A library wanted a New York Times subscription. Officials refused, citing Trump and 'fake news.'
This is where I live. We work very hard to have a Democratic presence in the midst of wingnut idiocy like this.
I'll be at the County Commission meeting this afternoon, with dozens of other Democrats. I'll be wearing my "I am woman, watch me vote" T-shirt!
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A library wanted a New York Times subscription. Officials refused, citing Trump and ‘fake news.’
The librarians of Citrus County, Fla., had what seemed like a modest wish: A digital subscription to the New York Times. For about $2,700 annually, they reasoned, they could offer their roughly 70,000 patrons an easy way to research and catch up on the news.
But when their request came before the Citrus County Commission last month, local officials literally laughed out loud. One commissioner, Scott Carnahan, declared the paper to be “fake news.”
"I agree with President Trump,” he said. “I will not be voting for this. I don’t want the New York Times in this county.”
In a move that is now generating intense online backlash, all five members of the commission agreed to reject the library’s request. The discussion took place on Oct. 24, the same day when the Trump administration announced plans to cancel federal agencies’ subscriptions to the Times and The Washington Post. While there’s no apparent connection — the Citrus County meeting began several hours before the Wall Street Journal broke the news of the new edict — the controversy unfolding in central Florida highlights how politicians nationwide are parroting the president’s disparaging rhetoric about the media.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/11/05/new-york-times-citrus-county-florida-library-subscription-rejected-fake-news/
= new reply since forum marked as read
Some people can't deal with reality, so they try to block it out. I guess they'll buy a radio so everyone can listen to Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones every day.
...and read the newspapers online for free from the library. I'm sure that's part of it.
Of course the newspapers realize that not everyone can afford a subscription, and the libraries in America are "free for all."
IMHO, perhaps all Democratic-majority municipalities should pass ordinances that forbid Faux Snooze within any cable/satellite dish subscription (demand a block if it cannot be unbundled).
And yes I will put this here -->
for those who are for absolutely no censorship and who might disagree with me but I am serious otherwise.
The interesting difference between Democrats and RW loons is that we "self-police" and remind ourselves of the spirit of the Constitution and the GOP refuses to do any such thing, preferring to go for autocracy of thought and governance. I.e., they embrace tyranny without any consequences or critique from within their party, which includes being free from hounding out of office.
I think this might be only as of 20018-- last census--
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
Number
Adults age 25 and older .................................................... 109,867
Less than 9th grade ............................................................... 5,476
9th to 12th grade, no diploma .......................................... 15,031
High School graduate (includes equvalency) ................... 42,766 ---- LOL ! YUP
Some college, no degree ..................................................... 22,669
Associate’s degree .................................................................. 6,667
Bachelor’s degree .................................................................. 9,902
Graduate or professional degree ........................................... 7,356
Percent
Percent high school graduate or higher ............................ 81.3%
Percent bachelor’s degree or higher .................................. 15.7%
The issue has been placed back on the agenda for the 11/19 meeting, but people wanted to express their opinions today.
The commission hall was about 2/3rds full, a true rarity. The majority of the people there were present to support those who were speaking against the commissioners' idiotic decision. There were some great comments.
At least a dozen spoke against the commission; 1 woman spoke in favor of their decision ("the New York Times doesn't do real who-what-when-where-why reporting; they just print opinions" ).
Reporters from the local paper, the Tampa Bay Times and another outlet were there.
One of our speakers, a quite elderly woman, said she had been a public school teacher for 43 years and called the commissioners "scallywags."
Another said that her daughter, who also lives in the county, is afraid to have her kids put their Citrus County addresses on their college admission applications. She also noted that people who are considering moving here are reading this in the media and we could lose business - I noticed a couple of the commissioners sat up at that one.
One brought a copy of Sunday's NYT and suggested they actually read it.
Another read them the 1st Amendment and let them know that their actions violated it.
A young man spoke and talked about the books available at libraries, including Mein Kampf, which need to be available, even if we don't agree with it.
Also, the local paper has said that this issue has broken records re comments. They've never gotten so many in their 125 year history - AND the comments are overwhelmingly against the commissioners. That made me sit up and 
.
Another day of activism in action. We'll be back on the 19th.
Floriduh.........
Just what America needs - - politicized libraries.......
