Austin School Stands Up For Intellectual Freedom

“Books and ideas are the most effective weapons
against intolerance and ignorance.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson
Donor Pledge Returned to Sender
How much is intellectual freedom worth? For one Texas school, it's priceless


When St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Austin, Tex., was faced with an ultimatum—pull Annie Proulx's short story "Brokeback Mountain" from its reading list or lose a $3-million donation to its building fund—school officials chose to give up the money. That decision is reverberating far beyond Austin. Writers from around the country have been so inspired by the school's actions that they've formed a group of young adult authors called AS IF! (Authors Supporting Intellectual Freedom).

Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, said schools are often challenged on controversial books, but that the St. Andrew's situation may be unique. "Too often the first instinct is to avoid controversy by withdrawing the title," he said. "The idea that this school rejected a demand to pull a book and was willing to lose money over it is truly astonishing and very gratifying. I don't know of another case where money has been at issue like this."
Should Bush Be Impeached?

MSNBC asks the question that's been on my mind for a long time now. When a friend sent me this link a few hours ago, 71,000 people had responded, and 85% said, "Yes."

The number of respondents is now more than 130,000 and still, 85% think Bush should be impeached.



We've been saying for awhile now that George W Bush is the worst president in US history. With the recent news that Bush used Congressional authorization of force after 9/11 as a justification for spying on US citizens, it would seem that the tide is finally turning against this crooked and corrupt President.

Thank God for the (Christian Conservative) Republicans!

Part 11 in a Series

You may recall that Walter Jones was the congressman who had the "House cafeterias replace French fries on the menu with 'freedom fries.' He banished French toast, too. 'A lot of us are very disappointed in the French attitude,' Jones said then."
'It is just amazing to me how we as a Congress were told we had to remove this man (Saddam Hussein), but the reason we were given was not accurate.'

'I went to a Marine’s funeral that left a wife and three children, twins he never saw,' Jones said, his voice cracking as his eyes began to water. 'And I’ll tell you—I apologize, Mr. Chairman, but I am just incensed at this statement.' He continued, 'When you make a decision as a member of Congress and you know that decision is going to lead to the death of American boys and girls, some of us take that pretty seriously, and it’s very heavy on our hearts.'
Back in May we wrote about Jones' change of heart regarding Bush's immoral war in Iraq. For the rest of the story, read "The Three Conversions of Walter B. Jones" in Mother Jones.