Category: Schools / Schooling / Education / Libraries
Moms For Liberty Chapter Convinces Florida County School Board To Ban Kids Book About Banning Books
Why are we letting a few off the rails people ruin everything for the rest of us normal people. Can anyone tell me why these people are making decisions for everyone else kids when they don’t have children on those schools, that go to those libraries, or are in public office? See how they act behind the scenes to get a law past to “protect the children” so they can then exploit them to push their fundamentalist extreme agenda on everyone. I hate this. We need to find a way to fight back. Hugs. Scottie
The Guardian reports:
A book about book bans has been banned in a Florida school district. Ban This Book, a children’s book written by Alan Gratz, will no longer be available in the Indian River county school district since the school board voted to remove the book last month.
Gratz’s book, which came out in 2017, follows fourth-grader Amy Anne Ollinger as she tries to check out her favorite book. Ollinger is told by the librarian she cannot, because it was banned after a classmate’s parent thought it was inappropriate.
In a peculiar case of life imitating art, Jennifer Pippin, a parent in the coastal community, challenged the book. Pippin is also the chair of the local Moms for Liberty chapter, a far-right organization that has been behind many of the book bans that have swept across the US in recent years.
The Tallahassee Democrat reports:
Gratz, its author, called the Indian River County decision “incredibly ironic.” “They banned the book because it talks about the books that they have banned and because it talks about book banning,” he said in an interview. “It feels like they know exactly what they’re doing and they’re somewhat ashamed of what they’re doing and they don’t want a book on the shelves that calls them out.”
Board members Jacqueline Rosario and Gene Posca, who voted in the majority, were backed by Moms for Liberty during their campaigns, according to Treasure Coast Newspapers. The third “yes” vote came from Kevin McDonald, who was recently appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“The title itself and the theme challenges our authority. And it even goes so far as to not only to mention books that are deemed inappropriate by school boards, including ours, it not only mentions them but it lists them,” McDonald said.
As you’ll see in the many tweets below, Ms. Pippin is as batshit crazy as you’d expect. She last appeared here in March 2023 when she successfully pressured the same school board to ban a book about a Holocaust survivor.
The laughable thing about all this is that they literally (see what I did there?) do not understand the IRONY of banning a book about banning books.
It’s true it’s ironic, to those of us on the outside. But according to the DeSantis appointee to the board, they felt the need to ban the book because it challenged their authority! So they have a completely political agenda, having nothing to do with religion or morality. One wonders if they will next ban the local newspaper that wrote about this incident.
And yet they shrug their shoulders if kids are mowed down with an assault rifle
Nope. They just blame liberals, gays, liberals, trans, liberals, Mexicans, liberals, atheists, liberals…
…..challenges our authority.
Yep. That’s it. That’s exactly it.
Fucking moronic 🤡
Example A in why books like these are necessary and appropriate for kids.
The idea of authority for its own sake deserves ridicule and disobedience.
Likewise, kids’ access to books and topics in school that make Christian nationalists and white supremacists uncomfortable, appropriate medical care including reproductive and gender-affirming care, and so on, and so forth, are not about parental rights. They’re about THE KIDS’ RIGHTS as people in their own right, whether or not their individual parents support them.
They all need to stop this nonsense and get part time jobs to pay for their Florida flood insurance.
In 10 years’ time, it’ll be a wonder if any child from the Florida education system can read or write.
Thats exactly what the 1% want. A permanent, uneducated underclass working slave labor wages
As Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza put it:
I don’t want an educated population. I want oxen.
It should come as no surprise that Alan Gratz, whose book on book banning Pippin wants banned, has won a National Jewish Book Award. So like Anne Frank and Holocaust survivors, he has “forsaken God.”
Had her two kids out of wedlock, yet considers herself a defender of virtue and family values.
So predictable.
“Do as I say, not as I do” – the conservative motto.
And then they had a little BBQ.
The title itself and the theme challenges our authority.
Politicians should not dictate school curricula or library content! Period!
Where TF are the so-called “Libertarians” on this?
Coincidentally, the seemingly well meaning Germans NAZIs started off by banning books too …
Peak anti-Jewish insanity wasn’t bad enough, that now they are claiming that Ann Frank’s diary is a Jewish plot and a threat the Christian children?
Let’s talk about Dems moving to stop Project 2025….
Erasing the Line that Separates Church and State in Education
I want to thank Zorba for the like. Their link below. Hugs. Scottie
A quote from the article.
“The expansion in voucher programs is part of a broader move in some states toward more government-sponsored religion inside public schools. New laws allow schools to hire chaplains for counseling…. In West Virginia, a new law allows teachers to discuss alternative theories to evolution. Seven states have passed measures mandating elective courses focused on the Bible… In Oklahoma, the state Supreme Court in April considered what would be an unprecedented step toward the mingling of church and state in education, weighing whether the state could directly fund what would be the nation’s first religious charter school.”
Billions In Public Money Now Go To Religious Schools
The attempt to turn the US in to a theocracy in red states run by republicans is being done by a minority of a minority. The reason they have the legislative power they do is they have gerrymandered and used voter suppression to get only their supporters into power. Churches which pay no taxes fund the campaigns of people who will give the churches more power and tax payer money. Churches pay no taxes, the pay no property tax on housing for clergy and many other tax free give a ways. Yet they are constantly demanding a share of the ever shrinking tax payer funds. They don’t add to the treasury but they want some of it. Why because they are greedy, but their numbers are shrinking, less butts in pews means less money in collection plates. That was their real beef with the Covid restrictions, they were losing money. So by forcing kids to see and learn religious stuff they hope to reverse the trend and get more people back to church. Some of them want to force people to attend at least one religious service a week. Democracy and the freedom from religion is being attacked hard, we need to defend them just as hard. Plus private schools get to be choosy in who the accept, so they can’t be openly racist and bigoted, they also get to refuse admission to kids that are difficult to teach or have specials needs. Hugs. Scottie
The Washington Post reports:
Billions in taxpayer dollars are being used to pay tuition at religious schools throughout the country, as state voucher programs expand dramatically and the line separating public education and religion fades.
School vouchers can be used at almost any private school, but the vast majority of the money is being directed to religious schools, according to a Washington Post examination of the nation’s largest voucher programs.
In Florida, several programs combine to make every student in the state eligible for vouchers, with more than 400,000 participating this year. At least 82 percent of students attend religious schools, The Post found. Florida is first in the nation in both the number of enrolled students and total cost of the voucher program — more than $3 billion this year
Read the full article.
The linked piece notes that much of the voucher money is going to families that would pay or already are paying for private or religious schools themselves.
Israel Has LOST – And This PROVES It
CO Republicans And GOP House Candidates Call For Chair To Resign Over “Burn All Pride Flags” Message
This is what drives the increased hate and attacks on the LGBTQ+. This is what republicans consider to be high quality discourse and thought. Attack anyone different and hurt them hard, wipe them out. It is gang thug rule and it is the cults they are in. Either the tRump cult or the Fundamentalist cult. Hugs. Scottie
Denver’s ABC affiliate reports:
The fallout from the Colorado GOP’s anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric earlier this week continued Friday with state Republican leaders calling for party chairman Dave Williams to resign.
The latest denouncement came from the Jefferson County Republicans, who on behalf of “numerous Colorado Republican County Chairs, other county party officers, members of the Colorado State Central Committee in all 64 Counties, and many Republican candidates” called on Colorado GOP chairman Dave Williams to “immediately resign.”
The mounting backlash against Williams follows a blast email from the Colorado GOP that was signed by the chairman, in which the party accused the LGBTQ+ community of being “godless groomers” who want to harm children. On its official profile on X, the Colorado GOP also called for the burning of Pride flags.
The Advocate reports:
Williams sent an email to GOP voters earlier this week that referred to queer people as “barbaric,” “creeps,” “degenerates,” “godless,” “groomers,” “predators,” “radicals,” and “reprobates.”
Valdamar Archuleta, the head of Colorado’s Log Cabin Republicans, has been one of the few GOP members to defend Williams. He said Wednesday that “I do not think Dave hates me because I’m gay. I don’t think that Dave is a homophobic person. He’s trying to get a reaction.”
The Colorado News-Press reports:
Five of the six Republican candidates running for Congress in Colorado’s 4th District are disavowing their state party’s leadership, citing its recent anti-LGBTQ messaging and concerns over campaign impropriety.
The conservatives, who are on the primary ballot this month, have called into question Colorado GOP Chair Dave Williams and are advocating for new leadership. Only U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who received the endorsement of the party, declined to comment on Williams’ messaging.
Williams has sparked criticism inside and outside of the Colorado Republican Party for an email sent from the state party that claimed people in the LGBTQ community are “evil” and “godless groomers.”
As I reported earlier today, Colorado has seen a spree of stolen Pride flags since the state GOP issued its “burn all Pride flags” message. Williams has called reports of the thefts a hoax.
Last month the Colorado GOP called on Christians to remove their children from public schools because Democrats are using schools to “turn more kids trans.”
Williams is running to replace retiring GOP Rep. Doug Lamborn. Williams, you may recall, lost a lawsuit seeking to have “Let’s Go Brandon” by his name on the ballot during his failed 2022 House bid.
During a December 2023 appearance on extremist Laura Loomer’s podcast, Williams told the Colorado Supreme Court to “go fuck themselves” after they removed Trump from the ballot. It’s what Jesus would want.
My 90 year old Colorado Father in law has always been a republican. He loves his Gay son and his gay sons husband (me), He told us last night, “I’m done with the republican party” after he received this email.
“Only U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who received the endorsement of the party, declined to comment on Williams’ messaging.”
Oklahoma Gov Signs Bill Allowing Students To Leave School Three Periods Per Week For Religious Lessons
These same republicans constantly complain and bitch about public schools teaching things other than standard education. They complain about woke subjects and learning true history for example. Back to the basics is their goal they claim. But letting kids miss classes for religious church lessons is great they claim. Kids don’t need schooling they need bible and more bible. Who needs reading especial about people who are different from the majority when they can learn bible by sitting in church having someone tell them what they think god said or meant. And it must be their god not one of those false ones that the bad people worship. Public school is for the multiple of people who believe different things, in different gods or no god. They have churches for that. Keep god in your church and out of public schools. Hugs. Scottie
Oklahoma City’s NBC affiliate reports:
Governor Stitt signed legislation Wednesday on a framework for public school students to get credits by attending religious instruction during school hours. “What HB 1425 does is that it gives the schools a framework,” said Representative Clay Staires (R-Skiatook), who authored the bill.
Starting in November of this year students from all grade levels would understand their opportunity when leaving their classroom during school and heading to a religious instructional class that has to be off-site. Another rule is that it cannot be led by the school or anyone employed with the school.
Students would be allowed to leave for three class periods a week and 125 class periods a year to attend it. The Satanic Temple announced that if Governor Stitt signed HB 1425 they would offer up their instructional programs.
Read the full article.
Below, Christian nationalist state education Superintendent Ryan Walters says satanism is not a religion and therefore leaving school to attend classes offered by atheist trolling outfit the Satanic Temple will not be permitted.
As for Gov. Kevin Stitt, he last appeared here in March 2024 when he declared that God personally had him elected to stop abortion in Oklahoma.
Stitt, who appeared here in November 2023 when he publicly praised illegal cockfighting, is a self-avowed Christian nationalist.
Last year he declared November to be “family month as ordained by God.” In June 2023, he authorized the nation’s first state-funded religious charter school.
In 2022, he claimed “every square inch of Oklahoma in the name of Jesus.” Upon his inauguration, Stitt’s wife declared that his administration’s main priority would be “bringing people to Jesus.”
Superintendent Ryan Walters says satanism is not a religion and therefore leaving school to attend classes offered by atheist trolling outfit the Satanic Temple will not be permitted.
Fingers crossed for the lawsuit this will bring.
Supreme Court rulings have been clear that you don’t have to prove that your religion is “true” – since that’s impossible, of course.
But we’ve seen how much regard the current corrupt SQOTUS has for precedent or “settled law”.
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FRC: Ten Commandments Belong In Schools Because All The “Other Religious Ethical Statements Are Myths”
This is complete nonsense. Our founding fathers were trying to escape the rule of a country run by kings and religion. They could have made Christianity the nations religion but they did not, and did not want that. I recently heard that the reason fundamentalist Christians want the ten commandments which is a Jewish symbol from the Old Testament instead of the beatitudes from the New Testament is they don’t like or follow Jesus but do like the vengeance, violence, and anger of the OT god. These people should be listed as domestic terrorists. They can not be compromised with. They can’t be happy with them being allowed to live as they want, they demand the right to force you to live as they do. They are a minority in a minority that is shrinking. Yet they managed to get their people into positions of power so they are even more dangerous. Hugs. Scottie
Posted to the Family Research Council’s website:
The Louisiana legislature has passed a bill that “requires schools that receive public money to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms,” Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said on Thursday’s “Washington Watch,” and “the anti-Christian Left is convulsing.”
“We’re focused on the historical aspect of the Ten Commandments, which all of our laws are derived from,” bill sponsor Louisiana Rep. Dodie Horton (R) explained to Perkins.
Skeptics will still ask, but why are the Ten Commandments displayed and not other religious ethical statements, like the writings of Confucius or Native American myths? One answer is America’s historical development. This great nation was not built by Confucians or Muslims, but by people informed by the Bible and the moral teachings found therein.
Therefore, “We want our children to see what God’s standard for our moral conduct is,” urged Horton. “We’re not asking the teachers to teach it, but we want our children to be able to see one — that there is a God, and that he does have a moral standard [by] which they need to conduct themselves.”
Read the full article. In the interview below, Perkins tells Horton that lawsuits against posting the Ten Commandants in Louisiana schools will fail because “we’ve got a new [Supreme] court.” Horton replies, “We do, praise God!”
”This great nation was not built by Confucians…” These bitches really have no idea who this country was built by. See also: Enslaved people.
Religion (of any type) belongs in their churches, synagogues, mosques, etc. It does NOT belong in our schools. The Christo-fascists are trying to force their beliefs onto kids and that’s just totally wrong. And should be illegal. And they are trying to force their religion into laws affecting everyone. Fuck that shit. I agree with so many commenters on here – religion is poison. Fuck their god, Jeezus and everything in their warped view of the world.
“This great nation was not built by Confucians or Muslims”
Christians wouldn’t have built shit without the mathematics the Muslims perfected, and Christians wouldn’t have “discovered” this continent if they didn’t have such a rabid taste for the goods the Confucians were selling them.
Fred Clark wrote about the history of the La. Commandments poster law.
Louisiana Will Post The Twelve Commandments In Schools
‘That’s a problem, because there are a lot of different versions of the Ten Commandments, all of which are phrased and enumerated differently. The version of “The Ten Commandments” mandated by Horton’s bill is not taken from any of those. It is, instead, the version concocted in 1950 by the Fraternal Order of Eagles and Cecil B. DeMille.
Yes, really.’
As you might predict if you didn’t know, the Fraternal Order of Eagles was a racist organization.
“we’ve got a new [Supreme] court.” Horton repliess”
They’re so high on their own farts right now. Never mind that new Supreme Court was put there by a convicted felon.
Also I love it when I get lectured by Christians on why they’re God is real and the rest are fake.
TX Professors Sue To Flunk Women Who Get Abortions
I recommend going to the linked article. It has a lot of information on the lawsuit and how petulant the two men are. Here are some quotes. Much more at the Salon link. Hugs. Scottie
Even though the plaintiffs suing for the right to flunk female students for abortion include boilerplate arguments in which they feign concern that abortion is “killing,” the legal filing makes it clear that what really outrages Bonevac and Hatfield is that Title IX prevents them from controlling the private lives of students. Along with their anger about abortion, they grouse about not being allowed to punish students “for being homosexual or transgender.” They also argue they should be able to penalize teaching assistants for “cross-dressing,” by which they appear to mean allowing trans women to wear skirts.
As Jessica Valenti at Abortion, Every Day wrote, the language of the legal complaint is “downright petulant.” The picture painted is of two men obsessed with controlling student lives based on what they’re packing inside their underwear. It should be common sense that college students should be graded on their performance in class, not whether or not their professor resents their sex life or sexual identity. Alas, because the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Texas banned abortion, it’s created a pretext for every busybody who wants to spend less time grading papers and more time working himself into an angry froth over the imagined sexual exploits of his students.
Even though Bonevac and Hatfield work in Austin, Texas, they filed their lawsuit 486 miles away in Amarillo, Texas. The reason for this is not mysterious: Donald Trump-appointed judge Matthew Kacsmaryk. The right-wing judge has a long and frankly unhinged history of screeching at top volume about the evils of “sexual revolutionaries.” (Yes, that does sound like a compliment, but he doesn’t mean it as such.) It takes very little to draw Kacsmaryk’s sexualized condemnation. Premarital sex, for instance, makes one a “sexual revolutionary.” Using contraception within marriage also makes one an irredeemable pervert. In his legal writings, Kacsmaryk is very clear that sex is only for procreation within marriage, and anything outside of that should draw legal sanction. He has not weighed in on whether there should be restrictions on what sexual positions are legally permissible within the procreation-only marital sex, but give him time.
Salon reports:
“Pregnancy is not a disease, and elective abortions are not ‘health care,’” University of Texas at Austin professor Daniel Bonevac sneers in a federal court filing with professor John Hatfield. Instead, Bonevac writes, because pregnancy is the result of “voluntary and consensual sexual intercourse,” students should not be allowed time off to get abortions.
If the students disobey and miss class for abortion care, the filing continues, the professors should be allowed to flunk students.
Even though Bonevac and Hatfield work in Austin, Texas, they filed their lawsuit 486 miles away in Amarillo, Texas. The reason for this is not mysterious: Donald Trump-appointed judge Matthew Kacsmaryk. The right-wing judge has a long and frankly unhinged history of screeching at top volume about the evils of “sexual revolutionaries.”
Read the full article. No paywall.
Bonevac [screenshot above] can be seen in the October 2016 video below expressing his devotion to Trump.
Judge Kacsmaryk, a former lawyer for an anti-LGBTQ hate group, was exposed last year for failing to disclose millions in stock holdings.
Kacsmaryk was previously exposed for failing to disclose virulently anti-LGBTQ interviews and acting to hide his authorship of an anti-abortion article ahead of his Senate confirmation hearing.
More recently, he upheld a ban on drag shows at a Texas university. Kacsmaryk’s ruling to ban abortion pills is pending before the Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments on the issue in March.
Scottie's Playtime 