The United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization, one of the most important bodies on the planet, voted to give the Palestinian State full membership in the body. The US opposed, and by statute must now stop funding UNESCO.

We’ll never have the resources of an MSNBC — we don’t have an attached global armaments dealer. We’ll never even have the resources of a Huffington Post — we don’t have the luxury of a cushy divorce settlement driving us into the arms of a soft and lazy internet provider.

But we have one luxury no one else has: we have the most committed membership and the most responsive organization. So get on board. Don’t let Firedoglake get left behind. More important, don’t get left behind yourself.

Become a member of Firedoglake now.

As one of the oldest-timers around these parts, though, here’s my answer: the most exciting thing in the Firedoglake community is the very next thing. Now that we have a real membership infrastructure in place, t-shirts and stickers and webinars and meetups, we never know what the next exciting thing is. Because it’s right around the corner.

And you, as a Firedoglake Member, get to help FDL decide what that will be.

Cue the FDL Membership association – a brilliant idea conceived like many others at FDL: in our comments section. It allows us to continue to build our organization on donations from our supporters while putting us on steadier footing for our future. Since its inception, the membership association has revolutionized our work at FDL – we’ve become much more organized internally, and are churning out projects and ideas left and right.

You get all of this value from FDL seven days a week, every day of the year. If this community is something you value, something that you really build into your life, please consider becoming a member.

For $5 or $10 a month, the cost of a bucket of chicken, you can not only be sure that the voices and community you value are maintained and strengthened, but you also become a card carrying member of the Professional Left!

FDL is a place where you can connect with and “talk” with people like you who want to know more than the canned pablum fed to you by Big Media and where your own thoughts, analysis and opinions are heard and can spark action. It’s a big noisy, sometimes rambunctious family we have going here, but we’re all together in our search for truth and in our desire to effect positive change.

I read about 80-100 news sources, from blogs to online news sites to traditional media, every day. Wake up, fire up the computer, scan, scan, read, scan, read, scan. And this is not including the email pitches I get, the various blasts of press releases and other information shared by colleagues and readers and friends, the contacts with whom I periodically check in, and on and on. Most of what I do at Firedoglake does not appear on screen.

Become a member of Firedoglake now onlinr or call (202) 506-3907

By popular demand, we’re celebrating the honorific that has been bestowed on our community by offering a special Firebagger membership level of $65 per year that comes with an “Official Firebagger” t-shirt.  (If you’re already a member, you can order t-shirts and tote bags here.)

Become a member of Firedoglake now online or call (202) 506-3907

Going through literally tens of thousand of government documents to find these few nuggets of information is sadly something very few organizations do well (well, besides large, private lobbying operations), but this is something at which Firedoglake really excels.

The spirit of Madison is on display here on a rolling basis. And everyone has a role to play, a way to engage more deeply in the community. By becoming a member of FDL you can get not only discounts on progressive events and activities, but ways to interact at a greater level with our writers and editors. More than anything, membership will foster ways to get involved. Just like I saw in Madison.