I must have received ten of these emails telling me that this was THE list of books Sarah banned or attempted to ban from the Wasilla library when she was mayor. Save yourself from having to apologize to the list of people you would have forwarded this to. It's a bogus list, probably one assembled by adlebooks, here. They say it's an incomplete list of books that others have attempted to ban over the years.
Here's one of the many emails I received that is providing bad information:
Palin's Banned Books
*The following is a partial list of books that Sarah Palin tried to get banned when she was mayor of Wasilla. For the complete list, please click on this article. *
*A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Canterbury Tales by Chaucer Confessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Decameron by Boccaccio East of Eden by John Steinbeck Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman Little Red Riding Hood by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Lord of the Flies by William Golding Lysistrata by Aristophanes My House by Nikki Giovanni My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck One Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Ordinary People by Judith Guest Our Bodies, Ourselves by Boston Women's Health Collective Silas Marner by George Eliot Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger The Color Purple by Alice Walker The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck The Living Bible by William C. Bower The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary by the Merriam-Webster Editorial Staff *
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The following is a list of books that Sarah Palin tried to get banned when she was mayor of Wasilla.
This information is taken from the official minutes of the Wasilla Library Board.
When the librarian refused to ban the books, Palin tried to get her fired.
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner Blubber by Judy Blume Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson Canterbury Tales by Chaucer Carrie by Stephen King Catch-22 by Joseph Heller Christine by Stephen King Confessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau Cujo by Stephen King Curses, Hexes, and Spells by Daniel Cohen Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Decameron by Boccaccio East of Eden by John Steinbeck Fallen Angels by Walter Myers Fanny Hill (Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure) by John Cleland Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes Forever by Judy Blume Grendel by John Champlin Gardner Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling Have to Go by Robert Munsch Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou Impressions edited by Jack Booth In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak It's Okay if You Don't Love Me by Norma Klein James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman Little Red Riding Hood by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Lord of the Flies by William Golding Love is One of the Choices by Norma Klein Lysistrata by Aristophanes More Scary Stories in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier My House by Nikki Giovanni My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara Night Chills by Dean Koontz Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer One Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Ordinary People by Judith Guest Our Bodies, Ourselves by Boston Women's Health Collective Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones by Alvin Schwartz Scary Stories in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz Separate Peace by John Knowles Silas Marner by George Eliot Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain The Bastard by John Jakes The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier The Color Purple by Alice Walker The Devil's Alternative by Frederick Forsyth The Figure in the Shadows by John Bellairs The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Snyder The Learning Tree by Gordon Parks The Living Bible by William C. Bower The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare The New Teenage Body Book by Kathy McCoy and Charles Wibbelsman The Pigman by Paul Zindel The Seduction of Peter S. by Lawrence Sanders The Shining by Stephen King The Witches by Roald Dahl The Witches of Worm by Zilpha Snyder Then Again, Maybe I Won't by Judy Blume To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary by the Merriam-Webster Editorial Staff Witches, Pumpkins, and Grinning Ghosts: The Story of the Halloween Symbols by Edna Barth
This list probably came from a list assembled by Adler Books, a bookseller, here
where they state, "Books Banned at One Time or Another in the United States,"making a qualifying remark that it's an incomplete list.
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.
Rob Kall is executive editor and publisher of OpEdNews.com, President of Futurehealth, Inc, inventor . He is also published regularly on the Huffingtonpost.com and is a columnist with Northstarwriters.com. He is a frequent Speaker on Politics, Impeachment, The art, science and power of story, heroes and the hero's journey, Positive Psychology, Stress, Biofeedback and a wide range of subjects. He is a campaign consultant specializing in tapping the power of stories for issue positioning, stump speeches and debates. He recently retired as organizer of several conferences, including StoryCon, the Summit Meeting on the Art, Science and Application of Story and The Winter Brain Meeting on neurofeedback, biofeedback, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology. See more of his articles here and, older ones, here.
To learn more about me and OpEdNews.com, check out this article.
and there are Rob's quotes, here.
To Watch me on youtube, having a lively conversation with John Conyers, Chair of the House Judiciary committee, click here Now, wouldn't you like to see me on the political news shows, representing progressives. If so, tell your favorite shows to bring me on and refer them to this youtube video
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-While I'm registered as a Democrat, I consider myself to be a dynamic critic of the Democratic party, just as, well, not quite as much, but almost as much as I am a critic of republicans.
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Palin APPROACHED the librarian about banning certain books and the librarian objected. It's just that no ACTUAL LIST was ever discussed.
Palin later fired the librarian although this was not given as the reason.
Is this correct? It is factual to say Palin EXPRESSED SUPPORT for banning certain books, only the book list released on the internet is urban legend?
by
Greg Purcell (8 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 47 comments)
on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 10:58:54 AM
Palin asked about banning books. No list, as far as is known, was submitted. The librarian refused to cooperate. Palin tried to fire her but was unsuccessful.
by
Rob Kall (891 articles, 4057 quicklinks, 350 diaries, 1925 comments)
on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 11:17:26 AM
Yesterday. FactCheck is pretty reliable. Anyone got a thought or two about this debunking of the Kilkenny email? Could it be completely false? Or have people in Alaska been pressured or intimidated to retract true statements?
Sliming Palin
September 8, 2008
False Internet claims and rumors fly about McCain's running mate.
Summary
We’ve been flooded for the past few days with queries about dubious Internet postings and mass e-mail messages making claims about McCain’s running mate, Gov. Palin. We find that many are completely false, or misleading.
Palin did not cut funding for special needs education in Alaska by 62 percent. She didn’t cut it at all. In fact, she tripled per-pupil funding over just three years.
She did not demand that books be banned from the Wasilla library. Some of the books on a widely circulated list were not even in print at the time. The librarian has said Palin asked a "What if?" question, but the librarian continued in her job through most of Palin's first term.
She was never a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, a group that wants Alaskans to vote on whether they wish to secede from the United States. She’s been registered as a Republican since May 1982.
Palin never endorsed or supported Pat Buchanan for president. She once wore a Buchanan button as a "courtesty" when he visited Wasilla, but shortly afterward she was appointed to co-chair of the campaign of Steve Forbes in the state.
Palin has not pushed for teaching creationism in Alaska's schools. She has said that students should be allowed to "debate both sides" of the evolution question, but she also said creationism "doesn't have to be part of the curriculum."
A few of these claims were included in a chain e-mail by a woman named Anne Kilkenny. We'll be looking into other charges in that e-mail for a future story. For more explanation of the bullet points above, please read the Analysis.
Note: This is a summary only. The full article with analysis, images and citations may be viewed on our Web site:
by
Cheryl Abraham (13 articles, 2 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 206 comments)
on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 12:23:25 PM
Does her husband belong or did belong to the succession party mentioned above? Did she support any candidates of that party?
How many times did she inquire about banning books?
Did she try to fire the librarian? What was her intention?
You are not being completely honest. Sorry, no cigar or golden ring.
Why did she even mention a ban list of books? Sounds like a very revengful hot tempered woman who would lose control if push comes to shove. We have had enough of that with Bush and Cheney company, don't you agree?
Phil.
by
pratliff94 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 970 comments)
on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 at 1:38:14 PM
According to the Annenberg foundation's FACT CHECK.ORG Mary Ellen Emmons WAS fired... Palin rehired her...
In fact, there are quite a few bogus stories that have been circulated about Palin... Here is FACT Check's response to some of those stories..
Palin did not cut funding for special needs education in Alaska by 62 percent. She didn’t cut it at all. In fact, she tripled per-pupil funding over just three years.
She did not demand that books be banned from the Wasilla library. Some of the books on a widely circulated list were not even in print at the time. The librarian has said Palin asked a "What if?" question, but the librarian continued in her job through most of Palin's first term.
She was never a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, a group that wants Alaskans to vote on whether they wish to secede from the United States. She’s been registered as a Republican since May 1982.
Palin never endorsed or supported Pat Buchanan for president. She once wore a Buchanan button as a "courtesy" when he visited Wasilla, but shortly afterward she was appointed to co-chair of the campaign of Steve Forbes in the state.
Palin has not pushed for teaching creationism in Alaska's schools. She has said that students should be allowed to "debate both sides" of the evolution question, but she also said creationism "doesn't have to be part of the curriculum."
I never imagined that so many people would believe the crap being spewed, even after it was proven to be false.
Ciao, CZ
by
steve scheetz (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 734 comments)
on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 12:31:58 PM
Comment from Ratings: I should have been more careful with my previous response. In my previous response I wrote: "The title was very misleading and the article was disjointed." Rob's title was: "Books Banned by Sarah Palin" Email Is Urban Legend. I saw the title as being: "Books Banned by Sarah Palin" Is Urban Legend. My negative response to the title was based on my impression that it was an exonoration of Palin. Based on Rob's sources, Palin did not ban any books, but it's hard not to think that she wanted to and most probably was on a track to do so. The Christian right, of which Palin - I think it safe to say - is a part, has tried, and probably succeeded in some cases, to ban books they disagree with. That knowledge led me to misread the title. With respect to the rest of Rob's article, my evaluation that it was disjointed was a first impression. I should have held my fire and studied it more carefully.
by
William Stevens (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments)
on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 12:34:57 PM
Looks like another one of those "fake but accurate" claims. Dan Rather, call your office.
I do seem to remember something about Bill Clinton firing all U.S. attorneys when he took office. Along with no doubt brooming numerous federal agencies of Republican-leaning career bureaucrats and replacing them with people "more aligned with his agenda". Suddenly it's a crime against humanity.
Whereas Bush stupidly and naively didn't follow Clinton's power-grabbing but politically astute example.
Could it be that Rob is realizing that rumor-mongering is actually helping Palin among independents, and maybe even some Democrats? I know for a fact that it's motivating me to go down and vote, even though I live in a pretty safe Democrat state.
by
Alan Williams (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 776 comments)
on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 2:05:54 PM
Later verified? That would have been big news. Must have missed that bombshell. Does CBS know about it?
The point is this: Clinton was far more aggressive in putting his own type of people in government positions than was Bush. I actually admire him for that, and I wish Bush had been more like him in this regard.
by
Alan Williams (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 776 comments)
on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 3:36:52 PM
Not only did Bill Clinton, but so did George W. Bush when he took office as did his Daddy, George H. Bush when he took office and so did Ronald Reagan. Lets be a little more honest.
It is the common practice of most presidents. It is when they fire the ones they appoint when something they do not like is being investigated as in the case of George W. Bush and Richard Nixon of Watergate fame before him.
Phil
by
pratliff94 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 970 comments)
on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 at 2:03:45 PM
Did you, folks make up your mind on what Palin represents for you? If yes, and if you share the brilliant statement about Trojan Moose by Huffington you better stop being foolish and even consider her as something different than a patso used by McCain to steal the celebrity glitz from Obama. Now, if you love her like Mr. Williams here ( who even uses Bill Clinton for comparison; just eat your Bill with the sour sauce), then by all means enjoy wasting the pixels. When this dame makes souvenirs out of your bones there will be too late to argue for her unfortunate reputation.
Really, people, you better be afraid and very afraid. This dame is there for a reason. And a very bad one.
by
Mark Sashine (55 articles, 19 quicklinks, 256 diaries, 3705 comments)
on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 2:38:06 PM
And we were always told that Republicans were the scare-mongers.
Time to revise our notebooks.
Frankly, I'm far more scared of Obama's apparent agenda than I am about a mom who was probably simply concerned about the kids in her community being exposed to trash and filth.
by
Alan Williams (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 776 comments)
on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 3:17:38 PM
about how racists and redneck morons are going to vote for McCain and ms. proud to be a redneck. But I forgot to mention the people Michael Moore described in his brilliant book.
It's amazing how some people will piss this country down the toilet, supporting more Bush, more right wing pure garbage policy. I attribute it to the fact that a third of the population has been sexually or otherwise abused, often by drunk parents. One third. That's about one third more than the 25% of the population who continue to blindly and stupidly support the right wing criminals who have trashed most of America's assets-- our environment, our military readiness, our internationl relatoins, our industries. Talk about a choice. They are either idiots or traitors... or both.
My friend and I concluded that we hope there are enough women and minorities to save the US from the others.
by
Rob Kall (891 articles, 4057 quicklinks, 350 diaries, 1925 comments)
on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 3:27:02 PM
We as Americans (as well as the rest of the world who looks on in dismay) have been subjected to a woman, Sarah Palin, being thrust upon us out of nowhere who remember folks, could very very possibly become the president of the United States should McCain win and then die or resign while in office.
If we are not allowed to look into his woman in ALL ways and question not only her qualifications but her TEMPERAMENT and those things in her life which mold her motivational attitude in all matters, then there is SOMETHING WRONG.
One mark of any good news blogger is their willingness to admit when they could have been wrong.
Rob, the jury is still out on this one. A list is not necessary to produce, it was Palin's more than once bringing this subject up, and then trying to fire the librarian, her intimidation of the librarian. Sarah Palin seems to fancy herself a big fish in a little pond.
Read the comments there, particularly #9 because it goes to what was going on in this small town while Sarah baracuda, a "pitbull in lipstick" reigned supreme
None of you have ever lived in small town Alaska. If you are a professional librarian, you have one, maybe two jobs available to you in school or public libraries…if there are even openings. If you quit your job or are fired, you have to MOVE. Mary Ellen had a home, a life, friends, and a career in Wasilla. She did not want to give them up without a fight. When the time came to go, she had to move hundreds of miles away to find a job. If you have a bad boss, you keep trying to find a way to work together and sometimes it just gets to be too hard. If I were to quit my job in my small town, it might be YEARS before another job in my field would be open in the same community. Again, many Alaskan librarians stay in the same town for DECADES. On my staff the three MLS librarians have almost sixty five years of experience working in our library when added together! Many of our library subs even wait YEARS to get on our library staff at any level. If you want to stay in Alaska, you would likely have to have to wait months or years for a position to open up the matches your qualifications. Who’s to say that Mary Ellen wasn’t looking for a way out of a bad situation and waiting for a job to open?
by
Robin (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 11 comments)
on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 3:05:23 PM
Though I don't subscribe to the right wing morality of "the ends justify the means", I just have to ask: How many right wing sites are wringing their hands in dismay over inaccurate opinions, blogs, articles, rumors, and opinion pieces about Obama? Just sayin'.
by
Cheryl Abraham (13 articles, 2 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 206 comments)
on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 3:15:20 PM
Correction: In our original story, we incorrectly said that a few of the claims we examine here were included in the e-mail by Anne Kilkenny. Only one of the claims – about the librarian's firing – was similar to an item in that e-mail. We regret the error. We are sending this corrected summary and links to the story to all readers on our e-mail list. We also have revised the story's section dealing with accusations that Palin wanted to ban books from Wasilla's library to include more detail about what transpired at the time.
by
Cheryl Abraham (13 articles, 2 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 206 comments)
on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 5:14:11 PM
