July 8, 2009

Corn on “Hardball”: From Al Franken to Michael Jackson

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After joking on Twitter that I was scheduled to appear on Hardball to discuss Michael Jackson’s impact on politics–after having been booked to review the latest on embattled Governor Mark Sanford and new Senator Al Franken–I then went on Hardball and actually had to talk about Michael Jackson. That’s because both President Barack Obama and ex-President Bill Clinton made statements about MJ today. So we shifted subjects. Jackson, in. Sanford, out. Franken, still in. (Sanford, who was censured by the South Carolina GOP on Monday night, has lucked out. His love life just can’t compete with Sarah Palin’s wackiness or Michael Jackson’s demise.) Here’s how it went:

 

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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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