READ A BOOK!
[Update: We've heard back on Twitter from one of our deleted commenters. Senpai noticed us! See end of post] We've had such a glut of deletia lately that we're still catching up with it all. But we're still faster than the TSA! (Look, we are being "topical!") So much dumbth, and only a limited amount of space each week. Let's get to shoveling!
Our story on the defeat of Texas state school board candidateMary Lou Bruner, who wanted to teach the little kids all about how Barack Obama was a gay homosexual coke fiend, drew this comment from "Lyles," who was disgusted we'd focus on this minor issue when there are far greater concerns, like all the Jewish socialism that's infected schools, even in Texas:
Such a trivial subject, considering that the jews have completely taken over the education system. All the way from Kindergarden to Universities, teaching your kids to be spineless, obedient marxists with a side of degeneracy.
If you hate your kids, send them to public schools.
Lyles's comment history indicates he's an anti-Semitic anime fan, which strikes us as a strong indication that he actually lives in the basement of another basement. He seems like a credible authority on what happens to kids who are hated, at least.
From a couple weeks ago, we have a LONG series of comments from "SafeLibraries," who insists that they're really really NOT Megan Fox, the evolution-hatin' mom who wrote a book about herwar with an Illinois library because maybe somebody saw someone looking at child porn on computers. (And no, this Megan Fox is not the actor from the Transformers movies). We'll assume "SafeLibraries" is the guy who publishes this dumb blog of the same name (apologies if we guessed wrong and thereby get the pronoun wrong). "SafeLibraries" was very upset that we had written about the book without even reading it -- never mind that the book hadn't been published yet, and that there's plenty of information already available from other sources (albeit the biased liberal media! ) about Megan Fox's strange campaign of harassment against the Orland Park Library. See if you can detect a certain running theme in these comments!
Robyn Pennacchia clearly did not read the book.
The crusade did not cost all that money. It was the library's own actions to repeatedly violate sunshine laws and free speech generally that cost all that money. And to this day, one library trustee who admitted using anti gay slurs still has suffered absolutely no consequences.
Did you read her book yet?
Have you read the book? When parents complain about books in schools, that's the first thing librarians ask them, and rightly so. Have you read the book?
Read the book. The librarians lost again and again and again. They lost in court, they lost before the Attorney General, and they lost in public opinion. Rule number one: Read the book.
[In reply to another commenter who wrote "I think Megan Fox might become a lot less ridiculous if she were to spend her time in libraries reading books instead of harassing the management": ]
Great reply. Since you mention "spend[ing] her time in libraries reading books" while criticizing her, have you yourself read her book to see if she was actually "harassing the management"?
Did you read the book? No, you didn't. You're just here to bash. And the homophobia I discussed? You don't care about it. My guess is because you agree with it. Now put aside your hatred and go read the book.
Read the book. In this case, the library finally admitted to that, and much more. Wait until you read about the homophobia!
It's not my book.
When parents challenged books the first thing they are asked, rightfully, is "did you read the book." Now, the authors are being attacked for writing a book no one has read. The book has not yet been published. So people have not read it. So without reading the book, people are attacking the author. Why is there a double standard?
You have to read the book before you criticize it. After you read the book, I'll bet most people will learn the library was the problem, not the people they harassed where that harassment continues here on Wonkette.
Did you read the book?
After people read the book, I'll bet most people will learn the library was the problem, not the people they harassed where that harassment continues here on Wonkette.
And media manipulation was part of what the library did. It's been admitted to -- as you'll read in the book.
A real journalist would actually read the book instead of just repeating the echo chamber of hate including gay hate. That gay hate, by the way, was perpetuated and promoted by the American Library Association. Just wait until you read the book.
We think what he's getting at is that no one can ever say anything about a book until they've read it themselves, even if that book hasn't yet been published. Never mind whether the book is one person's subjective account of events that have already been covered extensively by others. Or that SafeLibraries seems to think that "criticism" and "mocking" are exactly the same as "harassment."
This is very useful information! We have to admit we're rather impressed by SafeLibraries' deft repurposing of the legitimate point made by schools and libraries when parents challenge materials: If you complain about a book without having read it, you're giving only a partial view. Of course, schools and libraries usually bring that up when someone's trying to ban a book, not writing a snarky blog entry about it. And it's a far more effective point when the book in question is actually available to read. Our article was about the background of Megan Fox, the creationist homeschool mom who likes to "audit" science museums and their lies about dragons; it wasn't a book review. Still, SafeLibraries pointed out the rank hypocrisy of Yr Wonkette, in reply to another commenter who noted that while it's true the book was not yet available to read, Fox's established credentials as a fact-distorting loon certainly suggest her self-published book won't be the most reliable account either:
And if school parents challenged a book on this same basis as you just expressed, they would be made into national laughing stocks by the American Library Association. Nice double standards.
Ooh, BURN! And the very minute we call for Fox's book to be banned, we invite the ALA to come after us. Criticism and mockery ain't censorship, Bucky.
However, now that Fox's book-shaped object has actually been published, as of a few days ago, we'll have to buy the damned thing (no e-book? RIPOFF!) and provide a review for our Gentle Readers, Crom help us. If by some miracle Fox has written a book that's more fact-based than her nutso videos, we'll be sure to let you know. Since we're shelling out perfectly good tax-deductible business expense money for the dumb book, we'll also make a matching contribution to the Boise Public Library, as penance. It's the bestest Library!
We're going there today! No we're not! They close on Sundays from Memorial Day Weekend to Labor Day. Poo.
"SafeLibraries" also shared some AMAZING Science Facts on how the American Library Association actively promotes child pornography by leaving the prosecution of crimes to the criminal justice system:
Listen, I know this is a mind blower so I'll say this slowly. The American Library Association facilitates child pornography in public libraries nationwide.
There are three main ways. 1) It tells librarians they are not judges. Only judges may determine what is child pornography. Librarians may not. So if they see something that looks like child porn, they cannot possibly know if it really is. Therefore, they must ignore the child porn and assume it is not child porn. 2) Since they cannot determine what is child porn, they must not assist police in stopping the crime. 3) They must actively defy government document retention policies and instead follow American Library Association diktat to destroy public documents such as browser histories that police can use to apprehend child porn criminals.
And that's the guidance for all libraries nationwide.
Read the book.
Correct that no librarian defends child pornography. But librarians are trained by the American Library Association that they are not judges and that only judges can determine what is child pornography, and then only on a case by case basis in the billions of web sites. It's a sort of willful blindness. They don't actively defend accessing child porn, but they claim to not be in a position to make that decision, so nothing is child porn until ruled by a judge.
It's in the book. I suggest reading it if you are truly interested in this trained willful blindness.
[In reply to a commenter who said "I'm not paying you a cent to read your delusional diatribe": ]
I did not write it. It is not delusional. The things in there really happened. It was so bad even Saturday Night Live with Lady Gaga made a national joke of that library. Of the library, not of the authors, which Wonkette is wrongly doing. After others read the book, you'll want to too.
No one is buying your criticism of a book you haven't read, stop it.
That last bit is actually true -- sort of. SNL did in fact devote almost ten full seconds to the story, and Megan Fox was so impressed that she posted it to her very own YouTube channel:
Wow, so devastate. Much national joke.
Yr Wonkette wishes you a relaxing holiday weekend, and if you'll indulge us, we'd also like to wish a Happy 19th Birthday to Kid Zoom, our own personal favorite library patron. He's always been into reading. I love you, kiddo.
Daddy, Why is 'Garfield' so banal?
UPDATE [May 30]: Dan Kleinman, the not-at-all obsessive author of the SafeLibraries blog, generously retweeted this little blog post five times. And whined that Yr Wonkette "makes fun of whistleblowers of child porn in public libraries, crows about using #censorship to do it." So in addition to not knowing what "harassment" means, he also doesn't know what "censorship" means, either. We're looking forward to his inevitable angry blog post, but hope he won't interrupt his Memorial Day barbecue to write it. We've got the day off, and hope he's enjoying a day off, too!
Ah, but there's no rest for the moral crusader. We retweeted one of his tweets, which immediately triggered another seven retweets. In the space of minutes. Dude. We're getting off the computer and catching up on Preacher on TiVo. (We loved the comics, which we checked out from the Boise Public Library!) Relax and enjoy your day off.
I do not know. I just know some folk I know IRL have had to pay court costs when they lost something, they was poorz thoughBut when my mom got her settlement, finally, after 10 years, the many big dollars of court costs were paid in part by her settlement, and the rest picked up by JQ public. That was PA though.
But what did you think of "Preacher"?
Talk about burying the lede...