The Montgomery County Affair Letter

NB: The text below has been reproduced verbatim. The letter as a matter of public record, and the editor's remarks to establish context. The only changes have been to editorial format, which has been made consistent with the remainder of my site; which means the stylesheet formatting for the Montgomery County News web page has also been removed. The text was reproduced from the temporary file created on my computer's hard drive when I accessed the original page, and was simply copied unchanged into the file creating this page. --MN

July 19, 2003

Suspicions arise from secret letter to Commissioners Court and County Judge
Mainstream Montgomery County cries foul

Group's leader believes proposed library policy is being hidden from the public

The Commissioners Court is considering changes to the library policy.

This has been an ongoing controversy since the Commissioners banned two books from the library. After public outcry and a new review system which added citizens to the review process, the books were returned to the shelves of the library. Evidently the citizens calling for the ban were not satisfied with the results. A letter sent to three of the men on Commissioners Court from Mark Cadwallader who is a member of the Republican Leadership Council urges the men to vote for changes in the policy to reflect "community standards". The letter was dated May 27, 2003. At a meeting of Mainstream Montgomery County, Ann Bayerkohler said, "It appears as if this was trying to be pushed through with no one knowing about it from reading the letter." The group is planning on fighting these changes, which calls for the library to remove itself from organizations such as the American Library Association. The proposal removes the Texas Library's Association, "Intellectual Freedom Statement", the American Library Association's, "Freedom to Read Statement" and "Freedom to View Statement" and replaces it with "Freedom to Exercise Good Judgment Statement." You can read the letter in its entirety on this website. The main changes and the "Freedom to Exercise Good Judgment Statement" is also printed on this website.

Editors note: Below is the reproduced copy of a letter sent to the County Judge and two of the Commissioners

The letter was reproduced to make them more legible.

Citizen’s Task Force for Family-Friendly Libraries

May 27, 2003

Montgomery County Judge, Alan B. Sadler
Commissioner Precinct 2, Craig Doyal
Commissioner Precinct 4, Ed Rinehart

Dear Commissioners Doyal and Rinehart, and County Judge Sadler:

We are aware of the many troublesome issues confronting the Commissioner’s Court at this time, with corruption charges in prisons, schools, etc. We are aware of the struggle with the Sheriff’s Dept. We understand the pressure you are under contending with corruption in our county. As I mentioned in conversations with Judge Sadler, I will encourage those asking me about progress in the fight for decency and community service in our Library system, to pray daily for our county commissioners, and for each o f you personally. I and many others are committing right now to upholding you all in prayer as you seek to serve the citizens of our county rightly.

But I want to stress the seriousness of the Library situation, a situation underpinned by a philosophy and policy which promotes “anything goes” as the ALA preaches through and through, even to minor children. This is why our county library policy must not only be changed, but changed by giving it a whole new direction, one which stands up for community values, and decency and protection of minors, etc. A watered down issuance of a new policy will not change anything.

Some problems cannot simply be pruned over; they need to be completely uprooted. Saddam Hussein was one such problem. He had to be totally uprooted. ALA library management philosophy is another such problem.

In a meeting I had with Jerilyn Williams in January of this year, she told me that “just as no parent should deposit their child in the middle of the freeway, no parent should allow their child unsupervised in the library”! What an admission! Honorable Sirs, this is the problem. Why should taxpayers support a county institution that fails to protect and is actually dangerous to their own children? – except that everybody kow-tows to, and is intimidated by, and indoctrinated by ALA philosophy? To me an d many others it is no wonder that our Jesse Jones State Forest is now off-limits much of the time – because of  kow-towing to an “anything goes” philosophy, counter to all moral tradition.

We understand that such a library policy change reflecting community and moral responsibility may very well involve complaints from those who believe in the ALA. But no true change takes place without objections from those currently benefiting from the status quo. It took a fight to remove Saddam Hussein, but the fight turned out to be a lot easier than most people expected.

We have so far honored Judge Sadler’s request to keep our work quiet But as mentioned we have people asking about progress in the library situation, and we had previously planned to take public several book reviews along with a litany of the ALA propaganda, and other information to churches and to news media, etc. We can do so by direct mail to key voters as well. This information can now include the new proposed library policy you before you. The new policy, I think you will agree, better reflects the true balance between moral constraint and public access which America’s Founding Fathers believed in, as opposed to the unrestrained libertine ideas of the liberal and leftist ALA organization.

Yet in deference to a “better” way we have held back, understanding and agreeing with you that a more quiet change dictated from the top down according to established rules of process would be more effective and less messy. Once voted into place by the commissioners, it would be done, and opposition reaction should be short-lived. It would also be seen by your base of supporters as good leadership on your part.

As I mentioned to Judge Sadler, I really do believe that providing real change to library policy will benefit all of you politically.  Why?, because it is the right thing, and we have the moral high ground appreciated by the broad breadth and grassroots of this county. People appreciate being led in the right direction. The public is still very uninformed about the whole library problem. And this time around we will not let the library staff and local media improperly frame the issue as one of “censorship”, when in fact is one of community protection, moral judgment, and decency. Remember, the opposition has already shown its colors in the library decency case last fall. It consists of the Green Party, some liberal democrats, ALA indoctrinated librarians, and PFLAG members.

President Bush fought the recent Iraq war in the face of media outcry, large demonstrations against war majority international opinion against it, etc. Yet the war was not nearly as messy as many feared, loss of life was limited, the war was short and now the Iraqi people are grateful and free, and a brutal corrupt dictator and sponsor of terrorism with the threat of WMD has been removed. George Bush’s approval ratings have soared because people respect the courage and vision he has demonstrated to do the right thing. Courage, in the cause of right and freedom. That’s what makes America great.

Just as George W. is reaping the benefits of courageously standing for the protection of the nation he governs, so you will benefit by being seen to stand for the protection of the community in Montgomery County. Adapting Jerilyn Williams’ analogy, why should we let our children rummage for books in the middle of the freeway? By dumping the ALA thinking, and adopting a good new policy, you can provide the community protection that is the primary mandate for government.

The last verse of the National Anthem says, “…then conquer we must when our cause it is just and this be our motto, in God is our trust. And the star spangled banner in triumph shall wave, o’er the land of the free, and home of the brave.” That verse is as true today as it was when it was first penned by Francis Scott Key.

I urge you all to vote into place the library policy, understanding that real change sometimes requires a fight, but that this fight is one you will win. And, as with George W. and Iraq, you can create a changed world order that will be accrued to your credit. Remember that it’s not just you against media perception, or just you against political opposition, but that there is a power we can lean on, who is bigger than us all, who stands for righteousness and justice, and who will support you in governing for righteousness and justice.

Sincerely,

Mark Cadwallader –
For Citizen’s Task Force for Family-Friendly Libraries