Hello dear readers! Yes, it’s fundraising time, and we encourage you to donate a few dollars to the Mother Jones Investigative Fund to support independent, investigative journalism.
Unlike NPR, we can’t hold your commute hostage to our pleas for money. But what we can do is remind you of some compelling reasons to part with a few of your hard-earned bucks. Ready?
1) Because we still do great longform journalism. Like Mac McClelland’s undercover exposé into the warehouse wage slaves behind your online purchases.
2) Because half of all our magazine pieces in 2011 had a female byline–way more than most news/political magazines.
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3) Because our income inequality charts are so good that Occupy Wall Street protestors put them on signs, Stephen Colbert built a segment around them, and Slate said they deserved a Pulitzer.
4) Because our reporters braved tear gas and arrest rather than back off covering the Occupy movement.
5) Because from pig brains to pink slime, we’re not afraid to gross you out.
6) Because we were instrumental in bringing the photography of Vivian Maier to light.
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7) Because we explained and reported the heck out of the Trayvon Martin killing.Â
8) Because we stopped the GOP from redefining rape.
9) Because we made an “are you a slut?” flowchart and support a woman’s right to choose to knit her congressman a vagina:
10) Because we allow smart celebrities to speak their mind.
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11) Because you deserve to know about the nukes speeding by your house.
12)Â Because our yearlong investigation of the FBI’s domestic informant program was so good, it’s been picked up by all the big papers (though not always with credit).
13) Because remember the whole exploding Ford Pinto thing? Yeah, that was us.
14) Because we pay our interns, and don’t pit them against one another in a weekly acid-saber-fight cage match where only the triumphant one is allowed food.
15) Because we’ll help you know the difference between Newt and Schrute.
BONUS:Â Still not sure? Okay, fine: We invented the po’ boy…maybe.
 We couldn’t have done a single one of these stories without your support. We’re a nonprofit, and the support of readers is what keeps us alive. If you’ve appreciated any of these stories, please donate $5 or $10 to the Mother Jones Investigative Fund right now. We’ve almost reached our goal, and your gift could be the one that gets us all the way there. Plus, next time you see a great story on Mother Jones, you’ll know you played an important part in making it happen. Please give today via credit card or PayPal. Thanks!