Rolling On Honourably

TheStraightGoods
DIYLives!Ville

On The Honourable Roll This Week......
(see sidebar)

Kevin Potvin, who has proven that he can take a punch and throw haymakers of his own*, has a great take up in his 'Republic of East Vancouver' (both in print and online), in which he lays out how the working man is being screwed in this, our fair city and its surrounding environs. He uses three examples - the doubling of prices at public swimming pools, the demise of civic Mom and Pop arenas, and all the new ancilliary fees that have jacked the price of camping in BC Parks through the stratosphere (just like B.C. Ferries, "It's the reservations, stupid!"). Read Mr. Potvin's screed here.

Steve Gilliard was a giant of the Bloggodome. He stomped on the terra like no one before him and probably like no one who comes after him ever will. He could write with depth, style and elan on just about any topic you could possibly imagine and he would never, ever discuss/debate a demonstrable falsehood. And when he wrote about his love for beer can chicken or the joys of his days out with his friend Jen it pretty much melted my heart - really. And now he's gone. James Wolcott, who defended Mr. Gilliard in the mainstream media and Jane Hamsher, who tag-teamed with him in Left Blogistan, say their goodbyes. And here's something I wrote about Gilliard awhile back, before he got really sick, that tells you how I really feel.

Marcy Wheeler is probably the smartest woman I've never met. Her masterful use of the 3R's (researching, writing and righteousness) is nothing short of breathtaking. More than anyone it was she who made it clear how the Cheneyites used cut-outs like Judith Miller to grow their stain of evil in the public prints. Ms. Wheeler works her own place as EmptyWheel at the NextHurrah and she also works regularly with all the Plameologists/Anti-Eavesdroppers at FDL. Turns out that she can also slay the dragons in the real world too. You can watch her do her thing (notice how she dismantles the wingnuts on Healthcare, Guiliani, Iran vs Pakistan and FlipFlopping Republicans and then, right at the end, even starts doing the moderator's job for him when she probes the Nutters about the future ambitions of Newt Gingrich. The link is to an video-embedded RAFile.

Also held over on the honour roll is Ira Basin's in-depth radio series on the Evils of Spin (a.k.a. lying) and a link to the Gerwing Family Foundation that does flat-out fantastic stuff with very little money (and they could use some more).

OK?

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*Added the 'haymaker' , which was not in the original post, after receiving a comment from Ian King, who has tremendous knowledge of the Vancouver media scene (from the most indy to the most established, and most points in between). Thus, the statement/comment that Ian makes is his own to own. However, Ian does cite a number of specific examples of Mr. Potvin's counterpunches, at least one of which I have seen documented elsewhere. As a result, I made the change.


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