As 2021 draws to a close, we have to say it's been a rather mixed year all around. COVID-19 is still a threat, but nowhere near the threat it was at this time last year. Sane people have gotten vaccinated three times while the lunatic fringe still endangers us all by refusing to get even one "Fauci ouchie." And we seem to all be very slowly learning the letters of the Greek alphabet, as Delta may now be giving way to Omicron. So we're not out of the coronavirus woods yet.

But please remember at this time last year, nobody had been vaccinated, while now 82 percent of Americans age 12 and over have at least gotten their first shot and 70 percent have been fully vaccinated. We've obviously not quite yet reached the fabled "herd immunity" but we are getting a lot closer to that goal, at least.

Also a comfort is the fact that sane and rational individuals are running the federal government, instead of narcissistic lunatics and grifters and insurrectionists. The year started off with one of the most shocking events in modern American history, as a mob of conspiracy theorists and Trump cultists tried to stop Congress from finalizing the presidential election. Some of them are now in jail, while prosecutions continue. Granted, the leaders of this movement are still walking around free, but at least their attempt at overthrowing the government failed. That's something to be thankful for, obviously.

I have to say it has been a lot easier to write about politics this year than for the past four years. There have been frustrations and disappointments, of course, but they are all well within the normal range of political maneuvering instead of being batpoop crazy. That's a definite improvement, and it makes it a lot easier to sit down every day and write about current political events. At some points, I've actually been bored with the slow pace of things happening in Washington -- a statement I have honestly not made since Barack Obama was sitting in the Oval Office. So there's that, too.

Behind the scenes here at ChrisWeigant.com, things have been improving. We're using a new computer that isn't 20 years old, the office has been completely redone and revamped (a COVID project that has taken all year and is still not complete, but is nearing the finish line at least), and the process of reading and commenting on the news has improved greatly.

However, this hasn't been without its drawbacks. Due to the amount of time it has taken (as well as my inherent laziness), I have been severely remiss in answering the comments section this year. I do apologize and promise to make an effort to improve -- my first new year's resolution. You readers deserve better, I realize, so mea culpa maxima for falling down on the job so much.

Nobody's perfect, right?

But at least I have a much better outlook on next year, no matter what happens in the midterm congressional elections. I haven't thought about just walking away from blogging at all this year, which (again) is more than I can say for the previous four. So I am fully committed to providing reality-based commentary for all of 2022.

I am publicly making this commitment because I always see our annual pledge drives as paying things forward and not back. I am asking for donations to keep the site up and running for the next year, not to pay off bills from the previous year. Perhaps this year things will even be safe enough to attend the annual Netroots Nation convention again, which we have indeed missed for the past two years, due to the pandemic.

What your donations make possible is for the site to remain ad-free all year. I still have plans to update the entire look and feel of the blog -- which will indeed include (hopefully) improving the comment functions as well as making it easy to read on mobile devices. That is next on the list of improvements, now that the office is under control.

So as usual we are going to now flood you with adorable kitten pictures, in the hopes of tugging at your heartstrings so much you'll open your wallets and send some support to the site. Yes, we are completely shameless, we fully realize (heh).

Maybe dressing like Santa will help?

As we said... completely shameless. But we do hope we find a little something under the tree this year to make us smile...

The perfect present

We know it's been tough out there for some, which is why we are more than grateful for even a small donation.

Tiny presents can be adorable!

But of course, we're also happy to get larger gifts as well...

Maybe consider doubling your donation this year?

As we said, we know this year has been rough on many. In fact, it's made us more than a little crazy ourselves, from time to time...

Sometimes you have to just let the crazy take over

So occasionally we'll just take a flying leap at an impossible goal, just to make ourselves feel better.

I got it! I got it!

Other times, it just seems like everyone's gotten in too deep and forward progress has become all but impossible.

That snowed-under feeling

Or that we've all just bitten off a little more than we can chew...

The mighty hunter...

Even Santa Claus has limited leverage to make things any better -- I mean, normally we'd all be wishing that Joe Manchin got a lump of coal in his stocking this year, but that's exactly what he asked for so that isn't really going to work all that well. It's enough to make a strong cat cry out in sheer frustration.

Help!!!

But we remain optimistic, knowing that no matter how hard the slog may be, the effort to keep pushing forward will be worth it in the end.

Determination pays off

Kidding aside, though, for the rest of the month here you'll see our pledge drive thermometer graphic at the top of each and every article, so everyone can see how much progress is being made. For the past five years here, we have successfully hit our fundraising goal, so we hope to do so again this year too. This will allow us to keep the lights on for all of 2022.

I'm in charge of the lights!

Clicking on the thermometer will take you to our 2021 Holiday Fundraising Drive page, which helpfully explains (with just a few more kittens) the various ways you can donate (PayPal, credit or debit card, or by sending in a check). Or you can just click on the Donate button at the top right of every column, which will take you directly to our donation portal:

Clicking on this takes you directly to the PayPal donations page we have set up. Donations are accepted from either your own PayPal account, or from all major credit cards (you do not need to set up a PayPal account to donate by credit card this way, I should mention). Another technical note: you do not have to be registered as a CW.com site user to donate via PayPal in this fashion, either. So even if you've just been lurking here, please feel free to donate.

It doesn't cost all that much to run this website, but it isn't free either. So please consider donating to this worthy cause so we can continue to bring you columns without any advertising. What is this site worth to you, on a weekly basis? Well, just multiply that by 52, and send it along! Seriously, though, we would certainly be grateful for any donations you feel you can afford, and our motto has always been "no donations are too small to gratefully accept."

Please consider donating

Not cute enough? Need eyes that are even more mesmerizing? Well, try explaining why you haven't donated to this little guy...

I'd be ever so thankful for your donation...

We do realize that this year has been a hard one for many, even if it was a lot better than the last. So if your personal circumstances don't allow you to give this year, we certainly understand and hope 2022 works out better. Hopefully by this time next year, we'll all have all but forgotten about COVID and life will truly have returned to normal.

For those that can afford to give, we offer our profound thanks in advance. It is your donations that keep this site going and keep me at my keyboard pontificating about the politics of the day. I have been consistently amazed that this site has become self-supporting because when I first started blogging it never occurred to me that readers would want to show their support. But all of you have, over and over again, which is why we'll be entering our 16th year of doing this soon. That's pretty amazing when you think about it (George W. Bush was president when this blog started...), and we hope to keep it going for many years into the future as well. So please, give what you can and hopefully we'll reach our fundraising goal once again this year, too.

As always, we heartily wish that everyone's holiday wishes all come true and that you and yours have the most wonderful and magical holiday season imaginable!

Visions of sugarplums....

-- Chris Weigant

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant