The Villagers Choice Cosies Momentarily to Every Day Working Librarians

This morning I had my invisible bee-keeper's hat on while looking in the Villagers' honeycomb at GOS. They adore their neoliberal heroines, Joy Ann Reid, Nanci Pelosi, and of course, former Queen Bee Clinton herself. Once in awhile, the baroness does something that hits the right notes of the middle class professionals (and to a certain extent, working class); in this instance, it was an address to conference attendees of American Library Association yesterday morning in Chicago. The Villagers posted a tweet to the CNN recording of Clinton's speech, but as the speech was worth $125,000 pd by Simon & Schuster nearly 30 minutes long, I'm providing some summary reporting. From American Libraries:

An estimated 3,200 conference goers arrived well before the 10 a.m. Closing General Session at the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference and Exhibition on Tuesday to hear the former First Lady and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee speak.

When Clinton stepped out to a standing ovation, she said that she told ALA President Julie B. Todaro backstage that the term “madame president is still one of my favorites.”

Clinton touched on topics ranging from fake news to resilience to literacy and reading to censorship. And hiking. “After this election, one of the things that helped me most—aside from long walks in the woods and the occasional glass of chardonnay—was once again going back to the familiar experience of losing myself in books,” she said.

In my view, Clinton touched upon the right themes regarding libraries being in the vanguard of democracy; advocates for intellectual freedom (which entail reading, listening/video materials of different points of view); providing support to education with access to bandwith in rural areas where there is still a digital divide; helping people discern between fake news and relevant sources of facts & statistics, and of course, supplying research about information seeking behaviors as well as which programs work. Clinton noted that the current Administration's skinny budget would eliminate funding for libraries and museum grants for research and initiatives. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is an agency that was created during Bill Clinton's presidency in 1996. From the IMLS statement about the proposed FY2018 Budget:

Since its inception 20 years ago, the Institute of Museum and Library Services has provided critical support enabling museums and libraries across the country to make a tremendous difference in their communities. The institutions we serve provide vital resources that contribute significantly to Americans’ economic development, education, health, and well-being whether by facilitating family learning and catalyzing community change or stimulating economic development through job training and skills development. Our agency’s support enables museums and libraries to offer learning experiences for students and families, as well as to increase care for, and access to, the nation’s collections that are entrusted to museums and libraries by the public.

We’ve invested in rural and smaller communities by supporting basic infrastructure and by developing libraries as local community hubs for broadband connectivity and digital literacy training — helping many residents gain job-related skills and, in many cases, find employment. In summary, our grants and programs support libraries and museums as essential contributors to improving Americans’ quality of life.

More than $214 million of our $230 million FY 2016 enacted budget targets museums and libraries directly through our grant programs. This includes $155 million for library services to every state and territory in the country through a population-based formula grant program.

As Congress now begins its work on the FY 2018 budget, our agency will continue to work closely with the Office of Management and Budget. More importantly, we will continue to remain steadfast in our work on behalf of the millions of Americans touched by the services of libraries and museums each day.

A little history about IMLS:

IMLS was established by the Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA) on September 30, 1996, which includes the Library Services and Technology Act and the Museum Services Act. This act was reauthorized in 2003 and again in 2010.[3] The law combined the Institute of Museum Services, which had been in existence since 1976, and the Library Programs Office, which had been part of the Department of Education since 1956. Lawmakers at that time saw “great potential in an Institute that is focused on the combined roles that libraries and museums play in our community life.”[4]

As amended, MLSA authorizes IMLS to promote improvements in library services; to facilitate access to resources in libraries; to encourage resource sharing among libraries; to support museums in fulfilling their public service and educational roles; to encourage leadership and innovation to enhance museum services; to assist museums in the conservation of America's heritage; to support museums in achieving the highest standards of management and service to the public; and to support resource sharing among museums, libraries and other organizations. MLSA also authorizes IMLS to carry out and publish analyses of the impact of museum and library services.[1]

The act comes up for re-authorization every 5 years. Adjustment to the act have been made over time.[5]

In April 2014, Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) recommended that the federal government not fund MLSA and "shift the federal agency’s responsibilities to the private sector in his 2015 fiscal year budget resolution"[6] such as "funded at the state and local level and augmented significantly by charitable contributions from the private sector".[7]

Source: wikipedia

IMLS, while libraries are grateful for it, is another example of how the Clintons found a "third way" to give some support for library research. George Bush's administration provided Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian grants via IMLS. Unlike the days of LBJ, when libraries were given a lot of government resources for buildings, books, and other supplies to create literacy programs for the poor and better resources for information needs for small businesses, the R's started crying "budget deficit" during the Raygun period, which was the groundwork for neoconservatives that still exists, but now to a certain degree via neoliberalism that the Clintons espoused. As we know through Mick Mulvaney, OMB Director, neoconservatism is back and is threatening our social programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, public schools, supplemental nutrition, support for vets, and now, libraries, because his claim is that antipoverty programs don't work.

Clinton was gracious enough to mention that some public libraries have trained staff to administer anti-opioid interventions. Again, from the same article:

Clinton also addressed the opioid epidemic and how librarians have been called on to become first responders. She specifically cited the Free Library of Philadelphia for “training librarians to be literal life savers.”

But like most of Clinton's ideas during her campaigns in the past 10 years, Clinton was stuck in the past of how valuable books were and how librarians loved books as she does. She mentioned a number of authors she read when she wasn't taking long walks in the woods. She did appreciate initiatives for inclusion and diversity, such as Marley Dias’s 1,000 Black Girl Books campaign and the We Need Diverse Books campaign. And Clinton's Villagers are still litigating the election with some the > horseshit horseshoe theory of Trumpters and Bernsters both being racists and misogynists,unwilling to build coalitions for inclusiveness and diversity and they are the alt-right & the alt-left of the same coin. (This linked article is what I saw in the villagers' crib at GOS )

However, there was scant mention from Clinton about net neutrality, which libraries are fighting for, moreover, no vision of what a library could look like for her grandchildren, Adian and Charlotte. Why? Because the Clintons and their daughter's spouse can buy anything they desire. (I might mention during the speech, Clinton put in a plug for Chelsea's new children's book, She Persisted, which was fine given the audience.) The Clintons have forgotten what's it is like to have organizational challenges such as cutting staff, resources for maintenance let alone expanding spaces for teens and having good centers of services and databases to support entrepreneurs. Libraries have relied on tax levies, grants and fundraisers to do these things. Public libraries in particular are vulnerable to the oligarchy of the Koch Brothers, who led a local resistance to raising the tax levy for an IL library that had an outdated building and not enough resources to keep up service demands from local cardholders. People forget that in times of recessions, public libraries are often the first to get cut in budgets, when they are needed most as resource centers.

Alas, there was no advice on how to stand up for democracy, other than "just keep fighting and I'm with you."

Well, the evidence is looking as though Americans do not want the status quo of neoliberals. From Newsweek, today:

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) might not have won the presidency or even the Democratic nomination in 2016, but he did manage to energize a portion of voters and give voice to socialist ideals. That influence might be showing in a new poll released Wednesday.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) has recently been the subject of controversy as some Democratic lawmakers have once again started to suggest she should be removed from her position of leadership within the Democratic Party. Republicans have also sharpened their attacks against the leader, and a House GOP Super PAC said this week they would focus on Pelosi during the 2018 midterms, as Republicans have done in previous midterm elections to rally their base.

And the view of the voters, who want the government to work for them:

The poll published this week from Morning Consult/Politico asked respondents what they thought of Pelosi's job performance. Forty-one percent of Democrats thought she should stay as minority leader while 27 percent thought she should be replaced. Thirty-six percent of Democrats thought things had gone mostly well for the party under Pelosi while 19 percent said mostly bad and 27 percent said neither good nor bad.

But when asked if a hypothetical replacement should be a socialist or capitalist, more Democrats opted for socialism. Thirty-five percent said it's somewhat or very important the replacement be a socialist while 31 percent felt the same for a capitalist.

The Morning Consult/Politico survey interviewed 1,994 registered voters from June 22 through June 24. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Since Sanders launched his presidential campaign in 2015, the number of activists in the Democratic Socialists of America has doubled to 19,000, PBS reported in March. Socialism, once considered a word with highly negative connotations by many within the American political scene, has especially grown in popularity among young people.

A YouGov poll shortly after inauguration found 43 percent of respondents under 30 years old had a favorable view of socialism while just 32 percent of the same age bracket had a favorable view of capitalism.

http://www.newsweek.com/democrats-want-socialist-lead-their-party-more-capitalist-629659

DSA (Democratic Socialists of America) has more than doubled from 9,000 to 21,000 members in the past year. Most of them are millennials. I was amongst the 200 who attended DSA workshops during the People's Summit 2 weeks ago.

My guess is that Bernie Sanders' presidential budget would have contained other ways to support more social programs so that people and small businesses in communities could thrive. I'm glad Clinton came to ALA to speak to 25% of the ALA conference attendees but to me, if she really wanted to be someone of the people, she should have spoken to groups like ALA during her candidacy--for free.

Maybe ALA can get Nina Turner next year as one of the keynote speakers next year as the conference will be in NOLA. She would definitely be in the librarians' lane.

Cross-posted at The Progressive Wing

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Benny's picture

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One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will. To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.--Tennyson

who would have thought that something as benign as a library could be a target? i Under the GOP, they will cut as much trickle down money as they can get their hands on.

As far as Hillary goes, that is exactly what she needs to do - go and take Obama with her. Imagine the furor if Bush and Cheney had hung around after Obama's election. Hillary could offer to tell me where she hid all the foundation money they cleaned up on, and I still wouldn't listen. If it comes out of her mouth, it is a waste of my time.

Did I read that the People's summit didn't invite Nina? Or was that Tulsi?

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Benny's picture

@dkmich

Nina was disinvited from introducing Bernie as a primary candidate when it came to the roll call votes at the DNC convention last summer.

Nina spoke at the People's Summit and recorded several interviews for her new position at The Real News. If you have access to Free Speech TV, you can find reruns of her speech as well as Bernie's speech, but there are vimeo recordings as well. I've posted a link at the bottom of this reply.

Tulsi, we were told, had a scheduling conflict. I cannot verify whether or not that was the case.

Videos from the PS (as it is affectionately known) are here: https://vimeo.com/album/4632005, for those of you who are interested. Van Jones was the provocative speaker, but you knew that, right?

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One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will. To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.--Tennyson

Pricknick's picture

Leave GOS, POS, CNN, and everybody else out of your diary. Give us solid info.
This is about her. Make everybody know it's about her. Show how her needs to hit stage right.
Make her go away.
And five stars for referring wiki. It's not where you find the information, it's whether you research the references or not.
Peace

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

Benny's picture

@Pricknick @Pricknick The links to GOS and other establishment media are to make points. Some of you lurk at those sites, some of you don't.

Regarding the wikipedia source, it's gotten better over time. Most of the more detailed archived articles regarding IMLS in library science journals are behind paywalls, not open access since 1996 is not recent. If you have access to a public university, you can use JSTOR to ferret out some of those. Otherwise, it's unfair for one to complain about wikipedia as a resource. I am presuming this audience doesn't necessarily have access to academic and trade journals as I do.

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One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will. To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.--Tennyson

Pricknick's picture

@Benny
do not need professional journals or access to academic literature.
The information is there for the taking if they have the will to look.
Unfortunately, many don't.
A prime example is : Look. A squirrel.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

Benny's picture

@Pricknick Whatever. Suit yourself.

cactus_0.jpg

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One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will. To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.--Tennyson

Pricknick's picture

@Benny
that the the info is available to all who look?
I'm not trying to start a war. I'm just saying that you and I own no privilege to information.
We are all shut out of said info when we take no time to look.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

Benny's picture

@Pricknick

Within the wikipedia entry, it appears these are behind a paywall:

”IMLS Gets Feedback on NCLIS Consolidation”, “American Libraries”, 8(8): 8.
"Librarians brief new IMLS director". American Libraries. 28 (2): 6.
Oder, N (2001). "Librarian To Lead Fed Agency IMLS". Library Journal. 126 (9): 16.

The rest are mainly primary documents of IMLS or government documents.

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One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will. To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.--Tennyson

@Pricknick

and I definitely agree with that. If I had the grammar police here, I'd be in real trouble. The older I get, the worse my writing gets. Years of copy and paste in a grants office didn't help me much either.

All of us at one time or another, some still, had some exorcising to do. That may or may not be the case here. We all just need some space to do it our way.

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

@dkmich

Damn, are we supposed to be here to read great literature only (because there is some of that as well,) or to exchange information, viewpoints, feedback, thoughts, suggestions?

BTW, I always appreciate your posts and have always felt that anyone complaining about other people's grammar on the internet???!!! had some issues. Funnily enough, (literally, lol,) I've found that those nit-picking the comments of others based on complaints regarding grammar, terminology or simple typos are not infrequently mistaken/ignorant of multiple-use words or different but valid spellings and almost invariably make some error themselves in their typically nastily/condescendingly-worded critiques. Probably because most of such examples noticed by myself were on a game-site, of all places to play Grammar Nazi instead...

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

@Pricknick

Actually, rather a lot of once-publicly available information no longer is; I've found that in certain areas, much information is missing/difficult to find.

The documented history of the intermingled asbestos/petrochemical industry leaders, as regarding such as the Sumner Simpson/Asbestos Pentagon Papers used in court discovery and the findings of the suppressed industry-sponsored Saranac and other studies, for example, while a major site making information about medical studies freely available to the public was bought up quite some time back by I can't remember whom/what and the multitude of independent studies of interest to me, at any rate, regarding the health effects of combusted fossil fuels and the like, were shut away from the public eye.

Luckily, we can still easily get industry information about the safety of their emissions/products...

More of such information vanished from the internet during Obama (from what I could tell, at any rate, in my areas of interest,) than had under Bush, although he, of course, had done his part in the destruction of once-protective public agency science libraries and other evidence which polluting industry wished to have redacted and denied, just as Harper did in Canada, under the Koch brothers and others.

But Obama was aware of the existence and usefulness of the internet as, it seems, Bush wasn't. And now censorship and propaganda has been 'legalized' in the US, home of the global internet. Thanks, Obama!

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

orlbucfan's picture

As in 'fussy.' Rec'd!! @Benny

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Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

LOL

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Pluto's Republic's picture

I should think the ALA is naturally supportive of Hillary, since they were hooked by the New Dems back in the day.

Same thing happened with African American Leaders in and around DC who successfully made the case for necessary government funding to politically organize POC communities across the nation and get folks up to speed, at last. But while the money was rightfully theirs, they were consistently jerked around by the Washington bureaucracy, spinning their wheels. The Clintons saw the opportunity and they opened a money window for the evolving Black Caucus under the auspices of the Neolib Democrats. Forevermore, they were politically connected to the old guard AA leaders, who would endorse them with their last breath.

Hillary called in those favors for her 2016 run.

The connection has stretched thin, now. I imagine there is some of that with the ALA. But the world has moved on. The moment has passed into history.

Hillary has worked hard for this farewell tour. May she enjoy it fully.

As for GOS — 'Children of the Corn' comes to mind when I hear the stories.Most Democrats that matter in their communities seem to have escaped that fate.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

@Pluto's Republic Children of the Corn. Fits.

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Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Pluto's Republic Why do librarians like the mass surveillance police state any better under Democrats than under Republicans?

Librarians were fierce fighters against the oligarchy under Bush.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Pluto's Republic's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

I do not know why it happens that they cannot keep a constant heart or maintain a moral compass. They roll with the group think.

All in all, it seems like people don't trust themselves or believe themselves. So much depends on one's milieu. The social pressure is tremendous and it eclipses the instincts. Some say that social engineering is the governance of the future.

There will always be those who question authority when logic breaks down. I call that "normal", but such people do not fit into totalitarian systems like the United States.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Pluto's Republic Well, there may be more still standing in solidarity than we think.
It would take a lot to get me to give up on librarians. I should have included them with academics, parents, and (sometimes) religious figures as part of the Civilization Maintenance and Repair crew.

Religious figures are weird, in that they can go either way--either part of the CMR or its opposite.

"There are good people and bad people in the world. The ones who start the fires and the ones who put them out."

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Pluto's Republic's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

...ALA conventions. Terrific people who celebrate ideas and books, especially children's books. Each one deeply embedded in one of the many communities across the nation. All are networked via elite channels of the internet, all the time. As a matter of fact, if American Librarians wanted to, they could throw together a comprehensive political party — with all the best databases at their fingertips. You know… more or less instantly.

We should be nice to them Wink

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

No contest there at all. I wanted Bernie in the primaries and despite what Newsweek says, he would have beaten D'ump, if for no other reason than he would not have sat on his lead and fundraise in California instead of holding rallies. Still, I like what Hills did here; she does well in small group organizing for a cause. For a nominal fee of course. (/s)
Losing the presidency likely prolonged her life, even as it shortened way those of too many others, probably D'ump's as well.
As for DailyKos, I don't have to read the comments to know the kind of BS they posted. Onward with the resistance ...

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Pricknick's picture

The orange one.
Hills. The coronated one.
Tired of the innuendos. Call them out by name. That will hurt their feeling more than sticks and stones.
Trump is a piece of shit.
Hillary and Bill Clinton redefined shit and callously asked Donald Trump to fill the void.
Mission accomplished.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

@Pricknick D' (short for Donald) and 'ump. It works. I will never call him "president" either. Although Mad Lord Snapcase works as well.

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snoopydawg's picture

“After this election, one of the things that helped me most—aside from long walks in the woods and the occasional glass of chardonnay—was once again going back to the familiar experience of losing myself in books,” she said.

The election has been over for 8 months and she sounds like she just came in from hiking in the woods and then headed for a glass of Chardonnay.

dkmitch said what I'm thinking. Go back in to the woods and release your clutches on the Democratic Party.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Benny's picture

@snoopydawg @snoopydawg I was expecting a little more pity party, and she avoided doing that for the most part.

Her final comment is what puzzled me when I watched the livestream:

I'm with you, and I look forward to supporting you in the years to come.

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One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will. To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.--Tennyson

@Benny
believable? She does know how to talk the talk though. People still fall for it.

How much money did she give the librarians/curators from that enormous Clinton Foundation fund?

She's never walked the walk.

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Benny's picture

@gustogirl I know of one librarian who was appointed to UNESCO by Clinton when Clinton was Secy of State.

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One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will. To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.--Tennyson

@Benny

is more like it.

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

Benny's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness @The Voice In the Wilderness What's interesting is that the Dem Party has the lowest ratings in years. I am not convinced after reading Shattered that Clinton doesn't make that connection. She's still in the river of Eygpt.

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One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will. To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.--Tennyson

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@snoopydawg She is the Democratic Party.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

detroitmechworks's picture

Only it's like a cartoon version, ready to play in glowing, glossy asskissing articles in the msm.

I find it particularly funny that I recently called the dnc and their ilk wine drinking yuppie assholes, and Clinton raced to embrace it.

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Hi Benny, thanks for posting an essay about libraries. I wish Clinton would fund some kind of public restroom and clean water service in California, homelessness is the environmental disaster nobody wants to talk about. In California "RESTROOMS ARE FOR CUSTOMERS ONLY" that is the law and business owners stick to it like velcro, no one has the ability to respond, there is no accountability anywhere. I guess she would come up with some public/private scheme for profit, so forget that. Never mind.

It is no wonder taxpayers around me feel stressed to the max, wtf are they paying for? I don't know. Ask Larry Ellison over there on Lanai why not. He is California's government-granted monopolist, so Zuck has to run for Prez now to get his power trip appeased. The world burns as billionaires fight, we should just ignore them and build something free from their rents, that's what I think. Support each other, not them.

This article is from Sacramento the state capitol, but it is the same all over. Libraries are essential for the homeless to bathe, take shelter, and communicate now, that's a fact. Not exactly their intended purpose, like what Clinton thinks about out there in the woods with her glass of chardonnay.

With homeless using it as a bathroom, Central Library spends thousands on cleaning

The whoosh of flushing toilets is a constant interruption in the hush of Sacramento’s Central Library, where the bathrooms are the most reliably available public facilities for homeless people in downtown Sacramento.

On a recent Thursday afternoon, the restrooms had dozens of users in the span of an hour, most toting bags or pulling handcarts and suitcases. Many came from nearby Cesar Chavez Plaza, where homeless gatherings remain common and controversial. As the weather heats up, the library has also become a primary source of drinking water for homeless people.

But when the library is closed, “you’re screwed,” said DeWayne O’Neal Warner, a formerly homeless man visiting the plaza last week. “Bathrooms are primitive out here.”
...

Kamala Harris: "As California goes, so goes the nation."
Yep, right down the toilet.

peace

quick edit: too many their there.

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Wink's picture

@eyo
billionaires fight, we should just ignore them and build something free from their rents, that's what I think. Support each other, not them."
Exactly. Communes in all forms from ag-based to urban. Virtual currency...

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

SparkyGump's picture

she should borrow a copy of "Listen Liberal" by Thomas Frank.

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The real SparkyGump has passed. It was an honor being your human.

Benny's picture

@SparkyGump I doubt she will ever go to a library since she doesn't need one, but I suspect Frank's book is not on her reading list when perusing the shelves of smaller bookstores she visits. OTH, sometimes folks who read Frank's book and need to read it get the least out of it. Jen Palmieri, Clinton Campaign Communications Director comes to mind when she said this on a MTP Daily panel not long ago.

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One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will. To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.--Tennyson

travelerxxx's picture

@SparkyGump

Handing Hillary Clinton a copy of Thomas Frank's Listen Liberal would be like handing Superman a chunk of Kryptonite. No doubt, she knows better than to get near it or even mention it.

The ones who really need to read Listen Liberal are the fair denizens of Dkos. They loved him when he was bashing conservative right-wingers in What's the Matter with Kansas. Now that he's held up a mirror to the Democrats - not so much. Mr. Frank has gone from Hero of the Revolution to pond scum at Dkos. In fact, I believe Listen Liberal is on the official Dkos list of banned books -- at the top of the list for the next public bonfire.

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Lily O Lady's picture

"--aside from long walks and the occasional glass of chardonnay--"
Would that be one of those glasses that holds an entire bottle of wine? I can't stop looking for the reality behind the talk.

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"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

@Lily O Lady I'll just bet she needed a lot more than a glass after her humiliating defeat by our Game Show Host in Chief. Especially since more than likely she played a big part in getting him to even run. Oh, the irony, it burns!

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Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur