June 21, 2013

Friday Cat Blogging – 21 June 2013

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We’re back to quiltblogging this week. Unfortunately, Marian is gone and I forgot to ask for deets about the quilt. So I’m just going to say that it’s….um, a patchwork quilt. It kinda reminds me of this. In other cat news, my sister draws my attention to a cat running for mayor in the Mexican city of Xalapa. His slogan: “Tired of voting for rats? Vote for a cat.” The head of Veracruz’s electoral institute is not amused. “It is important to vote for the registered candidates,” she implores. “Please.” However, since Xalapa’s cat looks a lot like Inkblot, I think he’s well qualified. Vota por un gato!

UPDATE: OK, I have the scoop. This is a Charm Square Quilt. Apparently, 5-inch squares of fabric are called “charm squares,” and this quilt was made from a package of charm squares. So there you have it.

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“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

payment methods

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