I’d just finished the illustrated article on adorable Internet pet terminology and was halfway through the blow-by-blow description of Michael Jackson’s death. I still hadn’t gotten over my irritation with the “tell me again why I’m supposed to care about this foul-mouthed camera-hogging teenage activist?” article … when it occurred to me I need a few hours break from the ‘Net.
It also occurred to me there’s a good reason why even smart people might prefer to visit cute-pet pages or read about Meghan Markle’s wedding than slog through the fetid ooze that passes for “real” news these days. But before I return to contemplate whether “Yanni vs laurel” is truly over … first, a momentary retreat.
I leave you with this thought:
What can you do with $10?
- Send it to Oxfam and hope it feeds a bunch of hungry people (instead of merely helping pay for a sexual-abuse coverup);
- Donate it to the Clinton Foundation and count on it buying you access to power;
- Join the Amy Schumer fan club;
- Spend it on postage for letters to your congressthing;
- Donate it to a legal defense fund for a poor, abused Baltimore cop whose paid vacation income isn’t enough to cover the cost of defending himself against corruption charges;
- Burn it for fuel after TSHTF;
- Wallpaper your bathroom with it and others like it once the Federal Reserve fulfills its job of stabilizing the economy;
- Share it with Michael Bloomberg, who’s probably going broke funding all those state-level anti-gun initiatives.
So many, many wonderful possibilities!
Orrrrr, you could contribute it to the blog fundraiser and watch it double at the end of the month.
Yep, end of the month. That moment is fast upon us; just seven days to get the temperature to the top of the thermometer. And we are so near yet so far away. Let’s see if we can do it, blogfriends — especially you who haven’t donated before.
OTOH, if on principle you don’t contribute to blogs, I’m sure Bill and Hill and their (ahem) entirely disinterested and selflessly noble charitable foundation would give you your money’s worth — in scandalous infotainment, if nothing else.
UPDATE:
I’m logging off now, bedazzled and more grateful than I can say. If more donations come in (and I they still will), I’ll update the thermometer in the sidebar, but preserve this one as it is here to mark today’s milestone.
The finish line is so close, come on liberty lovers let finish it with a good kick, let’s win by more than a nose!!
RG — who had already donated bounteously — doubles his donation. Which (with the matching donation to come) quadruples his impact. We’re now over the $4,500 mark!
RG is a faithful donor from past fundraisers. Grateful though I am to him and others like him, I’d love to see a few more first timers.
And Comrade X, thanks for the cheerleading.
Ten bucks? Pays for a full breakfast and tip at my friendly Waffle House. 🙂
Thank you, KP! And big thanks to two anonymous Bitcoin donors. We’re now within $400 of goal. Whoohoo!
“Ten bucks? Pays for a full breakfast and tip at my friendly Waffle House.”
And every $10 you spend at Waffle House is $10 that doesn’t go into Bill and Hillary’s pockets. 🙂
I remember vividly your contribution to the 2016 fundraiser. With that in mind, I say keep giving Waffle House their due, with my enthusiastic blessing. Not that you need it.
We have another generous first-time donor, DH. Thank you, DH, both for the contribution and for being here.
(I’m headed out to run a few errands now, so no more updates until I get back. But this is wonderful …)
Claire, sorry I’ve been silent for so long (really enjoying PNW living!), but I’ll be sending along a couple of pics of Ben by snail mail in a day or 3 (no hurry in Curry, what a great motto), so go ahead and up the ticker by 200.
Whoever’s waiting to take it over the top, now’s your chance.
Thank you, JW! With most other people, I’d wait until Ben actually turned up. But you’re such a faithful donor; I know you’re good for it.
Enjoying PNW living is a great reason for silence, so no worries.
Now it’ll be fun to see who takes over the top spot — or perhaps even shatters the top of the thermometer. 🙂
Who will it be?
Ava getting her bacon for sure now!
Wow,only 147 to hit the top.Pretty amazing!
“Who will it be?”
I don’t know, but somebody’s going to bust the top off that thermometer. And while I definitely have other priorities for that money, Ava will indeed get at least some Beggin’ Strips.
A contribution from HW just put us within $150 of goal! (Oh, just noticed that fred said that before I did.)
“Wow,only 147 to hit the top.Pretty amazing!”
Yep. Pretty impressive, isn’t it? Technically we’re a hair shy of that because Bitcoin has lost value since the first donations. But let’s not get technical. 🙂 This is wonderful.
Thank you, LA! Your generosity puts us within $47 of goal. BIG whoohoo!
And KC PUTS US OVER THE TOP!!!
I need a bell to ring or a siren to crank or something. Whoohoo, KC!
What I also need to do now is manually manipulate the thermometer graphics to show the shattered top. Too bad none of the stock thermometers do that. But I know everybody got a kick out of the shatters in 2014, so I’m going to do it again. We’re $3 over goal as of now, and it’s very likely more will come in. So give me a bit of time to create a cool, celebratory graphic.
For a couple of weeks there I didn’t think we were going to make it. But boy, you guys came through. You surely did.
Still climbing! Thank you JB. I didn’t think you could join this time, but you did it. Delighted to see you and glad you’re doing better.
I donated some Bitcoin a couple of days ago, and then noticed the price immediately dropped. Oh well. Hopefully it will soon shoot up to a new record high!
Glad you made the goal!
WOOHOO!!!
Yay!
Kent — The BTC donation I received a couple of days ago was substantial and remains so even after the drop. Thank you VERY much. Anyhow, plunges like that are just “life in the Bitcoin lane” and part of the fun.
Thanks for the yays and whoohoos, Joel and fred. This fundraiser definitely had a couple of nailbiting weeks, but I should have known the extraordinary people who surround this blog would come through. I have already heard from Anonymous Wonderman, who promised to match everything up to $5k.
So glad that the goal was reached for the fundraiser, Claire!
Looks like it’s gonna be some partying and dancing this holiday weekend for sure!
“Looks like it’s gonna be some partying and dancing this holiday weekend for sure!”
I’ve seen a lot of great dancing-with-dogs videos, but I think that’s my new favorite. And she seemed so happy, even after spending all that time up on her hind legs.
Thank you Comrade X for kicking the fundraiser off so grandly and cheerleading it all the way.
Thank you everybody, for making it happen with such style.
Excellent!
My goodness. J.S., who has already donated, steps in again and the temperature keeps going up!
Anyone else think “yield” is a respectful way to engage sometimes?
But “stop” should only apply, when at least one “vested” party say so?
I cannot get a useful idea about going to a place like maybe Idaho,
if I let someone say I shouldn’t do that, and I just stop.
How far can one run,
without running out of places to go?
Sometimes folks set their targets way lower than what they can hit.
In that last case, some who think they have little merit of the awesome kind,
should be disinvested of such self imposed limits,
as it is but a disposition that might stop a person while still alive.
Of being there, in spite of anything else because alive.
Push a little.
We have life but for a while.
And we should live it?
And especially,
join with others that wish to do that as well.
To many words. Screw the target. You some few, out there, a little more of $5 and $10 is win. Because, well, isn’t it?
The official repository of thank yous remains the May 1 post announcing the fundraiser. And of course I also send personal thank yous.
But I in the last 24 hours, another $270 has come in — and that’s as welcome as it is remarkable. Thank you, GB, for your kindness. Thank you, JH, for many things — and also … wow.