OCCUPY WALL STREET

[SoNotHer]

I am sorry I don't live in Mass. to vote for her. I always find her inspiring and genuine, and now that she's in Karl Rove's crosshairs, I find her even more so and more essential than ever.

https://secure.actblue.com/entity/fu...tblue_homepage

[SoNotHer]

Has anyone read this yet, and if so, what did you think?

"Friedman delivers the bad news in lively style, filled with anecdote. In the last 50 years the world's population has almost tripled. By 2054 it will be 9.2 billion. The drive to establish a middle class in India, China, Brazil and Russia to consume and produce goods is inevitable. But the previous way of exploiting resources is not replicable. In the book Carl Pope said it best: "Every previous economic spirit and takeoff in history by one country or a region was nurtured by an unexploited biological commons." Today there are no new virgin commons."

[atomiczombie]

By Pat Garofalo on Nov 23, 2011 at 12:05 pm


As Occupy Wall Street protestors continue to demonstrate across the country, congress’ fiscal super committee failed to craft a deficit reduction package due to Republican refusal to consider tax increases on the super wealthy. In fact, the only package that the GOP officially submitted to the committee included lowering the top tax rate from 35 percent to 28 percent, even as new research shows that the optimal top tax rate is closer to 70 percent.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), who co-chaired the super committee, explained that the major sticking point during negotiations with the GOP was what to do with the Bush tax cuts. With that in mind, the National Priorities Project points out that those tax cuts this year will give the richest 1 percent of Americans a bigger tax cut than the other 99 percent will receive in average income:

The average Bush tax cut in 2011 for a taxpayer in the richest one percent is greater than the average income of the other 99 percent ($66,384 compared to $58,506).

“The super committee failed to grapple with the extraordinarily costly Bush tax cuts for the richest—tax policies that, according to the Congressional Budget Office, cost more in added federal debt than they add in additional economic activity,” explained Jo Comerford, NPP’s Executive Director. Frank Knapp, vice chairman of the American Sustainable Business Council, added in a statement yesterday, “the high-end Bush tax cuts are a big part of the problem – not the solution…It’s obscene to keep slashing infrastructure and services for everybody on Main Street to keep up tax giveaways for millionaires and multinational corporations.”

The Bush tax cuts have done nothing but blow up the federal debt and hand billions in tax breaks to the Americans who needed them least. As a reminder, past grand bargains when it came to the budget included substantial new revenues, to balance the pain of getting the country’s budget in order. Instead of adopting that approach, the GOP wants to continue lavishing tax breaks onto the 1 percent, while asking everyone else to sacrifice.

LINK: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/201...t-one-percent/

[atomiczombie]

[AtLast]

http://blogs.the-american-interest.c...acks-shun-ows/

Occupy The Plantation? Blacks Shun OWS

http://hotair.com/headlines/archives...y-wall-street/

Why blacks aren’t embracing Occupy Wall Street

[Cin]

Yolo Akili- Interviews of African Americans On Occupy Wall Street

[SoNotHer]

http://movetoamend.org/OccupyTheCourts

January 20, 2012 – Move to Amend Occupies the Courts!
Jan 20, 2012: Occupy the Courts!Call to Action

Inspired by our friends at Occupy Wall Street, and Dr. Cornel West, Move To Amend is planning bold action to mark the second anniversary of the infamous Citizens United v. FEC decision!



Occupy the Courts will be a one day occupation of Federal courthouses across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Friday January 20, 2012.

Move to Amend volunteers across the USA will lead the charge on the judiciary which created — and continues to expand — corporate personhood rights.

Americans across the country are on the march, and they are marching OUR way. They carry signs that say, “Corporations are NOT people! Money is NOT Speech!” And they are chanting those truths at the top of their lungs! The time has come to make these truths evident to the courts.

➤➤ Join us Friday, January 20, 2012 at a Federal Court building near you! Click here to sign up.
Sites (so far)

Buffalo, NY
Cedar Rapids, IA
Cleveland, OH
Columbus, OH
Des Moines, IA
Denver, CO
Dover, DE
East St. Louis, MO
Eureka, CA
Golfport, MS
Houston, TX
Kansas City, MO
Madison, WI
Milwaukee, WI
Minneapolis, MN
Nashville, TN
New York, NY
Oklahoma City, OK
Peoria, IL
Portland, OR
Rochester, NY
San Francisco, CA
San Jose, CA
Savannah, GA
Seattle, WA
Springfield, MO
St Louis, MO
Tampa, FL
Tacoma, WA
Washington, D.C. (US Supreme Court)
Wilmington, DE
Wilmington, NC

Organizing Resources
Locations

List of Federal District Courts
US Court of Appeals
US Supreme Court

Obtaining a Permit

To obtain a permit for your action, contact the Court you will be targeting and submit this application (pdf) to the GSA Facilities Manager. Find out how they want you to submit the permit application, often times it can be done by fax.
Outreach

This folder contains handbills and posters to promote your event. Black & white or color options in each download folder. Click the links to begin downloads.

Poster with text box (with text box to add your local event info) (download zip folder)
Poster (download zip folder)

Handbills have a letter to Occupy events from MTA on the back - if that isn't useful for your outreach just print side one.

Handbills with text box (with text box to add your local event info) (download zip folder)
Handbills (download zip folder)

Action Materials

Instructions to Make a Corporate Personhood Costume (pdf)
Corporate Personhood Skit: Video, Script & Sound Effects
Adapt one of our 4th of July ideas for Occupy the Courts
“Interview with a Corporate Person” Skit (pdf)
Corporate Personhood Song
"As the Country Turns" Skit for a short drama
Build a freeway banner

Informational Resources

Outreach Materials (Petitions, Signs/Posters, Stickers, Brochures)
Declaration of Independence from Corporate Rule
What Could Change if Corporate Personhood Were Abolished?
Why Abolish All Corporate Constitutional Rights

Spread the Word

Corporate Personhood Talking Points
Tips for Using Social Media (pdf)
Tips for Writing Letters to the Editor
How to Hold a News Conference

Additional Resources

Recording of November 2011 Webinar on Occupy the Courts with Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap (MTA Field Director) and Steve Justino (MTA Occupy the Courts Coordinator) (skip to 20:00 mark to avoid pre-meeting logistics)
Move to Amend Local Action Toolkit

➤➤ Join us Friday, January 20, 2012 at a Federal Court building near you! Click here to sign up.

If you have additional questions or ideas contact us: OccupyTheCourts@MoveToAmend.org.

[ruffryder]

Does anyone think we do not need all the law enforcement present at the OWS movements?

Do you think people can really assemble peacefully if there wasn't security there?

There is an issue arising about it starting to become costly and our tax dollars going to law enforcement. Just wondering thoughts on that.