I Created Elmo, and Here’s Proof!


Ignore the blue and green paint. I was five. Sheesh.Ignore the blue and green paint.  I was five.  Sheesh!You want proof? Ta-daaa.

My nine-year-old son pulled a poster tube out from behind his bed the other day. My mom had sent it a while back, but I never looked inside.

Turns out it contained this painting, which I did in July 1970, at age five, before Elmo existed.

I hereby claim 17 percent of gross proceeds from all Elmo licensing and merchandising, retroactively and hereafter.

Hello, 1 percent!

And now, back to substantive journalism

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

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