Missouri House of Representatives sets new budget for public libraries to $0

"Keep 'em ignorant so they keep voting for us." That seems to be the strategy of the Missouri House of Representatives, which voted to defund public libraries in the state. This comes after GOP House Budget Chairman Cody Smith proposed a $4.5 million cut in state aid to these libraries last week. Smith blamed a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri (ACLU-MO) for the vote. ACLU-MO filed the suit on behalf of the Missouri Association of School Librarians and the Missouri Library Association (MLA) in an effort...