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New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and eight of their gubernatorial colleagues are urging publishers not to censor their textbooks.

The governors, all Democrats, signed a letter sent to publishers such as Pearson, McGraw Hill and Scholastic last month, raising concerns the companies might be tempted to water down critical information to appeal to the lowest common denominator. They urged publishers to hold the line for our democracy and not censor any material.

The letter comes as several Republican-led states have passed laws restricting texts on race, gender and history in schools. Thats putting pressure on some publishers to alter their texts, including one that initially softened and then removed references to race in the story of Rosa Parks to get approval in Florida, the New York Times reported.

In a tweet announcing the letter, Murphy said, school textbooks should never be censored due to political pressure from governors like [Florida] Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Murphy, who chairs the National Governors Association and the Democratic Governors Association, said he spearheaded the letter because the countrys future and democracy are at stake.

The letter goes on to say states will work closely with their school districts to inform them of which texts have been censored before procuring any books.

The letter was sent to nine publishers and the Association of American Publishers, which represents publishers across the country.

Link:
NY and NJ governors ask textbook publishers not to censor school material - Gothamist

Three days ago, the censoring of a six-second sequence in William Freidkins The French Connection was reported by Hollywood Elsewhere.

The gist of this nixing had to do with Gene Hackmans gritty cop character, Popeye Doyle, uttering the N-word. This was spotted on the Criterion Channel stream of Friedkins 1971 classic.

Well, apparently, the rights holders to the film are none other than Disney. Criterion had nothing to do with the censorship. It is presumed that the sequence was removed by Disney, which bought the films original owner, 20th Century Fox in March of 2019.

So the theory now is that Disney probably went in and censored it, but, you know, for your own good.

Disney routinely apologizes for its past problematic content, theyve even installed warning labels on older films. Hell, theme-park attractions have been cancelled by them. Nothing is out of bounds for the mouse house.

If Disney is the party responsible for vandalizing an American classic to protect adults from a racial slur in a 50-year-old, R-rated movie, then one would presume that they will eventually release a statement about this.

Heres the problem. For all the fan uproar this has caused, no trades have reported it. The fact remains that Disney owns the film and can do whatever the hell they want with it. Do I believe they will get pressured to reinstate the original cut of the film? No.

Why would anyone in the mainstream media actually call blasphemy on the nixing of the N-word, even if it was committed on an American classic?

Far less harmful words have been censored these last few months in classic books. Ian Fleming, Roald Dahl, Agatha Christie and Dr. Seuss have all been revised under the guise of a sensitivity review.

The reactionary times we live in are trying to negate whatever happened in the past. Instead of learning about it, and making sure the same mistakes dont happen again they are just trying to erase history.

My advice is simple: My recommendation to all of you is to buy as much physical media as possible (books, DVDs etc) before an inevitable purging of the classics becomes the norm.

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Disney Might Be To Blame for 'The French Connection' Censorship ... - Jordan Ruimy

L.L. Bean has just added a third shift at its factory in Brunswick, Maine, in an attempt to keep up with demand for its iconic boot.

Orders have quadrupled in the past few years as the boots have become more popular among a younger, more urban crowd.

The company says it saw the trend coming and tried to prepare, but orders outpaced projections. They expect to sell 450,000 pairs of boots in 2014.

People hoping to have the boots in time for Christmas are likely going to be disappointed. The bootsare back ordered through February and even March.

"I've been told it's a good problem to have but I"m disappointed that customers not getting what they want as quickly as they want," said Senior Manufacturing Manager Royce Haines.

Customers like, Mary Clifford, tried to order boots on line, but they were back ordered until January.

"I was very surprised this is what they are known for and at Christmas time you can't get them when you need them," said Clifford.

People who do have boots are trying to capitalize on the shortage and are selling them on Ebay at a much higher cost.

L.L. Bean says it has hired dozens of new boot makers, but it takes up to six months to train someone to make a boot.

The company has also spent a million dollars on new equipment to try and keep pace with demand.

Some customers are having luck at the retail stores. They have a separate inventory, and while sizes are limited, those stores have boots on the shelves.

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Maryland governor asks textbook publishers to resist censorship - NBC4 Washington

I am rarely in favor of content censorship of any kind, but, like so many parents, I am deeply disturbed by the impact that a rudderless social media is having on our kids, specifically on their health. 

I was reminded about it yet again this week with the sudden run on TikTok of an ancient Chinese herb, berberine, which is found in a barberry, golden seal or even a rhododendron plant. Teens are calling it “nature’s Ozempic,” and promoting it on social media for weight loss, despite that its effect on losing weight is quite small. Don’t get me wrong, berberine does have powerful metabolic effects in terms of lowering blood sugar and cholesterol, but it also impacts the gut and can cause bloating, gas and constipation with unknown long-term effects, which is exactly why a physician should be involved, not self-appointed teen experts on TikTok.

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy is right to put out an advisory warning that social media has become a huge risk to the health of our youth, increasing during the social isolation brought on by the pandemic, but present even before. Murthy spoke to me on SiriusXM’s Doctor Radio Reports recently and talked about the negative impact of social media on the self-esteem of children and teens. 

Murthy said viewing thousands of images on social media causes teens to make dangerous comparisons to their own lives and images. He said this content is “driving social comparison at a time of adolescence when young people are going through a critical time of brain development, where they’re more susceptible to peer suggestion, per comparison and peer influence.” 

The idea of vulnerable groups turning to social media for “connectivity” makes sense. Unfortunately, it is a trap, often leading to further stigmatization and cyberbullying. 

A doctor like me can try to help by starting a conversation with parents and kids about social media and emphasizing the need for more personal interaction and media-free zones but it is unclear how much of an impact that will really make. The pull on our youth is strong. The social media culture is highly seductive and growing. Murthy noted that technology companies are “not transparent with the data they have about the health impact of their platforms on our kids,” meaning “we don’t even fully understand how bad some of these harms may be or which kids are most at risk.” 

The surgeon general believes that technology companies can design their platforms in ways that support the health and well-being of our kids. I think this goal is laudable but naïve. Social media sites will find a way to pay lip service to the idea without instituting fundamental change, even in the face of increasing regulations which Murthy is right to suggest. 

TikTok, for example, already has a health and wellness hub, but parading under that banner are many videos that mislead and misinform. I believe they will always find ways to infiltrate the brains of our youth, a backdoor that bypasses critical thinking, as Columbia psychiatrist Dr. Ryan Sultan said to me on Doctor Radio.

Don’t get me wrong, Murthy is absolutely right to compare the need for safety regulation for social media to what we already have in place for car seats or automobiles themselves. As a physician, I don’t think twice about the Food and Drug Administration demanding safety protocols for drug manufacturing and distribution, so why should social media be any different?  

As Murthy said to me, policymakers have “a critical role” to play. They must create standards to protect young people from being exposed to “violence and sexual content,” “harassment and bullying” and “the features on social media that seek to manipulate them into spending more and more and more time” on platforms. 

Again, a laudable goal. There is no doubt that the addictive impact of social media may rob our children of some of life’s key moments. And, for once, I have no problem with the idea of trying to restrict content much as the movie rating system kept me from seeing an X-rated movie when I was a kid. 

But the problem is that these kinds of regulations are no longer effective, as social media sites (and teens) will easily find ways around them. Still, every parent with a developing child in this country shares the surgeon general’s concern and we must force action, even if we know that action will have limited impact.

Marc Siegel, MD, is a professor of medicine and medical director of Doctor Radio at NYU Langone Health. He is a Fox News medical correspondent and author of the new book, “COVID; the Politics of Fear and the Power of Science.”

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Should the government censor social media for kids? - The Hill

Fatima Mohammeds commencement speech drew ire from powerful politicians (Screenshot via @SAFECUNY/Twitter)

On May 12, City University of New York (CUNY) Law student Fatima Mohammed boldly spoke out against Israeli crimes against Palestinians. At first, a video of her speech received little notoriety but shortly went viral after news outlets and pro-Israel politicians took notice. The New York Post published a front-page story on the speech with the headline Stark Raving Grad. Since then, she has been subject to backlash from figures as powerful as mayor of New York City Eric Adams, Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres, and Republican Senator Ted Cruz.

Following the backlash, Mohammeds alma mater removed her speech from Youtube and condemned her words as hate speech.

Israel continues to indiscriminately rain bullets and bombs on worshippers, murdering the old, the young, attacking even funerals and graveyards as it encourages lynch mobs to target Palestinian homes and businesses, Mohammed said in her speech. During the holy month of Ramadan, Israeli occupation forces had indeed attacked worshippers inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Last year they attacked the funeral procession of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, whos killing has been established as intentional by the Israeli state.

Supporters of Palestine are continually persecuted for exercising their free speech rights in the United States, especially in academia. Professors, such as Steven Salaita, have lost their jobs for speaking out against Israel. The infamous website Canary Mission exists to surveil and defame students that are organizing in support of Palestinian liberation. The US has several laws on the books that explicitly ban boycotts against Israel.

Mohammed also criticized CUNY for collaborating with what she called the fascist New York City Police Department, leading to former NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly slandering her on FOX News.

At this same commencement, students booed and turned their guests on surprise guest speaker Eric Adams, who was once an NYPD officer himself. The mayor has come under fire for several policy choices that will negatively affect poor New Yorkers, such as homeless encampment sweeps and cutting funds for schools. In a shocking lack of transparency, the student body was not informed about Adams presence prior to his arrival, and he was rightfully met with resounding boos as he attempted to deliver a self-aggrandizing apologia for police violence disguised as a speech, read a statement authored by Within Our Lifetime, a NYC-based Palestinian liberation organization.

The Palestinian Youth Movement, a transnational organization of Palestinian and Arab youth in the diaspora, declared that they stand with Fatima and all those facing repression for speaking up & organizing against the Zionist entity. This backlash continues to prove the fragile position of Zionism in this country.

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Law Student in NYC faces backlash and censorship after speaking ... - Peoples Dispatch