It's tough being a small-town mayor, since in addition to all your other duties (cutting ribbons, whatever) you find yourself -- at least if you're Sarah Palin -- with the onerous duty of censoring the books in the municipal library.
When she became mayor of Wasilla Back in the 1990s, Palin seems to have fired the local librarian, Mary Ellen Emmons, for not falling into line.
Here are some excerpts from an article published in December 1996 by
The Frontiersman, the local paper
: Palin: Library censorship inquiries 'Rhetorical' - Frontiersman Quote:
(...) Library Director Mary Ellen Emmons last week said Palin broached the subject with her on two occasions in October - once Palin was elected mayor Oct. 1 but before she took office on Oct. 14, and again in more detail on Monday, Oct. 28. Besides heading the Wasilla City Library, Emmons is also president of the Alaska Library Association. (...)
Emmons recalled that the Oct. 28 conversation she pulled no punches with her response to the mayor.
“She asked me if I would object to censorship, and I replied 'Yup',” Emmons recounted Saturday. “And I told her it would not be just me. This was a constitutional question, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) would get involved, too.”
Emmons said Palin asked her on Oct. 28 if she would object to censorship, even if people were circling the library in protest about a book. “I told her it would definitely be a problem the ACLU would take on then,” Emmons said
Asked who she thought might picket the library, Palin said Monday, “Had no one in mind ... again, the issue was discussed in the context of a professional question being asked in regards to library policy. (...)
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According to this article in the
International Herald Tribune (
Palin's start in Alaska: Not politics as usual - International Herald Tribune) "Palin fired Emmons shortly after taking office but changed course after residents made a strong show of support."
I wonder whether this story is getting any media play in the US.
And ask yourself this
: If the shoe had been on the Democratic foot, would it be getting media play.
Three guesses.
Anyway, once she's VP she can go to work on the Library of Congress. That'll keep her busy.