Drumroll Please!

Hello! Welcome to the first issue of the USABB Rag, our double-monthly newsletter, (I�m too lazy to make it monthly) which discusses literary censorship and censorship in general. USABB, as you probably already know, is a Canadian coalition of students against the censorship of literary materials. We believe strongly that works of literature covering controversial issues should be left untouched by censoring.  We�ll be featuring: works by banned authors, anti/pro censorship groups, and related websites. In the spirit of literature we�ll also be featuring short stories and poems by anyone who wants to contribute-get those e-mails rolling in. Now, without further ado, I bid you read on and enjoy!

Chief Editor Guy:

Martin Conley-Wood

Martin Conley-Wood

The first thought that comes to mind when you see Stockwell Day: �Gee, he looks like a really nice guy.� The reality: Stockwell Day�s Alliance party has a firm stance against literary freedom. This reputation goes all the way back to the days of the Reform Party, when an MP named Terry Lewis gained the support of Christians Influencing Education; in trying to remove Steinbeck�s Of Mice and Men from schools. Of Mice and Men, as Lewis claimed, was blasphemous due to the use of the words: �God� and �Jesus Christ�. After receiving financial backing from CIE, Lewis printed some hundred pamphlets warning people of the �danger�, of the book�s blasphemous content. However, the only real danger was Lewis�s close-minded views which could have severely damaged the quality of education by removing a great literary work from schools. When Reform met Conservative in early 2000, some of these views are rumoured to have carried over. Luckily the Alliance Party had their butt�s kicked in the last election, and the threat subsided. Although there is still the chance that the Alliance could come to power and all hell would break loose. Even Day himself, has been notorious for wanting to incorporate religion and politics-not a good match at all. When asked about his stance on censorship, Day declined to answer. So as we buckle down for another term of Liberal rule, and Terry Lewis becomes a distant memory, we can all sleep a little easier; knowing that the books are safe�for a while.

Stockwell Day, Leader of the Canadian Alliance

Spotlight Book

When Steinbeck wrote this book, he probably didn�t think that years later, it would be the victim of constant persecution because of it�s content. The story of Lennie and George is well known to many. And most of the people, who have read it, are able to see through the controversy, and find it to be a great piece of writing. That said, there are still a few who go on and on about how the book is blasphemous and racist, due to the use of the words: �Jesus Christ� �God� and �Nigger�. These people are supposedly helping to protect the public from the dangerous content of Steinbeck�s book, but not for a moment did they stop and think: maybe the public would like to make their own decisions, maybe they would like to think for themselves. But when people think for themselves, they become aware of their basic rights and freedoms, and then the government can no longer control them. This book should and must be available in schools. If an individual�s parents, do not want their child reading the book, then they don�t have too, but to remove the book entirely is just wrong.

Quotes And

Hi, it�s me again, this is our quotes section where any quotes related to literary censorship will be posted. If you have a quote, send it to us at: united_students@hotmail.com and please include the name of the person who said it too. (Note: we will also accept quotes that are pro censorship.)

Chief Editor Guy:

Martin Conley-Wood

So now, here are the quotes:

"Freedom of the Press, if it means anything at all, means the freedom to criticize and oppose."
-- George Orwell

"The ultimate form of censorship is assassination."
--George Bernard Shaw

"You have not converted a man because you have silenced him."
--John Morley

Featured Short-Story

For many years no one had been able to kill the moose. Its skin seemed almost bullet impervious, even when it was shot; it healed over in a matter of days. No one seemed able to catch the moose whose antlers were like huge tree branches and whose eyes were the sizes of tennis balls.

There were group hunts, contests and even rewards for the person who could kill the beast. Then one day, it happened. One hunter fashioned a pit trap with huge sharpened stakes at the bottom. He chased the moose into it and it took a deadly fall. But it was not killed so the hunter took his gun and shot it in the neck again and again but the moose would not die. So the hunter took his hatchet and with great difficulty cut off the giant creature�s head and as the giant heart stopped beating flocks of birds flew out from the trees and all the noises of the forest were stopped. This was a very bad omen.

Nevertheless the hunter and his buddies took their trophy back to their town. They had its head stuffed and mounted and the body butchered.

After a week the man who killed the moose started having restless dreams. Then one day his friends came looking for him. They found him in his cabin crumpled up against the wall with a look of terror on his dead face. The wall had dents in it as if someone had hit it with a sledgehammer, the doctors said that the man had died of severe head trauma yet the skin was not even bruised; his spine and ribs were shattered yet there was there was no signs that the body had been hit. The moose head was still there.

The men took the head back to their house. The next day, both of them were dead, killed in a similar way.

This went on for a while, until one man decided to take the head out of the town. He loaded it into his canoe and was taking it across a marsh towards an old abandoned hunting lodge in the forest. When he reached the middle of the marsh, his canoe capsized and the giant moose head sank out of sight. Other boaters came to his aid and helped him to the lodge where he told them he would stay the night before returning the next day. The man was never seen again.

Years later a camper reported seeing an enormous grey moose while he was camping with his friends near the lodge. He had gone out one night to look at the stars (and relieve himself), when he glimpsed something pale and misty moving into the clearing as it came nearer he realized it was a moose but it was hazy and grey. He fumbled for his camera and the moose charged silently towards him, it�s eyes glowing red. His friends heard him call out and upon arriving on the seen found him lying on the ground. When the emergency crew arrived and the man, who apparently had suffered a minor heart attack, had been revived, he told them about the moose and how he had managed to take a picture of it. Unfortunately the camera was found lying on the ground crushed in what appeared to be, the giant hoof-print of a moose.

Some say that the Ghost Moose still roams the forest, seeking revenge. Others say it is at rest. No one knows for sure except the ones who die in the forest.

By: Davy R. and

Martin C-W

To contact USABB, e-mail us at: united_students@hotmail.com

Want to get in on the action? Go to www.angelfire.com/vt2/UnitedStudents/usabbrag.html for more info.

Suspiciously flattering image of Stockwell Day courtesy of: www.canadianalliance.ca

More information about Ghost Moose can be found at www.ghostmoose.50megs.com or by e-mailing ghost_moose@hotmail.com

Complaints? Then visit the complaints dept. at: www.angelfire.com/vt2/UnitedStudents/complaints.html

Tell your friends about the Rag!

Published in part by: Drunk Dogs Limited.