137 Comments

I don't care if these fanatics want to prevent their kids from learning about the world as it is, not the world as they fantasize should be, but DAMN THEM, they have no right to decide what my kids get to read and learn. Why are their parental rights so much more important and powerful than mine? Is it because theirs come with an implied threat of violence against school boards, libraries and librarians? Or is it because aggrieved, white, evangelical men have decided that they will assert the power that they have for now thinking that we will just sit back and take it. Well, I'm nearing the point where I'm mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.

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I suggest that anyone who sees sex everywhere and talk about it in terms of “evil “ may have some issues to present to a qualified therapist or psychiatrist. However usually the only ‘expert‘ view they will listen to is their own opinion, which is blighted.

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Really makes you wonder doesn't it?

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Thank you again Judd for such excellent reporting. Controlling what children learn is the first step in creating an authoritarian society. We must find ways to challenge this now. How we got to such a state where minorities feel they have the right to control life for everyone is perplexing and disturbing.

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It’s simple. I, and many others, call them Christo-Fascists.

They are certainly fascists but they are not what modern-day cherry-picking Christians are purported to be.

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I like Christo fascist. Its the truth .

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I think this guy is Jewish. As is the woman who inspired him ...

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Would at least seem that way from the names. Pretty ironic if Jews are acting as fascists. (note: I'm Jewish)

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Thx for reply & disclosure. I was a little nervous about whether noting potential Jewishness based on name could be perceived as a micro aggression. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’m still somewhat surprised by people acting against what I imagine to be their self-interest. It is a paradox. I assume they had lived experience or competing interests that dominated what I supposed would matter to them.

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Like any other subset of humanity, Jewishness does not eliminate the possibility of idiocy.

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On Friedman's "advice" the "Challenge Council" banned The Handmaiden's Tale.

Fitting innit?

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Gee, I'll bet it was this sentence, "The Commander is fucking." Is there any child out there that would even read anything by Margaret Atwood? Not likely. Banning books meant for adults takes the horror to a whole new level, and it won't be long before it, too, becomes reality. Books categorized as feminism or Women's Studies, they'll be next.

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Apr 24, 2023·edited Apr 24, 2023

Ack! Ack! I am clutching my copious PEARLS as I stagger about the ROOM, before I SWOON at such AWFUL, crude, un-christian and VILE language emanating from YOU!

This is WHY we are BANNING YOU!!!! Just wait until we start the TRIALS. YOU will be FIRST!!!

/s

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I just read that Tucker Carlson has been fired from Fox News. At this moment, I'm grinning in a very awful, crude, unchristian and vile way LOL.

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Not so fast. I saw this too and as much as I like that he's lost his Faux platform, I am wary of the fact that Newsmax, OAN, 'Sloppy Steve' Bannon, Breitbart and a whole host of other conspiratorial landing spots are salivating at giving him prime real estate. Sorry. And you've probably guessed right: I'm not very fun at parties.

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Maybe Tucker will get a news show in Belarus. We can hope.

Sure, someone will hire him - OAN, Newsmax, but oooh, did he burn the world's biggest bridge by dissing The Donald...I'll bet Tucker's kicking himself.

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I hadn't even considered international markets. In that case, TC should shoot for RTV. He was already an effective mouthpiece for Putin on his old show.

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You are NOT. However, you are most welcome here with our study group. You raise good points. Because we know they always have some other bad-nasty thing to spring on us. LIke some real-life supervillain, the RW'z keep coming back with more.

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Yup. They're like Zombies. Or Rasputin.

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OK? And get this... he didn't even see it coming!!! Hahahahahahaha! He'll be on RT TV next.

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I was wondering if Murdoch would fire him, because Murdoch gave Carlson carte blanche to shoot his mouth off every night without any consequences - until now. Smartmatic knows it doesn't have to settle its case, just win a huge verdict, which is more likely after Fox caved and settled last week. It's (hopefully) not only about the money.

For the record, CNN also sacked Don Lemon, for which I am grateful.

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founding

Originally, the "protection" was for K through 3rd grade, now it's K through 12. Seniors in highschool have hopefully read many adult books....

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When my brother graduated college, someone gave him a subscription to Playboy, which came to our house and stayed on his shelf until he would come home during law school breaks. I always read the whole issue (I would have been in 8th or 9th grade). And look how I turned out.....spending my nights reading Substack comments.

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Don't bet on it. I used to work in a high school. High school kids don't read unless they have to.

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"Well well well well well well well... I did" he sputtered. I read every damn chance I got and still do. Then again I was a weird kid.

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So was I. I'm still weird. I own hundreds of books. And so do my daughters. I had always allowed them to read anything they wanted.

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Apr 25, 2023·edited Apr 25, 2023

Me too. In the course of my work, I routinely read thousands sometimes 10's of thousands of pages per month. And that doesn't consider my recreational reading! I usually read 2-3 books weekly, sometimes as many as 5, year in and year out. I have 13 bookcases as of the moment. All 72" x 38" and hold up to 150 books. All stuffed full.

I've taken to lining books up on top of the caser, anchored with bookends. It looks cool and I can get another 20-25 books up there. Space is important! That is just the ones on display. I don't know how many are still in boxes.

I love books. Real books. Big. beautiful, hard covered books!

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It’s simple. Kids who are not educated or even aware of what is not appropriate behavior are less likely to object when a “trusted” adult is sexually abusive. They’re creating their own supply of kids to abuse. They are the groomers. Library bans aren’t far behind. Parents are going to have to be proactive to protect their kids from the State of Florida. Insanity.

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Well, what do you expect from people who are OK with allowing 12 year old girls to marry much older men?

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Or any man.

And what do we expect from white people who won't allow their kids to read books about black children?

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I recently read of a republican town that let the Maggats take over. They actually voted to de-fund the library. The whole town agreed as I remember, save for a few!!!

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Where was that?

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Apr 24, 2023·edited Apr 24, 2023

Randy, I was informed by email of a comment from you but I can't see it!?!

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Good. All of em aren't crazy. Now let's see if common sense catches on among enough of them.

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THAT is the situation that I was refering to and couldn't find links to right away. I mean, they threw out republicans who were expert in those positions but not Maggats! They had to go!

Now let's see these mopes collect taxes, maintain the infrastructure, keep local government jobs filled, maintain police, fire and hospitals, etc. These guys just chose "Lord of the Flies" as their mission vision.

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It’s happening in Shasta County, CA, too. But there is a local reporter who is fighting back hard. Maybe people will get off their butts and vote.

https://anewscafe.com/2021/07/16/redding/shasta-county-sheriffs-deputy-greg-walker-sends-intimidating-message-to-journalist-amid-corruption-allegations/

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Florida. Why are so few people making decisions about whats appropriate for kids in Florida ?

This nut job admits to his own ignorance by stating he’s an avid Fox viewer.

Its apparent to anyone

with a clear mind , that Fox promotes liars and their lies.

More ‘militant ignorance’,

that props up these folks that see sex in everything

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Patricia, you nailed it. Bruce Friedman is the only one in this story with the 'damaged soul', and his warped brain is dictating the lives of those around him.

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Apr 24, 2023·edited Apr 24, 2023

Friedman eh? Didn't his daddy direct that famous movie/cultural icon know as

"The Economist?"

I ask for friend, you see.

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founding

I'm curious...who? what?

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I make joke conflating Milton Friedman's name with William Friedkin, who directed "The Exorcist."

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Filth, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Mr. Friedman has an egregiously filthy mind.

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I feel for liberals/progressives in Florida. It must be brutal watching your state become a national embarrassment.

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Yes, but what are they doing about it? Is there a group/movement - Floridians fighting this stuff???

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founding

Let me remind people about the amazing students from Margery Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland FL who spoke out before our whole country from Washington DC after slaughter by an AR-15 from former student...they're still active. David Hogg is finishing his first year at Harvard, and continuing on to Law School. Then, there's Julie K. Brown, winner of many awards, from the Miami Herald whose intrepid reporting was the key to Jeffrey Epstein's jailing, and resignation of Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta's resignation. And, you know that Val Demmings did her briliant best, but succumbed to the Rubio money and power backing.

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Shades of Fahrenheit 451! Those who start by banning books proceed to burning books and end in burning people.

Perhaps it is time to form a No Right Turn in Education organization to raise a little or a lot of hell from the other side. The first actionable item would be to demand the removal of the Bible from all schools and libraries as it clearly meets the criteria, nebulous as they are.

To cite a few (there are others):

* The passage in which God strikes Onan dead for “spilling his seed upon the ground”, a blatant description of coitus interruptus.

* The passage describing the trial for adultery in which the woman is forced to drink a concoction brewed by a priest which will induce an abortion if she is guilty.

* The passage in which David and Jonathan kiss until David is sexually aroused (the King James Version uses the term “exceeded”, a 16th century euphemism for a state of tumescence. Gasp! Homosexuality! In the Bible! Not even condemned!

Having purified the schools and libraries of such filth, we could then proceed to demanding that all houses of worship be closed to stop them from grooming children.

What goes around comes around.

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"The passage in which God strikes Onan dead for “spilling his seed upon the ground”, a blatant description of coitus interruptus." Actually, "Onanism" is a euphemism for masturbation, another subject banned in Florida classrooms.

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Barry, This is what they need to be shown. I made some references to other bible verses that are creepy/ perverted. What a surprise! The bible was written by numerous uneducated men pre-science. Why people follow this in 2023 truly boggle my mind. Like MAGAs, religionists are inculcated since childhood and can’t see it for what it is.

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I somehow managed to post this as a new comment when had intended it as a reply to you. So, here, finally it is.

Inculcated since childhood, yes, of course, as the purpose of all the book banning is to ensure that their children grow up to be just as ignorant and bigoted as they are. As Charles Blow of The NY Times once proclaimed, “The Enlightenment must never yield to the Inquisition.” That is an aphorism worthy of Voltaire!

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Charles Blow is someone very worthwhile to listen to. 😊 But it seems we have yielded to inquisition. The biggest root of the massive lie campaign is from the conservative buy out, monopolization, of the air waves. The press used to be for the voice of the people and to challenge governmental corruption. Now it has become the corruption enabler. It is the mouthpiece for Fascism.

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Yes the press is a culprit in the radicalization of America, but worse than deliberate provocation is the conscienceless profit motive as expressed by CBS president Les Moonvess (sp.?) when he said their Trump coverage was bad for America but great for their bottom line. In my book he is an unindicted co-conspirator in the betrayal of our democracy.

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Barry, I agree. Money completely drives this style of capitalism. Moonves definitely betrayed democracy. Arrogant to to Nth degree!

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Great reporting, Judd. Your detailed and in-depth research adds color to the black & white headlines that are screaming for attention. I appreciate your tenacity in exposing the tactics and individuals behind these well packaged strategies.

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I feel like a broken record, but where are the parents? I don’t know a single parent who would stand by and let anyone harm their kids in any way. Before responding here, I searched online and found nothing recent about Florida parents taking action or any new legislation challenging interpretation of the law. It boggles my mind. Silence is compliance. If they aren’t screaming, no one else has a chance of making change.

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Exactly. It appears as if the parents of Florida are supporting all of this. One day they are going to wake up and realize the the Free State of Florida is not free at all.

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Or afraid of the potentially violent backlash from their friends and neighbors. Relatives even.

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Gloria, many are probably on board with this and the others frightened of these violent gun toting bible thumpers. A major support group from around the country would be great. I wonder if there is a way to do that quickly.

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If there ever was a mission that was a fool's mission this is it. Don’t these people realize that these kids can still get these books overnight from Amazon if their parents want to let their kids read them?

Not to mention, OK, I’ll mention it, it flies directly in the face of the first amendment of our Constitution.

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Cccc... what? That old dried up sheet of TP? You wanna bring THAT up? Now why would you wanna do that?

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I get your satire. I still believe our secular Constitution needs to be treated as the most important document ever written. I know, I know…

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Apr 24, 2023·edited Apr 24, 2023

Precisely. And the ones who claim to love it so the most, jump at each and every opportunity to wipe their backsides with it, then piously preen some more about law & order, stolen ballots, CRT & grooming, while all the while, doing their damndest to prevent change and drive this great nation over a cliff.

You see, that is what "conservatism" is all about.

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JaBier, Look at what they did to the 2nd Amendment. But had plenty of help from corporate Dems who insisted on catering to it.

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It s time to loudly proclaim that deluded psychopaths are NOT allowed in ANY public office! And I hope this is a lesson to people whining about Biden…too old, did 50 things correct & one wrong in their opinion so drag him through the mud. WE DO NOT HAVE THE LUXURY! We need to get focused 100% on getting these nut cases out of these public or governmental positions. We cannot divide our vote. Will we ever learn!? Fascism or not. That is what the election will be. Get Progressives in a every single level from school board, alder-people, mayors, governors.

Teach the lunatics a lesson with their own tactics. The bible is loaded with bizarre sexual perversion and nuttery. BAN IT FROM SCHOOLS Ezekiel 16:17/ Deuteronomy 25:11-12/Ezekiel 23:18-21 on and on. Start talking to these parents about what’s in the bible. Most of these right wingers are bible-illiterate.

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Seems like at least one lawsuit should be forthcoming against Freidman and his Nazi-paranoid partners for usurping the responsibility of public schools to educate Florida's kids.

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Sounds like all this talk about "parents rights" is a ruse. We should be doing nothing to prevent a child from reading. Hopefully publishing the lists of books banned will bring them to light.

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Apr 24, 2023·edited Apr 24, 2023

Always has been a ruse. The phrase should actually read "One parent's exaggerated claim to the right to control ALL of you!"

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Ongoing, great reporting, Judd. And the folks who comment here are thoughtful. But I am wondering, and deeply concerned that with all the danger around us and with the threats piling up around our country; gun violence, racist attacks on minorities, bodily autonomy taken away from women, corrupt supreme court justices, and perhaps the worst symptom, everybody in positions of power lying to our faces, why we are not marching in the streets? It would appear that we, as a nation, lack the strength of our convictions. Is it not time to acknowledge that while these comments are comforting to us as a family of concerned, curious people, changing the horrible status quo might require that we take action?

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Think local. Well, that might apply more to some than others. I'm in NC where there are plenty of malcontents and rising fascists to battle with.

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There has been no middle ground with this party for many years because these are the people which support that party. These types of people are like suicide bombers except they are bombing our democracy. You cannot reason with a person who already called for jihad against you, years ago.

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Donald, we allowed this to happen. The Democratic party always wants the appearance of extending the olive branch. We forgot that we don’t extend it for Fascism. Many crimes from rescumlicans have gone unpunished. This is the result.. we let THEM cheat their way in to the highest levels of politics.

Fed govt should start pulling federal moneys for highways, bridges and anything else that puts these dangerous governors under extreme pressure. They must follow the law!

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