12 hours, oh boy!

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Not only was he “never challenged” but he’s going to carry out a “wholesale firing of competent white men in the United States.” If there’s one thing conservative pundits are good at, it’s COMPLETELY MAKING UP STORIES void of using ANY FACTS. I hope the vitriol these pundits spew continues to break down the Republican’s hold on fairy-tale fundamentalism, racism, and economic inequity.

From Media Matters

During the November 18 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Michael Savage said, “You haven’t seen any of what’s coming in this country. You are going to see the wholesale replacement of competent white men, and I’m targeting exactly the group that’s gonna be thrown out of jobs in the government. And I’ll say it, and I’ll be the first to say it, and I may be not the only — the last to say it. I am telling you that there’s gonna be a wholesale firing of competent white men in the United States government up and down the line, in police departments, in fire departments. Everywhere in America, you’re going to see an exchange that you’ve never seen in history, and it’s not gonna be necessarily for the betterment of this country.”

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Our wartime President-Elect on his ambitions:

Sounding presidential, Senator Barack Obama said Wednesday he would order a surge of U.S. troops – perhaps 15,000 or more – to Afghanistan as soon as he reached the White House.

“We’re confronting an urgent crisis in Afghanistan,” Mr. Obama, the Democratic contender and now clear front-runner to replace George W. Bush, said Wednesday.

“It’s time to heed the call … for more troops. That’s why I’d send at least two or three additional brigades to Afghanistan,” he said in his most hawkish promise to date.

A U.S. army brigade includes about 5,000 soldiers along with tanks, armoured personnel carriers and helicopter gunships. via Globe and Mail

I’ve fallen in love with libraries again.  Portland’s system is robust, and now that I have time to spend time in this wonderful institution, I’ve enjoyed checking out various media, reading Sunday papers, and ultimately having a space to relax that doesn’t require the exchange of cash.

Colleen has introduced me to graphic novels, and I’ve enjoyed reviewing the MOME series, which without a library membership I might otherwise have passed on.  Most recently, I finished Palestine, by Joe Sacco.  Joe combines journalism with comics, it is an innovative way to tell stories.  Go ahead and put it ON HOLD at your local library, and prepare to find yourself deep inside the Palestinian experience.  The injustice, the unbelievable suffering, the lack of hope.

These chronicles were from the early 90’s and I ponder how much has changed since Joe was able to visit.  Who will save Palestine?

See also:

• Interview with Joe Sacco (Weekend America)
• The Art of War (Mother Jones)

Portland’s daily newspaper website, Oregonlive, is really unfun, ALL TEXT, and the articles are way too airy.  The print publication doesn’t get much better.

PREDICTION: We’ll see massive consolidation of the newspaper industry, once all newspapers bite the bullet and go ALL web.  We’ll have the big guns: NY Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal covering everything.  Blogging will replace all hyper-local journalism.  We’ve seen newspaper consolidation, while the papers maintain some semblance of locality.  Corps like Gannett and Knight Ridder have maintained an umbrella over most local rags for years.   Soon, we won’t be talking about the Oregonian or the Philadelphia Inquirer when referring to local coverage anymore.  We’ll get better national and worldwide journalism with higher salaries, but local reporting will plummet.

Not sure if this is good or bad, but judging from the type of coverage valued in the Inky and the Oregonian, I don’t think we’ve got a whole lot to lose.  I wonder how we’ll keep the focus on local issues.

As always, thank you Collateral News for reporting on issues that might never see the light of day.