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11 Purchase a new Observer subscription or renew your old one before September 19, 1997, and you’ll be eligible to win round-trip airfare to Austin and lunch with the one and only Molly, compliments of The Texas Observer. Molly promises to be witty, charming, and to to a her best stories. And just think, this may be your only chance ever to watch Molly Ivins eat. Don’t miss it. Subscriptions must be received and bills paid in full by September 19, 1997. The Observer will provide round-trip airfare for one person from any Texas airport serviced by Southwest Airlines; both departures will be scheduled for the same day. \(Austin residents three entries per three-year subscription. We do not offer subscriptions of more than three years. In the case of gift subscriptions, the recipient will be entered In the drawing unless the payor specifically requests otherwise. ona Radio recently about the increasing pres ,-, sure from corporate advertisers Qn,.1p, zine editors, to avoid “controverSi unpleasant subjects. Recent incidents at Esquire and Sports Illustrated where pullouts or threats of pullouts from advertisers have shaken editorial staffs—highlight a situation inherent to commercial publishing: publishers sell, not information to readers, but readers to advertisers; and advertisers buy upscale, acquisitive, corn a, an d an El Paso ‘subscription party osted by Debbie Nathan and other friends and contributors. The Austin concert raised several thousand dollars, and the El Paso gathering brought in numerous subscriptions. Similar events are planned for Houston, San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth and elsewhere, later this year \(details to you. Just as importantly, these celebrations of old and new readers and friends have lifted our spirits and renewed our confidence that we are not just publishing a journal about Texas, but helping to build a progressive Texas culture and community. We have seen, heard, and felt it. We don’t intend to stop. and see this $30-40 million prison sitting there idle while the Board of Pardons and Paroles was turning people out of the TDC after serving 20 percent of their sentences because of overcrowding at other prisons. How about an article on this subject? For an MBA recipient from Harvard University, our Guv displays very little common sense on occasion. Lynn E. Foster Midland PBS OUT TO LUNCH I was pleased to see the review of Out at Work in the Observer \(“Other-American I used to be a librarian in the Bronx and worked with Nat Keitt both there and when we were officers of Local 1930, New York Public Library Guild, AFSCME. I sent a copy to Nat. I haven’t been able to see the movie yet and I am very disturbed by the news that PBS has censored it off the series Point of View. The reason was that the film’s funding sources included unions See “Dialogue,” page 17 JULY 4, 1997 THE TEXAS OBSERVER 3