The Chicago Reader’s Ben Joravsky on Mary Dempsey’s departure as Library Commissioner.
Mary Dempsey…apparently told the boss what he didn’t want to hear—namely, that firing employees and cutting hours will destroy the library system she spent so many years trying to build up.
Thus, at his introductory press conference, Bannon dutifully nodded along as Mayor Emanuel explained his library cuts this way: “The debate is not just about library hours—[it's] what will our neighborhood branch libraries be like in this information age. We need to define that next mission, write that next chapter and
Indiana is well on its way to becoming a ‘right-to-work’ state this week, with the state’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives approving new legislation and the Senate poised to follow suit. The legislation weakens union protections and enables individual workers to refuse to pay their share of union representation costs, even if a majority of their coworkers have voted for union representation and the union is legally obligated to pay to bargain for and protect their rights on the job. It is the first Midwestern manufacturing state to pass such a bill, though other Republican-dominated state legislatures are considering similar legislation.
One of the most interesting things about this move is just how unpopular it is. According to the AFL-CIO, only one-third of Indiana voters favor the legislation and more than 70 percent of them want the question submitted to a vote, via a state referendum. So why, in an election year, have Republican politicians decided to push forward?
The ostensible purpose is to attract new jobs to the state, by reassuring employers who might be put off by the
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Violent techniques used on peaceful protesters in 1963. (Look how good it was back then.)
As recently as last month, I saw someone tweet that cops always made their whole city feel safe, and #OccupyWallStreet inspired a distrust of the executive branch unlike any other. It’s probably not the first time a Black person had to say, “I told you so.” It’s also not the first time a Black person had to say, “Are you serious?” to someone, however well intentioned, riding on the surfboard of their privilege. It’s amazing that, even after seeing a history of the boys in blue stomping horses over Negroes, pushing them off the sidewalk when White people walked across, and turning on hoses against children of color, people can still claim everyone in their city has never felt intimidated by law enforcement. Some say people of color commit the most crimes, have lower academic achievement, and generally have nothing better to do so getting arrested happens to the idle.
As long as it fits into our mold of what we believe America stands for, they make it work. In their minds, not in
South Williamsburg is largely Latino, but Moskowitz has spent millions in advertising, recruiting and plastering the subways in the north section -- the gentrified part of district -- with ads for her charter school, featuring mostly little white faces. This, combined with the fact that her charter chain enrolls very few English Language Learners, and the community was never asked if they wanted her charter in their midst, has
