House Caught My Attention
Posted by Valerie on February 23, 2009
Embarrassing
Posted by Valerie on
I’m embarrassed for my country.
This article should be in our major papers.
First Amendment
Posted by Valerie on February 22, 2009
Well, here’s what I think.
Children have a responsibility to govern themselves, first of all, but they often don’t. Against the disturbing United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, children are given into the direct care of their parents by God, to grow up in their own family cultures requiring the unmediated attention of neither the church nor the state except in rare cases.
Even as children are under the direct authority of their parents, they enjoy the same Bill of Rights as any other citizens. A father or a mother may restrict a child’s access to reading content, but the state does not share this authority and cannot infringe upon a child’s First Amendment right to obtain information. (Free access to information is the logical corollary of the freedom of speech.)
We don’t know what lead testing will show yet, but in the case of thousands of particular children’s titles, there are no copies but pre-1985 copies. If these copies are removed from community libraries, church libraries and school libraries as well as suppressed in the marketplace, by Congressional fiat, then the First Amendment rights of children will certainly be infringed in the process. If our nation permits this aggression against our children’s rights, we should not feel confident there will never be an attempt to regulate the use of “banned hazardous material” within our homes.
In the past, against constitutional local autonomy, by the way, some courts have found that children’s First Amendment rights are infringed when even a handful of particular titles have been removed from a single library. It is hard for me to imagine a court ruling, then, that children’s First Amendment rights would not be infringed if every copy of a very long list of titles is suppressed by the State with no credible evidence of compelling interest.
One library in northern Illinois has the most exceptional children’s non-fiction collection within at least 150 miles. Removal of the pre-1985 titles would decimate that collection. The lost content would be missed by children and could not be equally supplied by in-print books. Students would lose access to particular ideas, authors, and subjects.
In my experience as a homeschooling parent and a bookseller, children as young as eight or ten will sometimes develop admiration for particular authors or particular series. Those students, even at surprisingly early ages, will create reading lists, seeking every title, often using inter-library loan programs for this purpose. I hope that it doesn’t happen, but if the day comes when a student walks into a library and fills out an inter-library loan request and is told that his request cannot possibly be filled because 1) he is only ten years old and 2) that children’s book was last printed in 1975, I would say that the State has clearly infringed his First Amendment right.
Children consult with booksellers as well, and I believe that under this disrespected Constitution a child can legally come into my store, request advice on a book, get honest advice not censored to exclude harmless lead content, and then buy whatever title he pleases, even if his choice was printed in 1910. The only governor with legitimate authority to interfere would be the child’s parent.
A Second Thought
You can read more on this issue in the comments at Overlawyered.com: Is Litigation the Answer to the CPSIA Problem?
There’s a good warning there in the main post, so you’ll want to read it too.
CPSIA Interview on Pajamas Media Political
Posted by Valerie on
A GREAT interview with Walter Olson who is doing incredible work at Overlawyered.com.
Giant Paper-Mache Puppets On Subsidized SWAT Raids!
The Olson interview starts at 15:45, but in my opinion the whole program is worth hearing.
Three to Applaud, One Needs Help
Posted by Valerie on
The Times-Picayune at Nola.com
A newly implemented toy safety law is forcing local retailers to sort through their inventories to weed out noncompliant products, a massive undertaking that may have a far-reaching financial impact.
. . . . .
“We are no longer accepting small toys, painted wood items or clothing with trinkets or toys attached to them,” said Jasmine Berfect-Gillis, director of Social Concerns in Luling, one of St. Charles Parish’s largest thrift stores, which has been around for 28 years. “We are doing everything we can to ensure toys that have been flagged don’t end up on our shelves.
“And although clothes are our biggest seller, we are concerned about the financial impact this may have on us, especially in this economic climate. We count on the sales from Social Concerns to fund many community outreach programs, such as helping people pay their monthly utilities, purchase school uniforms for children and help people pay their mortgage or rent.”
New Federal Lead Law Puts the Brakes on Kids’ Powersports
This is a well-written, compelling article. The author does erroneously state that libraries are exempted for a year.
In all the years that Erik Havert of Wolcottville has been riding youth all-terrain vehicles, he has never chewed on, or licked, a single part of his ATV. And that’s a long time, because Erik, now 10-going-on-11, has been riding youth-sized ATVs since he was 4.
He’s been competing in Motocross since he was 5. He’s twice won a national championship, plus so many other races he can’t remember how many. He’s been looking forward to making his mark in more national competitions in March in Alabama.
But because of a new federal law that went into effect Feb. 10, Erik may not be competing next month….
. . . . .
The CPSC’s spokesperson, Sonia Hayes-Pleasant, said Thursday that the law’s intent was to make children’s products safer. But in its rush to better protect children, Congress made the law so broad that it effectively bans anything with lead or phthalates in them — including books printed before 1985, when some inks contained lead, as well as present-day children’s jewelry, play cosmetics and clothing, and youth ATVs, snowmobiles and motorbikes.
In Orland at the Joyce Public Library, where a 30-foot-long wall boasts a plethora of children’s books, this law would wipe out much of the collection, including most of the library’s Dr. Seuss books.
“It would just devastate us,” said Don Albright, vice president of the Joyce Library Board. “That could put us out of business in children’s books. It’s insane.”
Getting the Lead Out: Libraries Concerned about New Law
A federal act that was passed in August 2008 to protect children against the dangers of lead based toys could end up costing Brown County libraries an enormous amount of money….
The federal government gave the libraries a 12 month reprieve from having their books tested while they determine whether the books will need to be checked or not. According to Hardin, each book will cost approximately $300 to $600 to be tested for the presence of lead.
“Who is going to pay $300 to $600 to have a $15 book tested?” Hardin said.
Allison Gibson, director of the Union Township Public Library system, is also keeping a close eye on the issue. Gibson said the issue came as a surprise, and she is hoping that books will not be affected.
“I understand the concern with kids and lead after the cases that were showing up last year with toys from China,” Gibson said. “But if it comes to be that we can’t let kids touch a book, I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
Hardin said that if congress finds that all the books will need to be tested, it would be cheaper for the Brown County Public Library system to throw out all of their old books and purchase new ones that are guaranteed to be free of lead. The Brown County Public Library System has approximately 50,000 children’s books across five libraries. The Union Township Public Library system has approximately 22,500 children’s books.
If libraries discard and then replace masses of books, you know who pays for that, right?
This next one needs our help! Take a look at Lead in toys: How can you tell? If you can, please make a comment. Many who read the article will go on to read the comments.
(I have to make a comment tomorrow; I’m on the wrong computer for recovering my password today.)
One case in 75 million is an incredible safety record! Evidence that our children are safe has been used to oppress families and children.
