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Library of Congress Launches New Online Poetry Archive, Featuring 75 Years of Classic Poetry Readings
T.H. Tsien, 105, Dies; Scholar of Chinese Books Rescued 30,000 of Them "Professor Tsien...was a young librarian [in China] during the Japanese occupation, which lasted from 1931 until the end of World War II. Working in secret, he was charged with keeping a trove of precious volumes, some dating to the first millennium B.C., from falling into the occupiers' hands....In interviews, Professor Tsien was sometimes asked why he assumed so grave a risk to smuggle books out of China. His reply was simple. 'It was my duty,' he said."
ALSC's 2015 Summer Reading List! If you have a kid, grades K-8th, these might be very handy! Or if you work with kids in that age group!
Poetry Is Actually Kinda Cool: Great Poetry Books for Reluctant Poetry Readers
10 Reasons Why Kids Need to Read Non-Disney Fairy Tales
How We Talk (or Don’t Talk) About Diversity When We Read with Our Kids
Anthony Doerr and Elizabeth Kolbert win 2015 Pulitzer Prizes
April 20, 1841: First detective story is published Although Edgar Allan Poe is better known for his horror and poetry, he was the first to publish a detective story! His story features an analytical detective and is narrated by the detective's roommate - just like the later Sherlock Holmes stories.

Don’t Let TPP Gut State Laws "The partnership's potential to undermine state laws should concern Congress." Imagine an oil spill. Imagine a city, badly affected by that oil spill, enacting laws to prevent such a thing in the future, to protect the lives of . Now imagine the oil company suing the city for millions of dollars because those laws affect their bottom line - and winning. That is a big part of what TPP is setting us up for.
A Look At The Fast Track Bill Shows It’s The Wrong Thing To Do

Black suspect dies after Baltimore cops break his spine in ‘brutal’ police beating "The 27-year old was arrested last week for an undisclosed violation. The police said that he was restrained on the ground by an officer during the arrest, but appeared to be fine when he was taken to the district station. However, a cell phone video shows that the arresting officers used force that some may seen as 'brutal.'" Related: Baltimore Officials Begin Criminal Probe into Freddie Gray’s Death
Missouri police officers resign after black female mayor is elected "Outgoing Mayor Randall Ramsey told the station the cops gave no notice and were joined by the city attorney, clerk and water treatment supervisor." I'm sure it wasn't at all motivated by sexism or racism, right?
Missouri National Guard's term for Ferguson protesters: 'Enemy forces' "'It's disturbing when you have what amounts to American soldiers viewing American citizens somehow as the enemy,' said Antonio French, an alderman in St. Louis." That's putting it lightly...
The bank moved to seize a widow’s home. But it didn’t tell her the loan was insured.

The BP Oil Spill Happened 5 Years Ago Today. We're Still Paying the Price. Related: We Didn't Learn Anything From Deepwater Horizon—And We're Going to Pay For It
Restoring people's faith in government "The reality is that powerful industries and interest groups have used their wealth to amass unprecedented political power. With so many lawmakers dependent on these sources of campaign funding, the institution of Congress too often leans in their direction and away from the priorities of everyday citizens. Convinced that their vote - and their voice - doesn't matter, millions of Americans are exiting the political town square. Extreme elements then rush in to fill the vacuum and the discourse becomes even more hard-edged and alienating. With Americans fast losing confidence in our democracy, it's time to ring the alarm bells and launch a creative and sustained push to restore the public's faith in government."

Steampunk Gypsy