Nothing they love down in Texas more than a good book-banning, but the state Board of Education got carried away.
In their haste to eliminate all pinko/commie/leftist leanings from the state’s social studies curriculum, board members banned the children’s classic “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?”
Why? Because the book was written by the late Bill Martin. A different Bill Martin, a philosophy professor at DePaul University in Chicago, is the author of “Ethical Marxism: The Categorical Imperative of Liberation.”
Close enough for those yahoos in Texas.
Friends of the Bill Martin who wrote “Brown Bear” say the only political book he ever wrote was one teaching children how to say the Pledge of Allegiance.
Full story here.
- No matter how good your jury duty excuse is, you can’t top President Obama. The president received a jury duty summons at his Chicago home, but the White House told court officials he’d be busy doing the State of the Union address this week. More here.
- Registration is open now for FREE classes in beginning sign language for adults, starting late next month at the Redding Library. For more info, click here.
- The National Book Critics Circle has announced the finalists for their annual book awards, and they’re mostly books I’ve never heard of. Among the best novel contenders are a few familiar names such as Hilary Mantel, Jayne Anne Phillips and Bonnie Jo Phillips. Full list here.
- Rules for Successful Living #24: If you’re in a hurry to hurt yourself, use power tools.
A journalist since 1975, Steve Brewer is the author of 16 books, most recently the thriller “Cutthroat.” He moved to Redding from New Mexico in 2003.
