The Daily Dozens Returns

Welcome to The Daily Dozens. First of all, thanks for visiting the site. I realize that you're probably here primarily because you know me and you don't want to be rude by ignoring my email or the link I've posted on Facebook. Thank you for embracing your guilt. Seriously, I hope that what you read here gives you legitimate reason to return in the future. My hope is to provide readers with sober, smart, and more than occasionally irreverent commentary on issues of importance -- be they cultural, economic, or political -- as well as on less easily classifiable questions that might be a smidgen less important. Trivia, too, deserves its day.

As we are all reminded daily, these are extraordinarily difficult times. The American economy -- and, indeed, the global economy -- are mired in deep recessions, the U.S. remains involved in two wars (neither of which seems destined for a neat and tidy resolution), the American health care system is in crisis, and climate change looms as an ever-worsening problem. These are among the many reasons why I decided to revive The Daily Dozens, the original version of which I wrote and administered for a time in 2004.

Oddly enough, the first version of The Daily Dozens actually still exists. When I discovered this the other day, I was amazed, though of course the continued existence of the original Daily Dozens is fairly unremarkable. That is the way of the Web. Once something is created, it tends to live on, whether it deserves to or not.

In looking over my first attempt at a blog, I was struck by one thing: I had readers. There were actual people out there who took the time to read what I'd written. And when I stopped posting to the blog in the late summer of 2004, they took pains to express their disappointment. I hope the new version of The Daily Dozens inspires a similar loyalty, and I will express my loyalty to you now by promising to post at least one new item each weekday and to keep this blog alive for as long as it is feasible to do so.

Thanks for reading.