Miami Dade’s Vamos a Cuba “book burning” case costs $250,000 so far
Posted February 10, 2009
http://havanajournal.com.nyud.net:8090/images/uploads/vamos-a-cuba-book.jpgVamos a Cuba (Heinemann, 2001), a controversial book by Alta Schreier that paints a rosy picture of life in the communist country, can be removed from Miami-Dade County school libraries, ruled a panel of judges on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The ruling overturns a July 2006 injunction by the Southern Florida District Court that allowed the book to remain in Miami-Dade County school libraries despite a school board vote of 6-3 to remove 49 copies of the book. The school board, disregarded recommendations of the superintendent and district committees to retain the book, and sided with parent and former political prisoner, Juan Amador Rodriguez, who complained that Vamos a Cuba (Let’s Visit Cuba ) avoids controversial topics, including the repressive regime of former dictator Fidel Castro, who had ruled Cuba for decades.
Another parent, along with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), challenged the removal of the book on First Amendment grounds.
In 2006, Pat Scales, president of the Association of Library Services for Children (ALSC) testified on behalf of the ACLU, saying “that (children) ages four to eight cognitively really don’t ‘get’ the concept of government.” .
Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU’s Florida branch says he’s not deterred by the latest court decision. “Clearly, this can’t be allowed to stand,” he told the Miami Herald. “We must take further action to prevent the shelves of the Miami-Dade school library from being scrubbed clean of viewpoints some people in the school find objectionable. However much they try to evade the facts and bend the law into a pretzel, censorship is censorship is censorship.”
More:
http://havanajournal.com/cuban_americans/entry/miami-dades-vamos-a-cuba-book-burning-case-costs-250000-so-far/This was one in a series of books featuring other countries. Apparently the others were deemed acceptable to these clowns, or they would have been making asses of themselves over them, as well.
This is totally representative of the Miami hardliner "exile" mentality. It was Human Rights Watch which some time ago confirmed their view that in Miami the First Amendment is in serious danger.
Clearly they've got some deep, stupid problems of their own in Miami.http://www.sabre.org.nyud.net:8090/archives/update98/cuba.gif http://farm3.static.flickr.com.nyud.net:8090/2455/3748887553_6dfe66031e.jpg