Greetings friends and comrades,
I just attended an ALA webinar on how ALA is planning to address the Trump Administrations threats to libraries. As one of the questions/comments at the end stated, it was a "pep talk." The speaker agreed it was a pep talk but also based on the reality. They explained that in the first Trump administration, many of the things he wanted were voted down or stopped by litigation. They said that there were many centers of power, and that constituents benefit greatly by many federal laws and policies, and that legislators may not want to go along if these things will hurt their constituents, [and obviously their chances at reelection.] They said they were gearing up their lobbying and litigation resources. They also noted that many laws affecting libraries are at the state and local levels.
I think there is some value on this perspective, but people in the chat were saying that the coming period will be much harder than the first Trump administration. My perspective is that either they don't want to let on that they know things will be really bad, or that they truly are underestimating the degree of the onslaught.
As usual, the conversation was very narrowly focused on libraries. At the very end, I put in the chat that they need to have a much wider perspective, that they need to join with other civil society groups to address big societal issues and not focus so narrowly on libraries. As I have said before, even if they are successful on protecting libraries, libraries exist in the larger society, and if the larger society goes down the tubes, protecting libraries will be a small accomplishment.
Al
Civil Society Letter to House Opposing H.R. 9495
Document Date: September 20, 2024
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A coalition of nearly 300 civil liberties, religious, reproductive health, immigrant rights, human rights, racial justice, LGBTQ+, environmental, and educational organizations wrote to The House of Representatives and urged opposition to H.R. 9495.
The diverse group expressed deep concerns about the bill's potential to grant the executive branch extraordinary power to investigate, harass, and effectively dismantle any nonprofit organization - including news outlets, universities, and civil liberties organizations like ours - by stripping them of their tax-exempt status based on a unilateral accusation of wrongdoing.