"The district pulled titles including Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Catch-22 from shelves for containing sexual or violent content, acting on a state mandate against “patently offensive” material in schools . . . " but voted overwhelmingly for a person who is a convicted sex offender and hurls violent insults at reporters and anyone else who gets in his deceitful way. Trump is patently offensive.
I don't mind having the smaller list of overlooked stories. It made each of these hit that much harder, which in #3's case was a pleasant surprise. Every step African nations take toward their international rise in the next century brings joy, and how much better to have Caribbean fortunes raised too.
Thank you for the work you are doing. The continuation of the firehose would have hoped it would be lessened by now, but alas it’s not.
The list of books being banned in Tennessee is absolutely absurd. Would venture an educated guess that the general population in Tennessee that are pushing for the banning haven’t even read the books. Since the illiteracy rate is about 13.2%. This figure is based on a 2025 estimate, placing Tennessee at 34th among all US states in terms of literacy.
Magic Tree House author Mary Pope Osborne, children’s poet Shel Silverstein and Calvin and Hobbes cartoonist Bill Watterson have joined Judy Blume, Sarah J. Maas, Eric Carle and Kurt Vonnegut on a mind-boggling list of hundreds of books purged from some Tennessee school libraries.
Osborne is the author of the widely acclaimed and enormously popular Magic Tree House series, which sends siblings Jack and Annie time traveling to historical settings for various adventures. A book she wrote with her sister, Natalie Pope Broyce, called Ancient Greece and the Olympics, a Magic Tree House Fact Tracker meant to be a learning companion to Magic Tree House #16: Hour of the Olympics, is among a staggering 574 books purged from Monroe County’s school libraries. The book features a nude Greek statue on the cover.
The removals are the result of a growing political movement to control information through book banning. In 2024, the state legislature amended the “Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022” to specify that any materials that “in whole or in part” contain any “nudity, or descriptions or depictions of sexual excitement, sexual conduct, excess violence, or sadomasochistic abuse” are inappropriate for all students and do not belong in a school library.
Two months after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, a government-backed campaign has led to firings, suspensions, investigations and other action against more than 600 people. Not just teachers but across the board in all professions. Republican officials have endorsed the punishments, saying that those who glorify violence should be removed from positions of trust.
You have refrained from commenting on the disrespect, harassment, and even life-threatening speech and actions that accompany stories #1, #2 and #4. Especially #4, as Charlie Kirk built his career on urging irresponsible a--holes to harass teachers, and those "called out" have been treated horribly. Thankfully, #3 is there to delight us. May more direct travel and exchange lace the equatorial and south Atlantic.
"The district pulled titles including Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Catch-22 from shelves for containing sexual or violent content, acting on a state mandate against “patently offensive” material in schools . . . " but voted overwhelmingly for a person who is a convicted sex offender and hurls violent insults at reporters and anyone else who gets in his deceitful way. Trump is patently offensive.
I don't mind having the smaller list of overlooked stories. It made each of these hit that much harder, which in #3's case was a pleasant surprise. Every step African nations take toward their international rise in the next century brings joy, and how much better to have Caribbean fortunes raised too.
Thank you for the work you are doing. The continuation of the firehose would have hoped it would be lessened by now, but alas it’s not.
The list of books being banned in Tennessee is absolutely absurd. Would venture an educated guess that the general population in Tennessee that are pushing for the banning haven’t even read the books. Since the illiteracy rate is about 13.2%. This figure is based on a 2025 estimate, placing Tennessee at 34th among all US states in terms of literacy.
Magic Tree House author Mary Pope Osborne, children’s poet Shel Silverstein and Calvin and Hobbes cartoonist Bill Watterson have joined Judy Blume, Sarah J. Maas, Eric Carle and Kurt Vonnegut on a mind-boggling list of hundreds of books purged from some Tennessee school libraries.
Osborne is the author of the widely acclaimed and enormously popular Magic Tree House series, which sends siblings Jack and Annie time traveling to historical settings for various adventures. A book she wrote with her sister, Natalie Pope Broyce, called Ancient Greece and the Olympics, a Magic Tree House Fact Tracker meant to be a learning companion to Magic Tree House #16: Hour of the Olympics, is among a staggering 574 books purged from Monroe County’s school libraries. The book features a nude Greek statue on the cover.
The removals are the result of a growing political movement to control information through book banning. In 2024, the state legislature amended the “Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022” to specify that any materials that “in whole or in part” contain any “nudity, or descriptions or depictions of sexual excitement, sexual conduct, excess violence, or sadomasochistic abuse” are inappropriate for all students and do not belong in a school library.
https://pen.org/magic-tree-house-author-calvin-and-hobbes-among-hundreds-of-tennessee-book-bans/
Advocate had a good article on Trans people and people of color being erased from the national caregiving plan.
https://www.advocate.com/health/trans-people-national-caregiving-erased#toggle-gdpr
There’s also this tracker of Project 2025 specifically outlining LGBTQ+ erasures. TRUMP ACCOUNTABILITY TRACKER 426 ATTACKS ON LGBTQ PEOPLE
https://glaad.org/trump-accountability-tracker/
Two months after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, a government-backed campaign has led to firings, suspensions, investigations and other action against more than 600 people. Not just teachers but across the board in all professions. Republican officials have endorsed the punishments, saying that those who glorify violence should be removed from positions of trust.
https://www.reuters.com/investigations/charlie-kirk-purge-how-600-americans-were-punished-pro-trump-crackdown-2025-11-19/
Wasn’t aware of the Ghana-Barbados Flight Reconnects Black Diaspora. Good to read about this to stay informed. Thank you. Stay safe and healthy.
You have refrained from commenting on the disrespect, harassment, and even life-threatening speech and actions that accompany stories #1, #2 and #4. Especially #4, as Charlie Kirk built his career on urging irresponsible a--holes to harass teachers, and those "called out" have been treated horribly. Thankfully, #3 is there to delight us. May more direct travel and exchange lace the equatorial and south Atlantic.
Man, I'm here for it. Here's hoping some of the new followers I appear to be in the process of acquiring, migrate over to your paid side with me.
I started a new tradition this year. Every time I place an order for books, I include a banned book to place in a free tiny library.