The Charter was written to demand voluntary resignations of the outgoing Town Officers?
I find that hard to believe.
Monotremes are mammals. Not all mammals are monotremes, but all (five) monotremes are mammals. Monotremes | Order Monotremata facts
We like to keep our definitions accurate, too.
Me, I’m looking forward to Tracy Ullman’s take.
Apropos to this discussion, I’ve stumbled across this at Snopes. The writer obviously isn’t a fan of Ms. Palin, but seems to know here. Alaskans' Opinions on Sarah Palin | Snopes.com
The relevant part: corroboration of other reports of the treatment of the librarian:
The writer, Anne Kilkenny, fought the ouster and considers herself on the “enemies list”, but figures that, as a housewife, she’s less sensitive to Palin’s disapprobation.
Interesting. I’d always been told that monotremnes were considered a separate class, not a subclass of mammals. Seems I was misinformed. I’ll have to cancel that vacation to the spas at Casablanca.
See? This is all much ado about nothing. Who needs libraries when we have the interweb? I think all librarians should hand in their resignations as a display of loyalty to our new electronic overlords! If they are deemed worthy they may be kept around to blow dust out of the servers.
/runs
Really? You mean there is no appointed or elected official anywhere in the chain? That’s impossible. Even if the Federal Civil Service eventually you get to a Cabinet member then the President.
http://www.cclslib.org/CCLS_site_web-content/new/publiclibrarysystems.htm
How are Systems Organized
Each library system is an incorporated unit chartered by the Board of Regents, and eligible to receive State financial aid when it meets the standards established by the Commissioner of Education. It usually includes a group of independent member libraries, a system board of trustees, a headquarters unit with director and staff, and a central reference library. The system works closely with Library Development of the State Education Department and maintains liaison with the State Library in Albany. Each system serves a minimum of about 200,000 people. Consequently, most systems serve the populations of several counties or parts of counties. In densely populated areas such as New York City, one county is the rule. The three types of systems are
consolidated, federated, and cooperative. The cooperative system, the most common, is established by direct action of independent local libraries. The local library trustees elect a system board of trustees to direct and control the system. These trustees then establish a headquarters unit and designate a central library. A variety of services is provided by the system to the local libraries. Cooperative systems were established under 1958 laws authorizing the organization of such systems. "
The State Education dept is part of the Executive Branch, headed by the Governor.
Now the comm of Education is Richard P. Mills is the NY Commissioner of Education, an unelected agent, appointed by the New York Board of Regents itself unelected, and appointed by the New York Assembly. But there we have (ta dah!) the New York State Assembly who are elected politicians.
I admit, in New York State there are a lot of layers between you and a poltical official. But then, you are in NY, not AK. NY is whaaaaay different than Alaska, I think you’ll agree on that. Still, anytime we have public funding, we have an elected or appointed official or board who has the end authority. That’s just the way it is in America. We have no King.
Emmons was apparently not choosing the books. On that we agree. There was a MLS Librarian who apparently did that. Emmons was an appointed political official who was the dept head. She likely only had indirect control, such as funding. Emmons was not “the MLS Librarian” as that position was listed seperately. It is certainly possible that Emmons has a MLS degree- but again, I can find no biographical info on Ms. Emmons. If you say you are sure she had such a degree, well then fine. I see nothing to assume to the contrary. But there is nothing stopping someone who has such a degree from accepting an appointed political position, is there? I mean we have PhDs, JD’s (lots of them) and MD’s holding office in this nation, so I guess a MLS is possible also, right?
No elected official has authority over my job. I report to a Branch Manager who reports to a Library Director who reports to the Library Board. There the chain stops. Budget money is handed out by the local government, but after they give it up they have no say in how it is spent.
Where are you getting this information? Because I’m quite Emmons was the MLS Librarian.
All the Snope article does is corroberate that Kilkenny did write that. Other than that, there is not fact checking. Kilkenny seems to be the sole source of the “book banning” meme. I can finding nothing which is an original source, all cites and sources lead back to her or the Mayor before Palin (who Palin got voted out) who also seems to be citing Kilkenny. Kilkenny wrote her little letter only after Palin was announced, there seems to be nothing prior to that which mentions any book bannings.
The same is not true of the weird mass firing of Palin’s staff- that was definately something controversial at that time. I find it rather odd, I agree.
We’ll give you a pass on the Monotreme/Mammal thing, bad example on my part, there’s always been disagreements between “Lumpers and Splitters” about the Monotremes. Odd ducks.:p:D
How is the Library board selected? Did you read my cite?
Nothing seems to indicate that. She- in the actual period sources- was called the "city’s library director ". Seperately they reference a Library* system *headed by a MLS Librarian (and 3 librarians) who is not named. Again, I concede she may have had a MLS degree.
And the actaul period source make it quite clear that Emmons and every other dept head was an appointed political position, who could served at the will of the Mayor. No one disputed Palins right to fire Emmons.
To be fair a small town simply will not have the bureaucratic layers a bigger city will. Apparently the previous mayor hired Emmons (cite below) and in a way it makes sense. Who else in such a small town would that task devolve to? So, presumably, the mayor has firing authority as well.
However, I do not see that as a political appointment akin to a President dumping the previous cabinet and replacing it with his own people. I do not know the rules but one would think something more than a whim would be needed to fire the librarian (fire for cause). That said maybe Alaska is an “at-will” state and in theory your boss can fire you for whatever they want with no reason whatsoever.
I still would think in such a small town you do not play this kind of bullshit politics. It is so small likely you know everyone there. Add to that the librarian is not a political job (although apparently Emmons supported the previous mayor against Palin…but as an individual).
So, Palin may well have been technically within her rights to fire Emmons but it still stinks and certainly adds to my unfavorable impression of the woman.
To DrDeth:
There does seem to be recurring accusations, getting a teeny bit more specific, cropping up about book banning. From the same link above:
New Library Board members are voted on by current Library Board members. That’s it. There is no government inerference.
And again, where are you getting that info from? Wasilla Library is connected with the Matanuska-Susitna Library Network (http://www.matsulibraries.org/). While Wasilla is the biggest library in the system, there is another MLS Librarian at the Palmer Library. And that was in 1996. Subsequent years show even more MLS hires.
And further again, why do you dispute that “Library Director” is an equal title to “Head Librarian”?
I’ll buy “bullshit politics” no doubt.
But it’s all from the same source- Kilkenny, who is an admitted and avowed politcal foe of Palin. Emmons is not the source, we know as dudes have tried to get a cite from Emmons with no luck. In other words, although certainly there was a poltical tempest there caused by Palin, the only hint of “book banning” has come from a single source- Kilkenny.
Justin_Bailey- what Library system are you talking about? What Board? Got a link or a cite?
Becuase I quoted the NY State cite "Each library system is an incorporated unit chartered by the Board of Regents, and eligible to receive State financial aid when it meets the standards established by the Commissioner of Education. It usually includes a group of independent member libraries, a system board of trustees, a headquarters unit with director and staff, and a central reference library. The system works closely with Library Development of the State Education Department and maintains liaison with the State Library in Albany. Each system serves a minimum of about 200,000 people. Consequently, most systems serve the populations of several counties or parts of counties. In densely populated areas such as New York City, one county is the rule. The three types of systems are
consolidated, federated, and cooperative. The cooperative system, the most common, is established by direct action of independent local libraries. The local library trustees elect a system board of trustees to direct and control the system. These trustees then establish a headquarters unit and designate a central library. A variety of services is provided by the system to the local libraries. Cooperative systems were established under 1958 laws authorizing the organization of such systems. "
Thus ultimate authority flows from =The State Education dept is part of the Executive Branch, headed by the Governor.
Now the comm of Education is Richard P. Mills is the NY Commissioner of Education, an unelected agent, appointed by the New York Board of Regents itself unelected, and appointed by the New York Assembly. But there we have (ta dah!) the New York State Assembly who are elected politicians.
So, even if your Library Board is elected by itself, the authority to do so flows from elected officials. Those elected officials can take over, if they really needed to, the’d just pass new laws dissolving the various boards. No public dollar is spend anyhere in the USA without some elected offical having say in it. That’s jsut the way the USA works, all authority to do anything at any level flows from the US Constitution, which means from the Executive, Legislative or Judicial branches. No dollar of tax can be collected or spent without that authority.
Read my quote again.
"In December 1996, Emmons told her hometown newspaper, the Frontiersman, that Palin three times asked her - starting before she was sworn in - about possibly removing objectionable books from the library if the need arose.
Emmons told the Frontiersman she flatly refused to consider any kind of censorship. "
Not Kilkenny…Emmons and reported to their local paper.
No one seems to be able to find that original 1996 Frontiersman article. I’d like to see it.
So far Emmons refuses to speak up on this.
I wonder if the fact that Palin is her boss is a contributing factor in her decision not to speak? Aternatively, of course, she may just feel disinclined to stir up a long-dead issue.
I think the Kansas City Star (which runs the site I linked to) is a big enough paper to be careful about their sources and can be considered reliable.
When they say…
“Palin herself, questioned at the time, called her inquiries rhetorical and simply part of a policy discussion with a department head “about understanding and following administration agendas,” according to the Frontiersman article.”
…that reads to me like they have seen the article. It think it would be an ethical breach if the reporter wrote that but never actually saw the article. Could it still be in error? Sure but I think this is enough to consider worthy as evidence.
That doesn’t mean I still wouldn’t like to see the original article. If they have it, they can provide it as a cite. I find it odd that they haven’t.
This may have already been covered (I don’t have the time to slog through the whole thread), but wouldn’t something like this be illegal and/or un-Constitutional?
-XT
My guess is the Frontiersman paper is so small they do not have a web site (suppose I should check before I say that but running out of the office now). Even if they do they probably do not have archives going back that far stored electronically and searchable by us else we would have done it already.
Likely some reporter got up there and went through the paper’s archives by hand and reported what was written. Whether a Kansas City Star employee or quoting an AP reporter or something I have no clue.
Either way you won’t get a cite you can read here likely till someone takes some hi-res close-up photos of the article.
The only thing that people have quoted Palin as doing is making an inquiry about how books would be banned as a hypothetical question. Certianly that is not UnConstitutional. Her motives are suspect, of course, but no one claims there was any attempt to actually ban a book or books.