Friday Cat Blogging – 17 December 2010

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It’s been a dispiriting week for me, the weekend promises to be pretty disagreeable too, and next week I might have jury duty. Blecch. But at least we have cats! As you recall, a couple of weeks ago I wanted to do a “Cats From Your Window” feature, but only Inkblot cooperated. This week I’ve finally completed the pair with this picture of Domino through our front window. So now the set is complete. On the right, Inkblot majestically ponders the fate of the universe and the likelihood of dinner coming anytime soon.

And courtesy of my sister, we finally have an answer to all the dog lovers constantly pointing to stories of dogs saving people from burning buildings and asking with a sneer, “Can a cat do that?” Well, yes: Pepper the cat, a resident of Devon, saved his owner’s house by opening a window after it caught fire and alerting the neighbors. So there. The story, complete with pictures of the amazing feline, is here.

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.

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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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