This issue marks the third anniversary of the Tucson Comic News, an occasion for me to reflect on how lucky I am to be able to do this for a living. Many thanks to all you readers, and of course, to all of the advertisers, without whom none of this would be possible. I certainly hope that you thank them as well, by shopping with them and mentioning how much you appreciate their support of the Comic News. You'd be surprised what a big difference that makes.Special thanks go to those advertisers who have been with the Comic News since the very first issue: Fair Wheel Bikes, The Coyote Wore Sideburns, KXCI, Toxic Ranch, and the Garland. Now you go thank them yourselves.
Of course, I want to thank you as well, whether you've been with us from the beginning or are picking us up for the first time. And special thanks go to those who actually exercise the option to drop some cash in the coinbox to help keep this paper going.
In fact, one of the most frequently asked questions about the Comic News is “How is that coinbox thing working?”-sometimes phrased as “Do people actually pay for that thing?” The short answer is: People do. The long answers is, just as with public radio, far more people don't pay than do, but those who do pay add up to a substantial contribution to the cause.
Some people put in only pennies, and some fold up dollar bills or even fives. On the other hand, some break into the box and take the cash, or (as happened at the University this summer) take the entire newsrack. Among the items deposited in Comic News racks over the past 15 months are the following:
A stick of ginseng gum, three guitar picks, an Oshkosh B'Gosh medallion, various fan letters and hate mail, a 50¢ credit slip for Zia Records, several dozen cool foreign coins, a beautiful Korean banknote (which turned out to be worth 50¢), a small packet of pepper, five popsicle sticks and twenty-three toothpicks.
I should mention that at one location in particular, the Pima County Public Works building on Stone, some yahoo drops trash in the box every single month, including wet popsicle sticks (eeeew) and an NRA sticker. Since this happens so consistently, my guess is that it's somebody who works in the building, possibly Ed Moore. But if you work there, and think you know who it is, why not drop me a line. And if it's you, if you're the one making some sort of infantile comment on my editorial policies, let me just say this: I'll debate you any time, anywhere, popsicle boy, public or private. Just, like, grow up.
Whew. Just had to get that off my chest.
On a more serious note, some of you may remember a Rant about a year ago, wherein I discussed a wonderful organization called Results. For those of you tuning in late, let me repeat myself: “Results is an international citizen's lobby, dedicated to creating the political will to eradicate hunger and poverty. And these people are living up to their name: they save the lives of over four million children a year. Results has had spectacular success in combatting deaths from easily preventable diseases, like measles, diarrhea, whooping cough, tetanus and pneumonia. These five account for more than half of the 35,000 children who die every day across the planet.
“The other thing that Results does is equally dramatic. They provide small business loans to the most impoverished women on the planet. Their programs are based on the success of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, founded by Dr. Mohommed Yunus.
“Dr. Yunus made a point of seeking out the most destitute women and is now lending out $1.5 million a day in Bangladesh. The average loan is about $140 and the payback rate is 98%.
“But wait, I haven't even gotten to the real amazing part yet. What amazes me is that Results is providing these funds with the cooperation of some fairly unlikely allies, including the GOP-dominated US Congress, and believe it or not, the World Bank.
“This is due in large part to the extremely effective lobbying done by Results volunteers. Every dollar that is donated to Results, the lobbyists are able to leverage into over a thousand dollars in matching funds. That'll save a hundred kids from an early death, all from your four quarters.
“I haven't been this energized about a political organization in a long time. This ties in with so much of what I've been saying the past couple years, about the need to join together and take action, to counter the effects of the rapacious multinationals. And as I mentioned once before, since it's capitalism that's destroying the planet, maybe only capitalism can save it.
Endquote. So last year, because of the excellent work Results is doing, I attended their annual fundraising breakfast here in Tucson (one of many such events around the country). The $100-a-plate breakfast was well attended by many wealthy and influential Tucsonans, which makes sense, since, to paraphrase Willie Sutton, that's where the money is.
But there were also folks like me, for whom a hundred dollars is a lot of money. Results has a handy installment plan, which makes this a particularly painless way to do good, as well as an extremely effective one.
So I urge you to join me and other concerned Tucsonans at the Results breakfast, which will be held Saturday September 28, from 7:30am-9am, at the Arizona Inn. There will be good food, videos, music, and speakers, including Dr. Vicky Guzman of El Salvador. Dr. Guzman is director of the Salvadoran Rural Health Association, which provides basic public health and micro-enterprise programs for 80,000 villagers in rural El Salvador at an annual cost of four dollars per person. No child has died from a preventable disease in any of Dr. Guzman's villages in over three years.
To register for the Results breakfast (remember, you can pay in monthly installments), contact Guy Josserand at 882-4945 or Lois Stevens at 628-7647.