogger called for readers to send money to his opponent -- and the cash poured in. By Farhad Manjoo
uly 23, 2004 | On Monday afternoon, July 19, Stephen Yellin, a 16-year-old politics junkie and frequent contributor to the lefty blog Daily Kos, noticed an intriguing development in Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District, an area to the north of Philadelphia. The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call was reporting that Jim Greenwood, the district's popular, moderate Republican congressman, had unexpectedly decided not to seek reelection, meaning that his House seat was now up for grabs. This is the sort of news that sets partisans like Yellin jumping for joy, and so, of course, he blogged about it.
"I would suggest that we get involved ASAP," Yellin, who goes by the handle MrLiberal on Daily Kos, wrote. Virginia "Ginny" Schrader, the Democrat running for the open seat, "supports civil unions and is against Bush's positions on Iraq and the Patriot Act," he noted approvingly. But she was woefully low on cash -- as of June 30, Schrader had only $7,000 in the bank. Yellin implored Daily Kos' politically obsessed readers to change that situation: "This is completely out of left field, folks, and it gives us another opportunity for a pickup," he wrote. "Ginny Schrader is the luckiest candidate in the nation today, but can her luck hold?"
What happened next was beyond anything that Yellin had expected. Hundreds of people began pitching in, documenting their small donations in the comments threads of Daily Kos and other blogs: "$25.01 coming from me." "$30.01 from me too." "Yeah, this liberal kicked in $20.01." (Daily Kos readers add in the extra penny as a kind of signature for the site, letting a campaign know where the money's coming from.) The tide came in for at least two full days, and when it was over, Ginny Schrader, a candidate who was recently unknown to even the most obsessive campaign watchers, found herself flush with more than $30,000. She was suddenly a political force to contend with...
As old-timers here know, Ginny was ultimately unsuccessful. But her inspiring story in July catapulted her to political prominence, and the blogs to its first major taste of national fame. As for me, I had the pleasure of being in the New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer as a result. Being at the 2004 DNC didn't hurt, either. :)
Two years have passed since then, and I continue to blog regularly at Daily Kos and MyDD. For five years now, I have continued to push for the candidates I believe can make a real difference in this country, regardless of ideology (but indeed of my party affiliation). I have done much of my work for free, because I believe that my contributions to politics are not for sale. I work because my liberal values demand an America that will be stronger, fairer and more prosperous than in the past.
And I will continue to blog for that reason. But I need your help to make sure I can do so with more of a safety net financially.
So please, go to http://www.scholarships-ar-us.org/...
and cast your vote for me (my button is the last one on the list). I'm sure the other candidates are nice people with good blogs, but I'm a bit partial when it comes to my being there. :) The voting period lasts until November 5th at Midnight, Pacific Time, and the results will be announced the next day.
So please, make a blogger's dream come true, and help me win $20,000 for my efforts in the political blogosphere. Thanks!