On February 13, 2007, I was hanging around the house and getting in Dr. SJ’s way with whatever she was doing. To be rid of me, she suggested I start a blog, knowing how much I liked to write. So I did. Simple Justice was born.
As of today, SJ has 13,336 published posts, of which about 12,960 are mine. There are 300 drafts in the hopper, posts that I wrote (or at least started to write) and then decided not to post. There are 14,960,345 unique visitors and 170,781 comments after moving from my original platform at GoDaddy to WordPress when the original platform was discontinued in 2013. How many visitors and comments before the switch are lost to the ether.
I was a second wave blogger, coming after such luminaries at Walter Olsen at Overlawyered, Eugene Volokh at Volokh Conspiracy and David Lat at Above the Law. For a period, there was a robust corps of criminal law blawgers, most of whom have long since faded away whether from boredom with writing, the loss of eyeballs to less rigorous social media or the sense that they’ve written all they wanted to write. How many times can you write the same post about a dirty cop or bad decision on qualified immunity or the counterproductive ideology of the woke?
Nonetheless, SJ is still here and so am I, writing because it’s what I do, whether anyone reads it or I’m just murdering pixels for nothing. Is there a future where people prefer to read something longer or deeper than a twit? Is there tolerance for thought in a world where tribal allegiance and a chantable slogan are sufficient to establish one’s righteousness?
Where does it go from here?**
*Tuesday Talk rules apply.
**No, I’m not quitting, so let’s not go there.
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Happy Birthday!!! Putting out something every day requires more work than people imagine, and blogging requires a thick skin because people can be pretty savage in their comments.
Happy Birthday. Keep up the good work. It is truly appreciated, as was your recent appearance on Smoke ‘Em.
Happy birthday to SJ.
This is not Corinth, and surely you are not enduring punishment for the sins of your random inhospitable conduct. But be honest: there must be those Camus-like days when you feel like Sisyphus pushing a boulder up the same hill. Mais non? FWIW, Scott, I read SJ before I read the local obits, so you rate. I truly marvel at your steady toils, and also hit the tip cup a bit. HBD, SJ. (Ps. There must be a song about 17.)
Please don’t let it be “Dancing Queen.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxwAB3SECtc
Happy birthday, SJ!
Wherever your nose takes you. It’s a mitzvah. Thank you!
From the perspective of a cranky 70-something guy who managed to stay retired for about six months before deciding to go back to school learning more about a trade I enjoy daily and that has morphed into a business I can’t wait to get to every morning, I say thank you and keep it up. If not for the unwashed masses like me, then for your own mental health and agility.
Happy birthday, SJ! As someone who has followed intermittently since the late 2000’s, it is always a breath of fresh air to read your posts in the morning, even if I disagree vehemently with you. I look forward to reading your blog as long as you decide to continue with it. Cheers, and woe betide anyone who dares to describe you as “prolific.”
Happy happy, my friend.
Happy Birthday from Dad and me. You’ve given us many hours of educational and worthwhile reading. Looking forward to many more.
You’re doing a heck of a job there Brownie! We trust the wife, Dr. SJ, is now satisfied. Or has she found something else to complain about? Marriage is a tough road to hoe. Many have tried, and many have failed. It’s painful,…and costly, trust it.
Seven days a week, 52 weeks a yearhas always impressed me. You must have some posts on stand-by for the rare day when inspiration fails you.
Happy Birthday!!!! And lots of congratulations for sticking to it!
Howl – Guitar Dave: Not Harry Chapin “Always Seventeen” or Fleetwood Mac “Edge of Seventeen?”
Let’s hope we are all here to read your posts in year 34.
As one of those criminal law blawgers whose blog has essentially gone fallow (though I keep thinking I’ll reinvigorate it one of these days) I’m delighted that yours hasn’t faded away.
Happy Birthday.
I was thinking about you the other day as a pondered what to eat for the SuperBowl.
Happy birthday, Simple Justice.
Been awhile, the math problems are gone!
I’m really glad your wife wanted you to go bug someone else.
I still remember when, as a baby lawyer, I discovered your blog. I’ve learned a lot from you over the years and if you write another 10,000 or so posts, I won’t be mad at it.