Skip to content

Tag: crowdfunding

The New, Improved Approximately 8,000 Words
A closeup of the face of an excited, open-mouthed lemur, covered in fluffy white, gray and black fur. Overlaid on this image is a logo of a fist holding a pencil and the words "Thank You!"
December 12, 2017
Kit
Leave a Comment

The New, Improved Approximately 8,000 Words

Posted in Website

This is just a short note to say thank you to all my supporters. I’ve just upgraded this homepage, Approximately 8,000 Words (a.k.a. kitoconnell.com), to a dedicated Wordpress hosting plan.

What this means is that my website should be faster and more reliable, with less downtime. It also gives me room to grow, if I decide to expand the site. I hope to bring you a lot of important, exciting, and enlightening stories in 2018 and I’m taking some time this month to take care of some behind-the-scenes fixes like this.

I couldn’t do this without the backing of my supporters. Thank you so much for making it possible to bring you my words and my reporting each month.

Read moreThe New, Improved Approximately 8,000 Words
Hemp Road Trip Documentary Turns Cross Country Journey Into Powerful Pro-Hemp Film
The Hemp Road Trip crew holds a U.S. flag made from hemp in front of the Iowa State Capitol. (Hemp Road Trip)
July 19, 2017
Kit
Leave a Comment

Hemp Road Trip Documentary Turns Cross Country Journey Into Powerful Pro-Hemp Film

Posted in Journalism, and Ministry of Hemp

For a year and a half, Rick Trojan III and his friends traveled around the country demanding the legalization of hemp.

“We did 48 states total the last 18 months,” he told us when we talked to him by phone earlier this week.

Inspired by his experiences as a hemp grower in Colorado, Trojan wanted the Hemp Road Trip to show the nation why this valuable crop should be legal nationwide, and educate people about its numerous benefits. He found the biggest barrier was overcoming decades of fear driven by the War on Drugs, but most of those he met were open to listening and learning.

Read moreHemp Road Trip Documentary Turns Cross Country Journey Into Powerful Pro-Hemp Film
Laid Off, But Still Gonzo: A New Way To Support Kit’s Writing
Activists march with a puppet of slain Honduran climate justice activist Berta Caceres. Philadelphia, July 25, 2016. (Kit O'Connell)
November 28, 2016
Kit
Leave a Comment

Laid Off, But Still Gonzo: A New Way To Support Kit’s Writing

Posted in Journalism, Life, and MintPress News

A little over a week ago, I learned that MintPress News is “restructuring,” and eliminating most of their original writing, including my position as staff writer. That means the end of the full time job I’ve held since October 2014.

I’ve had a lot of adventures with MintPress, from getting banned from Nieman Marcus while covering the American Legislative Exchange Council to traveling to Philadelphia for the protests at the Democratic National Convention. It’s been a shock to realize that my work there will come to an end in January, and just days before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.

2016 has been a bizarre year, full of unexpected losses, unbelievable stories and a few hard-won victories. Around the country, hundreds of organizations and thousands of activists and organizers are planning not just for January 20, but the next 4 years. I don’t want to lose my voice just as things are really popping off in America.

With your help, I can still be there on the front lines publishing stories of resistance. Today, I’m launching a Patreon account as a way of supporting my ongoing journalism. I’m asking my readers and fans to donate on a monthly basis as a way of keeping my writing alive.

Read moreLaid Off, But Still Gonzo: A New Way To Support Kit’s Writing
A new direction for my journalism
An orange and white cat leaps through the air in a typical living room. (Flickr / Darron BirgonHeier)
March 2, 2016
Kit
Leave a Comment

A new direction for my journalism

Posted in Archive, Journalism, MintPress News, and SXSW

SXSW is known for the amazing diversity of talent it features, but also gets a bad rap for being corporate dominated and inaccessible to many people. It deserves a lot of that criticism, honestly. But, since I have access to essentially every part of it, I should take advantage of that and share it with all of you.

I want to give you my unique gonzo perspective on the event, and report on some of the weirdest, most interesting, or just unfairly overlooked panels, artists, and films. SXSW takes place this year from March 11-19. Here’s a small sample of what I’m looking forward to covering:

Read moreA new direction for my journalism
Donations Pour In To Cover Costs Of Whistleblower Chelsea Manning’s Appeal
An artist’s depiction of WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning as she see herself.
July 21, 2015
Kit
Leave a Comment

Donations Pour In To Cover Costs Of Whistleblower Chelsea Manning’s Appeal

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

Lawyers for Chelsea Manning, the U.S. Army whistleblower imprisoned for leaking classified documents that revealed secret details of the United States’s military empire, will be better prepared for an upcoming appeal of her sentence after an ongoing, highly successful fundraising campaign.

Manning leaked hundreds of thousands of documents to WikiLeaks in 2010, revealing the inner workings of American diplomacy and warfare. Her leak included “Collateral Murder,” a video showing U.S. helicopters firing on and killing a group of people that included two Reuters journalists and a family of bystanders that attempted to rescue the victims. After the government subjected Manning to solitary confinement and other conditions many argue were torture, a military court convicted her of violating the Espionage Act and sentenced her to 35 years in prison in August 2013. She is currently serving her sentence at an Army installation at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

The alleged mistreatment is at the heart of an upcoming appeal of her conviction, but Manning and her supporters first needed to raise funds to mount a credible legal defense. Manning began tweeting in April, and later that month she tweeted a link where supporters could donate to her legal aid fund. Her appeal raised $40,000, but this fell far short of the needed amount.

Read moreDonations Pour In To Cover Costs Of Whistleblower Chelsea Manning’s Appeal