The Good:
Correct. (And good lord, why is Paglia still getting published?)
I wish I’d seen this published more widely. We need to hear Obama taking more stands like this, especially against Islamophobia. (Via.)
Lifesaving water missions aren’t a crime. No More Deaths (No Más Muertes) does incredibly important humanitarian aid work on the US-Mexico border in Arizona, and they’ve just won a small victory as one of their members won his appeal of a trumped-up littering conviction.
The Bad:
Okay, I know I get a lot of my bad news from Shakesville, but they really do a great job of pointing out and breaking down a lot of what’s going on around the country. Lately, the corporate takeover of America’s vote and the carte blanche on torture given to the CIA have really upset me.
These are an old pair of posts, but mind-boggling in what they reveal about the Republican party. I know and love many Republicans, but every time I see things like this, I wonder how they can vote for a party that officially wants to hurt so many people. I wonder if they still think of the party whose official platform once looked like this?
A major literary magazine in India publishes vile comments from the vice-chancellor of a prestigious university calling women writers whores. (Via.)
Yep, actually, “redistribution of wealth” sounds about right nowadays.
The Silly:
Hark! a vagrant is a delightful cartoon about history and literature and silliness. In this one, apparently the editor never heard the maxim “show, don’t tell.”
I love, love www.passiveaggressivenotes.com — straightforwardly!
Okay, what have you been reading this week?
Stowaway Travel Writing & Editorial Services 
In my two seconds (ok, more like 15 minutes) online so far today, I read this: http://agrammar.tumblr.com/post/1127991128/offended-by-rank-objectification-of-writers. (A list of reasons to date a writer with a “bleak corrective.” It’s all true.)
In the world of academic literati (in other words, the numbers of those who care are few) this burst on the scene: http://www.lrb.co.uk/v32/n18/elif-batuman/get-a-real-degree. And a response: http://mumpsimus.blogspot.com/2010/09/programmed.html. I’m still deciding what I think.
Thanks so much for posting about Obama’s comments on the extremist cleric who wanted to burn the Koran. It is a shame that cleric got so much coverage and this very compassionate and holistic response so little.
I totally agree. That is the scary thing about rhetoric in this country in the last ten years.