{"id":323170,"date":"2025-10-22T06:44:05","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T06:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/323170\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T06:44:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T06:44:05","slug":"intellectual-dishonesty-on-full-display","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/323170\/","title":{"rendered":"Intellectual Dishonesty on Full Display"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you ignore any facts that do not fit your desired outcome, and cherry-pick those that do, it\u2019s called intellectual dishonesty.\u00a0 Russ Neal\u2019s latest opinion piece<\/a> is a prime example of that.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the first paragraph in which Mr. Neal says that I implied that, \u201cchildren have a right to access books impacting their moral and religious upbringing independent of their parents.\u201d Simply because I made the point that the First Amendment does not differentiate by age.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

He utterly ignores several paragraphs later where I also state that I agree that not all books are suitable for all children and that parents are best equipped to make that decision.\u00a0 I was simply making the point that he, or the unqualified \u201cbook review commission\u201d, should not be making that choice for MY children \u2013 that\u2019s up to me.\u00a0 The overwhelming success of the ballot measure to repeal the commission proves that the vast majority of Huntington Beach residents agree with me.<\/p>\n

Next, he claims that the The American Library Association\u2019s (ALA) \u201cLibrary Bill of Rights<\/a>\u201d, which states that \u201cA person\u2019s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age \u2026\u201d and that \u201cAll people, regardless of origin, age, background, or views, possess a right to privacy and confidentiality in their library use.\u201d, should be interpreted as meaning any child can check out any book without restriction. But do you notice the ellipsis there in his quote?\u00a0 The three little dots that tell you something has been left out.\u00a0 Well, here\u2019s the whole line: <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Did you catch that? <\/p>\n

From local politics to the people and policies shaping our daily lives\u2014it\u2019s all in The Morning Report. Don\u2019t miss out on this free daily email.<\/p>\n

V. A person\u2019s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.<\/p>\n

Do you see anything there that says any person can check out any book, regardless of their age?\u00a0 Of course not. Because that\u2019s not what it says.\u00a0 It says you can\u2019t be denied the ability to use the library because of your age.\u00a0 That\u2019s all.<\/p>\n

Then Mr. Neal suggests that, in the recent court case the City of Huntington Beach lost to the ACLU and several students, parents were disenfranchised.\u00a0 Here are his exact words:<\/p>\n

California\u2019s Freedom to Read Act,\u00a0AB 1825<\/a>\u00a0(2023-2024) uses similar language, and Judge Lindsey Martinez recently cited this law in ruling that Huntington Beach could not require parental involvement in children\u2019s access to sexual books.\u00a0 She said parents\u2019 rights were not infringed, because if they didn\u2019t like it, they could just not use the library. Of course, they still must pay for the library as taxpayers.<\/p>\n

Non-partisan. No advertisers. No paywalls. No hidden agendas.
<\/strong>Together, we can inform and empower Orange County.<\/p>\n

But guess what?\u00a0 That\u2019s not what the court ruling said.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a summary of that court decision, along with a quote from the judge:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe court also rejected Huntington Beach\u2019s argument that the Freedom to Read Act infringed on parental rights. The city claimed the state law unconstitutionally interfered with parents\u2019 ability to control their children\u2019s access to certain books. But the court found that the law applies only to public officials and does not prevent parents from exercising control over their children\u2019s library use. Parents, the court noted, remain free to stop their children from using the library or reading particular books.\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cThe plain language of the FTRA shows it applies to public officials, not parents,\u201d Mart\u00ednez wrote. \u201cParents thus remain free to restrict what materials their children access.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Neal then asserts that, since no library contains all the books ever printed, then all libraries must be engaged in book banning.\u00a0 This argument is much akin to the Sophists arguing about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.\u00a0 Clearly, Mr. Neal doesn\u2019t comprehend the difference between collection management and book banning.\u00a0 Collection management is attempting to have relevant books across a broad range of topics that are representative of that topic, whereas banning is deliberately ensuring that some specific topic or point of view is not represented.\u00a0 That\u2019s a pretty big difference and not one that anyone being intellectually honest would conflate.<\/p>\n

Finally, Mr. Neal claims it\u2019s all a big plot to \u201cdrive a wedge between parents and children\u201d.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get one thing straight \u2013 the library requires parents to accompany their young children in the library.\u00a0 There\u2019s a sign to that effect near the entrance and children under 13 cannot get a library card without their parents\u2019 approval.\u00a0 I have repeatedly said that parents are in the best position to decide what books are appropriate for their child.\u00a0 You are supposed to go to the library with your minor children and to browse the books with them.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s called parenting, and if you\u2019re not willing to do that, perhaps you shouldn\u2019t have children.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

David Rynerson is a retired technology systems engineer with a background in economics.\u00a0 He is an avid reader and patron of the Huntington Beach library system. He lives in Huntington Beach, CA.<\/p>\n

Opinions expressed in community opinion pieces belong to the authors and not Voice of OC.<\/p>\n

Voice of OC is interested in hearing different perspectives and voices. If you want to weigh in on this issue or others please\u00a0email\u00a0opinions@voiceofoc.org.<\/p>\n

For a different view on this issue, consider:\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is what accountability looks like. <\/p>\n

For 16 years, Voice of OC has been Orange County\u2019s trusted source for fearless, non-partisan coverage. <\/p>\n

We\u2019ve tracked the big shakeups, the quiet deals, and the decisions that hit you where it counts\u2014 your wallet, your home, your community.<\/p>\n

From corruption investigations to housing shortages, from environmental challenges to the local economy, we follow the facts so you can follow what\u2019s really happening in your backyard.<\/p>\n

No ads. No paywalls. No spin. Just the truth.<\/p>\n

And none of it happens without you. <\/p>\n

If you believe Orange County deserves this kind of coverage, join us by making a tax-deductible contribution today.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When you ignore any facts that do not fit your desired outcome, and cherry-pick those that do, it\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":323171,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[1022,161449,171,32807,125523,161450,1269,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-323170","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-david-rynerson","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-huntington-beach","12":"tag-huntington-beach-library","13":"tag-library-bill-of-rights","14":"tag-opinion","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115416469773993986","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}