Self-Reliance, Idaho-Style

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Mark Schmitt’s post here isn’t to be missed. A number of self-described conservatives in this country, especially out West, are under the impression that they’re all highly self-reliant and don’t need government assistance for anything. Idaho’s governor recently said: “Here in Idaho, we couldn’t understand how people could sit around on the kerbs waiting for the federal government to come and do something.” But he then goes on to cite an example—a dam breaking in 1976—in which, as Schmitt explains, the federal government did have to come in and do something. Curious delusion, that.

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We just keep seeing it happen: Newsrooms owned by billionaires and corporations are spinning their own narratives, overwriting the truth, following only stories that keep them in the pocket of those with even more power.

Not here. We’re not owned by anyone. We’re not part of any cult that demands our allegiance to a bottom line. We’ve spoken up and spoken out while other newsrooms changed their stories—or cut them altogether—to keep the C suite happy.

Our mission is to find the truth and amplify it. That’s why we’re independent, nonprofit, and, crucially, funded by readers. The investigations on our website will always be free to read, watch, and listen to, but our newsroom is powered by readers who pitch in what they can so we can keep asking the hard questions.

Can you chip in today?

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