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Swift Boat Ban at Borders - Mom tells it like it is

Posted on 08/20/2004 8:56:39 AM PDT by pfloyd95

I thought I'd share this with everyone. Please excuse me if I post incorrectly I rarely post here.

This is an e-mail my mother sent after having an interesting experience at a Borders book store. I thought I'd share it with everyone.

Subject: Borders Policy

Borders:

Yesterday, by chance I was in your Eatontown, New Jersey Branch store looking for a book on a particular subject. Not able to find what I was looking for I went to the reference desk. Three clerks were there and in discussion over a book. I waited and none of the clerks turned to me but I heard them say "Unfit for Command". Finally, a clerk asked me if I needed help (I was the only customer at the desk) and I told her what I was looking for. She very kindly escorted me to the bookshelves and I asked her what was the problem about "Unfit for Command" and she told me that a Marketing/PR employee of Borders had been on a radio station and had said that Borders was not carrying this book because it was full of lies. I did ask her if this branch carried it and she had said that the last copy of "Unfit for Command" was sold a few hours earlier and there were no more copies in the store. So I commented to the clerk since when does a bookstore chain make a judgement about the accuracy of a book's contents. This same book is also on the top of the New York Times best seller list. I thought it was their business to sell books and not to be censors. Look at all the copies of books you have by Bill Clinton, Michael Moore, and everyone else of the political left. I do not support any of their anti-American propaganda, however, I go to your store to purchase books that I want to read and have the strength and conviction to be able to withstand the onslaught of left-wing, anti-American propaganda written by these so called authors. I consider these books full of lies but I also have the right to purchase or not purchase these books. I thought bookstore chains were big supporters of freedom of speech. Since when has it become the policy of a bookstore to decide when and what its customers may purchase and read. Since when did Borders decide to go into the censorship business? If I as a consumer can tolerate walking thru aisles of Anti-American propaganda, the least you can do is give me the choice to buy the books that I want to read and not what you have decided politically to make available.

Since when has it become a book seller's policy to decide on what the public can and cannot read? Where in your Mission Statement does it say that Borders will not sell best seller books because it decided it has "lies"? Who made the decision that this book is full of lies? Strange - the one book in just about every category aisle throughout the store that you are pushing is the biggest liar of all "My Life" by Bill Clinton. Isn't he the one who lied before the Starr Commission and finally admitted it in his book?

Acknowledgement is requested of your policy regarding the sale of books.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; Politics/Elections; Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: borders; kerry; swiftboat; unfitforcommand
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To: Mr.Atos

Mississippi School District Bans Book on Censorship: "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
February 1, 1999
West Marion High School in Foxworth, a rural Mississippi town, is the place where recent events aimed at censorship occurred. The book, Fahenreit 451, was on the reading list for several of the English classes. However, after a parent complained to the superintendent about the use of the word "God damn" in the book, the book was removed from the required reading list. Interestingly, the complaint did not surface until the book report was due -- more than a month after the reading assignment was given.

For those who are interested in learning what this book is all about, here is a brief synopsis of the tale which became a major motion picture in 1967:

Story Synopsis:

Fahrenheit 451 is an engrossing futuristic tale of a society where all printed material is banned. In this country of the future, officials believe that people who read and are able to think for themselves are a threat to the nation where individualism is strongly discouraged. The inhabitants of this society all seem to be suffering from sensory deprivation and their only link to news and entertainment is a large television screen on the wall where broadcasts are continually transmitted to the "family." All the people are members of the Family. Even though they aren't forced to watch the telecasts, they all do.

It is the job of firemen (this movie was made long before they were referred to as firefighters) to hunt down subvervives and burn the caches of books they've secreted away. The title, Fahrenheit 451, is the temperature at which book paper catches fire and starts to burn.


61 posted on 08/20/2004 9:56:13 AM PDT by AmericanMade1776
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To: kosciuszko
Yes..this maybe the corporate end of the deal...but what about your employees that see fit to harass the customers because of their personal bias. What is being done about them???????
62 posted on 08/20/2004 10:00:33 AM PDT by marmar (Faith is a beautiful thing.....)
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To: pfloyd95

If a bookstore says that they won't sell a book containing lies, ask them why they sell anti-Bush propaganda.

Time to test the Tattered Cover in Denver.


63 posted on 08/20/2004 10:03:19 AM PDT by 5by5
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To: KJacob

Your absolutely right. They also have the right to admit that the borders owners are left-wing, politically. Although I doubt they have the moral fortitude to admit it.


64 posted on 08/20/2004 10:04:07 AM PDT by ampat
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To: pfloyd95
"Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people's idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone else says anything back, that is an outrage." -- Winston Churchill

"Don't join the book burners. Don't think you are going to conceal thoughts by concealing evidence that they ever existed." -- Dwight D. Eisenhower, speech at Dartmouth College, June 14, 1953

"Every burned book enlightens the world." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed." -- Benjamin Franklin, 1730

"To prohibit the reading of certain books is to declare the inhabitants to be either fools or slaves." -- Claude Adrien Helvetius, De l'Homme, Vol. I, sec. 4

"We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people." -- John F. Kennedy


65 posted on 08/20/2004 10:06:02 AM PDT by AmericanMade1776
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To: pfloyd95
"Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people's idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone else says anything back, that is an outrage." -- Winston Churchill

"Don't join the book burners. Don't think you are going to conceal thoughts by concealing evidence that they ever existed." -- Dwight D. Eisenhower, speech at Dartmouth College, June 14, 1953

"Every burned book enlightens the world." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed." -- Benjamin Franklin, 1730

"To prohibit the reading of certain books is to declare the inhabitants to be either fools or slaves." -- Claude Adrien Helvetius, De l'Homme, Vol. I, sec. 4

"We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people." -- John F. Kennedy


66 posted on 08/20/2004 10:06:28 AM PDT by AmericanMade1776
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To: AmericanMade1776

sorry..a snafu!


67 posted on 08/20/2004 10:07:01 AM PDT by AmericanMade1776
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To: pfloyd95

I was in the Border's in Rosemont (Pa) today to pick up my ordered copy of Unfit For Command.

I asked if they had another copy, and he said he would check, that it was probably upstairs in the "poly-sci" section.

I commented that this was a brand new book, #1 on NYT, and Amazon, and why was it hidden away upstairs? He asked, what was I insinuating? I said, it would appear you are hiding the book "upstairs", when all other #1 new books are prominently displayed near the entrance.

He didn't like my "insinuations". LOL


68 posted on 08/20/2004 10:17:13 AM PDT by baseballmom (Michael Moore - An un-American Hatriot)
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To: pfloyd95

Oh, PS.

The first clerk I dealt with said, "that's one book I'm probably not going to read, because I've heard it's filled with lies." I responded with, don't you think you should find out for yourself? It's apparantly very well documented". He wasn't interested in the truth.

I made sure not to put it directly in the bag, so others in line could see what we were talking about.


69 posted on 08/20/2004 10:22:22 AM PDT by baseballmom (Michael Moore - An un-American Hatriot)
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To: pfloyd95

Report these clerks and store managers that comment, "we don't sell it . . . it's full of lies", to their corporate office. Chapter and verse with names.

Sending e-mails or letters to corporate will result in perhaps, disciplinary actions upon these employee's.

Let them know what their minions are doing to prevent the company of profits. They will be interested. They want to keep their profits up, investors happy and stock holders in the black.

To me, these clerks believe they are smug by turning away conservatives and need to pay the consequences for their actions by losing their jobs (or, the very least, poor reviews come annual merit pay time). Complicit managers as well. Striking back, justice done.


70 posted on 08/20/2004 10:22:26 AM PDT by BluSky (Liberalism - destroying live's, one failure at a time.)
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To: SearchMaster

I knew what you were referring to. I do not know what makes you know more than everyone else on the subject. I have heard many people say they were unable to get the book. The line has been the same: backorder. I am suspicious of that claim. I have no reason to believe you over the poster of this thread. The poster heard two different stories. Yes, they advertise the book. But can you actually GET the book, or have they caved into Kerry pressure?


71 posted on 08/20/2004 10:24:59 AM PDT by The Ghost of FReepers Past (Legislatures are so outdated. If you want real political victory, take your issue to court.)
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To: pnz1

The following libraries have it in their collection. It's brand new, so give it a few more days to get through processing


AK ANCHORAGE MUNICIPAL LIBR XYZ
AZ TUCSON-PIMA PUB LIBR AZT
CA CHULA VISTA PUB LIBR CVL
CA DOWNEY CITY LIBR DOC
CA LOS ANGELES PUB LIBR LPU
CA MONTEREY CNTY FREE LIBR JRB
CA PASADENA PUB LIBR CPP
CA SACRAMENTO PUB LIBR JRS
CA SAN JOSE PUB LIBR SJP
CA SOLANO CNTY LIBR JTD
CO AURORA PUB LIBR COB
CO PIKES PEAK LIBR DIST CQU
CT EAST HARTFORD PUB LIBR GLD
CT GREENWICH LIBR GRN
CT MILFORD PUB LIBR GOY
CT PEQUOT LIBR GUO
CT WESTPORT PUB LIBR WES
CT WILTON LIBR ASN GWQ
DC LIBRARY OF CONGRESS DLC
FL ORANGE CNTY LIBR SYST ORL
ID CALDWELL PUB LIBR ZFR
IL GAIL BORDEN PUB LIBR DIST IF9
IL WAUCONDA AREA PUB LIBR DIST DV1
IL WOODSTOCK PUB LIBR LF8
IN ELKHART PUB LIBR IEB
IN MICHIGAN CITY PUB LIBR IMY
IN MUNCIE PUB LIBR IMU
KS DODGE CITY PUB LIBR KEQ
KY BOWLING GREEN PUB LIBR BGP
KY HENDERSON CNTY PUB LIBR DIST KG6
KY LEXINGTON PUB LIBR KYL
MA C/W MARS CWJ
MA MERRIMACK VAL LIBR CONSOR MRQ
MA NOBLE, INC NOG
MA OLD COLONY LIBR NETWORK OCD
MD PRINCE GEORGE'S CNTY MEM LIBR SYST MDK
ME PORTLAND PUB LIBR PPN
MI BALDWIN PUB LIBR EHK
MI FARMINGTON COMMUN LIBR EHE
MI FLINT PUB LIBR EZH
MI ROCHESTER HILLS PUB LIBR EHG
MI SUBURBAN LIBR COOP EYB
MN LAKE AGASSIZ REG LIBR LAL
MN TWO HARBORS PUB LIBR G#T
NC WAKE CNTY PUB LIBR NXA
NJ ATLANTIC CITY FREE PUB LIBR ACP
NJ BURLINGTON CNTY LIBR BUL
NJ PRINCETON PUB LIBR PPR
NJ SOMERSET CNTY LIBR SOM
NY BROOKLYN PUB LIBR BKL
NY BUFFALO & ERIE CNTY PUB LIBR VHB
NY GREAT NECK LIBR NBT
OH COLUMBUS METROP LIBR OCO
OH LAKEWOOD PUB LIBR LAP
OH UPPER ARLINGTON PUB LIBR UAP
OR COOS CNTY LIBR SERV DIST BAY
OR SPRINGFIELD PUB LIBR OXY
PA BETHLEHEM AREA PUB LIBR PBL
PA CHESTER CNTY LIBR & DIST CTR PWC
PA DAUPHIN CNTY LIBR SYST HBP
TX FORT WORTH PUB LIBR IFA
TX HARRIS CNTY PUB LIBR HT#
TX PLANO PUB LIBR SYST PLS
UT SPANISH FORK LIBR RF0
VA HAMPTON PUB LIBR VAJ
VA LYNCHBURG PUB LIBR VCQ
WA FORT LEWIS LIBR SYST AVW
WA KING CNTY LIBR SYST NTG
WA KITSAP REG LIBR YEQ
WA RICHLAND PUB LIBR XTW
WA SEATTLE PUB LIBR UOK
WI MANITOWOC PUB LIBR WIA
WI MILWAUKEE AREA TECH COL DIST LIBR WKP
WI NEW BERLIN PUB LIBR W4N
WI OUTAGAMIE WAUPACA LIBR SYST WIQ
WI SOUTH CENT LIBR SYS WIM
WY LARAMIE CNTY LIBR SYST WYL


72 posted on 08/20/2004 10:25:53 AM PDT by stiguy
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To: pfloyd95

I'll check out my local Borders and report back.


73 posted on 08/20/2004 10:30:35 AM PDT by Ciexyz ("FR, best viewed with a budgie on hand")
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To: Pukin Dog

Jeff Brazos supports this policy by Borders? Why????


74 posted on 08/20/2004 10:35:30 AM PDT by ridesthemiles (ridesthemiles)
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To: kosciuszko

Borders is trying it's best to keep the shelfs full.

When I went to school, we spelled it SHELVES. What didn't I learn????


75 posted on 08/20/2004 10:37:25 AM PDT by ridesthemiles (ridesthemiles)
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To: Pukin Dog
Borders is only the retail arm of Amazon.com.

Wrong

Borders and Walden are owned by Borders Group, Inc (BGP on the NYSE).

Amazon is owned by Amazon.com, Inc (AMZN on NASDAQ)

Borders, like several other companies, contracts with Amazon to handle their online sales. Among those others are Target, ToysRus, and Office Depot.

From Amazon's 2003 10-K "Third-Party Sellers We offer Amazon Marketplace and Merchants@ programs that enable third parties to integrate their products on our websites, allow customers to shop for products owned by third parties using our features and technologies, and allow individuals to complete transactions that include multiple sellers in a single checkout process. We are not the seller of record in these third-party seller transactions, but instead earn fixed fees, sales commissions, per-unit activity fees, or some combination thereof."

76 posted on 08/20/2004 10:38:18 AM PDT by PAR35
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To: pfloyd95; KellyAdmirer; whatexit

I just went to the Borders in Livingston (NJ and Unfir for Command was displayed prominently in front next to the Namath book.


77 posted on 08/20/2004 10:40:49 AM PDT by MattinNJ (Kerry is having Rambo eruptions.)
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To: pfloyd95
Good, Borders and B&N are both off of my shopping list. John Ef'um.

Bwahahahahahahahaha. What marketing genius's!
78 posted on 08/20/2004 10:44:21 AM PDT by gathersnomoss
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To: PAR35

Please just shut up.

79 posted on 08/20/2004 10:46:33 AM PDT by Pukin Dog (Sans Reproache)
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To: VisualizeSmallerGovernment
Kerry opening his yap and attacking this book has to be good for another 1,000,000 copies sold.

I'm starting to think this is part of Kerry's plan to dump Tarayza. He has stock in Regnery, and by the time the election is over, he'll make enough on dividends and stock sales so he won't have to be anyone's boy toy any more.

80 posted on 08/20/2004 10:51:37 AM PDT by webheart
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