I’ve been getting many emails from readers (and I’m sorry I haven’t responded personally to them all yet, I hope to) who honestly love reading NRO but who honestly don’t buy that we need money. Heck, why would you believe it? The problem, I’m told, is that NRO looks too good. The product is too good. How can a full-fledged magazine come out every weekday, with treats for the weekend too, and not be poshly rewarded?

Well, we’re rewarded in good feedback, impact on the Hill, in Baghdad and elsewhere, but that, you see, is why we are as good as we are. Because we believe in it. We care about the product because we know it is worthwhile. There are people here who have given up holidays and weekends and, goodness knows, many a weeknight, to work to bring you the best we can on a shoestring budget. NR has always been that way. And now, filling the gaps that a fortnightly necessarily leaves, that’s what NRO does, with mostly the same, shared staff, and shared budget. Everyone familiar with National Review–I know some of your are happy, long-term subscribers–knows of its financial limitations and its need to husband its resources. That’s reality, the nature of the opinionjournalism beast. And yet, because this is about a mission and a philosophy, the sages of National Review have made a choice to put money into NRO–necessary deficit spending–because they know it’s the right thing to do. Everyone at NR knows the vital importance of National Review Online, this daily, hourly, near-universally accessible clearinghouse/buzz machine-or cyber think tank, as Mark Levin puts it in his audio message. The impact that NRO has had on the American political and cultural scene had made investing in it a necessity. But it is an investment that had put a tremendous burden on our whole National Review operation. NR has never made a profit in its 50 years of existence-and NRO isn’t helping matters.

A few people have asked me: Should I give to NRO or the starving kids in Ethiopia? Different levels there, but I’d give to both. I do. I’m not trying to put us on the same plane as a group that puts food in a child’s mouth but I would like to think that we have done a little something to advance some crucial, life-and-death issues. I know we have. I wouldn’t waste my time if there weren’t a real-world point to this all. I don’t think any of us would.

In fact, you’d be amazed how many NRO authors have given money in the past few days of the fundraising drive. And, I tell you, these are mostly people who are not in comfortable offices themselves-they’re writing while the kids are asleep and sending their work in the wee hours, being edited in the wee hours-and all hours. Why go through the trouble-and spend money, too? Because they know it works. And they also know they can’t get the kids off no-frills ice cream for the summer with the NRO pay. They know firsthand we’re not messing around with money.

Anyway, I do apologize for all the bombardment. But then again, this is all free, and this is a few days of making the case. NRO is some 10-20 pieces a day, continuous commentary and analysis and reporting, with people-you’d be surprised-who write for nothing. Like, as in zero. I’m not whining. No one is. But these are the facts. And this is why we are heartened and sincerely grateful for every contribution that comes our way. Thanks for hearing us out and thanks for considering adding your financial support to NRO. And, yes, if your NRO-reading cousin happens to be a millionaire, you might nudge him a little!

We’ve got all the links you need on the homepage to donate or subscribe to NR Digital or the paper edition of the paper mag, the institution WFB founded in 1955. Make use of them if you can. And e-mail me if you have any questions or problems.