I’ve known people living one paycheck away from disaster who continue the cable, NetFlix, and two cell phones, buy the new firearms and electronic toys, and otherwise seem determined not to save it when they can. Different people are in different situations, and not all of them were dragged powerlessly to their fate.

There’s plenty of valid finger pointing at bankers, deregulation, unwise home buyers, the Chinese, etc. But, suppose someone has a mortgage and other bills to pay, and loses his job, what’s he supposed to do next month? Pay his bills! Draw from his savings and keep the money going! Oh, he can’t do that, because the average savings rate in America dropped to zero! Time to hit up the government for relief at a time when tax revenues are at their lowest.

I’ve come to a new understanding of savings because of this recession. It has personal benefits, sure, but I’ve also come to see it as a civic duty. It would slow the drop into recession and lower its impact. Where would Philly be if pretty much everyone in the state could keep paying their loans, if banks didn’t fail, if people still with jobs didn’t cut spending because they feared sudden death if they were axed? Economists complain now that the new savings ethic (which is still a fraction of what it used to be) will slow recovery, but it still has to happen.

So I’m just starting out my MLIS schooling, and had to research Mary Lee Bundy. While she was of a different political persuasion, I am invigorated by the thought that a single person can influence/change an industry. I want to do that to get some sense (read:stop embracing porn and smut) back into the ALA.
One person can make a difference, and I think the best way to fight people like Krug, or whatever her name is, is from the inside. I want to be that person. Any hope, or do I have no chance? And no, I’m not kidding…

“On May 8th, the Illinois Library Association (ILA) issued an ‘action request’ calling for a coordinated protest against the Internet filtering bill, HB 1727, recommending that all public libraries in the state to obstruct Internet access on Monday, May 14th.”

See, for example, “IFI News Release: Illinois Librarians Fight Porn Filters With Internet Shutdown” at http://www.illinoisfamily.org/archives/contentview.asp?c=33310

“The ALA and the ILA, in their protest of HB 1727, are not only wildly exaggerating the effects of Internet filtering with this stunt, but are outright misleading the public about the bill’s intent. A main ALA argument is that filtering technology doesn’t work. Yet experts agree that filters are about 95% effective in blocking unwanted sites, while providing full access to legitimate websites.”