March 9, 2010

Heidi Montag for Consumer Protection!

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Yes, you read that correctly. The movement for a strong, independent consumer-protection agency has officially reached quasi-celebrity status. Heidi Montag, the reality TV mainstay and failed pop singer, is in a new, tongue-in-cheek video stumping for an independent consumer-protection agency as Congress’ financial-reform talks slog on. The video, put together by the online humor site Funny or Die and Americans for Financial Reform, shows Montag poking fun at her recent plastic-surgery marathon while decrying the predatory practices of credit-card companies at the same time (“With hidden fees and standard interest-rate increases, that $11,000 jawline could end up costing you upwards of $50,000“). Now, I’m no celebrity gossip fan, and have no patience for people famous for no discernable reason whatsoever, but this video is clever, pretty damn funny, and worth watching. Here it is:

 


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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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