LAPDOGS

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011 | Uncategorized

Why my “professional association” is a sick joke:

It must be what’s known in the military as “mission creep.” Why else would an organization of professional librarians come out in support of the soldier alleged to be responsible for the largest security breach in U.S. military history?

When it meets for its annual conference in New Orleans June 23, the American Library Association will vote on a resolution calling on the Secretary of the Army and the Army Chief of Staff to “release Pfc. Bradley Manning from pre-trial confinement and drop the charges against him.” (Documents are available here.)

Manning is the soldier accused of leaking thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks, the anti-American website dedicated to exposing government and military wrongdoing. (ALA will also consider a resolution in support of WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange, who is accused of rape in Sweden.) Manning’s alleged actions may have jeopardized U.S. troops and Iraqis and Afghans who cooperate with them, as well as possibly revealing numerous confidential U.S. documents impacting national security.

Since his arrest in June 2010, Manning’s imprisonment at the Marine base at Quantico, Va., has become a rallying cause for the far left, who regard him as a heroic whistle-blower and charge the military with torturing him.

Basically, ALA is as hard-left an organization as there is in the country.

Back in 2001, when a Florida librarian realized she had seen one of the 9/11 terrorists in her library just days before the attacks, Judith Krug of the ALA’s office of intellectual freedom told the New York Times “she wished the librarian had followed library patron confidentiality laws and not reported the incident.

ALA is a leftist front group and that’s all it’s been for a very long time.  Fortunately, more and more of us in the profession are realizing it and withdrawing the financial support that we or our libraries used to give to that ridiculous organization.

12 Comments to LAPDOGS

Michael D
June 22, 2011

“Liberal” and “Library” both seem to come from the same Latin word “liber.”

Laura R.
June 22, 2011

My impression of ALA was also that it was leftist to an extreme; apparently it still is, and beyond. I wonder if this particular issue has to do with their total dedication to free access to information.

Katherine
June 22, 2011

The ALA is an association, just not a “professional” one. No real librarian should support it.

On a related note, although I’ve been getting mailings from the AARP for nearly a decade, they’ll never get a dime of my money. They are a left-wing political pressure group.

Bob the Ape
June 22, 2011

Michael D.:

“Liberal” and “library” do not come from the same Latin word. “Liber”, in Latin, is actually two completely different words: pronounced with a long “i” it is an adjective meaning “free” – hence “liberal”; pronounced with a short “i” it a noun meaning “a book” – hence “library”. Think of English “lead” – two pronunciations, two words, same spelling.

On the other hand, “liberal” and “libertarian” do come from the same Latin word – figure that one out.

Paula Loughlin
June 22, 2011

Pro porn, ’nuff said.

carl
June 22, 2011

If the Army can prove that Manning’s actions caused deaths that would not have occurred but for his actions, then the Sec’y of the Army can pin this resolution to Manning’s left breast pocket just before Manning is shot.

That ought to make the ALA happy.

carl

Allen Lewis
June 22, 2011

@carl -

My experience with liberal activist groups is that they are only happy when they get their way – preferably trampling over those who disagree with them in the process.

JM
June 23, 2011

Traitor. Queer. What could be better for the ALA?

creedal episcopalian
June 23, 2011

Bob the Ape:

“Liberal” has nothing to do with “progressive”. The left(woodrow wilson) just stole the word “liberal” from the Lockean classical Liberals becuase too many people caught on to what the progressives were up to. “Liberals” is a lie.

Toral
June 23, 2011

I’ve never run into a liberal librarian when it comes to collecting every penny of fines owed no matter what the circumstances. Just spread it around that the ALA executive all have considerable library fines outstanding and sic the membership on them.

Martial Artist
June 23, 2011

@Michael D,

Your comment that

“Liberal” and “Library” both seem to come from the same Latin word “liber,”

prompts me to suggest that you might want toconsider studying Latin. :-)

Pax et bonum,
Keith Töpfer

Galletta
June 23, 2011

Chris, It’s my association, too. Though I let my membership lapse, I do wish they would stick to more professional concerns.

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