ustxtxb_obs_1999_12_10_50_00002-00000_000.pdf

Sincerely, American Income Life Insurance Company Executive Offices: P.O. Box 2608, Waco, Texas 76797, 254751-8600 FAX: 254751-8670 www.ailins.com Dear Friends of the Observer, If you’re reading this letter, you appreciate the value of a good publication: one that discovers, prints, and defends the truth sometimes at a great cost. The Observer is such a publication, and there are maybe a half-dozen of them still published in this country. None of them makes a profit, and none of them exists without the backing of financial supporters large and small. I remember Cliff Olofson, who for twenty years would drive up to Waco in an old car, to have lunch with me and go over Observer finances. Once he said to me, “B, I m really worried about the Observer ‘. redit cards.” Cliff had no personal Money is not coming in and I have used up all the credit on my c wealth, but he had a credit card to use to support the Observer. People like Cliff don’t come along very often in a lifetime. We have made real progress since then and you’ve probably seen it in the pages of the publication. The , led the national news media to stories that would have been missed, managed ards to pay writers a little more for their work, and gradually increased circulation. The Observer’s foundation rests on three things: its committed staff, the loyalty of its readers, and the financial contributions of its supporters. I hope you represent both of those last two and that you will join me one more time in supporting this publication. The Observer our support in two ways: needs y 1.2.Give gift subscriptions to friends who may become subscribers. Because we believe in the importance of this Journal of Free Voices, if supporters wiledontribu 00te a 000 total of $50,, Audre and I will match that amount. Last year, with your support, we rais $90,tay in 0 to keep the Observer running for another year. This year, we hope to raise enough money to s busi ness and provide a budget for sustained growth. More than sixty years ago, twelve or thirteen Russian Jewish families would congregate in my family’s house in San Antonio. Roosevelt’s New Deal was still years away, and Marxists, all dedicated to building a more just future. When the time came to collect money to build a political movement, all of them contributed something. I Observer. I hope you feel the same way. having, it’s worth supporting. That’s how I feel about the Please help us build and strengthen the Observer. Bernard apoport 2 THE TEXAS OBSERVER DECEMBER 10, 1999