When Mayor, Palin Tried to Ban Books From Public Library

Posted by Staff, People For the American Way Foundation at 3:57 PM on September 2, 2008.

Time Magazine today reports that Sarah Palin, attempted to ban books from her local library as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.

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Editor's note: The following is a press release from People For the American Way.

Time Magazine today reports that Alaska Governor, and Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, attempted to ban books from her local library as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, and then threatened to fire the librarian who stood up to her for not giving "full support" to the mayor. People For the American Way president Kathryn Kolbert issued the following statement:

People can disagree about a lot of things, but censorship is completely beyond the pale. Our democracy was founded on the belief that government shouldn’t tell people what kinds of books to read or what kind of beliefs to hold. No one with that kind of history should be anywhere near the White House. Sarah Palin needs to clarify her stance on freedom of speech immediately, and John McCain needs to explain why he chose a running mate with so little regard for the Constitution.

AlterNet is a nonprofit organization and does not make political endorsements. The opinions expressed by its writers are their own.

Tagged as: alaska, palin

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Will we begin Album (CD) Pyres Too?? [Report this comment] Posted by: Purple Girl on Sep 2, 2008 4:18 PM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] this woman is a Whack Job! Endangers her own baby by delaying seeking medical attention, so she could DELIVER a Speech instead, then flew for 6+ hours , then bypassed the Metro hospitals She is so ashamed by her daughters, not so unusal condition.Bet she'll be a real Advocate for unwed and Single Moms! Shots Wolves from a plane- leaving them where they dropped- not even hunting for meat or skill, just to kill! No doubt the books were probably 'Harry Potter', 'Goosebumps'...Or were they Adult level reading materials?Even Worse! She ran a town less than 1/2 the size of mine- and I would trust my mayor to be VP or Even Gov. She comes from the state of Fishing and Oil,what the hell does she know about what plagues the Rust Belt?How would she have any clue as to How to help us- W see how many big industries she got to come to AK! One- OIL. And she has already proven she will abuse power by demanding the Firing of her Brother inlaw. Do we need another self centered, idiot on the REpug ticket?, In the WH again? Mac and his Puppet masters have proven they don't know a thing about women or this country and Don't Care [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » RE: Will we begin Album (CD) Pyres Too?? Posted by: tap17x Please... [Report this comment] Posted by: Xynyx on Sep 2, 2008 4:32 PM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Please let the first woman to achieve the office of Vice President (or President) NOT be this Nazi bitch! [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » RE: Please... Posted by: Lauren Well, she doesn't LOOK like The Bald Demon Himself [Report this comment] Posted by: QQOblivion on Sep 2, 2008 4:37 PM Current rating: 3 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Hey, I didn't know that McCain picked Rudy Giuliani to be his running-mate! [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » RE: Well, she doesn't LOOK like The Demon Himself Posted by: Lauren » RE: Well, she doesn't LOOK like The Demon Himself Posted by: kimbari » RE: Well, she doesn't LOOK like The Demon Himself Posted by: seacaptdon » RE: Well, she doesn't LOOK like The Demon Himself Posted by: blitzmesser I read the Time article... [Report this comment] Posted by: sliver on Sep 2, 2008 6:21 PM Current rating: 3 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] ...I didn't expect such a hit job from Time, but they've really got some nasty stuff on Palin: she's an evangelikook, opportunistic, divisive, and tried to inject abortion politics into the small-town mayor's race, if this story is to be believed. However, it shouldn't surprise me that Time went with the bitchy woman angle, as the national media often labels female politicians that way (see Hillary). [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » RE: I read the Time article... Posted by: Lauren SHE WAS NOT MCCAIN'S CHOICE [Report this comment] Posted by: VZEQICVA on Sep 3, 2008 8:21 AM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] The far right religious team chose Palin and McCain had no choice. Yesterday they passed out the kool aid and by last night the Repub. women made me gag. Suddenly Palin was prepared to perform miracles and running the country was a piece of cake. This crazy lady left a 3 day old newborn to go back to work. She threw her own daughter to the media wolves. She could easily have prevented the attack on a 17 yr. old. Is she inept? No, she just doesn't care, about them or about us. Thanks, ANNA [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » RE: SHE WAS NOT MCCAIN'S CHOICE Posted by: seacaptdon it is odd.... [Report this comment] Posted by: madhypnotist on Sep 3, 2008 11:32 AM Current rating: 4 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] lot of talk on a lot of blogs over banning the books... but noone has stated which books ... Granted censorship is censorship.... but...we dont know the facts.. granted knowing the facts ..isnt the job of a blog, nor the people posting comments, but I thought I would ask... anyone know the books she tried to censor ? [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » RE: it is odd.... Posted by: kimbari » RE: it is odd.... Posted by: sara.d McCain is not qualified--- [Report this comment] Posted by: Gibsongirl on Sep 3, 2008 12:07 PM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] More and more I'm realizing McCain himself is the one not qualified to be president as his maverick choosing of Palin now shows! If she's his choice for VP, what would he do if Putin cursed him out? Lob a nuke? Just to show he can't be pushed around? BIG BOY McCAIN! Ha! He was 5th from the BOTTOM of his graduating class at Annapolis and it's showing - I'm very suspicious of his ability to be county clerk, let alone President of the US! [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] WHAT? BOOK BANNING/BURNING STILL LIVES? [Report this comment] Posted by: fg on Sep 3, 2008 1:08 PM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] In the early 1960s I was a student at the Juilliard School of Music where I found myself taking a social-science course with Dr. Helen Constas of the New School. I was required to read Moses and Monotheism by Sigmund Freud (a work surely then on the Index librorum prohibitorum). I found the book in the Westfield, NJ (sic), public-library card catalog but it was nowhere to be found in the building. When I finally inquired, the librarian offered that "Rabbi X didn't want this book in the stacks and so we reserve it behind the main desk here," at which point the book was pulled. As for Palin, she's a cretin. What else did you expect? [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » RE: WHAT? BOOK BANNING/BURNING STILL LIVES? Posted by: blitzmesser How about some sources [Report this comment] Posted by: walldodger1969 on Sep 3, 2008 1:10 PM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] and what books,periodicals,etc. did she find so objectionable. Was this brought out when she ran for Governor? Are the people of Alaska that ill informed or do they just like her smile. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » from what i read Posted by: aislinnluv PLATO'S 'THE PHAEDRO' WAS REMOVED FROM THE HOUSTON PUBLIC LIBRARIES [Report this comment] Posted by: Raymond Emerson on Sep 3, 2008 11:07 PM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] when the women's clubs discovered, surely not from their own reading, what it was about. Republican politicians are all just servants for the wealthy. They could be trained in schools for butlers. Their job is to fetch, carry, and fawn. They all look like they are pretty good at it. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

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» RE: Will we begin Album (CD) Pyres Too?? Posted by: tap17x

» RE: Please... Posted by: Lauren

» RE: Well, she doesn't LOOK like The Demon Himself Posted by: Lauren

» RE: Well, she doesn't LOOK like The Demon Himself Posted by: kimbari

» RE: Well, she doesn't LOOK like The Demon Himself Posted by: seacaptdon

» RE: Well, she doesn't LOOK like The Demon Himself Posted by: blitzmesser

» RE: I read the Time article... Posted by: Lauren

» RE: SHE WAS NOT MCCAIN'S CHOICE Posted by: seacaptdon

» RE: it is odd.... Posted by: kimbari

» RE: it is odd.... Posted by: sara.d

» RE: WHAT? BOOK BANNING/BURNING STILL LIVES? Posted by: blitzmesser

» from what i read Posted by: aislinnluv

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