September 22, 2009

Maybe You Should Call Someone

Photo by flickr user <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/furryscalyman/1034889957/">furryscaly</a> used under a <a href="http://www.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a> license.

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This press release from Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is made of win:

Congressman Barney Frank today responded to a misinformed partisan attack by the Massachusetts Republican Party, in which the GOP criticized Frank for missing a procedural vote to deny funding for ACORN.

Frank has missed the vote because he was attending the Medal of Honor ceremony for Sergeant First Class Jared Monti of Raynam, which was held yesterday afternoon at the White House.  Monti received the honor posthumously for his heroic actions in battle in Afghanistan.

This morning, the Wall Street Journal printed an editorial harshly criticizing Frank for missing the vote.  The Massachusetts Republican Party echoed the Journal’s attack in a release sent to the press this afternoon. 

Neither the Wall Street Journal nor the Massachusetts GOP called Frank’s office for explanation, nor did they note that Frank was at the ceremony despite the fact that it had been widely reported in the press.

Frank expressed deep disappointment that some would use his absence for partisan political purposes.  “I find it deeply disturbing that the people who loudly criticized me in print did not even call my office to ask me about the situation.  I would like to offer them the courtesy which they refused to offer me – I will ask their opinion.  What do they think I should have done – attend the Medal of Honor ceremony, or a vote?”

It’s time for a blogger ethics panel.

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.

payment methods

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