Friday was catblogging day, which means we missed out on fireworks blogging. But it’s never too late for fireworks, so let’s do it today.

This year I headed over to the pedestrian bridge that crosses the 405 and took pictures of our fireworks going off above the freeway. This required me to climb up on a thin concrete barrier and then hoist the camera—already mounted on a tripod—over the top of a chain link fence. Then I had to hang on by my fingertips while operating the camera. I was pretty sore by the time the show was over, but you know me: any sacrifice for my art.

Anyway, this year I essayed a more ambitious Photoshop collage than usual. It’s a little sloppy in places, but the truth is that after taking a few different stabs at this I got sick of the whole thing. I guess I won’t sacrifice anything for my art after all. But I learned enough that maybe next year I can do a really good one.

July 4, 2019 — Irvine, California

WE CAME UP SHORT.

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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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