Resuming After a Forced Hiatus

In the process of a recent move, I have not been able to keep to the regular schedule readers here have come to expect. Fortunately, I am prepared to resume at least more frequent postings.

I begin this resumption with a link to the Occupy Oakland web site. I believe this is the best way to get an overview of what the group is doing constructively to move the effort for a more democratic and just economy forward. The actions of both police and protestors there this past week-end have become a source of controversy. In coming days I will be monitoring this controversy and plan to have more to say.

For now, there are several legitimate news organizations which have reported on the situation there, with varying degrees of fairness. This web log has long advocated non-violent methods along the lines of Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King in addressing social ills. Unfortunately, in the U.S. inequalities have grown so quickly in recent years there are those who have felt a sort of emergency response to the crisis must be given. The police for their part have been organized in quasi-militaristic ways which has not seemed to help matters.

Facts about Oakland are still emerging and I want to take the time to try to sort through fact and allegation before commenting further. For now, let us hope all violence can be avoided. Realizing this hope will require a higher level of good will and tolerance, especially on the part of those who are supposed to be mature individuals and in authority -- as well as the most careful kind of thought possible on the part of protestors who, admittedly, are thrust into a most important and decisive political moment of history.

http://occupyoakland.org/

Hiatus Should End Soon

I have been experiencing some scheduling difficulties recently, thus the break in reporting here. I should be back on line again soon with more regular postings. Thank you for your patience.

"Occupying" San Francisco

The Occupy movement is planning a major protest in San Francisco for January 12, 2012.

It makes great good sense to be organizing an event in a state with warmer weather in the winter!

The message of the Occupy movement is one of warmth and hope. This web log has featured much about the Occupy movement because the author believes the movement is the most energetic, impassioned, and well-reasoned response to the rapacious corportate-driven economy we have seen for a very long time.

So, let it be said resoundingly: "California, here I come!"

N.B. In my own case,this is not meant literally -- at least not yet!

http://www.occupywallstwest.org/wordpress/?page_id=111

Occupy New Hampshire: Quick Up-date

http://www.nationofchange.org/mark-provost-occupy-new-hampshire-exchange-mitt-romney-over-corporate-personhood-1325955519


At the link above is news about Occupy New Hampshire and their plans to "participate" in the New Hampshire primary.

It is a new day for the political process in America. For the first time in decades, the profit system is being meaningfully challenged in the Presidential selection process. I am out of superlatives when trying to describe the importance of this development and my gratitude for the movers and occupiers.

Help Vet Video

At this link is video of a John Nichols interview about the booting of an aide to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Even if he is not himself guilty, says Nichols, Walker has shown truly poor judgment, even as he possibly faces a recall.

(Video has not been previewed by TMP.)


http://www.nationofchange.org/governor-scott-walker-has-bad-judgment-1325947452

The Glory of Occupy D.C.

The Occupy D.C. movement appears at this time to be as strong as any in the country. The story linked below gives the details.

What a thrill to see so many people of diverse backgrounds coming together to make a difference for our country. As one web site* says, Our country has become a place where Wall Street, unlike ourselves, is "too big to fail."

The Occupy movement, as political movement, is the only one which can provide sufficient energy on the ground to oppose this ugly corporate greed and corruption. All others, including the Obama campaign are playing catch-up.

Glory to the Occupiers!


http://october2011.org/blogs/kevin-zeese/phase-ii-occupy-washington-dc-two-house-freedom-plaza-occupy-economy-now-dc-and-mo

*Nation of Change

ACLU's Campaign to Restore Constitutional Rule

The ACLU has stated there is a real danger the Obama Administration will enshrine into law policies which were considered extreme under G. W. Bush. It is an old story of power corrupting. This has definitely happened in the Obama Administration, albeit without the bombast and publicity of Bush the Lesser.

It is past time to call out Mr. Obama on his extreme views on civil rights. As the ACLU makes clear, there is no need to choose between security and freedom. Read the material at the URL below and follow the links there for more information on the campaign to restore Constitutional Rights in America.



http://www.aclu.org/keep-america-safe-free

Protest Against Provisions in National Defense Authorization Act

The article here tells a good deal about what is necessary to preserve civil liberties as President Obama signed into law provisions which appear to make it possible for the government to use a legal fig leaf to arrest and detain U.S. citizens without due process under the guise of fighting "terrorism."

If you are first learning of this act and its apparently heinous provisions, this article is an excellent introduction to the issue.



http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2012/01/03/occupy-wall-street-condemns-the-ndaa/

The Occupy Movement: 2011

Typical U.S. Protest Scene, late 2011


I care very much for the following summation of the Occupy movement to date. There is so much feeling and optimism here. Let us embrace true feeling and optimism in 2012.

via Occupy Wall Street web site --

Twenty-eleven will be remembered as a year of revolution, the beginning of the end for an unsustainable global system based on poverty, oppression, and violence. In dozens of countries across the Arab world, people rose up against broken economies and oppressive regimes, toppling dictators and inspiring the world to action. Popular rejection of austerity measures and attacks on worker's rights brought millions to the streets in Greece, Iceland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the UK, Chile, Wisconsin and elsewhere.

By midsummer, murmurs of "occupying Wall Street” were stirring online, and on July 14th, we registered the domain occupywallst.org and began organizing. The first New York City General Assembly was held August 2nd and the Occupation of Liberty Square began on September 17th.

Fueled by anger at the growing disparities between rich and poor, frustrated by government policies that benefit a tiny elite at the expense of the majority, and tired of the establishment’s failure to address fundamental economic inequalities, OWS offered a new solution. We built a People’s Kitchen to feed thousands, opened a People’s Library, created safer spaces, and provided free shelter, bedding, medical care, and other necessities to anyone who needed them. While cynics demanded we elect leaders and make demands on politicians, we were busy creating alternatives to those very institutions. A revolution has been set in motion, and we cannot be stopped.

As the mainstream media ignored us, we learned from other leaderless resistance movements in places like Tunisia, Egypt, and Iran to use social media and live video streaming to spread our message. We are part of a global movement that has radically democratized how information is created and shared, rendering centralized, corporate-funded mainstream media increasingly irrelevant. The rapid exchange of information allowed us to make collective decisions quickly, discuss information and ideas across the globe, mobilize effective direct actions, and document police brutality. Now more than ever, when we chant “The Whole World Is Watching!” it is not an idle threat.

Today, tens of thousands of everyday people are putting ideals like solidarity, mutual aid, anti-oppression, autonomy, and direct democracy into practice. Individuals are joining together in city-wide General Assemblies and autonomous affinity groups. Through consensual, non-hierarchical and participatory self-governance, we are literally laying the framework for a new world by building it here and now -- and it works.

The rest is history. In honor of a new year, here is a run-down of what we accomplished since then. It would be impossible to list every action or mention every place an Occupation has occurred. But let us start a new year by celebrating a few highlights of our victories -- along with a sneak preview of what's to come!

Iowa Results Analyzed

In the din and dither which was the run-up to the Iowa Republican caucus process, any semblance of rationality was hard to come by. Sometimes rationality comes from surprising sources. The Hay Ride, a web site devoted to Louisiana and national politics, has a feature article analyzing the results of the Iowa caucuses in a factual and intelligent way. Though the writer's perspective is from the right, he is in the know when it comes to Republican Presidential politics this year.

One factor in the low turn-out in Iowa could be the event's closeness to the holiday season. Coming only two days after New Year's Day, a major political event of this nature doesn't need to follow so closely on the heels of Christmas. More time in between would help to achieve a better focus and stir greater interest.

More importantly, the candidates this year are largely unworthy of serious consideration. The only one of these visible candidates with any serious credibility at this point is M. Romney owing mostly to his stint as a governor and his success in avoiding major pratfalls. Among the others, only John Huntsman has a solid enough state of intellectual and mental health to be President. Unknown to most voters is former governor Roy Barnes who has been left out of the televised debates. (This is arbitrary and unfair to be sure.)

As a campaign the Republican business falls flat. I would even go so far as to say it falls out of the mainstream of American thought. Americans may be many things but basically they are not raving lunatics. Too many Republican candidates, while not raving mad, are nonetheless touched with the faint rays of lunacy. This does not bode well for politics in the year 2012 A.D.


http://thehayride.com/2012/01/a-terrible-night-for-the-republican-party-and-america-as-a-whole/