Pink+Pirates+(Against+Censorship)

__**laura and jenn are awesome = ) **__

"School Libraries and Censorship (sidebar)." __Issues & Controversies On File__ 15 Jan. 1999. __Issues & Controversies__. Facts On File News Services. 22 Apr. 2009 .

School Libraries and Censorship (JN)

1) Magazines provide accurate facts on sex, which would be discussed anyway among peers (JN) 2)FOR EXAMPLE: In 1998 Paul Lockner (superintendent at a public middle school in Hauppauge, N.Y.) removed //Seventeen, Teen, YMI// magazines from their shelves claming they inappropriately discussed topics such as "sexual intercourse, STDs, condoms, and birth control." (JN) 3) Intellectual freedom (open access to ideas) is infringed on (JN) 4) When censoring you are discriminating against a certain topic (JN) 5)FOR EXAMPLE: 1970 Trees School Board removed nine books from their shelves as the schoolboard felt they were"anti-American, anti-Christian, vulgar, immoral and just plain filthy." Some of these books included Sla//ughterhouse Five// by Kurt Vonnegut, //The Best Short Stories of Negro Writers// edited by Langston Hughes, and the anonymous //Go Ask Alice.// (JN) 6) In //Hazelwood Schools v. Kuhlmeier// 1988 the Supreme Court ruled school officials may protect young students from sensative topics such as sex and teen pregnancy. (JN) 7) Steven Pico, as Island Tree student sued the school board about the decision to remove the books. (JN) 8) Pico claimed the school board was violating his First Amendment rights by imposing its on “religious based values” in selecting which books they were removing from the library.(JN) 9) The First Amendment forbids government agencies (public schools included) from establishing a particular religious doctrine or stopping an individuals free speech rights.(JN) 10) The case, //Island Tree School v. Pico// went to the Supreme Court and was ruled in favor of Pico in 1982. (JN) 11) Removing the books was considered “inappropriate,” as no administrator can pull books as a way of dictating what they feel is “right” for politics, religion, etc. (JN) 12) But schools are allowed to add any additional books they would like. (JN) 13) The court said "Students must always remain free to inquire, to study and to evaluate," claiming the library was how this was accomplished. JN)

Clark, Charles. __The Obscenity Debate__. December 20, 1991 CQ Researcher. 4-24-09 [].

The Obscenity Debate (LW)

1) Publishers in the sex-film industries, as well as artists, publishers, and librarians see censorship as a threat to the first amendment right of Freedom of Speech (LW) 2)Anit-Censorship groups formed in regard to artists who were denied governmental grants because there work was to obscene. (LW) 3) The Adult Video association protested outside of a federal building in Beverly Hills California. (LW) 4) Example of how censorship is messed up: Say you own a video and you rent out a movie with sexual actions contained in it. Two days later the person that rented the movie commits a sexual assualt offense. He blames the movie and sues the video company. This is ridiculous because the focus is being taken off the crime and blamed on the third party. (LW) 5) Another group that goes in with censorship is the Motion Picture Association of America. (LW) 6) The group helps minors dipict which are appropriate without discriminating the fillm. (LW) 7) Music also is censorshipped. (LW) 8) Examples are Prince when he sang about a girl masturbating in the lobby and Sheena Easton singing about her "sugar walls" (LW)

"Family-Friendly Editing or Censorship? (sidebar)." __Issues & Controversies On File__ 21 Feb. 1997. __Issues & Controversies__. Facts On File News Services. 23 Apr. 2009 .

Family-Friendly Editing or Censorship? (JN)

1) Sheryl Crow's 1996 album was banned from being sold in WalMart stores. (JN) 2) Retailers are allowed to refuse to sell forms of entertainment that they find offensive.(JN) 3) This is due to the lyric "Watch out children while they kill each other/With a gun they bought at the Wal-Mart discount store." (JN) 4) WalMart asked Sheryl Crow to change the lyric and she refused, so WalMart refused to sell her album. (JN) 5) In 1986 WalMart stopped selling ceratin rock magazines such as //Creem// and //Rolling Stones. (JN)// 6) In 1992 WalMart and Kmart both refused to sell basketball star Earvin "Magic" Johnson's book, //What You Can Do About AIDS.(JN)// 7) They felt the explict description of how to prevent the spread of HIV was inappropriate. (JN) 8) WalMart also refused to sell albums that have parent advisory warnings that show the lyrics are explicit. (JN) 9) In some cases record companys agree to change lyrics to songs and albums so they can be sold in stores (JN) 10) WalMart, with 2,300 stores sells about 10% of record sales so many artist agree to work with them on lyrics (JN) 11) Blockbuster edits some of its videos before they are put on the shelves (JN) 12) Blockbuster accounts for 25% to 30% of video rentatls. (JN) 13) Musicians, directors, and advocates of free speech disapprove of Blockbuster editing the vidoes, as they say it "restricts the artistic license." (JN) 14) Oliver Stone, director of "Nixon" and "Plantoon" says this editing is "a new form of censorship. (JN) 15) WalMart, Kmart, and Blockbuster all refuse to sell Stone's movie "Natural Born Killers," due to violence. (JN) 16) WalMart claims the dispute of censorship are unfair as they have the right to make decisions on the sort of materials they sell. (JN) 17) WalMart claims they are just trying to provide material the consumer will want to purchase. (JN) 18) Critics of this edited material say the consumer should have the right to know the product they want to purchase has been altered from the original version. (JN) 19) The Screen Directors Guild, an industry group of film writers and directors are urging Congree to pass a consumer protection bill. (JN) 20) This bill would require stores to notify customers how videos have been edited by retailers. (JN)

"Stern Contract Could Resurrect Pay-Radio Indecency Debate." __Satellite News__ 27.40 (Oct 18, 2004): 0. __Student__ __Resource Center__ __- Gold__. Gale. BRUNSWICK SR HIGH SCHOOL - MD. 29 Apr. 2009 . 

Stern Contract Could Resurrect Pay-Radio Indecency Debate (LW)

1) The Howard Stern Show is known for its raw and “brawdy” material that is discussed. (LW) 2) He has been criticized in many cities and even silenced in others. (LW) 3) However he is continuing to fight and opening up nine new stations. (LW) 4) Mr. Stern paid a 1.75 millions dollar fine to silence the FCC about their indecency complaints. (LW) 5) Mr. Stern states I am not beating the F.C.C., he said. When the government wants you out, you are out.(LW)

National Coalition Against Censorship`, __Anti-Censorship__. 2001 NACA. 4-28-09 [].

National Coalition Against Censorship (LW)

1) The NCAC hosts a day where pieaces of art and media are recognized for their contemporary and modern styles. (LW ) 2) This day will include academic speeches, show casing of art and media that have been taken out of the public, campus speeches, freedom speeches, and an over view of the first ammendment. (LW) 3) The week of January 15-19 a censorship protest was held.( LW) 4) It took place at Miami Senior City High School.(LW) 5) The leader of the event used theater and drama to get the point across to her fellow class mates. ( LW) 6) The students wore all black with a necklace symbolizing that they were part of the protest and also wore duct tape over their mouths to show that there right to freedom of speech has been taken away. (LW) 7) The Youth Free Expression Network is an organization of teens and adults. (LW) 8) They defend the youth rights to freedom of expression. (LW) 9) YFEN empowers youth to act on their own behalf and not listen to all the media and lessons that have been taught throughout the years.(LW) 10) The act of "sexting" has emerged as a problem. (LW) 11) Three students have been questioned to be charged with child pornography because they had a naked photo on their cell phones. (LW) 12) The girls charges where dropped as long as they paid the 100 dollars to go through a class on how girls should act in society. (LW) 13)However the families threatened to sue because it was a direct violation of teens freedom of expression. (LW) 14) The case did not win and the teens charges where dropped after they attended the classes. (LW)

"Howard Stern Cautions: Censorship is Coming." 2009. NewsMax.com. 4/29/08 .

Howard Stern Cautions: Censorship Is Coming (JN)

1) Debate of morality vs censorship (JN) 2) The conservatives are on one side of the issue and the civil libertarians and the liberals on the opposite side (JN) 3) (former) President George W Bush was in the middle on this issue (JN) 4) Many government officals want boadcasting indecency standards to be extended to services that people pay for such as cable and satellite radio (JN) 5) But others say the consumer should be able to make decisions on what they want to see and hear (JN) 6) Howard Stern moved from terrestrial radio and onto satellite radio as he feels while his show can be "raunchy" he is being persecuted even though if people don't like what they are hearing they can turn it off (JN) 7) Howard Stern said "There is something so demonic in this ... so evil ... they're now creeping in and saying 'Forget the constitution,' - and by the way, the Internet is next - 'this is the future. Things you pay for will be censored.'" (JN) 8) (fomer) President Bush feels while there should be standards on what is on tv so parents know what their kids should watch, it is ultimately up to the parents to decide wether on not their child can watch it (JN) 9) (former) President Bush said "I don't mind standards being set out for people to adjudge the content of a show, to help parents make right decisions." (JN) 10) (former) President Bush also said "The ultimate responsibility in a consumer-driven economy is for people to say I'm not going to watch it, and turn the knob off. That's how best to make decisions and how best to send influences." (JN) 11) (former) President Clinton spent millions developing the v-chip, which is supposed to block objectionable programming. (JN) 12) This causes people to ask why legislation is needed if devices such as the v-chip are out there for people to buy (JN) 13) Howard Stern ranted ""Bill Clinton put a fortune into the V-chip. Anybody who wants to block anything over cable and satellite in their home, they can do it. [But] No one is buying V-chips. Nobody cares about V-chips. The most religious people, who write letters to the FCC day and night ... who claim they don't want any smut or pornography, they don't use the V-chip. With the V-chip, you're perfectly able to keep this so-called smut out of your home." (JN) 14) Represenative Bernie Sanders created H.R. 1440 that's goal was to block the government from imposing indeceny standards on pay services . (JN) 15) ABC is afraid to show the movie "Saving Private Ryan" for fear of FCC fines (JN) 16) A Buffalo, New York radio station dropped it's book readings for the blind as someone complained about the languare i a Ton Wolfe book (JN) 17) Sandra Tsing Loh of KCRQ-FM a Santa Monica radio station was fired due to using a four-letter word that was meant to be bleeped out for broadcast but wasn't. (JN)

 Clark, Charles. __School Censorship__. Feb. 19, 1993 CQ Researcher. 4-29-09 .

School Censorship (LW) 
 * 1) Irritated parents are contacting the school regarding censorship. (LW)
 * 2) They feel that some books and images should not be shown in schools because of language, sex, and “anti-Christian beliefs.” ( LW)
 * 3) The novel series “Impressions” is in schools and are preferred to be read by students between the ages 5 and 12. (LW)
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-color: #ff0073;">The novels use folklores to help teachers influence students to listen and follow their directions.(LW)
 * 5) <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-color: #ff0073;">For example. “Tell the children that a magician has cast a spell on some children to create the situation depicted in the illustration.”(LW)
 * 6) <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-color: #ff0073;">The parents however, especially the religious ones, feel that this is unacceptable and “Impressions” should not be used. They feel it will lead to witchcraft beliefs and violence. (LW)
 * 7) <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-color: #ff0073;">One member of the California Excellence for Education members says that “this is bizarre” and “we want them out.” (LW)
 * 8) <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-color: #ff0073;">This thinking has made “Impressions” one of the most attacked children’s series in the country. (LW)
 * 9) <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-color: #ff0073;">Over 55 schools have been confronted about using the series and all 55 of them have abandoned it. (LW)
 * 10) <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-color: #ff0073;">After one school in South Dakota went against the public and kept the use of the books a parent grabbed a teacher and said “The Prince of Darkness will get you.” (LW)
 * 11) <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-color: #ff0073;">The American publishers of the Canadian series have issued a 359 page “defense kit”. (LW)
 * 12) <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-color: #ff0073;">The kit explains to teachers that the series is not meant to encourage witchcraft and that the “spooky” stories help children develop how to face fictional fears. (LW)
 * 13) <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-color: #ff0073;">The arguments have done little to seize the criticism. (LW)
 * 14) <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-color: #ff0073;">The most common complaints have labeled the books “Satanic,” “New Age” or “anti-Christian.” (LW)
 * 15) <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-color: #ff0073;">However to many parents the censorship charge is an unfair tactic. (LW)
 * 16) <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-color: #ff0073;">The NAACP says that schools should not use the novels which use the word “nigger”. (LW)
 * 17) <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-color: #ff0073;">Examples include Huckleberry Finn, Gone with the Wind, Uncle Tom's Cabin and the Just-So Stories of Rudyard Kipling. (LW)
 * 18) <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-color: #ff0073;">Supporters of the attackers say that students shouldn’t have to read this material just because they are in public schools. (LW)
 * 19) Most dictionaries define censorship as the suppression of information by government or other officials, a fact not lost on conservative schoolbook activists. (LW)
 * 20) <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-color: #ff0073;">Critics of censorship define the term more like this- “The suppression of ideas and information that certain persons -- individuals, groups, or officials -- find objectionable or dangerous.”(LW)

"First Amendment ." Cornell University Law School. 4/29/09 <http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/First_amendment>.

First Amendment (JN)

1) The most basic component of freedom of expression is freedom of speech (JN) 2) Freedom of speech allows people to express themselves without interference or constraint by the government. (JN) 3) The Supreme Court requires the government to provide substantial justification to interfere with a person's right of free speech. (JN) 4) Freedom of press is very similar to freedom of speech as it allows people to express themselves through publication (JN)

[] About 4,270 troops have died in Iraq, with about 31,169 troops injured. 20% of those injured have severe brain and spine injuries. 30% of US troops returning from Iraq have developed serious mental heath problems.

[] Little reflection of these realities is to be found, however, in the US media, particularly in visual form. Censorship by the military—and self-censorship by media outlets—is part of an effort by the ruling elite to sanitize the war and keep the American public in the dark about its real nature. Journalists have also been forbidden from releasing images showing what the military deems to be sensitive information—anything from an image of American weaponry to the aftermath of an insurgent strike. Clearly, none of these restrictions have anything to do with “prisoners’ rights” or respect for the families of fallen soldiers. To the contrary, the military’s intent is to obscure from the American people the hellish reality in which prisoners and US soldiers alike have found themselves. Indeed, while employing typical military jargon and doublespeak, Defense Department officials make no secret of the subject: free and easy access to photographs, print journalism, and first-hand accounts of the war are a “vulnerability” for US imperialism because it fuels antiwar sentiment in the population and within the military.

SCRIPT

<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">In 1970 Island Tree School Board removed books such as //Slaughterhouse// Five by Kurt Vonnegut, //The Best Short Stories of Negro Writers// edited by Langston Hughes, and the anonymous //Go Ask Alice// from their shelves. Their reasoning was they felt the books were “anti American, anti Christian, vulgar, immoral and filthy.” <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Steven Pico, an Island Tree student, sued the school board for removing these books claming the school board was violating his First Amendment rights by imposing “religious based values” in selecting which books they were removing from the library. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">The First Amendment forbids government agencies (which include public schools) from establishing a particular religious doctrine or stopping an individuals free speech rights. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">In 1982 the case of //Island// //Tree School// //vs Pico// went to the Supreme Court and it was ruled in favor of Pico. The Supreme Court ruled removing the books was considered “inappropriate” as no administrator can pull books as a way of dictating what they feel is “right” for politics, religion, etc. This infringes upon the right to intellectual freedom, which is open access to ideas. The Supreme Court said “Students must always remain free to inquire, to study and to evaluate,” saying the library is how this is accomplished. A school board is however; allowed to add any book they feel would be an asset to the library. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Retailers often refuse to sell various forms of entertainment they find offensive. Wal-Mart refuses to sell any album that has parent advisory warnings, which show the lyrics contain explicit content. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Sheryl Crow’s 1996 self titled album was banned from being sold in Wal-Mart stores. One song contained the lyric “Watch out children while they kill each other/With a gun they bought at the Wal-Mart discount store.” <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Wal-Mart asked Sheryl Crow to change the lyric, but she refused. But since Wal-Mart accounts for about 10% of record sales many artists agree to work with them on lyrics. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Wal-Mart claims the dispute of censorship is unfair as they have the right to make decisions on the sort of material they sell. They say they are trying to provide material that the consumer will want to purchase. Others argue that they are limiting their customers; they should instead offer everything and let the customer decide what they would like to purchase. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Wal-Mart also stopped selling rock magazines such as //Creem// and //Rolling Stones// in 1986. In 1992 Wal-Mart and Kmart both refused to sell basketball star Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s book “//What You Can Do About AIDS//” as they felt the explicit description of how to prevent the spread of HIV was inappropriate. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Blockbuster edits some of its videos before they are put on the shelves. Directors disapprove of Blockbuster editing the videos as they say it “restricts the artistic license.” Oliver Stone, director of “Nixon” and “Plantoon” say this editing is “a new form of censorship.” <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">The Screen Directors Guild, an industry group of film writers and directors are urging Congress to pass a consumer protection bill. This would allow to consumer to know the products they want to purchase have been altered from the original version. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Howard Stern is perhaps the first name that comes to mind when censorship is mentioned. His show, The Howard Stern Show is known for its “raw and raunchy” material that is discussed. Many cities criticize him, and other cities refuse to let his show broadcast. But Howard Stern refuses to give up, opening many other new stations. He was forced to pay a 1.75 million dollar fine to the FCC due to indecency complaints. Stern felt this was outrageous as he said if people felt what he was saying was offensive, they could simply turn it off. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Stern recently moved to satellite radio where most stations don’t edit content as the consumer pays for the stations. But he isn’t safe yet, many government officials want broadcasting indecency standards to be extended to cable and satellite radio even though people pay for them. But not everyone is for this legislation. Representative Bernie Sanders created H.R. 1440 that’s goal was to block the government from imposing indecency standards on pay services. Howard Stern feels “there is something so demonic in this… so evil… they’re now creeping in and saying ‘forget the constitution.’” <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">But while most conservatives want censorship and liberals are against censorship President George W Bush was in the middle. He felt while there should be standards on what is on TV, it is ultimately up to the parent to determine what their child should or shouldn’t watch. President Bush said “I don’t mind standards being set out for people to adjudge the content of a show, to help parents make right decisions.” Instead of the government choosing what should be censored from tv, it should be the parents decision. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">President Clinton spent millions of dollars developing the v-chip which is supposed to block objectionable programming. It allows parents to chose what type of shows they feel are inappropriate for their child and set a block on them. So if there are devices out there that allow the consumers to block what they feel is inappropriate, then why are we still using legislation to allow censorship? <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Howard Stern answered this question. He said “Bill Clinton put a fortune into the V-chip. Anyone who wants to block anything over cable and satellite in their home, they can do it. But no one is buying V-chips. Nobody cares about V-chips. The most religious people, who write letters to the FCC day and night… who claim they don’t want any smut or pornography, they don’t use the V-chip. With the V-chip you’re perfectly able to keep this so-called smut out of your home.” <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">But the FCC is still managing to instill fear in America. ABC won’t pay the movie “Saving Private Ryan” for fear of FCC fines. A Buffalo, New York radio station dropped its book readings for the blind as someone complained about the language in a Tom Wolfe book. Stern also wasn’t the only radio host to get in trouble for language while on air. Sandra Tsing Loh of KCRQ-FM a Santa Monica radio station was fired due to using a four letter word that was meant to be bleeped out for broadcasting but wasn’t. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">The United States has occupied Iraq for about 6 bloody years. But how much do we truly know about what really goes on? Anyone can Google the statistics… about 4,270 American troops have died in Iraq with about 31,169 American troops injured. 20% of those injured have severe brain and spine injuries and 30% of the American troops returning home from Iraq develop serious mental health problems. But besides the basics, most of what occurs in Iraq is hidden from the public. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Visual information such as pictures and videos are often edited, or forbidden to be released due to content. The military and government censorship of these images is “an effort to sanitize the war and keep the American public in the dark about its real nature,” says Naomi Spencer. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">The government forbids journalists to release any image showing what they deem “sensitive information” such as American weapons, the aftermath of an insurgent strike or prisons. The government also forbids photos of funerals, even caskets with an American flags draped over them, from being released. They claim these limits on photos are the “prisoner’s rights” or “respect for the families of the fallen soldiers.” But the reality is the military wants to obscure from the American people the hellish reality that prisoners and United States soldiers find themselves in. The Defense Department officials state “free and easy access to photographs, print journalism, and firsthand accounts of the war are a ‘vulnerability’ for US imperialism because it fuels antiwar sentiment in the population and the military.” <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">The government is trying to sugar coat the Iraq war to make it better. They know the American people don’t support the war and information that would cause the people to react has been censored. But the American people have a right to know what really goes on, many have family and friends over in Iraq fighting and everyone has paid for the war through taxes. Those who have died fighting for this country deserves to have the truth of the Iraq war shown, whether in articles, pictures, or videos; not have the government keep their dignity by censoring the information. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Those who support censorship claim government censorship protects its people. But shielding the people from the truth isn’t protection them, it is only making them ignorant. Plus, it allows for people to be misguided about a topic, and to believe something about it that isn’t true. Not telling the full truth is the same as telling a lie. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Other people claim that censorship protects children from “harmful” information such as nudity, sex, and drugs. But anyone who has been through school knows how outrageous this is. Most children don’t learn curse words on TV, but from peers at school. They don’t read about sex in a magazine and know how to do it, they hear about it from peers at school. But there is no way to censor their child’s peers or school experiences, so parents instead turn to TV and radio shows and blame them.