[KentE]

Thank you, Mrs Joseph, for fighting the good fight on this topic, and for sticking with it! (Karma given!)
There is no doubt that convenience is the "killer app" for the Kindle-- it's really nice to avoid all the hassle of loading a book.
I agree with you-- way too many of us are willing to give up privacy/rights/ethics to enjoy that convenience. And we're willing to give them up for everybody, not just ourselves. I think this sets a dangerous precedent.
We shouldn't forget that until very recently, Amazon had no interest in supporting library book lending on the Kindle format-- they publicly stated that, and pointed out that there was no economic incentive for them to do so, since they're in the business of selling content. I believe that they weren't interested in supporting library reading until they saw a way to make a profit from it. (not just a long-term profit of developing the habit of reading, but a short-term bean-counter profit.)
There is no doubt that Amazon has done lots of things right, in both marketing paper books and ebooks. I've been a customer for a long time, before I had an ereader. I've seen plenty of comments from authors that their ebook system is easy to work with, and offers advantages to them.
There is no doubt, in my mind, that the current Amazon/Overdrive arrangement is ethically wrong. Convenient for a lot of end users, but still wrong.
Amazon should not have access to library user's data, and should not be allowed to use it for marketing. Overdrive should never have consented to the arrangement. Libraries should have been up in arms to prevent it, and so should we. Competing booksellers, both chain & independent (who are placed at a marketing disadvantage due to Amazon's access to library user's records that should be private) have every right to be upset about it, and to put pressure on traditional publishers to object to it.
Frankly, I think it's a GOOD thing that some traditional publishers are currently putting their foot down and saying that it's an unacceptable situation, even if it means irritating Amazon (who is both a major customer & a direct competitor since they've gone into the publishing business), and even if it irritates us to not have easy access to all the ebooks we'd like to have.
I hope that publishers are able to work out an arrangement that makes it possible to get their books into libraries again. I hope that it's arrangement that reflects a better ethical choice. Perhaps the new 3M system (Overdrive competitor) will offer a system that the publishers are more comfortable with, and we'll be able to restore library access to some of these books. I don't think breaking Overdrive's stranglehold on the library system is a bad idea, either.
Kent E