[Congressman Billybob]

Look what we have here. A School District is apologizing to a student because he is too dumb to read the great American novel and understand that it is a huge attack on all forms of foolish thinking, including racial bias. And why is that student so dumb? Because his parents are that dumb, and passed the dumb along.

I thought the job of schools was to educate students. Who knew that their task is to spread the stupid around?

Congressman Billybob

Latest article, "California Burning"

Here's my announcement of running for Congress in 2008.

[massgopguy]

Wait until he sees Blazing Saddles.

[Pietro]

".. too dumb to read the great American novel and understand that it is a huge attack on all forms of foolish thinking, including racial bias."

The great irony of course is that the school board resembles the closemided slaveholders who adhere to the status quo.

And simple Huck Finn is smarter than the lot, and so is nigger Jim.

[Constitutions Grandchild]

“Who knew that their task is to spread the stupid around?”

It’s become the national pastime. We’ve developed it to a fine art. There are so many times I open my mouth to respond and just shut it quietly as the thought runs through my mind, “It’s pointless, totally pointless. There’s not enough grey matter there to justify the effort. I’ve got nothin’ to work with.”

By the way, much success with your campaign. My folks hale from there about 250 years ago. Nice to see that some brains stayed behind to manage the place. ;-)

[nathanbedford]

Well Congressman: I'm afraid it's worse than requiring a bureaucrat to apologize to a student, this is a case of censorship which denies the majority the right of access to a masterpiece of American letters. Huckleberry Finn is arguably the greatest American novel ever written.

The irony of all this is that Mark Twain in this uniquely American work has undertaken seriously and sensitively to deal with the unique American original sin. As I have observed in my about page, the sin of slavery and the sin of racism was in effect papered over in the Declaration of Independence and compromised and temporized away in the Constitution. Mark Twain deals with this uniquely American history in a uniquely American book, written in the uniquely American idiom. That idiom, to be truly American, requires the use in that context of the word nigger. Moreover, both plot and character developement - which is the awakening of tolerance personified in Huck Finn-require the sensitive use of the word. If Huckleberry Finn were not a bigot to begin with, he would have no need to be edified. Both he and America would have learned nothing.

No one who boasts of any acquaintanceship whatever with American letters can have failed to have read, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

But we have sunk so deep into the muck of political correctness, in this case group rights, that we have enshrined the subjective to the point of book burning. Perhaps the most egregious example of this occurred among bureaucrats in Washington, DC municipal government who chastised a colleague and, I think, ultimately drove him from office for using the word " niggardly". The whole of the City Council were entirely ignorant of the real meaning of the word. We were told, however, that what was important was the sensitivity of these black politicians because of America's history of racism. Since America is guilty, we must repent and those who enjoy the classification of victim must be indulged even at the cost of Stalinist censorship.

What of the rights of the rest of the kids to read and grapple with the question of race in America instructed by a book which for a century and a quarter has advanced the cause of racial justice more than 10,000 groups of burners could ever hope to achieve?

What about the right to teach a masterpiece of American literature without fear of being sentenced to a reeducation class? What about the freedom of speech of the teacher? We have denied other students the right to read, and now we deny them the right to hear as we deny their teacher their right to speak. It is no exaggeration to call all of this " Stalinist ."

[Little Bill]

Mark Twain was required reading when I was in skool, I am surprised that they haven’t banned “ An Innocent Abroad”.