Gov. Lee says untruths are being spread about relief efforts; Johnson City Press, October 3, 2024

 Robert Hook, Johnson City Press; Gov. Lee says untruths are being spread about relief efforts

"Gov. Bill Lee said Thursday he is “inspired” by the work of volunteers and first responders in addressing flood relief needs in East Tennessee and “disheartened” to hear misinformation is being spread about that relief getting to flood victims.

He was referring to reports being posted on social media and elsewhere falsely claiming that food, water and other supplies for flood victims are being intercepted or diverted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and related agencies.

“It’s sad that would happen ... that people would push out that misinformation when aid is so badly needed,” Lee told Six Rivers Media by phone while touring recovery efforts in Greene and Cocke counties. “It’s ridiculous and disheartening. We don’t need this kind of distraction now.”"

Why the nonprofit behind Little Libraries is tackling banned books, including in Nashville; The Tennessean, September 25, 2024

Angele Latham, The Tennessean ; Why the nonprofit behind Little Libraries is tackling banned books, including in Nashville

"The national network of Little Free Libraries — tiny cupboards perched outside homes holding free books — is partnering with Banned Books Week, PEN America and the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom to raise awareness of literary access for all with an interactive map displaying all little libraries across the country, overlaid with the number of book ban attempts made in each state.

Although the libraries may be small in size, they are not small in number. The network, which began in 2009, now boasts over 70,000 stations around the world, with 1,369 in Tennessee alone.

Little Free Libraries Executive Director Greig Meitzer said the web of libraries — and the access they provide — perfectly represents the ideals and goals behind Banned Books Week.

“Book access is kind of a core aspect of our mission,” he said. “Getting more books to more people, and especially a broad range in diversity of books, gives people increased opportunities to find themselves in a book, to read and get excited.”"

These two states are responsible for most of the nation’s school book bans; The 19th, September 24, 2024

Nadra Nittle, The 19th; These two states are responsible for most of the nation’s school book bans

"More than a dozen new state and local policies contributed to the escalation of book bans over the past year. They include Iowa’s SF 496,which took effect last year and has been interpreted to mean that books with sexual or gender themes should be barred. According to PEN America, the law prompted thousands of book bans during the 2023-’24 school year, compared with just 14 bans in the state during the previous school year. 

Florida’s HB 1069, which also took effect last year, mandates that books challenged for “sexual conduct” must be removed as they undergo review. PEN America said the statutory process the law created for book banning and “the state guidance building on it” has led to a spike in statewide book bans. In Florida and Iowa combined, roughly 8,000 book bans were recorded. 

In Wisconsin, the Elkhorn Area School District banned more than 300 books for months on end, PEN America found. The books were removed after a single parent challenged them, but after the district reviewed the titles, they were eventually returned to the shelves, albeit with restrictions such as parental permission to check out certain titles. The organization expects newly enacted laws such as Utah’s HB 29, South Carolina’s Regulation 43-170 and Tennessee’s HB 843 to cause more book bans this school year. 

The Utah law requires all schools in the state to ban a book once three school districts have found it objectionable. South Carolina’s regulation bans books with sexual subject matter and gives the state Board of Education the ability to censor works statewide. The Tennessee law requires schools to remove books with gratuitous violence or sexual content...

Censorship is an issue that has drawn attention from the 2024 presidential candidates. Former President Donald Trump’s campaign platform accusesPresident Joe Biden’s administration of “using the public school system to push their perverse sexual, racial and political material on our youth.” In July, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, criticized book bans while speaking to the American Federation of Teachers union in Texas.  

“While you teach students about our nation’s past, these extremists attack the freedom to learn and acknowledge our nation’s true and full history,” she said. “We want to ban assault weapons, and they want to ban books. Can you imagine?”

An attack of the vapours: Tennessee bill endorses chemtrails conspiracy theory; The Guardian, March 31, 2024

 Adam Gabbatt, The Guardian; An attack of the vapours: Tennessee bill endorses chemtrails conspiracy theory

"Proponents of the debunked chemtrails idea believe that the cloudy white lines created by airplane emissions are chemicals being released into the atmosphere. The idea is that the government, or shadowy private organizations, are pumping out toxic chemicals, with the aim being anything from modifying the weather to controlling a population’s minds.

This is not happening, scientists say.

“There’s no such thing as chemtrails,” said Alan Robock, a climate science professor at Rutgers university...

Numerous debunkings of the chemtrails concept have not succeeded in quieting those fearful of airplane condensation trails. A YouGov/Statista survey conducted in 2019 found that 8% of Americans “strongly believe” that “the government is using chemicals to control the population (chemtrails)”. (A further 11% said they “somewhat believe” in the theory.)...

Karen Douglas, a professor of social psychology at the University of Kent, said people are drawn to various conspiracy theories because “a simple explanation is often not very attractive”.

“People assume that there must somehow be a bigger explanation, or more going on than people know about. The simple explanations often seem too mundane and not satisfying enough,” Douglas said."

Tennessee becomes the first state to protect musicians and other artists against AI; NPR, March 22, 2024

 Rebecca Rosman, NPR; Tennessee becomes the first state to protect musicians and other artists against AI

"Tennessee made history on Thursday, becoming the first U.S. state to sign off on legislation to protect musicians from unauthorized artificial intelligence impersonation.

"Tennessee (sic) is the music capital of the world, & we're leading the nation with historic protections for TN artists & songwriters against emerging AI technology," Gov. Bill Lee announced on social media.

The Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act, or ELVIS Act, is an updated version of the state's old right of publicity law. While the old law protected an artist's name, photograph or likeness, the new legislation includes AI-specific protections."

Book Battle in Tennessee; American Libraries, May 11, 2022

Lindsey Kimery , American Libraries; Book Battle in Tennessee

Librarians fight back against state’s “obscenity” bill

"So how would HB 1944/SB 1944 work? First, it would create a process for a parent or guardian to submit to a district’s superintendent a concern about a book they deem “obscene.” Upon receipt of the complaint, a district must remove the book from all library shelves for no less than 30 days. The school board then reviews the book, applying the Miller test, the primary legal test for determining whether expression constitutes obscenity. They examine if the work:

(a) would be found by the average person applying contemporary community standards to appeal predominantly to the prurient, shameful, or morbid interests of minors

(b) whether the work displays sexual conduct is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable for minors

(c) taken as whole lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors

If the book is deemed obscene or harmful to minors, it must be permanently removed. A librarian who disregards the directive can be charged with a misdemeanor and subject to a $50,000 fine. A subsequent offense is a Class E felony, which could mean prison time of one to six years in Tennessee, in addition to a fine of up to $3,000...

We can’t help but see school libraries and school librarians as collateral damage in the wake of midterm elections and extremism against public education. Being a school librarian is an honorable profession, but some have attempted to align it with criminality. We know we are trained professionals, and we work tirelessly to tailor our collections to our students’ needs and the needs of our school communities."

Art Spiegelman's Maus Banned by Tennessee School Board; CBR, January 26, 2022

NOAH DOMINGUEZ, CBR; Art Spiegelman's Maus Banned by Tennessee School Board

"The McMinn County School board in Tennessee has voted to ban cartoonist Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus from its curriculum.

Originally serialized in Raw from 1980 to 1991, Spiegelman's Maus depicts the cartoonist -- who was born in 1948, shortly after the end of World War II -- interviewing his father, a Polish Jew, about his experiences as a Holocaust survivor. The acclaimed postmodernist graphic novel famously depicts Jews as mice and Germans as cats.

According to The Tennessee Holler, the McMinn County School board voted 10-0 to ban Maus from all of its schools, citing the book's inclusion of words like "God damn" and "naked pictures" of women. Apparently, the school board discussed the possibility of simply redacting words and images it found inappropriate, though ultimately opted to ban the book outright. When reached for comment by The Tennessee Holler, the board claimed that the book being about the Holocaust had nothing to do with why it was banned."