THANK YOU FOR REMEMBERING! From Rayelan Allan, Publisher of Rumor Mill News I am remiss in thanking the friends and readers of Rumor Mill News for their support during the month of June! Donations and the sale of books, brought in almost $1,000.00! While this is NOT yet enough for me to quit my job or even to cut down to part-time hours, it is a start! On Saturday, I checked the post office box and there was a letter from a reader in San Francisco. The letter included a check which was her contribution for the month of July. I have been so busy this last month, that I barely realized the month was over and it was time to send out a "Rumor Mill Reminder". Most of you know what the reminder is all about, but for those who are new, let me briefly restate the position of Rumor Mill News. Rumor Mill News is maintained and run by ONE person...me. It costs money and takes time to keep it up and running. At the moment I am working more than full time. My day starts at 6AM and doesn't finish until 10PM. That leaves little time for anything else. When I explained my problem in an email that I sent last month, about 40 readers came to my aid. Some sent $5.00, some sent $100.00. The total added up to a little over $1,000.00. Can you believe it! Only 40 people responded, and yet, it added up to almost $1,000! These 40 people, PLUS the woman from San Francisco who remembered her pledge to send Rumor Mill a monthly donation -- without being prodded to do it -- are the reason that Rumor Mill is going to stay around a little longer! The letters and gifts I received with the donations were very much appreciated (especially the chocolate covered macadamia nuts from Hawaii -- YUM!) The messages of genuine appreciation for Rumor Mill touched me at a level I can not put into words! The letters contained many suggestions for bringing in enough money to keep Rumor Mill News up and running. One idea that many people proposed was to have a special section on the Rumor Mill News page that was "by subscription only". I am giving this idea a great deal of thought. This is still in the planning stage, but I am considering creating a Forum for my own writings and news gathering. It will be a Forum just like the Rumor Mill News Agent's Forum. You will need a password to enter. You will be able to post replies and/or critiques to my articles. Unlike the Rumor Mill News Agent's Forum, this Forum will be by subscription only. I suspect that it will become one of the best read and most interesting places on the web! The price that most people suggested was $5.00 a month or $50.00 a year. This sounds reasonable to me. If you have an opinion on this, please post it on the RMNews Agent's Forum if you have posting priviliges. If not, please post it on the Jr Agent's Forum, at this link. http://pub26.ezboard.com/frumormillnewsfrm0.showMessage?topicID=161.topic What I saw from the letters that came in during the month of June was that SOME people are supporting Rumor Mill News for the REST of the people. This is usually the way things are in ALL aspects of life. After I realized this, I realized that a FEW "core-people" are going to be the ones that I will be able to count on to keep Rumor Mill News up and running. I feel these people need to have something special, something that the other readers don't get. That is why I am really leaning toward creating a section on Rumor Mill which will be "by subscription only", and it will carry my articles and information I find on the internet that supports the premises I make in my articles. At $5.00 a month, I will need 400 subscribers in order for me to quit one of my projects. In order to quit both my projects, I will need 600 dedicated supporters who agree to send $5.00 a month or a one time payment of $50.00 a year! Each month Rumor Mill News gets approximately 150,000 UNIQUE visitors! In other words, 150,000 people read Rumor Mill News at least ONCE a month, probably MORE! If only 600 of you will send $5.00 a month to support Rumor Mill News, I will be able to devote full time to being a publisher and an editor, and I PROMISE you, the articles will be worth it! Thank you again for your continued support of Rumor Mill News. To send a donation via the post office, the address is: Rumor Mill News P.O. Box 1784 Aptos, CA 95003 If you are sending a check or money order from another country, please get an International Money Order or Cashier's check that is made out in U.S. dollars. These checks are treated just like United States checks. Otherwise, it takes about six weeks for the check to clear. If you are in Canada, England or Australia, PayPal now operates in these countries. PayPal is the quickest and easiest way to get money to Rumor Mill News. If you have not yet joined, just remember that both of us get $5.00 when you join. If you are already a member of PayPal, here is the link for your donation. https://secure.paypal.com/affil/pal=rayelan@aol.com Thank you very much for supporting the efforts of Rumor Mill News to bring you another side of the news! Rayelan Special thanks to the supporters who helped Rumor Mill News make it through June! J.H. Bremmen, GA G.H. Silver Spring, MD A.G. Phoenix, AZ T.B. Panama N.S. Reading, PA Anon South Jersey, NJ Anon Harrison, AZ TJ Namadasa Fairfield, CA R.H. Houston, TX J.S. Pensacola, FL B&F Meeker, CO MEV Gainesville, FL T&B - Hawaii -- Macadamia NUTS!! YUM!! LS London, England NB Valle Mines, MO SWM Miami, FL Jack -- Pasadena, CA M.E. Vancouver, WA Maba EK Westford, VT Dr. H. Denmark Anon - Austin, TX NQ San Francisco, CA W. -- Talkeetna, AK MM Denver, CO Spiral, Tucson, AZ J.S. Miami, FL Inform America CS Oceanside, CA IF Long Beach, CA PayPal Donations TH P Frames Jane Susan Bonnie Ed Diana Robert Michael Steve My deepest thanks to all of you!