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Gov. Chris Sununu’s decision to withdraw his nominee for state librarian, thus caving to extremists who say she’s unfit because she opposes censorship and book banning is doubly disappointing. Mindy Atwood, the N.H. State Library’s administrator of library operations, applied for the position, replacing Michael York, who held the position for 25 years before retiring this year. A longtime library director in Sunapee and Salisbury, she ought to be an obvious choice to step up, and had the backing of York, other librarians and State Archivist Ashley Miller. It should have been a breeze for Atwood to be confirmed by the state’s Executive Council, as her qualifications are clear. Instead, political ideology reared its ugly head, with far-right critics — Executive Councilor David Wheeler foremost among them — slamming Atwood as unfit for her outspokenness on censorship issues. Just imagine! A librarian who opposes censorship! It’s almost as hard to wrap your mind around as a state education commissioner who opposes public education. Atwood’s misdeed, apparently, is that she’s spoken out against book bans. For Wheeler and others, including the anti-government group RebuildNH, which launched in opposition to COVID-19 restrictions, that’s beyond the pale, and tantamount to telling parents they can’t raise their own children. That’s right, the choice of what books are available in libraries now, according to conservative zealots, falls under the umbrella of “parental rights” — the faux outrage-generator that’s been used to attack teachers and schools in recent years. It’s a cousin to the “divisive concepts” law and other attempts to portray reasonable everyday education as an attack on the poor, oppressed white majority. The irony is that the state librarian has no say over what material is available in public libraries across New Hampshire. As York noted to N.H. Public Radio : “The 234 public libraries in the state of New Hampshire all have a board of trustees, and more than 90 percent of those libraries have elected library trustees. They decide what goes on in the library. I defy anybody to show where libraries have ignored the will of their trustees.” As is always the case, those politicizing this typically apolitical position accuse their target of doing exactly what they’re guilty of: bringing ideology into a non-ideological space. That Sununu would back away is unfortunate, though perhaps not unexpected. While he’s stepping away from the governor’s office after eight years and has nothing of substance to lose in backing a very appropriate nominee whom he has praised, it’s disappointing Sununu seems to have lost the mettle to stand up to dangerous ideologues, as he did during the pandemic. That’s the first disappointment: A highly qualified nominee is losing out on an opportunity solely because the governor and some councilors are willing to listen to cynical ideological arguments that don’t even apply to the position. That Sununu’s successor, Kelly Ayotte, may well take notice of the stance of Wheeler and others and be swayed to nominate someone more receptive to the idea of censorship and book banning is the second, greater disappointment. A librarian’s role is to advocate for access and learning. Atwood’s position on censorship is one held by most respected librarians, along with the N.H. Library Association and American Library Association. Allowing ideologues to hijack the nomination process of a valued state employee and potentially curtail the freedoms of library patrons is hardly in the spirit of the Live Free or Die state.3 underrated (HBO) Max movies you should watch this weekend (December 27-29)
This holiday season, be thankful for the taxpayer protections we have in CaliforniaAfter they take time off for Christmas it will be back to the hardwood floors for many of the local high school basketball teams. Two holiday tournaments are set for Thursday through Saturday at Boles and Leonard. The Boles tournament features eight boys teams and 10 girls teams. In Pool A for the boys are host Boles, Alba-Golden, Sulphur Bluff and Fannindel. Pool B for boys features the Boles junior varsity, Celeste, Saltillo and Big Sandy Dallardsville. The girls Pool A includes host Boles, Sulphur Bluff, Alba-Golden, Union Grove and Rivercrest. Girls Pool B includes Como-Pickton, Blue Ridge, Big Sandy Dallardsville, Celeste and Fannindel. Tom Bean won the Boles boys title last year 49-45 over McLeod after C.J. Richter preserved the victory by hitting two free throws with 5.1 seconds left. Lindsay beat Blue Ridge 53-36 last year’s girls championship game. The tournament begins with games at noon on Saturday in both the Boyd Gymnasium and Luther Gymnasium. The girls championship game is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. on Saturday in the Boyd Gym, with the boys championship to follow at 7:30 p.m. The Boles Lady Hornets, ranked No. 15 in 2A, will open the tournament at noon on Thursday against Rivercrest. There are 16 boys and 16 girls teams entered in the 63rd annual Leonard Holiday Tournament. Boys team entered are host Leonard, Trenton, Lone Oak, Caddo Mills, Tom Bean, Life Oak Cliff, Savoy, Whitesboro, Howe, Quitman, Quinlan Ford, Benbrook, Wolfe City, Blue Ridge, Perrin Whitt and Wills Point. Girls teams include host Leonard, Wolfe City, Prairiland, Palmer, Van Alstyne, Honey Grove, Whitesboro, Collinsville, Bells, Whitewright, Community, Paris Chisum, Sulphur Springs, Lone Oak, Caddo Mills and the Van Alstyne junior varsity. Caddo Mills beat Leonard in the boys finals last year, 62-45, and Rains beat McKinney Boyd 53-38 in the girls championship game. The Leonard tournament starts at 8 a.m. on Thursday with games at the high school and junior high gyms and winds up on Saturday with the girls championship game at 7 p.m., followed by the boys finals at 8:20 p.m. Boles Holiday Invitational Thursday’s schedule Girls games Noon — Rivercrest vs. Boles, Boyd Gym 1:20 p.m. — Alba-Golden vs. Rivercrest, Boyd Gym 1:20 p.m. — Celeste vs. Fannindel, Luther Gym 4 p.m. — Fannindel vs. Como-Pickton, Boyd Gym 4 p.m. — Big Sandy Dallardsville vs. Blue Ridge, Luther Gym 6:40 p.m. — Boles vs. Sulphur Bluff, Boyd Gym 6:40 p.m. — Como-Pickton vs. Big Sandy Dallardsville, Luther Gym Boys games Noon — Celeste vs. Saltillo, Luther Gym 2:40 p.m. — Sulphur Bluff vs. Fannindel, Boyd Gym 5:20 p.m. — Saltillo vs. Boles junior varsity, Boyd Gym 5:20 p.m. — Alba-Golden vs. Sulphur Bluff, Luther Gym 8 p.m. — Fannindel vs. Boles, Boyd Gym 8 p.m — Big Sandy Dallardsville vs. Celeste, Luther Gym Friday’s schedule Girls games 9 a.m. — Como-Pickton vs. Blue Ridge, Boyd Gym 9 a.m. — Sulphur Bluff vs. Alba-Golden, Luther Gym 10:20 a.m. — Fannindel vs. Big Sandy Dallardsville, Luther Gym 11:40 a.m. — Union Grove vs. Rivercrest, Boyd Gym 1 p.m. — Alba-Golden vs. Boles, Boyd Gym 1 p.m. — Celeste vs. Como-Pickton, Luther Gym 2:20 p.m. — Blue Ridge vs. Fannindel, Luther Gym 3:40 p.m. — Rivercrest vs. Sulphur Bluff, Boyd Gym 5 p.m. — Big Sandy Dallardsville vs. Celeste, Luther Gym 6:20 p.m. — Boles vs. Union Grove, Boyd Gym Boys games 10:20 a.m. — Boles junior varsity vs. Big Sandy Dallardsville, Boyd Gym 11:40 a.m. — Fannindel vs. Alba-Golden, Luther Gym 2:20 p.m. — Alba-Golden vs. Boles, Boyd Gy, 3:40 p.m. — Celeste vs. Boles junior varsity, Luther Gym 5 p.m. — Big Sandy Dallardsville vs. Saltillo, Boyd Gym 7:40 p.m. — Boles vs. Sulphur Bluff, Boyd Gym 63rd Annual Leonard Holiday Tournament Thursday’s schedule BOYS DIVISION 9:20 a.m. — Leonard vs. Trenton, HS Gym 9:20 a.m. — Wolfe City vs. Blue Ridge, JH Gym 12:10 p.m. — Lone Oak vs. Caddo Mills, JH Gym 12:10 p.m. — Tom Bean vs. Life Oak Cliff, HS Gym 2:50 p.m. — Howe vs. Quitman, HS Gym 2:50 p.m. — Quinlan Ford vs. Benbrook, JH Gym 5:40 p.m. — Savoy vs. Whitesboro, JH Gym 5:40 p.m. — Perrin Whitt vs. Wills Point, HS Gym 8:20 p.m. — Second round, HS Gym GIRLS DIVISION 8 a.m. — Leonard vs. Wolfe City, HS Gym 8 a.m. — Van Alstyne vs. Honey Grove, JH Gym 10:50 a.m. — Prairiland vs. Palmer, HS Gym 10:50 a.m. — Whitesboro vs. Collinsville, JH Gym 1:30 p.m. — Bells vs. Whitewright, HS Gym 1:30 p.m. — Community vs. Paris Chisum, JH Gym 4:20 p.m. — Sulphur Springs vs. Lone Oak, JH Gyn 4:20 p.m. — Caddo Mills vs. Van Alstyne junior varsity, HS Gym 7 p.m. — Second round, HS Gym 7 p.m. — Second round, JH Gym