Break out your quill, your fountain pen, or (more in tune with this century) your keypad, and share your comments

Announcing the first-ever, initial, never-before-revealed Comments Contest

Some of the most insightful and frequently amusing writing published on Tropic Press shows up in the Comments section, offered up by the often-passionate and frequently-clever readers of this newsletter.

Any given day, in my humble opinion, it’s some of the wittiest writing on the website.

Take this hilarious example from Friday’s post about Donald Trump’s plans to add his signature to the dollar bill, part of his ongoing campaign to rename everything in America after himself:

If he signs his name to it, it will not be worth the paper it's written on because of his stupid tariffs, his stupid war, his stupid ballroom and his stupid obsession with ICE. I wonder if you'll be able to buy it by the roll and use it for toilet paper? I can hear my wife now, "honey we're almost out of Trump wipes.”

— Greg Gargan

To more somber contributions, such as this:

From the very first moment I saw and heard Trump I knew he was the biggest phony I had ever witnessed. I am only one citizen, a voter, a USMC VN veteran, and my experience has taught me that a TV conman is a circus clown in government office. Is anybody laughing at this tragedy?

— Robert Kain

Although letters like this one are rare, obviously it is near and dear to my heart:

Hi J.C., I have been receiving your emails for some time, and I assumed it was some sort of clickbait or right-wing propaganda, so I never bothered to read it. This morning I decided to read it, and I was relieved to see that someone wasn't making excuses for professional Florida grifters. I am going to upgrade to a paid subscription. Your writing is so clear and concise, and very easy to understand. If I wasn't college educated, I would still be able to understand it. We really need that kind of messaging. It is clear and informative, not manipulative, or produced to be so wonky that your average voter can't understand it. I'm really glad I read it this morning. Getting out my credit card now!

— Chad Spencer

Well, all I can say to that is: Be like Chad!

Anyway, here’s where I’m going with all this:

Starting April 1, I will begin collecting what I consider to be the best of the best comments from readers.

At the end of each quarter, I’ll offer up my Top Ten and publish them collectively for everyone to admire, and ask for your thoughts on who should be the Quarterly Winner. I’ll weigh the input and make an announcement shortly thereafter.

That lucky and talented individual will receive a genuine, one-of-a-kind, Tropic Press Contributor CERTIFICATE and a free Miss Mingo coffee mug.

At the end of the year, we’ll post the top letters of the year—the winners of each quarter—and the Grand Prize Winner will get yet another one-of-a-kind, invaluable CERTIFICATE and a complete autographed set of my six-part Strange Files series of mysterious novels.

Rules (there are always rules):

• Comments must be posted using the COMMENTS button accompanying every newsletter. I receive a lot of email directly from readers who simply hit the “reply” button on their email, which is great, but then only I see it. Replies using the COMMENTS button are shared with everyone.

• Since I’m starting this in April, there will be only three quarterly winners this year. But that’s good news for the finalists—less competition.

• I do not obtain, save, retain, or even read anyone’s personal information other than email addresses. So, if you are a winner, I will need your snail mail address to mail your certificate and other prizes. Or, if that is a concern, I can meet you at the corner of Walk and Don’t Walk or at the nearest mutually convenient tavern. First drink’s on me.

Now, I can just imagine some of you more cynically minded contributors thinking: Oh, I’m going to get all my friends to jump in to support my letter, flood the zone, so to speak, so I can be the winner of all these fabulous prizes.

To which I say: YES!

Nothing would make me happier than to see more people receiving this newsletter.

Here’s the thing: As this is being written, the Tropic Press newsletter is being distributed to more than 700,000 subscribers every day. The overwhelming majority are here in Florida and are either Democrats or voters who have chosen not to have any party affiliation.

There may be a few Republicans, too. Once or twice a week, I get troublesome letters from people raising questions about my ancestry, my IQ, or suggesting I leave America and go back to where I came from (Miami).

Now, that 700,000+ subscriber number is big. But it still only reaches a fraction of all the Democrats and aligned Floridians we want to encourage to vote in the coming midterm elections.

That’s the point of all this: To inform and encourage people to help save our democracy.

The more we reach, the better.

So, sure, tell your friends. Tell them to write in on your behalf. But, please, also ask them to subscribe, to share this with their friends, too, so that between now and November we do our best to reach out to as many voters as we can.

And to be clear: Subscriptions to the Tropic Press newsletter are free. That said, donations to support this work by upgrading to a paid subscription are available, and hundreds of subscribers have done so already, which goes a long way to making this effort possible, and I want to acknowledge and express my gratitude to every one of you for your contribution.

That’s it for now. I look forward to reading all your comments. Thanks.

J.C. Bruce

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J.C. Bruce is the founder of Tropic Press, a Florida online news service dedicated to sharing news and commentary relevant to Florida readers, whether it originates in the Sunshine State or elsewhere. Bruce is an award-winning former newspaper editor, journalist and author living in Florida, his native state.

Onward thru the fog

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed if you are a rational person living in the Free State of Florida, but there are plenty of smart, reasonable people just like you here. The purpose of this newsletter and the Tropic Press website is to provide a source of news and commentary that shines a light through this irrational fog.

Thank you for your support as a subscriber. It is invaluable. This is especially so for those of you who have chosen to upgrade to paid subscriptions. Your contributions are making this possible.

J.C. Bruce

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Please support this work

As this newsletter was written, Tropic Press was reaching more than 700,000 subscribers in Florida and elsewhere. With mid-term elections on the horizon, the more people we reach, the more effective we can be in helping turn this country around. You can play a vital role in that effort by sharing this newsletter with friends. If you are reading this as an email, simply forward it. Or you can use the link below. Thanks.

Thanks to today’s Sponsor: Tropic Press Books