**BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS**

From The Redneck Intellectual

(The birthplace of The Redneck Intellectual)

I’m writing today to give you a few updates on what is happening at and with The Redneck Intellectual going forward.

Mrs. Redneck tells me that I’m not working hard enough, nor does she think I’m producing enough. She thinks that I’ve become uppity and something of a dilettante and that my time would be better spent taking out the garbage, cutting the lawn, painting the house, and, ya know, basically doing all the chores that regular husbands do. She also tells me that I’m not keeping her in the lifestyle to which she became accustomed when she lived under the roof of her father’s home. (Yes, she’s still playing that card after almost thirty years of marriage.)

Bottom line: she’s demanding changes, so some changes are in the offing.

Speaking of Mrs. Redneck, I’m reminded of Socrates and his marriage to the immortal Xanthippe. The Redneck Intellectual may not be a philosopher in the Socratic sense, but he certainly appreciates Socrates’s wisdom.

None of this is to suggest that my Xanthippe has driven me to philosophy, but it is to support the old adage that “if momma ain’t happy, nobody’s happy!!!” I’m pretty sure you know what I mean if you’re a husband, or, to paraphrase Bubba, “you feel my pain.”

So, with that in mind, I’d like to share with all of you a couple of announcements.

Announcement #1

A week ago today (Sept. 10), I launched a new website, EdWatchDaily.com. The website will be an aggregator blog for all things related to K-12 education and Higher Ed. I hope to provide a “one-stop resource” for all the news on education that’s fit to print. I will continue to publish “Dumb and Dumber” most weeks here at The Redneck Intellectual, but I’ve started EdWatchDaily.com to reach a broader audience.

As you all no doubt know, America’s establishment education system is imploding. The system is irreparably broken, and it cannot be reformed in my view. It must therefore be abandoned. The time has come for ordinary Americans to reclaim and assert their moral right to choose how and by whom their children will be educated. EdWatchDaily.com will shine a bright light on the state of America’s education system, and it will provide you with the necessary information and knowledge to make wise choices about the education of your children and grandchildren.

I will be linking to articles every day, all day and night, with my own pithy comments to introduce each article. Eventually, I may have guest bloggers join me. My hope is that you will find the EdWatchDaily.com experience to be easy on the eye and something that you scan quickly, take from it what you need, and then move on.

I hope you will be a regular visitor to EdWatchDaily.com, and I would be grateful if you would spread the word.

Announcement #2

I’ve been publishing The Redneck Intellectual for ten months now. It’s been a lot of fun, but it’s also been a lot of work. Thus far I’ve published 24 long-form essays, 20 installments of “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” and five issues of “Dumb and Dumber.” I’ve done all of this on top of my day job as a Professor at Clemson University, as the Executive Director of the Clemson Institute for the Study of Capitalism, and as a writer, public speaker, and consultant. In the last 21 months, I’ve also done some 80 TV, radio, and podcasts. And now I’m adding EdWatchDaily.com to my daily work schedule.

All of this is to say that I hope you’ve found value in the content at The Redneck Intellectual. Going forward, I plan to deliver the same amount of content and more!

So, now to the point: I hope that you’ll consider supporting my efforts financially. I have no expectation that I will be able to quit my day job with the revenue from TRI, but I do hope to generate enough revenue that I can take Mrs. Redneck out every couple of months for a nice meal at Chick-Fil-A. If I’m able to do that, I’m pretty sure she’ll stop nagging me to do chores and let me spend more time with y’all at my Substack (my version of the agora). Your financial support is also signal that you appreciate my work.

Over the course of the next few weeks, I hope to monetize The Redneck Intellectual in three phases.

Phase One: If you’ve enjoyed and profited from The Redneck Intellectual, I hope that you will consider making a $5 per month contribution ($10 discount for a yearly subscription) to the cause. (The paid subscription button should now be working.) My hope is that you’ll consider contributing simply because you derive value from the material I produce and you’d like to support my efforts. During this initial phase, all content at The Redneck Intellectual will be available to all readers.

Phase Two: In a few weeks, I will put some content behind a paywall (e.g., the long form essays and “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”), which will then be viewed only by paying subscribers.

Phase Three: I will expand the content behind the paywall for paying subscribers. Here are a few products that I’m considering adding to The Redneck Intellectual for paying subscribers: short videos on The Redneck Intellectual’s philosophic musings, videos of Mr. Redneck’s talks and interviews, essays from TRI readers/authors, audio podcast readings of my long form essays, monthly Zoom chats (over cocktails) with The Redneck Intellectual, and draft chapters from forthcoming books.

This means that I will probably have a tiered-payment system. The more you are willing to pay, the more content that you will receive.

Here’s the bottom line: I would be extraordinarily grateful if you would consider contributing a nominal amount for the value you receive from The Redneck Intellectual.

No worries if you don’t think it can fit into your monthly budget or if you think it’s not worth the money.

Everyone have a great weekend!!! And Go Tigers!