I was very curious what books Sarah Palin was concerned about when she questioned the Wasilla librarian about banning books. At least one of the books is now out of the closet, as it were. The NYT reported Daddy's Roommate to be the cause of all the brouhaha.
I should have known.
I know the moral argument here. We can't expose young children to corruption. But whatever your moral beliefs, can we have a little compassion for the children in same-sex partnerships? Heaven forbid kids of same-gendered parents see their lives mirrored in print. Heaven forbid they feel a little less weird compared to their friends.
And heaven forbid we let the first amendment interfere with our political agenda.
Showing posts with label First Amendment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label First Amendment. Show all posts
Monday, September 15, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Let Your Voice Be Heard!
Doug Johnson kindly gave a shout out to my blog posting yesterday (grin--though I asked him to. But ONLY if he thought it was worth mentioning. So I'm proud he obviously did. He's what I strive to be when I grow up!) You should check out the 'posters' he has in his blog. Hilarious!
Anyway, Doug's post got me thinking. I blogged a while back about Palin's attempts to fire an Alaskan librarian for not banning some books Palin opposed. At the time I didn't comment on it, figuring I'd let the words speak for themselves. And they do! But now I wonder if I also wasn't silenced somewhat from that LM-NET brouhaha a few weeks ago. I didn't want anymore accusations on national list-servs that I had a hidden agenda.
Hmmmmm....
I guess the accuser achieved her aim of silencing me. Because that, of course, is always the goal of anyone, left or right, who loudly not just attacks those they disagree with, but tries to stop others from exposure to those points of view.
Shame on her. More imporantly, shame on me for allowing myself to be silenced, however briefly.
Palin's attempts to fire the Wasilla librarian fortunately came to naught, thanks to 100 hardy souls who came to the librarian's defense. But it should cause anyone who values their freedom to speak their mind in a public form to take pause at the voting booth.
The past eight years have seen loud and public attacks on freedom of speech, from the government to Don Imus, to the British holocaust denier who was jailed in Austria.
As librarians, we have a special obligation to stand witness and speak out against any attacks on this fundamental American right, whether it come from the left, the right or the wackos. We many not like what they say, but we need to defend their right to say it.
I have a Michael Moore quotation as the signature on my email address at school. Mostly because I thought it was funny, playing against the stereotypical librarian. I need to do more to make it true....
Anyway, Doug's post got me thinking. I blogged a while back about Palin's attempts to fire an Alaskan librarian for not banning some books Palin opposed. At the time I didn't comment on it, figuring I'd let the words speak for themselves. And they do! But now I wonder if I also wasn't silenced somewhat from that LM-NET brouhaha a few weeks ago. I didn't want anymore accusations on national list-servs that I had a hidden agenda.
Hmmmmm....
I guess the accuser achieved her aim of silencing me. Because that, of course, is always the goal of anyone, left or right, who loudly not just attacks those they disagree with, but tries to stop others from exposure to those points of view.
Shame on her. More imporantly, shame on me for allowing myself to be silenced, however briefly.
Palin's attempts to fire the Wasilla librarian fortunately came to naught, thanks to 100 hardy souls who came to the librarian's defense. But it should cause anyone who values their freedom to speak their mind in a public form to take pause at the voting booth.
The past eight years have seen loud and public attacks on freedom of speech, from the government to Don Imus, to the British holocaust denier who was jailed in Austria.
As librarians, we have a special obligation to stand witness and speak out against any attacks on this fundamental American right, whether it come from the left, the right or the wackos. We many not like what they say, but we need to defend their right to say it.
I have a Michael Moore quotation as the signature on my email address at school. Mostly because I thought it was funny, playing against the stereotypical librarian. I need to do more to make it true....
"I really didn't realize the librarians were, you know, such a dangerous group. They are subversive. You think they're just sitting there at the desk, all quiet and everything. They're like plotting the revolution, man. I wouldn't mess with them."
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Librarians: Not-So-Secret-Subversives.
The government ought to know by now: Don't Mess With Librarians!
McCain is learning this the hard way, days after his security detail ousted librarian Carol Kreck from a McCain town hall meeting and cited her for "trespassing" because she carried a Bush=McCain sign.
You can watch the video here.
Kreck's court date is set for July 23.
Now, whatever your politics (and I would feel just as outraged had this happened at an Obama event), this is blatant violation of first amendment rights to free speech, and I'm thrilled Kreck is refusing to pay her fine.
This deepening trend among politicians for staged events, planted questions, and "free speech zones" far from any camera subverts what our democracy is supposed to mean.
If you want to help Carol with her laywer's fees, you can buy a McCain=Bush t-shirt here.
As Michael Moore said:
McCain is learning this the hard way, days after his security detail ousted librarian Carol Kreck from a McCain town hall meeting and cited her for "trespassing" because she carried a Bush=McCain sign.
You can watch the video here.
Kreck's court date is set for July 23.
Now, whatever your politics (and I would feel just as outraged had this happened at an Obama event), this is blatant violation of first amendment rights to free speech, and I'm thrilled Kreck is refusing to pay her fine.
This deepening trend among politicians for staged events, planted questions, and "free speech zones" far from any camera subverts what our democracy is supposed to mean.
If you want to help Carol with her laywer's fees, you can buy a McCain=Bush t-shirt here.
As Michael Moore said:
I really didn't realize the librarians were, you know, such a dangerous group. They are subversive. You think they're just sitting there at the desk, all quiet and everything. They're like plotting the revolution, man. I wouldn't mess with them.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Privacy Revolution
I confess: I'm a Law and Order addict. Fortunately, with cable TV, it's easy to feed that addiction! I was watching an episode last night that started a rant my poor SO had to endure. After searching a vanished murder suspect's apartment with a warrant, Briscoe and Green found several library books. They visited the library, talked to a few librarians, and found out not only what other books the patron had checked out, but recent sites she had searched online.
I, of course, started shrieking about First Amendment rights and Hollywood's obvious oblivion to how a well-trained librarian would actually respond to such a request!
With FISA, the Patriot Act and library gag orders an all-too-present phenomenon in today's libraries, the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom has launched a new online survey that will only take you a few minutes to complete. Entitled Privacy: Is It Time For a Revolution? the survey examines attitudes towards corporate and governmental privacy issues.
One can only marvel at the ironic timing--with Congress due to pass the FISA bill today, granting immunity to telecoms.
I, of course, started shrieking about First Amendment rights and Hollywood's obvious oblivion to how a well-trained librarian would actually respond to such a request!
With FISA, the Patriot Act and library gag orders an all-too-present phenomenon in today's libraries, the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom has launched a new online survey that will only take you a few minutes to complete. Entitled Privacy: Is It Time For a Revolution? the survey examines attitudes towards corporate and governmental privacy issues.
One can only marvel at the ironic timing--with Congress due to pass the FISA bill today, granting immunity to telecoms.
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