All right, it seems that we have managed to postpone the phasing out of textbooks for a while, at least at TC.

But a new US federal regulation bans the sale of all children’s books published before 1985 that do not meet stringent lead-content standards: http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/keeping-books-safe

Books convey and preserve voices. Reading books from a time not our own is our most direct access to that time. Works of literature, like other art, have gone in and out of fashion, but once published, a writer’s work should remain for all generations to read. In the words of Joseph Addison, “Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind, which are delivered down from generation to generation, as presents to the posterity of those who are yet unborn.”

Imagine, then, a dystopian horror tale in which virtually all books from the past were destroyed. Unlike the censored society in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, old books owned by scattered eccentric individuals would be left alone, but only books from a narrow strip of the present would be publicly available for sale or lending. ... Even worse than censorship in which books are burned for content some deem objectionable, these books would be destroyed en masse, without individual consideration, only because they were not current.

That incredible scenario is actually playing out in terms of children’s books under a law meant to protect toddlers from lead contaminants in toys. Called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), the law was passed in August 2008—quickly, without scrutiny, and nearly unanimously—in response to the Chinese lead toy scare of 2007. The act defines its mission so broadly as to cover all “children’s products,” including children’s books. ...

Jacek, I sincerely hope you mistook July 6 for April 1. Please say you did!

Let's double-check with George O. and see what he says.

I`d rather not. Know what? I`ve just shocked my immediate environment by turning my TV set on, and am now leaving the TC for Law and Order.

Originally written by Jacek K. on July 6, 2009 5:47 PM A scenario is actually playing out in terms of children’s books under a law meant to protect toddlers from lead contaminants in toys. Called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), the law was passed in August 2008—quickly, without scrutiny, and nearly unanimously—in response to the Chinese lead toy scare of 2007. The act defines its mission so broadly as to cover all “children’s products,” including children’s books. ...

Politicians not only like to hug and kiss babies, they also like to be seen as doing something about things that will matter to their constituents...anything will do as long as it's profound and sweeping and saves the world or part of it...

Talk about throwing out the just hugged and kissed baby with the bathwater.

Nanna

PS: that was clearly NOT what I had in mind when I voted in this poll.

Originally written by Dodo Kaipdodo on July 6, 2009 6:35 PM I`ve just shocked my immediate environment by turning my TV set on, and am now leaving the TC for Law and Order.

Jesus, Dodo...

I've got something better for you. Even though we have covered Ayn Rand in other threads, I just wanted to point out here that her latest editions are lead-free and thus qualify to fill any vacuum left after children's books!

What's up with all the Ayn Rand love we're seeing lately? Hasn't the boring and didactic novelist's most prominent acolyte, Alan Greenspan, been revealed as an empty suit in the wake of the financial crash? And hasn't her crassly anti-altruistic, dollar-worshiping world view been soundly dismissed as right-wing fantasy? Yet Atlas Shrugged has reappeared on bestseller lists, and Rand's muddle-headed "Objectivism" is back in the zeitgeist.

Story: http://www.utne.com/Politics/Exhuming-Ayn-Rand.aspx?utm_medium=email&utm_source=iPost