About the Last Four Years

A Fond Farewell

Four years and four score days ago, I started writing The Point as a way to talk about important things, have a bit of fun, and maybe just maybe launch a new (well, re-start an old) career.

And now all three of those have been accomplished, meaning The Point (and sister site Checkmate) have reached the end of their lifespan.

Not that I do not want to continue writing – it’s been really interesting. But I have a new job that requires me to dormantify both sites.

Last week, I finalized the rather long process (hence no posts for the last few weeks) of officially becoming the Director of Strategic Communications for the National Institutes of Health.

Yup – that NIH.

The post is a presidential appointment – thanks President Trump! – and obviously means no more columns full of my trademark sledgehammer wit, made-up words, actual facts, excessive typos, and pithy (okay, mean but funny) commentary.

My career – for now – as an analytical polemicist has come to an end.

I want to thank every subscriber for their support, especially the paid subscribers (of which there were admittedly few – my net pay was about $80 a month.)

The comments have been great, the re-posts have been beyond appreciated, and hopefully I was able to create a few smiles (albeit of the terrified kind when one looks at the EDD and the pandemic and the labor department and, well, everything else) along the way.

Never forget that a person is more likely to agree with you if they are smiling…unless they are a sociopath.

I want to also thank (good lord, sounding like an Oscars speech) every site that either published my work directly or picked it up later (would have been nice to get paid for the millions of clicks generated – really – but oh well.)

These sites include:

RealClear Politics/Science/Policy

California Globe

Brownstone Institute (actually that one’s important as it led to my new job)

Lew Rockwell

Mises Institute

Issues and Insights

Zero Hedge

Heartland

Daily Sceptic

California Policy Center

And many, many others

Between The Point and Checkmate, I published more than 1,150 pieces, which works out to be a post every working day…and more than about 1.6 million words.

Probably should have made more than $4 grand but oh – lol – well.

A quick technical note – I have been trying to access Substack support but that has been an accursed failure (the support/help is really really bad) to “turn off” the paid subscriptions as I cannot earn any more money from the sites (a government ethics – yeah, I know, contradiction in terms - requirement.)

So, if you are a paid subscriber please do cancel out/transfer to free subscriber (I’ll keep trying on my side.)

The articles will remain up on both sites – people who scrub their internet writings have something to be ashamed of – but I will not be checking in on comments, etc. after tomorrow.

To every source, every reader, every commenter, every subscriber I want to say thank you.

You made my new endeavor possible.

Ps – I left comments for this final post so you can yell at me for joining the big bad government…or leave a suggestion …or a dirty joke…or whatever.