Chart of the Day: The Ascent of Man

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Here’s the latest Gallup poll on what Americans think of evolution 85 years after the Scopes monkey trial. Obviously progress has been slow. But on the bright side, the hardcore creationist position has lost a bit of ground lately while straightforward evolution has shown steady gains over the past decade. The “humans evolved with God guiding” position has stayed steady, and this is the position I associate with people who basically believe in evolution but don’t want to be mistaken for godless atheists—which is OK with me. All in all, then, things could be worse. I’m thinking of making that my motto for 2011.

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DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

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.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

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.

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