ANDREW SULLIVAN’S $80,000 PLEDGE WEEK has gotten a lot of other bloggers begging for cash. The Acidman is not amused:

Ever since ANDREW SULLIVAN conducted his “Pledge Week” and made damned near $80,000, bloggers everywhere have become panhandlers and squeegie-guys, telling their heart-rending stories of brokeness while pointing to their Pay Pal buttons and tip jars. When hookers do that on the street, they get arrested for the crime of “solicitation.” And the hookers usually offer a more valuable commodity than most blogs do.

This is followed by a stirring tribute to amateurism in the blogosphere. (Uh, yeahhh, that’s exactly what it is. . . .)

I’m all for amateurism. Despite numerous suggestions that I institute a pledge week of my own (my favorite involved a thermometer-like graphic with a 350Z at the top), I won’t be emulating Andrew. I have a dayjob. It pays pretty well — by normal standards, not compared to the obscene amounts of money I’d be making now if I had stayed at the bigshot law firm where I used to work. (And I know exactly how obscene because one of my friends there who stayed and made partner helpfully informs me of what I would be making had I done so. Thanks!) I appreciate the donations — particularly because a nice note with money attached outweighs any number of nasty emails from people who aren’t putting their money where their mouths are. (Message to hatemailers — if you want me to take your hatemail seriously, attach it to a $100 Paypal donation! I promise, I’ll read it.)

But this is a labor of love. It’s free. And it’ll stay that way.