"Oh, and, fidel? Kiss my ass."

Via Michelle Malkin, I've just discovered the lively anti-Castro Babalu Blog. Prieto's latest post on the 100% literacy rate in Cuba is a dilly.

One hundred percent literacy rate!!!! One hundred percent!!! That's the first thing one hears when the subject of Cuba comes up in any debate. (Followed, of course, by the free health care myth.)

Hmm, sounds familiar. The first thing one hears when the subject of Finland (or Canada) comes up is Free healthcare!!! Social safety net!!! Blech.

One hundred percent of the people in Cuba are literate. They can all read Granma, fidel's speeches, the Little Red Book and their ration cards.

You won't find any New York Times or Washington Posts or Le Mondes in any Cuban households. You wont find many books other than those approved by the government. No Mark Twains or Isabel Allendes or Cabrera Infantes. There certainly wont be a copy of Valladares out on the coffee table. Sorry, not allowed.

But some Cubans, who thirst for knowledge and information on what's going on in the world outside their island prison, started independent libraries - lending libraries - to allow their fellow countrymen access to what little books and media are available that are not part of the govenrment's you-can-only-read-this list. Of course, castro cannot allow his people the freedom of using their 100% literacy rate to see just what a dismal failure his revolution is. So he cracked down on them.

Why don't we ever hear about that from our American Fidel-butt-kissing socialistas?

Books confiscated and burned, because they are "subversive" to the regime. Independent librarians thrown in jails with the comon prison population for "disrespect" or "promoting unrest" or whatever term castro chose for his kangaroo courts.

Meanwhile, we have these results from a recent poll of American high school students

One in three U.S. high school students say the press ought to be more restricted, and even more say the government should approve newspaper stories before readers see them, according to a survey being released today.

The survey of 112,003 students finds that 36% believe newspapers should get “government approval” of stories before publishing; 51% say they should be able to publish freely; 13% have no opinion.

Asked whether the press enjoys “too much freedom,” not enough or about the right amount, 32% say “too much,” and 37% say it has the right amount. Ten percent say it has too little.

Seems American leftucators have taken their cue from Fidel.

[Hat tip: Kim du Toit for the poll results.]