Edit in JSFiddle

$("a[href^='http']").each(function() {
    $(this).css({
        background: "url(http://g.etfv.co/" + this.href + ") left center no-repeat",
        "padding-left": "20px"
    });
});

<a href=http://github.com>GitHub</a>
<a href=http://css-tricks.com>CSS-Tricks</a>
<a href=http://www.google.com>Google</a>
<a href=http://jsfiddle.net/chriscoyier/6Vg7t/3/>JSfiddle</a>
<a href=http://www.google.com:80>Google</a>
<a href=http://doesnotexistsreallyreallyreally.com>Nope</a>
<a href=http://127.0.0.1>localhost</a>

/*
Orig via http://jsfiddle.net/csswizardry/yqdFe/
*/

a { display: block; text-decoration: none; padding: 5px; }