It's that time of year again! That time when I shamelessly ask for your money, to support the site and keep the lights on for the upcoming year....

And, as always, there will be kittens! Adorable fluffy kittens, to mesmerize you and break down your natural resistance to opening your wallet and handing out free money.

It's been a rough year, obviously, and there's not a whole lot to look forward to next year, but I am committed to commenting on the clown show politics has now become in order to try to make some sort of sense of it all for the whole of 2025.

The biggest thing readers will have to look forward to is our upcoming site redesign, which (hopefully) will be underway in January. Our site is indeed woefully out of date, but that will all change for the better very soon now. But this time around, I won't be doing the programming work myself but instead farming it out... which is going to cost money.

So let's move right along to the kittens, shall we?

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

Of course, we here at ChrisWeigant.com have long been committed to bringing you content completely free of ads. Isn't it nice to visit a site where animated or video ads aren't driving you bonkers on the sidelines? Where you don't have to scroll past a dozen or more ads embedded in the text, just to read a single article? We certainly think that's a good thing, but doing that means we get zero revenue from them, so we have to ask once a year for our readers to support a clean and completely ad-free site through their donations.

Ad-free content is so peaceful!

As mentioned, early next year the site will be updated, so everyone will be able to easily read the articles on phones or other devices with the text appearing legibly without having to size it and scroll it awkwardly (because the current code actually predates when people could do such a thing!).

I wrote about the site redesign effort last week in greater detail, so if you missed it due to the holiday, I encourage you to check it out. There's a list of my priorities for the site redesign, and a whole bunch of reader suggestions as well already. Feel free to add more.

It'll be a bit late... the redesign present won't be in your stockings... but hopefully when the new year begins we'll all be happy with the way it all turns out.

A different sort of stocking-stuffer

"So how do I donate?" you may be wondering. It's easy!

Throughout the month, at the top of each article and the main page, there will be a thermometer showing the progress of the pledge drive. Please note, this doesn't update itself automatically, but I try to keep it as current as I can to reflect the donations pouring in. Clicking on this graphic -- or clicking on the "Donate" item in the top menu bar -- takes you to a page with full instructions on how to donate by PayPal, credit or debit card, or check.

Or you can just click on the Donate button at the top right of every column, which will take you directly to our PayPal donation portal:

They have updated this link, so it is a lot easier to use. You will be directed to PayPal, where you will be asked to enter an amount to donate to "Pamphleteering Press," which is our corporate entity. There are buttons to donate from your own PayPal account (if you have one) or to donate via debit or credit card. And they've even added a little check box if you want to cover the PayPal fees that otherwise get deducted from your generous donation, which is always appreciated.

It's so easy to do!

What with the site redesign costs, we've set our pledge drive goal a little higher this year, but we're hoping we can reach it and cover the costs of the programming and the mundane "keeping the lights on" expenses as well. We are looking forward to creating a brand-new and very elegant site for everyone to enjoy!

WE will decide whether the new site achieves "elegance" or not.... hmmmph!

From all indications, 2025 is going to be a real rollercoaster of a year in politics. It'll have its ups and downs, no doubt, but we'll be right here throughout it all, commenting snarkily from the sidelines.

We hope everyone has the best year possible, as we wind up our usual plea to everyone's inner Santa with one final (and irresistible) holiday kitten:

"Are we done yet? Can I take this silly suit off now? Please?

-- Chris Weigant

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant