"Books Banned by Sarah Palin" Email Is Urban Legend

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.

 The article continues:

 In December 1996, Emmons told her hometown newspaper, the Frontiersman, that Palin three times asked her -- starting before she was sworn in -- about possibly removing objectionable books from the library if the need arose.
Emmons told the Frontiersman she flatly refused to consider any kind of censorship.

…When the matter came up for the second time in October 1996, during a City Council meeting, Anne Kilkenny, a Wasilla housewife who often attends council meetings, was there.

Like many Alaskans, Kilkenny calls the governor by her first name.

"Sarah said to Mary Ellen, 'What would your response be if I asked you to remove some books from the collection?" Kilkenny said.

"I was shocked. Mary Ellen sat up straight and said something along the line of, 'The books in the Wasilla Library collection were selected on the basis of national selection criteria for libraries of this size, and I would absolutely resist all efforts to ban books.'"

Palin didn't mention specific books at that meeting, Kilkenny said.

Palin herself, questioned at the time, called her inquiries rhetorical and simply part of a policy discussion with a department head "about understanding and following administration agendas," according to the Frontiersman article.

…Four days before the exchange at the City Council, Emmons got a letter from Palin asking for her resignation. Similar letters went to police chief Irl Stambaugh, public works director Jack Felton and finance director Duane Dvorak. John Cooper, a fifth director, resigned after Palin eliminated his job overseeing the city museum.

Here's the the link on the urban legend debunking site, Snopes, that rejects the claim.  snopes.com: Books Banned by Sarah Palin

Bottom line, the emails going around are not correct. But the truth is, Palin tried to clean house when she took over, replacing civil servants in non-political jobs. Sounds a lot like the corrupt practices Gonzales and company engaged in at the Justice department, doesn't it? 

Another thing to keep in mind is that Palin ran for mayor, beating the mayor who originally invited her to be on the city council. 

She ran for governor against the governor who appointed her to the oil and energy commission which she was totally unqualified for, and which she used as a springboard to make her claim as an independent who exposed corruption. Then she ran against that governor and beat him to become governor. Palin may not be a "bookburner," but she sure has a history of burning the people who give her political opportunities. John McCain better watch out. Her history suggests she'll catch him at something and force him to resign, and we'll have the first moosehunter in recent years as the new president. Does this article take lipstick off a pig?

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