photo: Stitch (flickr)

As one of the long-time denizens of Firedoglake, please let me say this Sunday morning: Happy Birthday, Jane Hamsher! This place you created, long ago when you and Christy Hardin Smith (ReddHead, back in the day!) decided there was bloglife after you ‘met’ at DailyKos, has become the most true, the most quoted, the most looked-to, the most progressive American weblog on the internet.

Also, for certain people, the most troublesome. And we like that!

I remember sitting at work one day years ago, sneaking a quick peek at one of your posts that was quite popular that afternoon (back when comments in the double-digits were reason to feel influential!) and thinking, “I have something to say.” So I typed something seemingly profound, after only reading your blogposts for months, edited it to a fare-thee-well, and then hit the Submit button. I was, suddenly, in the thread as a commenter.

And you responded!

From then on, I was hooked on this place. Jane, you created something very special here at Firedoglake, as anyone who took the time to find out the reasons behind your blog’s name understood immediately. Then, amazingly, you were kind enough to ask me to blog here too, back in the day when Late Night was, um, even more wide open than it is today.

We’ve been ‘together’ through some amazing, scary, frightening, exhilarating times, Jane. Those times, that did not kill us, made us stronger. And you have always made sure that Firedoglake was honest, true, real, and compassionate. The place has your heart, and Kobe’s fire. Thank you for sharing Firedoglake with all of us.

As I am wont to type, frequently and regularly whenever Firedoglake pushes the edge of another envelope, whether it is activism, progressivism, liveblogging, partnering with unlikely but newsmaking allies, or simply finding the pressure point that moves policy mountains: present at the creation of a new media paradigm, etc.

Thanks for making it happen, Jane.

Thank you for creating this wonderful place on the internet. Won’t the rest of you Firepups join me in thanking the cosmos for Jane today, and wishing her a happy, happy birthday?