Books Palin wanted banned

September 8, 2008 4:24 AM

Her Honor Sarah Palin wanted these books banned Books (then) Mayor Sarah Palin tried to remove from Wasilla library. When the librarian refused to ban the books, Palin tried to get her fired. This information is taken from the official minutes of the Wasilla Library Board.
posted by Postroad (71 comments total)

/facepalm
posted by Doofus Magoo at 4:26 AM on September 8, 2008

How meta.
posted by thrako at 4:27 AM on September 8, 2008

Head? Desk.
posted by loquacious at 4:28 AM on September 8, 2008

So, Harry Potter, huh? Was the first book even published at the time?
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 4:30 AM on September 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

93. Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down by Kaylene Johnson
posted by maxwelton at 4:30 AM on September 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

Any a night I have curled up with a piping hot cup of tea and my well-thumbed copy of Editorial Staff.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:31 AM on September 8, 2008

Well, this won't last long. Note to casual readers: check the "Michelle Malkin linked to Jessamyn" post in Metatalk. This list is at least partially bogus, as Harry Potter wasn't even published by the time she was mayor, and no evidence has surfaced supporting it.
posted by Malor at 4:31 AM on September 8, 2008 [3 favorites]

Many a night, even.

Dammit, this is what happens when you try to ban dictionaries!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:32 AM on September 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

So, Harry Potter, huh? Was the first book even published at the time?

That just shows how devious she is! She bans books YEARS BEFORE THEY'RE WRITTEN!
posted by martinrebas at 4:32 AM on September 8, 2008 [9 favorites]

Bully. Secessionist. Hawk. Book burner. Hypocrite. Power junkie. Moose hunter... She'll be the perfect replacement for Bush!

Eight years of Palin will really force me to brush up on my Cantonese!
posted by chuckdarwin at 4:33 AM on September 8, 2008

MeTa
posted by parmanparman at 4:34 AM on September 8, 2008

75. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Palin is a crazy, dominionist nut who must not be elected at all costs.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 4:35 AM on September 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

This list was debunked. That banned book list is as old as the internet - it's a list of books that have been banned in one form or another throughout the US. It's not a list of what Sarah Palin tried to have banned. I'm not even sure if all of those books have been in Alaska all at the same time, anyway.

Caving into this sort of lazy, email-copy-pasting sensationalist morality is exactly what Karl Rove wants you to do. It makes libruls look lazy and stupid, keeps said libruls from exercising critical thinking, keeps Sarah Palin in the news and local gossip loop all while keeping them distracted from the real issues at hand.

Namely: the forest fire worth of smoke they're blowing up our asses.
posted by loquacious at 4:35 AM on September 8, 2008 [10 favorites]

Palin is a crazy, dominionist nut who must not be elected at all costs.

I wish that was the headline at CNN. (Subheadline: And John McCain OK'd her.)
posted by DU at 4:37 AM on September 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

I look forward to the informative and balanced discussion to be provided in this thread, based on the solid facts presented in the link.
posted by ghost of a past number at 4:38 AM on September 8, 2008

This is one of those posts that I thought would be "easy" enough to double-check on my own, if the information was truly accessible from public sources. I thought it seemed fishy-- like folks on the MeTa thread said, the whole thing is false.

Snopes (yay Snopes!) has more details.

I've no intention of voting McCain/Palin (I'm with you on this) but seriously, let's not spread disinformation.
posted by lou at 4:43 AM on September 8, 2008

Baleeted!
posted by papercake at 4:44 AM on September 8, 2008

Caving into this sort of lazy, email-copy-pasting sensationalist morality is exactly what Karl Rove wants you to do.

Going further, I actually strongly suspect the original list was posted for precisely this purpose.

Much like I suspect the origin of the "faked" documents regarding GWB's service was also a repub agent provocateur.

Much like Karl bugging his own office.
posted by namespan at 4:45 AM on September 8, 2008

I am not even voting and I feel all outraged - banning books? Alliteration aside, Alaskans deserve better.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 4:45 AM on September 8, 2008

What's sad about this bogus list is that it will totally obscure the fact that she did indeed raise the notion of book banning. It just never went beyond the exploratory phase.
posted by RavinDave at 4:49 AM on September 8, 2008 [3 favorites]

I wonder if this will be deleted? Possibly if it had more framing, it would have worked.
posted by voltairemodern at 4:50 AM on September 8, 2008

Some knowledge of the workings of this site, and its search functions, go a goodly distance towards making tenable Front Page Posts.
posted by Devils Rancher at 4:53 AM on September 8, 2008

I like the fact that people think that livejournal is a reputable source of information. Where's the filter here, people? It's like the "Sambo/bitch" rumor. People have gone insane. And McCain is going to be president, so buckle up and hide all your provocative books - my Silas Marner is in a concrete safe in the basement!
posted by billysumday at 4:54 AM on September 8, 2008

Well I guess if it's on the internet it must be true. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get my personal financial information over to the wife of an Nigerian former oil Minister before the banks close over there. Oh man I am going to be so friggin' rich!

(Oh, and a big thank you to the person who mentioned Snopes. That should be required reading for anyone sitting in the gap between receiving bullshit information like this and hitting the "Forward" option.)
posted by Mike D at 4:56 AM on September 8, 2008

They got books in Wasilla?
posted by R. Mutt at 5:00 AM on September 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

/me pokes the admins' alarm clocks.
posted by Skorgu at 5:08 AM on September 8, 2008

i like turtles
posted by Merik at 5:09 AM on September 8, 2008

They got books in Wasilla?

Not any more, apparently.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 5:11 AM on September 8, 2008

> They got books in Wasilla?

They use them for smoking moose jerky.
posted by ardgedee at 5:18 AM on September 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

I get shitpotloads of crap from people I work with like OMG HE'S NOT A PATRIOT, HE REPAINTED HIS PLANE, HE'S A MUSLIM. And, I think what dumbasses passing this shit on. Now there's this kind of small minded shrill shit coming from the liberals. What next, Fox News starts a second channel for Democrats?

Ugh.
posted by Eekacat at 5:19 AM on September 8, 2008

I recommend this site to people, and I'm ashamed this was posted. Haven't you heard of Snopes?
posted by texorama at 5:19 AM on September 8, 2008

Won't somebody think of the children?
posted by pupdog at 5:20 AM on September 8, 2008

Loosens tie... steps up to mic...

Heh,

Last week I had a bad experience.
I went to a nude beach. They kicked me out.
They told me its impolite to point.
posted by R. Mutt at 5:20 AM on September 8, 2008

And, seriously, LIVEJOURNAL???? Maybe livejournal is the liberal Fox News. Just as shrill and empty, but based even less on facts.
posted by Eekacat at 5:21 AM on September 8, 2008

But the link looks like a reputable news source, amirite?
posted by peeedro at 5:21 AM on September 8, 2008

Oh you silly Americans with your amusing democracy pantomime. Get it fucking over with already.

You are getting annoying.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:24 AM on September 8, 2008 [3 favorites]

Because we here at Metafilter know everything there is to know about shrill and empty.
posted by Dave Faris at 5:25 AM on September 8, 2008

Could somebody with an LJ account please post a reply to this list (before this post gets junked, and the rabid Malkin types get to it) that explains the list is bogus, with relevant links to the Boston Herald article that explains that Palin tried to get the librarian fired, then was forced to backtrack?

The author has disabled anonymous and OpenID posting or I'd do it myself. The Letter from Anne Kilkenny may also be useful.
posted by Shepherd at 5:27 AM on September 8, 2008

mr. wonderfree cheeken,

i normally don't go to this extreme, but I curse you: may you be compelled by peer pressure to seek public office, and may you succeed.
posted by ewkpates at 5:29 AM on September 8, 2008

Done, shepherd, but only to expiate my own guilt.
posted by crataegus at 5:32 AM on September 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

I curse you: may you be compelled by peer pressure to seek public office, and may you succeed.

*waves garlic, makes sign of the cross*
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:33 AM on September 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

Shepherd: I'm on it.
posted by mismatched at 5:34 AM on September 8, 2008

Oh, wait, nevermind. :)
posted by mismatched at 5:34 AM on September 8, 2008

I hope this thread gets deleted. Discussing this list in any kind of seriousness will make us look like a bunch of stupid, credulous hysterics.
posted by orange swan at 5:37 AM on September 8, 2008

EPIC WIN
posted by Avenger at 5:38 AM on September 8, 2008

> Oh you silly Americans with your amusing democracy pantomime. Get it fucking over with already.

/d/tards hard to distinguish from /r/tards, film at--well, you know.
posted by jfuller at 5:38 AM on September 8, 2008

So, wait, Pallid Sara wants to book a band?
posted by jonmc at 5:40 AM on September 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

This post was not properly vetted.
posted by effwerd at 5:42 AM on September 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

No, jonmc, Pallid Sara is the band; some kind of Goth/Punk thing.
posted by the other side at 5:45 AM on September 8, 2008

Critical thinking fail.
posted by autodidact at 5:47 AM on September 8, 2008 [2 favorites]

On behalf of everybody in the world who is not stupid enough to deserve John McCain, can I just say: please stop being stupid enough to deserve John McCain.
posted by flashboy at 5:47 AM on September 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

I thought Pallid Sarah was the capo of the Goth Mafia, along with her Henchbeings Pale Gail, Ray Decay and Patrick The Anemic Bulimic.
posted by jonmc at 5:48 AM on September 8, 2008

Fail whale sighting.
posted by arimathea at 5:50 AM on September 8, 2008

Current Mood: [mood icon] enraged
posted by Damn That Television at 5:52 AM on September 8, 2008

I hope this thread gets deleted. Discussing this list in any kind of seriousness will make us look like a bunch of stupid, credulous hysterics.

Too late, by a few years even.
posted by a3matrix at 5:56 AM on September 8, 2008

A good example of how reality is socially constructed...
posted by daniel_charms at 5:57 AM on September 8, 2008

WAKE UP!
posted by AwkwardPause at 5:58 AM on September 8, 2008

She tried to get Shakespeare banned.
posted by Ironmouth at 5:59 AM on September 8, 2008

Why? Is the band here?
posted by jonmc at 5:59 AM on September 8, 2008

it will totally obscure the fact that she did indeed raise the notion of book banning. It just never went beyond the exploratory phase.

Eh, who knows? I'm not seeing it. The fact that Sarah Palin wanted to ban books isn't changed by the appearance of some silly rumor that she did ban books.

seriously, let's not spread disinformation.

Did you hear? Mickey Kaus blows goats.
posted by octobersurprise at 6:00 AM on September 8, 2008

Even if you don't like Governor Palin or the blatant pandering and cynicism that led to her selection, this kind of ridiculous tactic doesn't help anyone.
posted by swamptiger at 6:01 AM on September 8, 2008

What - This story is a fake just because Michelle Malkin and one of her Blogging Librarian Stooges says it is. Yeah - whatever.
posted by seanyboy at 6:06 AM on September 8, 2008

Now there's this kind of small minded shrill shit coming from the liberals.

It may be an incorrect list, but complaints about a candidate who works to ban books is definitely not small minded or shrill.
posted by DU at 6:06 AM on September 8, 2008

I think this was intended not to knock Sarah Palin as much as knock Judy Blume.

Leave Judy alone!

And I hear lots of book burners have been trying to ban the Harry Potter books for decades...
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 6:07 AM on September 8, 2008

Naaaw, duude. They're totally marching White House.

yawn.
posted by nosila at 6:09 AM on September 8, 2008

ugh. coffee. ne'rmind.
posted by nosila at 6:09 AM on September 8, 2008

You really can't go wrong with anagrams involving anal.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 6:11 AM on September 8, 2008

But really, who doesn't trust comic sans?
posted by Navelgazer at 6:18 AM on September 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

Fer cryin out loud. Just got this in email, now it's here. SNOPES. Then read the Kilkenny letter, which is real, but as yet unverified.

She stands for the continuation of the failed Cheney-Bush administration, which should be plenty.
posted by theora55 at 6:22 AM on September 8, 2008

I knew a guy who lived in an Anal Parish. And a guy who lived in an Oral Parish.

Man, those priests are a kinky bunch.
posted by chuckdarwin at 6:24 AM on September 8, 2008

It makes libruls look lazy and stupid, keeps said libruls from exercising critical thinking,

The list sucks, and all. But how come the right wing gets to send around lying forward after lying forward (Hillary wouldn't meet with TEH TROOPS, Obama is a secret Muslim, etc.) and it never, ever gets into the media as an example of the unhinged right? But everyone here is on eggshells about this one stupid list, lest everyone who's going to vote for Obama be tarred as a serial exaggerator.
posted by ibmcginty at 6:26 AM on September 8, 2008