Many thanks to Katrina vanden Heuvel at The Nation (where, as she notes, I did my first gig out of college as a wide-eyed journalist aiming to change the world), as well as MaxSpeak, Pam's House Blend, South Knox Bubba, and other friends for their kind words about Facing South.

Since we launched this blog on February 10, the traffic keeps rising, which tells me that progressives are interested in a deeper discussion of how we can turn things around in the South.

If this is your first visit to Facing South -- welcome, make yourself at home. You can get a sense of where we're coming from here and here.

As you can see, we believe the South can't be ignored -- and besides, there's reason for hope. We have no illusions about the power of the South's conservative forces, and no naive faith in magic formulas for change. But we also know that in the South, we have much to draw on -- the South's enduring progressive values, a rich history of popular movements, and a growing energy for progressive renewal today.

With fresh ideas, good strategy, and a commitment to building the institutions and movements that make change happen, another South is possible.