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:

 


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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