And they're off ...

Elwood: It's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses.

Jake: Hit it.

Thus begins Blogathon 2005.

The rules say "no pre-writing." I couldn't figure out if that meant "no writing until it begins," or "no writing until half an hour before it begins to get your post up," so I split the difference. It's a few minutes before 8 (central time -- the Blogathon begins at 9 eastern) ... and I figure I should go ahead and get down a couple of notes so that I can post them on time and get off to a good start. It will be right at 8 when I actually finish this and post it.

First of all, THANK YOU to those who have pledged to my Blogathon campaign or anyone else's!

Secondly, if you haven't yet, pledging is open until August 9th. Pick a good cause, and help it out. I'll be getting in plugs for my own charity, Doctors Without Borders, and selected others, through the 'thon.

Third, I'll try to keep this interesting. In the interest of the concept, I eschewed gathering a bunch of material in advance. I'll not only be writing extemporaneously, but researching extemporaneously. So bear with me.

Fourth, this is a political blog. No, I'm not going to stay away from politics for 48 straight posts. Ain't gonna happen. Once again, I'll try to keep it interesting.

Finally ... well, let's go (world clock says 8:02 a.m., mine says 7:58 a.m.)!


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