Dear Supporters of “The Thirsty Quill,”

As we enter our third week of writing and publication, I feel that I should take a brief moment to say “thank you” on behalf of everyone who has invested their time, energy, and talents in the successful launch of “The Thirsty Quill.” Although it would be quite easy to get distracted by the pressure of daily deadlines, or by the overwhelming tasks that require our attention, we cannot forget that it is because of our readers that we have experienced the aforementioned success in such a short period of time. Again, you have our utmost gratitude for your support, and our ears are open to hear you speak up, speak out, and speak often.

While we have had an amazing experience in sharing ‘The Quill’ over the past two weeks, now would also be an appropriate time to reiterate our mission and purpose to you, our audience.

After our launch, “The Thirsty Quill” received an enormous amount of feedback in the form of emails and Facebook messages (join the Facebook Group here). Most were positive and supportive in nature. Still, regardless of their content, each and every one of the messages received proved to us that we had “struck a chord” with our readers. And while we have responded to each and every private message that has been sent our way over the past two weeks, I would like to once again share with you (perhaps for the first time if you are just joining the discussion) just who we are, and what we’re trying to do at “The Thirsty Quill.”

First and foremost, we are a political blog that has been established to promote the ideals, values, and principles of those who would identify themselves as “Conservatives.” While we typically identify primarily with a pro-Republican base, we are not limiting the “thinking boundaries” of our publication to a narrow “balance-beam of ideology.” Doing so would be foolish. We know what we believe, yet we also know that we (as a “Conservative” base) seem a bit confused as to how we define ourselves here in 2008.

We have been asked if we are “Traditional Conservatives,” “Modern Conservatives,” “Christian Conservatives,” “Fiscal Conservatives,” and even “Neo-Cons,” just to name a few. Wow…

How about this: we’re just “Conservatives.”

“The Thirsty Quill” endorses a ‘traditional’ form of government based around the foundational principles as set forth by our Founding Fathers and The Constitution. Yet, we also believe in a ‘modern’ notion of limited government interference with our rights and our liberties. The bigger the government, the smaller the individual…and that’s not what we want to see.

We typically endorse ‘faith’ as it pertained to most of the gentlemen who framed our founding documents, but we’ll follow their lead in making certain that we don’t “force” our religious ideals on others. Religion must be a choice, not a manmade law. We won’t hint at the idea that one has to be religious, for that is a decision better left between them and their conscience. We do, however, believe in the ideal that there is room for religion inside our government…there just is not any room for government inside our religion. Long live the phrases “In God We Trust” and “One Nation Under God”…just don’t come sniffing for any tax dollars in our collection plates.

Fiscally, we believe that capitalism and freedom in the market drive competition, inspire entrepreneurialism, and are generally more beneficial to the success of our nation…and our people. In short, we do the work with our hands, so keep your dirty hands out of our pockets. And while we are often charitable in our giving to those in need, we believe in the notion that there really is “no such thing as a free lunch.” Hard work is the foundation for prosperity. Government crutches, handouts, and giveaways are nothing more than haunted houses built upon the eroding sands of working class Americans.

We believe in the innocence of the lives of the unborn, and remain unapologetic for this stance. Yet, we also believe in the old adage that “the punishment must fit the crime” for the scumbag who would harm his fellow man in a criminal act.

We are staunch supporters of our Armed Forces, and we honor, value, and respect those who wear (and have worn) the uniform. For this, some may refer to us as “War Hawks.” Yet, we tend to prefer the more endearing and ‘fuzzy’ title of “Red-blooded, flag waving, God fearing, apple pie eating, football watching, National Anthem singing, and ‘mess with us, you’ll get a tail kicking’ Americans.”

That is who we are…

But at ‘The Quill,’ we’re also interested in knowing just who you are. That’s why we built this blog in the first place.

We want our readers to become our writers. We want to know your perspectives, even if they don’t always align with our own. We want to print articles that stray a bit from that narrow “balance-beam” line of thinking. We’re never going to endorse Liberal ideology…but we also don’t want every article we publish to sound exactly like the one that ran the day before…

Where is the real “thinking” in that?

Isn’t it about time you pick up your quill and be heard?

Warm Regards,

Corey Thompson

“The Thirsty Quill”

corey@thirstyquill.com