On January 23rd, 2006, this blog opened for business, making today the Lid’s 18th Blogiversary (126 in dog years). Back then, it was called Yidwithlid. Eventually, I discovered the name Yidwithlid told readers that only Jewish articles were posted here. Of course, that wasn’t true, so it was time to change the name (that and Daniel Pipes drilled me a new one, saying the title was pejorative and indicating the prose wasn’t serious}. I didn’t mean to be pejorative (okay, sometimes my posts aren’t serious, but most of the time, they are very serious).

Back then, the blog looked like this, not today’s look.

Seven years ago, I was joined by a partner, Warner Todd Huston. Warner and I make a good pair. Firstly, since. We met at the 2009 CPAC, and we’ve liked each other ever since. (at least, I think he likes me).

In most cases, we write about different things with different attitudes. I tend to write very long (maybe too long) articles, while Warner’s are shorter but more timely. Together, we offer the reader a site that offers a broader look at the conservative world than either one of us could alone.

Over the years, this site broke many stories, including exposing Helen Thomas as a hate-filled anti-semite who thought Jews should go back to Germany and Poland, the two countries that killed the most Jews during the Holocaust. And that was the nicest thing she said. Because of The Lid’s exclusives, Thomas was fired.

We Led the effort to force Barack Obama to ask for the resignation of his National Intelligence Board Chair, Chas Freeman, only six weeks after he took office. Mainly through the efforts of this and other bloggers, through a series of posts here, at Breitbart,  and an op-ed in the Washington Times, Freeman was exposed as a tool of Saudi Arabia and China who said the Native American tribes the early explorers met were actually Muslims and described China’s massacre of the Tiananmen Square protesters as too cautious.

There were other ones, including the Dem taking out the pro-Israel section on their platform. We exclusively published evidence that the Anti-Israel J-Street lied when it claimed George Soros didn’t provide initial funding for the organization. Exposed AIPAC when, during the 2016 convention, it was trying to get the GOP to lessen their platform’s pro-Israel stance, and during the first Trump presidency, got a tiny jump on reporting President Trump’s strategy about leaving the lousy JCOP and moving America’s Israel Embassy to Jerusalem.

Along with other exclusives, this site has never hesitated to tell the truth about big shots, even if it meant we would be attacked (which we were).

In 2006, we averaged around 500 hits a month. In 2020, the usual monthly amount was around 10k, but sometimes it would reach a high of 60k. Then, things crashed, primarily because of my health. I sort of dropped out, leaving Warner, who also writes elsewhere, to almost fend for himself.

It started with epilepsy and seizures, which were eventually controlled with drugs.

Then, it was a condition called Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus, which not only destroys one’s balance but also gives someone temporary dementia. (unlike Joe Biden’s which is permanant). Finding a doctor who figured out what I had took three years. A brain operation in the middle of October controlled the malady, and I was able to walk and, more importantly, think again.

Since my posting was rare that entire time, Warner held down the fort. But just as I was starting to write again, an emergency double bypass followed two weeks later with COVID-19 that slowed me down.

Today, our monthly traffic is way down. Warner’s solo posts have been great, but I haven’t been around for my writing and my other role: finding ways to promote our work and getting links, retweets, etc., to help create traffic.

I am getting back in the writing groove again. Little by little, I’m getting back in the writing groove and working behind the scenes to find ways to increase traffic, and it’s working.

In Hebrew, the word Chai means life and represents the number 18. That’s because each Hebrew letter has a numerical equivalent, and the sum of the first letter in the word, chet, has a numerical value of 8, and the second letter, yud, has a numerical value of 10 combined, it’s 18. As a result of its connection to the word for life, the number 18 is considered a special number in Jewish tradition.

And it will be a special year for The Lid. There have been many ups and downs in its 18-year, 20k post history. In this special year 18, meaning life, The Lid will continue its upward trend,

Whether this is your first time on this site or whether it is your 20,000th time, Warner and I can’t express our appreciation for the fact that you have taken a part of your busy day to read what is written here.

If you like a post, please share its link with your friends. We will continue to provide the best and most diverse conservative news and opinions.

OK, enough with the mushy stuff. It’s time to write some real posts.