by Noah
Remember when Republicans used to just focus on trying to ban certain cartoons like SpongeBob and Teletubbies, maybe Barney, too? I can remember those days when they obsessed about kids cartoons and I know that, someday some rightwing congressional goofball will realize that Donald Duck and his three "nephews" have been walking around without pants all these decades as if it was "Weekend At Marko & Matt's." You think the Repugs already have a problem with Disney, just wait, but that problem is minor now since members of GOP cult have moved from going into libraries and bookstores and tearing out book pages they find scary, for one reason or another, to full on maximum book banning. Book banning has always been part of the conservative derangement but in 2022 they jumped the shark and went all in on a "Fear The Books" campaign. Can Fahrenheit 451 be far behind?
For the purposes of this post, I just want to focus on a crackpot group that goes by the name of Moms For Liberty as an example of what I'm talking about. The efforts of Moms For Liberty are currently overseen by a woman named Michelle Beavers. Forgive me but the 14 year old inner boy child in me just can't let that surname go. The surname is perfect when you consider the fact that Ms. Beavers appears to be not just "concerned" (ala Susan Collins?) or especially obsessed with teen sex possibly even more than Flor-i-duh Representative Matt Gaetz. Ms. Beavers thinks way too many books will make teens think about sex, sex, all kinds of sex! Teens think of sex? Nah never happens! Trust me, Ms Beavers, if that's your real name, books need not enter into it and what the fuck planet are you living on? Oh, that's right, Republican World! Is there one damn republican out there that isn't an absolute freak? I mean most of the Democrats are bad enough but what hellish 8th dimension do these total nutballs come from. More importantly, how do we shut and bolt the door from their dimension to ours?
Here's what the GLAAD Accountability Project has to say about the ironically named Moms For Liberty:
Moms For Liberty was founded in January 2021 claiming it will “organize, educate and empower parents to defend their parental rights.” This advocacy has included calls for book bans, classroom censorship and bans on teaching about slavery, race, racism and LGBTQ people and history. Moms for Liberty claims to be a grassroots organization, but its founders and founding chapter have strong ties to high-ranking elected officials and national anti-LGBTQ groups including the Heritage Foundation. It claims to have 135 chapters in 35 states.
Yes, there it is right there. It's not just teen sexuality, there's race, history, CRT, slavery, and, oh, did I mention race to go with the "sex stuff." The Moms For Liberty banned book list is long and getting longer by the day. Apparently, even Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five is too much for them.
I suppose it should come as no surprise that Moms For Liberty is rife with Flor-i-duh connections. After all, Flor-i-duh is the "Don't Say Gay" and "Don't Say Black" state. Going back a bit, the Moms For Liberty Book Banning Kaffee Klatsch was founded in Sarasota by Bridget Ziegler a local Lauren Boebert type and member of the local county school board whose candidacy was fervently endorsed by miscreant governor and homicidal maniac Ron DeSantis. Bridget's husband just happens to be the ironically named Christian Ziegler, County Commissioner and Vice Chair of the Flor-i-duh Republican Party. But wait, there's more: Miss Bridget's hubby also proudly attended the GOP's coup attempt on 1/6/21. No word yet as to whether or not he hangs out at local bowling alleys but will it surprise you if it comes?.
Just the name of the group tells us so much about Moms for Liberty. If you have to put 'Liberty' in your name, chances are, not unlike 'Liberty' University you have a different agenda. In this case liberty means freedom to ban books, any books Moms For Liberty damn well please, any books that make them feel all funny inside or books that get their knickers and feeble minds in a twist. When that happens, they go about stripping their target books from the shelves, eventually burning them no doubt.
I can even see the malformed and maladjusted minds of people like Bridget Ziegler and Michelle Beavers manifesting their total revulsion at the mere idea or mention of sex of any kind as they lead their 451 uniformed troops of goose stepping book banners into every bookstore, drugstore and gas station in America to grab, not just books that mention teen sex, our LGBTQ citizens, and race issues but also those damn suggestively covered paperback romance novels right off the shelves. Beavers isn't even calling for "Parental Guidance" stickers like the dreadful Tipper Gore, another Confederate wackjob. I bet Beavers will one day be handing out special merit badges for each truckload of books burned. She'll keep a copy of each book of course, just for research purposes. Here's how I see it going:
Each night, Ms. Beavers pulled her boxes of seized books out of the closet. They were the ones that she lovingly examined. They were the ones that she just hadn't been able to ever part with. No, this was a love that was meant to be, but it was also a love that was never to be spoken of, not even whispered, not even in the dark as she caressed her well worn favorites to her naked bosom and took them to bed. It was... reading by candlelight time.
Not only that but I'm gonna guess that she and others much like her have been feeling way too guilty about something from her own teen years.
no. there is no imaginary fat white albino hermit at the north pole who delivers toys to all kiddos on earth (except the destitute, nonchristians and the bad, yet, shockingly, I bet nazi kids get toys).
but in a democracy, we shouldn't need an imaginary being to fix shit for us. we're supposed to do that ourselves. that's what democracy is all about. right?
but we refuse. which is why we turn to those imaginaries... like santa and jesus... to just make everything right again.
the definition of 'pathetic'... and insane.
crapper, Or, as Noah says in the second part of last night's tandem, there was a Santa but there isn't.
If only we had a political party/movement that would hold dear the first amendment... all of it... and a DOJ that would do something... anything.
or look at via several analogies:
a rapist (say one named trump?) never stopped will continue to rape until he's too old.
some sonofabitch who cheats on his taxes (say one named trump?) and is never stopped will surely keep cheating on his taxes.
a thief (say one named trump?) never stopped will continue to steal.
a fraudster (say one named trump?) never stopped will continue to defraud.
a treasonous asshole (say one named trump?) never prosecuted/stopped will continue to commit treason.
someone who initiates and participates in insurrection (say those 147 in congress and…