E-News Nassau

Bitter about Banned Books?

Censoring books is not a thing of the past, as the recent case of the Westhampton board removing two "objectionable" books from the ninth grade reading lists regrettably reminds us. But did you know that the Nassau NYCLU was a key player in the seminal Supreme Court case about censoring books from school libraries? How about the fact that more than 100 years after its publication, "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" continues to be the object of censors? If you want to know more about these situations, as well as the history of censorship in the United States, you will not want to miss the traveling library exhibit "Censorship in Public Schools and Libraries." This display, sponsored by NYCLU Nassau and the Long Island Coalition Against Censorship, will be traveling through the local libraries for all of 2008. The illustrated display of 30 prominent cases of censorship will make its first stop at the Floral Park Public Library. You can see at the library, located at 17 Caroline Place, Floral Park, in January. We'll see you and Holden Caulfield there!

Calling all Students! Last Chance to Stand Up for Freedom!

The deadline for the Stand Up for Freedom! Art and Essay Contest is fast approaching. Essays, short stories, art work, poetry and spoken word pieces are due to the NYCLU Nassau office by December 20th. This year, we are asking children in grades 9 through 12 to interpret the following quote by Clarence Darrow as it relates to Civil Liberties:
"You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom."
Hint: The theme might be interpreted by looking into the condition of women, minorities, the LGBT community, immigrants, students, prisoners or people with disabilities.
The contest is open to Nassau students in grades 7 through 12 and prizes will be awarded to the best submissions in each age group. Call (516) 741-8520 for more information.

At Home in Cyberspace

Announcing the brand-new, revamped NYCLU Nassau website! On our downtime from tirelessly defending the civil liberties of Nassau County residents, we've managed to make a significant upgrade to our website, found at www.nassau.nyclu.org . The site now features sections intended to inform our neighbors of what exactly their civil liberties are and how we can help them. Visitors can also check out our appearances in the news, upcoming events and order our publications. And if we're not exactly the right organization to help them, they can access an extensive list of other groups that may be able to aid them. We would like to thank our stupendous volunteer Peter Straub, who did a terrific job managing our site in the past - we truly appreciate all of his hard work. And we encourage all of you to check out the new design and let us know what you think!

Happy Holidays from the Nassau Chapter of the NYCLU. In honor of the season please enjoy this poem we adapted from our colleagues at the ACLU.

An Overdue Visit
'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the nation
Friends of Freedom knew it was a special occasion.
Lady Liberty stood taller just off the shore
Her torch shining brighter than a few weeks before

But it wasn't the flame turning her cheeks all rosy
It was thoughts of Judy Jacobs, Gary Ackerman and Carolyn McCarthy
And leaders from every side of the aisle
Who would soon bring the Bill of Rights back into style.

The Amendments had all hurried out of their beds -
Which was no easy task, they were nearly in shreds -
And they rushed to the window on papery feet
As a jolly old man flew right over their street.

"Could it be!?" they inquired as the roof shook and trembled
And they crept toward the mantle, peaceably assembled,
Just as someone emerged from the chimney with flair
In a shiny red suit, with a shock of white hair

And a top hat, and pants all in red, white and blue -
"Wait a minute," the Amendments exclaimed, "Who are you?"
"Don't be frightened my children," he said, "it's no scam.
"You can't have forgotten your old Uncle Sam!"

"Holy crap!" said Free Speech. "Stop right there!" yelled Bear Arms
And Privacy cried "Who shut off the alarms?!"
The Fifth remained silent, but Uncle Sam said
"We've been having some trouble, but Freedom's not dead."

The Amendments were cautious. "It's just been so long
"We've seen Liberty lost, we've seen so much go wrong.
"The President's trying to mangle and warp us,
"The Fourth is in tatters, so's Habeas Corpus!"

The old man sat down - he had had quite a ride -
But he told them "Don't worry, the Law's on our side,
"'Cause the nation's fed up and more people are crying
"For Justice and an end to illegal spying,

"And secret abductions by the CIA,
"And laws that would take women's choices away,
"And Gitmo tribunals and secret detention,
"And other intrusions too numerous to mention - "

"Not so fast," said a grinchity voice from above
And Dick Cheney pushed past the Fourteenth with a shove.
He was covered in soot and he looked kind of scary.
It seemed like his Christmas had not been so merry.

The Amendments said they weren't happy to see him:
"You tried to throw all of us in the museum!
"You've done so much the Constitution forbids!"
"And I would have gone on, but for you meddling kids!"

Uncle Sam told him "Dickey, your plans just won't do,
"So we've got a brand new timetable for you!"
And as Dickey retired and crept into the night
The Amendments cried out "Have a good secret flight!"

From the distance they saw him give a look quite untoward.
They cried, "Would you now like to redefine the word "waterboard""
Uncle Sam rode the chimney up out of the room
And, like Frosty, he said "I'll be back again soon."

But they heard him exclaim "Oh, and just one more thing!
"This year, when the holiday bells start to ring,
"Try to honor religion. Honest faith can't be wrong.
"It's America, can't we all just get along?

"So, on Christian," he cried, "Muslim, Hindu, and Jew!
"On Quaker! On Shaker! And Atheist too!
"On Buddhist! On Taoist! And to show we're not chickens
"We'll file a few lawsuits defending the Wiccans!

"Your belief is your right, so get out there and savor it.
"Uncle Sam's not a preacher, and he doesn't play favorites!"
So this holiday season, whatever you do,
Warmest wishes for Freedom, from the ACLU.

And here's what's in line for next year
A Busy New Year

You haven't even finished celebrating the holiday season, or officially rung in the new year, but it's never too late to start planning for next year. So what does our office have in store for early 2008?