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This Dissent article makes the case that a boycott shut down Glen Beck.

I find it dubious, but if it’s true – is that something for the left to take pride in?  I don’t like boycotts aimed at free speech, but that’s the civil libertarian in me.  The First Amendment to me isn’t just Constitutional Law.  Yes, I know it only applies to government.  But it also represents an ethos – that you fight bad words and ideas with words and ideas of your own and that broad discourse is inherently progressive.

Just my thinking.  For what it’s worth.

The fish symbolism below was popular with left activist newsletters during the 1980s, the bottom one actually being based upon a children’s book with a title I don’t remember about a pariah black fish among red fish eventually serving as an eye in the revolutionary formation.

The image comes from this American Friends Service Committee site – always loved the Quakers.

Well, some chess geek came up with an even better image. It comes from imageshack, and I’ve found it on various sites, but I can’t find an attribution.

They want everything to stay the same.  And keep Mike Thompson and Noreen Evans as our representatives.

Hank discusses the dilemma.

Personally, I’m thinking we should reconsider the east-west district.  The idea has grown on me.  I like Mike Thompson, but the voters of California approved this thing against my wishes.  Change is in the air.

And the former Mayor of SF will probably be your Representative.

I’m just catching up with the story over the past day or so, but Police Chief Garr Nielsen’s unceremonious firing by City Manager Dave “Lightening Rod” Tyson has whipped up a bit of a storm and talks of recalls.  I don’t have the time right now to devote much to analysis, but Heraldo has all the links.  There are even some videos.

Well-written videos.  I have my criticisms (such as the omission of discussion of deregulation, Reagan’s Keynesianism, and the fact that we have “bottom up” without anything in the way at the moment), but it plays to the intelligence of the viewer and such art is so rare, I won’t taint the experience by obsessing with trifles.  Clearly the authors lean towards Hayek, but it’s a very good framing of the basics.

Attended by about 20 people at Redway School tonight.  A very positive and constructive discussion.  Corolyn, Assessor Mari Wilson, and Clif were present.

It turns out that Sohum really only has about 5 or 6 thousand people.  I had thought it was closer to 10 based upon the Hospital District stats.

Carolyn’s office has a page up with various links, including one to interactive GIS maps.  Put your own districts together – the magic number being 26995 people per district – do I have that right?

Addendum:  26,925.

Remember the complaint filed against Clif Clendenen for having an apple orchard too close the the railroad tracks?  Well, the Fair Political Practices Commission has rejected the complaint declaring that there is no conflict of interest.  It will be in tomorrow’s paper.

More on this and the redistricting meeting held in Redway tonight to come, either later tonight or tomorrow.

Addendum:  Times Standard.

Second addendum:  the letter.  Click on it for more clear image, then again to enlarge.

He’s moved to Marin County.

Democrats are finally explicitly accusing Republicans of deliberately sabotaging the economy for political gain, but opposing all jobs bills, even those they had previously supported.  The Republicans filibustered about a dozen jobs bills yesterday, and offered none of their own.  Barbara Boxer was on television last night saying that she had never seen anything like it.

This as Republicans are weakening on their “no new taxes” pledge.  Obviously the Democrats sense blood, as the Republican candidates are afraid to mention the middle class in their debates and Boehner’s only response to a question about what the Republicans intend to do about jobs was that they would “try to stop Obama from doing what he is doing.”

According to this Nation article, we almost had a meltdown of a Nebraska reactor earlier this month.   The article cites the Russian nuclear power agency as having citing an International Atomic Energy Agency report of a “near catastrophic meltdown of the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant.”

The article wanders off into a tirade about what the author calls “Obama’s war on the coal industry,” but I really could care less about that issue at the moment.  I want to know if the administration really ordered a “total and complete news blackout” on a level 4 “near catastrophic” nuclear emergency.  And I want to know why most of the rest of the media is silent on the subject.  Is the report BS?

I just googled the name of the plant, and there are lots of reports about the flooding, and the Nation article pops up here and there.  But so far they are the only media addressing this.  And the story is a few days old.

Addendum:  Ooops.  As pointed out in the thread, the article isn’t from The Nation we are familiar with.  It’s an English version of a magazine in Pakistan.  The story is getting some play online, but I have yet to see it appear anywhere I recognize as a medium of stature.

Tucson Citizen

Greeley Gazzette

This Salem site insists that it’s not a hoax, citing Wikipedia as a source.

And here’s a denial.

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