What do you think?
Rate this book
Shut Up!: The Bizarre War that One Public Library Waged Against the First Amendment
What bad things could possibly be happening in your local public library? In SHUT UP! The Bizarre War that One Public Library Waged Against the First Amendment, citizen sleuths Megan Fox and Kevin DuJan expose the pattern of censorship, intimidation, harassment, bullying, and retaliation that the Orland Park Public Library engaged in (with help from the American Library Association (ALA), the Orland Park Police, and the Village of Orland Park) to chill free speech, trample civil rights, destroy a safe space, stifle debate, and frighten away critics. This one wayward public library in the affluent Chicago suburbs had for years willfully covered up dangers to children and unreported crimes...and its staff and library board trustees used every dirty trick they could think of (including weaponizing the police and engaging in lawfare with a SLAPP suit) to silence parents and patrons who complained about sexual activity, a hostile work environment, and rampant spending waste in a spare-no-expense public building with all the bells and whistles (but little accountability for public employees who blatantly ignored Illinois state library and transparency laws). The library committed itself to shutting up Fox & DuJan at all costs, in what became a war of proxy between the lobbyists of the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom and the rights of citizens to petition government bodies for change and redress of grievances. A public library that insisted men have a First Amendment right to sexually arouse themselves in a building full of children became obsessed with eradicating the public's First Amendment right to address and correct dangers to children in the one place that everyone always assumed was safe for kids: the local public library. This is the story of how a suburban Chicago scandal became so outrageous that it made national headlines (and even ended up on Saturday Night Live).
666 pages, Paperback
First published May 26, 2016
20 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 29, 2017
This is way, way too long, but at the same time and regardless of where it went- it was intriguing.
And that's saying something since I rarely get into reading about court fights or even a fiction piece when it involves legal issues re any institutional in-fighting in particular.
The book is written by the two people who caused "the commotion" or "the trouble" or "the secret scandal" around how and within what strictures Orland Park Public Library and their Board of Directors answered the substantiated claims of open masturbation and porn site viewing in their public library heavily used by families and children. I'm not sure why Kevin is not named in this GR title, but his name has full title placement on my copy. BY Megan Fox and Kevin Dujan.
They take turns within each chapter. Kevin's sections have tons of added context material that was enthralling to me because it is my exact neighborhood, our towns are suburbs (Orland and Tinley) which border each other - so each and every place he talks about (including where he lives in the city of Chicago proper with his going on a long time partner, he is a gay man); well, I've been to all of them. So it was fun for me to read another set of "eyes" for the same thing. And it also includes a period of time when my daughter (2 grandsons too) and more than 1/2 my oldest friends were living in Orland and when I visited their library more than I do now, as it was nearly on the route coming back from far West suburbs of my work.
There is no way you can review this book in a short manner which gives you a reality piece of the crux. Not from either side. Not in my opinion- is that fairly possible.
Nor can you begin to relay what these two went through as far as death wishes, terrible and horrific abuse in person and on the internet- and within continued to this day a needed protection for their property and for their families, especially Megan's kids. She and he both were top to bottom blocked /hacked off their completely vocal blog or facebook sites. She was made to look like a maniac / crazy woman, even by the very police at times that should have been protecting her.
She was right about what was going on. And how they were continually covering it up and not protecting children in any meaningful way that I could comprehend. And also completely correct about their (OPPL Bo T and Director Weimar in particular) obliterating any other person who would object to their own institution's "dictates"- that person's first amendment rights to voice opposition to their "correct" interpretations of "freedom". Shut up, it is NOT allowed!
Megan Fox, our ordinary housewife and mother, would NOT shut up. And these far left (way beyond liberal as they also do not recognize legal laws against minority protections currently on the books as felony acts, like public genital exposure to minors) with the ALA and the cabals that exist in IL for crony power plays decided to hammer hers and Kevin's legal complaints after patrons in multiple, multiple cases had reported this behavior to the Library Director and yet it was ignored by them and by the staff (which were ordered to ignore). In most cases, only after the patrons called the police themselves was it fully documented. Consequences???
The book holds dozens of photocopied and scanned material for legal and for humor purposes. Board meetings and Chicago Tribune (eventually and they were the only paper who covered this at all- and then just minimally), as the Orland Park Courier ignored all this as "news" entirely. The Orland Park Mayor after some numbers of issues at Board meetings, also choose to turn away about 90% of the time to what was the realistic situation for Kevin and Megan. That too.
Along the way they (Megan and Kevin) attend all the Board meetings and get by legal means the budgets of how Orland Park Library funds are being distributed and used. Huge lunches, trips and parties for all kinds of ridiculous associated "social warrior" causes and concerns. And trips with ALA admins to all kinds of non-related to work places by the Director and her 2 or three main underlings. (One of which has had at least 13 different junior associates in less than 5 years who have quit because of his sexual harassment and verbal abuse - OFTEN witnessed by patrons and other staff.) The Director herself is a looney-tune for costumes. One week she comes to work dressed like a convict and they all get to wear costumes for "banned" book week, for instance. Yet during that exact same week, they were not only banning material themselves but were obliterating the first amendment rights of Megan and Kevin to speak with police and authorities or at their public service meetings. And also filtering what material could be displayed on the "banned book" shelf display itself. They (by this time Megan has a small legal following too)- those lawyers begin to investigate all of this OPPL money use and the police documentations of filed reports with just recently "blanked out" and "blackened out" spaces. Also for degrees of the increments to how the "nut" and her "sidekick" won't go away. Upon that more details for the practice to "so we have to shut them up NOW" regime of OPPL Director and her ALA pals.
But it is the style of these pages that is so interesting, and not just the problem exposed (pun intended) itself. Megan is far more a wit than those on TV presently. She is erudite, self-taught brand, not the rote college politico and economic line fare one opinion sacrosanct definition of educated that presently flies as educated. She has myriad skills and street smarts. Reads labels, knows manufacture. Tons of other stuff too numerous to mention. Cooks from scratch, grows her own veggies, travels etc. Knows all the museums, zoos, public entertainment in Chicagoland down pat too. Multi, multi experienced for her (to me she seems quite young to have such age wisdom context for people too) own age in years. Her kids are still not teenagers when this is written.
And she would NOT shut up. And she would NOT go away. Kevin continually stood beside her. Visibly.
And what these "tolerant" people at Orland Park Public Lib. and especially their Board (that's a more bizarre tale that I have room in word count to put here)- did to Megan and Kevin!! They called him "the fag" repeatedly in print, in emails, in person and to Megan the words they use to describe her are all unprintable by me. Both needed protection, security hired.
But what I can't convey is the sarcasm, ridicule, that kind of humor that I normally can't abide. And which in this case, I can take for the overall context picture in general, but not in such large doses as they both handed it out here. And so it lost a star for me. But there were points when I thought it earned 5 stars too. As when Megan opines upon our Museums time and again. SO TRUE TO VOICE THE REALITY!!! Almost no one does. And that is that they were ALL better and far more accurate to depth of study and materials 10 or 20, but especially 30-50 years ago than they are now. Particularly Science & Industry which is little more than an interactive kid type display of sorts at this juncture. And what she said about Mus. of Nat. History (FIELD Museum, my favorite)- SO true too. Dusty, and always a goodly portion of displays "closed" or broken. To the point, that I only go for the special visiting event pieces or shows now- she is spot on.
The gist of the finality. They WON! Megan and Kevin did it. Not only the court case ($55,000 in damages) but the ability to voice what was going on there to the majority of the public and Orland Park PL user populations. All paying huge property taxes to that system, btw.
Is the Masturbation Room closed now? Is the common habit of certain patrons using the computers in open spaces for child porn viewing that has been reported to the police BY THE PATRONS, multiple times? I really don't know. As soon as the weather turns upwards about 30 degrees (it is minus 4 degrees F. right now) I may take a short ride to see myself. But I was VERY aware of a super weird vibe on that second floor when I used to go on the way home from work (2008-2013). It was like a semi-vacated "radium" danger feel place. So I'm just noting, once again, that if you are a parent of kids under 12, I would be VERY careful that your library protects children in such areas. And has applied by LAW anti-porn filters on their open space computers. And isn't trying to make itself a private little social warrior ship despite what the felony statutes are. And hell with the kids.
This is just a part of this book I'm conveying in this review/reaction. Megan is a cornball. Kevin is a gardening, flower nut. They all believe what they believe. The irony all around is thick. The kids suffered. Period.
Do know that Megan had library people and heads of systems come all the way from Oklahoma to many North of us (Glencoe was one) to back her up. And that they all exposed the ALA for the totalitarian dictatorship that it is. I was shocked. I had no idea that the ALA was the bastion of pretentious entitlement and closed doors as it is and often operates. Like Royalty to the peons.
There are also atheistic centered and hugely prejudicial issues that flow into this non-fiction stream, as well. We are NOT all equal in treatment, nor in accessibility at OPPL-Bo T (this is how the entity of Orland Park P. Library and their operation is named 1000 times throughout this book). Megan is Catholic, btw.
Some of the chapter headings are priceless. They all have a classics or some other art/literature /film allusion or quote and then the parallel to this "discourse" of this library issue fight below it.
Is it a rant against liberals? Probably not. Is it a rant against the far left and leftists as "liberal" has morphed? Yes, it is. But clever and never one sided completely. In fact, Kevin and Megan themselves disagree on some things. More than a few. But not about what happens when grown men watch child porn and expose themselves in public places routinely. They do NOT disagree about that, not at all. They have risked their lives and much more. Very unusual people to hang themselves out as they did (and NOT in the vile way of the "we have to understand them" abusers). Heroes for protecting children FROM the abuse- absolutely.
My library has TONS of Orland Park people coming in and always did, even when I worked there. And more so since 2006 when we got our newer building. As OP has such a lavish style and size (overblown modern- reminds me of a spaceship) and we are red brick and classic- I have always wondered why. Now I know. They also are one of the extreme few who do not check in ILL books if you return another library's books to them, and have completely "different" practices in exchange. Have segregated themselves from from many district wide strictures (huge in IL) too. My district now covers Orland Hills (Orland Park never took on that smaller suburb which is much less affluent) completely and has practice of huge ILL exchanges, so I always thought that was why. Was I wrong.
I read this book because it was on the "STAFF RECOMMENDS" shelf with a card inserted to why it was there. And it was written by an old, old friend who I worked with about 20 years ago for some years. THANKS, Peggy! And thanks Megan- for being the "squeaky wheel".
"Fear of the government (especially in Cook County, IL) is understandable but I do not ever want to be someone who is ruled by fear. I am a free American citizen with the rights afforded by my Creator to criticize my government and I have done so, loudly, for most of my life. That act ensures our freedom; it does not threaten it. I don't find a lot of people who share this same outlook in Illinois. In this state, especially Chicagoland, everyone knows you pay to play and you don't upend the game."
BTW, that's a Rules for Radicals by Alinsky book the librarian is holding on the cover picture of this book. And Megan is a very pretty blonde, not that age and not that librarian. Megan uses rule #13 against them in particular. SO ironic.
To give you a bit of the "tone" the following is a chapter heading which are mostly quotes- the following is by Miss Menchen in the Shirley Temple movie, The Little Princess, 1939:
"I won't be shushed, I won't be hushed. I know my rights, I know the law. And I know also what I saw."
And that's saying something since I rarely get into reading about court fights or even a fiction piece when it involves legal issues re any institutional in-fighting in particular.
The book is written by the two people who caused "the commotion" or "the trouble" or "the secret scandal" around how and within what strictures Orland Park Public Library and their Board of Directors answered the substantiated claims of open masturbation and porn site viewing in their public library heavily used by families and children. I'm not sure why Kevin is not named in this GR title, but his name has full title placement on my copy. BY Megan Fox and Kevin Dujan.
They take turns within each chapter. Kevin's sections have tons of added context material that was enthralling to me because it is my exact neighborhood, our towns are suburbs (Orland and Tinley) which border each other - so each and every place he talks about (including where he lives in the city of Chicago proper with his going on a long time partner, he is a gay man); well, I've been to all of them. So it was fun for me to read another set of "eyes" for the same thing. And it also includes a period of time when my daughter (2 grandsons too) and more than 1/2 my oldest friends were living in Orland and when I visited their library more than I do now, as it was nearly on the route coming back from far West suburbs of my work.
There is no way you can review this book in a short manner which gives you a reality piece of the crux. Not from either side. Not in my opinion- is that fairly possible.
Nor can you begin to relay what these two went through as far as death wishes, terrible and horrific abuse in person and on the internet- and within continued to this day a needed protection for their property and for their families, especially Megan's kids. She and he both were top to bottom blocked /hacked off their completely vocal blog or facebook sites. She was made to look like a maniac / crazy woman, even by the very police at times that should have been protecting her.
She was right about what was going on. And how they were continually covering it up and not protecting children in any meaningful way that I could comprehend. And also completely correct about their (OPPL Bo T and Director Weimar in particular) obliterating any other person who would object to their own institution's "dictates"- that person's first amendment rights to voice opposition to their "correct" interpretations of "freedom". Shut up, it is NOT allowed!
Megan Fox, our ordinary housewife and mother, would NOT shut up. And these far left (way beyond liberal as they also do not recognize legal laws against minority protections currently on the books as felony acts, like public genital exposure to minors) with the ALA and the cabals that exist in IL for crony power plays decided to hammer hers and Kevin's legal complaints after patrons in multiple, multiple cases had reported this behavior to the Library Director and yet it was ignored by them and by the staff (which were ordered to ignore). In most cases, only after the patrons called the police themselves was it fully documented. Consequences???
The book holds dozens of photocopied and scanned material for legal and for humor purposes. Board meetings and Chicago Tribune (eventually and they were the only paper who covered this at all- and then just minimally), as the Orland Park Courier ignored all this as "news" entirely. The Orland Park Mayor after some numbers of issues at Board meetings, also choose to turn away about 90% of the time to what was the realistic situation for Kevin and Megan. That too.
Along the way they (Megan and Kevin) attend all the Board meetings and get by legal means the budgets of how Orland Park Library funds are being distributed and used. Huge lunches, trips and parties for all kinds of ridiculous associated "social warrior" causes and concerns. And trips with ALA admins to all kinds of non-related to work places by the Director and her 2 or three main underlings. (One of which has had at least 13 different junior associates in less than 5 years who have quit because of his sexual harassment and verbal abuse - OFTEN witnessed by patrons and other staff.) The Director herself is a looney-tune for costumes. One week she comes to work dressed like a convict and they all get to wear costumes for "banned" book week, for instance. Yet during that exact same week, they were not only banning material themselves but were obliterating the first amendment rights of Megan and Kevin to speak with police and authorities or at their public service meetings. And also filtering what material could be displayed on the "banned book" shelf display itself. They (by this time Megan has a small legal following too)- those lawyers begin to investigate all of this OPPL money use and the police documentations of filed reports with just recently "blanked out" and "blackened out" spaces. Also for degrees of the increments to how the "nut" and her "sidekick" won't go away. Upon that more details for the practice to "so we have to shut them up NOW" regime of OPPL Director and her ALA pals.
But it is the style of these pages that is so interesting, and not just the problem exposed (pun intended) itself. Megan is far more a wit than those on TV presently. She is erudite, self-taught brand, not the rote college politico and economic line fare one opinion sacrosanct definition of educated that presently flies as educated. She has myriad skills and street smarts. Reads labels, knows manufacture. Tons of other stuff too numerous to mention. Cooks from scratch, grows her own veggies, travels etc. Knows all the museums, zoos, public entertainment in Chicagoland down pat too. Multi, multi experienced for her (to me she seems quite young to have such age wisdom context for people too) own age in years. Her kids are still not teenagers when this is written.
And she would NOT shut up. And she would NOT go away. Kevin continually stood beside her. Visibly.
And what these "tolerant" people at Orland Park Public Lib. and especially their Board (that's a more bizarre tale that I have room in word count to put here)- did to Megan and Kevin!! They called him "the fag" repeatedly in print, in emails, in person and to Megan the words they use to describe her are all unprintable by me. Both needed protection, security hired.
But what I can't convey is the sarcasm, ridicule, that kind of humor that I normally can't abide. And which in this case, I can take for the overall context picture in general, but not in such large doses as they both handed it out here. And so it lost a star for me. But there were points when I thought it earned 5 stars too. As when Megan opines upon our Museums time and again. SO TRUE TO VOICE THE REALITY!!! Almost no one does. And that is that they were ALL better and far more accurate to depth of study and materials 10 or 20, but especially 30-50 years ago than they are now. Particularly Science & Industry which is little more than an interactive kid type display of sorts at this juncture. And what she said about Mus. of Nat. History (FIELD Museum, my favorite)- SO true too. Dusty, and always a goodly portion of displays "closed" or broken. To the point, that I only go for the special visiting event pieces or shows now- she is spot on.
The gist of the finality. They WON! Megan and Kevin did it. Not only the court case ($55,000 in damages) but the ability to voice what was going on there to the majority of the public and Orland Park PL user populations. All paying huge property taxes to that system, btw.
Is the Masturbation Room closed now? Is the common habit of certain patrons using the computers in open spaces for child porn viewing that has been reported to the police BY THE PATRONS, multiple times? I really don't know. As soon as the weather turns upwards about 30 degrees (it is minus 4 degrees F. right now) I may take a short ride to see myself. But I was VERY aware of a super weird vibe on that second floor when I used to go on the way home from work (2008-2013). It was like a semi-vacated "radium" danger feel place. So I'm just noting, once again, that if you are a parent of kids under 12, I would be VERY careful that your library protects children in such areas. And has applied by LAW anti-porn filters on their open space computers. And isn't trying to make itself a private little social warrior ship despite what the felony statutes are. And hell with the kids.
This is just a part of this book I'm conveying in this review/reaction. Megan is a cornball. Kevin is a gardening, flower nut. They all believe what they believe. The irony all around is thick. The kids suffered. Period.
Do know that Megan had library people and heads of systems come all the way from Oklahoma to many North of us (Glencoe was one) to back her up. And that they all exposed the ALA for the totalitarian dictatorship that it is. I was shocked. I had no idea that the ALA was the bastion of pretentious entitlement and closed doors as it is and often operates. Like Royalty to the peons.
There are also atheistic centered and hugely prejudicial issues that flow into this non-fiction stream, as well. We are NOT all equal in treatment, nor in accessibility at OPPL-Bo T (this is how the entity of Orland Park P. Library and their operation is named 1000 times throughout this book). Megan is Catholic, btw.
Some of the chapter headings are priceless. They all have a classics or some other art/literature /film allusion or quote and then the parallel to this "discourse" of this library issue fight below it.
Is it a rant against liberals? Probably not. Is it a rant against the far left and leftists as "liberal" has morphed? Yes, it is. But clever and never one sided completely. In fact, Kevin and Megan themselves disagree on some things. More than a few. But not about what happens when grown men watch child porn and expose themselves in public places routinely. They do NOT disagree about that, not at all. They have risked their lives and much more. Very unusual people to hang themselves out as they did (and NOT in the vile way of the "we have to understand them" abusers). Heroes for protecting children FROM the abuse- absolutely.
My library has TONS of Orland Park people coming in and always did, even when I worked there. And more so since 2006 when we got our newer building. As OP has such a lavish style and size (overblown modern- reminds me of a spaceship) and we are red brick and classic- I have always wondered why. Now I know. They also are one of the extreme few who do not check in ILL books if you return another library's books to them, and have completely "different" practices in exchange. Have segregated themselves from from many district wide strictures (huge in IL) too. My district now covers Orland Hills (Orland Park never took on that smaller suburb which is much less affluent) completely and has practice of huge ILL exchanges, so I always thought that was why. Was I wrong.
I read this book because it was on the "STAFF RECOMMENDS" shelf with a card inserted to why it was there. And it was written by an old, old friend who I worked with about 20 years ago for some years. THANKS, Peggy! And thanks Megan- for being the "squeaky wheel".
"Fear of the government (especially in Cook County, IL) is understandable but I do not ever want to be someone who is ruled by fear. I am a free American citizen with the rights afforded by my Creator to criticize my government and I have done so, loudly, for most of my life. That act ensures our freedom; it does not threaten it. I don't find a lot of people who share this same outlook in Illinois. In this state, especially Chicagoland, everyone knows you pay to play and you don't upend the game."
BTW, that's a Rules for Radicals by Alinsky book the librarian is holding on the cover picture of this book. And Megan is a very pretty blonde, not that age and not that librarian. Megan uses rule #13 against them in particular. SO ironic.
To give you a bit of the "tone" the following is a chapter heading which are mostly quotes- the following is by Miss Menchen in the Shirley Temple movie, The Little Princess, 1939:
"I won't be shushed, I won't be hushed. I know my rights, I know the law. And I know also what I saw."
July 17, 2016
I couldn't put it down. I received an advance copy before it hit the shelves and couldn't believe the heft of it. But I had agreed to give the authors my honest opinion, so I waded in. (They both know when I say honest, I mean it. I was prepared to hurt their feelings if need be.) But I was so pleasantly surprised that a book about FOIA and the Open Meetings Act violations could be so darned funny! I had followed Megan's and Kevin's dealings with the library board meetings on Youtube off and on, and so was interested to hear all the details. But this book is written like a mystery novel, and it reads just like one as well. When I got to the end of one chapter, I had to read the next to find out what happened! I read late into the night, turning page after page. It will make you laugh out loud, cry, shake your head at the idiocy they uncovered (and seemed to inspire at times) and wonder how in the world some of these members continue to get reelected (and when will they be dethroned?)
The book starts a little slowly, as Kevin has a way of including lots of details that seem to have nothing to do with the library story, but as the story unfolds, bits of his intro are pulled back into the library story, adding so much humor that I'm so glad he included all those details. He shows himself to be an accomplished writer in this book.
I enjoyed the back and forth style used by the authors as each one wrote every other chapter, bringing their often different points of view to the same incidents. Kevin's style is newsy and humorous with scores of pop references to classic movies and books, with which he is obviously well familiar, and he weaves these references in and out of the story with great skill and humor. Megan's style is homey, and she has a way of turning a phrase to make you laugh out loud. I have followed her on PJ Media with the articles she writes for that website and enjoyed her tremendously as an author. She doesn't disappoint in this book. She makes me laugh, and that's a wonderful talent. She also is obviously a movie buff and I loved the way she paralleled the classic movie she was watching at the time she was going through FOIA requests with the finding of the "smoking gun". Funny stuff.
She is incredulous at first that anyone would support the "masturbation lounge" in the library, where sex crimes were actually taking place, but no one except offended or assaulted library patrons ever called the police! Her courage throughout the entire ordeal, laced with the humor only she can produce, is incredibly damning for the library, the village and the police department. I never knew the half of what the two of them suffered, especially the trolling and threatening of life and limb. What courage they displayed in continuing to stay the course, despite all that was done to them to make them SHUT UP! The book is aptly named!
You will miss a GREAT read if you don't pick up this book. I promise you, you won't be able to put it down! It's awesome, entertaining, eye-opening, and educational. The tips you will learn for fighting city hall in your own town are worth the price of the book alone. Do yourself a favor and read this great book. You'll be glad you did.
The book starts a little slowly, as Kevin has a way of including lots of details that seem to have nothing to do with the library story, but as the story unfolds, bits of his intro are pulled back into the library story, adding so much humor that I'm so glad he included all those details. He shows himself to be an accomplished writer in this book.
I enjoyed the back and forth style used by the authors as each one wrote every other chapter, bringing their often different points of view to the same incidents. Kevin's style is newsy and humorous with scores of pop references to classic movies and books, with which he is obviously well familiar, and he weaves these references in and out of the story with great skill and humor. Megan's style is homey, and she has a way of turning a phrase to make you laugh out loud. I have followed her on PJ Media with the articles she writes for that website and enjoyed her tremendously as an author. She doesn't disappoint in this book. She makes me laugh, and that's a wonderful talent. She also is obviously a movie buff and I loved the way she paralleled the classic movie she was watching at the time she was going through FOIA requests with the finding of the "smoking gun". Funny stuff.
She is incredulous at first that anyone would support the "masturbation lounge" in the library, where sex crimes were actually taking place, but no one except offended or assaulted library patrons ever called the police! Her courage throughout the entire ordeal, laced with the humor only she can produce, is incredibly damning for the library, the village and the police department. I never knew the half of what the two of them suffered, especially the trolling and threatening of life and limb. What courage they displayed in continuing to stay the course, despite all that was done to them to make them SHUT UP! The book is aptly named!
You will miss a GREAT read if you don't pick up this book. I promise you, you won't be able to put it down! It's awesome, entertaining, eye-opening, and educational. The tips you will learn for fighting city hall in your own town are worth the price of the book alone. Do yourself a favor and read this great book. You'll be glad you did.
August 8, 2016
I absolutely loved this book. If you enjoy truth that is stranger than fiction, mysteries, comedy, popular culture, politics, literature and movie references and wit, then this is the book for you. There were moments that I laughed so hard tears were running down my face. I stayed up many nights past 2 a.m. because I just could not wait to find out what those bumbling lawyers or bizarre library board members did next. As a lawyer, I also found the discussion of our right to petition our government pursuant to the First Amendment interesting and informative. These perfectly ridiculous librarians claiming they are champions of the First Amendment (because they provided free porn and a masturbation lounge in the public library for all the local perverts) and then doing everything you can imagine to prevent a mom from complaining about said masturbation lounge, is just the perfect set up for an extremely entertaining (if disturbing) story. I think DuJan and and Fox are brilliant and this story is an important one for all concerned citizens to hear. Governments are getting away with more crap than we know and we need more people like these two to hold their feet to the fire when they do stupid and harmful things to the people.
October 4, 2016
This was the worst bit of propaganda I've ever come across! If I could have given it less than a star I would have....The actual incident the book is supposed to be about would have taken maybe two paragraphs to disclose. The entire rest of this HUGE book is anti-liberal rant.
July 23, 2016
I received this book as a gift and was daunted by the size of the work; I have too many things that I have to read and want to read, and never enough time; yet I have always made it a point to read a book that I receive as a gift. Still, facing the ponderous tome, I wondered if I should ever be able to finish this one; I didn't have much motivation to care about the antics of a library on the other side of the country, and current politics (I hate to admit, now that I have finished the book) were never that interesting to me before.
I began reading the book one day, not very much committed actually to finishing it. There were three references to Tolkien in the first chapter (the author was clearly brilliant), though I think I still feared that to read to the end of the work would feel like walking to Mordor. Very soon, however, the book had become engaging: the quality of the writing, the way the story unfolds, the whole set-up had me hooked, and now I very much wanted to keep reading to discover what would happen next.
The characters in the story (who are all real people) are extremely entertaining, even though some of them are villainous and base. You will be laughing throughout the book in disbelief at the sheer stupidity of the adversaries of these brave investigators and champions of our constitutional rights. Not everything, however, is what it seems: Are those lawyers being incompetent on purpose? Oh, there is much to learn from reading this book.
If you find politics, legal stuff, business, or society articles enervating, tedious, monotonous, and boring (as I often do) you will be surprised by this book. The reason I believe it could hold even my interest (as long a book as it is) is that it is written like a mystery novel, with the investigators Fox & DuJan ultimately accomplishing an important victory in an ongoing war for the safety of children in public libraries. Though this is far from over: why does the American Library Association (ALA) continue to promote and protect the viewing of child pornography?
Within the pages of the book there is a political education that makes this an important read for every American citizen. Though the story is about a fight with a local library over the masturbators and porn-viewers that it shelters, it is really about our government, and it involves all manner of contemporary issues.
In reading this story you will learn about the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Open Meetings Act (OMA) and how these laws are there to protect your free speech and right to petition. You will learn what organizations (e.g. a library) typically do to circumvent the requirements of these laws, and how they infringe upon the rights of those who do not understand what their rights are. You will discover how government bodies attempt to silence criticism. You will learn about the Alinsky tactics most often used (and to great effect) by the Left. You will learn countering strategies, and you will better know how to tread this terrain if the need ever arises. You will have a better understanding of your important First Amendment Rights (Freedom of Speech and Right to Petition) that are often taken for granted and never demanded when infringed upon by those who know not their rights. Hence, the book offers a good political education.
America needs more people like Fox & DuJan who have the courage and determination to fight the establishment and its goons, and who have shown the way for others to follow.
I began reading the book one day, not very much committed actually to finishing it. There were three references to Tolkien in the first chapter (the author was clearly brilliant), though I think I still feared that to read to the end of the work would feel like walking to Mordor. Very soon, however, the book had become engaging: the quality of the writing, the way the story unfolds, the whole set-up had me hooked, and now I very much wanted to keep reading to discover what would happen next.
The characters in the story (who are all real people) are extremely entertaining, even though some of them are villainous and base. You will be laughing throughout the book in disbelief at the sheer stupidity of the adversaries of these brave investigators and champions of our constitutional rights. Not everything, however, is what it seems: Are those lawyers being incompetent on purpose? Oh, there is much to learn from reading this book.
If you find politics, legal stuff, business, or society articles enervating, tedious, monotonous, and boring (as I often do) you will be surprised by this book. The reason I believe it could hold even my interest (as long a book as it is) is that it is written like a mystery novel, with the investigators Fox & DuJan ultimately accomplishing an important victory in an ongoing war for the safety of children in public libraries. Though this is far from over: why does the American Library Association (ALA) continue to promote and protect the viewing of child pornography?
Within the pages of the book there is a political education that makes this an important read for every American citizen. Though the story is about a fight with a local library over the masturbators and porn-viewers that it shelters, it is really about our government, and it involves all manner of contemporary issues.
In reading this story you will learn about the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Open Meetings Act (OMA) and how these laws are there to protect your free speech and right to petition. You will learn what organizations (e.g. a library) typically do to circumvent the requirements of these laws, and how they infringe upon the rights of those who do not understand what their rights are. You will discover how government bodies attempt to silence criticism. You will learn about the Alinsky tactics most often used (and to great effect) by the Left. You will learn countering strategies, and you will better know how to tread this terrain if the need ever arises. You will have a better understanding of your important First Amendment Rights (Freedom of Speech and Right to Petition) that are often taken for granted and never demanded when infringed upon by those who know not their rights. Hence, the book offers a good political education.
America needs more people like Fox & DuJan who have the courage and determination to fight the establishment and its goons, and who have shown the way for others to follow.
January 11, 2017
All I remember reading are the words "leftists" and "sacred cow"
There is a lot of accusations or opinions without proper research to back it up.
I wanted to like or at least find this book interesting, but the events that inspired this book are less than 30%
Waste of time.
There is a lot of accusations or opinions without proper research to back it up.
I wanted to like or at least find this book interesting, but the events that inspired this book are less than 30%
Waste of time.
August 7, 2016
This is a tough book to review because its hard to define. It is the true story about a library in the suburbs that had a bad porn problem and they tried to hide that from people. The writers Megan and Kevin found out about it and then all hell broke loose. This is not Megan Fox the actress but another Megan Fox. I thought it was the actress at first. If you are a political person you should read this book with an open mind because stuff happens that will make you think. I am not a FOX news person and I do not like to listen much to politics but I do feel like the government is out of touch and I do worry if things are out of hand. I am mad at what the IRS has been doing. I do not like the FBI and what it did with the email thing with Hillary. When I read this book I got mad to hear what the police were doing to harass these people. I think it is pretty clear that the government did not want nobody hearing what was going on that Megan and Kvin found out. I read the book and kept asking if it was really still America because of what went on and what the the police did. They are lucky that no one shot them to keep them quiet. All kind of strange things happen now with people just disappearing and all that. It feels like the government wants to keep everything quiet. The writers are really brave for standing up and not being shut up. That is the whole point of the book to not shut up and not let them bully you. They are braver than I am. I want to enjoy my grandchildren so I don't make waves. Who would have thought a library would resort to this kind of stuff to shut people up.
August 8, 2016
I loved this book. It takes a dry subject of exposing governmental corruption using state sunshine laws and makes it very interesting. The humor is what keeps you reading. The way the two authors write separately as themselves and sometimes even disagreeing with each other is very refreshing. While this book is in the context of public libraries hiding s3x crimes to protect anything-goes polices, the very same citizen sleuthing methods could and do apply to any situation where government knows it acted wrong and will do anything, legal or illegal, to keep the public from knowing about it. The extra spice in this book is the cavalcade of characters we all know and love who are involved in one way or another. Norm from Cheers. Seth Meyers. The hero agent who took a bullet for Ronald Reagan. The White Sox. Whitney Houston. Ashley Judd from Star Trek. This is a really interesting book. I'm looking forward to more works by these authors.
January 22, 2017
True journalism
This is what true, investigative journalism looks like. Written in the witty and conversational style both authors are known for, get ready to have your eyes opened to how far unbridled power corrupts everything it touches.
This is what true, investigative journalism looks like. Written in the witty and conversational style both authors are known for, get ready to have your eyes opened to how far unbridled power corrupts everything it touches.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews