The Real Thing

clipped from www.powerlineblog.com One of the more farcical claims that Democrats have leveled against Governor Sarah Palin is that as mayor, she "banned" books from the Wasilla, Alaska public library. The claim was a complete fabrication, and anyway, a mayor has no power to "ban" a book. Suppressing a work of literature in our time requires href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4837994.ece">something quite different: Scotland Yard's counter-terrorist command yesterday foiled an alleged plot by Islamic extremists to kill the publisher of a forthcoming novel featuring sexual encounters between the Prophet Muhammad and his child bride. It was withdrawn from publication in America last month after its publisher there, Random House, said it feared a violent reaction by “a small radical segment” of Muslims. It said “credible and unrelated sources” had warned that the book could incite violence. That's how you go about suppressing a book. No one seems to mind much, though, when the real thing happens.