109 Comments

Thank you for digging deep into this. These 'moms for fascism' are disgusting.

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I agree, Heidi! What the hell are they trying to prove? What are they trying to accomplish? “To Kill a Mockingbird” has been forced to be removed from the library shelves! Are you kidding me!

Someone needs to school these people that there are more races living in this country, this world, other than white people. There are people that do get along with other races, just fine. There’s nothing wrong with that.

I do not live in a bubble. I dictate my children to live in a bubble. If these groups, i.e. “Moms for Liberty”, and the like, want to live in a bubble, or live with inky whites, and live where there’s no LGBTQ+, no mixed marriages, then they need to find a totally deserted island, buy it, and move there.

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I agree, Daniel! 100%

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founding

This is a national tactic. There was a small group of parents pushing to ban several LGBTQ books in my New Jersey high school district a few years ago, and it was absolutely a set up. One of the women’s sons supposedly checked out a book that was so “shocking”... but it was one of the books that Fox News was flagging at the time. There is no way that kid just randomly selected the item, his parent definitely created the situation so they would have something to protest. To note, they were unsuccessful.

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founding

Thanks for your information about my favorite state....where I learned to drive, went to a great highschool in Englewood, and chose to live in Princeton because of it's public high school (not because of the University) so that I could assure a good education for my 3 children. Which is your district?

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founding

This was in the North Hunterdon-Voorhees district in fall 2021. Ultimately, the books stayed and the librarian was honored. But the brouhaha from the parents read just like this script in Florida. https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/education/2021/12/01/north-hunterdon-book-ban-controversy-enters-another-chapter/8785761002/

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Yes, this makes perfect sense considering the way they operate. Especially when you consider the “local” chapters refer questions to the national. They have aligned attorneys to assist. (Ones from the world of the new Speaker of the House.) It would not surprise me if there is a schedule for sending out new tactics. Could be they collect reports from the minions and have something like a monthly briefing where the successful or new templates are curated and passed along.

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founding

Thank you Popular Information team for continuing to examine and expose the strangely Puritanical belief systems of Moms For Liberty, Speaker Mike Johnson, Governor Ron DeSantis and any others who have made it their mission to dictate how all other citizens live their lives, who they choose as spouses and even friends, what books they read, what films they see, and WHAT THOUGHTS THEY THINK! If you haven't yet, please read maybe the best novel ever written, 1984 by George Orwell.

You are doing a major service to our country. You are exposing what threatens our "greatness," which is our freedoms.

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What is frightening about FL is how easy all this puritanical and racist behavior has been and not only tolerated but promoted here and thanks to DeSantis, nationally. It’s been surprising that there has been such a backlash to electing a black President. That’s what drove them crazy.

I remember an older Dem neighbor, who relied on me to help her with voting info stating that she could never take my suggestion for President as she “ couldn’t imagine a black man sleeping in the Whitehouse”. She went to church every week and thought of herself as a Christian .

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As bad as he is, DeSantis can do these things because he’s very confident in the support he has from voters. They keep voting for him & his lackeys in the legislature. Those who might oppose them are silent and/or apathetic. “We have met the enemy and he is us”.

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Just glad he can’t run anymore for Gov. Hope he doesn’t want to become a Senator. I’ve worked hard for anyone running against him.

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I could see him challenging Rubio in 28. In the MAGA view, Rubio has always been “squishy”.

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Vicki Baggett needs to go. Do not let up on this story. I hope the federal lawsuits set the school districts back financially that they are forced to silence her. One person should not have this much power. She is evil and I hope the students stage a walk out. I envision them all getting up and leaving the classroom and sitting out until they fire her.

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I thought the Salem Witch /Trials ended a while ago.

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Your neighbor is a CINO, Christian in Name Only. We need to fight these crazy people!!! They can not tell me what I or my children can learn or read.

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The typical English / Language Arts teacher usually has a full schedule, what with the teaching of classes, the planning of lessons and activities, the grading of papers, the meetings bit of staff and department as well as parental, the hosting of after school study sessions and clubs, and so on. That doesn’t leave a lot of time for challenging books in libraries outside one’s own school, let alone the governing district, let alone the state. One starts to wonder how Ms. Taggett manages to maintain such an aggressive political schedule while maintaining her no doubt highest standards of excellence in her classroom. One wonders if perhaps she is receiving some outside financial and/or legal advice. What an excellent idea for an investigation!

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Good question.

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I dare to hope she is not the new “typical” and her school limits her school activities. MFL national office has ideologically aligned attorneys either on staff, their board and/or on retainer to keep them out of trouble and devise little legal acrobatics. They have backing by the ‘big guns’ and big names when there are fundraising appearances or legal problems.

https://www.heritage.org/press/heritage-oversight-project-sues-biden-administration-behalf-moms-liberty

These are not little Moms who happened across an issue. This started in FL. Sadly FL is an incubator for ideas that don’t stay there. DeSantis recently appointed one of the ‘founders’ to the Ethics Commission. 🤦‍♀️

According to SPLC:

Moms for Liberty is an antigovernment organization founded in 2021 by former Florida school board members, Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich. Current Sarasota County, Florida school board member, Bridget Ziegler, was also a co-founder. She has since left the group, leaving Justice and Descovich at the helm.

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Good point!! She might be doing unethical things in the classroom with that much free time.

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Clearly, this woman, a teacher no less, is a dangerously unstable Karen, with no concept of Democracy or the Constitution, who has been whipped up into a fascistic frame of being by years of ever-present right-wing Florida Bible-thumping radio, and by the would be authoritarians Trump, and DeSantis. Just try to imagine for a moment the time and pure energy she expends in being a threatening bully fascist and trying to control what children in other school districts or states read and do. It's too bad she doesn't use that energy for purposes of good. I just seriously hope she doesn't have access to a gun.

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As a retired teacher of 32 years, I find this Baggett woman as the antithesis of what an educator should be. She is a dangerous woman who is interested in her own agenda, not the well being of her students. She is aided in her bigoted quest by the present cultural war in Florida fueled by the political ambition of Ron DeSantis.

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What is wrong with these people?! Even more distressing...why are they allowed to get away with such egregious and manipulative behavior? Is this even legal? I hope some of the more reasonable parents are able to pull together to fight this fascist group in court. Book banning is profoundly Un-American! We need to fight this kind of activity and keep shining light on the creepy DeSantis regime. Thank you Judd, for not letting them operate in the dark.

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Seems to me a lot of these people must not have much of a life outside of the pitch to ban books. Teachers in my area teach their students according to the state board of education laws and codes. Am I wrong about the same being how FLA schools are taught as well?

Very interesting article.This past Tuesday around the US very few Moms for Liberty candidates had ballot success in elections.

Stories like this are unveiling the true nature of their beliefs.

Keep up the good work, PI

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founding

Thank you for your excellent article.

Florida is a horror show. The governor and GOP dominated legislature have their priorities upside down:

• banning books and drag queens

• attacking teachers

• banning history and dumbing down Florida education in general

• fighting women's reproductive rights

• denying climate change and sea level rise

• pretending COVID is a hoax

We are going to need sanctuary cities for Florida teachers and Floridians who can think. I predict a brain drain from Florida, which may be the objective.

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I feel compelled to mention militaristic and oppressive policing: “State” National Guard and “election police”. I have a friend moving back to KY in a few months. After living and working in FL for almost 2 decades, she describes FL under DEsantis as “brutal.”

I’m afraid for those who stay and are not politically aligned. These pockets of repression seem to attack the likeminded.

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I say this every time one of the MFL posts is made: for anyone who still lives in a place where the book banners haven't shown up yet, pay attention to what's going on at your local school district AND public libraries( because in some areas, tactics are shifting to include attacks on public libraries).

Show up and speak out. Read your library's collection development policy or materials selection policy. These statements should specifically state that the library follows the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights, Freedom to Read, and Freedom to View statements - all of which protect each person's right to read any information, no matter how controversial. It also clearly states that parents DO have the right to guide their own children in reading choices, but that no single parent or a group has the right to choose for children who are not their own.

In addition, encourage your libraries, if they don't already have such a statement, to include language like this (which I found in a library policy in a very conservative district):

The library is not a judicial body. Laws governing obscenity, subversive materials, and other questionable matters are subject to interpretation by the courts. Consequently, no challenged material will be removed from the library for complaints of obscenity, pornography, subversiveness, or any other category covered by law until after receipt of an

independent court order. Conversely, materials previously judged unlawful will not knowingly be selected.

If you represent a school library, clearly state in your policy that only a parent with a child actively enrolled in your school may fill out a "request for reconsideration form", and that they must have read the book they are challenging in its entirety (so that they can't challenge books they've only heard about). Also, state in your policy that they can only challenge one book at a time, and that any challenged book stays on the shelf pending the outcome of the challenge process.

Make it clear that any book challenge form turned in becomes public record in the case that a Request for Public Records form or a Freedom of Information Act is filed.

Finally, if you are lucky enough to live in a state that hasn't lost its collective mind, contact your state legislators and DEMAND they pass a law similar to Illinois's law which bans book banning.

Also - call the people sitting on your school and library boards and talk with them about not banning books. Call them often. Write them letters. Write often. Get your friends to call and write as well.

Speak up! Speak out! Get active on this issue or it WILL come to your town.

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This is helpful information others can use where they live. Thank you for posting.

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Thanks for this. These folks are dangerous and can trigger more violent radicals.

Last year on of their school board candidates tried to run ‘under the radar.’ Fortunately her affiliation and previous public statements came to light in time to defeat her.

Also last year our public library main branch had a bomb threat against its Drag Queen Story Hour. The group moved away from the library to hold the event outdoors. People flocked to it. The media said a good time was had by all. Says something that drag queens have more courage than terrorists.

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This incident should be enough to get her fired, but I assume that she has so terrorized the local school board that they are afraid of the fallout. And, let's be real, in a rational world where school officials had a backbone and a shred of integrity, they would take her complaints and throw them in the dumpster. But we are not in a rational world, and this Karen for Fascism is operating in the Undemocratic Dictatorship of DeSantistan.

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As a parent, I never censored or supervised my children's reading material. This is how we learn. I was just grateful that they were reading at all. This Moms for Liberty stuff needs to stop. I was grateful to hear that the candidates this group presented for school board elections were all defeated. My big question is....is Stephen King writing about pornographic themes now? "IT" was one of his lovely novels that I didn't read, but what is Baggett's objection to this book?

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Well, there are a couple things that the Floridiots could object to....

The lighting of farts, and where the one female "loser" stumbles upon the "gang" that bullies them mercilessly and takes cover. As the bullies are lighting their farts, she sees the male appendage of one of the non-loser kids, and has a thought that one of the "losers" has one, and got a "jolt".

Or, possibly, that one of the "losers" is a Black kid who plays the trombone*.

Or documenting that 12 year olds can have a life their parents know nothing about.

*The trombone has been referred to by Henry Filmore (a good march composer and apparently a trombone player) as "the devil's instrument".

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These parents seem to believe that their kids are all sweetness and light and nary a risqué thought ever crosses their minds unless some Liberal put it there. They live in a fantasy world that they want everyone to fantasize about with them. By force if need be. Myself... I remember when I was five I was lusting after the models in Life magazine ads. I was a little hazy on what it was that I was lusting for... but still, I was lusting. Developmental Psychologists say kids have many more erotic and related thoughts than adults ever realize. These book banner folks would deny that until their last breath. Just goes to show how powerful ideologies really are.

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2 things.. 1. Baggett has issues only a therapist can handle. 2. I have not the courage but someone with courage could suggest the bible needs to be banned "because they do not agree with their premise of rising from the dead (witchcraft, new testament) & it is pornographic (old testament)" See how easy that was... these people are insane

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They did that in Utah. Not sure of the details, but an attempt was made to ban the Bible for those reasons.

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A few Bible passages to cite to the book banner bunch:

"𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫; 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝, 𝐈 𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨; 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨: 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐦; 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐬, 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫."(𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝟏𝟗:𝟑𝟑-𝟑𝟔)

"𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞; 𝐲𝐞𝐚, 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝." (𝐄𝐳𝐞𝐤𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝟏𝟔:𝟐𝟖)

"𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬; 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝." (𝐈𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐚𝐡 𝟏𝟑:𝟏𝟔)

"𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞; 𝐲𝐞𝐚, 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝." (𝐄𝐳𝐞𝐤𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝟏𝟔:𝟐𝟖)

"When she carried on her whoring so openly and flaunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned in disgust from her sister. Yet she increased her whoring, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the whore in the land of Egypt and lusted after her lovers there, whose members were like those of donkeys, and whose issue was like that of horses. Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your bosom and pressed your young breasts." (Ezekiel 23:18-21)

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I can see where you've made your mistake... these folks aren't into what the Bible says, they're into following their angry reactionary feelings wherever they may go, and using Jesus's name as a club to beat on the people who disagree.

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True, but I would like those Pecksniffian hypocrites to tell us whether they have that smut-filled book in their house, where the delicate minds of small children might be exposed to the foul language cited above.

I’d also want to know whether they have uncovered the plot by the Gideon Society to place that book in hotel rooms nationwide to expose unwary families with children to the filth contained within. (Sarcasm)

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Tried in Colorado, TX and in FL also. Freedom From Religion Foundation was involved, at least in CO. Of course the initial success in Utah was reversed later.

I did get a smile when I read that after TX passed a law that all school must post “In God We Trust” one guy decided to donate a sign — in Arabic.

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I want to see Muslim and Buddhist services held on school grounds, just like our Imperial Supreme Court and Legislature all rolled up in one and above the law said Christians can do.

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wow...I'll dig thatup thank you!

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It's a set of communal hallucinations they all share in common.

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Yep, the Bible should be banned.

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I wouldn't say so... like it or not, the Bible is a founding influence of Western Culture. Along with the writings of Shakespeare. I think the Big Mistake the Christian Right made was taking the Bible literally and as inerrant. That's led to no end of trouble.

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It only takes one obsessed zealot like this lady, a fanatic in other words, to make a lot of noise and trouble. That is what Ron Desantis did. He empowered people to hold staff responsible Resulting in a tiny minority of people suppressing the majority.

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Sigh... We have a kook like her in West Michigan as well. Police reports over books, constant dramatic readings in board meetings, getting district member to challenge books, a couple truly horrible Facebook Groups and constant targeting of LGBTQ+ kids. It's been going on for years: masks, litterboxes in bathrooms, vaccines, pick an issue - she'll amplify and exploit. The kicker: she's a school choice mom - her family doesn't even reside in the district. It's exhausting and I feel for the families in Santa Rosa County.

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As usual, a thorough report with stunning detail.Thank you for following the fate of school libraries!

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