Lingering Political Topics

 Trying to get caught up - I have been trying to delete most of my political related emails so I can concentrate on my novel. Please excuse the brevity of this post - the last one ought to be long enough!

sch 1/23

Bari Weiss suuuuuuuuuuuuucks (SFGate)

Horribly. Now we’re getting to the stuff you’ve probably read about. Weiss personally spiked that initial “60 Minutes” report because, the “additional reporting” she wanted in the original piece was comment (a rebuttal, really) from the Trump administration, which that administration repeatedly refused to provide despite CBS’ initial outreach. The report finally aired recently with a handful of extra details on the prisoners’ criminal records, numbers provided by — QUELLE SURPRISE — Trump’s people. 

Philadelphia sues over removal of slavery exhibit at Independence National Historical Park  (SFGate)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Outraged critics accused President Donald Trump of “whitewashing history” on Friday after the National Park Service removed an exhibit on slavery at Philadelphia's Independence National Historical Park in response to his executive order “restoring truth and sanity to American history” at the nation's museums, parks and landmarks.

Empty bolt holes and shadows are all that remains on the brick walls where explanatory panels were displayed at the President’s House Site, where George and Martha Washington lived with the people they owned as property when Philadelphia was the nation's capital. One woman cried silently at their absence. Someone left a bouquet of flowers. A hand-lettered sign said “Slavery was real.”

Workers on Thursday removed the exhibit, which included biographical details about the nine people enslaved by the Washingtons at the presidential mansion. Just their names — Austin, Paris, Hercules, Christopher Sheels, Richmond, Giles, Oney Judge, Moll and Joe — remain engraved into a cement wall.

Seeking to stop the display's permanent removal, the city of Philadelphia on Thursday sued Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and acting National Park Service Director Jessica Bowron.

The Unbanned Book Network is a new initiative fighting for diverse books in the classroom. (Literary Hub)

A new program called The Unbanned Book Network is stepping in to counter the increased threat of book bans in schools across America. The new initiative was launched this week by the team at We Need Diverse Books, and aims to build partnerships between schools and teachers to improve literacy, support diverse authors and books that have been targeted by book banners, and create a nationwide community of teachers and students.

“We’re not only facing an ongoing literacy crisis in the U.S., we’re also battling increased rates of censorship, which is infringing on our students’ right to read,” Dhonielle Clayton, the CEO of We Need Diverse Books said in the AP.