I’m with Michele’s team in her little blog fight against Dean Esmay regarding raising donations for Spirit Of America. From the Spirit Of America site:

The Request
US Marines seek to equip seven (7) television stations serving local communities within Al Anbar Province, Iraq. The Province includes the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi. These stations will offer information that is more accurate and balanced than existing alternatives. The goal is to improve understanding between Americans and Iraqis, build trust and reduce tensions.

Current TV news in Iraq often carries negative, highly-biased accounts of the U.S. presence. Unanswered, its effect is to stoke resentment and encourage conflict. The Marines seek to ensure the Iraqi people have access to better, more balanced information. By equipping local television stations and providing the ability to generate news and programming, the Marines will create a viable news alternative – one owned and operated by local Iraqi citizens.

The donated equipment will be the property of the Iraqi stations. The stations can create their own news and choose their own programming with the agreement that they will prohibit airing of anti-coalition messages that incite the local population. The stations also agree to sell airtime at a fair market price so that the Marines can communicate their information efficiently and quickly when needed.

Michele also notes a MetaFilter thread that leaves me feeling sick to my stomach. If some of these folks only consider “truth” as being the negative part of things, then nothing that Spirit Of America — or anyone, really — would do would change their minds. Unwinnable hearts and minds are wastes of time.

Dear friends, if you got anything to spare, add a drop to the bucket for Spirit Of America. If not for philanthropic purposes, at least to irritate the hell out of MeFi dwellers.