January 16, 2009

Friday Cat Blogging – 16 January 2009

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FRIDAY CATBLOGGING….We’re entering a cold snap here in Southern California, with temps forecast to plummet to a brisk 75 or so this afternoon. Time to bundle up!

Actually, Inkblot has been shedding for the past few days, as our Santa Ana-induced record warmth has fooled him into thinking that summer has come. Hopefully he’ll figure out soon that it’s just a trick. I wouldn’t want him to lose his lovely winter coat too soon.

In other weather-related cat news (how’s that for a smooth segue?), Danish reporter Ole K. sends along “Jörg Kachelmann und Lupin” for your YouTube viewing pleasure. Note hint of action to come at about the 0:17 mark. Very civilized, those German weather forecasters.

WE CAME UP SHORT.

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So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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