MasterCards for marine mammals

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For anti-whaling protestors in Washington state, the buzz is gone. Last year, those decrying the Makah tribe’s annual whale hunt found themselves awash in publicity, sparking a national debate. This year, the animal activists are back, according to the SEATTLE TIMES — but the media is gone. “The implied message is it’s OK for the Makahs to take a whale,” claims Keith Johnson, president of the Makah Whaling Commission.

Help for the activists, however, is on its way from an unlikely source. The anti-whaling camp made an Internet plea for concerned citizens to call up Olson’s Resort in Sekiu, Wash., and charge a donation for food and fuel to their credit cards. (“Unlike the Makah whalers, we can’t run begging to the federal government for tax dollars,” wrote one protester.) Surprisingly, a resort spokesperson said that about 10 donors had called thus far, “mostly people who just got back from whale-watching trips and really loved the whales.” That’s good for the whales, but not for protest-weary Makahs like Johnson. He says, “I can understand many, many people’s opinion of not wanting us to hunt the whale … I would ask those people if they would just leave us alone, just leave us alone.”

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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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