Right over the border in Carroll County the Moms of Liberty (snicker, barf), got 39 books removed from CCPS while a Reconsideration Committee decides their fate. You can peruse the whole list here, but of course your friendly Lady Yokels are going to give you some examples.

Our hearts just hurt watching this. We are going to assume that many of our followers are readers, and we therefore we want you to remember back to your high school days and to that book that changed you. Think about all of the books that have changed you in some way, and then imagine a bunch of non-readers (yeah we are going to go ahead and make that assumption with a whole lotta confidence) tried to take those books away. What part of you wouldn’t exist because you hadn’t read that book?

Moms of Liberty formed as a protest group to all of the Covid-19 restrictions they believed were unnecessary. These so-called “joyful warriors” (yes that’s the same language our very own local book banner, Cindy Rose, likes to use) needed to find another cause to keep that cash flowing when all the restrictions lifted. So, they decided to go after diversity (which they ignorantly call CRT) in the curriculum( or more accurately American History) and LGBTQ+ folks. They’ve pushed themselves into the national spotlight in such a way that Republican Presidential candidates believe they have to court these folks. They even presented Ron DeSantis with his very own liberty sword! How Nice!

This group of bored Covid deniers have recently been labeled an extremist group by the Southern Law Poverty Center because:

“What we’ve been watching really closely around this particular group… [are] times when they show up with other groups that have explicitly advocated or committed intimidations and violence,” Hiller said. “There are cases at school boards in North Carolina, for example, where Moms for Liberty showed up together with Proud Boys and were part of intimidating the school board.” Carroll Rivas echoed this observation.

“Their organizing is quite concerning for how it harms communities, but also because of the associations with other hard right groups that they’ve really had since their inception,” she said.

Some members of Moms for Liberty chapters have also been accused — and in at least one case, convicted — of harassment.

And, hmmm, weren’t they popping up around here last election…..

We need to keep our school board sane as we’ve already heard about some of the folks gearing up for a run next time and IT IS NOT GOOD. Our school system is currently reviewing books because of Cindy Rose et al. and we all need to stand up to make sure this nonsense goes no further. These conservative groups are trying to destroy American education. First, they do things like tell people the schools are making white kids feel bad about themselves, or allowing them to find out that gay people actually exist. Then they sow so much doubt and get people all riled up (remember when folks around here spread the rumor that kindergarteners were being taught about anal sex because we sure as hell do) and then they take over the school board. Afterwards, the curriculum is dumbed down to the point that the kids in that district have a tough time making in the world outside of the county they grew up in.(And if you don’t think this has happened do some reading on the old coal towns. Coal executives sat on those school boards and do you think academics were emphasized by people who needed the local population to go into the mines? Not at all.)Throw on top of that the feeling amongst many elite Republican donors that public schools should all be privatized so they can make a pretty dime on them! It’s all a recipe for disaster!

We sure hope this guy is right:

Carroll County will regress to the point where high educated and professional demographics will stop migrating and property values will dramatically drop. The GOP is always working against their own interests!

— thebaltimorechop🌻 (@charmcitypete) July 14, 2023

There are a couple of groups besides the Moms of Liberty working towards hurting kids and dumbing down our school curriculums. Make sure you stay alert to these threats. We know it’s exhausting, but we can’t let them win.