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Copyright (c) 2009 Ginny Maziarka. All rights reserved.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Broken Hearts

On Wednesday evening, our grandson was born full-term at 6 pounds, 3 ounces. Cayden went home to Jesus first, then Mommy, Daddy, Grandmas, Grandpas, aunties and uncles all got to hold him. He was a rambunctious tyke and flipped himself precariously into his umbilical cord a few too many times.

We will always remember his soft little body, his baby smell, chubby little hands and feet, perfect nose and tufted dark hair.

Our hearts are broken.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Proposition 8 upheld in California 6-1

Today the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8 by a vote of 6-1, thus affirming the constitutional amendment passed in November that defines marriage as only the union of one man and woman.

...

Mathew D. Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, who argued the case at every stage of the litigation, commented: “The people of California have spoken by affirming traditional marriage. It is time to move on. By a mere fourteen words that reaffirm the historic and common-sense definition of marriage, the people have restored common sense and the rule of law to California. This is a great day for traditional marriage and the family. We have fought this battle in California for nearly 5 years to defend traditional marriage. Today is a day of celebration. Political leaders who say that we should give up the battle on traditional marriage are out of touch with the American people. Our future leaders must be strong advocates of traditional marriage and family.”

Wisconsin Do Not Call List DEADLINE this Sunday

Wisconsin No-call list: https://nocall.wisconsin.gov/

The no-call list is updated quarterly. Names drop off the list after two years unless people sign up again.

Monday, May 25, 2009

In Memory....

Korean War veteran Milton Seidel, 68, protects himself from the sun during the 50th Anniversary Commemoration of the start of the Korean War June 25. Seidel, who served with the U.S. 8th Army, joined about 7,000 other veterans for the ceremonies. (Photo by Rudi Williams)



July 31, 1931 to August 31, 2008


Thanks, Uncle Milt. We miss you.


Library of Congress, Veterans History Project:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/bib/41664

We have not forgotten. Memorial Day 2009


Thank you.


Saturday, May 23, 2009

West Bend's YA Librarian disses Area Youth/Parents

Instead of taking the time to consider solutions or dialogue with parents in the community she serves, our YA Zone librarian, Kristin Pekoll, has decided to promote and join in with a group that plans to "march" in protest to parents/patrons/youth in West Bend and is PROMOTING sexually-explicit books to families with minor children. My notes, of course, are in red.

Here are her Facebook comments:

Jake Jurss (Wisconsin) wroteat 8:31pm on May 7th, 2009
Most definitely bring the kids. It would be awesome to see kids of any age especially Middle Schoolers (who young adultness brought much of this up) and even younger. Everyone is welcome. We are not only encouraging the library shelves to stay as they are, but also to encourage people to pick up some of the books that have been challenged again and again.

Kristin 'Lade' Pekoll wrote at 1:28pm on May 7th, 2009 (So are we Facebooking to organize a protest on TAXPAYER TIME? Just wondering...)

Ideas for Banned Books to read (ALA) http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/bannedbooksweek/challengedbanned/frequentlychallengedbooks.cfm or
books that people don't like listed on the West Bend Library website
http://www.west-bendlibrary.org/yaglbtq.htm

Personally I plan on re-reading WHALE TALK by CHRIS CRUTCHER (my autographed copy) Here you can read Chris' inspirational response to a recent challenge of Whale Talk http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=171562806&blogId=483653524
Report

Kristin 'Lade' Pekoll wrote at 10:38 am on May 13th, 2009 (So are we Facebooking to help organize a protest on TAXPAYER TIME? Just wondering...)

Here's a great list of some books that might be interesting to pick up and read for the May 29th READ IN. Let me know if anyone needs help getting a book from the library. I plan to put together some version of this list in hard copy for people to pick up at the library.
http://wikis.ala.org/yalsa/index.php/50_Years_of_Reading_Free

and

Kristin said...
I was very excited to see an announcement for the West Bend Read-In circulated through the WisPubLIb (Wisconsin Public Libraries) Listserv. Hopefully we have a great turn out. I plan on making cookies. :)

WHILE WE ARE AT IT, we have a category on the YA Zone BOOK LIST called "KRISTIN'S FAVORITES" -

Geography Club by Brent Hartinger
Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas
My Heartbeat by Garrett Freymann Weyr
and MORE



Think she's sending her community a message? We do.


Let's not forget former library board member MARY REILLY-KLISS who publicly states:

Ardent Wisconsin Gardener said...
Hello All--Mary Reilly-Kliss (recently deposed for the second time from the WBCML Board) reporting in for reading duty! I will be there with bells on! Ok, maybe not the bells because it is a library after all. However, I will be there wearing my royal blue "FREADOM" shirt, and distributing bookmarks with the same sentiment. My contact at ABA's intellectual freedom divison will be sending some materials for our perusal. He has also expressed an interest in coming to West Bend to talk about intellectual freedom and free speech in particular. I am exploring that idea.See you on the 29 if not before. I wonder if we should wear name tags of some sort as I would love to be able to put a fact on the many names which come up on the blogs! Mary

....confirming over and over again that she does not represent this community, and lending credence to the City Council's decision. Thanks, Mare!

Or how about Mary's commentary to Maria Hanrahan's query about the City Council's process to approve mayoral appointments?

Maria:
Does anyone recall any of the aldermen (and please try to remember specifically who) saying that they would be interviewing candidates that the mayor suggests? If so, we need to look into that; that is not how this has been handled (with this board or others) in the past, so it would be a clear indicator that certain alderman may be trying to stack the board.

Mary Reilly-Kliss
Yes, Maria. Ald. Vrana said that he was considering being the Council rep on the WBCML board. He followed that with the idea of having those interested in applying for the board to submit: An application, resume, and personal interview. I wonder if CC would then have to use the same process for each and every appointee to each and every CC committee. That could keep them quite busy! Plus, it would assure that only those passing the litmus test would be able to volunarily serve their community. VERY VERY SCARY indeed. As an aside: Would the CC require its representative to follow those same procedures? Just asking!!

Liberty University says "goodbye" to Democratic club

A reasonable move, maintaining this private school's pro-life, pro-tradiational marriage position.

RICHMOND, May 22 -- Liberty University will no longer recognize its campus Democratic club because, officials say, the national party's platform goes against the conservative Christian school's moral principles.

Officials at the private Lynchburg school, which was founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell, said they made the decision after receiving complaints from trustees, parents and donors.

"They really are great kids and good friends of mine," said Jerry Falwell Jr., who became the school's chancellor after his father died in 2007. "It's just an issue of what Liberty's mission is."

...

McDonnell, who attended Notre Dame and spoke at Liberty in March, said through his spokesman that he "personally disagrees" with Liberty's decision but that because it is a private school its leaders can make their own decisions.

Banned Books Week - HOGWASH!

An old read, but a good read nonetheless..and extremely relevant to today.


Book Banning is Happening Now!! That is what the sign said in the midst of a big display in the bookstore window. As it turned out, book banning was not happening. Hogwash was happening.

The books in the display were not banned. You can get them at bookstores from sea to shining sea. The government itself buys some of them. Many of these books are circulating in the tens of thousands, and some in the millions.

A poster in the display proclaimed [the week of October 3, 1994] to be "Banned Books Week."

The kind of shameless propaganda that has become commonplace in false charges of "censorship" or "book banning" has apparently now been institutionalized with a week of its own.


...

No one calls it censorship when the old McGuffey's Readers are no longer purchased by the public schools (though they are still available and are actually being used in some private schools). No one calls it censorship if the collected works of Rush Limbaugh are not put into libraries and schools in every town, hamlet and middlesex village.

It is only when the books approved by the elite intelligentsia are objected to by others that it is called censorship. Apparently we are not to talk back to our betters.

All this is just one more skirmish in the cultural wars of our time. In war, someone pointed out long ago, truth is the first casualty. Those who are spreading hysteria about book banning and censorship know that they are in a war, but too many of those who thoughtlessly repeat their rhetoric do not.

It is not enough to see through fraudulent rhetoric in a particular case if you continue to listen gullibly to those who have used such rhetoric to muddy the waters.

There should have been a sign in that bookstore window saying "Hogwash is happening."

That's what really rates two exclamation point--and perhaps a National Hogwash Week.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Tennessee school district removes "salacious" books from reading list

It can be done.

FRANKLIN — A list of "best books for young adults" chosen by the national Young Adult Library Services Association has been removed from Williamson County schools' web sites for being too "salacious" for students.

Every year the district puts together a recommended summer reading list, and this year Ravenwood High and Brentwood High schools' Web sites included links to the Library Services' list.

But at least one parent and school board member Terry Leve found some selections on the list, which includes titles like Debbie Harry Sings in French, in which the protagonist explores his interest in cross-dressing, and Living Dead Girl, in which a teen girl lives as an abductor's live-in rape victim, inappropriate for students.

"YALSA's list does not reflect the recommended reading list published by Williamson County Schools," Leve wrote to his constituents via e-mail. "To be perfectly blunt, many of the selections were extraordinarily salacious, sensual and sensationalistic." (Sound familiar?)

As a result, the district has removed the suggestion that the books on the list are recommended, though school officials say the list still can be an additional source for students and their families.

See the full YALSA list here.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

DC officials force Christians to turn T-shirts inside out




Received this disturbing, yet revealing, email from a friend of mine who just returned from D.C. I guess free speech ends on the Supreme Court steps.


We just got back late last night from Washington D.C., and meeting with our Senators about the hate crime legislation that they will be voting on this week. (pictures attached) Here's where we are in America.

Monday morning we arrive outside "OUR" Supreme Court Building. Doc Johnston and his four children, myself and a few others were headed into the building to use the rest rooms. We all wore the same red shirts which said: "Jesus is the Standard" on the front and the back read: "Hate is Truth to those that hate the truth. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?"

We were approached by a female guard and she told us that we would have to take off our shirts and turn them wrong side out before entering the building. (emphasis mine) I missed the shot--didn't have my camera out yet. We've known for a long time that our Government hates God, but this is our tax dollars at it's best. Trained guards to censor every expression of God entering the building. I tried to find a shirt that was given a pass by that guard, but it was chilly and jackets concealed some of the shirts.

They must now make it illegal to speak the truth--S. 909 is focused on silencing the Christian voice.

Find out what it will do here: http://www.operationsaveamerica.org/536.htm

They are expected to vote on it this week, so make those calls. Obama said he wants it on his desk and signed by Memorial day (May 28th).

SafeLibraries applauds West Bend City Council

West Bend, WI, has set a national example of how local communities can stand up to pressure from outside groups seeking to mislead local citizens.

Even in the face of tremendous pressure from the American Library Association [ALA], the National Council Against Censorship [NCAC], and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Information Sciences, the town's government has refused to reverse its decision to not reappoint library board members who protected ALA agenda by refusing to hear the complaint of one of its citizens. (To confirm this and more, read here.)

For an example of the kind of tactics used by the pressure groups and why people should realize they are paper tigers, both the ALA and the NCAC have spoken out directly against me, likely because I have been scoring direct hits on them (example), then both have failed to respond to my legitimate questions/concerns about local control. Both hit and ran. No response from Deborah Caldwell-Stone of the ALA. No response from the NCAC.

What a coincidence, the West Bend library board members were not reappointed precisely because they provided no response to citizen concerns, just like the ALA/NCAC!

Monday, May 18, 2009

West Bend City Council refuses to budge on library issue

The motion to rescind the vote brought forth by Alderman Nick Dobberstein was soundly rejected by the City Council this evening.

Alderman Dobberstein began the request by listing off the attributes of the board members, i.e., attendance at meetings, advocation, supervision and evaluation of the library director. Asking for questions or discussion from the other aldermen, Dobberstein was met with silence.

Alderman Lindbeck, citing personal reasons, stated he would not be voting this evening and abstained. Dobberstein questioned the abstention, asking the city attorney if this move was only used for those with a conflict of interest. The city attorney affirmed that the choice to abstain may be made for any reason at any time.

Alderman Dobberstein asked to speak further, making a list of other attributes of the four library board members in question. He made mention of their familiarity of intellectual freedom, their experience, their advanced degrees, their diligence and committment to reading books that we are currently questioning and the fact that they are just "good people."

Alderman Schlotfeldt made mention directly to Dobberstein of an earlier telephone conversation that he would not reiterate publicly.

Dobberstein asked the City Council members what he could do to get the library board reinstated. There was no response from the City Council.

The call to question the rescind was brought forward by Alderman Dobberstein.
Seconded by Alderman Kist.

A vote was taken to rescind:

All voted NO, except for Alderman Kist and Alderman Dobberstein.

A firm stand by the leaders of our community who truly know the people they serve.

Friday, May 15, 2009

H.Res. 397 and American Spiritual Heritage Week

I support this.

Some members of Congress have crafted a resolution encouraging Americans to remember the Christian perspective of the Founders. It is called H.Res. 397, and I encourage you to read the full text of the bill.

Here are some excerpts:

1st Session
H. RES. 397

Affirming the rich spiritual and religious history of our Nation's founding and subsequent history and expressing support for designation of the first week in May as `America's Spiritual Heritage Week' for the appreciation of and education on America's history of religious faith.

....


RESOLUTION
Affirming the rich spiritual and religious history of our Nation's founding and subsequent history and expressing support for designation of the first week in May as `America's Spiritual Heritage Week' for the appreciation of and education on America's history of religious faith.

Whereas religious faith was not only important in official American life during the periods of discovery, exploration, colonization, and growth but has also been acknowledged and incorporated into all 3 branches of the Federal Government from their very beginning;
Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed this self-evident fact in a unanimous ruling declaring `This is a religious people .

. . From the discovery of this continent to the present hour, there is a single voice making this affirmation';

Whereas political scientists have documented that the most frequently cited source in the political period known as The Founding Era was the Bible;

Whereas the first act of America's first Congress in 1774 was to ask a minister to open with prayer and to lead Congress in the reading of 4 chapters of the Bible;

Whereas Congress regularly attended church and Divine service together en masse;

Whereas throughout the American Founding, Congress frequently appropriated money for missionaries and for religious instruction, a practice that Congress repeated for decades after the passage of the Constitution and the First Amendment;

Whereas in 1776, Congress approved the Declaration of Independence with its 4 direct religious acknowledgments referring to God as the Creator (`All people are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness'), the Lawgiver (`the laws of nature and nature's God'), the Judge (`appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world'), and the Protector (`with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence');

Whereas upon approving the Declaration of Independence, John Adams declared that the Fourth of July `ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty';

Whereas 4 days after approving the Declaration, the Liberty Bell was rung;

Whereas the Liberty Bell was named for the Biblical inscription from Leviticus 25:10 emblazoned around it: `Proclaim liberty throughout the land, to all the inhabitants thereof';

Whereas in 1777, Congress, facing a National shortage of `Bibles for our schools, and families, and for the public worship of God in our churches,' announced that they `desired to have a Bible printed under their care & by their encouragement' and therefore ordered 20,000
copies of the Bible to be imported `into the different ports of the States of the Union';

....

Whereas the first week in May each year would be an appropriate week to designate as `America's Spiritual Heritage Week': Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the United States House of Representatives--

(1) affirms the rich spiritual and diverse religious history of our Nation's founding and subsequent history, including up to the current day;
(2) recognizes that the religious foundations of faith on which America was built are critical underpinnings of our Nation's most valuable institutions and form the inseparable foundation for America's representative processes, legal systems, and societal structures;
(3) rejects, in the strongest possible terms, any effort to remove, obscure, or purposely omit such history from our Nation's public buildings and educational resources; and
(4) expresses support for designation of a `America's Spiritual Heritage Week' every year for the appreciation of and education on America's history of religious faith.

Gay marriage ban on a merry-go-round in Wisconsin?

Kind of like beating a dead horse.

MADISON -- The Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed Thursday to decide whether the state's 2006 ban on gay marriage was properly put to voters.

...

Fair Wisconsin, the state's largest gay rights group, praised the court's decision to take the case.

...

A spokesman for Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen pledged a vigorous legal defense of the amendment, which was approved by nearly 60 percent of voters."We have defended the voter's choice, and we will continue to do so," Bill Cosh said.A ruling striking down the amendment would not legalize same-sex marriage because state law still defines marriage as a union between husband and wife. However, it could pave the way for lawmakers to eventually allow it, or for advocates to file lawsuits seeking that right.

...

In his ruling last year, Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess said McConkey could sue. But he ruled the two clauses in the referendum question were "two sides of the same coin" and properly decided with one vote."They clearly relate to the same subject matter and further the same purpose: the preservation and protection of the unique and historical status of traditional marriage," he said in a ruling from the bench.

Jackson man tries to lure child with internet porn

So let's see. It is not okay for a 14-year-old child to view sexually explicit material, but it is okay for the same said child to view it at the library. Because the ALA says so. Got it.

West Bend - A 21-year-old Jackson man has been charged with trying to get what he thought was a 14-year-old girl to view sexual activity over the Internet.

According to a criminal complaint, Brent W. Wallace contacted a Door County Sheriff's Department investigator posing as the girl in an online chat room and sent sexually explicit video and messages to her. He also asked her to mail him a sexually explicit video of herself to him.
On Monday, Jackson police and a postal inspector executed a search warrant and seized computer equipment and a camera and took Wallace into custody and charged him on Wednesday.

Wallace is free on a $2,500 signature bond. A condition of bail is that he not use a computer.
If convicted, Wallace could be imprisoned up to three years. He is next due in court June 3.

Area resident wants to know who is responsible

..and so do we.

While reading about the library controversy, it occurred to me that the real point has been lost. Someone has to be responsible for the materials in question ending up in our community library.

The controversy started when certain books (that are objectionable to many) were featured as recommended reading on the YA page of the Web site. Someone chose to select and feature them – supposedly the youth librarian, who answers to the director, who answers to the Library Board.

Since our library does not hold every book ever printed, the board presumably has to set parameters for what materials to acquire and hold. Those parameters should reflect the character of our community – what is considered acceptable in New York or San Francisco does not necessarily belong here. By that standard, the Board failed in its responsibility and the Common Council was right in sending that message and denying reappointments.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Local columnist denies library wrongdoing

See commentary section on this blog for my reasons for changing this post.


The Library Board, too, is blameless, despite the hair-triggered judgment of aldermen who believed the board was taking too long. The Library Board was not dragging its feet. It was acting on the advice of counsel to re-boot the complaint procedure after the Maziarkas went public and their original complaint mutated from one constitutionally unsupportable life form into another.


Please see:

"West Bend Library Commits 'Gross Error'; Refuses to Honor Materials Reconsideration Policy in Possibly Illegal Manner."

From link above:


As you say, "If the Maziarkas are concerned with different issues and different books, they need to submit a Reconsideration form for each book." You know what, I agree that may have been appropriate, but that was not what happened here. Maziarka brought a complaint. It was rejected and she was directed to follow procedure and file a complaint. She filed the complaint. The complaint was accepted. She met with a librarian about the complaint. Then she met with the library director about the complaint. Both times were about the substantive issues of the complaint. Neither person complained about the form of the complaint, and neither required her to resubmit. The evaluation was well on its way. Then, based on the excuse of the city attorney's view of Maziarka's public statements on the issue, among other things, the library dropped the complaint without giving Maziarka a chance to say word one. That is the procedural problem I have raised. That is what is unfair.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Glenn Beck hosting ACORN whistleblowers TODAY at 4

FORMER ACORN members will join the Glenn Beck show TODAY (Fox News Channel) at 4:00.

There will be eight former ACORN board members on the show who are essentially whistle blowers, alerting those who will listen to the corruption systemic within this organization. Watch and learn, then go out and start the fire under your friends and family who will be needed to wage this “community organization” war.

If you can't watch it, DVR it!

FYI: It's happening right HERE, in West Bend.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

PFOX explains need for balance of materials on ex-gays

Sent to Editor, WB News/Library Board:

As an ex-gay, I share my testimony to eliminate negative perceptions and discrimination against former homosexuals. I understand that some are asking for a balance of books on the controversial issue of homosexuality, as well as other hot-topic issues. I’d like to address that issue.

No scientific evidence has established a genetic cause for homosexuality or found a “gay gene.” There is no medical or DNA test to determine if a person is homosexual. “Gay” is a self-chosen identity to publicly demonstrate an individual’s conformity with homosexual behavior. According to the American Psychiatric Association, there are no replicated scientific studies to support that people can be born “gay” or that homosexuality is innate.

Teens should not be encouraged to self-identify as “gay” before they have matured. Once a child self-identifies as “gay,” he is stuck with that label because gay activists and other heterophobic influences refuse to acknowledge that an individual can leave homosexuality. Additionally, “research shows that the risk of suicide decreases by 20% for each year that a person delays homosexual or bisexual self-labeling.”*

Libraries, including school libraries, that address the issue of sexual orientation, must present all of the facts in a fair and balanced manner. Exclusion of some views merely because of disagreement with them constitutes viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment. Therefore, the ex-gay viewpoint in your library, as well as in your public schools, is protected by the First Amendment and should be heard.

Gay activists have created an environment where anyone who does not accept homosexuality as equivalent to heterosexuality in every way is labeled a “bigot” whose attitude equates to racism. Sexual orientation non-discrimination laws and hate crime policies are used to silence the ex-gay community and legitimize intolerance against former homosexuals.

Each year thousands of men and women with unwanted same-sex attractions make the personal decision to leave a gay identity via secular therapy, faith-based ministries, and other non-judgmental environments.

Ex-gays must be included in the formation of public policy that includes balance on controversial issues, especially homosexuality, because ex-gays have much to contribute to the understanding of sexual orientation. Without testimony from all sectors of society, public policy on this issue is seriously flawed.

Sincerely,

Greg Quinlan
PFOX Board member
Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX) is a national non-profit organization that supports families, advocates for the ex-gay community, and educates the public on sexual orientation.
*(Source: Risk Factors for Attempted Suicide in Gay and Bisexual Youth by Remafedi, Farrow, and Deisher, in Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Pediatrics 87: 869-875 June 1991.)

Publisher dips into West Bend Issues - tells nation to jump on City Council and Vrana

This book publisher, Seven Stories Press, takes a swing at the citizens of West Bend

As you may have heard, the Common Council of West Bend, Wisconsin voted on April 21 to dismiss four members of the West Bend Library Board. The reason? The Common Council disagreed with the “ideology” of the Board members, and with their refusal to remove certain LGBT-themed titles from the Young Adult section of the library. Among the titles: (see books and excerpts on the left-hand side of this blog page)

First of all, once again this publisher has the information wrong. Or do they? Perhaps, like the local organization of West Bend Parents for Free Speech, they are using the LGBT community so they can get people fired up over an issue that is not about gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgenders at ALL! Perhaps if one reads the actual petition (left side of this blog), one would find that both homosexual AND heterosexual books are being addressed. Yes, yes, we know that three months ago we objected to the "Out of the Closet" book recommendations, mostly because we object to sex book recommendations of ANY kind for minors. We have since, long ago, dropped that issue as we feel the issue at hand is sexually explicit materials. Nothing more. Publishers that talk smack about the LGBT-themed books to the LGBT community to rile them up are simply looking for a group to "use", and those on the receiving end of this abuse should be outraged. We have heard from many LGBTs that they AGREE with our stance on sexually explicit materials for their kids! Parents are parents....
....

In short: material that provides information on puberty, on coming out as gay, lesbian, or transgendered teen, and on teenage sexual abuse and the depression and trauma that can result from it—this is the material that the City Council, bowing to pressure from the West Bend Citizens for Safe Libraries, wants to make less accessible to teenagers. Even shorter: the Council wants to restrict teenagers from reading books about puberty if those books talk positively about gay people.

Once again, wrong info! Shucks! Two strikes! Not making them less accessible. The kids can still walk into the library, go to a rack, take a book, and check it out. Same books, different shelf. C'mon...this is not rocket science!

And the last sentence? HUH? That is just a lie. Period. Nothing to back that up whatsoever. Who wrote this idiotic piece?

....

A letter opposing the City Council’s decision, signed by the heads of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the National Coalition Against Censorship, the Association of American Publishers and the PEN American Center, can be found here.

And a superior explanation of the misinformation within this letter can be found here.

....

As an independent press with a long history of (1) publishing and promoting traditionally oppressed voices (it’s laughable, for example, to say that librarians should stock books from the controversial and politically-motivated ex-gay movement to “balance” a guide to puberty that says that homosexuality is a viable lifestyle) (See next blog note with PFOX's thoughts about that statement) and (2) opposing censorship in all its forms, we’d like to propose a call to action:

Let the Common Council know how you feel, and why you believe that “protecting” kids in small towns from books that deal favorably with homosexuality is not an appropriate action for a taxpayer-funded library to take.

Why would anyone want to do that, as this is not the issue! This publisher is going to make people look SILLY.

Let them know that the four Library Board members should not have been dismissed for refusing to bow to unconstitutional pressure from religious groups, however many signatures on a petition those groups can gather.

Ooops! That's three strikes, people! They were not "dismissed", they were not reappointed. The reason? They "dragged their feet" and "stonewalled" the public. Yes, THEY DID.

Let them know that if they really do want to protect their kids—including their LGBT kids—they can best protect them by giving them access to information about their own identity and sexuality, not by stigmatizing that information as “adult” or “obscene.”

So their "own identity" (and heteros, this is for you, too) agrees that children should read books that contain "how to's" for masturbation, three-way sex, sex with toys, etc., etc.? Hmmm... I would think the LGBT gang would be just as outraged this garbage is dragging down THEIR literary standards, but hey, I guess my thought that parents, no matter WHAT their walk of life, would stand by their children's innocence. Perhaps putting a man's ejaculatory secretions on corn flakes is an appealing form of literature to those who are LGBT..at least that is what this publisher is stating.

You can write a letter to the following address:

(City Council/Vrana address given)

All this misinformation could be intentional, or it could show the effects of the lies spread by non-local parties interested in maintaining control over OUR library. Directing the general public to write ridiculous letters about an issue that this publisher clearly does not understand will simply make them look, well, silly, like I said before. The letters will end up in the trash, as they do not pertain to the issue. Nice try, 7 Stories. But the public has your number. And its a ZERO.

West Bend National Day of Prayer 11:45 City Hall Lawn

The NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER
will be recognized TODAY at 11:45 on the lawn of City Hall,
1115 South Main Street.
All are welcome to join together to pray for our nation, o
ur leaders and the citizens therein.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

White House BOOTS Nat'l Day of Prayer

Oh, that's right... "This is not a Christian nation."

WHITE HOUSE - This Thursday, for the first time in nine years, there won't be a White House ceremony in observance of the National Day of Prayer.

Republican Congressman Randy Forbes, co-chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, says a proclamation urging Americans to pray would be more meaningful if the president set a public example. Forbes calls it a missed opportunity, but says, "Hopefully we'll have millions of people around the country that will make up for the void we see at the White House on the National Day of Prayer."

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

America raising its kids on porn - Washington Times

America is raising a generation of children on porn- and your child just might be one of them. According to the London School of Economics, nine out of 10 teens who go online will view pornography. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that 70 percent of those who viewed porn stumbled across it - many while innocently doing their homework - and had not been looking for it.

The purveyors of hard-core porn are so fixated on creating addicts out of our sons and daughters that they have made it virtually impossible for children to escape their clutches.

....

The negative effects of porn usage on children are clear. A Heritage Foundation study reports that the harms include: overestimating the prevalence of practices such as group sex, bestiality and sado-masochism; perceiving promiscuity as normal; developing cynical attitudes about love; and viewing the idea of raising children and having a family as unattractive prospects. Another horrible consequence is that boys begin to view girls as nothing more than sex objects, and our little girls begin to think that being one is how they get ahead in the world.

....

Today's wonderful technologies such as the Internet have many benefits for our children - the world and all its wonders are magically at their fingertips. But these advances also mean that parents have to be proactive in fighting those who misuse them. We must not sit idly by when our children are being targeted.

The solution to a huge part of the problem is easy: download a reliable Internet filter.

....


The great news is that it only takes a few keystrokes and a few minutes to download a filter that will keep the scum out of your house.


And out of your library.

Exploitation of Children for the grown-up agendas

Monday, May 4, 2009

Mayor tables library issue at alderman's request

The move to rescind the vote of the mayoral library board appointees is off the City Countil meeting agenda for tonight.

Alderman Dobberstein has allegedly asked to have the move held until the next City Council meeting as one alderman was not able to be available at this evening's meeting.

WB Citizens for Safe Libraries Statement

STATEMENT FROM WEST BEND CITIZENS FOR SAFE LIBRARIES

We wish to assure our common council, our mayor and our community that we, in no way, align ourselves with the group who has issued a lawsuit against the West Bend Community Memorial Library. We would like to affirm that we are not asking for a ban on books, and we are not asking for books to be burned. We continue to move forward with our petition requests that protect children from sexually explicit material.

WBCFSL is a community group of parents and taxpayers who are seeking to uphold the community standards of our city in the taxpayer-funded, local public library.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Publishers Weekly can't get it right

I'll try to be helpful here...


By Lynn Andriani -- Publishers Weekly, 4/29/2009 8:01:00 AM

Four members of a library board in West Bend, Wis., were dismissed last week for refusing to remove controversial books from the library’s young adult section—and yesterday, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the National Coalition Against Censorship, the Association of American Publishers and PEN American Center criticized the firings.

OK, this is the first boo-boo and very misleading. The four library board members were up for reappointment. The City Council members did not feel they served their community's best interests in a timely manner. They chose to vote down the mayoral appointments. The mayor will simply choose four new members to replace those whose appointment terms were up. No firing; no dismissal. We can see how Ms. Andriani would choose to use that terminology, as it certainly would get the hair on people's backs up! Sounds more like a tabloid than journalism...


The groups sent a letter to the West Bend Common Council stating that the dismissals threatened free speech in two ways: punishing the board members for attempting to apply objective criteria in the selection of books, and pressuring the library to remove the controversial books. The letter said, “The role of a public library and its board members is to serve the entire community and to evaluate books and other library materials on the basis of objective criteria. By removing half the members of the library board, the Common Council is imposing its opinions on the rest of the community.”

Let's say this again. Nobody was "removed." Four people's terms were up. That's it. The Council voted not to reappoint. Nothing wrong with that. Perfectly within their right.

The controversy began in February when two patrons complained that the library’s YA section included fiction and nonfiction books about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues. The patrons accused the library of promoting “the overt indoctrination of the gay agenda in our community” and demanded that the library add books “affirming traditional heterosexual perspectives.” They also insisted that the library remove books from the YA section including Brent Hartinger’s Geography Club (HarperCollins), Stephan Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Esther Drill’s Deal With It! A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain and Life as a gURL (both Simon & Schuster).

Please see excerpts for these books to the left of this post. Furthermore, Ms. Andriani is not giving the entire story in an informative way. She omits that the books were asked to be placed in a different area of the library, still accessable to young adults, but out of the reach of younger children. A perfectly reasonable request, considering the explicit nature of the materials.


Last week, West Bend Mayor Kristin Deiss submitted the names of four members of the library board for a new three-year term, and the council voted 5-3 to dismiss the board members.
The letter to the Common Council is available online here.

The pressure to force the Common Council to keep the same library board members after they have made their decision not to reappoint is unjustified. The City Council strongly stated that the library board had dragged out the issue much too long, refusing to address the issue and "stonewalling" the complainants. If a Common Council does not feel ANY board members serving the community, no matter what the capacity, in the best interests of the community in an appropriate manner, they have every right to reject the appointments. And they did.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

ALA/OIF makes fools of themselves




The following is my response to American Library Association [ALA] President Jim Rettig and the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom Acting Director Deborah Caldwell-Stone regarding the matter in West Bend, WI.


.....


It is so easy to prove these people false, and no one should ever be intimidated by them or the ALA. The ALA only further marginalizes itself:


.....


Ms. Caldwell Stone responded, "For the record, Mr. Kleinman does not ... accurately portray my views or the views of ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom." However, in the past, Ms. Caldwell-Stone said, "There are times when a book might be moved, for example a young adult novel makes it into a fourth or fifth classroom and that's more appropriate for the high school library, and a committee can just say this was an inappropriate book to buy for this age group but it was an appropriate book to buy for this age category and it works for this high school library." Listen to the Deborah Caldwell-Stone say this in her own voice by clicking on the link located at "Deborah Caldwell-Stone Discusses Banned Books", by admin, American Library Association, 11 July 2008.
Now my reading of that tells me that there are times when a book might be moved for reasons of age appropriateness. Yes, the context was a public school library, but the same principle applies, and the speaker was Deborah Caldwell-Stone herself.
So when I said, "Further, the books will just be moved in the library. Even Deborah Caldwell-Stone has said that is appropriate in the appropriate circumstance," I have "Deborah Caldwell-Stone Discusses Banned Books" as my reliable source for that statement.
I try to provide accurate and truthful information, and I usually back it up with source material. Only this time I provided the source after I made the statement; how ironic the source I provided is the very person claiming I do not "accurately portray [her] views or the views of ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom." Apparently, I do, at least in this instance.
....... US v. ALA, a big loss for the ALA and the ACLU, saw the Court say, "The interest in protecting young library users from material inappropriate for minors is legitimate, and even compelling, as all Members of the Court appear to agree." Did Ms. Caldwell-Stone tell you about that? Does the US Supreme Court make book banning and censorship the law of the land? No and no. See also "LISNews Disses Judith Krug Unwittingly" for how the ALA, indeed the very Office for Intellectual Freedom Caldwell-Stone leads, misleads the public on the issue of censorship just as she is doing here on this Queery blog post.


.....


And the ALA President himself has gotten directly involved. See the letter I have included below.
.....
Material can be inappropriate for children and still not be pornography. The issue is inappropriate material for children, not pornography. Efforts to cast the issue as pornography are merely efforts to cleverly avoid the real issue.
Notice he also talks about, "we must preserve the intellectual freedom rights of the entire community," but his direct involvement in this matter is precisely the opposite, namely, to prevent the rights of the entire community and enforce the ALA's policies.
It's a public library, not an ALA library. It's West Bend's library, not Chicago's library. Do not be fooled by desperate people using false pornography and censorship claims or out-of-date GLBT claims. Notice how none of these people and organizations are discussing the actual issues, namely, the legal means for protecting children that is being sought in West Bend and successfully applied in other communities. Why is that?


Don't worry, Dan. We're not intimidated!

CCLU files lawsuit against WB Library, Mayor

Interesting.


The Milwaukee branch of the Christian Civil Liberties Union (CCLU) has filed a legal claim that says a book that is available in the West Bend Community Memorial Library is offensive.

Robert C. Braun of West Allis, Joseph Kogelmann of Milwaukee, Robert Brough of West Bend and the Rev. Cleveland Eden of Milwaukee, representing the Milwaukeebased group, filed the claim with the city of West Bend clerk's office. Named in the claim are the city of West Bend, Mayor Kristine Deiss, the West Bend Library Board and Library Director Michael Tyree. The group is seeking $30,000 per plaintiff, Deiss’ resignation and a racist book be removed and publicly burned or destroyed as a deterrent to repeating the offensive conduct, the claim states.

Pursuant to section 893.80 of the Wisconsin state statutes, the claim says the Library is engaged in having books on display that the plaintiffs consider to be obscene or racial in content and promote violence. The plaintiffs question why a taxpayer funded library makes literature available that has damaged the plaintiffs, the claim states.

The book in question is “Baby Be-Bop,” by Francesca Lia Block, and should be removed from the Library, which is in the vicinity of a school, the claim states. It describes the book as being “explicitly vulgar, racial (sic) and anti-Christian.”

.....

The claim states that specific words used in the book are derogatory and slanderous to all males, and dangerously offensive and disrespectful to all people. The claim says the words can permeate violence, and puts one's life in possible jeopardy, adults and children alike.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Area H.I.S. Players presents "OUR TOWN" next weekend

West Bend Area Home Educators, HIS Players (Home Is School) will be putting on performances of "OUR TOWN", a wonderful story of life, love (and death) in small town America at the turn of the (last) century.

The public performances will be at:

West Bend High School
Friday
May 8th
7:00 p.m.
and again on
Saturday
May 9th
1:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

There is NO CHARGE for admission so you can attend as many times as you like!

We go to these plays every year and they are always AMAZING! Enormous talent and professionalism...! You won't be disappointed!

Tell your neighbors, co-workers and friends... Take the family!

Alderman places rescind of library board vote on Monday agenda

Alderman Nick Dobberstein has requested the vote for the library board be rescinded and this has request has been added to the Monday evening City Council meeting agenda.

The agenda reads as follows:

9. A request by Alderman Dobberstein to rescind the Common Council’s defeat of the Mayor’s appointments to the Library Board.

10. Approval of Mayoral appointments to the Library Board.


According to the WBKV interview with Ald. Dobberstein this morning, he feels the use of the word "rescind" instead of "recall" gives him the authority to bring this vote back to the City Council once again.

Robert's Rules of Order states:

Reconsider: Can be made only by one on the prevailing side who has changed position or view.

It is alleged that there will be a PUBLIC FORUM Monday evening.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ATTEND!

Continue to contact your Aldermen and encourage them to stand firm on their decision. We don't want our city to look weak in the wake of protecting it's children!

Tony Turner 334-3658
Allen Carter 334-5532
Steve Hutchins 388-4501
Michael Schlotfeldt 689-0681
Richard Lindbeck 334-9753
Terry Vrana 338-3759
Roger Kist 338-9913
MAYOR: 335-5111 OR mayor@ci.west-bend.wi.us

MONDAY EVENING
MAY 4, 2009
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
6:30 p.m.
CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
1115 South Main

Loyalty Day honored by local Veterans/public schools


TEN Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW members), 3 ladies auxiliary members, one musician to play "Taps" and a string trio criss-crossed West Bend in celebration of Loyalty Day. This group visited 3 elementary schools and two senior centers. They continued visiting local schools yesterday and today, promoting patriotism among the youth of our community.

Loyalty Day originally began as "Americanization Day" in 1921 as a counter to the Communists' May 1 celebration of the Russian Revolution. On May 1, 1930, 10,000 VFW members staged a rally at New York's Union Square to promote patriotism. Through a resolution adopted in 1949, May 1 evolved into Loyalty Day. Observances began in 1950 on April 28 and climaxed May 1 when more than five million people across the nation held rallies. In New York City, more than 100,000 people rallied for America. In 1958 Congress enacted Public Law 529 proclaiming Loyalty Day a permanent fixture on the nation's calendar.

Under the able leadership of John Kleinmaus, a veteran of the Vietnam War, the audience was insightfully given the history of some of our favorite patriotic songs, and the importance of our nation to be diligent to retain our freedom for our posterity. We must remain on guard to those forces undermining freedom in America and around the world. The color guard presented the US flag and the flags of our military. A Pearl Harbor survivor was among the Vets in attendance.

Selah Strings played various musical selections reminding us of our rich heritage. A solo of "Taps" ended the ceremony at each location.
The students at Green Tree Elementary treated everyone when they sang The Star Spangled Banner and America the Beautiful.
The Badger Middle School students took part in their program by playing patriotic music and performing a color guard presentation. Each principal received the book, Lessons on Liberty, for their school library.

If you have children or grandchildren in our local schools, ask them about Loyalty Day; it could be a great opportunity to discuss patriotism together!

Hats off to those who sacrificed time to teach and excite children about their patriotic heritage!