First things first, a major THANK YOU to all of those who have stood up to show support after we were notified of being kicked-out of WordPress/Automattic web hosting in a transparent effort to remove our research content, discussion and political speech.

Notable thanks to Rush Limbaugh, Mark Steyn, Thomas Lifson, Jack Cashill, John Solomon, PJ Media, NewsMax, Lee Smith, Instapundit, Steve Bannon, Doug Ross, and hundreds of other important voices who showed support.

At an unnerving time it is overwhelming, humbling and very much appreciated to have our little corner of the internet receive that support.

CTH will not soon forget those who stand the gap together.

Additionally, hundreds of offers for assistance and pro-bono services are more than a little overwhelming; and the thousands of emails and contacts from people who recognized what this means in the bigger picture and reached out with support.  Thank you!

We could complete another decade and still never get around to expressing the appreciation we feel as we move forward, steadfast. CTH will always work diligently to be deserving of that support and fellowship.

I think we all recognize this specific issue is not about our Treehouse; rather, the stark nature of the issue represents a considerable change in tone amid Big Tech to exert pressure upon voices who express an opinion counter to the accepted narrative.  We are in very tenuous times, perhaps an inflection point, where political speech is controlled.

The republicans have done their familiar hand-wringing, teeth-gnashing and running to the microphones shtick to decry the Big Tech censorship… which is to say: they have typically done nothing about it.  Alas, the Rebel Alliance is once again on our own.

All of that said, unfortunately it is with an expectation the censorship will only get worse that we must advance our stewardship of the Treehouse community by ensuring the next website will not be vulnerable to any more advanced efforts at removal.  In order to continue the original goal of brutal sunlight upon the issues and challenges we outline, Treehouse 2.0 must be able to withstand any future efforts to deplatform our voice.

After a decade of research assembly this current site hosts over 35,000 articles and more than seven million comments.  Each of those comments contains a unique web addy. Combined with the internal citations, graphs and graphics that formulate the baseline of the research and analysis, that collective content represents a great deal of data to transfer to the next platform, which must be also strong and independent enough to continue the mission.

We believe the tech engineers and system platform design selected for Treehouse 2.0 will represent those objectives with diligence and foresight.  And we are excited to begin anew with some new technological aspects that were not even possible when CTH was originally launched.

Some exceptionally kind people have requested a subscription platform; however, it has always been my mission to provide the raw and cited details, with an opinion toward what it means, totally free for everyone to use as they choose.

I do not consider my finished products proprietary because they can always be made better by smart researchers who can find even more details for a bigger story, and make it better.  The site openness and accessibility is as important to me now as it was when The Last Refuge of misfits first assembled 10 years ago. CTH will never charge for access to the truth as we can discover it.

Additionally, this is your home.  Myself and the incredibly hardworking site admins consider ourselves stewards to this community.  YOU are what matters, so another important part of Treehouse 2.0 is to ensure your ability to analyze, discuss and provide your comments on the subject matter.  We will NEVER remove a commenting function from our website.  In fact, it is the crowd-sourcing work we have done as a community that has been the most thrilling and brilliant part of our work together. I ain’t losing that focus.

One area of discussion is the “blog roll” feature where we have always tried to link to a network of sites where additional content can be found.  In Treehouse 2.0 we may shift from site links to individual writer links where your favorite authors can independently launch their latest articles inside the architecture of CTH.  Essentially a blogroll of people, not websites.  How exactly to do this is still a work in progress. But I like the concept.

Based on the number of daily site visitors, essentially the scale of readership, strong architecture to support scale will almost certainly mean higher hosting fees.  However, if we can build-in proprietary or aggregate ad revenue it would likely offset the costs.

We are fortunate to have a large audience and significant page views, so increased site costs could be manageable.  However, that also means we must guard against demonetization, which is another significant attack approach used by those who seek to crush voices they oppose.  It is a manageable risk, but must be factored into Treehouse 2.0 with prudent forethought.

The size of CTH influence -the daily site views/visits- is what put us on the targeted radar, Treehouse 2.0 must also be able to operate at a scale accordingly.  I used to joke about staying as small as possible: “eyes of a mouse, ears of an elephant”, that worked until now.

I’ll also let you in on a secret, that’s why we kept CTH visually a little quirky. The “rag-tag” had a purpose.  The quality of content, much of which is assembled through our crowd-sourcing, was the driver of growth; we didn’t really care what it looked like.  Despite my own preference to remain rag-tag, Treehouse 2.0 will likely be a bit more, well, ‘fancy‘.

The key to Treehouse 2.0 is recognizing we are building something within a system that wants to see us removed. Being proactive about that will hopefully make us better stewards for our conversation.  Remember, YOU are the important part.

Without you CTH doesn’t really have a purpose.  I could stand outside shouting at trees with no impact; but together, sitting on the figurative porch, the conversation is rich with unique skill-sets, subject matter experts, and life-long experiences that make discussion so much more valuable.  Myself and the CTH admin team cherish the value you represent.

There were many great suggestions about pre-existing platforms to migrate toward.  However, we have a unique set of priorities; and with all of the above in mind, Treehouse 2.0 has specific needs. The proprietary research library is secure, we are now meeting to set up the architecture, and I appreciate your patience as the ordinary level of content is somewhat slowed by the amount of time coordinating the move.

I dislike the feeling of not being able to just share the brutal truths as I see them in this very tenuous time.  I very much dislike having to watch what I say for fear of running afoul of the speech monitors who would like to flip the switch and shut us down prior to the previously announced WordPress/Automattic eviction date of December 2nd.

Y’all probably figured out by now that Sundance does not cotton to being restrained.  I look forward to Treehouse 2.0 when we can get back in the fight; likely with an increased ferocity.

Apparently it was unsettling to the monitors when I said: “Trump because F**K YOU, is a very powerful force!“… The free speech police didn’t like that. It was all downhill from there.

But 73 million of y’all get it… I know you do.

Smile bigly and live your best life, it will all be OK.

Steadfast wolverines, “the best is yet to come.”

~ Sundance

Borrowing from Mike Vanderboegh – This is no small thing, to restore a republic after it has fallen into corruption. I have studied history for years and I cannot recall it ever happening. It may be that our task is impossible. Yet, if we do not try then how will we know it can’t be done? And if we do not try, it most certainly won’t be done. The Founders’ Republic, and the larger war for western civilization, will be lost.

But I tell you this: We will not go gently into that bloody collectivist good night. Indeed, we will make with our defiance such a sound as ALL history from that day forward will be forced to note, even if they despise us in the writing of it.

And when we are gone, the scattered, free survivors hiding in the ruins of our once-great republic will sing of our deeds in forbidden songs, tending the flickering flame of individual liberty until it bursts forth again, as it must, generations later. We will live forever, like the Spartans at Thermopylae, in sacred memory.

With profound appreciation for your time and attention, and the most warm of regards.

Posted in 1st Amendment, Big Stupid Government, Cold Anger, Election 2020, First Amendment, media bias, Patriotism, propaganda, THE BIG UGLY, Uncategorized, USA
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