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From Sarah Palin, talking to Oprah about Levi Johnston:

By the way, I don’t know if we call him Levi — I hear he goes by the name Ricky Hollywood now, so, if that’s the case, we don’t want to mess up this gig he’s got going.

Ricky Hollywood? And this from a “former McCain campaign aide,” on Palin’s book:

It is unrecognizable at every instance. There is not one truthful account as it relates to any conversation I ever had with her.

So why is Sarah Palin so endlessly fascinating? The sex appeal that practically oozes out of every pore?  Her perpetual family soap opera? A sense of besiegement and resentment so powerful it practically knocks you over every time she speaks? The fact that she actually seems to take pride in her complete lack of policy expertise? Her seemingly total lack of real self-awareness?  The fact that she lies so casually it seems like she actually believes everything she makes up?

Yeah, I guess that’s it.  By the way, Sullivan has been watching her Oprah interview and says “She’s clearly hoping to run for president in 2012.”  Wouldn’t that be great?  And not just for the entertainment value, but to answer some truly nagging questions.  Is it possible to win the Republican nomination while giving interviews to no one except Fox News personalities?  Her fellow Republicans mostly treat her with cautious respect right now, but what will they say about her once they’re all on stage together during the primary debates?  Will she develop any actual policy positions?  And who would she choose to be her running mate?  Inquiring minds want to know.

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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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