February 1, 2013

The 12 Most Threatening People on the NRA’s Enemies List

The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is Barry Manilow with a microphone.face to face/ZumaPress.com

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Back in September, in an effort to prove…we’re not exactly sure what, the National Rifle Association published a list of some several-hundred non-profits, celebrities, companies, and news organizations that “have lent monetary, grassroots or some other type of direct support to anti-gun organizations.” Daily Kos, which drew attention to the list Friday morning, calls it “nuts,” which is certainly one way of looking at it.

The NRA doesn’t offer any explanation of its selection process, or why they think it’s a compelling argument to call attention to the fact that the Civil Rights organization founded by Martin Luther King Jr. opposes what the NRA does. But maybe they’re on to something.

Here are 12 of the most terrifying people and groups on the NRA’s list:

Carrie Fisher. Daughter of a Jedi.

Henry Winkler. Literally jumped a shark one time.

Mennonite Central Committee. You know who else had a central committee?

Barry Manilow. Is Barry Manilow.

The Temptations. Deliver us from them.

Motorcycle Cruiser Magazine. Basically what it sounds like.

Central Conference of American Rabbis. Ditto.

Mary Lou Retton. Her medal may be gold, but her bullets are lead.

Tara Lipinski. Actually wears knives on the bottom of her shoes.

Boys II Men. [sic]

Bob Barker. QED:

Southern Christian Leadership Conference. We don’t actually have a joke here. How can you put the SCLC on your enemies list?

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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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