Editorial and letter on HPS recall attempt misses the point

The Livingston County Press & Argus has a catchy headline for its editorial blasting those fighting off the illegitimate recall of three members of the Howell Public Schools Board of education – “School board antics mirror 'Spy vs. Spy.'” But, it misses the point of what this illegitimate recall is really about and why the targets of it should be fighting it.

As you know, there is a misguided effort underway to recall three of the four school board members who voted to fire Superintendent Theodore Gardella after just a year on the job last month. Apparently, the organizers and the newspaper are making big deal out of the fact that the spouses of two of the board members targeted in the recall sat in the parking lot of the Baymont Inn on July 9 when the organizational meeting was held.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and they should be dong that. What they should have done was walk in and take a seat. In fact, they should be doing everything legally possible to fight the recall, and although they have not done that, they certainly have done nothing illegal.

Another issue causing some flack are intercepted emails between Jeannine Pratt and retired teacher and former teacher union president Doug Norton where they joke they should “infiltrate” the meeting. The only thing the recall targets are guilty of are a few ill-advised words, like war and infiltration. The fact is they should have been at that meeting.

The editorial makes light of a line by Norton where he says, that he was “bummed we didn’t have someone inside” the meeting. Then he talks about shadowing those who circulate the petitions.

“We can put this down,” he said.

Put this down?

Exactly.

The simple fact is, if the recall effort gets enough signatures and gets on the ballot, the fight is essentially over, and the paper should know that. School board elections traditionally have a low voter turnout, and the turnout for recalls are even less, meaning the people most motivated to vote are those ticked off. Plus, very few people will ever cast a vote to save a politician’s job, and that’s basically what elected officials at all levels are.

Opponents of this power grab need to be shadowing the people collecting signatures to ensure people get both sides of the story and to ensure they are not putting out false info.

The news editor at the P & A needs to do some research and take a look at some back issues of his own newspaper when he talks about the anti-gay hate group known as the “Love” PAC - (Livingston Organization for Values in Education) in the future.

“Some on the Howell board, including Pratt, seem to feel that the recall is an extension of LOVE — the Livingston Organization for Values in Education, a citizens’ group of undetermined size that frequently criticizes the board. Such thinking borders on paranoia, overstates the power of LOVE and disregards those folks who genuinely are angry over the way Gardella was fired.”

There is no doubt they are involved. The “LOVE” group has an extremist rightwing agenda and is very anti-union. The law allowing recalls is perhaps the most abused law on the books, and most recalls are simply a way to circumvent the election process. This one certainly is.

The editor is right when he says “LOVE” is of “undetermined size,” because they are so secretive. It probably only consists of co-founders Vicky Fyke and extreme right-winger Wendy Day, who, unfortunately, also happens to a member of the school board.

Voters soundly rejected them back in 2007 when the two-“LOVE” backed candidate were defeated by, ironically, Edwin Literski and Jeannine Pratt, who are two of the three board members targeted for recall. There may be no conspiracy, but we know a few things about this recall attempt: we have no idea who the “LOVE” members are, the ones who we know are “LOVE” member are pushing hard for it and this is just an attempt to negate the election.

The editorial ends with this tidbit, “In the last two years, this district has built a $70 million high school it can’t afford to run, fired or forced out two superintendents and been embroiled in countless public controversies.”

The fact is, two of three board members targeted were not on the board when that happened, and Day and Fyke were responsible for hounding the last Superintendent out who spent nine years here.

We already know about Day’s extreme anti-teacher and anti-union views, and that is becoming a theme in this recall attempt. In the same edition of the paper that the editorial appeared in, is an anti-union letter from Green Oak Township Republican Beverly Chiasson called “Howell district's woes rooted in past.” In it, the teacher’s union and unions in general are the enemy, and she uses false stereotypes to try and make her point.

She writes, “Why the Howell school district is such a mess:
Howell Public Schools parents are not old enough to remember or know the 40-plus-year history of Michigan public education.”

Perhaps she made a mistake and meant to say what went on in the last 40 years because public education has been around since the 19th century. In fact, The Michigan Education Association (MEA) was founded in 1852 as the Michigan State Teachers Association, becoming the Michigan Education Association in 1926.

But Ms. Chiasson quickly lays the blame at the feet of the union, writing, “When education associations (unions) began, and a school election was coming up, all those interested in running for school board were interviewed by the union leaders. If the candidates gave the right answers, the unions would publicly support them and required all school employees to vote for their choices.”
How is this any different than a political action committee interviewing a candidate and then making an endorsement and making a recommendation to its members, whether it’s the NRA, the chamber of commerce or Right to Life? It’s a legal and accepted practice.

There is no way union leaders can require “all school employees to vote for their choices.” They make a recommendation just like every other PAC and the ballot is secret.

She claims, “After an election, the union leaders would check the records to make sure every employee in the district voted. The good teachers, not wanting to rock the boat, would go along to get along.”

Voter registrations are public record, and what they are doing is what every group does: it’s called get out the vote. I have no idea why a teacher would need to be prodded to vote in an election that will have more of a direct effect on them than the Presidential election.

Then she goes after the left-wing PTA and PTO, saying “the PTAs and PTOs were school-supportive young parents used by the administration as the nucleus for promoting bond issues, millages and school board elections.”

The Parent Teacher Association has been an important part of education since 1897, and it began when two women from Washington, DC decided that the children of America needed a voice. PTO’s are simply unaffiliated PTAs, but the basic mission of both is simply to improve education for the children.

But her real criticism is reserved for the unions.
“Once upon a time, I attended a union ratification meeting long enough to hear comments like (referring to parents), “We’re baby-sitting their kids all day and they can pay for it.” I have never been able to understand the union mentality.”

The first and last sentences are the most telling. It was a union ratification meeting, meaning there is no more democratic group in the workplace than unions. Her last sentence sums up her feelings, “I have never been able to understand the union mentality.” You think?

The letter ends with what the recall is really all about:
“If the recall organizers are successful, they must be prepared to have and work for replacements for a board majority.”

Prepared? Hell, the very reason for the recall is to get a “board majority.”

Recall group calls fighting back against this intimidation attempt a conspiracy

HOWELL – The group trying to recall three of the four Howell Public School Board members for casting a vote they disagree with is seeing black helicopters and conspiracy theories because the targets of the intimidation tactic are fighting back.

As you know, there is a misguided effort underway to recall three of the four Howell Public School Board members who voted to fire Superintendent Theodore Gardella after just a year on the job last month. Apparently, the recall organizers are up in arms because the spouses of two of the board members targeted in the recall sat in the parking lot of the Baymont Inn on July 9 when the organizational meeting was held, according to a story in the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus.

According to the story, “Members of the group leading the recall effort said they’re worried that their opponents would monitor an organizational meeting and count the number of people showing up. They believe this type of behavior could be the start of more aggressive and possibly illegal activity.” Are they for real? What illegal activity are they talking about? Fighting the false charges?

There was nothing illegal, shady or creepy about it, and they should have gone inside to the meeting. I can only speculate the reason they didn’t go inside was, perhaps, to avoid a confrontation.

Monitoring the recall is a common and accepted tactic, and they should be doing it. You will remember the recall attempt in 2007 when Republicans tried to recall Democrats who voted for the tax increase that kept Michigan’s government up and running. This, like most recalls, is nothing but raw intimidation, and this is also just an attempt to circumvent the election process.

Only the recall of Speaker of the House Andy Dillon was successful, and Leon Drolet and company had to lie and bend the law to get signatures. It made it on the ballot, but was soundly defeated by voters. The other recalls failed to get enough signatures. They fought off the recall by having people “shadow” the people collecting signatures to give the other side of the story and to stop them from telling lies.

There were a few mild confrontations involving dueling video cameras, but that was because Republicans did not like being exposed and challenged. The sane and rational people opposing this recall/intimidation attempt should do the same thing. It’s legal and an accepted tactic.

In a move I have never head of before in 12 years as a reporter covering school boards and local government, the recall group has hired a Lansing-based attorney. It’s unclear who or how he is being paid. He claims, “surveillance is often the first step of more aggressive steps that could be illegal,” and he also he said “their actions and mind-set could evolve into something more serious.” Really; Like what?

The parking lot incident, apparently, came to light because the recall group, allegedly, “intercepted” emails between a board member and Doug Norton, a retired teacher who previously served as president of the Howell teachers’ union. The recall group and extremist rightwing board member Wendy Day are using that as proof of a conspiracy between the rest of the school board members and the teachers’ union.

Day’s anti-union views – as well as her anti-government, anti-teacher and anti-pubic school views – cloud her judgment.

Day, along with her co-conspirator Vicky Fyke, are founding members of the apparently defunct anti-gay hate group known as the LOVE PAC - (Livingston Organization for Values in Education) that embarrassed the community nationally when it tried to ban Pulitzer-Prize winning books.

Day is actively participating in the recall of her colleagues; a rare event, and perhaps the first time that has ever happened The irony is that the board has been criticized in the past for not working together. When this recall fails, how do they expect to work with somebody who pulled this double-cross against them?

It may appear that the “LOVE” group is not dead, and this is their way to circumvent the election, which are what these type of recalls are deigned to do.

“LOVE” went underground following the school board election in May 2007 when voters soundly rejected the two “LOVE: backed candidates in favor of, ironically, two of the three board members being recalled.

Fyke on this very blog wrote, “I look forward to the next election when we will add two more like-minded people to the school board, and get our important changes accomplished.”

She is not waiting for the election, and this is how she plans to get “like-minded people” on the school board.

Misguided long shot recall effort has some new and old faces

HOWELL -- Move over Vicky Fyke, there’s a new sheriff in town trying to push you out of the spotlight for her 15 minutes of local fame.

District parent Deborah McCormick is leading an effort to recall three of the four Howell Public School Board members who voted to fire Superintendent Theodore Gardella after just a year on the job. She held a meeting at a Howell Township motel Thursday attended by 15-20 people, depending on what media source you read. Basically, she is leading a recall of board members for making a vote she disagreed with, and she’s letting one off the hook. This is a clear abuse of the intent of the recall process, in my opinion.

The recall group is pushing to get the issue on the November ballot, which means organizers need to collect about 5,000 signatures before July 31. They can’t get started until at least July 14 when the clarity hearing is held before the county Elections Commission and the language is approved as clear.

This simply will not get done, and I hope it doesn’t. Basically, if all 20 people collect signatures, they have to collect about 48 signatures a day.

You knew Fyke had to be at the meeting, and she had to be quoted. The article in the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus never said if Fyke’s partner, board member Wendy Day, was at the meeting.

Fyke apparently told the paper, "We have to send a message (to the school board) that we're not going to tolerate this. I'm excited because I think we can do it." That would be the first time Fyke and Day managed to get something on their rightwing agenda.

Fyke is the co-founder with Day of the now the defunct anti-gay hate group known as the “LOVE PAC” - (Livingston Organization for Values in Education).The group was first heard from in the spring of 2006 in response to a diversity flag they mistakenly claimed was a gay pride flag that they claimed promotes and endorses homosexuality. In the fall on 2006, Day, Fyke and her group began a book banning crusade that ended with an embarrassing FBI investigation and national embarrassment.

Leader of anti-gay hate group resurfaces in Howell Schools

HOWELL - Just when you thought her 15 minutes of “fame” were up she pops up again.

I am talking about Vicki Fyke, the leader of the anti-gay hate group known as the LOVE PAC - (Livingston Organization for Values in Education). Apparently, after doing what she could to embarrass and drive former Howell Public Schools Superintendent Chuck Breiner out of the district after 13 years here, nine as superintendent, he left in March 2008 with a very generous severance package.

Last June the district hired Ted Gardella as Superintendent.He has made some heavy-handed personal moves, and the board has shared in some questionable decisions. The one that I am most aware of is the decision to turn over operation of the Howell Area Aquatic Center (HAAC) to the Howell Recreation Authority last month with no plan in place.

They fired the director who has been there for more than 16 years, even before the pool opened, and the assistant manager and administrative assistant, who have been there for the past nine years. The approved it without even approval from the Rec. authority board or any kind of plan.

I know about this story because I haven swimming there since 2000, and I have worked there as a lifeguard since 2003 and I am currently a Red Cross Water Safety Instructor (WSI). The school board will discuss a plan for the pool tonight, and to my knowledge no one from the recreation authority has even so much as visited the pool or talked to anyone there, yet they have an alleged plan. No one had seen this plan before the school board dumped both a school and community asset.

But the big story is Gardella’s evaluation will be discussed by the board in closed session tonight, and Fyke, according to the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus, is claiming Gardella’s termination is “imminent” and will come at tonight’s meeting. It also reported that “Fyke wrote a mass e-mail to board members and was sent to the Daily Press & Argus. In that note, Fyke says she knows that there is a 4-3 vote coming most likely at Monday’s meeting to terminate Gardella. However, she doesn’t say how she knows that information. She did not return a message seeking comment Friday.”

If that is correct, there is a clear violation of the Open Meetings Act because they can not debate unless they are in open session.

First, who cares what Fyke has to say? I don’t even think “LOVE” is still around anymore. They went underground after their misguided attempt to ban books at the school failed.

The “LOVE” member on the school board, Wendy Day, is too busy organizing misnamed and misguided tea parties and blogging her anti-public school rhetoric on the official unofficial GOP blog to pass info to her leader.

It’s a little disturbing that a public school board member says she is “not a big fan of public education.” Then why are you making decision for a public school? The majority of Americans have a public school education, and it was that education system that helped America build one of the highest standard of living in the world.

Livingston County again snubs anti-gay hate group

The Howell Public School Board of Education snubbed rightwing extremism by appointing a board member who has been openly critical of the anti-gay hate group known as the “Love” PAC - (Livingston Organization for Values in Education).

The board chose Dean Miller to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of long-time board member Jeanne Clum. According to the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus, Miller posted on various local blogs, especially the one operated by the newspaper and board member and LOVE member Wendy Day, using the screen name Puppet Watcher. He was also critical of Vicki Fyke, the leader of the hate group and the former advisor of the Livingston County Teen Age Republicans.

Miller was appointed over nine other applicants using a point system, including LOVE candidate Bill Harvey, who was rejected by voters in the school board election in May.

The “LOVE” group sprang up in the spring of 2005 in response to a diversity flag they mistakenly claimed was a gay pride flag. The group really made national headlines and brought negative attention to Livingston County last year when it launched an ill-fated attempt to ban from the Howell High School curriculum the books “The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them,” Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison's first novel, "The Bluest Eye," and an acclaimed memoir written by Richard Wright in 1945, "Black Boy, " as well as the classic Kurt Vonnegut novel "Slaughterhouse Five.”

The fiasco even caused the FBI to investigate briefly before the backlash forced the group to go underground.

Miller said he will stop posting online, but he is more than welcome to post here under any name he chooses to use. It has not stopped Day from posting on her blog; although it is mostly just posting entire newspaper articles that reflect negatively on public school teachers.

Miller has also been clear in telling people he will fight the “Love” agenda, and as the last election proved, the community feels the same way.

"What it means," Miller explained, "is (cancer) gets into any system and it starts to eat it from the inside. That's what (Day) is doing. She's the LOVE member that got on the board. ... She's eating the system from the inside because she's trying to push the LOVE agenda."

Congratulations Mr. Miller.

Voters show no love for “LOVE” in Howell School Board race

Voters in the Howell Public School District struck a blow for common sense, sanity, fairness and education by rejecting the candidates supported by the anti-gay hate group known as the “Love” PAC - (Livingston Organization for Values in Education).

Vicki Fyke, the leader of “Love,” said on this and other blogs that the group has some 1,900 members, and she told their members to vote for Bill Harvey and Doug Moore. However, publicly she told reporters that she does not know the candidates, fearing the backlash from the group’s ridiculous book banning quest would come back to bite them in the butt. It did.

Either, as we suspected, the 1,900 number was hugely inflated, or few of the 1,900 alleged “Love” members are registered voters because Edwin Literski and incumbent Jeannine Pratt were the winners of the two, four-year school board seats. The two ran as a slate, and although I only voted for one of them, I am relieved “Love’s” agenda is thwarted.

Literski was the top vote getter with 2,162 votes, and he led the race throughout the night. Pratt also kept her lead all night, but Harvey was within striking distance until all the votes were counted.

The final unofficial vote results from the Livingston County Clerk’s office are as follows:

X-Edwin J. Literski, 2,162 25 percent
X-Jeannine M. Pratt, 1,788 20 percent
Bill Harvey, 1,667 19.4 percent
Doug Moore, 1,657 19 percent
Dan Fondriest, 1,116 13 percent
Write-in Votes (Phil Nichols)191 2.2 percent

The results are unofficial until the Board of Canvassers certifies the election.

I am looking forward to hearing from Fyke. This is what she had to say commenting on this blog.

“Doug Moore and Bob Harvey don't need your vote, C.G. Our majority has already been instructed as who to vote for. Come back here May 9th and face the music. I'll stop by on May 9th and reveal the winning strategy.”

I’m waiting to hear that “winning strategy.”

Howell kids get inspirational teacher: Adults get hatemonger

Best-selling author and inspirational teacher Erin Gruwell took time from her appearance at the Flint Public Library Wednesday to speak to about 40 students from Howell High School.

Gruwell, along with her former students at Wilson High School in Long Beach, Calif., is the coauthor of “The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them.”

The anti-gay hate group known as the “LOVE” PAC (Livingston Organization for Values in Education) managed to briefly ban the inspirational book from HHS’s advanced 10th grade English class because of alleged profanity and references to drugs and sex acts. That brief success sparked a censorship campaign that also included a move to ban Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison's first novel, "The Bluest Eye," an acclaimed memoir written by Richard Wright in 1945, "Black Boy " and the classic Kurt Vonnegut novel "Slaughterhouse Five.”

Livingston County Daily Press & Argus reporter Dan Meisler and photographer Al Ward did an excellent job capturing the emotion and feel of the event where the students talked about the discrimination they face, see and experience.

Another student, junior Kelsea Raether, said she feels another type of discrimination — when she's afraid that she gets tainted by Howell's reputation as a racist community. She said she's been advised to take off her Howell High letter jacket when she goes to other parts of the state.
Gruwell encouraged them to dispel those negative stereotypes of Howell — which largely come from the fact that a Ku Klux Klan leader lived in Cohoctah Township until 1992.
"Wear that Howell jacket with pride," she said. "Tell them, 'This is the Howell we know.”
Gruwell also praised Cathy Capy, the Howell English teacher who assigned the book, for her courage, and announced she would be flown to California for training with the Freedom Writers Foundation. The foundation also was filming a documentary during the event.

Maria Reyes, one of Gruwell’s students and one of the co-authors, defended parts of the book “love” objected to.

The profanity, she said, was important to include because it reflects the reality of what the students in Long Beach heard and spoke every day.
"We wanted to make a book that was real," she said.
Passages on racism were included to give the lesson "people treat you the way to treat them."
And writing and publishing the stories about sexual abuse and molestation were important ways to testify about the abuse certain students suffered — and resulted in the perpetrators being punished.
"These stories are not titillating. These stories are not to arouse," Reyes said. "This is about young women standing up and saying 'You can't do this to me.' "

Some of the students also talked about what gave rise to the formation of “love.”

Sophomores Stephanie Onderchanin and Miranda Miller said they would take Gruwell's message about not putting up with racist comments to heart, and extended it to use of the word "gay" to disparage people.

Ann Coulter, Vicky Fyke, Alan Filip, Tom Sullivan and Cleary University are you listening? Why don’t you bring someone in like Erin Gruwell with a positive message to speak at Cleary’s Economic Club Speakers Luncheon Series instead of a hatemonger like Ann Coulter?

Hate group’s ‘Plan B’ is a bust

In perhaps the biggest anti-climatic decisions ever, the anti-gay hate group known as the “LOVE” PAC (Livingston Organization for Values in Education) is dropping its four-month mission to censor Nobel and Pulitzer-winning literature, according to the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus.

The decision has a lot to do with the group’s ridiculous claim that the “The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them,” Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison's first novel, "The Bluest Eye," an acclaimed memoir written by Richard Wright in 1945, "Black Boy " and the classic Kurt Vonnegut novel "Slaughterhouse Five” were pornographic, but that absurd claim was turned down by the law enforcement agencies it lodged a complaint with.

Vicki Fyke, the leader of the hate group and the former advisor of the Livingston County Teen Age Republicans, was quoted last month in the P & A as saying the group had a back-up plan when the baseless complaint to law enforcement that the books used at Howell High School were pornographic failed, but she would only reveal it when that scheme failed.

"We do have backup plans," she said. "We'll have to decide on what 'Plan B' would be. We're certainly not going to let it go."

Apparently plan B is nothing, and Fyke said last week the group would work to elect candidates sympathetic to its causes, rather than pursue the books issue. It bears remembering that’s how this entire mess got started. Current Howell Public School board and “love” member Wendy Day snuck by and was elected to the board last May, and she was a major instigator of this embarrassing mess that wasted tax dollars, wasted the time of the FBI and gave the Howell community another black eye.

Here is perhaps the most ridiculous quote of all from Fyke’s more than 15 minutes of fame from this embarrassment, trying to blame the School Board for the mess caused by “love.”

“We recognize that, had our school board shown some leadership over these past two years, our community would have been spared a lot of embarrassment," she said.

What she really means is they should have listened to a small-minded but very vocal minority group of extremist censors and banned books. Maybe if Fyke took the time to actually read the books maybe our community would also have been spared a lot of embarrassment.

“Love” is not saying whom it will endorse, but when it does all sane, reasonable people should not vote for those candidates. Fyke claims the group is putting together an endorsement questionnaire, but does anybody really doubt they already know who they are endorsing?

In Howell there are two seats being contested by five candidates, including the incumbent, Jeannine Pratt. The candidates include, Dan Fondriest, 49, Genoa Township; William T. Harvey, 44, according to sources a strong Republican from Genoa Township; attorney Edwin J. Literski, 52, Genoa Township, a strong Republican; Pratt, 46, City of Howell, and Douglass Moore, 54, from Oceola Township.

The P& A reports that Harvey – whose son was one of the first people involved in the book controversy after he complained to his father about "Freedom Writers” -
said he agreed with LOVE's stance on the books, to the extent that the books were not appropriate for English classes because they focused on social problems.
"I agree that students should not be reading what would be considered adult content in an English class when there is so much better material to choose from," he said.
Harvey added that the curriculum should better reflect the overall district community.
"Look at the makeup of Livingston County ... there's a high number of churches, religious people, conservative people," he said. "By choosing a book that has material that is going to be offensive to many of your clientele, is that a wise choice to invite controversy?"

Cleary, Harvey will get “love’s” endorsement, and he is likely a “love” member. The obvious question is how can you expand your mind and become educated if all you read or study about is in your own small, little world, or why his son did not just opt for another book?

The other candidate sure to get the “love” endorsement will be Moore.

Moore also said he didn't see much educational value in the books.
"I wasn't sure how these books advance education," he said. "I don't see that there couldn't have been better ones to use."

Community anxiously waits for ‘love’ PAC plan B

The decision yesterday by Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox and U.S. Attorney Stephen Murphy that the four books the anti-gay hate group known as the “LOVE” PAC (Livingston Organization for Values in Education) is trying to ban from the classroom at Howell High School do not violate any obscenity laws was a little anti-climatic.

The state and federal decisions came just three days after Livingston County Prosecutor David Morse reached the same conclusion, and both the state and feds agreed there was absolutely no reason to overturn a local decision.

After forcing a review of the books by the school district, the elected school board voted to retain the books in the AP junior English class, so early last month Vicki Fyke, the leader of the hate group and the former advisor of the Livingston County Teen Age Republicans, sent a letter to Murphy, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District; Cox; and Morse claiming the four books violate child pornography laws and further made the ridiculous claim that the books' presence in high school classrooms violates the law by disseminating sexually explicit material to minors. Shockingly, the U.S. attorney actually took the bizarre step of having the FBI investigate.

As you know – as the world, unfortunately knows - “love” has been waging a losing book banning battle for the past four months against “The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them,” Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison's first novel, "The Bluest Eye," an acclaimed memoir written by Richard Wright in 1945, "Black Boy " and the classic Kurt Vonnegut novel "Slaughterhouse Five.” The group falsely claims they are pornographic.

Cox basically said the community, in the form of the elected school board, made the decision, and he has no legal authority to overturn or change that.

"Your community expresses its wishes on how the schools are going to be administered by the election of individual school board members," Cox wrote in a March 6 letter that appeared in the Livingston County Daily Press and Argus. "The attorney general has no statutory or supervisory authority over the elected board of education and cannot, by law, oversee the performance of the board in its duties, responsibilities and judgments."

Murphy simply said the books do not violate federal law.

"The material complained of was thoroughly and carefully reviewed by the FBI and this office. We have concluded that the material submitted nor it's inclusion as part of the schools required English curriculum constitutes a violation of federal law. No further action will be taken by our office."

Fyke, usually very quick to fire off a press release, has been very silent, and that includes the blog of the school board member who is also a “love” member.

However, Fyke has said she has a “plan B” up her sleeve if this ploy fails, so we have most likely will not heard the last of this fringe group.

I hope we remember the trouble and grief this hate group caused when we go to the polls for the school board elections in May.

Fringe group wants janitors and bus drivers to set curriculum

Just when you think the Howell book-banners censorship quest can’t get any more absurd it does.

The anti-gay hate group know as the “LOVE” PAC (Livingston Organization for Values in Education) - led by Vicki Fyke, the advisor of the Livingston County Teen Age Republicans and school board member Wendy Day – has been waging a book banning battle against “The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them,” Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison's first novel, "The Bluest Eye," an acclaimed memoir written by Richard Wright in 1945, "Black Boy " and the classic Kurt Vonnegut novel "Slaughterhouse Five.” The group claims they are pornographic.

After getting shot down by the school board, Fyke fired off a hail Mary earlier this month by sending a letter to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District,Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox and Livingston County Prosecutor David Morse claiming the books violate child pornography laws and further makes the ridiculous claim that the books' presence in high school classrooms violates the law by disseminating sexually explicit material to minors.

That was on Feb. 9, and since they have had a response they have tried another ploy. According the the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus, the complaint has been expanded to include whether support staffers — bus drivers or janitors, for example — could be breaking any laws if they give the books to students. I’m not sure what that means. A janitor or bus driver is supposed to decide what the child should read? Can someone explain that to me?

Fyke has also asked the Republican county prosecutor to see whether any laws on racial slurs or violent material may apply.

Let’s see: one of the books is an autobiography from a black author growing up in the south in the 1920’s to the 1940’s and the other one is from a black Nobel Prize winning author about racial prejudice in the north. Do you think there might be some violence and racial slurs in the book? I have read both the "The Bluest Eye” and "Black Boy” and I would like Fyke to point out to me the obscenity.

The article quotes another former Republican county prosecutor, Tom Kizer, who said he couldn't see any justification, other than politics, for prosecutors to pursue the issue. Exactly.
"I would be astounded if any prosecutor did that, and if one did, I would wonder what his motivations are," he said. So would I.

I guess when the attorneys are through laughing they will respond, unless they are actually busy with real crime.

As I have said numerous times before, this fringe extremist group will accept no compromise other than controlling what other people read. It’s not about children it’s about control, politics and censorship.

This is what Fyke says if their latest stunt fails, and it will. “We do have backup plans," she said, but declined to say what they were. "We'll have to decide on what 'Plan B' would be. We're certainly not going to let it go."

Of course you will not let it go. Sounds a little obsessive to me.

To further show how out of touch with reality she is she claims the so-called “LOVE” hate group is the majority in the county. "This still is something the community is incensed and outraged about ... I don't think we are (in the minority)."

She clearly has not been paying attention. If what she claims is true, then maybe Howell really deserves its reputation as a close-minded racist community. I don’t believe it does.

Monday is the start of Freedom to Read Week, and I urge everyone to “Take the Banned Book Challenge” and read one of the many excellent books that people have tried to ban over the years. You will be shocked at some of the great books that people like Fyke and Day and groups like the so-called “LOVE” group have tried to ban and censor over the years.

Self-appointed censors call Nobel-Prize winning literature criminal

The most ludicrous news item of the day goes out to Vicki Fyke, the leader of the anti-gay hate group known as the LOVE PAC - (Livingston Organization for Values in Education) and the advisor of the Livingston County Teen Age Republicans.

The so-called “LOVE” group started a book banning controversy some two months ago by trying to ban a book from Howell High School called “The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them.” Since then, they have also tried to ban Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison's first novel, "The Bluest Eye," and an acclaimed memoir written by Richard Wright in 1945, "Black Boy, " as well as the classic Kurt Vonnegut novel "Slaughterhouse Five.”

Local radio station WHMI is reporting Fyke has sent a letter the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District, Stephan J. Murphy; Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox and Livingston County Prosecutor David Morse claiming the books violate child pornography laws and further makes the ridiculous claim that the books' presence in high school classrooms violates the law by disseminating sexually explicit material to minors. The self-appointed community censor, along with school board member and “LOVE” member Wendy Day, is asking for an investigation and prosecution of any violations of the law. The book burners apparently have also added a new book to the list, “Running with Scissors,” a madhouse memoir of a 13-year-old boy raised by his mother’s psychiatrist by Augusten Burroughs. The book was just turned into a motion picture this past fall starring Alec Baldwin and Gwyneth Paltrow, to name a few. Gee, maybe that’s why they object to it.

The books have already been approved for the curriculum by a group of teachers from the particular school, a district wide subject-specific content committee, a district wide curriculum and assessment committee, the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and finally Superintendent Chuck Breiner. The Board will have final approval at its regular meeting Monday night.

Obviously, these people are not smart enough to come up with that ridiculous idea on their own, and they got it from one of the most well-known and notorious anti-gay hate groups in the state, the American Family Association of Michigan, led by Gary Glenn.

Apparently, Glenn passed on a legal opinion from the national AFA to Fyke that’s forming the basis for the ridiculous witch-hunt.

Parents have always had the opportunity to have their student opt out of any of these selections and read another title, but that has never been good enough for this group of vigilante censors. In addition to helping brand Livingston County with an image of small-minded intolerance that ban books, now they are going to make us the a joke to the rest of the state.

I’m currently in the middle of reading the “The Bluest Eye,” and it has been a great read. I keep waiting to read the alleged objectionable material, but the nearest I have come, so far, is almost 90 pages into the book when they talk about sex between a husband and wife. If that’s supposed to be erotic, stimulating, titillating or pornographic these people are very immature and have led very sheltered lives. It’s simply part of the story.

Intolerance reigns in Livingston County

We have another case of so-called community leaders overreacting and practicing censorship.

For the last two months or so there has been a flap over Howell High School banning – or pulling - a book from its advanced 10th grade English class called “The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them" because of the book’s alleged profanity and references to drugs and sex acts. The district’s administration basically left the English teacher using the book out to dry by saying she never had approval to use the book in class.

For those of you who may have been watching TV recently, you may have seen the trailer for a film called “Freedom Writers” starring Hilary Swank that is based on this book. According to the plot line, “A young teacher (Swank) inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school. “ We do not want our young people learning tolerance, especially in conservative Livingston County.

It turns out that the book was used last year in class, and the book was approved by the English Department, according to an excellent article in the Daily Press & Argus by a good friend of mine and a future teacher.

A joint statement, signed by 17 English teachers at Howell High School, said the book was approved as a supplemental part of the curriculum by the Howell High School English department last year.
Ms. Capy is teaching the book because she was assigned to teach both of the two sections of accelerated 10th-grade English this year," the statement said. "It needs to be made clear that she has no responsibility whatsoever in the approval of the book other than being a voting member of the English department. The criticism of her by a few members of the community is completely unjustified."

Some of that unjustified criticism ”by a few members of the community” came in a letter to the editor in the newspaper today by Vicki Fyke, where she says, “It will be interesting to see if our administrators or our school board have the courage to enforce their policies and reprimand this irresponsible teacher for her total neglect in following the proper procedures and for not being the least bit sorry once she was scolded.” Maybe you should check your facts before you throe out unjustified accusations, Ms. Fyke.

The interesting thing about this letter is Ms. Fyke is the advisor for the Livingston County Teen Age Republicans. What a great job for an intolerant person, and she can pass that on to our future leaders. Apparently, she thinks only students with perfect records are worth educating. I suggest you read the book and go see the movie. Oh yea, I forgot, Liberal Hollywood is not going to stop you from being intolerant.

Local GOP convention chooses leaders in secret smoke-filled back room behind barred doors

According to the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus, “Allan Filip was chosen as the new leader of the Livingston County Republican Party Thursday at its convention at the historic Livingston County Courthouse in Howell.”

The real telling important and telling detail was this from the article, “The news media were not allowed into the meeting.” Have you ever heard of any party convention where the local newspapers were barred from a convention, be it county or state convention? Me either. So much for openness and transparency for the local Republican Party. I wonder what they have to hide?

I really don’t know much about Allan Filip. The only thing I could find, if its the same Allan Filip, is he ran for Washtenaw County Commissioner from Ypsilanti in 2002, but he got only 29 percent of the vote.

The other officers elected were Russell Spencer as recording secretary; Allan Herdman as treasurer; Rick Pine, husband of Cindy Pine, as database secretary; and Jay Drick as treasurer of the Lincoln Club, which puts on the party's annual Lincoln Day Dinner.
Other members of the executive committee — which also includes 18 county- and state-level Republican elected officials — elected Thursday were Vicki Fyke, Bruce Hundley, Anne Belser, Debi Drick, Cindy Pine, Bill McCririe, Miles Vieau, Bill Vailliencourt, Teri Olsen, Sue Dolato, Cindy Denby and Lana Theis.

For the most part, these are quality people that I know, but there are a few I’m not so sure about. The sad part is blogger and wing nut Dan Wholihan AKA “republican michigander, is no longer on the executive committee. We could use more people with his mindset on the committee.

It’s funny, back when the local GOP put out the disgusting judicial questionnaire last summer when it took the unusual step of endorsing in a nonpartisan race, Filip and former chair Cindy Pine told candidates not to answer the biased questionnaire, but Wholihan took the opposite position, saying they choose to not answer it “at their own peril.”

Now he apparently supports him; saying, “He's not an extremist, nor a liberal (how can a republican ever hope to be a liberal?). He's a mainstream conservative and oftentimes filled the role being a consensus builder while he was vice-chair. That's what we need in a chair.” The Democrats will miss people of his ilk.