We know that Sarah Palin approached the librarian about censoring or banning books. It did not come to fruition, but, here is a list of books that are most frequently targeted:
ALA | 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000

I cannot help but wonder if anybody here proves of book banning. This wasn't a school library. It was a public library where both adults and children are welcome.

Interesting list. . .I own 28 of them! LOL! And here I didn't even know they were controversial.

Where's Waldo is on there?! The Children's search book where you have to find Waldo? Am I missing something or is that the title of a different book I don't know about?

I don't support censoring or banning books. I might have a problem if it was something like Pedophilia for Dummies.

There you go again...

If you google around a bit you'll find a newspaper piece online from back around the time this happened. I'm out the door to pick up my kids from school so don't have time to find it again myself right now.

Your post implies that she attempted to have some books banned.

The piece I found a couple of days ago indicated something different. When pressed at a city council meeting about several issues, one of them being this one, the former librarian (who was figuratively in bed with the incumbant mayor that Palin beat out) said that Palin never asked her to remove any books, but asked a series of questions, one of which was something like, "Would you be opposed to removing material considered offensive to the community from library shelves?" The librarian said she would be opposed to it.

End of story.

She was never asked to remove any books by Palin or anyone else according to the piece about the city council meeting. Palin's comment at the time was that she did not have any books in mind - that she simply was asking a series of questions about the librarian's policies, and that was one of them.

Please explain why in the same paragraph you put the list of most commonly banned books. Some of them weren't even published at the time that librarian was working there, so why is it relevant?

Also, you wondered if anyone here was for banning books. You betcha I am. Very few of them, but there are some books that are vile enough that I don't think tax dollars need to buy them and that they don't need to be right there on the shelves amidst everything else. For instance, a few years ago there was quite an uproar about a book published by NAMBLA, the North American Man-Boy Love Association. It was a collection of photographs of boys and men in sexual poses. A library somewhere had purchased a copy and was refusing to remove it from circulation.

I thought that was ridiculous. Just because someone's thoughts get put on paper in some form - words, photography, or otherwise - doesn't mean that a library *has* to carry them. It is my understanding that a librarian's job is to purchase books that are in keeping with the community's standards. If something is blatantly offensive to a particular community, I see no reason to *NEED* to keep it.

I wouldn't force a library in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood's library to carry a series by David Duke.... kwim?

It's interesting how "we" "know" so many things regarding Gov. Palin, but anything "we" "know" about Obama or Michelle is abviously a lie, or misunderstood.

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Melissa

Maybe become some of us do the research and some don't.

Love your sig line. Have you actually read it?

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Reading is Fundamental.

Of course I've read it, truble. Have you?

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Melissa

Um, I pretty that nothing ever happened. However, you cannot deny that she must have had some interest in banning certain books or she wouldn't have made the inquiry. KWIM

My library doesn't have any porn. I rather doubt that the Wasilla does either. I published the link because I'm just curious if any one here approves of this type of censorship. Did you look at the list? There are some great works of literature there. Which ones would you choose to ban? Should it be up to the mayor?

Back with a link: Breaking News : FROM THE ARCHIVE: Palin: Library censorship inquiries 'Rhetorical' - Frontiersman

Here is something I believe to be important - and it's somewhat buried towards the bottom of the story:

So you're the librarian and are in the midst of changing the policy about what a citizen needs to do in order to challenge whether or not a book should remain on the shelves. I don't see anything unreasonable about that, and she said she's changing it to be in line with what other libraries do. Fair enough.

But she was making a *change* from the old policy.

So is it not certainly within reason that the mayor might ask questions about what those policies would *look* like? About how the librarian would handle requests to remove books?

The librarian was admittedly anti-Palin even prior to any conversations they had about books. It's not out of the scope of 'likely' that she was looking to be offended.

I sure think that the librarian was under the impression that Sarah wanted to ban books. And, the article doesn't say anything different than what I have already read. Just because the librarian supported Palin's opponent, doesn't make her anti-Palin. The librarian was most assuredly anti-book banning.

I think we need to look into the librarians character and judgement before we discuss this any further, too many things are being assumed about her.

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Melissa

Good point.


I don't think she's been vetted at alllll.

There has to be some discretion about what books are allowed in the public/school libraries. I live in a mega liberal town and we've had some books removed from school that seemed ok to me. Like the Dumb Bunnies books. I bought 'em all - my son and I laughed so hard. They are hilarious!!! But they keep all the "I have two mom" books.

Really? So you Googled FactCheck? Because this is what they have to say about the whole librarian rumor:


Sliming Palin
September 8, 2008
False Internet claims and rumors fly about McCain's running mate.

Summary
We’ve been flooded for the past few days with queries about dubious Internet postings and mass e-mail messages making claims about McCain’s running mate, Gov. Palin. We find that many are completely false, or misleading.

She did not demand that books be banned from the Wasilla library. Some of the books on a widely circulated list were not even in print at the time. The librarian has said Palin asked a "What if?" question, but the librarian continued in her job through most of Palin's first term.

FactCheck.org: Sliming Palin

Because it is the same list someone copied and pasted into the false e-mail that was going around:

So what about that list of books targeted for banning, which according to one widely e-mailed version was taken “from the official minutes of the Wasilla Library Board”? If it was, the library board should take up fortune telling. The list includes the first four Harry Potter books, none of which had been published at the time of the Palin-Emmons conversations. The first wasn't published until 1998. In fact, the list is a simple cut-and-paste job, snatched (complete with typos and the occasional incorrect title) from the Florida Institute of Technology library Web page, which presents the list as “Books banned at one time or another in the United States.”

FactCheck.org: Sliming Palin

snopes.com and factcheck debunked the book ban rumor.

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - McCain Palin fires back over book ban rumor « - Blogs from CNN.com

ETA link Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com

They only admit they've googled when it serves their needs. When the answer doesn't serve their needs, they attack the poster.

Who is "they" kolu?

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Melissa

Specifically in this post it would be truble, in other threads jeanif, I get the impression the fight is more exciting than the facts are to too many.

I think you are correct.

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to kolu again.

But googling is hard! As is clicking on FactCheck.org and Urban Legends Reference Pages

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

Go back and read my original post. I am asking about book banning in general. I never said that this list had anything to with Palin at all. Why did I link to the most current list of challenged books? This is 2008, not 1992.

Do I think that she innocently asked the librarian a rhetorical question? I don't believe that these types of questions are ever rhetorical.

And did you read *my* post?

The one linking to the text from a newspaper article written at the time it happened?

The year prior to Palin's mayorship, someone had successfully challenged a book that was on the shelves in the Wasilla library.

The year Palin took office as mayor, the librarian was in the middle of working with a consortium of libraries to change Wasilla's challenging policy to match those of neighboring libraries. The new policy was going to be more restrictive.

It was during this time of transition that Palin asked her about this policy.

To me, it seems perfectly in line with what a mayor might ask, given the fact that there had been at least some history of challenge/removal at that library. She knew that the general public was going to have a more difficult time getting things removed, but wanted to know if city administrators (specifically the mayor) had any special ability to seek book removal. Palin's quote from the time was that she was trying to get a better understanding of policy issues regarding the library.

Given that in the past, requests *had* been made and books *had* been removed, one would hope the Mayor would want to have a firm grasp of how the new policies would look. And given that she never requested that a single book be removed from a shelf - either as a citizen or elected official - tells me that book removal wasn't high on her list of mayoral priorities.

I would think that after the protest by the citizens of Wasilla over the firing of the librarian, that, no, banning books would not be high on her "to do" list.

Uh, she was not fired. She resigned towards the end of Palin's first mayoral term.

Palin did request the resignations of city department heads who had publically supported the incumbant mayor that she defeated - the mayor who had hired several of them. She made those requests by letter. Palin, as mayor, wanted the freedom to create a team that would be on board with her agenda of change in the local government. The librarian did not choose to resign, and was not fired for staying on. There did come a time, however, when Palin did say she was going to let her go, at which point 100 citizens said they wanted the librarian to stay on. Palin relented and did not push to fire her. The librarian, however, did ultimately choose to resign shortly before Palin began her second term.

It sounds like at least one of the conversations about book removal took place in public - at a city council meeting. The council meetings were open and were reported about in the newspaper, much like any other small town city council meeting. In other words.... the public had a pretty good picture of what life in Wasilla was like under Mayor Palin. And they re-elected her. So obviously, enough people liked what they were getting out of her to re-elect her.


Anyone know how that 2nd election went? Was Palin re-elected by a landslide or did she barely squeak by?

Yes, you're right. You didn't say that this list had anything to do with Palin. I guess I realized that the first time (because I didn't say anything about the rumor in my first post.). But when I came back to it, I was was referring to the exchange between wowitsdark and truble2301. I'm sorry if you thought I was referring to you (I mean that sincerely and not sarcastically.) The "you " I was refering to was truble2301 and her post:

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

She did fire the librarian. That's why there was a protest.

I think loyalty oaths are fascist.

That's not completely correct, she fired her as a loyalty purge and rehired her the next day:


Moreover, although Palin fired Emmons as part of a "loyalty" purge, she rehired Emmons the next day, and Emmons remained at her job for two-and-a-half more years. Actually, Palin initially requested Emmons’ resignation in October 1996, four days before the public discussion of censorship. That was at the same time she requested that all four of Wasilla’s department heads resign. Palin described the requests as a loyalty test and allowed all four department heads to retain their positions. But on Jan. 30, 1997, three months after the censorship discussion, Palin informed Emmons and Wasilla’s police chief, Irv Stambaugh, that they would be fired. According to the Chicago Tribune, Palin did not list censorship as a reason for Emmons’ firing. Palin rehired Emmons the following day. Emmons continued to serve as librarian until August 1999, when the Chicago Tribune reports that she resigned.

FactCheck.org: Sliming Palin

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

My brother in law went to school with her and his family still lives near there. I'll ask him tonight how that second election went from his mother's point of view.

What part of this thread dont you get????? Can you read??? She fired them as part of a loyalty purge and rehired them the next day.....the woman resigned.....several years later....Do you understand English....How many times do people have to tell you????????????? Sherri

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"It isn't that liberals are ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so."
- Ronald Reagan

My bad. She tried to fire the librarian.
"She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who proposed them.

While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin’s attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day."

That's from Anne Kilkenny's letter.

Answer to your question about 2nd election.

http://www.cityofwasilla.com/Modules...documentid=454
Palin 909
Silver 32
Stein 292
Write in 2

Questions & Answers Concerning Former Mayor Palin
City of Wasilla : City News : Questions & Answers Concerning Former Mayor Palin

Fascinating. Thanks, Forest.

So it looks like 'landslide' isn't too far off, 'eh?

She got roughly 75% of the vote.

It looks like whatever ideas she and her staff had *did* resonate with the voters.

Those whose ideas she didn't, apparently, give much of her time were the ideas of the administration that the voters had voted OUT of office.

Why would anyone expect her administration to sit around and hold meetings to listen to the ideas of the losers when the voters had spoken?

Does anyone think that the Democrats in Congress regularly spend a lot of time considering the *merits* of the ideas of their Republican co-workers who lost control an election or two ago?

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Didn't think so.