Join us at the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair 2007!

We will be tabling with our progeny-store Last Word Books, at this year's Antiquarian Book Fair in Seattle, at the Pavilion in the Seattle Center on Saturday and Sunday.

View our choice items featured for the Fair.

Illahee Resort Bad Business For Walla Walla

Okay, so most of this is my own opinion I suppose, except for the links that is, but this just rings all wrong to me, as an intelligent human being who loves and supports local community and local economy. I mean come on, an out-of-town development corporation comes in, low-bids a chunk of land right next to our water supply, gets a cheaper price than any local residents, sells the first home to the Port Commissioner and wants to start some bourgeois
golf course for out-of-town wine snobs?

There's gotta be a better way to take their money and keep it in our town. Don't they read anything other than books on wine or art? Don't they shop at Earthlight? Don't they realize how cool we are already, without them? Granted, those books do cost a fair deal of money and we do like their money, but why sell out our land and water to another company from another state when we could capitalize on the scenario sustainably and locally and reap a higher percentage of the profits while we personally improve our own amazing town? We have so much history, why spend our heritage in some other store when we have our own silos to fill and share with our neighbors. And ya know what? I just don't wanna look at it every time I drive to my family's cabin that was built in 1919. Plain and simple. Just the way we like it?

Here's some old articles I found, plus one new one. Sorry if any of the info is wrong now, I've just been pissed for awhile and stockpiling ammo. Sometimes, if the revolution takes a spell or two, the ammo gets rusty, or the spell fails to be cast.

Walla Walla 2020's website

Walla Walla 2020 keeps eye on area - this one's actually good news, I guess, especially since the UB printed it!

New Golf Project Slated For Walla Walla
Jacobsen Hardy to Commence Work on Walla Walla Course

‘Don’t Bend Walla Walla,’ locals argue

Walla Walla doesn't want to be like Bend

The Town That Doesn't Want to Bend: Walla Walla citizens see Bend as a model of how not to grow

Here's Abito's Website

more to follow, thanks for staying tuned over the tedious months

Books Burn to Protest Decline in Reading - So You Say You Want A Revolution?

Man, this is fucking rad! Way to go guys! I'm crying and laughing and impressed and wishing I had a list of everything you're burning right now. Would that I could come to Kansas City to book scout.

So what do we need here now to fuel the opposite flame this one merely draws attention to? The dwindling candle of reading minds in our "great" nation. Incite celebrities and athletes to write books for children and young adults which encourage youth to read? Just finished reading Ecotopia, so of course my thoughts are lofty. But I imagine a sustainable, fully-greened publishing and textbook industry supported by a network of independent bookstores paired with local online dealers. I imagine local communities taking over Barnes and Nobles and Borders locations nationwide and localizing them, staffing them, changing the tones of them to fit the precise spot they are located. I imagine a world where we remember that reading is still looking, just with a different form of thought attached, that a picture is not worth a thousand words and sometimes, the exact opposite is true.

Dear Book Lovers;
There are worse crimes than burning books, one is not reading them. ~ Joseph Brodskey

The individual who won’t read has nothing over the individual who cannot read. ~ Mark Twain

For ten years Prospero’s Books has been in the front lines of the literary arts, both as a bookseller (www.prosperosbookstore.com) and as a publisher (www.unholydaypress.com). As a used bookseller, we have put our money where our hearts are – surrendering our hours and our revenues to sharing the world of books and, more importantly, the ideas they contain with anyone who would listen.

During these ten years we have seen reading decline dramatically. The National endowment of for Arts study on literary literacy in America which painfully highlighted the rapid decline of reading in America. In our own community, we’ve watched as bookstore after bookstore has folded.

Yesterday, we performed an act of art – a wakeup call to all who value books and ideas. Over the last 10 years, Prospero’s Books has 20,000 books we’ve collected that people simply will not read. We receive hundreds more each week.

At Prospero’s we fundamentally believe that the literary arts are not dead. We believe that there is still much about the human condition and our time still needing to be said. In so saying, we challenge you to get involved in two ways:
1. email these stories to your friends
2. call your local TV, radio, newspaper, blogs, etc. and tell them what is going on
3. For $1 a book (+ postage), you can save these books from the flame. We will not take these $s as profit, but will use them to publish new books.

Many of you have great ideas regarding what can be done with these books that’s better than burning them – we agree with you, and encourage YOU to get involved in sharing the gift of literature. For $1 a book + postage, you can support your local school, prison, etc.

If we are going to again place a spotlight on the importance of books and reading, we need Your help! This is bigger than two bookstore owners in Kansas City.

My greatest fear is that as a culture, we may be beyond saving the books.
We appreciate that you have joined what we hope will become a national dialogue about the importance of books. Thank you.
Sincere Regards,
Prospero’s Bookstore
Will Leathem
Tom Wayne

More news coverage:

Fox News' Take [see evil corporation]
Yahoo's
The Hindu

More Dirt on Hanford

I thought some of you folks researching Hanford would find some of this information interesting, from a post of mine on Pirate Papa earlier today.

The Real Costs of Nuclear War: Radioactive Breastmilk, Birth Defects, Contaminated Food Chains

Interesting article on AB Bookman's Weekly

http://www.bookthink.com/0018/18ab.htm

Iacocca bashes Bush in new book: Ex-Chrysler CEO also rips Congress, but the harshest criticism goes to president's leadership.

from The Detriot News

by: Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- Lee Iacocca, author of the original business management best-seller, is giving President Bush an "F" in leadership.

In a book to be released Tuesday, the former Chrysler CEO -- who supported Bush's first campaign in 2000 but backed Sen. John Kerry four years later -- accused Bush of leading the nation to war "on a pack of lies" and lacking the basic components of good leadership.

"I think our current President should visit the real world once in a while," Iacocca writes, according to excerpts from "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?" released on the Web site of publisher Simon & Schuster.

The book, co-written by New York journalist Catherine Whitney, comes 23 years after Iacocca's best-selling autobiography "Iacocca," which reshaped the way the publishing industry viewed business books. USA Today recently ranked the book among the 25 most influential among publishers and readers over the past 25 years.

In addition to politics, Iacocca weighs in on his experiences at Chrysler and the future of the U.S. auto industry in typically blunt fashion.

His latest broadside is in character, said Matthew Seeger, chairman of the communication department of Wayne State University and author of a book on Iacocca's speeches.

"As he's gotten older, he's gotten more blunt, more willing to take stands on issues," Seeger said.

But tough words from Iacocca may not carry the same weight they once did, said David Cole, director of the Center for Automotive Research at the University of Michigan.

"Some people might have some awfully harsh criticism of Lee Iacocca, too," Cole said.

Despite his stature as the savior of Chrysler in the 1980s, Cole said, other events, including his failed bid with Kirk Kerkorian to take over the company in the 1990s, have diminished his clout.

Iacocca has described himself as a political independent, and his new book is the latest twist in political history that includes a brief flirtation with his own run for president. He had a close relationship with Democrat Gov. James Blanchard and President Reagan during his time at Chrysler; he made ads for President Bush in 2000 but made campaign appearances with Kerry four years later; and he made more ads, this time for GOP gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos, last year.

"Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening?" Iacocca writes. "Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course.' "

Disdain for Washington is nothing new from Iacocca, said Gerald Meyers, former chairman of American Motors and a business professor at the University of Michigan. Recalling a trip to talk to lawmakers in the 1970s about the Clean Air Act, Meyers said, Iacocca had little regard for politicians.

"Zero respect. Nada. No respect whatsoever," Meyers said.

Iacocca has tough things to say about Congress, corporate America, the press and even the voters who put the nation's current leadership in power. But his harshest criticism is saved for Bush.

# He savages Bush's famous determination: "George Bush prides himself on never changing, even as the world around him is spinning out of control. God forbid someone should accuse him of flip-flopping," Iacocca writes. "There's a disturbingly messianic fervor to his certainty."

# He accuses Bush of substituting macho for courage: "Swagger isn't courage. Tough talk isn't courage. Courage in the twenty-first century doesn't mean posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk."

# And he scoffs at Bush's business-degree background: "Thanks to our first MBA President, we've got the largest deficit in history, Social Security is on life support, and we've run up a half-a-trillion-dollar price tag (so far) in Iraq. And that's just for starters."

White House spokesman Alex Conant said he had not seen the book. "We don't do book reviews at the White House," he said.

Simon & Schuster says the book will also include Iacocca's thoughts on how U.S. businesses can compete with rising economies in China and India. And he calls for government action to address the massive health care costs facing the Detroit's automakers and other U.S. businesses.

"Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing," he writes. "Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'the Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies?"

Postage Hikes for Small Presses

Thanks Marvelys! Even though this is TERRIBLE NEWS. McChesney is a fellow Evergreen Graduate and resident badass when it comes to critiquing our current corporatocracy through the media lens.

Dear friend, relative, or acquaintance of Bob McChesney,

On very rare occasions I send a message to everyone in my email address book on an issue that I find of staggering importance and urgency. (My address book includes pretty much everyone who emails me in one form or another, and I apologize if you get this message more than once.) This is one of those times.

There is a major crisis in our media taking place right now; it is getting almost no attention and unless we act very soon the consequences for our society could well be disastrous. And it will only take place because it is being done without any public awareness or participation; it goes directly against the very foundations of freedom of the press in the entirety of American history.

The U.S. Post Office is in the process of implementing a radical reformulation of its rates for magazines, such that smaller periodicals will be hit with a much much larger increase than the largest magazines.

Because the Post Office is a monopoly, and because magazines must use it, the postal rates always have been skewed to make it cheaper for smaller publications to get launched and to survive. The whole idea has been to use the postal rates to keep publishing as competitive and wide open as possible. This bedrock principle was put in place by James Madison and Thoma
s Jefferson. They considered it mandatory to create the press system, the Fourth Estate necessary for self-government.

It was postal policy that converted the free press clause in the First Amendment from an abstract principle into a living breathing reality for Americans. And it has served that role throughout our history.

What the Post Office is now proposing goes directly against 215 years of postal policy. The Post Office is in the process of implementing a radical reformulation of its mailing rates for magazines. Under the plan, smaller periodicals will be hit with a much larger increase than the big magazines, as much as 30 percent. Some of the largest circulation magazines will face hikes of less than 10 percent.

The new rates, which go into effect on July 15, were developed with no public involvement or congressional oversight, and the increased costs could damage hundreds, even thousands, of smaller publications, possibly putting many out of business. This includes nearly every political journal in the nation. These are the magazines that often provide the most original journalism and analysis. These are the magazines that provide much of the content on Common Dreams. We desperately need them.

What the Post Office is planning to do now, in the dark of night, is implement a rate structure that gives the best prices to the biggest publishers, hence letting them lock in their market position and lessen the threat of any new competition. The new rates could make it almost impossible to launch a new magazine, unless it is spawned by a huge conglomerate.

Not surprisingly, the new scheme was drafted by Time Warner, the largest magazine publisher in the nation. All evidence available suggests the bureaucrats responsible have never considered the implications of their draconian reforms for small and independent publishers, or for citizens who depend upon a free press.

The corruption and sleaziness of this process is difficult to exaggerate. As one lawyer who works for a large magazine publisher admits, it takes a publishing company several hundred thousand dollars to even participate in these rate cases. Some large corporations spend millions to influence these rates. Little guys, and the general public who depend upon these magazines,
are not at the table when the deal is being made.

The genius of the postal rate structure over the past 215 years was that it did not favor a particular viewpoint; it simply made it easier for smaller magazines to be launched and to survive. That is why the publications opposing the secretive Post Office rate hikes cross the political spectrum. This is not a left-wing issue or a right-wing issue, it is a democracy issue. And it is about having competitive media markets that benefit all Americans. This reform will have disastrous effects for all small and mid-sized publications, be they on politics, music, sports or gardening.

This process was conducted with such little publicity and pitched only at the dominant players that we only learned about it a few weeks ago and it is very late in the game. But there is something you can do. Please go to www.stoppostalratehikes.com and sign the letter to the Postal Board protesting the new rate system and d emanding a congressional hearing before any radical changes are made. The deadline for comments is April 23.

I know many of you are connected to publications that go through the mail, or libraries and bookstores that pay for subscriptions to magazines and periodicals. If you fall in these categories, it is imperative you get everyone connected to your magazine or operation to go to
www.stoppostalratehikes.com.

We do not have a moment to lose. If everyone who reads this email responds at www.stoppostalratehikes.com, and then sends it along to their friends urging them to do the same, we can win. If there is one thing we have learned at Free Press over the past few years, it is that if enough people raise hell, we can force politicians to do the right thing. This is a time for serious hell-raising.

And to my friends from outside the United States, I apologize for cluttering your inbox. If you read this far, we can use your moral support.

From the bottom of my heart, thanks.

Bob

Robert W. McChesney
www.mediaproblem.org
www.freepress.net
Department of Communication
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign