I choose not to "support the troops" in this case. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3384228 Children's books have veterans up in arms Group plans rallies to protest materials at Montgomery County libraries By RENEE C. LEE Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle AMONG THE BOOKS IN QUESTION: • It's Perfectly Normal : A sex education book that discusses the changes that occur during puberty. • The Perks of Being a Wallflower : About a high school freshman coming of age, struggling with issues such as sexuality, drugs and relationships. • The Plastic Man : A 1940s comic about a former criminal who fights crime with a body that can stretch into any form. THE WOODLANDS - A Houston-based veterans group plans to stage rallies Saturday to protest children's books at Montgomery County libraries that they say contain explicit material. Jim Cabaniss, president of American Veterans in Domestic Defense, says the group has a list of 70 books that it believes are inappropriate. It contends the books contain pornographic pictures or promote homosexuality. ''Our purpose is to deal with the excessive smut and p*rnography in the children sections of the library," said The Woodlands resident. A few of the titles on the group's list include It's Perfectly Normal, The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Plastic Man. Montgomery County Library director Jerilynn Williams said she is aware of the scheduled protests but has not been contacted by the veterans group. ''We respect their right to have an opinion about material in our libraries," Williams said. "We stand strongly on the right of individuals to access information and the right of individuals to choose material they deem appropriate for themselves or their dependent children." Cabaniss said the veterans group was asked by some community members to protest the books. He declined to name them. ''They tried to get the Commissioners Court and the library board to show some restraint on these books, but they've been ignored," he said. Cabaniss said the group's ultimate goal is to have certain members of the Montgomery County Commissioners Court and members of the Montgomery Library Board replaced with people who will vote to remove the books. This is not the first time a group has targeted children's books in Montgomery County. In 2002, the Republican Leadership Council, a conservative Christian group, requested that Commissioners Court remove It's Perfectly Normal and It's So Amazing, both by Robie H. Harris, from library shelves for the same reasons cited by the veterans group. The books were removed in August and September 2002, only to be returned in November based on the recommendation of a library panel that reviewed the books. The Commissioners Court approved the recommendation. The veterans' protests come on the heels of the American Library Association's Banned Books Week, Sept. 24-Oct. 1, celebrating the freedom to read. Cabaniss said his group planned the protests to coincide with National Children's Day on Sunday. Cabaniss said the veterans group is a national organization with chapters in 35 states. The Houston chapter has about 300 members, he said. The group was formed about five years ago in response to Gen. Raymond G. Davis' call for American veterans to help the nation, Cabaniss said. Davis was a Marine veteran of World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. He received the Medal of Honor in 1952 and was decorated with two Legions of Merit and the Purple Heart, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia Web site. He died in 2003. ------ EDIT: What's wrong with "The Plastic Man"? And what the hell ever happened to letting parents decide for their own kids what is and is not appropriate?
We also stand strongly on our right as librarians to brainwash as many children into becoming godless homo junkies as possible.
HAHAHAHA!!! Oh, thats rich...uh-HE...he....uh, you are joking right? Yeah...it's just my sarcasim meter, it needs calibrating...yeah
Concur. I just don't understand why people feel the need to dictate to others what is and isn't appropriate. I am sure these same guys would proudly tout that they "fought for freedom". Sick irony.
Par for the course in Conroe where I was born and raised. The Republican Leadership Council wanted questionable pictures taken out of Buca Di Beppo's and naked statues of David in The Woodlands "Plaza San Marco" shopping center covered up. The RLC crusaded against the library books and got Judge Sadler to fold like a cheap suit and now the Vetrans are taking up the "good fight". Giving an inch to groups like this only empowers more of them to continue their quest for a Christian-right Theocracy.
That is my favorite part. Maybe instead of posting pictures of Lohan and Simpson, guys on this board should be posting images from children's books.
Call Professor Frink, he can fine tune it in a jiffy. Lyndsey Nagle: Do I detect a note of sarcasm? Frink: (With sarcasm detector) Are you kidding? This baby is off the charts! Comic Book Guy: A sarcasm detector, that's a REAL useful invention. (Sarcasm detector explodes)
This is what we get as we continually subsidize the Christian Right- GOP coalition with tax dollars. They start showing their Taliban colors. It ain't your grandad's Christianity. Duby and GOP politicos will keep foolishly encouraging this American Talibanism as long as it keep delivering the votes for the traditonal GOP monied class.
Yeah because ALL Christians who vote GOP are like this... If gwayneco posted what you posted but directed his comments toward Islam, you guys would throw a fit.
The perks of being a wallflower is a great book. And I'm sure Plastic Man has some redeeming value to it. Not sure about the puberty book though..
