Why I have ads on my site and why I ask for donations

This is a continuation of my previous posting.

Nobody likes Ads, especially the annoying popup ones. Least of all me!

Well, I put them on here for one simple reason….

*Cut the sob story music*

I have not worked a “normal job” since 2006. There is a huge story behind it that dates back to 2003. It is long, rambling and if not told the right way, makes me sound like I am whining; which I am not at all.

Short and sweet version: I attempted a career change back in 2003, that ended up blowing up in my face. I was able, with the state’s help in getting my class A CDL license. (That’s a license to drive a semi truck, for those who don’t know.) Well, after I got it, I made some mistakes along the way, that effectively rendered me out of the driver’s seat. Drinking was not involved at all. What happened was, instead of being smart and getting a job with a big trucking company. I decided that I wanted to stay near home; mainly, because I am an only child and my parents needed the help. Which is more so now, than it was back then.

Well, I ended up going with a small trucking company and ended up making a rookie mistake and ended up with 2 points on my license in 2004. Basically, me and a city light pole got into a fight and the pole; and by proxy, me — lost. 🙁 Thankfully, nobody was hurt and there was no damage was done to the trailer or truck. The light pole? Not so much. Snapped that puppy off at the ground.

Well, basically it meant this: 2 points on license = being labeled high risk by other trucking companies = not being to find a job in the field I trained for.

At the point, I got pissed and said, “screw it!” and I wanted to find something, but because Michigan’s economy was in the pooper; there was nothing around here, at least nothing I was qualified for. 🙁  Honestly, if it were not for my parents, I would be living under a viaduct somewhere.

Speed ahead to 2006…..

I had just left a Church that I attended for a while, a independent Baptist Church no less. I had been royally stabbed in the back by a so-called “Pastor” there. (and believe me, I use that term about him very, very, very loosely. He was no “Pastor”, he was a hireling hack, who had zero business being in the pulpit.)

I had seen stuff about blogs, but I blew it off as kiddie stuff, like MySpace and that sort of a thing. This was until I discovered political blogs. My eyes lit up and my wheels started turning in my head. Now, keep in mind, at that time; I was still on, what I like to call, “the skeptical left”. I was not a Bush fan at all; I still am not. By 2006, I was convinced that the Iraq war, which I initially supported, was a huge judgement error on the President’s part, at the time. I also was not a fan of the Republicans either, I admired Reagan very much. But, I thought Bush was an idiot.

You have to understand me. I grew up in Southwest Detroit, my Father is a retired General Motors worker. Yes, that means that the UAW is a big part of my family. Having said that, there is another side to me. As it is spelled out elsewhere on my blog here, I am a Christian, I have been for 35 years now. (Which makes me feel so old! 😥 ) Needless to say, Church was a big part of my life, when I was younger. I went to Christian Schools all my life. The “God & Country” movement was something that I was a big part of in the 1980’s.

To put a label on it, I was what you would call a conservative Democrat or a “blue dog” Democrat. I was not too big on the Republicans and because of my working class upbringing, I felt a connection with the Democratic Party. I didn’t agree with them on Abortion or the guy stuff. But, I felt that Democrats were more in tune with the concerns of my family and more notably — Me. My parents or myself, we never donated any that party. We just voted that way.

Now back to 2006, I was becoming more and more angry at Bush, the Iraq War deaths were piling up like cord wood and I decided to do something I had not done since I was like in the 7’th or 8’th grade —- I decided to start writing again. I had not done it in years, I just never felt the need to. But, I felt it was time again.

And so, in 2006, I went to blogspot.com and registered a blog. It was called The Populist. The blog was hacked by either Chinese hackers or by some neoconservatives who didn’t like me and my political stance. I have an idea, who was behind it. But, I cannot prove it. So, the point is moot.

…and that was 10 years ago. Needless to say, my political stance has changed…. quite a bit. In 2007, My blog was hacked, by that time — my opinion of the Democrats had dropped to a all-time low. The democrats never stopped the Iraq War. They talked a mean game, but they did nothing to stop it. They were using it as a wedge issue against Bush. I felt that to be hypocritical. I also felt that Hillary was being ridiculous, when it came to the primaries. I already had a good deal of disdain for her husband; considering what happened in Waco in the mid-90’s. This is why I never was on board with the Democrats. I remember when the Clinton-Monica scandal was happening, I remember thinking, “Why doesn’t he just resign?” Bill Clinton had besmirched the White House and America.

This was when I started Political Byline. I ran it for 9 years. First as a Centrist, and ever so slowly, I began to lean to the right. Somewhere in there, I discovered Pat Buchanan. I had found my political ally. I still read his columns faithfully. He is as close to Reagan as we’ll ever get today. In 2011, after Obama ordered the draw down of troops in Iraq. I decided to put that blog in inactive status and shut down for a while. It lasted about 5 weeks.

I went back to blogspot and created another blog —  and started over. Thoughts and Rantings and the domain I chose, was something I pulled outta my… behind?

Later, I was able to pony some money together and bought a domain and was able to secure some cheap hosting. I later moved to a better host that let me pay yearly.

…and here I am, 10 years later. Still writing about the left, that I was once a part of. Pointing out the obvious and offering a different idea. I’m not rich doing it. But, I am having a good time. 🙂

Your comments are welcomed. 🙂