January 2, 2004 Dear Member, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a very happy holiday season. As you can see from the contents of this mailing (which are contained in the online version of our newsletter), the media has been very helpful in sharing our stories and our issues with their various audiences: U BusinessWeek magazine ran an 8-page cover story about Unmarried America U Christian Science Monitor published a story on "The Power of One" U American Demographics magazine did a set of stories on solo singles U Fox News Channel’s website published a story about singles’ rights U USA Today ran my rebuttal to an editorial they wrote about promoting marriage These print stories generated some regional and national talk radio shows to invite me as a guest to discuss equal rights for unmarried and single Americans, including: Ben Meren’s Show on Wisconsin Public Radio, The Michael Medved Show, The Dave Ross Show, and Fox News Live with Alan Colmes. Members of Congress are acknowledging the important role that Unmarried America plays in promoting more fairness for unmarried workers, consumers, and taxpayers. We have received letters of support from Congressman Mike Doyle (D-PA), Congressman Ed Case (D-HI) and Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI). We are pleased that Congresswoman Diane Watson (D-CA) has become a member of Unmarried America to show her support. She also gave us an interview for the documentary we are producing. Unfortunately, other politicians and elected officials are not giving us the attention we deserve. As a result, we are reaching out to them. We have written to all of the announced candidates for President, in both the Democratic and Republican parties, asking them why unmarried voters should support them. We have also sent our Federal Briefing Paper to 430 members of the House of Representatives, asking them to send us a written statement of support and/or to accept our invitation to become an honorary member of Unmarried America. And we have written to California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi urging him to implement promises he made during his campaign in 2002 when he pledged to take action, after the election, to protect unmarried consumers from marital status discrimination. As you can see, we have been busy doing what we do best – educating and advocating – for our members and for all unmarried and single Americans. But our effectiveness would be enhanced if we had more members, and if our current members were to increase the level of their donations. Remember, donations to Unmarried America are tax-deductible since the American Association for Single People has federal tax-exempt status under section 501c3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Please share these materials with your friends and family members during the holidays and urge them to join Unmarried America. If you have received a renewal notice with this letter, please renew your membership. Even if it is not renewal time for you, please give a generous donation before Jan. 1 so that you can help us implement our mission, and gain a 2003 tax deduction too. Just send us a check in the postal mail, or donate through our website at: www.unmarriedamerica.com/mberservcs/join.html Thanks for your continuing support.
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