Book Banning and Freedom of Speech

STOP BOOK BANS NOW!

Tom Glenn, Writer

Republican and conservative efforts to ban books they disagree with are taking off. PEN America, an organization devoted to protecting free expression in literature, reports that there are at least 50 groups across the country working to remove books they object to from libraries. During the 2021-22 school year, 138 school districts in 32 states banned more than 2,500 books. These districts include 5,049 schools and in total enroll almost 4 million students.

Texas and Florida lead the nation in book bans. The books most frequently targeted have been by or about Black or L.G.B.T.Q. people, according to the American Library Association.

To my way of thinking, these efforts are in direct violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which protects freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. The conservatives, well-to-do and powerful, are trying to suppress…

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Con-Tinual Special Event: Enola Holmes

Have you watched the Enola Holmes specials on Netflix?

Have you read the The Enola Holmes Mysteries by Nancy Springer?

Then you’ll want to see this fun panel at Con-Tinual: The Con That Never Ends.

Con-Tinual Special Event: Enola Holmes on Facebook

Con-Tinual Special Event: Enola Holmes on YouTube (Look for it in the Live tab)

If you aren’t familiar with these fun and exciting stories, make sure you check them out. The Enola Holmes Mysteries is a young adult detective series by Nancy Springer. They are about 14-year old Enola Holmes, the very younger sister of the famous Sherlock Holmes.

Sometimes a blessing can be a curse.

Young Maya bears the mark of the moon goddess, a sign that would doom her to sacrifice in her village where the death god is revered. Forced to dye her golden eyes dark, Maya lives in constant fear of discovery. To save her family and the village’s future, she must find the courage to stand up to the high priest before he can bring the death god into this world.

HUMMINGBIRD

Plagued by memories not her own, a young hummingbird struggles to decipher the visions and powers that set her apart from her fellow birds. But the road to awareness is fraught with danger that could doom her to repeat history.

One step toward understanding.

One stride toward survival.

One leap toward flying free from the past.

STAR TOUCHED

Sometimes it’s hard to be who you are meant to be.

Especially when your powers can get you killed.

Eighteen-year-old Tatiana is running from her past and her star-touched powers eight years after a meteor devastates earth’s population.

Her power to heal may be overshadowed by more destructive abilities. Fleeing the persecution of those like her, Tatiana seeks refuge in a small town she once visited. But this civil haven, in a world where society has broken down, is beginning to crumble.

Only by harnessing the very forces that haunt her can Tatiana save her friends…and herself.

WOLF DAWN

A Hidden Past – A Deadly Secret

Gifted with the ability to wolf-talk, Kara has lived with the wolves since she lost her memories eight years ago. Now at sixteen, snippets of her past send her searching for answers.

But the warm welcome she receives in the human village hides more danger than life with the pack.

Ramifications

Ever wonder what happens when a wand of wonder explodes? I found out the first time I played D&D. So many butterflies…
Check out what Jane Lindskold has to say about one of her characters.

Jane Lindskold: Wednesday Wanderings

Greetings, Dandy Silverstone!

They’ve probably changed the rules by now, but way back in the dark ages (mid-1980s) when I started playing AD&D, a human fighter, beginning level, was (according to some table I no longer have access to) assumed to be something like sixteen to eighteen years old. A half-elf with the same basic abilities was assumed to be quite a bit older, like in their eighties.

This niggled at me until one day the solution came to me: It simply takes elves a long time to learn anything. They aren’t stupid. (After all, elves are known to be brilliant.) However, maybe as a result of their very long lives, they have no incentive to learn anything, so they don’t bother.

From this, I came up with one of the most restful characters I’ve ever played: Kymbree Silverstone. The surname was taken from a then popular alternative to Teflon…

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Global Priorities

It’s time to heed Mother Nature’s message.

America the Beautiful

Alan Zendell, February 6, 2023

If you read my recent post, Connectedness, you’ll recall that I ended it by suggesting that we, as Americans and citizens of Earth may have our priorities upside down. Most of our stress during the past year centered around political dysfunction, craven politicians putting greed and power ahead of governing, domestic gun violence, and the war in Ukraine. Those are all very serious problems that threaten our very existence, but one event that the news media quickly put to rest represented a far more serious threat than all of them.

Two weeks ago, Mother Nature reminded us who or what controls the real power over our lives. Though most of us never gave it a thought until Morgan Freeman, playing the President of the United States, informed us that Mom had arranged a mass extinction event, as a large asteroid was on a collision…

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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: An American Hero

Martin Luther King Jr.

January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968

Today we honor Martin Luther King Jr., an American hero of the Civil Rights Movement. Before his life was cut short, King won the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance.

“Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.”

Republican Book Bans

Tom Glenn, Writer

Republican and conservative efforts to ban books they disagree with are taking off. PEN America, an organization devoted to protecting free expression in literature, reports that there are at least 50 groups across the country working to remove books they object to from libraries. During the 2021-22 school year, 138 school districts in 32 states banned more than 2,500 books. These districts include 5,049 schools and in total enroll almost 4 million students.

Texas and Florida lead the nation in book bans. The books most frequently targeted have been by or about Black or L.G.B.T.Q. people, according to the American Library Association.

To my way of thinking, these efforts are in direct violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which protects freedom of speech. The conservatives, well-to-do and powerful, are trying to suppress those they look down on, especially women, blacks and other racial minorities, and those with…

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Cabbages Not Kings

Jane Lindskold brings up some important thoughts on The Lord of the Rings. I love both books and movies.

What say you?

Jane Lindskold: Wednesday Wanderings

Two Great Tastes

This week has shaped up busier than I expected, even as I wrote about my busy start of the year last week. The page proofs for A New Clan in mass market arrived roughly two months earlier than I expected them, and with a shorter deadline. Deep sigh.

Last week, in my FF, I asked a question. Several people indicated an interest in my thoughts, and so here they are. Thus follows my wanderings on how two of Jackson’s more significant omissions to the Lord of the Rings saga in the movies change the emphasis of Tolkien’s original story.

Let me start by stressing that I really liked the movies. Jim and I saw each one in the theater (and if you know us, you realize that’s a Big Thing). We bought the expanded versions. We have watched them several times.

However, we’ve also read the books…

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Brady PAC Data on Gun Violence

Great post by Tom Glenn about gun violence.

Tom Glenn, Writer

The Brady PAC was formed leading up to the 2018 midterm elections. It was created to serve as a counterweight to “dark money” Super PACs created by the gun industry. It upholds the policy ideals that have been championed by its sister organization, Brady—one of the nation’s oldest gun violence prevention grassroots advocacy organizations.

Brady, United Against Gun Violence (formerly Handgun Control, Inc., the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control and against gun violence. It is named after James “Jim” Brady, who was permanently disabled and later died in 2014 as a result of the Ronald Reagan assassination attempt of 1981, and his wife Sarah Brady, who was a chairwoman of the organization from 1989 until her death in 2015.

According to information that Brady PAC just released, there are over 393…

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The Power of Magical Thinking

I learn things every day.

rachelmankowitz

In this season of miracles (for Hanukah) and magic (for Christmas) I’m always inspired, and a little bit confused, about what’s possible and what’s not. I don’t think Santa is going to come down my chimney, wearing a blue suit covered in Stars of David, with a bag of presents just for me; if only because I don’t have a chimney of my own. And I don’t think my Chanukiah (a menorah with an extra candle for Chanukah) is going to stay lit for eight days; in fact, I’ve never had candles that lasted more than half an hour at a time. But there’s something in the air, and in the lights and presents and TV movies and special foods and decorations, that makes it feel like anything is possible.

“Can we plant chicken trees this year?”

I don’t really believe in magic, though I really, really, want to, but…

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The Barnett Menorah

The first day of Hannukah sounds like the perfect time to share a small bit of my family history. I remember the beautiful silver menorah pictured above from my great grandma Celia Barnett’s apartment. Fast forward several decades, and the menorah made its way to my parent’s home. Last winter this little treasure came home with me.

Thus began the great mystery.

When I removed all the tarnish, I discovered an engraving on the base. Luckily, I happen to know someone who speaks both Hebrew and Yiddish fluently. They were able to give me this translation:

From the board of directors
of Machzikei Talmud Torah of Boro Park
to Ahron Tzvi Barnett for his efforts for the good of the institution. 5684

That puts it circa 1924. Machzikei Talmud Torah of Boro Park was founded in Brooklyn in 1908 and closed in 1941. Their focus was the Jewish religious education of children. They were located at 1319 43rd st., Brooklyn, NY. There is an article that mentions him being a Gabbai at the school.

The menorah was manufactured by Victor Siedman Mfg.Co. Inc. (c. 1920-1934) of Brooklyn, NY. The same company that made the silver candlesticks given to Celia on her 25^th wedding anniversary in 1926.

But who was Ahron Tzvi Barnett? According to the family tree, Celia Barnett (1881-1978) married Isaac “Ike” Barnett (1876-1958). But her father’s name was Harris Barnett (1856-1944). Yes, a Barnett married a Barnett. No there was no family connection. So was the menorah given to her father, Harris, or her father-in-law, Marx “Max” Barnett (1855-1933). Neither of those names matched Ahron Tzvi Barnett. A bit more sleuthing, and a lot of help from friends and family solved the mystery.

Tzvi is Hebrew for deer – Hirsh in Yiddish also mean deer

Hirsh – got Americanized to – Harris

The menorah belonged to my great great grandfather Harris Barnett.