October 5-11 is Banned Books Week. I have to go so I am going to do a horrible thing and just regurgitate stuff from AI.
Please try not to use AI. Its algorithms were made by stealing works from other people, mainly people who are writers who worked by the blood, sweat, brow, and tears to create a work you could enjoy.
You don’t write because it’s easy, you write because it wakes you up at night with ideas, it gives explosions in your head while you’re doing something so pedantic as riding an elevator, you do it because it’s in your blood and nothing can ever take it away from you.
Now, on to AI, and thank you to whomever gave up this information unknowingly and unwillingly.
“Books banned in schools often include classic and contemporary titles addressing topics like racism, LGBTQ+ issues, or violence. Frequently challenged and banned books include The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, notes the American Library Association. Other popular titles that have faced bans are Harry Potter, To Kill a Mockingbird, and 1984.” -AI
“Mein Kampf is not banned in the U.S. at the federal level, but some private entities like Amazon have banned its sale and some public institutions like the U.S. Naval Academy have banned it from their libraries, while others like Texas prisons allow it. The book’s controversial nature means it has been removed from some platforms and institutions, but it remains a legal and available title for sale and possession in the United States.” -AI
HAS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EVER BANNED BOOK?
“Department of Defense (DoD) schools: In recent years, the DoD has banned numerous books from its schools, citing concerns about “woke” ideology and promoting what it considers socially sensitive topics.” [No, it’s not the federal government who usually bans books, but it is elected officials because of parental concerns.] “Book bans in schools are primarily initiated by state or local officials, advocacy groups, and school boards, often in response to parental or community pressure and the passage of new legislation.” -AI
HAS TRUMP EVER BANNED ANY BOOKS?
“On military bases across the globe, books are disappearing from shelves. Posters of historical figures, like Frida Kahlo, are being removed from walls. Black History Month celebrations are being cancelled.
“This rampant censorship is the result of the Department of Defense’s new policies banning books, classroom discussions, events, and extracurriculars that relate to race and gender in military-run schools on bases around the world. …
“The U.S. Department of Defense runs public schools on military bases around the world for children of active-duty servicemembers and civilian military personnel. The agency that runs these schools is called the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), and it operates just like any other public school district — except that it is run by the federal government and therefore is under the direct control of the secretary of defense and the commander in chief.” [emphasis added]
I wrote a blog about Banned Books Week, you can read it here:
I have a t-shirt I am wearing this week that says: Tell me a time in history when it was the good guys banning books?
If you want to get really nitpicky about 47, technically every time he breaks the Constitution (which happens to be a lot) he is putting a gag over the words of the highest legal document in the land.
There is something we should all keep in mind that is so very important, and a very good note to end on…
The First Amendment provides several rights protections: to express ideas through speech and the press, to assemble or gather with a group to protest or for other reasons, and to ask the government to fix problems. It also protects the right to religious beliefs and practices. It prevents the government from creating or favoring a religion.
Coffee & Writing 
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