The weeklies slam the dailies for censorship of Doonesbury comic strip
March 15, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The Daily Cartoonist is compiling a Lists of newspapers who pulled Doonesbury this week – The Daily Cartoonist, as well as papers that are running the series but have opted to move the strip off of the comics page, and papers that are opting for something different, like the Lexington Herald-Leader which will run the entire abortion series on Saturday in their editorial page, and the Winston-Salem Journal which will run the series on Saturday along with a column written by the managing editor.
Arizona's two largest circulation dailies, The Arizona Republic and the Arizona Daily Star, are among the papers that censored the Doonesbury comic strip — during the same week that the Arizona Tea-Publican Senate passed the "Baby Blunt Amendment" giving employers the right to deny contraception coverage to female employees and even to permit employers to terminate contraception users on "religious or moral objections" to their private life; and a panel of the Arizona legislature considered defunding Planned Parenthood, which for many women is the only health care provider for breast cancer screening, cervical cancer screening, etc., available in their community.
Do you think this censorship by the corporate media is related to these bills moving through the Arizona Tea-Publican legislature? "We report, you decide."
TUSD’s Catch-22: The MAS books aren’t banned, unless you plan to teach them
March 14, 2012
by
by David Safier
Joseph Heller's Catch-22: You don't have to fly bombing missions if you're crazy, but if you say you don't want to fly bombing missions, you're clearly not crazy, so you have to fly them. (Lit lovers can read Heller's classic passage below the fold.)
TUSD's Catch-22: You can teach books used in the discontinued Mexican-American Studies courses — unless you teach them in a way that promotes resentment. So if you're an ex-MAS teacher, you can't teach them.
The Catch-22-ishness of the TUSD/MAS banned books situation was reinforced when I read Board President Mark Stegeman's recent constituent newsletter. He made reference to the Save Ethnic Studies fundraiser I attended last night with special guest Matt de la Peña, author of "Mexican White Boy." The invite referred to de la Peña as a "TUSD banned author." Stegeman disagreed.
Someone sent me a copy of an invitation to a fund-raising event tonight, to support Mexican-American Studies, which will be attended by the author of a “banned” book. As far as I know, however, TUSD has done nothing to remove or restrict access to any of this author’s books.
It's true, Mexican White Boy is not on a banned book list at TUSD. It's possible for teachers to use it in their classes. But ex-MAS teachers are under strict orders not to teach anything that might promote resentment, since that would violate the anti-MAS law which ended the program. What does that mean exactly? No one knows, not even the administrators who have to enforce the rule, because the law is so intentionally vague, violation is in the eye of the beholder. So the teachers have been warned, don't use books that could possibly lead you into your old, MAS ways.
That's why Curtis Acosta was told he can't teach Shakespeare's Tempest . . .
The radical extremism of the GOP war on women
March 14, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
There was the threat to shut down the federal government over a Tea-Publican plan to defund Planned Parenthood. There was the Susan G. Komen Fund attempt to defund Planned Parenthood. There is a similar bill to defund Planned Parenthood in the Tea-Publican Arizona legislature.
There was the "Blunt Amendment" that by which Tea-Publicans sought to give employers preferential status to determine the health care coverage of individual employees, in particular contraception coverage for women. There is a similar bill in the Arizona Tea-Publican legislature that has passed the Senate.
Just how radically extreme is this GOP war on women? A Bloomberg poll out today holds the answer. Republicans Losing on Birth Control as 77% in Poll Spurn Debate – Bloomberg:
Americans overwhelmingly regard the debate over President Barack Obama’s policy on employer-provided contraceptive coverage as a matter of women’s health, not religious freedom, rejecting Republicans’ rationale for opposing the rule. More than three-quarters say the topic shouldn’t even be a part of the U.S. political debate.
More than six in 10 respondents to a Bloomberg National Poll — including almost 70 percent of women — say the issue involves health care and access to birth control, according to the survey taken March 8-11.
* * *
The results suggest the Republican candidates’ focus on contraception is out of sync with the U.S. public. Seventy-seven percent of poll respondents say birth control shouldn’t be a topic of the political debate, while 20 percent say it should.
As for Rush Limbaugh’s misogynistic comments about Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke, "men are split over whether the radio host should be let go from his job — 49 percent say so, while 47 percent disagree. Fifty-six percent of women support the move compared with 39 percent who don’t. Almost one in three Republicans, 30 percent, say Limbaugh should be fired for the remarks."
In a press release from the Arizona Democratic Party today, Interim Chair Harriet Young had this to say:
Librotraficante (Wet Books) events in Tucson Saturday
March 14, 2012
by
by David Safier
The Librotraficante Caravan is scheduled to arrive in Tucson Friday carrying copies of books banned by TUSD. Saturday highlights:
- All Day: The Libros Libres Taco Truck will hand out free books around Tucson.
- 1-4pm: The Ultimate Lit Workshop 1-4pm: John Valenzuela Youth Center, 1550 S. 6th Ave. To learn more, download the Ultimate_Lit_Flyer
- 7pm: Literary Showcase: Leading authors will present their literary works: UA Social Sciences Building, Room 100, 1145 E. South Campus.
View the flier below the fold.
Arizona’s Craig Barrett: Don’t cut education funding (in California)
March 14, 2012
by
by David Safier I smell a whiff of hypocrisy emanating from Intel's ex-CEO. Craig Barrett, Gov. Brewer's education point man, wrote a letter to California's Governor Brown begging him not to cut funding for high school science. "I am writing to express dismay about your proposed budget’s reduction of California’s high school graduation course requirements … Read more
Southern Discomfort
March 14, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Last week, Newt Gingrich campaign spokesman R.C. Hammond told reporters that the disgraced former House Speaker — who has only won South Carolina and his home state of Georgia so far — needs to carry both Alabama and Mississippi to remain a credible candidate. Oops! As I posted previously, Newt Gingrich has … Read more
Town of Oro Valley election results
March 14, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Did you know that there was a town council election in the Town of Oro Valley on Tuesday? Not if you read our local newspapers. Only the Explorer News covered the election results. Oro Valley Primary Election results – The Explorer: The unofficial results are in for the Oro Valley Town Council Primary Election. … Read more
An act of generosity
March 13, 2012
by
by David Safier
I'm going to start at the end of this story, then I'll begin again at the beginning.
Matt de la Peña, author of "Mexican White Boy" and other books geared toward adolescents, spoke to groups of students at TUSD over the past few days. He used his entire speaking fee to buy copies of "Mexican White Boy" and give them to the students.
I guarantee de la Peña is not a wealthy man. He could have found plenty of ways to put the speaking fee to good personal use. Here's the story behind his generosity, which I learned tonight when he was the featured guest at the Save Ethnic Studies fundraiser.
Mexican White Boy is one of the books which had been taught in some Mexican American Studies courses but can no longer be used. I read it last week. It's a gripping, complex novel set in a San Diego-area barrio where all the characters, young and old, are flawed, often deeply, and the environment they inhabit is flawed as well. Yet most of them have wonderful qualities, as does the world they inhabit. Until the end — and even after the last page — there's no way of telling where the young people who are at the center of the story will end up. The characters and their stories resonated with this old retired Anglo English teacher. I'm sure they resonate far more with students who can relate directly to the experiences of the characters.
The book became part of the MAS curriculum when a student, a reluctant reader, brought a copy to one of the teachers to read. The teacher saw its value, especially viewing it through the eyes of the student who gave it to her, and decided it would be a valuable addition to her class.
When de la Peña heard his book was banned at TUSD . . .
