Political cable TV shows tend to give me a headache; they’re pointless, absurdly partisan, and my dog refuses to stay in the house when one is on. I’ve also used Bill O’Reilly’s voice to drive raccoons from beneath my house (sorry, PETA). But once in a while their posturing can be beneficial and result in good, clean fun.

Cable pundits have long known that any heartwarming story connected to our fighting men overseas is good for ratings. And that goes for the Iraqi citizenry as well, apparently; especially when it involves literally exporting our national pastime to them. And so we learn that as of Monday, Iraq’s National Baseball Team only had one uniform (a Japanese one), and nine gloves for about 18 players. And three baseballs. But don’t worry — MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow is coming to the rescue!

Maddow did a short item on the Iraq team’s plight on her show Monday, and by Wednesday enough donations had poured in to outfit several teams. Yay America. From THE HUFFINGTON POST:

On Wednesday’s show, Maddow called the response “overwhelming and honestly heartwarming.” Her show, in conjunction with donors and the assistant coach of the team, is currently at work shipping the equipment to the team by Friday.

While the outpouring of support more than provided for the gear the team needed, Maddow urged viewers not to let “the generous impulse [they] had towards these Iraqi baseball players go to waste.” To that end, a link has been posted on the show’s website to Operation Give, an organization which provides humanitarian aid to combat zones.

Feel the love flowing through MSNBC, in convenient video form (but not before sitting through a Sprint commercial featuring ancient Egyptians talking on cell phones):

 

The original story, carried by McClatchy on Monday, told the story of three Iraqi men who were educated in American high schools, and returned to their country to begin a national baseball team. But they had very little gear, with only one wooden softball bat. They practiced on a soccer field.An earlier baseball team had been disbanded after players received telephone death threats. Well, the Iraqi team is as well-equipped now as the Washington Nationals. And their pitching is comparable. Well played, Rachel.