Ronald Reagan narrated a short film in 1945 about the Tuskegee Airmen; Task & Purpose, February 20, 2025

 MATT WHITE, Task & Purpose; Ronald Reagan narrated a short film in 1945 about the Tuskegee Airmen

"An Army film produced in 1945 on the Tuskegee airmen begins with footage of a fighter taxiing behind a narrator’s familiar voice.

“It’s morning,” says the unmistakable voice of then-Army captain Ronald Reagan, who always enjoyed his ‘morning’ metaphors. On screen, fighters take to the air. “Twenty miles from the enemy,” Reagan says.

The 10-minute Army-produced film is a kind of first draft of history on the Tuskegee Airmen, the famed World War II flyers who were in the news last month when the Air Force removed — and then partially replaced — videos on the unit from its boot camp. But the National Archives video on those airmen is worth watching, both for what it says and for what it doesn’t say. Along with some vintage footage of training, the film is narrated by future-President Ronald Reagan, back when he was an Army officer making films for what was then the War Department...

Perhaps Reagan’s most notable passage comes toward the end, when he firmly divides the world into two sides — the Axis powers versus the American way — and puts the segregation and racism behind the Tuskegee project squarely into the Axis’ camp. 

“Here’s the answer to Hitler and Hirohito,” Reagan says. “Here’s the answer to the propaganda of the Japs and Nazis. Here’s the answer: Wings for this man.” 

It’s almost as if the future President wanted to say that diversity is a strength."

No Questions Asked: Public libraries build no-return collections for addiction and mental health support; American Libraries, January 2, 2025

Aviva Bechky, American Libraries; No Questions Asked: Public libraries build no-return collections for addiction and mental health support

[Kip Currier: Kudos to the service-forward information professionals and public library systems that envisioned and brought to life these collections of barrier-free materials.]

[Excerpt]

"These patrons are participants in Read to Recovery, an SFPL program that has been providing free addiction recovery materials since spring 2023. The initiative is a way to quietly get thousands of books into the hands of people who need them, ensuring that barriers such as a lack of a library card or hold times don’t get in the way.

San Francisco isn’t the only city with a program like this. Other public libraries across the US are designating shelves with titles that address mental illness, addiction recovery, and other stigmatized topics—materials they intend to give away or don’t expect to see returned.

Brianne Anderson, youth services manager at Ames (Iowa) Public Library (APL), says she views these programs as an extension of libraries’ fundamental mission: making information accessible.

“Nobody has to ask questions, you don’t have to identify yourself in any way, and you can still get the information that you need,” Anderson says. “That’s how you build a welcome space.”

Stocking the shelves

At SFPL, staff members are trained to use Narcan to reverse opioid overdoses. But Horstin says, with the city in the throes of an addiction crisis, this isn’t enough.

“We can’t just administer Narcan and not do anything else,” [Doreen] Horstin [manager of San Francisco Public Library’s (SFPL) Park branch] says. “We’re all about books. That’s what we do. It’s still the number one service that we offer.”...

Anderson, Horstin, and Pickett agree that getting started doesn’t have to be complicated: Libraries can start a program just by adding more workbooks or setting aside a shelf. All say they hope other libraries follow their lead.

“It’s about helping people get the information they want,” Pickett says. “But it’s also about letting people know this is what we’re here for.”"

Google Calendar removes Black History Month, Pride and other cultural events; The Guardian, February 11, 2025

 Marina Dunbar, The Guardian; Google Calendar removes Black History Month, Pride and other cultural events

"Google’s online and mobile calendars are no longer including references to Black History Month, Women’s History Month and LGBTQ+ holidays, among other events.

The world’s biggest search engine previously marked the beginning of Black History Month in February and Pride Month in June, but the events do not appear for 2025.

The removal of the holidays was first reported by the Verge last week."

WATCH: This ‘Friendship Bench’ is pulling on the healing power of grandmothers; PBS News, September 16, 2024

PBS News; WATCH: This ‘Friendship Bench’ is pulling on the healing power of grandmothers

"Zimbabwe, like most countries, is grappling with a severe shortage of mental health care providers–one psychiatrist for every 1.5 million people– and a surplus of grandmothers seeking purpose in their lives. 

Dixon Chibanda brought the two together by founding “The Friendship Bench,” an organization that recruits and trains older women in cognitive behavioral therapy and then connects them with clients dealing with “kufungisisa,” or depression. In this episode, Dixon describes the things he’s learned while witnessing the healing power of grandmothers–and of sharing stories."

Publishers, a library and others sue over Idaho’s law restricting youth access to ‘harmful’ books; AP, February 5, 2025

 REBECCA BOONE, AP; Publishers, a library and others sue over Idaho’s law restricting youth access to ‘harmful’ books

"Idaho’s law took effect last year, requiring schools and public libraries to move material deemed “harmful to minors” to an adults-only section or face lawsuits. If a community member complains that a book is harmful to minors, the library has 60 days to address it or children or their parents can sue for $250 in damages. The law relies on Idaho’s legal definition of obscene materials, which includes “any act of homosexuality.”

At the time, the Idaho Library Association warned that the law was vague and subjective, and said it would likely lead to significantly limited access to information for the public.

In fact, that’s exactly what happened, according to the lawsuit. The Donnelly Public Library operates the only after-school program in Donnelly, a town of about 250 residents, but it had to bar minors from entering unless a parent or guardian first completed a waiver. 

That’s because the library operates out of a small log cabin and a handful of teepees, and there is not enough room to create an adults-only section for some books like “The Handmaid’s Tale,” according to the lawsuit."

Have You Seen Changes to Federal Buildings? Send Us Photos.; The New York Times, February 5, 2025

 Claire Cain Miller and Margot Sanger-Katz, The New York Times; Have You Seen Changes to Federal Buildings? Send Us Photos.

"We’re looking to document changes in the physical appearances of federal buildings during the transition to the Trump administration.

If you work in a federal building and have seen differences in your physical environment — new wall décor, artwork coming down or being put up, photos covered up or anything else — we’d like to see photographs of the new space. If you have photos of how it looked before, you are also encouraged to enclose those.

The form below will allow you to submit photos of federal buildings and provide information about where and when the photos were taken. You can also reach us securely at nytimes.com/tips.

We may publish any photograph you share in The New York Times. We will never publish your name without permission, but it would help to provide at least one method of contacting you in case we need to reach out about your submission."

Trump DEI crackdown targets books in Pentagon schools; The Washington Post, February 7, 2025

Dan Lamothe , The Washington Post; Trump DEI crackdown targets books in Pentagon schools

"The Defense Department has begun restricting access to books and learning materials covering subjects from immigration to psychology in its school system serving U.S. military families, citing the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, according to defense officials familiar with the effort and a memo obtained by The Washington Post.

The effort affects curriculums for elementary school ages and up, and follows similar efforts at the U.S. military’s elite academies for prospective military officers. The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) serves about 67,000 students spread across about 160 schools at military installations around the globe.

A list distributed with the memo details specific chapters from books, or entire books, that have been immediately removed, with their return uncertain while pending a compliance review...

A DoDEA spokesman, Will Griffin, said in a statement that the restrictions have been put in place as the agency examines which “instructional resources” are in compliance with two executive orders from President Donald Trump restricting discussion of transgender people and targeting what the administration calls the “radical indoctrination” of children by schools teaching DEI...

“One asked a school official why they removed photos on the walls of Susan B. Anthony and Dr. [Martin Luther] King [Jr.] but not Leonardo DaVinci and was told: ‘He was a real historical figure,’” Raskin’s post on X said."

Franciscan expert on artificial intelligence addresses its ethical challenges; Catholic News Agency, January 17, 2025

Nicolás de Cárdenas, Catholic News Agency; Franciscan expert on artificial intelligence addresses its ethical challenges

"Franciscan friar Paolo Benanti, an expert in artificial intelligence (AI), warned of its ethical risks during a colloquium organized by the Paul VI Foundation in Madrid, pointing out that “the people who control this type of technology control reality.”

The Italian priest, president of the Italian government’s Commission for Artificial Intelligence, emphasized that “the reality we are facing is different from that of 10 or 15 years ago and it’s a reality defined by software.”

“This starting point has an impact on the way in which we exercise the three classic rights connected with the ownership of a thing: use, abuse, and usufruct,” he explained. (The Cambridge Dictionary defines usufruct as “the legal right to use someone else’s property temporarily and to keep any profit made from it.”)...

Regarding the future, Benanti predicted artificial intelligence will have a major impact on access to information, medicine, and the labor market. Regarding the latter, he noted: “If we do not regulate the impact that artificial intelligence can have on the labor market, we could destroy society as we now know it.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA."

Prison Library Support Network Volunteers Meet Incarcerated Information Needs with Grassroots Reference by Mail Service; Library Journal, January 30, 2025

Claire Kelley, Library Journal; Prison Library Support Network Volunteers Meet Incarcerated Information Needs with Grassroots Reference by Mail Service

"People who are incarcerated can’t check social media, read any book they want, look up the latest basketball game score, surf the web to look for new shoes, or use online search engines to research a legal question. Traditional library reference services assume patrons have basic freedoms—the ability to check out books or to access the internet. This isn’t the case for prison reference, where answering even simple questions can become surprisingly complex, especially when responses must also meet prison surveillance requirements for length and content.

Willie Kearse has seen how even these constrained reference services for prison inmates are in high demand. Formerly incarcerated for 24 years over a wrongful conviction, Kearse is now the Community Engagement Specialist for Parole Prep, an organization that advocates for the release of people serving life sentences in New York State. "Libraries inside are often limited by strict rules, censorship, and resources going missing,” he said. “If you put in a book request, it’s not even there. You have to go to an outside organization, like [the Prison Library Support Network] PLSN, to get help.”

Established in 2015, PLSN works to meet the information needs of people who are incarcerated through a nationwide letter-writing project. Since the reference by mail program started in 2021, the New York City–based collective of librarians, graduate students, and activists has responded to nearly all of the 3,000 queries it has received from people in prisons across the United States, with the majority of letters coming from Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, and Florida."

CDC site scrubs HIV content following Trump DEI policies; NBC News, January 31, 2025

Berkeley Lovelace Jr. and Benjamin Ryan, NBC News; CDC site scrubs HIV content following Trump DEI policies

[Kip Currier: The late Toni Morrison, 1993 Nobel Prize Winner for Literature, observed that "Access to knowledge is the superb, the supreme act of truly great civilizations.” Fittingly, that inspirational declaration greets visitors at an entrance to New York Public Library, one of the world's greatest repositories of knowledge.

As the Trump administration, in just its first weeks, continues to "disappear" information and impede access to knowledge, as illustrated by this NBC News article, the role of libraries, archives, and museums in preserving information and providing access to knowledge and the full range of human experience has never been greater in the nearly 250 year history of the U.S.

It is incumbent upon those who work in and on behalf of libraries, archives, and museums to prepare themselves for the concerted governmental and oligarchic efforts and pressure that will likely soon manifest against them, as they strive to safeguard the nation's memory, historical record, and collections from censorship, removal, and destruction.]

[Excerpt]

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday is scrubbing a swath of HIV-related content from the agency’s website as a part of President Donald Trump’s broader effort to wipe out diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the federal government.

The CDC’s main HIV page was down temporarily but has been restored. The CDC began removing all content related to gender identity on Friday, according to one government staffer. HIV-related pages were apparently caught up in that action.

CDC employees were told in a Jan 29. email from Charles Ezell, the acting director of the U.S. office of personnel management, titled “Defending Women,” that they’re not to make references or promote “gender ideology” — a term often used by conservative groups to describe what they consider “woke” views on sex and gender — and that they are to recognize only two sexes, male and female, according to a memo obtained by NBC News.

Employees initially struggled with how to implement the new policy, with a deadline of Friday afternoon, the staffer said. Ultimately, agency staffers began pulling down numerous HIV-related webpages — regardless of whether it included gender — rushing to meet the deadline. It was unclear when the pages might be restored.

“The process is underway,” said the government agency staffer, who requested anonymity for fear of repercussions. “There’s just so much gender content in HIV that we have to take everything down in order to meet the deadline.”

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Communications representatives within the CDC’s HIV and STD prevention departments did not return requests for comment; last week, the Trump administration ordered all employees of HHS, which includes the CDC, to stop communicating with external parties. 

Trump’s sweeping executive order to wipe out DEI programs across the federal government threatens to upend the CDC’s efforts to combat HIV among Black, Latino and transgender people — groups disproportionately affected by the virus — according to public health experts."

THE 100 BEST PROTEST SONGS OF ALL TIME; Rolling Stone, January 27, 2025

Rolling Stone; THE 100 BEST PROTEST SONGS OF ALL TIME

"When Chuck D of Public Enemy famously called hip-hop “the Black CNN,” he was touching on a universal truth that goes beyond genre: Music and protest have always been inextricably linked. For some marginalized groups, the simple act of creating music at all can be a form of speaking out against an unjust world. Our list of the 100 Best Protest Songs spans nearly a century and includes everything from pre-World War II jazz and Sixties folk to Eighties house music, 2000s R&B, and 2020s Cuban hip-hop. 

Some of these songs decry oppression and demand justice, others are prayers for positive change; some grab you by the shoulders and shout in your face, others are personal, private attempts to subtly embody the contradictory nature of political struggle and change from the inside. Many of our selections are specific products of leftist political traditions (like Pete Seeger’s version of “We Shall Overcome”), but just as many are hits that slipped urgent messages into the pop marketplace (like Nena’s anti-nuclear war New Wave bop “99 Luftballons”)."

‘The Librarians’ EP Sarah Jessica Parker On The Spread Of Book Banning: “It’s A Fear Of Children Having Information” – Sundance Studio; Deadline, January 25, 2025

Matthew Carey, Deadline ; ‘The Librarians’ EP Sarah Jessica Parker On The Spread Of Book Banning: “It’s A Fear Of Children Having Information” – Sundance Studio

"TITLE: The Librarians

Section: Premieres

Director: Kim A. Snyder

Logline: As an unprecedented wave of book banning is sparked in Texas, Florida, and beyond, librarians who find themselves under siege join forces as unlikely defenders in the fight for intellectual freedom on the front lines of democracy. Kim A. Snyder (Us Kids, 2020 Sundance Film Festival) takes us to an unexpected front line where librarians emerge as first responders in the fight for democracy and free access to information."

Air Force reinstates course with Tuskegee Airmen video after outcry; Air Force Times, January 27, 2025

Stephen Losey , Air Force Times; Air Force reinstates course with Tuskegee Airmen video after outcry

"The Air Force is reinstating a basic training class Monday that was suspended last week for revisions, with its materials on World War II-era Black and female pilotsintact but diversity, equity and inclusion components removed.

The Air Force originally halted its basic military training course on “airmindedness” on Jan. 23, days after President Donald Trump issued a sweeping order barring DEI programs from the federal government and military. That class included videos on the Tuskegee Airmen and Women’s Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, who were the first Black and female pilots, respectively, to fly for the military.

An internal message leaked online Friday indicated videos on the Tuskegee Airmen and WASPs were pulled immediately from the class to comply with Trump’s DEI orders. The Air Force clarified Saturday that the videos themselves were not targeted for removal, but that BMT classes including diversity-related materials were temporarily suspended for review.

A revised class on “airmindedness” is going into place Monday, Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson, head of Air Education and Training Command, said in a Sunday statement. That class will include material on the Tuskegee and WASP pilots.

“No curriculum or content highlighting the honor and valor of the Tuskegee Airmen or Women Airforce Service Pilots has been removed from basic military training,” Robinson said. “The block in which these lessons were taught included DEI material which was directed to be removed. We believe this adjustment to curriculum to be fully aligned with the direction given in the DEI executive order.”"

US Air Force resumes teaching videos on first Black and female pilots after DEI review; Reuters via The Guardian, January 27, 2025

Reuters via The Guardian; US Air Force resumes teaching videos on first Black and female pilots after DEI review

[Kip Currier: This is a positive development to see that the U.S. Air Force has reinstated the use of videos about the Tuskegee Airmen and Women Air Force Service Pilots (or WASPs) in its training courses at its San Antonio-Lackland base in Texas. Providing access to information and the historical record is a basic building block of informed citizenries and free and democratic societies.]

[Excerpt]

"The US air force on Sunday said it would resume instruction of trainees using a video about the first Black airmen in the nation’s military, known as the Tuskegee Airmen, which has passed review to ensure compliance with the ban on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that Donald Trump imposed early in his second presidency.

Trump, who retook office on 20 January, has prohibited DEI throughout the US government and military. Pete Hegseth, the new defense secretary, who was sworn in on Friday, has made eliminating DEI from the military a top priority.

Reuters reported on Saturday that the video about the Tuskegee Airmen as well as another about civilian female pilots trained by the US military during the second world war, known as Women Air Force Service Pilots (or WASPs), were not being taught in basic training at the San Antonio-Lackland base in Texas pending a review.

The move was first reported by the San Antonio Express-News.

The Air Force on Sunday said both videos will be taught."

Trump’s anti-DEI order yanks air force videos of Tuskegee Airmen and female pilots; Reuters via The Guardian, January 25, 2025

Reuters via The Guardian ; Trump’s anti-DEI order yanks air force videos of Tuskegee Airmen and female pilots

[Kip Currier: As the proud son of a U.S. Air Force veteran captain, I respectfully call on the U.S. Air Force to again make available to its instructors and students these important parts of its history, as a force for making our country and the world safer and more representative of the promise of America.]

[Excerpt]

"Donald Trump’s order halting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives has led the US air force to suspend course instruction on a documentary about the first Black airmen in the US military, known as the Tuskegee Airmen, a US official said on Saturday.

The famed Black aviators included 450 pilots who fought overseas in segregated units during the second world war. Their success in combat helped pave the way for Harry Truman’s decision to desegregate the armed forces in 1948.

Another video about civilian female pilots trained by the US military during the second world war, known as Women Airforce Service Pilots, or Wasps, was also pulled, the official said.

The air force did not directly comment on the decision, which was confirmed by an official who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity."

Apple sidelines AI news summaries due to errors; Japan Today, January 17, 2025

Japan Today; Apple sidelines AI news summaries due to errors

"Apple pushed out a software update on Thursday which disabled news headlines and summaries generated using artificial intelligence that were lambasted for getting facts wrong.

The move by the tech titan comes as it enhances its latest lineup of devices with "Apple Intelligence" in a market keen for assurance that the iPhone maker is a contender in the AI race.

Apple's decision to temporarily disable the recently launched AI feature comes after the BBC and other news organizations complained that users were getting mistake-riddled or outright wrong headlines or news summary alerts."

The Washington Post’s New Mission: Reach ‘All of America’; The New York Times, January 16, 2025

Benjamin Mullin, The New York Times ; The Washington Post’s New Mission: Reach ‘All of America’

[Kip Currier: “Two things only the people anxiously desire — bread and circuses.” 

-- Juvenal, Roman satirical poet (c. 100 AD).

To think that The Washington Post was the newspaper whose investigative reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein exposed the 1970's Watergate break-in and cover-up, resulting in the eventual resignation of Pres. Richard Nixon on August 8, 1974...

And to now see its stature intentionally diminished and its mission incrementally debased, week by week, at the hands of billionaire Jeff Bezos and hand-picked former newspaper administrators who worked for billionaire Rupert Murdoch-owned U.K. newspapers.]

[Excerpt]

"After Donald J. Trump entered the White House in 2017, The Washington Post adopted a slogan that underscored the newspaper’s traditional role as a government watchdog: “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”

This week, as Mr. Trump prepares to re-enter the White House, the newspaper debuted a mission statement that evokes a more expansive view of The Post’s journalism, without death or darkness: “Riveting Storytelling for All of America.”...

The slide deck that Ms. Watford presented describes artificial intelligence as a key enabler of The Post’s success, the people said. It describes The Post as “an A.I.-fueled platform for news” that delivers “vital news, ideas and insights for all Americans where, how and when they want it.” It also lays out three pillars of The Post’s overall plan: “great journalism,” “happy customers” and “make money.” The Post lost roughly $77 million in 2023.

But many aspects of The Post’s new mission have nothing to do with emerging technology. The slide deck includes a list of seven principles first articulated by Eugene Meyer, an influential Post owner, in 1935. Among them: “the newspaper shall tell all the truth” and “the newspaper’s duty is to its readers and to the public at large, and not to the private interests of its owners.”"

Why I'm quitting the Washington Post; Open Windows, January 3, 2025

ANN TELNAES, Open Windows; Why I'm quitting the Washington Post

"I’ve worked for the Washington Post since 2008 as an editorial cartoonist. I have had editorial feedback and productive conversations—and some differences—about cartoons I have submitted for publication, but in all that time I’ve never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at. Until now.

The cartoon that was killed criticizes the billionaire tech and media chief executives who have been doing their best to curry favor with incoming President-elect Trump. There have been multiple articles recently about these men with lucrative government contracts and an interest in eliminating regulations making their way to Mar-a-lago. The group in the cartoon included Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook & Meta founder and CEO, Sam Altman/AI CEO, Patrick Soon-Shiong/LA Times publisher, the Walt Disney Company/ABC News, and Jeff Bezos/Washington Post owner. 

While it isn’t uncommon for editorial page editors to object to visual metaphors within a cartoon if it strikes that editor as unclear or isn’t correctly conveying the message intended by the cartoonist, such editorial criticism was not the case regarding this cartoon. To be clear, there have been instances where sketches have been rejected or revisions requested, but never because of the point of view inherent in the cartoon’s commentary. That’s a game changer…and dangerous for a free press...

Over the years I have watched my overseas colleagues risk their livelihoods and sometimes even their lives to expose injustices and hold their countries’ leaders accountable. As a member of the Advisory board for the Geneva based Freedom Cartoonists Foundation and a former board member of Cartoonists Rights, I believe that editorial cartoonists are vital for civic debate and have an essential role in journalism. 

There will be people who say, “Hey, you work for a company and that company has the right to expect employees to adhere to what’s good for the company”. That’s true except we’re talking about news organizations that have public obligations and who are obliged to nurture a free press in a democracy. Owners of such press organizations are responsible for safeguarding that free press— and trying to get in the good graces of an autocrat-in-waiting will only result in undermining that free press.

As an editorial cartoonist, my job is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable. For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that critical job. So I have decided to leave the Post. I doubt my decision will cause much of a stir and that it will be dismissed because I’m just a cartoonist. But I will not stop holding truth to power through my cartooning, because as they say, “Democracy dies in darkness”.

Thank you for reading this."

A Pulitzer winner quits 'Washington Post' after a cartoon on Bezos is killed; NPR, January 4, 2025

David Folkenflik, NPR; A Pulitzer winner quits 'Washington Post' after a cartoon on Bezos is killed

[Kip Currier: Every day, U.S. oligarchs like Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos and Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong feel more emboldened to cravenly censor criticism of themselves and impede freedom of expression and access to information.

Thank you, Ann Telnaes, for speaking truth to power with your satirical artistry and standing up for the importance of free and independent presses with your principled resignation decision. As the Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist underscored in explaining her resignation, "Democracy can't function without a free press".

The evidence is now even more clear than one year or a decade ago: Consolidation of ownership of print journalism and broadcast media by a few billionaires and corporate conglomerates chills the ability to dissent and provide access to diverse perspectives.

The diagnosis and ramifications are also clear: Having a handful of oligarchs control America's newspapers is antithetical to well-informed citizenries and healthy democracies. (See here for a prescient 2017 article by veteran journalist and free speech/free press advocate Bill Moyers.)

Potential remedies? It's absolutely imperative that free speech-supporting Americans develop and nurture alternative ways to promote access to information and freedom of expression, as is increasingly being done on Substack accounts (see examples here, and here, and here) and via podcasts.

In the longer term, collaborative trusts (see here, for example) that can purchase newspapers and share ownership among more than one individual offer some potential ways to challenge oligarch newspaper monopolies.]

[Excerpt]

"A Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist for the Washington Post has resigned after its editorial page editor rejected a cartoon she created to mock media and tech titans abasing themselves before President-elect Donald Trump.

Among the corporate chiefs depicted by Ann Telnaes was Amazon founder and Post owner Jeff Bezos. The episode follows Bezos' decision in October to block publication of a planned endorsement of Vice President Harris over Trump in the waning days of last year's presidential elections.

The inspiration for Telnaes' latest proposed cartoon was the trek by top tech chief executives including Bezos to Trump's Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, as well as the seven-figure contributions several promised to make toward his inauguration. She submitted a sketch before Christmas. It was never published."

Texas book ban law causes a school district to remove Bible from libraries; The Guardian, December 30, 2024

Emily Swanson , The Guardian; Texas book ban law causes a school district to remove Bible from libraries

"While the state adopted library standards inclusive of HB900 last December, the fifth circuit has since blocked the part of the law requiring vendors to rate materials. Most of the rest of the law remains intact.

HB900 is being challenged in the US district court for the western district of Texas by bookshops in Houston and Austin, the American Booksellers Association, the Association of American Publishers, the Authors Guild and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which have collectively filed suit against Texas school board and library officials.

The complaint says the “overbroad language of the Book Ban could result in the banning or restricting of access to many classic works of literature, such as ‘Twelfth Night,’ ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ … ‘The Canterbury Tales,’ ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,’ and even the Bible.”

The complaint argues that HB900 “harkens back to dark days in our nation’s history when the government served as licensors and dictated the public dissemination of information”."