Tuesday, August 25, 2009

The Evolution (or Intelligent Design) of Ignorance

We've seen quite an evolutionary creatively designed turn of events here in West Bend.

Originally, Ginny Maziarka wanted the pro-gay books removed, and "balance" inserted into the West Bend Library's young adult section. Then she shifted gears and targeted books she deemed "sexually explicit" and even seemed to think the library housed "child pornography".

This, remember, brought out all the crazies, including the CCLU, those four elderly Milwaukee men who apparently drove to West Bend Library and became psychologically harmed just because Baby Be-Bop was shelved there. Their distress was so debilitating, they demanded $120,000 and the book to be burned.

But why stop there? If Ginny is going to engineer the gravy train of imposing personal morals on the public library, we better look beyond those filthy gay penguins.

Next stop: evolution!

This article in the Fond du Lac reporter quotes Library director Michael Tyree, and mentions a new challenge that is emerging from Ginny's gaggle of moralists:
“About 10 days ago, the couple filed an open records request for the library’s expenditures involving reimbursements. I gave them that. Now, another person within their group of supporters wants us to re-catalog books that are science but from a creationist viewpoint. I told her no,” Tyree said.
I'd love to hear more about this challenge. I wonder where these books are currently shelved, and what changes are being requested. Hopefully Mr. Tyree can share the details....

30 comments:

  1. what do they want them recatalogued as? Creationist Science is already in the nonfiction section (although it's debatable that creationism is a "science")

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  2. In the comments to Ginny's current post I wrote:

    "11. I do not believe homosexuals deserve equal rights.

    Own it Ginny, own it!"

    She deleted it.

    What a spineless turd she is.

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  3. Wow, I followed up saying "Why did you delete it, it's true".

    She deleted that and said I am no longer welcome to post on her blog.

    Well Ginny, since I know you read this, what on earth is the big deal about saying you don't think homosexuals deserve equal rights? YOU HAVE FULL POSTS stating that fact?

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  4. Here's the buzz:

    Mary Weigand, Ginny's BFF, has placed the request to have the books reshelved. I believe they are currently in the science stack but Weigand and crew want them shelved in the religion area. As for the reimbursement issue, our illustrious morality police officer requested an accounting of any penny that was spent by Tyree on behalf of the library - any out-of-pocket expense related to library business. It's amazing how her ridiculous requests are defeated and she retreats to come up with more and more absurd accusations and ORR. Could she be one of those people who edge closer and closer to losing control as her "world" as she knows it starts to crumble?

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  5. They shouldn't be in the religion area either; they should be in fiction.

    What is your source for the above?

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  6. I wish I could make this not anonymous, but I can't. So hopefully you can trust that I am a library staff member.

    There is a set of books with the series name, Wonders of Creation that was requested to be purchased. And the title, What really happened to the dinosaurs? The books were purchased and catalogued in the 231's. Many have the subject heading of Creationism.

    The same patron who requested the books, feels these books should be catalogued in science, the 500's instead of religion. During a phone conversation with the director, she explained that the books provide evidence that humans and dinosaurs were on the same ark. And that by not placing these books in science, the library is "censoring".

    The director explained that we are not censoring. The books are available in Juvenile non-fiction. They will not be recatalogued.

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  7. she explained that the books provide evidence that humans and dinosaurs were on the same ark

    !!

    Sounds like fantasy fiction to me!

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  8. Can the WB Library just create a "Ginny" section? I have some batshit crazy books I'd like to have filed there.

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  9. Actually you guys should set up a "Ginny Maziarka Approved Reading" section and just have it empty. Hand out "Ginny Maziarka Reading Lists" and have it blank other than the title.

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  10. Dan, you're entertaining, really! As to humans riding dinosaurs or whatever, well, same as talking serpents and such...

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  11. I try. Maybe it's because I've lived in New York City for so long, but I just can't tolerate her total bullshit. I can't be polite about it like it seems most Benders are. Dave Rank and the Daily News are partly to blame for even reporting on this loser.

    I'm going to reach out to the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus to see if they would be willing to make the trip to serenade her someplace. Sound like a plan?

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  12. While I'm on a roll here...

    Anyone remember a few years back when people got together to come up with a new definition for "Santorum" (as in crazy homobhobic christian Republican Rick Santorum... the guy who brought home his dead baby and played with it for a few hours)?

    They successfully came up with a new definition and to this day if you google "Santorum" it's the first hit. Try it. Anyone got a good alternate definition for "Maziarka"?

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  13. Actually, I think Dave Rank is a stand up guy....don't shoot the messenger. He's blogged (on another local blogger's site) very intelligently about Maziarka's library challenge. But I do agree the Daily News has bent over backwards to report on Ginny's shenanigans, even when there was nothing to report (like earlier this month when they reported, on the front page no less, that after a few months when the new library board members have been in their positions for a while, Ginny MAY pursue the library challenge again.)

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  14. I'm obviously bored tonight but Ginny really just lost it. Reading her current post you'd think people were posting death threats or something! Apparently "questions" = "harassment". Good thing I have screenshots of everything before she deleted it.

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  15. Wow, from the product description of "What Really Happened To The Dinosaurs?" from Amazon:

    "Product Description
    The book that rewrites the fiction of secular dinosaur lore. Beautifully illustrated, highly imaginative. Takes young, inquisitive readers on a pre-flood journey through God's creation. Travel side by side with Tracker John and his pet dinosaur DJ! Children will love the heartwarming story and fun-filled adventure. Adults will appreciate the scientific teaching of a biblical alternative."

    I don't really think science books should be "highly imaginative".

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  16. "Dave Rank and the Daily News are partly to blame for even reporting on this loser."

    As the messenger, I take offense at that statement. For the record, my name is Dave Rank.

    DanBack, you so miss the point about news coverage I hardly know where to begin in response.

    Just what do you mean mean by that statement? That the Daily News and I (and I was never the only reporter who wrote about the library controversy) should have ignored Mrs. Maziarka and her campaign? How would that solve anything? Does sweeping dirt under a rug get rid of the dirt?

    The Daily News was not the only medium that covered Mrs. Maziarka and the events of the library controversy. It was reported on by Milwaukee's TV, radio and newspaper outlets, secular and Christian; West Bend's radio station, other newspapers in the county and state; local, national and international blogs. Ultimately, it reached such Internet sites as CNN, ABC and others. Mrs. Maziarka was quite effective getting her message out, whether you like it or not.

    No, the Daily News was not the only medium that covered this issue, we just tried to be the most thorough and detailed possible. I do not regret one article written, and in fact wish we could have provided even more coverage.

    As a working journalist for the past 35 years, I do not believe ignoring any controversy makes it go away. That just lets misinformation fester and grow. I believe the best approach to any idea, is to place it in the public spotlight and see if it stands up to public scrutiny or cannot.

    As best I can, I try to shed light on issues, events, people and activities for my readers. I state that with pride and do not apologize for it.

    Thank you for your kind comments Maria Hanrahan.

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  17. Dave - It wasn't that deep... I did say "partly". It's not like I said any papers with your stories should be moved to a different section in the library. I didn't say you you were a jerk or anything.

    And I mainly was referring to that story Maria mentioned when she said "(like earlier this month when they reported, on the front page no less, that after a few months when the new library board members have been in their positions for a while, Ginny MAY pursue the library challenge again.)"

    After seeing that "story" it was hard to come to any other conclusion than the News would run anything on Ginny just to sell a few papers/remain at the center of the storm. Now maybe you didn't write that story. If you didn't I apologize. It does seem like you write 95% of the Ginny stories.

    It's also hard to say the Daily News isn't adding fuel to the fire at times. Is four mentally challenged men protesting at city hall, with one handing out a flyer while holding a misspelled sign really worth a huge front page picture? As a non-resident who's only contact with the story is reading Daily News every morning it really seems that the Daily News LOVES this story and will stretch anything surrounding it as far as possible into a story.

    I'm sure you are a fine reporter. I do question some of the editorial page policies however. They continually run letters by this crazy guy... I'm forgetting his name now, but his letters are always this crazy, rambling nonsense (like this post!) written with a thesaurus on hand. When I emailed a letter to the editor they didn't even call me to confirm that I in fact wrote it before they printed it. Next time maybe I'll write in saying I'm Ginny and apologize for being such an embarrassment to the city.

    Have a nice day Dave!

    dan

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  18. "Mrs. Maziarka was quite effective getting her message out"

    To be clear, the appearance of this nonsense on CNN, ABC, etc wasn't due to Ginny's propaganda machine. It was because sites like Gawker, Daily Kos, etc picked up on the ALA's blogging about the CCLU bullshit. Don't pad Ginny's ego thinking she was able to reach out to national media.

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  19. "anonymous library staff member" get your facts straight. The book "What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs" was not a book that was asked to be reclassified. It is a storybook with great information, but NOT, I repeat, NOT included in the books requested to be moved out of the 200 Religion section and into the 500 Science section.

    I certainly hope that Library Director Michael Tyree is not spreading false rumors.

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  20. Ok, smarty-pants. Then why don't you list here (or email me) the books that WERE asked to be reclassified.

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  21. DanBack wrote:

    "After seeing that "story" it was hard to come to any other conclusion than the News would run anything on Ginny just to sell a few papers/remain at the center of the storm."

    "It's also hard to say the Daily News isn't adding fuel to the fire at times. Is four mentally challenged men protesting at city hall, with one handing out a flyer while holding a misspelled sign really worth a huge front page picture? As a non-resident who's only contact with the story is reading Daily News every morning it really seems that the Daily News LOVES this story and will stretch anything surrounding it as far as possible into a story."

    Dan -- may I call you Dan? -- If you or anyone else thinks any story the Daily News prints is intended to sell more papers, you haven't seen our circulation figures.

    Please reread my previous post. I think I explained why I believe public discussion is far better a response to controversy than trying to ignore it.

    Also, if it wasn't for that story about the CCLU and the photo with the misspelling of "Mayer" how would anyone know the CCLU was composed of four old men from Milwaukee with zero local support in West Bend?

    And since that story and photo, I do believe there hasn't been another peep out of the CCLU. That just may be wishful thinking on my part, however.

    This was written by Dave Rank.

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  22. Call me anything but late for dinner! Or a homophobe.

    I hear where you are coming from and appreciate your posts here. I did say "partly"... and that "part" is probably down to 3%. I still think covering the CCLU thing AT ALL gave them some amount of credibility. News outlets do decide what to report using some set of guidelines, right? I guess I wonder what those are. If I flew in from NYC with 3 of my friends and spent 5 minutes protesting in front of Terry Vrana's house for calling the library a "porn shop" could I expect coverage in your paper? Was it the lawsuit that made the CCLU newsworthy? If I filed a $30k lawsuit against the CCLU for some dumb reason would it be covered? I'm not trying to be a jerk her please understand, it seems we are at the point with all this nonsense that Ginny just really likes reading about herself in print and watching video clips of herself online and will keep wasting taxpayers money with this nonsense as long as people show interest in it. Myself included.

    Does the Daily News ever print their own editorials? In all the years I've been reading I really don't recall seeing one. And I've been reading since the paper only came out twice a week. Maybe it's time for one.

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  23. Hark - I hear the ghost of Ginny!

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  24. Hahahah I feel so bad for this woman! From the paper today:

    "Finding science in the 200 section
    I get upset when kids are lied to, including the force-feeding of evolutionary dogma in schools and elsewhere. Therefore, I was happy when the West Bend Community Memorial Library purchased a few science books from a creationist perspective for school kids. I envisioned kids learning about the world around them without the idea of millions of years attached to the science. A damper was put on my happiness when I saw the books, about weather, astronomy, geology, dinosaurs, caves and oceanography, in the 200 religion section and not the 500 science section.
    Director Michael Tyree was quoted saying the books are science books, but he refuses to put them in the science section because they are from a creationist viewpoint. Hmm, censorship?
    I tried telling him, without success, that the science in creationist books is the same as the science in evolutionary books. The difference lies in the origins and dating of geology, the solar system, dinosaurs, etc. (i.e. real science builds a rocket and gets to the moon, while historical science tells us how and when the moon got there.) Historical science is not really science at all, but faith-based, whether creation- or evolution-based.
    Kids deserve easy access to the difference in interpretation without having to look in a special religion section to find data without the evolutionary dogma of millions of years. Books in the 500 section are only evolutionbased. Knowing that evolution is faithbased, shouldn’t those books also be in a religion section?
    Interesting note: Creationists have been among the best scientists, experimenting with the understanding that God‘s creation has order – just two examples: Raymond Damadian, inventor of the MRI scanner, and Johannes Kepler, known for his Laws of Planetary Motion.
    Feel free to look in the 200 religion section for some good science books for your kids!
    Mary Weigand
    Town of Trenton "

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  25. Mary Weigand's comments are not funny, they are not even sad. They are frightening.

    Anyone who equates creationism with science is willingly ignoring centuries of overwhelming physical evidence found in physics, astronomy, geology, biology, microbiology, chemistry, genetics, paleontology, archeology, linquistics and every other "ology" of true science there is. All so they can claim faith in a rather poorly edited book.

    If we allow society to slip back a few hundred years to accept Mary Weigand's flat-earth world view, there will be no science. Just indoctrinations that bark "The gods did it. Don't ask questions or we'll burn you at the nearest stake."

    Mary Weigand wrote: "I tried telling him, without success, that the science in creationist books is the same as the science in evolutionary books. The difference lies in the origins and dating of geology, the solar system, dinosaurs, etc. (i.e. real science builds a rocket and gets to the moon, while historical science tells us how and when the moon got there.) Historical science is not really science at all, but faith-based, whether creation- or evolution-based."

    "Historical science is not really science at all..." That is a load of horse manure. It says we humans are incapable of understanding anything, incapable of using our intelligence to observe, investigate, and come to conclusions based on verifiable evidence.

    creationism is not science, it is the denial of science, and belongs, at best, cataloqued as religion, if not completely tossed on the trash heap of failed ideologies, and rightfully denounced as an impediment to human progress.

    Such self-deluded, ignorance must be fought.

    My name is Dave Rank.

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  26. Wow, another crazy today:

    "Book signing itself,
    not parents, questioned
    This is in response to Carol Pouros, as well as to Ms. Hetzel. It is amazing how you can twist my words into fallacies. Instead of accusing library patrons, parents and taxpayers of censorship, perhaps you should be focusing on the library board’s sponsorship.
    Yes, sponsorship of inappropriate, sexually explicit materials for children. Apparently you are unable to accurately read and comprehend the totality of my statements. The timing and purpose of the book signing by parents of two gay sons was in question. No words written by me ever addressed the author in any personal way, though you would like to divert the attention of the public erroneously. Understandably, this is an ageold tactic of those who favor the liberal agenda, so it is transparent and we know our community is able to see through your rhetoric.
    If one would look at the blogs, they would find that, indeed, Ms. Reilly-Kliss openly spoke about her role in shutting down West Bend parents, and Mr. Uhlig made it clear that his oppositional stance paralleled Ms. Reilly-Kliss. In the blogosphere, Mr. Uhlig’s eyebrow-raising timing of the book signing makes one wonder if the gay community knows they are being used.
    A final question: How do you know you are the “silent majority?” Have you taken a poll? Be careful what you claim.
    As for me, I will follow Marsha Wranovsky’s path as she so astutely quoted “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” We will all be praying for you.
    Jean Bury Weymier
    West Bend "

    She wrote: "The timing and purpose of the book signing by parents of two gay sons was in question". Jean, if your problem with the books in the library is their explicit sexual content and not just the fact that they are written from a gay perspective, what on EARTH is your problem with the "timing and purpose" of the book signing? I haven't read the book, but I'm guessing the parents didn't get into graphic detail about the sex lives of their sons. That leaves the issue of them being gay, which is the real issue here - Ginny and her ilk are afraid of people who are different from themselves.

    Ginny, et al, PLEASE grow a pair and just come out and say it - you hate gays.

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  27. "Instead of accusing library patrons, parents and taxpayers of censorship, perhaps you should be focusing on the library board’s sponsorship.
    Yes, sponsorship of inappropriate, sexually explicit materials for children."

    One can infer that Jean Bury Weymier could also be taking this battle of ideals to all the people and companies that have contributed money to the West Bend Public library - They are sponsors too. Perhaps she will walk into the library entrance and acquire all the names on the wall that provided financial support and begin a campaign against them.

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  28. Mary Weigand is connected with the group that requested the West Bend School district teach creationism along side evolution in the WB schools. They were defeated using the argument that creationism is not a science, it's a philosophy/religion.

    I find it interesting that this right-wing Bible study group is so ignorant as to claim this is a nation with morality based on the Bible and that this country's forefathers considered the U.S. a Bible based nation. Historically, this is inaccurate - Research Washington, Franklin, Jefferson and Lincoln - religion.

    This Bible study group is one of many peoples of faith that fail to acknowledge the existence of hermaphrodites. Their creator is creating 50/50 gender mixes; one would think this would lead to the logical conclusion other gender mixes are being created due to nature's processes.

    As noted in another entry, Mary Weigand and Ginny M. led a challenge against the WB school district's harassment policy on the grounds that it conflicted with one's freedom of speech and that including "sexual preference" in the policy promoted teen sex and homosexuality. Meanwhile, they were also challenging an LGBQ support group's existence at the high school (one of several groups) that was supported (not financially) by the district. The support groups was dissolved; however, any support group can operate after school hours and use the district buildings.

    Last year, 2-3 teen human beings (who could have used a little support) in the district are rumored to have attempted to snuff themselves, and these are just the numbers that were got to my ears. Thanks to this public intolerance, I wonder how many are abusing themselves or are considering running away to end up abused on the streets of LA and Seattle. Note these people want to obliterate all condoning and support of LGBQ people, but they fail to offer any support to help them transition to whatever ideal they have in mind.

    Thanks to the library debacle, I also have heard that one family chose not to relocate to the West Bend area due to the intolerance and influence of this group and the headlines and problems they have created. It's likely other people have failed to relocate to West Bend for these reasons.

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  29. a family with one kid not coming to west bend...
    if the kid would have went to the public school, the school would have gotten $7-$9000. if the family would have had three kids, that's $21-$27000.

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