WASILLA — Back in 1996, when she first became mayor, Sarah Palin asked the city librarian if she would be all right with censoring library books should she be asked to do so. According to news coverage at the time, the librarian said she would definitely not be all right with it. A few months later, the librarian, Mary Ellen Emmons, got a letter from Palin telling her she was going to be fired. The censorship issue was not mentioned as a reason for the firing. The letter just said the new mayor felt Emmons didn’t fully support her and had to go. Emmons had been city librarian for seven years and was well liked. After a wave of public support for her, Palin relented and let Emmons keep her job. It all happened 12 years ago and the controversy long ago disappeared into musty files. Until this week. Under intense national scrutiny, the issue has returned to dog her. It has been mentioned in news stories in Time Magazine and The New York Times and is spreading like a virus through the blogosphere. The stories are all suggestive, but facts are hard to come by. […]
Monday, September 8th, 2008
Here’s the Story About Palin’s Book-banning Try as Mayor
Author: RINDI WHITE
Source: McClatchy Newspapers/Anchorage Daily News
Publication Date: Fri, September 05, 2008 07:48:14 AM
Link: Here’s the Story About Palin’s Book-banning Try as Mayor
Source: McClatchy Newspapers/Anchorage Daily News
Publication Date: Fri, September 05, 2008 07:48:14 AM
Link: Here’s the Story About Palin’s Book-banning Try as Mayor
Stephan: Over 50 SR readers sent me emails concerning Sarah Palin's attempt at book-banning, a subject about which I have very passionate feelings - having grown making almost daily visits to my local library. The story seemed plausible. Palin professes what can only be described as Far Right positions. And the Evangelical wing of the Republican Party has a long history of anti-intellectualism and censorship. But plausible is not necessarily the same as true. I spent this afternoon looking for what could actually be documented about this story, and this report in the McClatchy Newspapers, filed by a reporter in their Anchorage Daily News, seems to me the best information on this subject we have to date. Let me also say that I am not surprised this story appeared in McClatchy papers, because this company, I believe, has some of the best and most objective journalism in the country.
