The stats
for the first 5 days of November have been surprising, too.  We
have averaged 1,400 readers per day.  And, thanks to Dawn Mueller
posting links to Blog for Iowa over at Kos during an Iowa candidates
thread, we had our biggest day ever on October 11, with 2,170 readers
and 2,777 page views.  (We did have one day with higher page
views; October 19 hit 2820 page views.) Truly amazing.



I’m sure
we all realize that the progressive movement is in its infancy.  I
am proud of how hard we’ve worked.  But if my leaving grants me
the right to offer one piece of advice, let it be this.  We are in
this for the long haul.  It took the neo-cons 35 years to set up
the structure that now poisons our democracy.  It’s going to take
us a considerable length of time to repair it.  So, pace
yourselves.  Take the down time you need.  Get some
rest.  Find a way to make the movement a consistent part of your
life in a way that you will be less likely to suffer burn out.  We
need you, and more important, we need you to take good care of
yourself.



Now that
we don’t have a national election hanging over our heads, we can focus
on what is most important, and that, of course, is building the
progressive movement from the ground up in Iowa.  Iowa is where
it’s at because this is where we live.  You may have heard the
rumors that the DNC is thinking of taking the first-in-the-nation
status away from Iowa because Kerry didn’t “win.”  Well, if they
do, that’s the breaks.  Would it kill us to let some other poor
souls give up two years of their lives every time the presidential
rolls around?  Whatever happens, our top priority must still be
Iowa.



I have
just added some Writers’ Guidelines to the right sidebar of Blog for
Iowa.  We welcome contributions about the progressive movement, in
general, or pertaining to the progressive movement in Iowa, in
particular.  I’ve set up two links.  Click on the top link to
read the Guidelines on the web; click on the bottom link to download
the Guidelines.



I don’t
know what my plans are or how long I’ll be AWOL – if it’s a short
period of time, this big goodbye is going to look pretty silly. 
Anyhoo, I’d like to take this opportunity to say some thank yous.



Dr. Alta
Price:  Alta and her enthusiasm drive Democracy for Iowa. 
She’s the one who got the ball rolling.  She’s the one who funds
Blog for Iowa.  And you’ll probably see her at your door asking
for your input as Democracy for Iowa works on some bylaws and
endorsement procedures.  Keep your eye on this gal.  She’s a
go-getter.



Darrell
Lewis and Molly Regan:  This one is rather personal, so if those
kinds of things tend to make you blush, skip to the next
paragraph.  During the last seven and a half months that I worked
to set up and run Blog for Iowa, long periods of time passed when folks
remembered to read the blog but seemed to forget I was here.  If
it weren’t for the moral support I received from Darrell and Molly, I
would have quit long ago.



Darrell
Lewis, Dave Inbody, and Dick Stater:  Once when I was talking to
Alta, she commented that she thought it was funny that she and I were
“co-founders” of Democracy for Iowa because she didn’t know any two
people who knew less about politics than we did.  That cracked me
up because it was so true.  So, that being the case, I would like
to thank these three gentlemen for teaching me everything I actually
now know about politics.  You’ve been kind and patient teachers.



Our
Regular Contributors:  I’d like to thank our regular Blog for Iowa
contributors for their hard work and fine contributions, including
Connie Wilson, Ira Lacher, Darrell Lewis, Ted Remington, Andrew Smith,
Christina Butts, and the non-partisan Iowa Policy Project.  (If I forgot someone, drop me a line and I'll add their name!)



Trish
Nelson and Ellen Ballas:  I’d like to thank the co-coordinators of
Rapid Response – Iowa and everyone on the stellar team they worked so
hard to create for never letting up in the fight to hold the media
accountable.  I’d also like to mention a special thank you to
Trish Nelson for setting up a system that allowed us to send out press
releases in an efficient manner.



Our
Candidates:  I’d like to thank our beloved progressive candidates
for putting themselves out there to give voice to progressive
values.  Personally, I think there is nothing harder than being a
candidate, unless you’re a Republican incumbent, and then you just hide
out and sit on your behind during the whole campaign season, until the
last two weeks, during which the Rove manual instructs you to do radio
and TV ads and mailings smearing and lying about the reputations of
your hard-working Democratic opponent.  But, I digress.



The
Campaign Staffers:  I’d like to thank all the campaign staffers
who helped keep Blog for Iowa in touch with what was going on with our
candidates.  And I’d like to thank all the campaign staffers, in
general, for giving your all to get the word out about your/our
candidates.



The Meet
Up Hosts:  A special thank you to the Iowa Meet Up hosts who have
kept the ground game going: Dennis and Robin Roseman in Iowa City, Alta
Price and Molly Regan in the QC, Dick Stater and Sue Astley in Cedar
Rapids, and Colleen Jennings in Des Moines.



And last
but not least, I would like to thank Cliff Day for taking over Blog for
Iowa for me.  It’s a big job, Cliff.  Always remember,
running the control panel is nearly impossible if you use Internet
Explorer.  Mozilla it must be!  And, of course, I’d like to
thank Howard Dean for awakening a movement, a movement that allowed us
to network extensively with folks who understand what’s what. 
This thing is bigger than anyone realizes.  We just haven't reached critical mass yet.



Just in
case you didn’t know it, ALL the articles ever posted on Blog for Iowa
can be accessed through the search feature on the left sidebar. 
I've made 788 posts, and some have links to as many as five other
sources.



AND A BIG
THANK YOU to all the readers of Blog for Iowa (including our good
friends from Nebraska and Wisconsin).