Happy New Year. 2026, The 250th Anniversary of Our Country.

January 2, 1776 was not the day the world changed.
But it was the day it stood still long enough for men to realize change was inevitable.

Washington steadied the troops. Thomas Paine prepared his firebrand words in Common Sense.
And a continent exhaled before the scream of independence began.

Today, we stand at that same pause.
Will we, too, speak common sense?

Let’s cut through the noise.

You know what one of the most common comments we get is?

“Okay, but what are your solutions?”
“All you do is complain but you never offer solutions.”

There are others.

That question always lands strange with me. Because we have been offering solutions since the beginning.

We created the town’s first visual fire map based on available data, not just to spotlight problems, but to show where they are worst. That is a solution. If no one has used it, then I am not sure why.

We suggested simple steps to bring more people to town. More festivals. More momentum.
We outlined how a shift in community tone could turn “just passing through” into “let’s make it a tradition.”
That is a solution.

We wrote a free example grant. We offered to help write others.
We even offered to donate equipment and installation for the city council meetings to be recorded.
I even itemized a solution.

We have brought light to things that were kept dark. That is not just journalism.
That is power redistribution.
When people know, they can act.
When they feel like their voice matters, they use it.
That is a solution, too.

In this town, that is gold.
Because seventy five percent of your city and county decisions happen in backrooms, Fourth Street powwows, and good old boy circles.
This is repeated in slightly different ways in towns across Kentucky and other states.

We have encouraged dialogue, even when it is uncomfortable.
Especially when it is uncomfortable.

Sparking conversations that matter is a solution.
Because silence helps no one but the status quo.

And this year, in 2026, we are doubling down.

Whisper Networks is making it a mission to highlight, craft, and platform real solutions.
Not just expose what is broken, but offer models for how to fix it.

From infrastructure to elections.
From economic opportunity to civic engagement.
We will explore what can be and put it on the table for public conversation.

Do not mistake candor for cynicism.
We believe things can change.

But they will not if we pretend silence is safer than speaking.

This is not a platform for perfection.
It is a platform for pressure.
For accountability.
For ideas.
For follow through.
And yeah, for solutions.

I have been asked by many and told by others that maybe I should run for office of some sort.
Whether in seriousness or jest, that is not my lot in life.

I am perfectly happy with what I am doing and I am expanding my mission.

This country will not change with good old boy networked politics.
Change is also hard on a national level because of partisan politics that erase progress back and forth like a pendulum.

But this country can change.
With town after town.
And county after county.

This started in Falmouth.
But within this year, we are growing exponentially.

Lastly, I have been asked numerous times to attend meetings.
To record them.
To live stream them.
To be there.

This has always been what I have wanted to do.

Once I get my vehicle situation taken care of in the first part of the year, that is exactly what I will be doing.

Welcome to 2026.
We are just getting started.

Whisper One Out