Spirit of America appeal raises staggering $1.5 million!

A grass roots appeal to raise $100,000 to "buy some TV equipment - to let local Iraqi stations air local news" has been an unbelievable success.

From Winds of Change

It has just been an incredible week for me.

Spirit of America. Damn, I've never ridden a rocket before. What a thrill; my friend who is doing the books - who is somewhat of a cynic - commented as she iced her hands from entering all the donations into Quickbooks - "My faith in humanity is restored."

In case you missed it, Jim Hake set out to raise $100,000 to buy some TV equipment - to let local Iraqi stations air local news. Much of that news is good, but much as the news of gang shootings in Pico-Union creates panic in West Los Angeles, the bad news there tends to drive out the good. Allowing some old-fashioned local news coverage - of rescuers working to save girls stuck in wells, local sports heroes, all the banal stuff that everyday life is so deliciously made up from - offers the chance to remind people that life is not sliding downhill quite the way some might fear.

Well, Jim is aggressive and good, and soon there was a column in the Wall Street Journal, and the next day there was $400,000 in the bank. As of today, the website shows over $1.5 MILLION in contributions - all of which will be used to buy things the Iraqi people need to rebuild their country and their lives.

It is a shame that this will not get much press but will be overshowded by a few bad guys who tortured Iraqi prisoners.