:idea: :idea:Sooo...spill...author, topic...story line?...The last book I read was Anne Rice, (Taltos, NOT recommended for any one under let's say 18!) and before that I actually sat down and read my 7th grader's book...ummm...I think it was called 'The Fire Within' by; Chris DeLacey. Actually a pretty good read!
Ummm, I think Raven was making a little joke - that was a controversial book about 250 years ago. Its alternate title is "Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure," although it's fiction and written by a man.
ahhh...great!...shows how much I actually read 250 years ago...I would actually like to say that about that time the only thing I was ALLOWED to read by MY parents was the infamous "Dead Sea Scrolls"! and interpretation was a Beeyotch!!!! (only to be followed by Beowulf!)
A friend of mine gave me a book recently, A Patriot's Handbook by Caroline Kennedy. Songs, poems, stories and speeches celebrating the land we love. It is just wonderful. It will take a while to read but I have started and would recommend it to all. Grace
Dangerboy, I find that our discussion on obscene books being banned is difficult in all circles of life. What is obscene to one certainly is not obscene to another. I say we call it a draw and try to figure it out on our own because this is probably one of the hardest topics in regards to the First and Fourteenth Amendments. I have really enjoyed our discussion. See below for links and a quick paragraph (see I do listen) on what the Justices stated regarding obscene books. Grace List of banned books in schools and other information: http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/banned-books.html Six justices of the Supreme Court agreed that Fanny Hill was not obscene and that its publication and distribution was protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments. However, their lack of agreement on why publication should be permitted left the law on obscenity unclear. Justice Brennan applied the obscenity test set in Roth v. United States (1957) requiring that abook appeal to the prurient interest, be patently offensive, and "utterly without redeeming social value," and determined that the book was not obscene. Justice Douglas concluded that the First Amendment does not make an exceptionfor obscenity. Justices Black and Stewart referred to their dissenting opinions in two companion cases, Ginzburg v. United States (1966) and Mishkin v. New York (1966), in which works were found obscene. Black said the Court had no constitutional power to censor speech. Stewart said the material in question was not obscene. Their diverse opinions on the manner reveal the difficult nature of cases involving obscenity, an issue that would receive further attention in cases in later years. http://law.jrank.org/pages/12764/Memoirs-v-Massachusetts.html Timeline of banned books: http://www.thebookstandard.com/book...article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001181785 So, it looks as though even the Supreme Court Justices find this one difficult. Grace
What banned? The book is still available to the children, just not from that particular school library.
Then it is banned from "that particular school library" is it not? I certainly think so and would bet others would too. Since I and others have strayed from this one particular book I have not read everything on what our school board has done. Are you saying that they only banned it from one school in our district and not every? I would think if the school board thinks it is unsuitable for one school it should be for all in the district, since they are breaking numerous laws even doing it in one. Grace
No, I would say "restricted" The book itself does not appear to be banned. It appears that the students are allowed to own and carry on school premesis their own personal copy of the book. (At least the article does not say they cannot) From the article, it appears the the book was removed from all school libraries in the Johnstonn Copunty district. Excuse me? What laws are they breaking? You show me that there is a law against restricting the reading material from children and I will personally hand out copies of "Playboy" to kindergartners.
Reread the Thread and hit some of the links regarding Supreme Court decisions on this very issue. Our School Board needs a new attorney!! You know Playboy should not be in a kindergartener's library so get off of that one and discuss it. If you want me to put the links together in one Post for you let me know (not being sarcastic). Grace
Grace, I think you're exactly right...more people should file for the Board of Education races and maybe issues would get discussed for a change. Many of us get so sidetrack with other offices, when generally its the BOE and the County Commissioners who have the most influence over our everyday life. Sadly, we rarely have many choices in those races.
Exactly my point. Now, please re-read you own words a couple more times. Not my words, your own. The question is whether or not the book we're discussing is appropriate for the age level. Just as Playboy is not appropriate for kindergartners, I don't think that a book which contains "sex scenes", "profanity", and "drug use" is approriate for a high schooler. Why is it that you do not have a problem restricting one book, but not another?
the fanny hill supreme court case you cite is not about schools, but rather about the whole state trying to ban it by law and make it a crime to possess it. not related to what we are talking about. call it a draw if it makes you feel better, but you have no real evidence or facts to back up your assertion that restricting books by a community in its schools based on community standards of sexual or adult content is unconstitutional. to the contrary, several of the links you have posted have clearly stated otherwise. thank you, drive through please
Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner. You are correct! Gold Star for you! It is time to stop with the semantics. Lets not sugarcoat this and say that this book is "restricted". The subject of the article is that the book has been removed aka "banned" from the school libraries. Saying it is restricted implies that some students would be able to check it out of the library while others would not. This is not the case. Nobody , including 17 and 18 year old HS seniors would be able to check this book out of the school library because it will not be there. It has not been "restricted".... it has been removed from the libraries, thus banned. HUGE DIFFERENCE.
KDsGrandma wrote , Fess up grandma, you enjoyed reading that book, now didn't you?? :lol::lol: I wonder if that book is in the school library?
i agree. banned from county school libraries, which is perfectly legal according to all the supreme court case links in this thread
I'm not arguing about whether or not it is illegal or not. I do take issue with people claiming that this book has not been banned....only restricted. Simply put....that is 100% untrue. It has not been restricted. It has been banned. I'll leave the leagal arguements to the other folks who are more interested in that aspect.
To infinity...and beyond! I can see you saying that about grades K-8, but High School Students too? Seems a bit too conservative to me. I think most HS students are mature enough to handle the subject matter. There will always be those who aren’t (I can even think of some adults who aren’t mature enough) but still the race to the bottom to cater to the “lowest common denominator” is not the way to go in my opinion. I’m not here to change you mind. I’m sure you are quite dug in to your belief system. I will agree to disagree with you on this one. I’m out of this thread. 38+ pages and we have gone in circles since page one. Get involved, vote, and don’t let people spin the truth! Vigilance! Happy Holidays!
i agree. sadly, some people never understand what you're talking about no matter how many times and how many different ways to try to make it clear to them. they either can't, or won't