REALITY: After 80 days of marching, and being beaten by police, Occupy Wall Street is still going strong. The principles that have brought so many people out into the streets remain intact. Economic justice, meaning the wealthy paying their fair share of the taxes in order to keep our nation great. As best as I can tell that is the one value that unites all of the various groups of Occupy Wall Street Patriots. They want a piece of the pie nothing more nothing less. Everyone in America has worked for America in some way shape or form at some point in their lives. All Americans deserve to enjoy the benefits of living in America.
That having been read, there is a group of Americans who do not feel this way. They are the Americans who believe that, because of their good fortune, they deserve some sort of extra ability to rule over everybody else. Jesse 'The Body' Ventura once said "It's better to be lucky than good". He should know he went from bad-guy wrestler with little mobility to Governor of the great state of Minnesota. I've heard the phrase "virtue is its own reward", that is of course because no good deed goes un-punished. Suppose that wealth should be its own reward. Isn't being wealthy enough for you?
Seriously folks, the Americans who are better off than most live easier more fun-filled lives don't they? They sure have no excuse not to be living easier more fun-filled lives. Speaking for myself I feel as though I would be able to enjoy life quite comfortably on a fraction of what the wealthy claim that they are unable to spare for the coffers of the Internal Revenue Service. Country and tax collector be damned my great grandfather owned a company full of people that worked very very hard for a long long time. This means (somehow) that I the modern wealthy man, who inherited that company after a childhood of entitlement, need not contribute to my country in any way that doesn't involve me acquiring more wealth without having to work.
There are indeed great contributions made by companies like this. Not enough that the average person can enjoy them but contributions none the less. Instead of paying taxes major corporations throughout the United States and the world spend billions of dollars paying lobbyists to convince politicians that the best interests of the corporations are also the best interests of the lawmakers of The United States Congress. If this were truly so, corporations wouldn't need to spend that kind of cash trying to make it so.
Right or wrong? Who cares? Right and wrong, for too many Americans and indeed most major U.S. corporations, has been replaced with 'good for business' and well the business world doesn't really have a 'wrong' anymore. I could say inefficiency but they don't care about that, the major corporations in America today are as wasteful as possible. More care is given to handing out six figure bonus checks, and finding new phrases to refer to them by because 'bonus check' or 'bonuses' just sounds bad after you collect hundreds of millions of dollars in free no strings taxpayer money. Wait so tax-payer money goes in but no taxes are paid out? Hhmmmm I think I might have discovered the secret of becoming and staying wealthy. It's the same as the pirate's code: "Take what you can, and give nothing back!"
Just because a person has more funds than another, it does not mean that they are better or worse than the person who has less funds. To me this is a simple enough concept. Take away both of their wallets and you will see what is plain. People are equal. Each person on this planet has an equal right to equal standards of enjoying life. Work is work, 'job' or no 'job', everyone works. Everyone should be free.
Just becuse a person has wealth, that does not automatically grant him power. It grants that person a responsibility to those less fortunate. A responsibility that today's American corporation, willfully ignores in the name of their one and only true god of worship.
Money.
Ps. Jesse 'The Body' Ventura once said "It's better to be lucky than good". He also said "Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat". I'm just sayin'.
And As Always,
REALITY- On the order of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, The New York Police Department re-took Zuccotti Park from Occupy Wall Street Protesters at around 1am Tuesday Nov. 8th. They used the cover of darkness, covered badge numbers, and the now standard pepper spray, metal baton treatment. The Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, stated that many warnings were given and that all their motivations for the forcible removal of Occupy Wall Street from Zuccotti Park were in the interests of sanitation and public safety. And if that were so then Bloomberg would actually re-open the park to protesters, after it has been swept and cleaned by the propper authorities, in complience with a court order signed by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lucy Billings, a former civil liberties lawyer, that allows Occupy Wall Street protesters to return to Freedom Plaza (AKA Zuccotti Park). Instead Mayor Bloomberg will keep Zuccotti Park closed until the court order can be "clarified".
At least 70 people were arrested over night, including members of the Associated Press. NYPD Officers even arrested a woman in a wheelchair. 5000 books at the Occupy Wall Street Library were destroyed along with all communication equipment. Inspite of all of this the Occupy Wall Street Livestream continues as does the Occupy Wall Street movement itself. in the words of one protester "The park is clean - it smells like clorox and broken constitutional amendments".
Yeah sure the park needed to be cleaned. Did you need to ambush sleeping people in the middle of the night and beat them with batons and spray them with pepper spray? Sure say the NYPD, as far as they're concerned that is the fun part. No one involved in any way with The NYPD or any other police force would ever publicly admit to this opinion, but it is exactly how they look at it.
The behavior of the police in Oakland California and now in New York City are just the latest examlpes of how a majority of the cops really feel. They like their jobs because every once in a while they get to beat people up and break their stuff without fear of reprisal. Again they'll never admit to it in public.
It's a game to them where they hold all the cards. The protests must remain non-violent. The police do not have to adhere to any such rule, in fact it is in their interests to incite violence in any way that they can in order to create an excuse to escelate the sitation to where the police can use any tactics they please and get away with it. Any tactics to clear the protests. The NYPD have the weapons and the authority, The Occupy Wall Street Protesters have the numbers and the truth. The NYPD officers don't risk what the brave men and women who are Occupy Wall Street risk. The protesters are peacfully standing up for their rights, while the cops are standing around on the job collecting overtime. Peaceful protesters versus well paid state mercenaries with weapons.
The Occupy Wall Street Protesters have to await a judges ruling on the court order that allows them to return to Zuccotti Park. The ruling is said to be due around 3pm est.
Unilt then the NYPD Occupies Zuccotti Park, like a parody of the protests themselves. Again to the authorities all of this is a joke. That is the catch, they won't take the protesters seriosly as long as they're non-violent, so they provke violence and then deal with the protesters in the only serious manner that they know. That is to say a violent manner.
At 4:50pm est. it was announced that the original court order had been overturned and that the Occupy Wall Street protesters were not allowed to return to Zuccatti Park with tents and sleeping bags. By 6:30pm Zuccotti Park was filled once again by Occupy Wall Street. Where do we go from here? General Strike.
Peace Vs. Violence.
Good Vs. Evil.
And As Always...
REALITY- This is what happens when people of principle stand up for their rights. They are immediately reminded exactly why it was that they hadn't tried to do so before now. Because when anyone steps out of line they are dealt with by the police. Unless by stepping out of line you mean billionaires stealing billions of dollars from people who will never have that kind of cash. The cops ignore you if your crime is to hoard wealth through a corrupt system that stopped truly being a system the instant that it failed to serve the needs of the less fortunate. A system is not a system if it does not function.
On the 40th day of The Occupy Movement people from all over the world are rising up together to demand economic and political justice for themselves and their children. Oakland California has just seen a particularly brutal siege by police that left many injured and one U.S. veteran shot in the head with a tear gas canister and in critical condition at the time of this writing. Police all over the world have responded in very much the same way. Arrest, attack, and attempt to demoralize. The Police in New York have been resorting to what's been called "Stop and Frisk". Which has officers randomly stopping anyone they choose, according to race in many cases, and subjecting the citizen to a pat down frisk. They have also been offering arrested protesters a deal that would expunge their arrest just so long as that person is not arrested again (for protesting) for six months. The NYPD had no right to arrest the peaceful protester in the first place, all that this tactic does is to serve as a deterrent from returning to a protest site for fear of facing jail time. Dirty tricks at best, The Constitution of The United States of America guarantees any American Citizen the right to peaceful assembly and if necessary protest. To petition the government with prayer if you will. At least most of the protests sites have remained peaceful. Unfortunately not all.
The Police in Oakland, California have resorted to heavy use of tear gas, and atomized metal batons to disperse peaceful unarmed demonstrators. Occupy Orlando was evicted last night, and there have been more than 500 arrests at Occupy Atlanta. One man in Austin, Texas was arrested for sleeping.
What are they doing that is so dangerous that you need that many cops, that many batons, and this much noxious chemical gas to attack them? It is not that they are protesting. Necessarily, it's not that they are in camping in public without a permit, and if that's really a law anywhere then that law is really unconstitutional. The Constitution supersedes any such laws, particular during times like these. The real reason that the establishment and its police force can't allow these protests to continue is because that the brave souls at each Occupy location are setting an example for all the lost souls that continue to power the greed machine. The establishment has begun to fear the prospects of actually having to deal with the Occupy movement at a bargaining table if they should inspire a general strike to occur across The United States and eventually the world.
Strike, in particular if you work for an organization or company that you know to be dishonest, corrupt, or otherwise at fault or contributing to the problems we all face as Americans. Those who work at banks would be an obvious example of someone who the establishment would rather didn't wake up. Someone who they like that they trained well who would be somewhat difficult to replace. Strike, if you're tired of breaking your back for just enough while someone less worthy collects way too much to do so very little.
The only problem with that is who is going to feed all these angry, hungry people? How will they stay warm? Occupy Wall Street has been collecting donations in cash and in the form of warm clothing, blankets, sleeping bags. Anything you can think of that people would need while they try to survive the winter outdoors. A New York winter. www.occupywallstreet.org
Who is going to help?
Anybody?
Anyone at all?
Until then The Occupy Revolution marches on.
And As Always,
REALITY- As I gaze upon the 99%. The brave tens of thousands of men and women just like you and me who are Occupy Wall Street. I see the vision of Jefferson, Adams and Franklin. I see American people who have reached out and taken into their grasp the true American dream. The dream that proclaims each individual is equal to any other and as such deserves equal treatment under the law. The Dream that states that we the people as individuals and a group have the right to self determination. The right to live, healthy and free of interference from large corporations and government interests. We the people have the right to the same chance to survive as those who have become financially dominant. Especially these fat cats on Wall Street, who made their millions by gambling with and ruining countless people's lives.
Revolution has been sweeping across the world, and it appears that the American spirit of freedom has finally come home. I can't be more excited that the American people may finally be awake. The thousands and thousands of free man and women who have gathered together in New York have developed a system of amplification where everything that a speaker says is repeated in unison by all gathered closest to the speaker. They call it "The People's Mike". They use it to say in one voice "We want to end the wars and tax the rich."
There it is. That is what the people who live in this democracy want. To quote the late great George Carlin "Even in a fake democracy the people ought to get what they want once in a while". After 20 days the movement appears to be going strong with mass participation and a generally upbeat and peaceful attitude. Live video stream is available at www.occupywallstreet.org
Still here? Sweet, anyway, I'm amazed that so many people are able to remain calm and peaceful considering how much police brutality that they have endured at the hands of The N.Y.P.D. Earlier today I watched a video taken from the inside of a paddy wagon where at least seven people sat and lamented one man's broken nose, several others were handcuffed. All of them arrested for self expression. Everyone has heard about white shirt cop Tony Bologna and his pepper sprayings by now.
But still the 99% endures. That's what we do, we the people, we survive. For many of us there is simply no other option. For these people who have sought the attention of America and the world, for them the mantra is clear in their chants. "This Is What Democracy Looks Like!" - "All day, All Week, Occupy Wall Street!" - "Who's Streets? Our Streets!" And clearer still in the first statement from Occupy Wall Street as read by Keith Olbermann of Current. http://current.com/shows/countdown/videos/special-comment-keith-reads-first-collective-statement-of-occupy-wall-street
Matching protest rallies have emerged in over 30 other U.S. cities including Washington, Boston, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. Occupy movements have spring up around the world in places like London, England - Milan, Italy - and Sydney, Australia. The people of Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea, In all the people of more than 80 nations have all launched or will launch on October 15th 2011( http://www.15october.net/ ) Occupy style marches. Back in New york City's Zuccotti Park renamed by The General Assembly as Freedom Plaza, many celebrities have joined the march to show their support. People like Michael Moore, Tim Robbins, and Mark Ruffalo.
Despite the mass involvment, it is understood that no one man or woman has authority over the people at Freedom Plaza. The people there call themselves The General Assembly. This appears to be a true non-partison grassroots political campaign. Not just the left answer to the Tea Party. In fact there are Tea Partiers at Freedom Plaza too. Independats, Democrats, real Republicans, Tea Partiers, and here to for non-political individuals have all come together to put an end to the tyranny that erodes our exsistences.
If you feel as they do, as I do, as we do, then you must, if capable, find your way to the nearest protest site. Once there please remain peaceful but strong. Let your voice be heard alongside your brothers and sisters in this cause of freedom and equal rights for all. Not to mention the wealthy and otherwise powerful still being responsible for paying their fair share of the taxes, not starting illegal wars, and refraining from gambling people's lives into oblivion.
I, for one, plan to do my part. My emotions about this movement can be summed into of the statements echoed by The People's Mike today...
"This time we have to succeed."
Ps. October 15, 2011 is the day to rise as one and proclaim that we the people shall always be free. See you out there.
And As Always,
REALITY- President Barack Obama has a big problem to fix. That problem is that he seems to be unable to understand the fundamental truth of what is happening to he and his presidency. Look Mr. President, with all due respect sir, The Republicans are playing you out.
It has been obvious to me for some time now that John Boehner and the rest of his constituency have never had any intention of taking Barack Obama's presidency as anything more than a place to put all of the blame for all of the consequences of the actions of one George W. Bush (ex-presidential place holder and spokes-ass) and the cartel that was his administration.
Republicans at large do not take President Barack Obama or his administration seriously in any way. They see him as a joke and as bad as they want him to be. This is how the republicans out there in 'Foxtv land' express their latent racist thoughts and feelings. No, not every republican is a racist. In fact, as I understand it, they hate everyone who is not just like them equally. It would just be a lie not to admit that there are still Americans out there who may be good people to some but are also very racist, sexist, and homophobic.
President Obama just being president strikes a nerve with racists whether they want to admit it in public or not. People should have a right to feel how they want to feel about whatever they choose. That is part of what freedom is. However with that freedom comes the responsibility to grow-up and realize that the racist attitudes that you have come to cherish are merely the same racist attitudes that you learned from your parents.
No one is born a racist, (except maybe Rush Limbaugh) they taught you to be racist. Be it your parents, other family members, or elders in your community. Because of that basis your interactions with people of different races from yourself was tainted from the beginning. That eventually led to skewing your attitudes towards people of different sexual orientations and so forth down the line until now you stand at a tea-party rally with tea-bags on your face a fully fledged closet racist. No one admits that they are racist in public do they?
The Tea-Party and Republican foundation voters believe that they can react to Obama's presidency like white blood cells react to an infection without being duly labeled racist for it. They all say that the various tea-party organizations have nothing to do with race. It makes me wonder where these folks were when George W. Bush (a white man from Texas) was causing all of these problems that they blame President Obama (a black man from Chicago) for.
Furthermore, The Republican base seems all too eager to believe any little evil that their Republican, G.O.P. leadership can concoct and convey to their base through Rupert Murdoch's various media monstrosities.
Rupert, Rupert, Rupert...
Rupert, The Devil called ....... asked what the hell were you thinking stealing the voicemails of dead children? The Devil went on to add that that was low dude very very low. So republicans that was your guy huh? Rupert Murdoch?
Nice party.
If Jeffrey Dahmer wasn't dead, FoxNews would have given him a cooking show. So long as he agreed to give Sarah Palin 10 minutes per show.
Listen Mr. President, John Boehner and the other Republican congress people that you have to contend with are basically of the same opinion as their base. Somewhere deep down they are never going to take seriously because you are not like them. So trying to bend over backwards to please them isn't going to work see?
They have you playing their game sir, you are always on defense. The debt ceiling controversy should illustrate this point completely for you. What I've heard called a routine decision during past presidencies is for your administration a stonewall tactic to be overcome. Yet another in a line of stonewall tactics that The Republicans have used to stall you Mr. President at every turn. Making sure that you have no time to act against their long standing policies of exclusion, favoritism, and hoarding.
If you want to be president in 2013 then now is the time to stand up and act. Not speak sir, act. Raise the debt ceiling use the constitution for good as the Republicans have used it for ill. Start cutting the budget where the Republicans would rather that you didn't. Remember that they are just holding the ball waiting for the clock to strike midnight on your Cinderella campaign of hope and change.
Then they can return to the everyday business as usual of taking more for themselves and seeing that everyone else gets less if not nothing at all.
And As Always,
Ps. Mr. President, Timing Is Everything and you sir are running out of time.
Dear Iraq..... This is awkward.... But we are just so... so very sorry for invading / conquering your sovereign nation looking for Osama Bin Laden and his organization al Qaeda.
As it turns out the guy we were after in the first place.......Yeah he was found, nowhere near you at all, and our CIA shot him ...Dead.
We will totally send you some free cable and Internet to make up for it all just as soon as power is fully restored to your...well what we left of your country.
Again Sawwy : ( And C U at the Olympics!
REALITY- First of all calm down and keep reading. If you are reading this blog from any of the protests in Iran, Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq, Bahrain, or Libya please refrain from throwing this computer at your imperialist oppressors at least until you've read the 'Palin' Joke.
Revolution is under way all over the world. The Egyptian revolution has so far lead to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, not much besides but we'll all see what happens next. After exactly 30 years of ruling Egypt on behalf of The U.S.A. Hosni gets to retire without his county being invaded by the U.S. military. At least we haven't invaded them or Libya yet. Everyone gets to retire and as retirement parties go this one was better than Saddam Hussein's had been. Less fireworks yes, but far fewer Americans died for no reason. At least so far.
Iraq and Iran have experienced recent social upheaval. In Iraq the people were said to be protesting for better working conditions not protesting against their government. Iraq called it a "Day of Rage" just as The Egyptians had had their "Day of Rage". Iran's Green Revolution put Twitter on the map. Then waited two years for other Arab nations to join in. These widespread protests have been uniting people from different nations to a common cause. Freedom.
Not freedom only for those folks in this world who are wealthy enough and white enough to afford it, but freedom for all people of all colors and nationalities. Freedom from tyranny, from harassment, and indeed freedom from injury and murder. The people of the Middle East just want a chance to survive as most others take theirs for granted.
They are people and so are we. We all want the same things, instead of fighting over what's left of what there is we should focus on making sure that there is enough of everything for everyone. Once that might not have been possible but technology makes the impossible possible every day. Maybe if we spent less time, money, and effort developing the next big (little) tech gadget we could use those resources to create technology that helps to feed people rather than making them starve.
And then there is Libya. A nation that will probably be invaded by The U.S. or some such coalition lead by The U.S. or Great Britain any minute now. Moammar Gadhafi has been a source of international intrigue since 1969 when he led a successful military coup to take control of Libya. In 1986 Ronald Reagan bombed Libya in response to several terrorist acts perpetrated by Libyan agents including the bombing of a nightclub in West Berlin. With Moammar Gadhafi ignoring the international community and its collective call to stop violence against protesters in Libya it's a safe bet that some kind of military intervention is very likely in the near future. Especially if recent reports of civil war in Libya are true.
Whether or not President Barack Obama wishes to allow such military intervention remains to be seen. Although he has asked his administration to prepare a "full range of options" to stop the violence in Libya. I'll guess that that means that The United States will soon be offering support to the Libyan rebels. For the record George W. Bush would already by riding a 'nuke' down to Libyan soil, waving his cowboy hat and going WAHOO all the way down.
Wisconsin is another Arab nation that has been fighting for its rights...wait no sorry Wisconsin is a fully recognized state of the United States of America.
In Wisconsin the fight is about the collective bargaining rights of public unions. On February 11th 2011 The Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, introduced budget repair legislation that if passed would strip most public employee and teachers unions of their collective bargaining rights. Union Busting.
Two days later there were 250 protesters in the state capitol and in front of the Governor's Mansion. By February 15th 10,000 protesters had gathered at Capitol Square to peacefully demonstrate their freedom.
That is what democracy looks like.
As of now the protests are still ongoing, with documentary film maker Michael Moore set to address the crowd at the mass rally in the Wisconsin state capitol later today.
Here in America freedom of speech is well known but seldom seen. In fact if you want info on the protests in Wisconsin from Google you're going to need to know how to spell Wisconsin. This information will not be stumbled upon.
When I say freedom of speech, I don't mean just the freedom to speak your mind only in support of the powers that be, but also in legitimate opposition. Real opposition not just a set of talking heads on the television that parody the opinions of the real people. Mocking the passionate while gathering the naive.
The American people need leadership. Not merely an opposing side that fails to fight for its own causes, but a living breathing second option. An option that is not the Republican Party and will also fight against the Republican Party on its own terms about the real issues that face Americans every day.
The American people have only two choices when it comes to major political parties. The Republicans who stand for war, theft, and the preservation of their own status and position at any and all costs to anybody but themselves. This is their working business model.
And The Democratic Party who, up until now, have been too passive. Even when it had total control of The U.S.A. via The House of Representatives, The Senate, and The White House they still gave The Republicans pretty much everything that they wanted including an election cycle that saw The House of Representatives fall under Republican rule.
Are we really watching the Harlem Globetrotters vs. The Washington Generals?
The fact is that President Obama has gone way out of his way to do everything exactly opposite to the way that George W. Bush did things. Where Bush forced through terrible policy Obama will thoughtfully reach out to the other side and find common ground with his opponents. Setting a perfect example of how a President should behave.
Of course if you're always reaching out and your opponents are always taking whatever they want pretty soon the one who does all the reaching out has nothing left to reach out with. And those who do the taking have it all. While those who were indeed more thoughtful and generous are left with nothing. Good people end up with nothing, greedy people end up with everything that they can carry, hide, and store. Is that your American Dream?
The American people need a president who will stand up for what he believes in and then fight to make it happen. That was the one thing that George W. Bush had going for him personally as president, he got things done. Horrible, terrible things that President Barack Obama must face the consequences for. But they got done.
Barack Obama needs to stop playing political games for the appeasement and amusement of his enemies, and start moving the ball forward on issues that are important to the American People.
If Democratic Presidents never move the ball to the left then the ball is always moving to the right.
And As Always,
Ps. As promised here is that Palin joke
If only she were a funny joke. >8^ )
