What Happened To Op-Ed News?

Hello folks, long time since I've been here and written anything. I've had several health issues during the past year and haven't written much on my own site. I read Op-Ed News on a semi-regular basis and a few months ago an extremely provocative Op-Ed was posted and I spent over an hour and a half preparing a well thought out comment and then attempted to post my thoughts on the issue. Was I in for a surprise...

Imagine my surprise when I found out that Op-Ed News had implemented a word count on comments that exceed a certain length - unless you pay for said privilege. I have to admit that I was offended by Rob's new policy. I have donated small amounts of money to Op-Ed News when I could, however I am on Social Security Disability and write about the poor and disenfranchised from experience - not what I read somewhere else. To state that it's gotten worse with rising food and gas prices would be a gross understatement. Furthermore, on a few cases we gave Op-Ed News an exclusive on articles we submitted - and that costs us advertising revenue, but did so because we believed that the subject matter was important enough that it should be widely disseminated to the general public. I should add that even today I still receive track-backs on articles that remain in the Op-Ed News archive which to this day still adds to their traffic.

I can appreciate Op-Ed News attempting to raise revenue; it takes money to run a site as large as this one, and the start-up costs can be horrendous if you contract with a professional web design company. Our site is much smaller than Op-Ed News, and only though an anonymous donation that specified we use the money for SEO and Web Design were we able to contract ourselves with a company to completely revamp ThePoliticalBandit/Justanopthercoverup just a few days ago - and it doesn't cost hundreds, it's far more than that...

If you're a Liberal/Progressive it's hard to get donations to help offset the costs of running any site, nevertheless one that receives a decent amount of traffic. In these times of a raging Class War, it's the Republicans and big business that have most of the money and not the people. The larger sites receive most of the donations while many of the smaller ones simply disappear. Holding on is often based on tenacity and a will to keep the public informed no matter what the costs are - and many of us are happy simply to survive the onslaught of a GOP that is hell-bent on destroying what's left of our fragile economy. That said, why punish people that were once part of the Op-Ed News community, especially those who used to contribute on a regular basis? To be honest, it's not as much of a punishment as it is a slap in the face, and worst of all, it favors those that have money to spend and discriminates against those whom are struggling just to stay in their homes and feed their families.

Finally, one last thought. There are some things that are personal - like why I actively sought another writer to join me at ThePoliticalbandit. But, to make my point I have to divulge information that to me is personal. Ever since I became ill with a mysterious illness/disease that still continues to plague me I have been looking for someone to inherit my site. Why? Man is mortal, and the only way we become immortal is through the written word and I want my site and writing to live on... For an individual with a checkered past like me, evolving to an individual that has attempted to make a difference for the greater good is what I consider to be my greatest accomplishment - and it has taken years - no - decades to accomplish. That said, I found another individual who used to post on Op-Ed News. His name is Mitch Gurney and then as now, he still cross-posts many of his articles on KeepAmericaAtWork.com. I don't mind because I am honored to have a writer (and now a friend and co-owner of our site) with so much talent regularly contributing to ThePoliticalBandit.

To make a long story short, soon after joining my site, Mitch submitted an article to OP-Ed News and he was rebuffed -- only because he joined what was then Justanothercoverup. To me that was petty -- and it didn't punish us, it punished the readership at Op-Ed News. Our traffic has been increasing dramatically, and it's been because of the depth and quality of Mitch's writing. The piece that he wrote yesterday is one of his best -- and it's steadily gaining in popularity. It's also one that should be widely disseminated.

I believe that Op-Ed News should rethink their policy in regard establishing what amounts to a pay-wall to receive full privileges. I have also noted that the traffic at Op-Ed News is not near what its potential is and do know that I am not the only person offended by said policy. Make no mistake; I still appreciate the wide variety of articles and Op-eds that are published on this site. I'm simply offended that because of my financial situation that I am some sort of a second-class citizen -- or at least in the eyes of Op-Ed News.