The American Library Association, that bastion of free speech and free thought, has decided not to condemn Cuba for its raiding of some independent, i.e. non-government, libraries and tossing those librarians in prison. The guys are NRO and Powerline have been following this. Evidently, one of the guys who has control over the process is a Marxist, and isn't sure that non-Americans can handle intellectual freedom.

It gets better. Here's a resolution adopted by the ALA at its 2001 Summer Conference:

VOTED, To adopt the first three resolved clauses in CD#18.3, Resolution on Access to Information by Cuba's Libraries, which read: "That the American Library Association urges the U.S. government to share information materials widely in Cuba, especially with Cuba's libraries, and not just with individuals and independent non-governmental organizations; and that the American Library Association urges the U.S. government to put policies in place, including more equitable postal fees for service to Cuba, that will make sending books and other materials on all subjects to Cuba's libraries easier for U.S. libraries and citizens who wish to improve access to information in Cuba through strengthening library collections; and that the American Library Association opposes all efforts, including those of the U.S. government, to limit access to informational materials by Cuba's libraries and Cuba's library users."

Note this. They want the US to share information with the official libraries, who are going to toss it in the trash, rather than with the independent libraries who might actually disseminate it. That the real problem with getting free information to Cuba is US Postal rates. That somehow we, as the US, are limiting what Cuba's libraries have access to. Breathtaking. Simply breathtaking.