Today the Marine Corps celebrates its 234th birthday! The Commandant of the Corps has issued this celebratory video, and all of us at Hot Air want to join in congratulating the fine men and women of the Marine Corps, past and present, on this auspicious occasion:

Almost equally auspicious has been the performance of the Marine Corps team in the Project Valour-IT fundraising contest! Soldiers Angels has its annual Project Valour-IT fundraising drive to provide that technology to as many of these veterans as possible, and the blogosphere has responded by raising more than $81,000! The Marine Corps team has already raised 95% of its goal, leaving the rest of us in the dust.

Eight years of fighting terrorists abroad has wounded many of our men and women in the armed forces, some profoundly enough to make it difficult for them to reintegrate into society without the assistance of the adaptive technology that will allow them to become productive back home. But we need your assistance. We had hoped to raise $125,000 this year, with an understanding that 10.2% unemployment would make that a challenge. We have one day left in the contest; I’m on the Air Force team this year, and you can help wounded veterans receive adaptive-technology laptops to help them regain their productivity by donating now:

It’s difficult to think of a more worthy cause than helping those who lost so much in defending America to return to a normal life. If you can, please donate as much as possible, and help us meet our goal.