Saturday, June 12, 2010

iPOPA Says: "Goodbye, and thanks for all the fish?"

Some of you may have recognized that, as of late, my posting has been infrequent.

This is simply a function of that classic American conflict: doing what we love to do versus doing what we need to do.

As all bloggers know, we do it for the love of writing and the love of politics, not for the money. (As most bloggers also know, what we earn from Google Ads as a function of dollars per hour would be illegal even in a Singapore sweatshop).

For me, though, doing this blog well has always been very time-intensive. I put a lot into research and crafting the right phrases and analogies (though when I re-read my posts, I ALWAYS find some typo...sorry for that).

Being painfully objective, I literally can't afford to do it any more.

I'm going on a hiatus for the foreseeable future. Whether this is truly permanent (meaning I won't be back in a year or two) remains to be seen, but unless somebody out there wants to put me on payroll, this is likely me signing off as a blogging political commentator. If you don't hear from me again in this forum, I want to thank you all for your loyal readership. I hope you've enjoyed iPOPA and at least once thought, "I never thought of it like that. That's a good way to put it."

They say the best measure of a man's character is his deeds, not his words. But sometimes contributing to public discourse by putting the words down is the deed. I hope you agree.

iPOPA


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22 comments:

Dave said...

POPs: You're a solid thinker & writer. Catch a break, do some stretching & we'll look for you to return; in blog or as a guest commentator.

Paul K. Ogden said...

Noooooo!!!!!!!!!!!! Say it ain't so. We don't get intelligent, independent-minded Democrats blogging enough. Heck, we don't have them on the Republican side either.

Kelly said...

Aw, dang.

Diane said...

I'm sorry to hear that as I just discovered your site and enjoyed your writing.

Karen said...

Thanks for a great blog!

Had Enough Indy? said...

I'm so sorry to hear/read this. I hope all goes well for you and that you return. Your's is a unique and well reasoned voice that we can use as a community.

Jon E. Easter said...

I always try to step away, but I never seem to be able to do it. I get what you're saying. You know I'll see you around at various functions. Your blog filled a specific niche, and you did it well. Be proud of yourself.

As Seneca said, "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." I am sure we'll hear from you again and very soon.

Until then, Chris, as I always tell my students, BE GOOD!

Blog Admin said...

Melyssa came back after an extended break. There's nothing wrong with relaxing a bit, if it's for a month, 6 months, or a year.

Good luck, re-charge your batteries, do whatever you need to do.

Anonymous said...

You were just getting wound up....please don't quit on us...we need your viewpoints.

interestedparty said...

Oh, I will miss your good writing and interesting thought processes. And your willingness to go on record with your conclusions. Will have to look for replacement reading, not sure I'll find one. Please take only a sabbatical and reinvent your way of keeping them honest and us informed.

Wags said...

You'll be missed. And an excellent Douglas Adams reference, if I may say so myself.

guy77money said...

Catch up on all the fun things in life Chris! Writing blogs can be fulfilling in many ways and it helps to open the readers eyes to many of the injustices in the system. But it rarely changes anything in life. IPOPA has been well written and your topics have been throughly thought out. It has been a pleasure reading your blog. I know how you feel about the time issues. With my kids, coaching, family time, yard management and work I find it hard sometimes to even get time to read my favorite (Ogden is number one on my list) blogs. So take time off and enjoy the summer, see a movie and if all else fails do some lawyering! ;) OK OK maybe something worse run for office. heee heee heee Have fun we'll miss your commentary.

Jerame said...

It's a sad day, my friend...I hope you're back soon.

Andy said...

Sad to hear this news. I've only discovered your blog in the last year but it quickly became my favorite around Indy. But that was a double edged sword: it was too good to last. I always wondered how you balanced full time attorneying, a family, and such an insightful blog. But if one has to fall off, I'd rather it be the blog than your income or your wife.

I hope you continue to referee from afar the local "scene" and whisper in the ear of one of your fellow bloggers when something seems amiss.

Leslie said...

Chris, Your blog will be greatly missed by many who regularly read it even if they didn't all post comments! I hate to lose your thoughtful and provocative analysis of current events and hope you'll consider being a guest commentator on other central Indiana blogs. Thanks for all the time you've spent on this blog!

Aleea said...

will miss your commentary Chris. Hope to see you back on here in the future.

M Theory said...

Chris, you are the only independent blog out there on the democrat side of things. I generally think your analysis is spot on, even though I disagree with points.

I quit blogging for almost a year and spent time taking care of me which included getting the exterior of my house renovated, re-landscaping, and gardening. I also quit Facebook and cancelled my cell phone account. In short, I had to get things quiet, spend time with myself, and get my life under control.

Unlike the partisan bloggers, we're not paid and don't reap special favors for our blogging. We're not paid communication staff of political parties. It's a volunteer effort.

I appreciate this blog a lot and hope you'll come back after you chill for awhile and take care of your life.

Your contribution, important.

varangianguard said...

Sorry to see you go Chris. You've been so effective your blog was blocked at my work. ;)

I hope to read you occasionally posting on other blogs.

Blog Admin said...

Good luck in all of your lawyering and other endeavors, Chris. Your blog is a breath of fresh air. Hopefully you'll consider re-joining the blogosphere for a bit for 2011 elections.

steve on the slow train said...

And I just discovered your blog. With Mitch Daniels angling for the White House, I hope you'll be back. I understand your dilemma, though.

P.S. I ended up dropping Google AdSense before I earned a penny. I was overrun by "Defeat Democrats in 2010" ads.

Phillip D. Hinkle said...

Chris, I am saddened to learn about your potential retirement. Having been away from blog reading for couple of weeks I was not aware of your possible "sign-off" until now.

You have contributed a great service to the community over the time you have been blogging. And yes, even though I don't agree with you always, there have been times I have paused and said; "haven't thought of it quite like that."

Take some time to refresh and reinvigorate the bod, and hopefully return on a selective, maybe once a week or so mode. Should you decide that this indeed was your signoff, you will be missed. Thank you for your insight and service to your community.

Phil Hinkle

Unknown said...

I just found some of your work on the IBJ and the best I can do is quote some Shakespeare. "Good riddance to bad rubbish"