ustxtxb_obs_1969_12_19_50_00016-00000_000.pdf

‘soh’ d .4ye Why, you can oppose it with other natural forces. “You yourself cannot turn Niagara; but there is not a town in America where one single man cannot make his force felt against the whole torrent. He takes a stand on a practical matter. He takes action against some abuse. What does this accomplish? Everything. How many people are there in your town? Well, every one of them gets a thrill that strikes deeper than any sermon he ever heard. He may howl, but he hears. The grocer’s boy, for the first time in his life, believts that the whole outfit of morality has any place in the,. practical world. Every class contributes its comment. Next year a new element comes forward in politics, as if the franchise had been extended. . It is the personal influence of example that is the power. … [1] hroughout the community, running through every one, there are In My Opinion Austin I’d like to put in a good word for a noble effort being made these days to extend knowledge in our state about Texas public affairs. You’ve probably not yet heard of a television program called “Capital Eye.” It’s a news panel-interview show of the same sort as “Meet the Press” and “Face the Nation,” wherein political leaders and other public officials are interviewed weekly by a panel of Austin Capitol newsmen. Due I suppose mainly to the extensive demands that football makes on our state’s television schedules, “Capital Eye” is seen on only two Texas TV stations, channel 9, the San Antonio-Austin educational station, and channel 5 in Dallas-Fort Worth. I hope it will become more widely aired in the near future. Producer of the program is Winston Bode, a veteran Texas newsman. 16 The Texas Observer currents of beneficent power that accomplish changes, sometimes visible, sometimes hard to see. . . . It is this beneficent current passing from man to man that makes the unity of all efforts for public betterment. .. . “The radicals . . . are accused of the most incompatible crimes, of egoism-and a mania for power, indifference to the fate of their own cause, fanaticism, triviality, want of humor, buffoonery and irreverence. But they sound a certain note. Hence the great practical power Of consistent radicals. To all appearance nobody follows them, yet every one believes them. They hold a tuning-fork and sound A, and everybody knows it really is A, though the time-honored pitch is G-flat. The community cannot get that A out of its head. Nothing can prevent an upward tendency in the popular tone so long as the real A is kept sounding.” R.D. 11111111.. The early shows have had as guests Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes, San Antonio Rep. Jake Johnson, Madalyn Murray O’Hair \(the Austin atheist whose lawsuit led to the US Whiskey Drank Austin The Third Annual Texas Observer Yuletide Whiskey-Drank will be conducted, observed, and indulged in on Friday night, Dec. 26, at the offices of the journal, 504 West 24th, Austin, beginning at 4:30 p.m. and lasting, experience has shown, well into the night . We hope you’ll drop by, tour our office, meet the staff, and chat with other visitors. G.O. Supreme Court decision banning officially Bill Steger \(the State Republican US Sen. John Tower, Judge Charles Betts \(discussing the new divorce law passed by Armstrong \(who will run against Land Barbara Jordan, Houston Cong. George Bush, George Christian \(formerly LBJ’s Monroe Clayton, discussing the state’s blue law. It is my purpose here to agitate in favor of wider use of “Capital Eye,” which, I believe, can perform a valuable service in increasing understanding of Texas public affairs. If the program is not available in your area, may I suggest that you contact the news director or program director, or both, of your local TV station and urge that they consider airing the weekly show? The interviews so far conducted were videotaped, as are all the programs, and are available at low cost to the stations. A Report To those of you who ordered copies of the Zapruder film of President Kennedy’s assassination \(Obs., currently weighing the legal implications of distributing the film. As anticipated, Time-Life, Inc., the holders of the copyright to the film, has been in touch with me. I have a lawyer looking into the situation; there is some possibility that precedent exists in law for “unauthorized” use of copyrighted material if the public need to know is sufficient. I still am very much of a mind to seek as wide distritution of the film as possible. But first I must know where I stand legally in this. I anticipate deciding how to proceed by the first of the year. Additional copies of the film, in whatever quantity I need, are available, I have just lately been informed. So supply is not the problem. The question is: if I distribute the film and show it publicly, will Time-Life sue? If so, how expensive would defending such a suit be? And how likely of success \(getting the be? I think what I would want of all this is that the film be shown on national television. There are questions of taste and purpose in this, of course. But I have shown the film to perhaps 60 or 70 people in the Observer offices and no one has found watching the film unbearable; indeed, most have agreed with me that it is an important document whose implications must be faced by the nation. The response of the public to this has been surprisingly extensive. I have received orders for copies of the film on all but one day in the four weeks since I announced that copies might be available. These have come from a number of states and from Mexico, England, and Spain. Many of those who ordered copies wrote me that they have persisted in doubting that we know the truth of President Kennedy’s loss. Dailies at Chicago and Washington and in Europe have publicized the film’s possible public availability. I showed the film to the Austin Capitol press corps but no stories resulted from that showing. Most of the reporters seemed not to think the film and its possible availability newsworthy. A couple of Capitol reporters declined, with some scorn, to view it. So, give me a little more time in this. And if you are interested in receiving the film and haven’t yet ordered it, please do so. Each order reconfirms my conviction that there is great public interest in this question and makes me that much more determined to press for widest-possible public viewing of the film. G.O. A Noble Effort