Mass Meeting to Mobilize Washtenaw Co. Against Current Budget Legislation

I know very little about this event and the people behind it, but, given the subject matter, I thought that I’d pass it along.

fistThursday, March 24 · 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Ypsilanti District Library – Whittaker Road Community Room
5577 Whittaker Road
Ypsilanti, MI

From:
Washtenaw County Emergency Taskforce for Economic Justice
-Mallorie Kettlehut Patterson

Info:
An emergency taskforce is being created in response to the current budget bills being set forth in Lansing. Washtenaw County residents, activists, political group members, unionists, and allies are welcome to come to a mass meeting to discuss movement building between groups for a mass mobilization of our county and eventually, a state-wide unified movement.

There are two mass meetings with similar content for convenience (one in Ann Arbor Monday March 21th and one event in Ypsilanti Thursday March 24th). Spread this widely! Hope to see you there!

And this, my friends, is why folks on the right want to destroy public libraries.

Speaking of public libraries, I’ve been meaning to mention it here for a while, but the threat to turn them private, which a lot of people scoffed at not too long ago, is now becoming all too real. Right now, the folks of Santa Clarita, California are trying to fight off just such an attack. Other than a brilliant video made by local activists mobilized against the take-over, which you can see below, I don’t have a lot of information. From what I hear, though, the corporation Library Systems & Services, LLC is behind the push to privatize it.

Poor people and books, a dangerous combination.

This entry was posted in Ann Arbor, Corporate Crime, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

12 Comments

  1. Knox
    Posted March 18, 2011 at 7:16 am | Permalink

    Great video. I hope it works for them.

  2. Edward
    Posted March 18, 2011 at 8:26 am | Permalink

    When you search for Washtenaw County Emergency Task Force for Economic Justice, the only links to come up are on markmaynard.com.

  3. TeacherPatti
    Posted March 18, 2011 at 9:57 am | Permalink

    Hey, did you hear that some GOP dude in Congress introduced legislation to repeal child labor laws? Haven’t had time to confirm but I heard it from some friends last night at the CB so it must be true.

    This is an awesome idea…I will try to make it out there, but will be late.

  4. Edward
    Posted March 18, 2011 at 10:51 am | Permalink

    On the subject of libraries, check this out from Charlie LeDuff’s most recent piece for FOX.

    “I had to serve and protect a library in Afghanistan and here we are in Romulus talking about closing ours and now the police department is being investigated for embezzlement? This is s—.”

    http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/charlie_leduff/bad-government-and-the-uninvolved-citizen

  5. Posted March 18, 2011 at 5:18 pm | Permalink

    The library stuff is frightening. I didn’t know that they were in process of shutting down the Romulus library. That sucks. Are people organizing?

  6. heidi
    Posted March 18, 2011 at 8:10 pm | Permalink

    Troy has closed down it’s library completely starting in July of this year.
    http://www.troylibrary.info/node/490

    Snyder also wants to cut state library funding by 40%
    http://michigancitizen.com/snyder-proposes-big-cut-in-state-aid-to-libraries-p9569-75.htm

  7. TeacherPatti
    Posted March 19, 2011 at 8:44 pm | Permalink

    Heidi, I was going to say the same thing…I grew up near that library and it was the second ‘brary I ever went to and the one I went to exclusively in high school. My dad and stepmom still stay nearby and when I expressed dismay, she said (in her wealthy snotnosed way), “The city is broke. We can’t afford a library any more.” Only because I don’t want to go to jail was it that I did not rip off head, shit down neck. Grrrrrr….

  8. TaterSalad
    Posted March 20, 2011 at 3:45 pm | Permalink

    “The principal feature of American libtardism is sanctimoniousness. By loudly denouncing all bad things–war and hunger and date rape–liberals testify to their own terrific goodness. More important, they promote themselves to membership in a self-selecting elite of those who care deeply about such things… It’s a kind of natural aristocracy, and the wonderful thing about this aristocracy is that you don’t have to be brave, smart, strong, or even lucky to join it, you just have to be libtard.”

    – P. J. O’Rourke:

  9. JSam
    Posted March 20, 2011 at 5:13 pm | Permalink

    Repugnants are the party that says government doesn’t work….and they get elected and prove it.

  10. Mr. X
    Posted March 21, 2011 at 8:20 am | Permalink

    There’s a meeting tonight at 6:30 taking place at WCC’s Morris Lawrence Building. State Senator Rebekah Warren will be speaking, along with Ypsilanti Public Schools Superintendent Dedrick Martin and EMU professor Howard Bunsis. The subject, of course, will be these recent Snyder initiatives.

  11. Kim
    Posted March 21, 2011 at 9:05 am | Permalink

    If you’re able, ask what Rebekah Warren thinks of the fact that her husband, Washtenaw County Commissioners Conan Smith, likes Snyder’s EFM legislation.

    The following quote comes from AnnArbor.com.

    “Emergency manager legislation recently signed into law has caused quite a stir, but Washtenaw County Commissioner Conan Smith, a Democrat, likes the changes.”

    http://www.annarbor.com/news/democrat-conan-smith-says-michigans-emergency-manager-law-will-help-local-communities/

  12. Michele Berry
    Posted April 11, 2011 at 11:05 am | Permalink

    I met part of your group at the Ann Arbor Free Skool.
    Friends and I are planning to attend rally this wednesday.
    Look forward to seeing you there!

One Trackback

  1. […] worth nothing that these might very well be the same small, struggling communities that are in danger of losing their public libraries as […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Connect

BUY LOCAL... or shop at Amazon through this link Banner Initiative VG 3D