The next time local activists spout off about free speech at the library, share this story with them. From the article,"A Western Australian library worker who refused to undergo
mandatory 'diversity' training promoting transgender ideology is now
taking legal action, after being forced from his job after 15 years of
faithful service.
Declan Mansfield, a former employee of the City of
Armadale library in Perth’s southeast, said he was pressured to resign
after opting out of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) course that, he believed, embedded transgender ideology in the workplace.
'There should be no ideological litmus test that employees
in either the public or private sectors should have to pass to gain and
retain employment,' Declan told The Daily Declaration.
'This should be especially so in libraries, which rely at their ideological core on the notion of freedom of speech.'"
It would be a terrible pity to find out that such things happen to library staff here in the USA. Another reason the ALA is wholly unsuited to be an authoritative voice for libraries. Like all ideologues who oppose traditional values like parents' rights, the ALA changes the meanings of words to suit their revolutionary agenda. "Equity of access" is just another meaning for forced outcomes.
While the ALA states they are in favor
of access of ALL library materials for ALL AGES, what they really mean
is they want the power to force your children to be indoctrinated with
DEI, CRT, Transgender ideology and so on. They call it "freedom of
speech," but it's really freedom to brainwash and demoralize your
children.
Some books should be relocated and restricted from children, who do not have the emotional and intellectual development to effectively process certain topics. Parents have the authority to choose sexually charged and ideologically-driven books for their children, but not to force other parents' children to be exposed to them willy-nilly on a library shelf. That's just common sense. It has nothing to do with free speech. But the case below--now that's about free speech:
"It's an absolute travesty, but it would appear that you won't be stopped until, hopefully, the lawsuits begin in earnest." --Amy Jane Hoogstraet Safley
By Gretchen Garrity
The battle to make libraries safe again for children is a minefield. Organizations like the American Library Association (ALA) are extremely organized and well funded, and they often offer resources to those who oppose parental rights and the protection of children from age inappropriate and sexually explicit materials.
The political agenda to sexually indoctrinate children and demoralize them is well documented in books like "The Naked Communist," by W. Cleon Skousen. I want to thank the Christian County Library staff for purchasing this book for its collection.
While court decisions are beginning to move in a direction that recognizes the rights of parents, and the rights of public libraries to curate their collections without forced book shelving, the battle is still deeply engaged.
A recent case in Wyoming illustrates how complex the issue can be. A library director, Terri Lesley, was fired in 2023 and later sued under federal law. According to an article just published, "Lesley claimed that she was discriminated against because of her association with and advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community.
Three
more claims alleged that the commissioners and library board violated
the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, which protects people
who oppose discriminatory practices against, advocate on behalf of, and
associate with protected classes."
Not only did Lesley sue her county commission and the library board, but she has also sued a family in the community in a separate suit. While that suit is in the discovery phase, the suit against the library board and commission has been settled: "According to a settlement
agreement provided to the News Record, the commission and the library
board settled with Lesley for $700,000. The settlement agreement 'is not to be construed as an admission of liability by any party,' according to the court document."
Lesley had filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2023, which this year gave her a notice of right to sue. These things take time to shake out.
In exchange for the money to be paid out to Lesley and her attorneys, the former director agreed to dismiss the suit. This is common in such cases, because insurance companies are hesitant for lawsuits to go forward with expensive litigation costs.
Note that while the legal arguments were based on personal discrimination claims against the library director, Lesley's lawyer stated: "...that she hopes this sends the message that 'elected and appointed officials need to represent the interest of their
entire community, not just a small band of activists.'
“'It
is really important to remember the ideals of America,' she said. 'We
do not discriminate, we believe in the First Amendment.'”
Of ten claims, only two mentioned First Amendment violations: "The seventh and eighth claims
for relief had to do with the First Amendment. They argued that as a
public employee, Lesley could not suppress the First Amendment rights of
library users 'by censoring books based on disfavored content or their
association with historically marginalized minority groups.'
They
also alleged that the commissioners and library board participated in 'viewpoint discrimination and retaliation,' meaning they engaged in 'censorship based on their disagreement with the content of Ms. Lesley’s
protected speech and association.'”
"If appointees have, indeed, engaged in unlawful activity, what is the most effective action that a citizen can take to ensure that taxpayer funds are not used to defend trustees engaging in personal activity that does not serve the best interests of our county?" -- Greg Swick
Note in the two screenshots I provided that local activist citizens are suggesting lawsuits or other actions may or should be taken against the Christian County Library District and/or the board members. These are not the only examples that are out there. This is an aggressive strategy being used all over the United States to force a viewpoint, to force shelving of books, and to deny parental rights--not to mention the protection of children.
Mr. Swick is a retired teacher who seems to hope that actions be taken against the board of trustee members as individuals outside of their official actions as a board, thereby depriving these unpaid volunteers of legal costs protection. Incidentally, Mr. Swick's Facebook comment was very quickly deleted from U-turn in Education's page. However, a screenshot was obtained. U-turn in Education was founded by MSU professor Elizabeth Dudash-Buskirk.
Some very good news out of Florida. The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida Tallahassee Division, has ruled in Peter Parnell, et al., v. School Board of Escambia County, Florida that schools have the right to include or exclude whatever books they deem appropriate. Local control at last!
The lawsuit revolved around the removal of the book "And Tango Makes Three," which tells the story of two same-sex penguins who raised an egg. Parnell is the gay author of the children's book. According to Wikipedia, "The book does not take a stance on same-sex marriage, but rather the validity of same-sex families."
Notice how 'clever' that statement is--it doesn't take a stance on same-sex marriage per se, but does take a stance on the "validity of same-sex families."
According to the Final Order, which liberally quotes the recent court decision regarding Little v. Llano County (reported HERE), "After a hearing on several motions to dismiss, the court dismissed all claims against the Florida Education Commissioner and members of the Florida Board of Education for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. ECF No. 151. It dismissed individual-capacity claims against the Escambia County Superintendent for the same reason. Id. It dismissed claims against the Lake County Superintendent in her individual capacity based on qualified immunity, and it dismissed official-capacity claims against her and the Escambia County Superintendent as duplicative of claims against the respective School Boards. Id. It dismissed claims against the Lake County School Board on the merits, based on Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978). Id. Finally, it dismissed for lack of standing Plaintiffs’ claims challenging the constitutionality of a Florida statute Plaintiffs contended caused their harm. Id. That left the Escambia County School Board as the sole Defendant, and it left only Plaintiffs’ First Amendment claims regarding Tango’s removal. Count One alleges that removing Tango violated the authors’ First Amendment speech rights by discriminating based on content and viewpoint. ECF No. 61. Count Two alleges that the removal violated B.G.’s First Amendment right to receive information. Id.This order resolves those claims."
Please note that so far, every single claim the plaintiffs brought were dismissed. That bogus ALA claim that someone has the "right to receive information" by forcing librarians, schools and library boards to carry specific books, is about to be gutted. Read on.
While the Court held that the student, B.G., had standing on Count Two, the Court eventually ruled, "The board’s lead argument is that school library curation does not implicate any students’ or authors’ First Amendment rights at all. Thus, the argument continues, even if the board removed a book based on its viewpoint, the removal would not be unlawful. I agree, and that is enough to resolve this case. I conclude, as the en banc Fifth Circuit recently did, that a public library’s removal of books does not implicate the First Amendment right to receive information. Little v. Llano County, 138 F.4th 834, 850 (5th Cir.) (en banc), cert. pending, No. 25-284 (2025). Nor does it implicate any author’s First Amendment rights."
Note how the Florida Court refers to Little v. Llano County, which has a cert pending to the Supreme Court. The Court said in part, "In that case, a plurality held “that a public library’s collection decisions are government speech.” Id. at 865 (plurality). It did so after examining numerous precedents..."
Further, it stated, "In the end, the Little plurality concluded 'a public library’s collection decisions are government speech.' Id. at 865. It did so based on 'precedents teaching that a speaker, including a government speaker, engages in expressive activity by selecting and presenting a curated collection of third-party speech,' its conclusion (quoted above) that a library collection does not constitute a public forum, and its consideration of the Shurtleff factors, 'which show that libraries’ collection decisions have traditionally expressed libraries’ own views about what constitutes worthwhile literature.'” Id.6
In its 18-page decision, the Court referenced the case ofUnited States v. American Library Association, Inc.,which "examined" the role of libraries in our nation. "It recognized that public libraries 'pursue the worthy missions of facilitating learning and cultural enrichment,' that they 'must have broad discretion to decide what material to provide to their patrons,' and that they 'collect only those materials deemed to have "requisite and appropriate quality." Id. at 203-04 (cleaned up). In other words, curating a library inherently requires an 'exercise of judgment in selecting the material' in the library, so 'forum analysis and heightened judicial scrutiny are incompatible' with the role of a public library. Id. at 205. Libraries do not exist primarily to encourage diverse views of private speakers or to 'provide a public forum for the authors of books.' Id. at 206. Instead, libraries collect books that the government deems to be of 'requisite and appropriate quality.'” Id.
The Left is going bonkers and screeching about "free speech" and "First Amendment Rights" and so on. I know that "And Tango Makes Three" was a particular favorite of MSU Professor Elizabeth Dudash-Buskirk. I can't access her Facebook page to see how she is reacting, however, because I was censored off Facebook. But I imagine she is quite upset that her book is not enjoying required accessibility in Escambia County, FL schools.
Let me tell you, though, the defendants in these cases go through hell because of these lawsuits. I want to thank one in particular--Vicki Baggett. A longtime teacher in Escambia County, Vicki has withstood the kind of lawfare and defamation that makes most people shrink from taking a stand. I applaud her. Bravo, Vicki and may God richly bless you. Here she is in a recent interview:
This might be the most disturbing paper I have ever read, perhaps even edging out a recent paper about "Queering Babies" that explicitly sexualized infants. These people are sick.
In another tweet on the same subject, Wright said, "The central theme of the paper is "pleasure." This aligns with trends in international sex education policy, particularly the International Planned Parenthood Federation's Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) program, which explicitly shifted away from sex education centered around reproduction and toward what it calls 'sexual expression, sexual fulfillment, and pleasure.' Pleasure is one of seven core elements of CSE. Its Youth Policy, applying to 'all young people irrespective of their age,' [bolded] declares a 'right to pleasure' and 'the right of all young people to enjoy sex and express their sexuality in the way that they choose.'"
And, for all those who were at the Christian County Library Board Meeting last night, and might not have a full picture of what the American Library Association is promoting for children in their "Library Bill of Rights" (LBOR):
"Access to Library Resources and Services for Minors: Library
policies and procedures that effectively deny minors equal and
equitable access to all library resources available to other users
violate the Library Bill of Rights. The American Library
Association opposes all attempts to restrict access to library services,
materials, and facilities based on the age of library users.[Bolded] Amended
2025" (Interpretations of the Library Bill of Rights)
And further:
"All people, of all ages, should have equal and equitable access to
all library resources and services. The American Library Association
(ALA) opposes any efforts to restrict access based on age. Policies and
procedures that prevent minors1 from accessing the same resources and services as adults violate the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights.[Bolded] Libraries
and their governing bodies should not use age as a reason to avoid
potential objections. Not acquiring materials because minors might
access them reduces the credibility of the library and limits access for
everyone.
Article V of the Library Bill of Rights states, “A person’s
right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of
origin, age, [Bolded] background, or views.” The right to use a library means
that people should have free access to all services, materials, and
facilities and unrestricted use of everything the library offers. Any
restriction based solely on the following criteria violates Article V:
age;
apparent maturity;
educational level;
literacy skills; or
legal status.
Further violations of Article V include setting limits on:
how old someone must be to get a library card;
demonstrated skills or abilities required to get a library card (like signing their name);
requiring parental/guardian permission to get a card for anyone old
enough to be in the library without parental/guardian supervision;
how many or what kinds of items minors can check out compared to adults, or;
creating trial periods for library use based on age.
Can you see how children are being made into objects of mere sex and pleasure? This goes against everything that is good and decent. It is designed to dehumanize and demoralize your children. And there were retired teachers, a therapist, and a university professor who opposed the vote last night to remove reference to the ALA's LBOR from the policy handbook. There are HUNDREDS of age-inappropriate and sexually explicit books in our libraries--all shelved in the children's and teens' sections. It isn't just a about a book with two male penguins who raise an egg. It is so much bigger and darker. The opposition seeks to hide the truth.
Please support the efforts of the community to make libraries safe for children. One thing you can do right now, is to send the new executive director an email in support of the Library's direction to make that happen: wblydenburgh@christiancountylibrary.org. The support from the community has been unfailing, and is much appreciated. More than anything, your prayers are needed and gratefully received.
The Christian County Library will hold its monthly board meeting tonight at 6 p.m. at the Nixa branch. The formal removal of the American Library Association's presence in the policy handbook will be voted on tonight. Agenda HERE. The ALA is a subversive private organization that has great sway over many public and private libraries. Thankfully, more and more librarians are waking up to the insidious indoctrination it seeks to impose on our children and our culture.
Two events happened within the last 48 hours --one local and one in Minnesota. No doubt everyone has heard of the deadly shooting at a Catholic school in Minnesota. A disturbed young man who identified as transgender shot through the stained glass windows of the church while children from grades Kindergarten to 8th were at Mass. The BBC article said Robin Westman was obsessed with killing children.
The transgender agenda has made deep inroads into our culture by those who desire to overturn the existing cultural and political landscape. The ideology is destroying lives, as one can see with the tragic event in Minnesota and elsewhere.
Our library has many books that seek to normalize the transgender agenda among our children and teens.
The second event, a monthly meeting of the Christian County Library Board of Trustees seemingly went off without a hitch. The meeting lasted just over an hour. The Board heard the first reading of a revision of the bylaws and policies that detailed the deletion of any mention of the Marxist-oriented American Library Association (ALA). One of the citizens in attendance, MSU professor Elizabeth Dudash-Buskirk, abruptly left in the middle of the meeting. It apparently so disturbed her that she wrote an impassioned opinion piece on her Facebook page some hours later.
The matter of citizens praying during the public comment portion of the meeting was a major issue for her. She writes,
"First, I DO, absolutely, 100% find it offensive when people “pray”
at public meetings when the INTENT is to spark outrage or some
dramatic response. Why? Because PRAYER, in all its intent, is NOT A
WEAPON. It is NOT God’s words for YOUR usage as you see fit. If the
INTENT is merely to anger others or to incite some negative response,
then I find it offensive on two levels: 1) It didn’t work,
obviously; and 2) intention—so removed from God’s love—in this
case, makes the act of prayer akin to using the Lord’s name in
vain—to swear. To do that, THAT is offensive because it is done
deliberately."
The professor apparently has special powers to discern the intent of the citizens who prayed. She claims it was to spark outrage. Why would someone be outraged by the Lord's Prayer (watch HERE, forward to the five-minute mark)?
Public prayer in the United States is free speech. It has been ongoing since the founding of our nation. Prayer belongs in the public square.
And contrary to her assertion, prayer is a spiritual weapon. Scripture speaks to that in almost endless ways from both the Hebrew Scriptures and throughout the New Testament. For instance:
Isaiah 54:17 states, "No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue
that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of
the servants of the Lord, and their vindication is from Me," declares
the Lord."
In Luke 10, we read, "Behold, I have given you
authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of
the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
And in Ephesians 6, Paul writes, "Put on the whole armor of
God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil...
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present
darkness, against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places...
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit..."
Here is 2 Corinthians 10, "For though we walk in the
flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of
our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down
of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is
exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every
thought to the obedience of Christ."
Christ Jesus says in Matthew 18:"Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I
tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for,
it will be done for them by my Father in heaven."
Psalm 91 is a powerful spiritual weapon, ending with God's promise, "He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him..."
To the professor prayer is illegitimate if not done in the way and the venue she approves. I suspect Ms. Dudash-Buskirk knows somewhere in her inner being that prayer does indeed work. And if she was honest with herself she would admit the "effectual fervent prayers" of a large number of citizens has changed the tone and direction of the Christian County Library. In fact, the professor continues to make several theological errors, stating that loving your neighbor (in this case the little children) is allowing "them their free will."
What sane parent allows their minor children free will to harm themselves? We know that the ALA and its comrades in the publishing and education business desire children to be "free" of the legal and moral constraints of their parents. A clear statist, Dudash-Buskirk is exercised that parents have the right to curate their children's reading material.
As a college professor at MSU, she has free reign to influence your college-age students, and I am sure she does a bang up job of it. But, the Marxists/Socialists/Communists) want your little children, too. There is a saying among the depraved: After eight, it's too late. It applies here, too. Indoctrinating children through early sexualization is a potent weapon of the devil.
Dudash-Buskirk, knowing that her political ideology is at odds with her professed Catholic faith, attempts to indict Christians for being bigots, white supremacists and so on. She writes, "Take your FAKE “Christian” so-called “prayers” out of my
face, shove them down deep so you have something to keep you warm at
night, because the row you people are hoeing? Well, I hate to tell
you, Sweet Cheeks, it is LONG, it is HARD, it is COLD, and it IS
LONELY. You are on the wrong side of history: the “white hats”
never restrict library access to anyone, the GOOD GUYS do not act
AGAINST the BASIC RULES of these United States"
It’s always Jesus that these psychotic killers fixate on. Not Mohammed, not Buddha, not Krishna.
Because the demons know there is only one real God in the world opposing them. pic.twitter.com/qkoVfT8h5X
Dear Ms. Dudash-Buskirk, protecting children from evil by restricting their access to transgender ideology and obscene books is not being on the wrong side of history. Indeed, I tremble for her at the misrepresentation of God's Word that is laced throughout her Facebook posts.
If she was interested (and trust me, she isn't) in actually presenting the truth of the Scriptures and of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, she would NEVER suggest that protecting children from danger was anti-Christian. Instead, she subverts the truths of Christianity in service to her politics. The politics of the Left are a contributing factor to the demons that drove Robin Westman to kill Catholic children and then himself. If Dudash-Buskirk had knowledge of the demons driving her ideology, she might be able to see past the lies and form a coherent perspective. Instead, she is unstable, halting between two opinions.
In fact, Dudash-Buskirk claims the Christian County Library as her territory:
"If YOU do not like libraries that follow the rules of the American
Library Association, THEN GET OUT of my library.
If YOU do not like when people take
your “transparency” for what it is: Blatant biggotry [sic], then GO
ELSEWHERE.
If YOU do not like that freedom of
assembly and speech protects your rights AND THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS,
please, find somewhere that you are comfortable."
The Christian County Library belongs to every citizen in the county. A majority of citizens have spoken, and they do not want smut and dangerous sexual ideologies available to children and teens. For her own peace of mind, Professor Dudash-Buskirk must come to terms with that. The books she wants available to ALL CHILDREN, will NOT be available to ALL CHILDREN. She does not have the right to dictate what others' children will be exposed to.
The professor goes on to suggest that limiting access to sexually explicit and age-inappropriate books is limiting "the ability of people in my community to feel safe in their libraries..." To her, this is making"it hard for children to learn about other cultures, other
people, and sometimes even themselves because YOU think YOU KNOW what
is BEST for MY CHILD?"
The over-the-top rhetoric is not helpful. It does not add to any possible civil discourse. Instead, the accusations, ad hominem attacks and incivility discredit the professor and her false arguments.
The battle against Marxism/Communism/Socialism is a spiritual battle. This ideology is the religion of Satan. They use the ritual of de-moralization of children as a tool to forward their spiritual revolution against God and Christians. These are ancient tactics that have been "churched up." There is nothing new under the sun.
Dudash-Buskirk is twisting Holy Scripture to suit her political ideology. In a follow-up post that references the Minneapolis child murders, she urges outrage against "bigotry and hatred." Note she is not outraged that a pernicious transgender ideology so disturbed and destabilized a young man, that he eventually let demons direct his actions. Do listen to Robin Westman. I would advise being prayed up before listening. It is chilling.
There are many spiritual forces at work in the world, including in Christian County. The library is one of the battlefields. Keep praying. If prayers didn't work, those who are in rebellion to God (whether they admit it or not) would not care if we screamed them from the rooftops.
The defenders of children in our libraries have a new super hero. Her name is Lori the Librarian. Lori is a "devoted mom and defender of truth, Lori protects kids from obscene books infiltrating our communities' libraries."
In a recent article titled "The Battle to Protect Our Kids," Lori writes, "As a new school year begins, I think praying for our children is vitally important. We're not only fighting an ideological or cultural battle--we're also fighting a spiritual one."
Later, she shares The Library Prayer. Do read (and pray) it HERE.
And that's not all. Watch Lori the Librarian in action:
Give Lori a follow. A super hero worth emulating.
In tomorrow's article, I will expose the conspiracy of organizations bypassing parental authority and evading local laws to expose our kids to obscene material. If you're not a subscriber, please sign up now https://t.co/vKFSQIs2Ntpic.twitter.com/XqxtMV52Vp
David Rice of Hick Christian comments on the ever-evolving accusations from the WAC blog. "Criminal intent" and "embezzlement" did not work out, so now they have moved on to other accusations. Read Rice's article HERE. A snippet:
"'We Are Concerned' wants taxpayers to believe that legal expenses are evidence of wrongdoing by the current board. The opposite is true. These expenses represent the cost of cleaning up years of institutional dysfunction created by board members who prioritized social approval over statutory responsibilities.
The current board could have chosen the easier path—continuing to let staff operate without oversight while collecting praise from progressive activists. Instead, they chose accountability, transparency, and legal compliance. That choice has a price, but it's a price previous board members forced on taxpayers by allowing the system to operate outside proper governance for years."
It isn't just the Christian County Library District that was ensnared in a system that allows for administrative government employees to govern rather than those publicly elected/appointed. This problem is in your school districts, your planning and zoning boards, your health boards, etc.
Allowing NGOs (non-governmental organizations) like the ALA and the MLA to determine policies and rules, to lobby our legislators, and to train our librarians means our taxpayer-funded entities have given up governance By the People. It is essentially Government by NGO.
Like a medieval exorcism, this usurping system is not going easily. Kicking, screaming, howling--it still must go.
It's gaslighting to tell you that books and films like the ones below are appropriate for minors and even very young children, that some children "need to see themselves" in the library, or that children have a right to read these books. Each of these materials are in our library system in Christian County.
It's gaslighting to tell citizens that First Amendment rights extend to minors. No, children do not have a right to view books that their parents deem inappropriate or harmful.
These books are widely available elsewhere and may even be checked out via the inter-library loan system if a parent so desires. They can be shelved in areas that allow parents to check them out, but are not waiting on a shelf for children whose parents do not want them exposed to such materials.
Parents have a right to curate what their children are exposed to in publicly-funded libraries. And it is not feasible to expect parents to hover over their children and pre-read every book that is picked up. It is common sense to abide by community standards that allow every child to feel welcome and safe in a library. A public library's children's section should be a place that parents can trust, and not a minefield of materials that can harm their kids.
The persistent agenda to expose children to sexually inappropriate materials has its roots in overturning our political system. Revolutionary organizations like the Marxist ALA seek to de-moralize the populace to make it easier to destroy families, cultures, and nations. Do not let them get away with it.
Believe it or not, by fighting back against this pernicious agenda, Americans are engaging in a key battle to restore our communities. Our children, our families and our libraries are worth fighting for.
"Fred Gets Dressed" is about a very young who boy runs around nude until he decides to dress-up like a girl. This propaganda is available in @ncpublicschools
Protect your child today by downloading our lawyer-approved letter so they don't have to be subjected to this… pic.twitter.com/uvVWQoQzlY
— Pavement Education Project (@PavementEducat1) August 1, 2025
This was always going to happen. The case never had legs. It was always about trying to force the Christian County Library Board of Trustees members -- Diana Brazeale, John Garrity, and Echo Schneider -- to change their officer election vote.
Every cloud has a silver lining. The lawsuit exposed a great deal about how past library boards gave away their governing power through the ALA playbook. Bylaws and policies were implemented that gave library administrative staff governing power they were never meant to have.
It allowed the administrative staff to operate largely independent of the taxpayers and their duly elected and appointed representatives. It made library boards mere "rubber-stampers" to the agenda of the Marxist ALA. It is why the battle to make the library safe for children is still going on regardless of community input and standards.
The lawsuit, which was "authorized" by the two minority board members, freed up groups like U-turn in Education, the specious blogger(s) We Are Concerned and their various comrades to dox and defame board members with false accusations of "criminal intent," "embezzlement," "Weaponized Incompetence," and so on.
It allowed legacy media reporters to indulge in misleading articles, to champion an opposing group with which they were likely ideologically aligned.
Will we have long to wait to hear about the dismissal of this lawsuit from the News-Leader, the Springfield Daily Citizen, KSMU, and those who campaign against parental rights and child safety?
Public service, true public service, is not for the faint of heart.
If you know someone who needs to get up to speed quickly on why our library battle is so important, send them this video. He explains it all. A great primer.
Episode 5: Unmasking Marxism in Our Public Libraries
On this episode of Our Country Our Voice, Dan Kleinman discuss the alarming infiltration of Marxist ideology in the American education system, particularly through public libraries.
The American Library Association and their comrades in the education, publishing and political institutions have suffered a setback in the Library Wars.
The United State Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has decided the case of Little v. Llano County.
In its introduction, the court laid out the case:
"Patrons of a county library in Texas sued the librarian and other officials, alleging they removed 17 books because of their treatment of racial and sexual themes. The district court ruled that defendants abridged plaintiffs’ “right to receive information” under the Free Speech Clause and ordered the books returned to the shelves. On appeal, a divided panel of our court affirmed in part. We granted en banc rehearing."
En banc means the whole court, rather than a smaller panel, heard the case. In their decision, the Court held:
"We now reverse the preliminary injunction and render judgment
dismissing the Free Speech claims. We do so for two separate reasons.
First,
plaintiffs cannot invoke a right to receive information to challenge a
library's removal of books. Yes, Supreme Court precedent sometimes
protects one's right to receive someone else's speech. But plaintiffs
would transform that precedent into a brave new right to receive
information from the government in the form of taxpayer-funded library
books. The First Amendment acknowledges no such right."
Further, the Court stated:
"The only sensible course—and, happily, the one supported by reams of
precedent—is to hold that the right to receive information does not
apply here. A plaintiff may not invoke that right to challenge a
library's decisions about which books to buy, which books to keep, or
which books to remove."
And then there is this:
"Finally, we note with amusement (and some dismay) the unusually over-caffeinated arguments made in this case. Judging from the rhetoric in the briefs, one would think Llano County had planned to stage a book burning in front of the library. Plaintiffs andamiciwarn of “book bans,” “pyres of burnedbooks,” “totalitarianregimes,”andthe “Index librorum prohibitorum.” Oneamicusintones: “Where theyburn books, they will ultimately burn people.”
"Over-caffeinated arguments." LOL. Thankgoodness the court took notice of the nutty rhetoric that has been floated for ever so long now. The revolutionary stridency, the bosom-heaving self-righteousness of the activists, was disposed of in the Court's decision.
Reason has an article about the decision HERE. They have a followup HERE. And Bloomberg Law covers the decision HERE.
The decision is not without controversy, and some of the judges issued a dissent. However, it seems we are seeing a return to a more traditional interpretation of the First Amendment, rather than the "brave new right" that the ALA has been pushing for years. Most likely, this or another such case will find its way to the Supreme Court.
It was noted that if individuals or groups have a First Amendment right to "receive information," aka force public libraries to keep certain books, then there is a similar First Amendment "right" to compel public libraries to add certain books, as well. One can see the tension.
And, it must be said, a public library is only as good as those who are curating the collection--which makes it very important for citizens to know who is adding which books to its collection, and how those books are being classified and shelved.
Finishing up with WLA's Dan Kleinman who tweets about how Book Riot (comrades of ALA) is promoting Pride Month in June. There's a plethora of information in the thread, and Dan pulls no punches. He has been at this fight for over two decades. He knows the stakes:
If they aren’t trying to indoctrinate and gr[][]m school children, why are librarians broadcasting this:
"How to Prepare for Pride Month in Libraries 2025"
Written by Kelly Jensen who hates parents, children, and Trump.
