February 6, 2008

CA Live Blog: The Polarizing Politics of Pronunciation

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SAN JOSE, CA — This place is packed! Some forty phone bankers are pitching some major woo. They’re doing a great job reading their scripts, except when they get to this part: “It’s time to move beyond the polarizing politics of the past.” Ok, sure, Scarlett Johansson pulls off this line in robo calls without a hitch, but for average people, it’s kind of a persistently perilous problem. Chuck from Chicago, who’s sitting next to me, has said the PPP at least 100 times, and he’s still not sure he’s mastered it. “I can’t figure out how to make it sound natural,” he said. It might be time to try out something else. Maybe our readers have some suggestions. Nattering Negativity of the Nineties?

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ONLY HOURS LEFT—AND EVERYTHING RIDING ON IT

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With just hours left, we need a huge surge in reader support to get to our $400,000 year-end goal. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters. All gifts are 3X matched and tax-deductible.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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