Day: June 21, 2012

Government oppression of freedom of conscience and expression is unconscionable. View this statement from four Nobel Peace Laureates expressing support for such freedom with special application to LGBT people. Uganda’s Frank Mugisha is quoted in the statement as well.

The statement begins:

(Washington – June 21, 2012) In an unprecedented statement, four esteemed Nobel Laureates, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Muhammad Yunus, have expressed solidarity with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) people worldwide. Together, they call on the global community to recognize that traditional cultural values compel them to respect the inherent dignity and human rights of all individuals.

Go read the rest here.

While visiting Colonial Williamsburg yesterday, I ran into a surprising display. See below:

The Jefferson Lies was on a prominent display along side other legitimate books of scholarship in the Williamsburg Visitor’s Center bookstore. When I talked to the manager about the book, he was sympathetic but said there was nothing he could do, saying such books are included as a business decision.

Idealist that I am, I was disappointed to see it there. Gentle readers, weigh in. Should I be surprised? Am I expecting too much of a place which strives for historical integrity to have those values spill over into decisions about which books to carry in the book store? I was at Monticello yesterday also and the bookstore there did not carry the book; why should Williamsburg?