Miscellaneous political stuff - Part 11

How many states are banning books now?

This is what is happening in a nearby county here in Virginia:

Book Banning in Spotsylvania County:
An update, some thoughts, and an appeal to the School Administration.
The update first.
As many of you know, there is an individual in Spotsylvania County who has been challenging books in the public school libraries for the last year. Since my last update here, another 20 books have been added to the list, and more challenges are expected. That's more than 50 challenges & all from one person.
Every time a book is challenged, the schools remove it from the library in order that a committee of professional educators and community members can read and assess the book. The consequence of this is that the moment a book is challenged, it is taken away from the students.
Those review committees are on a 2 week timeline to make a judgement about the book. With their recommendation in hand, the school administration decides whether to keep the book in circulation or to remove it from the system. For the VAST MAJORITY of the books, the review committee has recommended that the book REMAIN in the system.
But they are not getting put back on the shelves. Why not?
Every single time a review committee decides to keep a book, the original book-challenger has issued an instantaneous APPEAL of the committee decision. That appeal sends the final decision about the fate of the book to the Superintendent's Office. The Superintendent has NO TIMELINE whatsoever to reach a decision, or even to take up the matter.
To date, the Superintendent has not made ANY decisions about ANY of the books -- effectively enforcing the ban -- despite the fact the review committees have heard and considered the original challenges and deemed the books relevant and useful in the school library.
There is NO REASON in county or school guidelines (that I can find) why the challenged and reviewed books cannot be put back into circulation pending the Superintendent's decision -- and we would like to call for the Spotsy Schools to retrieve their copies of these books and make them available to the students once again, as they should be.
The list of challenged (and effectively banned) books includes:
Beloved, by Toni Morrison, winner of the Nobel Prize
Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, a National Book Award Finalist
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, winner of the Coretta Scott King award (an alert reader has informed me that this one has not been challenged in Spotsy - there are 40 copies (or so) still in the system. It has been challenged elsewhere in the country - I got my lists mixed up - oops)
Little and Lion by Brandy Colbert, winner of the Stonewall Book Award
Damsel, by Elana Arnold, A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books for Teens honor.
Red at the Bone, by Jacqueline Woodson, longlisted for the Woman's Prize for Fiction in 2020.
Other books on the list of banned titles (and yes, they are effectively banned at the moment) include Wicked, 13 Reasons Why, and Water for Elephants - the sources of popular musicals and Netflix shows for teens. It's also worth mentioning that a disproportionate number of the challenged books are by minority writers or discuss issues of sexuality.
Some thoughts:
This is not a neutral issue. One person is single-handedly shaping the collections of our public school libraries. One person -- over the considered opinion of hundreds of community members, professional educators, and parents who had served on review committees -- has been able to put all the books that s/he doesn't like into lockup and out of the reach of the students (who have no say in the matter).
This is not the way the review system is meant to work.
Mr. Superintendent -- what are your plans for reviewing these challenged books? When are you going to decide their fate?
Spotsy Schools Principals -- why haven't you put the books back on the shelves? We understand that you needed to pull them in order for the review committees to read them, but there is no regulation that requires that they stay locked up. Let the students read.
Parents and community members -- Did you know that this was happening? Have you written to your school board members or to the schools or the Superintendent?
Students -- you can speak up too. We'd like to hear your stories and testimonials about how YOU think the school libraries should be managed? How do YOU feel about books getting taken away because of one individual who doesn't like their content?
We are approaching a point where DOING NOTHING IS CONCEDING - we need to make voices heard in support of free access to information in the public schools, lest those in charge misinterpret our trust in the system for trust in their judgement.

I don't know numbers but numerous military families receive food stamps/SNAP benefits.

The extra pandemic SNAP benefits were just cut, while food prices are still going up.

Yeah but he will weasel out of it like always. He’s really giving John Gotti a run for the title ‘Teflon Don’

I suspect that if she had an original thought, her head would explode. 

Bold mine...

Donald Trump's plan to publish a $99 dollar coffee-table book containing letters he has exchanged with world leaders and celebrities may have hit its first speed bump.

According to a report from Axios, the former president plans to publish approximately 150 letters he has received from people he believes are his admirers – among them Oprah Winfrey, Richard Nixon and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un.
***
However, Newsweek reported Friday that the former president's publisher didn't do its due diligence and get permission to publish the letters. In particular, representatives of former late-night comedian Jay Leno's production company stated no permission has been asked for or given, telling Newsweek's Jamie Burton, "Jay did not release, nor authorize any use of any letter to Mr. Trump."

As the report notes, Trump may soon be involved in another legal squabble over not clearing his intentions with the writers of the letters.
***

"He may face potential lawsuits in doing so. It is unclear whether Trump has the legal right to publish the letters without the sender's permission, and former Tonight Show host Leno has told Newsweek he did not grant Trump permission to share any letters from him," the report states before adding, "The principle that the writers of the letters, not the recipients, retain the copyright has been "well-established in copyright law" for hundreds of years according to Jane C. Ginsburg, professor of literary and artistic property Law at Columbia University School of Law in New York."

According to a representative for Trump's publishing company, "The book comprises of a unique collection of correspondence either from President Trump or from public officials both foreign and domestic, or from private individuals. For those in public office at the time, no copyright protection arises. For the last category, Winning Team Publishing has either actual or implied consent for their publication."

www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-book-2659570595/

So now we know about Kimberly Guilfoyle.....

Rupert Murdoch: Fox News fired Kimberly Guilfoyle for ‘inappropriate behavior’
Murdoch’s complaints about his former Fox News host were revealed in a trove of texts and emails that were recently leaked in Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against the network.

After Kimberly Guilfoyle mysteriously left Fox News in the summer of 2018, she found herself vehemently denying news reports that said her departure was due to allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior.

But her former boss, Fox News Chairman Rupert Murdoch, has apparently confirmed that he wanted her gone because of the allegations, which were detailed in a 2020 report in The New Yorker. Murdoch’s concerns about Guifoyle, a former top campaign aide for Trump, were revealed in a trove of texts and emails that were recently leaked in Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against Fox News.
***

Before the New Yorker report, the popular explanation for Guilfoyle’s departure from Fox was that she wanted to avoid conflicts of interest posed by her new romance with Trump Jr.

Reporter Jane Mayer detailed allegations in a 42-page draft complaint, which said that Guilfoyle showed lewd photos of male genitalia to colleagues, regularly discussed sexual matters at work, urged the assistant “to submit to a Fox employee’s demands for sexual favors,” and exposed herself to the assistant while asking for a critique of her naked body.

The story furthermore described efforts by Guilfoyle to cover up the allegations, citing well-informed sources who said the network paid the former assistant up to $4 million to avoid a trial.

www.mercurynews.com/2023/03/10/rupert-murdoch-fox-news-fired-kimberly-guilfoyle-for-inappropriate-behavior

Oh joy, grandma Boebert come April....

Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, 36, is about to be a grandma
By Brian Niemietz
New York Daily News
Mar 09, 2023 at 8:18 pm

Colorado representative Lauren Boebert, 36, announced she’s going to be a grandmother next month.

The Republican firebrand made the declaration earlier this week at a Moms for America event, from which video started making the rounds Thursday.

“Not only am I mom of four boys, but come April, I will be a GG to a brand new grandson,” she beamed.

Newsweek reports that the child’s father is Boebert’s 17-year-old son, Tyler.

Boebert’s announcement comes just days after she called for the elimination of “comprehensive sex ed” in public schools, according to Raw Story.

The far-right lawmaker told the Durango Herald in 2020 that she dropped out of high school to raise Tyler.

www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-colorado-rep-lauren-boebert-grandmother-at-36-20230310-gib7pd5ks5f5pmmi7eqsbggnri-story.html

Yeah, okay.  I give no credence to anybody who does business with TFG. I also hope that TFG doesn't get ahold of the phrase, "Implied consent," as he'd undoubtedly use it to polish over many misdeeds, especially since he seems to consider himself a legal genius. Blech. For a guy who spends so much effort trying to convince people that he's "really, really rich," he sure is grubbing for money a good bit of the time.