DL Open Thread: Thursday, November 11, 2021
“Should We Burn The Books–Or Just Ban Them?“. Not isolated. Organized efforts. Democracy, or what passes for it, dies in darkness:
While that effort took place years ago, it was rekindled as a political issue at a telling time. Not only are conservatives increasingly targeting school curriculums surrounding race, but there’s also a building and often-related effort to rid school libraries of certain books…
But advocates say what’s happening now is more pronounced.
“What has taken us aback this year is the intensity with which school libraries are under attack,” said Nora Pelizzari, a spokeswoman at the National Coalition Against Censorship.
She added that the apparent coordination of the effort sets it apart: “Particularly when taken in concert with the legislative attempts to control school curricula, this feels like a more overarching attempt to purge schools of materials that people disagree with. It feels different than what we’ve seen in recent years.”
Of course, Texas which, along with Florida, leads the anti-democratic movement, takes it even a step further:
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issued an executive order calling on state education officials to review the books available to students for “pornography and other obscene content.” Abbott indicated before the order that such content needed to be examined and removed if it was found. He reportedly did not specify what the “obscene content” standard for books should be.
Abbott added Wednesday that the Texas Education Agency should report any instances of pornography being made available to minors “for prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.”
The effort builds upon a review launched last month by state Rep. Michael Krause (R), who is running for state attorney general. Krause is targeting books that “contain material that might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of their race or sex or convey that a student, by virtue of their race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.”
Judge Ensures That Kyle Rittenhouse Will Skate. Ditto For Killers Of Ahmaud Arbery. Judges put their thumbs on the scale. On behalf of right-wing haters.
NYPD Refuses To Turn Over Full Access To Body-Worn Camera Footage. The NYPD is a criminal enterprise, and consistently refuses to comply with the law. Speaking of which: Queens DA Tosses 60 Cases Due To Testimony From Tainted Cops.
400 Million Guns. That’s America today. Thankfully, the collective sanity of the American populace has never been higher. Oh, wait…
Theo Gregory & Hanifa Shabazz: The Very Definition Of Petty Corruption. Whether Gregory is ‘technically’ guilty is one thing. But there’s no doubt that what he cooked up was unethical and designed only to line his own pockets:
Gregory, 67, faces criminal charges for using his position on City Council to secure a taxpayer grant that would enrich both himself and a nonprofit he founded.
It found that as outgoing council president in late 2016, Gregory marked $40,000 in city grant funds to go toward a defunct nonprofit he had founded and had recently resurrected. His successor as city council president, Hanifa Shabazz, approved the grant when she took office.
The grant for Student Disabilities Advocate, Inc., included $20,000 for Gregory personally – at least $15,000 of which he has acknowledged pocketing.
The Funeral Of Ruth Ann Minner.
What do you want to talk about?
That Kyle Rittenhouse judge is a pure fuckhead.
He deserves the same fate as his judicially-declared-not-victims. Until that happens, fascism triumphs.
The judge’s cell phone rang during the Rittenhouse trial. The ring tone was Trump’s theme song at his rallies. I am not making this up:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/bruce-schroeder-kyle-rittenhouse-judge-phone-b1955443.html
What the Gregory and McG cases are showing us right now is that we need stronger definitions of corruption and official misconduct built into state law. What Gregory did stinks to high heaven. If he gets off because he did not “coerce” Shabazz, then that’s ridiculous. McG’s lawyer should not be able to say that it’s OK for an official to hire their relatives — that should be illegal from the start.
Priority No. 1 for the GA should be to strengthen the public integrity statutes and the Code of Conduct. The option for municipalities and counties and other agencies to have their own ethics codes should be removed – there should be a state code covering everyone. And the PIC needs to have several more staff added.
Right. I mean, the guy resurrects a long-dormant agency that has been inactive since the 1990’s just so he can pocket a (relatively picayune) sum of the public’s money.
I think we’re reaching critical mass where a well-considered package like you suggested could pass. One or two less grifters in the House, and I think we’re there.
But here’s the problem IMO; unethical people will always find ways around codified definitions of unethical conduct. If one hole is plugged, they’ll find another one. McGuiness is in the news because she was stupid, she should have gotten her daughter hired for the no show job at DelTech. The only way to ensure ethical conduct is to elect ethical people.
You’re probably right. But if you make the the risks of acting unethically greater, you increase the likelihood that grifters will turn elsewhere as opposed to careers in ‘public service’.