McCain's Honor Death Watch:

McCain's honor last seen huffing insecticide at your local Walmart garden center.

Go Ask Alice is a warning to kids about using drugs. The McCain campaign has shown the press (but not paid to put on the air) an ad recycling a Keyes charge against Obama for supporting age-appropriate instruction of kids to protect them against pedophiles.

"Can't anybody play this here game?" -- Casey Stengel, manager, 1962 Mets

She wasn't trying to "ban" the books, just "reassign" them;>

Feel free to leave out the part about the gap of several months, and the fact that the fire and police chiefs along with someone else were also fired for loyalty issues. Wouldn't want all the facts, of course.

"Go Ask Alice"?!?

Really?!?!

Is it just me or has this whole Palin saga moved with shocking rapidity from tragedy to farce??

the fire and police chiefs along with someone else were also fired for loyalty issues.

oh, that's reassuring. at long as it wasn't for incompetence.

Ah, Steve, keep those cards and letters coming! Nothing like a good story on a neocon book banning. It reminds me of those cold nights in Germany when those piles of books were burning lighting up the Fall nights. In a rhetorical sense of course...

When the fascists take over America, they will be wrapped in flag pins, and will be carrying crosses made of hockey sticks. Eh?

Rhetorically speaking of course.

Why hasn't the librarian spoken up about this?

Say, maybe someone could just *ask* the governor to state, on the record, which books should be banned from the public library. (it has such a nice, "when did you stop beating your wife" flavor to it.)

A rhetorical question is one asked merely for effect with no answer expected. That's pretty clearly not what happened in the Wasilla library. It's another lie.

I thought "Go Ask Alice" was a favorite of the right because of its hard-core anti-drug message. Maybe she mistakenly thought it was about lesbians.

This is serious! First it will be books, then the web-
The fact that she tried to pull this off, shows her true colors.
The "hockey mom" thing is a ruse, like Bush saying he dosen't drink. I don't believe her on earmarks, secessionism and I don't
believe her on this-.

This is serious! First it will be books, then the web-
The fact that she tried to pull this off, shows her true colors.
The "hockey mom" thing is a ruse, like Bush saying he dosen't drink. I don't believe her on earmarks, secessionism and I don't
believe her on this-.

Howard Bess is a cousin of mine. When he moved to Alaska 30 years ago to pastor a church ( though married and heterosexual), he opened his church's door to gays and lesbians, believing all were worthy of God's love. In a recent email to family and friends he wrote, "Sarah and I know one another. We relate on a first name basis. We are always cordial. The thought of her being the leader of the free world is about as scary as can be imagined. We are all a bit put off by the rhetoric of Jeremiah Wright. Wait until you hear the statements from Sarah's pastors. Jesus is now operating in war mode. The Iraq War is by God's will. Her belief system is dualistic to the core. All of life is understood as a battleground. She is a pit bull for righteousness." Howard's book was effectively banned in the Matanuska Valley, and was only available in a barber shop and beauty salon. It will be interesting to see if ABC lets Brian Ross pursue this. I have little confidence in Charlie Gibson to shed much light.

Someone should point blank ask if Palin wants the Harry Potter books removed from public libraries as well. Some religious groups reject them as off shoots of devil worship. If she opposed banning them, those groups would be upset. If she came out against them, imagine the uproar among parents.....

Yawner,

Perhaps I am misunderstanding your comment. Are you seriously trying to defend the firing of the librarian by saying she wasn't the only person fired for lack of fealty?

Because I know that most people here are aware of the additional firings, and nary a soul will think it a valid excuse. Several wrongs do not make right, nor do they make an adequate defense.

Palin is a self described pentocostal fundamentalist. there is only black and white. No gray. This philosophy is why she feels she can reform. The problem is Palin is also RAW ambition and has even walked on the backs of her
fellow congregation to win the the election for mayor and governor.There are too many questions as to who she is. She is not VEEP material. Her beauty makes her a trophy VEEP only without qualification for VEEP.

"The line from the McCain campaign has been that Palin never had any interest whatsoever in banning library books. That seems increasingly difficult to believe."-SB

Not really.

I am not sure what all the uproar is about. What is it about free speech that is different from religious freedom, freedom from search and seizure without probable cause, the right to due process, the right to habeus corpus etc. Wake up folks, this is, and has been, the one bedrock principle of the GOP since Eisenhower.

Is it just me or has this whole Palin saga moved with shocking rapidity from tragedy to farce??

Indeed, but nonetheless, there are enough voting vaginas out there to believe that ANY vagina is is a good vagina to vote for. Vaginas in public office, to WAY too many vaginas, are 100% interchangeable.

Thank goodness we have a strong public library system in this country that stands up to bullies like Palin and her church.

And thanks to the ALA for so strongly defending, for so long, our right to read what we please:

Library Bill of Rights

I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.

II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.

IV. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.

V. A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.

VI. Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.

http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/statementsif/librarybillrights.cfm

[Trolling deleted]

And I am sure if she had a chance she'd ban all chemistry and biology books from school.

She is an extremely far right wacko nut job, and the American people aren't seeing it. If people knew about her church's views, there's no way she'd be regarded with the amount of respect she's getting now.

Too bad Obama doesn't hav a 24/7 news channel dedicated to him.

I also asked about the librarian. Where is she? If you Google her name, it says she is on vacation from her job. Some "enterprising" reporter should be able to locate her and ask some questions, eh?

peace,
st john

This is a really, really weak trail of clues to get you to the conclusion that Palin is a book-banner. You just look very desperate.

Sorry Brad, but you do NOT simply ask "How does one go about banning books?" immediately upon taking power in a position where one might be able to pull off such a stunt without actually wanting to do it. This is PARTICULARLY true when the nutjob whacko church you attend is bent for dick to ban some books.

She is a bookburner, racist, science hater, dinosaurs-lived-with-humans-4000-years-ago idiot.

Honestly, I think this blurb pretty much sums it up best:

yes, she did ask the librarian if some books could be withdrawn because of being offensive; no, they couldn’t; yes, it was “rhetorical�, at least as was reported contemporaneously in 1996; yes she did threaten to fire the librarian a month later; no, that wasn’t over the books thing but instead over administrative issues; no, the librarian wasn’t fired either; yes, the librarian was a big supporter of one of her political opponents; yes, the librarian was also the girlfriend of the Chief of police [who she had fired for lying to the City Council]; no, this is not the first time in the history of civilization that someone has been threatened with being fired over a political dispute

The "censorship" angle sounds good at first glance, but I don't think it will stick once people poke into it. Of course, this being America... :/

Palin didn't just ask about banning books once, she asked "rhetorically" several times. She wanted to ban some of her church-identified books just to start. Once done, she would have moved on to others (Catcher in the Rye, Harry Potter books, books on astrology, books on ANY religion other than Xtianity, books on sexuality, etc). That is how holy rollers work.

50% of this country's electorate deserves misrule under McCain/Palin and by themselves, without the rest of us working hard to undue their mistakes.

More rhetorical questions come to mind. For example, the Palins are just curious why Wooten is out there still representing the department.

'Rhetorical' means you are asking it NOT in order to get an answer but in order to make a point.

So I think it's fair to ask: What point was she trying to make? I think 'I'm a pit bull with lipstick and without mercy' is a fair guess, given the circumstances.

This 'rhetorical question' defense is strange. It's like people who say something insulting and then throw up their hands and say "I'm just sayin'....", like that's supposed to make it ok.

I think I'll go to the airport and ask how I can get a bomb through the security screening. Purely as a rhetorical question. And see the Republican Party jump to my defense.

Impossible it is to communicate with those who continue to repeat that which has been proven false.

Reviews of Rev Bess' book on Amazon. Looks like it was a pretty good book.

http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0964412306/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_summary?_encoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

What is the process of banning Sarah Palin and her oinking herd of book-burning friends to a prison barge in Siberia?

Rhetorically speaking, of course....

Don't get me wrong, I find the idea of book banning/burning and removal of information to be completely disheartening. However, I have more trouble with this issue because of her use of 'executive' powers. If she can't stand the local librarian to be less than fully supportive of the Mayor, how will she be able to put up with those of other parties, religions, beliefs, countries, etc.? Haven't we had enough of the 'with us or against us' mentality? It takes a variety of interests to adequately listen to the needs and desires of a society.

What would she do with the executive power of the White House if she was given the chance to hold it?

Pray to your god(s) that this mission that he has sent us in Sarah Palin does not come to fruition.

"That seems increasingly difficult to believe."

Really?

I would have thought "That is obviously a lie." would be more accurate.

I'm thinking your "reporters ought to stand up to lies" argument is getting some good pot/kettle action.

If it is rhetorical, then Palin did not actually want to know what the criteria were, she merely wished to instill enough fear in the librarian that she would ban the books Palin would wish her to ban. That's what is implied by "rhetorical" here.

the fire and police chiefs along with someone else were also fired for loyalty issues.

oh, that's reassuring. at long as it wasn't for incompetence.

If Obama is elected President is he going to keep everyone on Bush's cabinet, or is he going to fire all of them (or expect them to resign), and appoint his own people?

The librarian, fire chief, and police chief were political appointees, just like the cabinet secretaries.

I fail to see how the "support" or lack thereof of a librarian, for crying out loud, is anything a mayor should be concerned enough about to fire her. And as to the "rhetorical" question about banning books, why should a mayor even think to ask about it? Wouldn't it make more sense to ask the electric company how they determine whose power to shut off? Wouldn't it make more sense to ask about how to get permits to improve the sewage system? These are things that a mayor would need to know, not how to ban books in a library.

Palin reversed course on Baker's dismissal after a local outcry, and later said the discussions about banning books were "rhetorical."

Sarah Palin is a pig in lipstick.

Please keep in mind that the above statement is merely rhetorical.

I love how Palin is too stupid to even know the difference between "rhetorical" and "hypothetical."

No, wait, I don't love it. It's appalling.

Impossible it is to communicate with those who continue to repeat that which has been proven false.

You damn right there. How can you have a conversation with a chronic liar who won't stop pretending to be a pork-hatin', transparent-governin', corruption-fightin' opponent of bridges to nowhere? Especially when she refuses to take a single question?

Indeed, but nonetheless, there are enough voting vaginas out there to believe that ANY vagina is is a good vagina to vote for. Vaginas in public office, to WAY too many vaginas, are 100% interchangeable.

Considering that Palin is polling much better among men than she is among women, clearly the real problem is that men are voting with their penises.

Considering that Palin is polling much better among men than she is among women, clearly the real problem is that men are voting with their penises.

It's the pathetic MILF hunter contingent of the bottom feeder brigade. They're the same ones that drink Hamm's beer and look at the magazine Jugs.

[trolling deleted]

Oh, but that didn't affect Obama, did it?

If you have evidence of Obama asking about banning books, jackoff, bring it on. Otherwise take your right-wing bullshit and shove it. kthxbai

Speaking of gays, Sen. Wide Stance made oral arguments (insert jokes or other objects here) to the Minnesota Court of Appeals trying to get his 2007 guilty plea thrown out.

Will his case remain in the crapper? And yes, I’ve got much more like that at my blog.

ml johnston wrote:
"Palin is a self described pentocostal fundamentalist."

Cite please. I am willing to stipulate that Palin is the Spawn of Satan, but that's just a blatant lie.

Smarter Liberals, Please!!!

I actually work in a library and have done the research to be sure of this topic before commenting. Palin only made a comment to the librarian about it the librarian had a fit about it and thats all that was said. Later on she wAS fired but not for the incident but because like every govenor sarah has the power to self appoint certain standings.

this librarian is also still working at an Alaska library after being reinstated.
Plz go to librarian.net for correct info

alysia: librarian.net has different information than you. "She did, however, have many interactions with the Wasila librarian concerning the library’s collection and possible censorship/challenges/banning. The librarian was fired, reinstated and ultimately resigned much later but not necessarily because of that incident."

So you're wrong that it was a single comment, and you're wrong that the librarian was fired, assuming librarian.net is correct. (Although, if librarian.net is incorrect, then you're wrong about that site having the correct info but could be right about other things...I think I saw this dilemma in a Star Trek episode.)

I find it totally wacked that you libs can get so bent out of shape about a book, but think nothing about... no, openly embracing a woman's "right" to kill her unborn child! I know without question that banning a human life is far more despicable, dastardly, and morally corrupt than banning a book. A couple of weeks ago nobody south of Alaska gave a flip about this story--now it's supposed to be national news? Not in my book! A book that even the libs would love to ban--THE BIBLE!

Put her on a Bridge to Nowhere.