Today I am formally announcing my own blog, originally titled The Bonddad Blog. Actually, the true credit for this idea must go to Gina Cooper who organized the first YearlyKos convention and is organizing the second as well. She has been very encouraging in this and I wanted to give her a big thank-you for prodding me (well, sort-of) into this decision.
When you go over there (here’s another conveniently placed link for your clicking pleasure) you will notice I have been posting for about a week. I wanted to get use to the idea and give the place a "blogged-in" look when newcomers arrived.
So – why am I starting a blog? There are a lot of reasons.
First, I get to write more about economic events. For example, when there are several economic numbers on a specific day, I can comment on them if I want to. Or when I see a story that catches my interest, I can write a quick blurb about it. I can react more to events as they happen. I will caution, I will be balancing writing with my job as an attorney, so sometimes I won’t post because I’m in court, or at depositions or whatever. However, I’ll try and keep up with the news as quickly as possible. Basically, there will be more shorter posts along the lines of "take a look at this".
Secondly, I can talk more about various markets using more technical analysis to see what is actually going on. I’ve wanted to do that for a while, but Kos articles just aren’t a good place for that. We can get a bit more into the nitty-gritty of what is actually happening in various markets. I will caution – as I do in the conveniently placed disclaimer in the upper-right hand corner of my blog – this is not investment advice, just my own opinions.
Third, I have been searching for a blog home for the last year or so. Several people have graciously offered (and I have asked a few) their blogs for my writing. Thanks to MSOC over at My Left Wing for taking a chance on an economic unknown and Jean-Paul over at the Agonist who responded positively to my request as well. However, it’s time to make my own home that is all economics all the time.
This does not mean I won’t be posting here at Kos anymore. As I mentioned above, my own blog will have more "quick hits" of news and economic numbers along with market observations. However, I will still be posting my longer pieces here at Kos and my own blog. This community means too much to me to permanently leave.
Now I would love to think that I’m wonderful enough to keep everybody’s attention. Even Coltrane and Hendrix get old after awhile (OK, maybe not. But you get the idea). So I have asked a few people to guest blog on various matters. Stirling Newberry and Ian Welsh will be writing about economic matters, bringing their considerable intellect and insight. Bruce McFarland who writes over at One America will also be contributing his ideas. All three of these gentlemen are top-notch writers and economists and I am flattered they have agreed to contribute.
There is another area I personally want to focus on: unions. With the Democrats taking the Hill and the middle class under siege, unionization is vitally important. As the Dems move forward over the next few years, it is vital to help labor. In addition, I think it’s important for labor and the netroots to develop a solid working relationship for the 2008 Presidential election. The combination would be electorally devastating if we can create a solid, mutually beneficial working relationship. So to that end, I have asked Tula Connell from the AFL-CIO to write about union issues. She will be posting once a week. Taylor Marsh – who did a great job covering the SEIU strike in Las Vegas – will be contributing on union matters as well.
I would really like if someone could write about the history of unions. I think it’s really important for the Progressive community to understand the labor movement, especially as we go forward. If there is anybody who knows the history and is willing to start writing about it, please let me know.
I have asked all of these people to contribute because I hope to make a place on the web that progressive economists can call home. That’s my grand, pie-in-the-sky hope for this. It’s really important for all of us to have a place to write, post and trade ideas. As the Dems start to develop policies it’s important they have a centralized resource for economic input. I hope to help create a place.
All of you helped me to gain a wide audience. When I started writing about economics on Kos, I had the lofty goal of raising the level of economic discussion within Democratic circles. Over the last two years –thanks to everybody who reads my articles – more people are aware of how important economics is, especially as we move forward. However, I could not have done that alone. Many people here have added insightful comments, emailed me important articles and observations and been kind enough to promote my articles so they could be read by a wider audience. In short, I have hardly done this in a vacuum. Without your input and help, I would not be able to do this. So I am asking you to make the jump with me. A blogger in the woods who writes an article is merely a lone voice. When people contribute their comments and insight, it becomes a community of people, whose ideas and energy feed off each other. The only way to build a community is with people who contribute their individual perspectives and knowledge. So I am asking you to do just that – to make The Bonddad Blog a regular stop on your internet travels.
And again, this isn’t a good-bye by any means. I’ll still be around because I love this place a great deal. However, I also want to expand the economic discussion, and my new blog (here’s yet another completely gratuitous post -- enough already, bonddad) will allow me to do that.
SSSSSSSOOOOOO – for a truly geeky, nerdy and wonky experience that will appeal to the inner-economist in you – or if you have a really bad case of insomnia you just can’t get rid of -- come on over to The Bonddad Blog.