8 Comments
User's avatar
тна Return to thread
Ken Jacob's avatar

"Friedman said that unless the school district voluntarily purged all the books he believed were inappropriate from the library, he would "perform 3,600 challenges and overwhelm your awful, awful procedures and policies."

Perhaps they will start with changing the policy allowing one person to challenge a book.

Expand full comment
Lisa Gottschalk's avatar

Kind of like one senator challenging military promotions? And now two senators challenging state department ambassador nominations? Gotta protect the tyranny of the minority, no?

Expand full comment
Ken Jacob's avatar

Yes.

The electoral college, the filibuster, equal power in the senate for low-population states, no term limits for federal judges (particularly the supreme court), partisan gerrymandering, corporations as "people" (who can donate unlimited amounts to campaigns)...are all massive structural defects in our system.

Is it any wonder we can't get anything done?

Expand full comment
antipode77's avatar

More about those structural DEFECTS.

https://deanbaker.net/books/rigged.htm

https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/democracy-reform-blueprint-accountable-inclusive-ethical-government/

The Death of the Income Tax (or, the Rise of America's Universal Wage Tax)

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3242314

This Article examines that status quo to show that the тАЬincomeтАЭ tax is dead, replaced by a universal wage tax in which payroll taxes add on to a wage/income tax to highly, and inescapably, burden labor while wealth is left off the hook of taxation altogether.

Liberals and progressives must change the way they think about tax in order to get non-taxpaying billionaires to pay anything at all.

Expand full comment
Adam's avatar

Good idea. One miscreant should not be able to show up clutching a suitcase bulging with challenges and gum up the system with self righteous foolishness.

Believe in what you want but don't try and convert me or mine by force.

Expand full comment
Ken Jacob's avatar

Yup. I think it should be hard to challenge a book -- at least as hard as getting a referendum on the ballot (i.e. you have to get a lot of signatures).

Expand full comment
Barbara Stikker's avatar

How does one personтАФis he even a parent?тАФget to decide what all children in a school district can read? What possible interest can he have in what other peopleтАЩs children read?

Expand full comment
MJ Maccabee's avatar

His interest is stated in the article: he's a hardcore right-winger (presumably a MAGAt) and a member of the extremist group No Left Turn in Education.

Expand full comment