#83 Sep/Oct 2006

FREE THOUGHTS

READER MAIL
Liberal in Religion (Except for Catholics?); Impeach Bush Now

A Violent & Hopeless Course
Seattle shooting ought to trigger questions about American foreign policy
opinion by Joel Hanson

Today's 'Bad' Immigrant is Tomorrow's 'Good' Immigrant
by Domenico Maceri

Can you fill in the blanks in these headlines?
by Doug Collins

FOOD

The Cholesterol Myth Part 2: The dangers of low blood cholesterol
by Barry Groves, PhD

CHOLESTEROL THEORY WIPES OUT HUMAN RACE
'Regret at the waste of a fine planet'
from the Weston A. Price Foundation

MEDIA

MEDIA BEAT
Digital Hype: A Dazzling Smokescreen?
by Norman Solomon

Remodel at the Seattle Weekly
by Doug Collins

Just Looking For Something Fun To Do On Saturday Night?
from the editor

CIVIL RIGHTS

Judge: No Ban on Apartment Door Signs
Housing agency appeals verdict
opinion and photos by Keith Gormezano

Defending Free Speech Rights of Lt. Ehren Watada
Brief filed for Fort Lewis officer facing court martial for opposition to Iraq War
from the ACLU of WA

POLITICS

Fishing for a Good Candidate
opinion by Doug Collins

Thank Republican Congressmen Ron Paul and Walter Jones for Speaking Truth
by David Swanson

Republicans, Please Stand Up
opinion by Jim Sullivan

BOOKS

BOOK NOTICES
Tire Grabbers; The Revenge of Gaia; This is Burning Man

What's your favorite book?
Write about it!
from the editor

LAW

BOB'S RANDOM LEGAL WISDOM
The Long Road to Justice: One Client's Story
by Bob Anderton
plus Bob's Random Lawyer Joke

HEALTH

Charity at the Wrong End
Drugstores charity and pharmaceutical solutions
by Doug Collins

Vaccination Update
Pharmaceutical companies might lose out if common sense held sway
by Doug Collins

Disposing the Diaper
Part 2: How my wife and I potty-trained pretty darn early. Our kids, I mean.
by Doug Collins

CONTACTS & ACTIVISM

DO SOMETHING CALENDAR

NORTHWEST NEIGHBORS

ENVIRONMENT

Bush Fiddles While the World Burns
As global warming sets new and dangerous records, the US sets new records in pollution
by Don Monkerud

RIGHT BRAIN

Some Thoughts
by Styx Mundstock

THE WANDERINGS AND THOUGHTS OF KIPP KELLOG
by Vincent Spada #7

PUMPKIN EDDIE'S LIGHTNING POEMS
by Vincent Spada

Mourning and Moving On
poem by Robert Pavlik

WORLD RECORDS DEPT.
Transcendental Poem
by Vincent Spada

Remodel at the Seattle Weekly

by Doug Collins

Remember when the Village Voice was looked upon as a bastion of liberal thought in the US? Now, Village Voice Media, the parent company of the Village Voice-and now scads of other weeklies around the country including the Seattle Weekly-is scaring away decent news journalists, by most accounts because of its insistence on editorial control. Recently, top editors and writers at the Seattle Weekly have resigned, including progressive columnist Geov Parrish and libertarian-edged chief editor Knute Berger.

To anyone who has romantic illusions of the commercial press being a long-term vehicle for social change, this should be an eye-opener. News editors and news writers are unfortunately more-or-less a trapping in the operations of a typical news weekly. What will happen when major news players in the publication resign? Will there be massive complaints from loyal readers, and a serious blip in circulation? Not likely. Newsies at a commercial paper are just a bit less replaceable than nouns and verbs in a headline. That dynamic in itself leads to more fluff in the news.

New managing editor-and apparent Survivor winner-at the Weekly, Mike Seely (who penned articles in the WA Free Press years ago before going solely pro), is likely to be under few illusions. What basically matters to most commercial publishers-small or large-is the advertising department, which lusts after a young demographic.

That's why non-commercial news alternatives like the WA Free Press are so important, and why they need your support.

Doug Collins

The Washington Free Press
PMB #178, 1463 E Republican ST, Seattle WA 98112
WAfreepress@gmail.com

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