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Breaking News: New York Libraries Have Books In Them
The Rant is very alarmed by these findings.
Hard-line Islamic books that justify violence against non-Muslim societies – including texts used as terrorist “recruiting tools” – are freely available in New York City public libraries.
A Daily News spot check found a book by an Islamic theorist who inspired Osama Bin Laden and terror Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, as well as others that promote the hatred of other religions and one with the misogynistic title: “Women Who Deserve to Go to Hell.”
Several of these texts can be found at the Brooklyn Public Library’s main branch, a mile from the Al Farooq mosque, where Rahman once inspired followers to try to blow up New York.
What kind of fiend allows books to be put in a library? And what was the librarians’ defense of this heinous act?
“We don’t censor what people read,” said Mary Haines, director of the South Country Public Library in Bellport, L.I., which just added “Milestones” to its collection.
Brooklyn Public Library spokeswoman Ruth Wagner said libraries have the responsibility to be inclusive, and “efforts are made to represent the widest possible diversity of views.”
Right…like librarians are supporters of free speech or something.
Just for the reporter’s peace of mind, I hope he didn’t go looking amongst the shelves for this, or this, or this, or…well, you get the idea.
Coming soon from the crack reporting squad at the Daily News: “Breaking: Some Cabdrivers Have Surly Personalities”.
a different brad said,
October 11, 2007 at 2:14
I’d go see how freaked out Pam Atlas is by this, but her site always crashes my browser.
Also, she’s batshit insane.
HumboldtBlue said,
October 11, 2007 at 2:15
I hope one of those links led to Mein Kampf.
D. Aristophanes said,
October 11, 2007 at 2:16
The reporter’s* head exploded when he found a copy of ‘Farenheit 451′ and a pack of matches left behind by an asbestos-removal contractor near the fireplace at the Bronx Public Library’s Burnside Avenue branch.
*Jillian’s term for this gormless twit, not mine
Galactic Dustbin said,
October 11, 2007 at 2:16
When is the Rant NOT alarmed?
Jillian said,
October 11, 2007 at 2:17
Like I would ever disappoint you on that score, Humboldt! It’s the first one.
Johnny Coelacanth said,
October 11, 2007 at 2:20
Their last graf: “The availability of such controversial books in public libraries points out the difficulties a society faces in balancing an aversion to censorship against the need to prevent terrorism.”
They make an excellent point. If only Bush had pulled these books out of New York public libraries in August of 2001…. Don’t mourn for lost opportunities. The horses are already out of the barn, or jihadists out of the madrassa, if you prefer. What we can do, however, is to remove any books that might cause future terrorist attacks. We can start with the oeuvre of Ann Coulter and work our way down the list from there.
Hoosier X said,
October 11, 2007 at 2:28
“Junky” is a great book. If I still had a copy, I’d read it right now. I got “Naked Lunch,” but I have read that so many times I’m kinda burnt out.
Marco said,
October 11, 2007 at 2:28
The Rantards are upset over those books but not one mention of Nicolas Sparks?
Selective outrage, indeed.
kingubu said,
October 11, 2007 at 2:28
It never seems to occur to them that someone might read a book-length screed by some nutcase and think “wow, that’s a book-length screed by some nutcase”.
HumboldtBlue said,
October 11, 2007 at 2:34
“wow, that’s a book-length screed by some nutcase”.
Example A: In Defense of Internment: The Case for ‘Racial Profiling’ in World War II and the War on Terror (Regnery 2004)
Example B: Invasion: How America Still Welcomes Terrorists, Criminals, and Other Foreign Menaces to Our Shores (Regnery 2002)
Example C: Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild (Regnery 2005)
And goddammit, I didn’t know Malkin was a goddamned Philly native … what the fuck? Really? Now I gotta tell people I was born in Allentown, or Chester, or Yeadon or something.
mikey said,
October 11, 2007 at 2:35
Hmm. New York Library, huh?
Not surprising that Rudy has the solution.
“Just kill the mooslems. Then they can’t kill us. Oh. NINE ELEVEN!!”
mikey
Galactic Dustbin said,
October 11, 2007 at 2:36
“wow, that’s a book-length screed by some nutcase”.
Dont forget the Turner Diaries
HumboldtBlue said,
October 11, 2007 at 2:40
And don’t forget My Pet Goat, for never in the history of mankind has a book been so riveting, so engulfing that it would keep the leader of the free world engrossed while crazed men flew airplanes into tower in Manhattan.
Johnny Coelacanth said,
October 11, 2007 at 2:42
“Now I gotta tell people I was born in Allentown, or Chester, or Yeadon or something.”
I know what you mean. Six years of Bush in the White House has effectively squelched any residual pride I had about being a native Texan. Fortunately for me, I got out a long time ago. Those people are nuts. True story, when I moved back there briefly in 1991, the state legislature was up in arms and banned the sale of a beer because it was named Blackened Voodoo. I moved away again within six months.
en_dash said,
October 11, 2007 at 2:47
I am similarly surprised that there has not yet been a kulturkampfer effort to reclass Dewey Decimal 911 from the heretical secularist “Historical geography” to the more-appropriate “Biography – GIUL throu GIUM”.
edub the librarian said,
October 11, 2007 at 2:52
Lotta those books are circulating, too.
Wouldn’t want the FBI sniffing around those library records with subpoenas or nuthin’, would we?
Lesley said,
October 11, 2007 at 2:58
If Osama had flown the planes into the New York Public Library instead of the twin towers we could all be fwiends.
ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said,
October 11, 2007 at 3:26
I’d like to point out that if every copy of the New York Daily News was burned before anyone had a chance to use it as bird cage liner, the general public (and birds everywhere) would be well served.
Back in the days when I lived in New York (and cared about baseball box scores) I would buy the NY Post before I would buy the Daily News. And I hated the NY Post, even then.
brendan said,
October 11, 2007 at 3:34
“Breaking: Some Cabdrivers Have Surly Personalities”.
More importantly, lots of them are Muslims!!! Or they have dark skin, and often talk in languages I can’t understand, which is the same thing, right???
edgyspice said,
October 11, 2007 at 3:40
“Women Who Deserve to Go to Hell”
Islamo-fascist screed, or Ann Coulter’s next book?
Lesley said,
October 11, 2007 at 3:46
the perfect end to an imperfect day: Bush talkin’ the talk
http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/index.jhtml?ml_video=111129
Legalize said,
October 11, 2007 at 3:47
BREAKING: Confderate Yankee is reporting that the NY Public Library doesn’t carry the Wall Street Journal.
UPDATE #1: Evidently CY has learned that the Library in fact does carry the WSJ. He suspects that the Islamocommies who are famous for reading and stuff, tricked him into thinking that this was not the case in a terrible attempt to subtly convince the public that capitalism was dead. More on this story as information comes in.
UPDATE #2: Ace notes that there are fewer than 100 copies of the Bible at 42nd Street branch of the Library. We are operating under the reasonable assumption that this is also a part of the treacherous Islamocommie conspiracy.
Hoosier X said,
October 11, 2007 at 3:50
Man, Blackened Voodoo is good. I drank it a few times when I was in Miss. and La. when I was working on my master’s thesis.
And they banned it in Texas because … ?
Is this a joke?
Hoosier X said,
October 11, 2007 at 3:57
I mean, if it’s true, then I just don’t see how conservatives can get so mad when their opponents ridicule them into a corner in a rolled-up, humiliated, shrieking ball of stupid.
It’s a joke, right?
Hoosier X said,
October 11, 2007 at 4:06
I don’t understand why any single state would need more than 100 Bibles.
Nobody reads it. All you have to do is talk to a fundie for a few minutes to see that they have no idea what’s in it.
I’ve read it. It has a few good ideas.
The Unquestionable Word of God?
Gah! I hope not! If it is, then I want as little to do with God as possible. And I will not hesitate to say so to His face if it ever comes to that.
Lesley said,
October 11, 2007 at 4:07
From Majikthise:
Yeah, but that was before he warmed to mass killing.
mikey said,
October 11, 2007 at 4:14
That’s a good point.
He WAS limited to killing one poor brown person at a time when he was governor….
mikey
ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said,
October 11, 2007 at 5:05
Since becoming preznit, Der Chimpenführer has discovered synergy.
rea said,
October 11, 2007 at 5:24
Don’t these people understand that if they really wanted to oppose these hard-line Islamics, they ought to go read these books themselves? Didn’t Iraq teach them that “victory through ignorance” isn’t a workable plan?
Sadly, no, of course . . .
mikey said,
October 11, 2007 at 5:33
Oh. I get it. Sure.
Kenzie and Gennaro make it to the big screen.
What. Spiderman was busy that day?
Anyway. They START with “Gone Baby Gone”?
That’s nothing short of fucked up.
That’s practically the END of the story.
I hate movies…
mikey
Some Guy said,
October 11, 2007 at 6:04
Since when was TURKEY a key NATO ally?
Ohhhhh,
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Map_of_NATO_countries.png
that’s why.
Jeff Fecke said,
October 11, 2007 at 6:14
God, the sad thing is that we should want these books available, so we can read what the actual terrorists are reading, and learn how they’re being taught, so we can learn how to convince them that this is all a bunch of crap.
Heck, I’m even in favor of having my library stock In Defense of Internment, for precisely the same reason.
El Cid said,
October 11, 2007 at 6:14
The end of Ann Coulter? She can insult blacks, Muslims, gays, and anyone to the left of, well, her, but someone going on national Tee Vee and saying to CNBC’s Donny Deutsch, well, this:
Now, even though the general point is one made by many Talibangelical Christians, Ann throws an extra frisson of blunt meanness on there, so it just doesn’t roll off as though her heart is troubled by the fate of Jews’ eternal souls.
Finally, we won’t have to see the Coultergeist so much on the TeeVee no more.
Some Guy said,
October 11, 2007 at 6:38
‘Fraid not, El Cid. Coulter and the right wingers have proven time and time again there is literally nothing they can say or do that will get them removed from the airwaves. If she had finished up her segment by throwing live babies into a wood chipper while screaming racial slurs, she’s still be invited back, if she can find time in her schedule of other appearances.
Jeff Fecke said,
October 11, 2007 at 7:00
El Cid, Ann Coulter can say anything about anyone, unless she attacks the right. As long as the wingtards are safe, Ann’s golden.
Sadly, Cambridgeport said,
October 11, 2007 at 7:04
Obey, submit, or as they say in Arabic, islam
The Visigoth said,
October 11, 2007 at 7:44
Yet another case of conservatives making “political” something that isn’t political in nature – another Terry Schiavo, only for libraries.
Libraries have a moral responsibility to make sure that all the information exists and is available to a patron. This is their fundamental reason to exist.
This is a moral imperative that transcends politics. Everyone deserves to have access to information. This is why libraries, though limited by the amount of books they can have in the stacks, can order books and have interlibrary loan services, ALL FREE, to get people what they need. This is just like roads and traffic laws and courts, a fundamental need of a civilized society.
Is a book crazy, or worthless? If people have access to knowledge, they can make that decision for themselves.
The most striking thing about ignorant assholes the world over, all over history, is how little they read.
…and Jesus, are people STILL on about how media causes people to do bad things? What is this, 1984? Despite what Tipper Gore says, the only socially unredeeming thing Heavy Metal ever made me do was play “why won’t you stop hitting yourself?” to my little brother when he borrowed my CDs without permission.
Notorious P.A.T. said,
October 11, 2007 at 8:16
I must be sleeping, because I thought for a second that Ann Coulter used a “Seinfeld” episode as proof of something.
What’s next, Ann? Should we be looking out for Pig Men? Should stores start marketing lucky jackets? Should I build a TV studio in my aparment?
Coulter and the right wingers have proven time and time again there is literally nothing they can say or do that will get them removed from the airwaves.
Except when enough people make noise about it, like Imus. If enough people threatened never to watch/read/buy from advertisers of venues where Ann appeared we might never hear from her again. Sigh, what a pleasant thought.
Some Guy said,
October 11, 2007 at 10:00
And, if so, what exactly does the Elaine Dance prove?
RobW said,
October 11, 2007 at 10:23
And when can I buy a manziere? Or is it a bro?
atheist said,
October 11, 2007 at 12:13
Except when enough people make noise about it, like Imus. If enough people threatened never to watch/read/buy from advertisers of venues where Ann appeared we might never hear from her again. Sigh, what a pleasant thought.
As Spocko has shown, you can effectively attack them by convincing advertisters to leave their show, thereby removing the revenue stream.
lard lad said,
October 11, 2007 at 12:55
Ha ha ha ha ha! Omigod, the screed about NYC libraries as havens for terrist propagander is funny enough… but scroll down a bit further and take a peek at this site’s solution to the immigration problem: a goddamn CANAL running across the entire Me-hi-can border, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. Quoth they:
“Wouldn’t a 21st Century “Panama Canal” along the entire Southern border be the optimal solution? It would create a daunting barrier, create jobs in its construction, create tourism jobs when finished and secure a waterway alternative to the Chinese controlled Panama Canal.”
Oh stop, PLEASE. I’m suffocating. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!
Johnny Coelacanth said,
October 11, 2007 at 14:39
““Wouldn’t a 21st Century “Panama Canal” along the entire Southern border be the optimal solution?”
Oh yeah, it’s insane, obviously, but wouldn’t it cost less than the Iraqi boondoggle? Let’s end the war and start a canal!
Sadly, Cambridgeport said,
October 11, 2007 at 14:43
Mexican Canal you say… hmm…. love it!
We can even take all of the dirt and build our own Iraq-shaped island with no Mooslims. Just think of the benefits: we win the war in Iraq, we can keep all the oil ourselves, and we can stay as long as we like.
Pere Ubu said,
October 11, 2007 at 15:09
“Wouldn’t a 21st Century “Panama Canal” along the entire Southern border be the optimal solution?
Back in the Fifties they actually considered the use of atomic weapons to dig Panama-style canals. Bury a bunch of A-bombs in a line, set ‘em off, PRESTO! instant canal.
Maybe THAT’S what those “loose nukes” at Barksdale AFB were going to be for?
Oh, and re: books in libraries -
As a reader, enthusiastic patron of libraries, former bookseller and son of a library employee, I say let them carry everything they can get their hands on. “Bad” books, good books, whatever. I just wish our local library would restrict itself in NUMBERS of copies, though. They have something like eight copies, just at the Main branch, of Babs Olson’s last book. Imagine all the good books that that money could have been spent on.
Dr. Squid said,
October 11, 2007 at 15:24
as well as others that promote the hatred of other religions and one with the misogynistic title: “Women Who Deserve to Go to Hell.”
Sounds like something Daddy Dobson would put out.
ajay said,
October 11, 2007 at 16:21
3,100 km of border. Think you could dig a canal for $600 million a kilometer? I think so – and that’s cheaper than the Iraq War will be.
In fact, you could dig a big, canal-sized (20m deep, 200m wide) ditch all the way along the border for just $62 billion. Digging big holes is (pardon the pun) dirt cheap.
MrWonderful said,
October 11, 2007 at 17:38
“Women Who Deserve to Go to Hell”–wasn’t that a particularly nice Playboy feature in 1998? Is it available in reprint?
chi type said,
October 11, 2007 at 22:50
What I wanna know is how does one become a “terror Sheik”? *I* wanna be a terror sheik, dammit!
Rufus said,
October 12, 2007 at 1:22
In other news, Middle Eastern countries have Muslims in them.
The bombing starts in five minutes.