Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism. Read past recommendations from this series here.
1. Female veterans carry special war baggage
By Paula J. Caplan | WeNews | Nov. 10
“Female veterans’ homecoming can be complicated by their experience of the hyper-masculinity of the military, Paula J. Caplan writes in this excerpt from ‘When Johnny and Jane Come Marching Home: How All of Us Can Help Veterans.’ ”
2. In Afghanistan, special units do the dirty work
By Carmen Gentile | USA Today | Nov. 10
“In Afghanistan, military officers and analysts say Special Forces have boosted security in areas once held by the Taliban. They are getting increased cooperation from locals to repel insurgents in what former U.S. commander David Petraeus calls a potential ‘game changer’ for the country.”
3. 25% of Mammals at Risk of Extinction, IUCN Reports
LiveScience | Nov. 10
“About one in four mammal species are at risk of extinction, and the Western black rhino has officially been declared extinct, according to a new assessment of biodiversity by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and partners.”
4. Why Cain’s problems don’t help Obama
By Sam Youngman | Ballot Box :: The Hill | Nov. 9
“If you’re a Democrat, what’s not to love about the saga of Herman Cain and his allegedly busy hands? For Democrats working to get President Obama reelected, the answer is a lot: Herman Cain could be hurting the president’s shot at four more years.”
5. My love-hate relationship with machismo
By Sara Ines Calderon | NewsTaco | Nov. 10
“I love a strong, hairy, burly, well-fed, commanding, in-control, macho. It’s true. I don’t like men trying to control what I say, how I say it, how I dress, where I go, with whom I speak and just generally being insecure jerks trying to empower themselves by taking my power away. Therein lies the dilemma.”
6. Batman and ‘Bitches’
By G. Christopher Williams | PopMatters | Nov. 9
“In noir, men do bad things to women, women do bad things to men, people do bad things to each other. One of the central conceits of noir is very simple: people are creeps.”
7. BP Oil Spill Cleanup: Coast Guard Approves Plan To End Operation
By Cain Burdeau and Dina Cappiello | The Huffington Post | Nov. 8
“According to the document … the Coast Guard spells out protocol for ending the cleanup. It has been going on since April 20, 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon exploded off the Louisiana coast.”
8. WomenTALK 2011 Survey on Sex: What We Want Isn’t What We Get
By Emma Gray | The Huffington Post | Nov. 8
“There’s a lot wrong with the way this survey is presented, but one valuable piece of information it offers is that only 42 percent of the women surveyed rated sexual health as ‘very or extremely important’ to their overall health.”
9. Democrats More Liberal, Less White Than in 2008
By Frank Newport, Jeffrey M. Jones, and Lydia Saad | Gallup.com | Nov. 7
“Party generally looks demographically similar to 2008.”
10. On electoral map, Obama still has routes to victory in 2012
By Chris Cillizza | The Fix :: The Washington Post | Nov. 6
“The grim economic state of the country has created a toxic political environment for Obama. But the ground on which the 2012 election will be fought still favors him and should give Democrats some hope that he can claim a second term in a year’s time.”
Stillness of Heart 
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