Not like its the only way poor people can learn things and better themselves.

Not like this isn’t an attack by the city council and rich, classist assholes on the poor.

Not like this is class warfare.

Not like this city council is getting their asses fired next election year.

/lives in troy
//hates city council
///a wretched hive of scum and villany
////’we don’t have money for a library but we can do this city beautification bullshit duuur huuur herpy derpy doo’
/////why yes i am a farker, thanks for asking

http://troylibrary.info/sites/troylibrary.chillco.com/files/Library%20Comparison%20Chart.pdf

The challenge is intensity.  Most people who support the library are on a 3 or 4 out of ten in intensity.  The “assholes” as you call them have theirs turned up to 11.  They will do anything, say anything to avoid paying taxes.

Fortunately there are a few at the vanguard who do our best to combat their tactics.  As time goes on we are able to convince others of the distorted nature of our opposition.  Sadly most people are just not paying that much attention.

They forget the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

It is a bit ironic, as few know more about “creating division in our city” than she does.

I mean thank you most of all, mccrum.  I greatly appreciate your research and reply on our behalf.  keeptroystrong is a great blog that has done more work than anyone exposing the dirty tricks, lies, and bad faith arguments they have made over the years.  Then you contributed, then you encouraged others that is like the money bomb Trifecta.

So are you going to come and help chase the wolf away, or just complain?

And you know what if the Klan wanted to meet in our library I wouldn’t like it, but I wouldn’t object to it either.  Free speech can be a pill sometimes.

I for one welcome vagrants into our library as long as they use it properly.  They are people too, you know.  Libraries in Philly, I believe, have some effective programs at services for homeless people.

You are very right about the other value adds that libraries provide.

I think it is worth bearing in mind that not all taxes are created equal. I would argue that the only thing worse than too high taxes is too low taxes, allowing all the things we need as a society to decay. We have what we have today because of what the people of yesterday provided when we were young not too mention the other good infrastructure investments.

If this is socialism, then some people ought to give it a second look.

That said, I am not familiar with Troy and the usage of its library. I skimmed the linked PDFs but didn’t notice the data. I think some additional data would help their argument with pragmatic outsiders like me. And were the linked wages for city staff supposed to indicate frugality or big spending? The commentary that these were within the range of other cities made me cough-up my coffee for some of the positions. My PhD and 80hour work weeks don’t garner such amounts.

Books are hard to read on computer screens.
Computer screens are not available or accesible to every individual. Neither is content.

Books can be read anywhere, anytime. They have depth and length on a subject rather than the bite-sized format of the web.
Reading is key to the development of knowledge and understanding of the world.

The day ‘internet’ is equally accessible to EVERYONE (in the world) no matter economic or technological environment, with free access to all the books ever written, through a device that does not rely on nearby power outlets, then books might become obsolete.

We’re a long way from that yet.

Christ, what a bunch of assholes. I guess the city of Troy can’t see the lasting damage that will do.

Thanks for the heads-up Cory. I just sent in a $10 donation.

here in Troy there is a well financed group that ruthlessly undermines the efforts of library supporters

encapsulates what is wrong with the US.