Thing of it is...

What does the internet mean to you?

2012-01-19T11:08:00.000-08:00

Thing of it is... I joke that I live on the internet. Everyday, I am in awe of it. In awe of the impacts it has, both tiny and huge, on the lives of people everywhere. The internet has changed the world.

I don't have a social life, to speak of. Don't have any phobias about going outside, or anything like that. I like people, get along with most people and can function just fine, in social situations. It doesn't interest me. I don't go to clubs, casinos and stuff like that. Did that when I was younger and am kinda burned out it.

My spare time - when my grandkids aren't around and I'm not on the internet - is spent tinkering with how things work, doing goofy stuff like jumping off balconies for the hell of it... and thinking. I have many interests and think about things a lot. Sometimes, I think about thinking. Kinda weird, I guess... So other than the internet, you could say, I live mostly in my head. Only person in my head though, is me. Just me gets boring. People interest me too and interaction with others enriches our lives.

On the internet, I've 'met' people who share some of the same interests. I don't have to go to a special place, at a particular time or even get dressed, to talk with you. But, let's say I were to go out - everyday - and introduce myself to everyone I met. The chances are very low I'd meet as many people who "get me" on some level, as do here, on the web.

To me, the internet is a fountain of free knowledge, a tool for people to listen and be heard - connect with others from all over the world. Seems corny maybe, but we do touch each others' lives - some more than others and sometimes... And sometimes, in very profound ways.

On Wednesday, some of the Internet's largest entities blacked out their websites -- or their logos or some of their content -- in a protest against the SOPA and PIPA anti-piracy bills making their way through Congress.

If you're wondering whether all of this had an effect, the answer is yes. Big time.

Wikipedia, the largest Web player to block access to its pages for a full 24 hours, reports that a whopping 162 million people experienced the blackout on the online encyclopedia's landing page. In addition, 8 million U.S. readers took Wikipedia's suggestion and looked up their congressional reps from the site.

Google reported Wednesday that as of 1:30 PM PST, 4.5 million people had signed its petition asking lawmakers to reject the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and the Protect Intellectual Property Act in the Senate.

Twitter said 2.4 million SOPA-related tweets were sent in the first 16 hours of the day Wednesday. The top five terms were SOPA, Stop SOPA, PIPA, Tell Congress, #factswithoutwikipedia.

WordPress reports that at least 25,000 WordPress blogs had joined the SOPA and PIPA protest by blacking out their blogs entirely, and an additional 12,500 had posted a "Stop Censorship" ribbon.

“The Wikipedia blackout is over and the public has spoken,” Sue Gardner, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, said in a statement. “162 million of you saw our blackout page asking if you could imagine a world without free knowledge. You said no. You shut down the congressional switchboards, and you melted their servers. Your voice was loud and strong.” LA Times

See.. We can even use the internet to help save the internet. If you signed to Stop SOPA and/or participated in the darkout, I thank you. I'm giant hugging you in my mind because there's no image adequate, or enough space to fit a hug so giant, on the whole internet. Thank you very much!

WHAT DOES THE INTERNET MEAN TO YOU?

COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOME.

Stop SOPA | Sign to be heard

2012-01-18T12:51:00.000-08:00

Thing of it is... there are two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House. Both will censor the world wide web. Millions of internet users, big sites and small, geeks and non-geeks and entrepreneurs already oppose SOPA and PIPA. Many web sites have gone dark, today, in protest.

There are many sites on the web where you sign, electronically, and let your voice be heard. The Senate will begin voting on January 24th. Please take a moment and click here, to let them know what you want.

Stan Honda/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Protests Against Antipiracy Bills Take to the Streets

Big Brother, Walmart, Homeland Security | The Psyops "See Something" Campaign

2012-01-12T09:00:00.000-08:00

Thing of it is... just a few bits and pieces, from around the web, that kinda me go, "Hmmmm...."

Psyops Campaign has billboards up. This one in particular, is located in Las Vegas, a few blocks from where I live.

Homeland Security monitors journalists | RT

Previously established guidelines within the administration say that data could only be collected under authorization set forth by written code, but the new provisions in the NOC’s write-up means that any reporter, whether someone along the lines of Walter Cronkite or a budding blogger, can be victimized by the agency. Read more: RT

National Defense Authorization Act.

2011-12-11T13:06:00.000-08:00

Thing of it is... hopefully, I won't ever be detained, under S 1867 of the National Defense Authorization Act, which the Senate voted 93-7 to pass. They say detainees can be released, eventually.... when there's no more war on terror.

Terror is a vague a term. Presently, it's Muslim extremists we're terrified of. As long as there are people who feel the need to fight for something and can't afford to raise an army, there will be terrorists. Our country was won, from the British with guerrilla warfare and terrorist acts. Terror strikes fear. It's meant to. When humans don't have enough force - we use fear. Not that I'm okay with that. Just stating a fact.

“In battle, if you you make your opponent flinch, you have already won.” ~Miyamoto Musashi

Terror is a very vague term. Lawyers love vague terminology - vague is pliable, slippery slopish and holes are bound to appear... And the majority of the people who represent us, in government, are lawyers.

Question is, who might we be afraid of - feel terrorized by - five or ten years from now? Six months or a year from now? Who might it be if any one of the current GOP candidates - who seem to fear a lot of things - wind up in the white house?

I've read arguments, pro and con. What it amounts to, to me, is that the majority of the Senate says, declaring wars on vague, scary and potentially dangerous things that don't have defined borders is a-okay. So,a war on terror amounts to - to me - keeping this country, in a state of fear, for the purpose of underhandedly continuing to feed the military-law enforcement, corporate/industrial machine.

Due process, in the context of the United States, refers to how and why laws are enforced. It applies to - rather should continue to apply to - all persons, citizen or alien, as well as to corporations. Due process should remain a right - and not become a privilege.

Me, as Boo from the movie, Monsters Inc.

Do You Qualify as a Domestic Terrorist?

A few weeks ago Bernard von NotHaus, purveyor of the gold/silver backed “Liberty Dollar”, was convicted on numerous charges including making, possessing, and selling his own coins, as well as conspiracy against the United States. Western District of North Carolina US attorney Anne Tompkins issued a Department of Justice press release that should raise blaring, high decibel sirens across the entire Union:

Attempts to undermine the legitimate currency of this country are simply a unique form of domestic terrorism, U.S. Attorney Tompkins said in announcing the verdict. While these forms of anti-government activities do not involve violence, they are every bit as insidious and represent a clear and present danger to the economic stability of this country, she added. We are determined to meet these threats through infiltration, disruption, and dismantling of organizations which seek to challenge the legitimacy of our democratic form of government.

The definitions for what is or is not a “terrorist” are ambiguous as defined by the Patriot Act, and have been progressively, hastily and secretively expanded over the course of the last decade. A “terrorist,” it seems, is now anyone who actively engages in an activity – whether it’s violent, peaceful, public or private – perceived to threaten the legitimacy and/or stability of our government.

An eighteen year veteran of law enforcement recently published an article at James Rawles’ Survival Blog detailing how perceptions in law enforcement are being molded to fit the new paradigm. The use of the term “terrorist” to describe a wide variety of crimes, and more alarmingly, the passive behaviors of those who intend to do no harm to the government or the public, is being injected into the broader consciousness and everyday semantics of the American people. Read more: SHTFplan

UPDATE: President Obama Signed the National Defense Authorization Act - Now What? [Forbes]

Merry Christmas and Feliz Navidad from the 2012 GOP Candidates [Video]

2011-12-05T14:17:00.000-08:00

"Feliz Navidad" from the GOP candidates: Romney, Perry, Bachmann, Gingrich, Santorum. Paul wasn't included because there's only room for 5 heads and he's the least funny. I only wish there were a big zappy electric fence at the end. Darn.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Meltdown - The Men Who Crashed the World [Video]

2011-11-30T00:23:00.000-08:00

Meltdown, four part documentary on the 2008 financial crises - recently premiered on Aljazeera.

PART-2: The Global Financial Tsunami
http://english.aljazeera.net/program...542357406.html

PART-3: Paying the price
http://english.aljazeera.net/program...104876434.html

PART-4: After the fall
http://english.aljazeera.net/program...938887360.html

Secrets of Investment Bankers Exposed | London City [Video]

2011-11-30T00:13:00.000-08:00

Geraint Anderson is a former City of London utilities sector analyst, and newspaper columnist, best known for his City Boy column in thelondonpaper. In this video, Anderson tells some of the dirty secrets of how the London City works. For 12 years he worked in the City and was part of the market-system.

Bankers: Good, Bad [2 BBC Full Version Docs]

2011-11-27T20:56:00.000-08:00

Ian Hislop | When Bankers Were Good
Ian Hislop examines the colourful, seriously loaded Victorian financiers whose spectacular philanthropy shows that banking wasn’t always a byword for greed or self-serving financial recklessness. First broadcast 22nd Nov. 2011

The Money Trap | The Banking Code Standards Board is to investigate The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) after Panorama investigated debt-related suicides.
The programme heard from a whistleblower who broke the banking industry's code of silence.
A key decision maker with one of the main high street banks, she claimed that high street bank lending practices put profits before customers at every given opportunity in order to push borrowing.

Read a transcript of the programme

Faces of Uncle Sam

2011-11-25T19:57:00.000-08:00

Uncle Sam is a common national personification of the American government originally used during the War of 1812. He is depicted as a stern elderly man with white hair and a goatee beard. Typically he is dressed in clothing that recalls the design elements of the flag of the United States—for example, a top hat with red and white stripes and white stars on a blue band, and red and white striped trousers. The first use of Uncle Sam in literature was in the 1816 allegorical book The Adventures of Uncle Sam in Search After His Lost Honor by Frederick Augustus Fidfaddy, Esq. Read more: WP

Alex Ross

Nov 16, 2011

Thing of it is... lots of talk lately, with the holidays drawing near, about buying American and making Christmas about "caring for the American economy," supporting local business, buying American and not buying from other ...

Thing of it is...: America: What does it look like from there?

Mar 30, 2010

America looks great to most Americans, from the inside - especially to those who have never been elsewhere. Our politicians and the media tell us what we like to hear and we eat it with a spoon and no bib. From the outside though, ...

Thing of it is...: Christmas in America: What the hell is a ...

Dec 23, 2009

Christmas, as we celebrate in America now, was promoted by retailers in the industrial age to encourage a population who no longer had to make an agricultural living (meaning hard work, long hours, etc.) ...

Thing of it is...: Speak English: It's the American Way

Oct 07, 2011

I personally believe that if illegals come to America they should learn the commen language that a big percent of Americans speak, which is english... just like [name omitted by me], said, if we were to visit another country out ...

Thing of it is...: What is patriotism?

Dec 19, 2009

Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism - how passionately I hate them! ~ Albert Einstein You're not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you ..

Black Friday - Buy Nothing Day!

2011-11-25T01:12:00.000-08:00

Cops might slam your face on the floor though... And it might be a fellow consumer who sprays you.

Black Friday customers are more likely to be violent than police?

How about skipping Black Friday?

Buy Nothing Day

Buy Nothing Day (BND) is an international day of protest against consumerism observed by social activists. Typically celebrated the Friday after American Thanksgiving in North America and the following day internationally, in 2011 the dates are November 25 and 26 respectively. It was founded in Vancouver by artist Ted Dave and subsequently promoted by magazine, based in Canada.

The first Buy Nothing Day was organized in Mexico in September 1992 "as a day for society to examine the issue of over-consumption." In 1997, it was moved to the Friday after American Thanksgiving, also called "Black Friday", which is one of the 10 busiest shopping days in the United States. Outside North America and Israel, Buy Nothing Day is the following Saturday. Adbusters was denied advertising time by almost all major television networks except for CNN, which was the only one to air their ads. Soon, campaigns started appearing in the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, Austria, Germany, New Zealand, Japan, the Netherlands, France, and Norway. Participation now includes more than 65 nations. ~WP

"... Historically, Buy Nothing Day has been about fasting from hyper consumerism – a break from the cash register and reflecting on how dependent we really are on conspicuous consumption. On this 20th anniversary of Buy Nothing Day, we take it to the next level, marrying it with the message of #occupy… We #OCCUPYXMAS. Shenanigans begin November 25!" ~Adbusters

WTF?

IB Times: Best Buy is gearing up for Black Friday, and some shoppers are taking the big sales a little too much to heart, "occupying" stores for as long as a full week in advance in hopes of scoring the best deals after Thanksgiving 2011. Read more: IB Times

I'm all for having a season of giving - since people, in general, have a hard time doing that without having a time set aside specifically for it. I get that. What I don't get, is how people wrap their minds around the idea of wanting to buy anything so badly, at contrived sales, that they'd be willing to camp out on a damn sidewalk for the "privilege" of doing it.

Christmas does not have to be a commercial holiday. It became one during the industrial age. Whether it keeps on being one, is up to consumers. Consumers have power over business. Don't shop during the holidays. If you must shop for massive quantities of stuff - shop after the holidays - when things really go on sale. Ha ha ha!

How to Figure Out When a Sale Isn’t Really a Sale | Lifehacker
Everybody loves a good sale, but not all sales are created equal. Keep the euphoria of scoring a good deal from turning into buyers regret by learning to how to identify marketing tricks and verify a great sale.

Who doesn't love a great deal? People love scoring great deals, talking about the great deals they scored, and giving their friends advice on getting great deals. You can't rely on retailers to be honest with you about the quality of a deal, however, as their only goal is to move merchandise and keep profits high enough. Let's take a look at when a can't be missed sale is lukewarm at best and an outright ripoff at worst....

... Load up on mobile price comparison tools. You spent a couple hundred on a sweet smartphone, it's time to put that baby to work and get some cash back. Even a decade ago it was extremely difficult to effectively compare prices. Most people simply compared the price at the local Sears to the price at the local Best Buy and went for the best option. Now thanks to price comparison web sites, mobile applications with features like location awareness and bar code scanning, and snappy internet access on smart phones, it's possible to compare even if you haven't done your research.

Don't get hosed because you were too busy to download a free price comparison tool for your phone. If you're rocking an Android phone make sure to check out previously reviewed Milo for Android and Pic2Shop. iPhone and Android users can enjoy ShopSavvy, which locates local stores with the item at a cheaper price.

Even without installing any applications you can take advantage of Google Product Search for Mobile, the Google Shopping interface enhanced for mobile devices. Read more:LH

Nov 16, 2011

Thing of it is...: GREED [Jump You Fuckers]

Oct 03, 2011

I do not take drugs, go to movies, get my nails done, buy new clothes, buy clothes for my cats, go on vacations, get regular medical check-ups or drive any further than necessary to do anything. I am often stuck buying products ...

Thing of it is...: I'm an evil grandma but they love me anyway

Dec 27, 2009

On Christmas Eve there wasn't a single gift to be wrapped. What an evil grandma! What do I know about what kids want these days anyway? Well, I'm also a thinking grandma, a logical and creative grandma... and I had cash. ...

Thing of it is...: Negotiating monthly fees: ANYONE CAN DO IT

Sept 09, 2009

I received a few unbelieving comments in regards to my post about how I got my cell phone for free. Not that people doubted that I accomplished this. Rather, they doubted their own ability to negotiate. ...

Thing of it is...: If You Can't Occupy Wall Street, Stop Buying Shit [Video]

Oct 17, 2011

Thing of it is...: Free, Low Cost Computers and Digital Inclusion ...

May 20, 2010

National Cristina Foundation (NCF) provides free computers to educational organizations. They collect surplus and used computers donated by corporations and individuals and distribute them for free to training and ...

Thing of it is...: Need free printable stuff?

Dec 22, 2009

Thing of it is... I've mentioned Free Printables before in other posts. I figured there needed to be a post devoted to giving them a plug. The screenshot at the right only shows a partial list of the kinds of printables you can download ...

Thing of it is...: 3 Free Online Services Worth Bookmarking

Jul 09, 2009

Thing of it is... there are a lot of free resources, or lists of links to free resources, on the web. Everyone has their favorites. I have a few of my own that I keep bookmarked... just in case. The best free resources are the ones that ...

Happy Thanksgiving 2011 [A Tiny Poem]

2011-11-23T12:26:00.000-08:00

Use of Force: Protesters vs Law Enforcement | Excessive Force Defined

2011-11-21T03:02:00.000-08:00

Daily Mail UK: Police have launched an internal investigation after a 19-year-old woman claims she suffered a miscarriage after being pepper-sprayed at an Occupy Seattle protest.
Jennifer M. Fox says police kicked her and hit her in the stomach with a bicycle at the encampment on November 15 and also doused her with pepper spray. She says she was three months pregnant at the time.

Thing of it is... the Occupy protesters have been pepper-sprayed in the face - even while seated on the ground, shot with rubber bullets, beaten and shoved with batons and dragged by the arms and hair - sometimes while handcuffed. Police have also confiscated, destroyed and trashed protestors' property.

Nearly everyone who defends police actions, in almost very case says something similar to, "To be fair, we weren't there so don't know what everyone was experiencing or feeling. We have no way of knowing what happened before. Police are people too."

Seattle activist Dorli Rainey, 84, after being hit with pepper spray during an Occupy Seattle protest. (Joshua Trujillo/AP). Click here for video of Dorli Rainey on Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Police need to be and are supposed to be, held to a higher standard than other citizens. Police are trained and armed. It is neither the role or the duty of law enforcement to punish. Consider the following:

"Every day, police professionals decide and act while balancing competing and conflicting values and interests, frequently with incomplete or inaccurate information, often in highly emotional and dynamic circumstances, and typically under pressure.

Police officers are held to a higher standard of behavior by society, because they are stewards of the public trust and are empowered to apply force and remove constitutional privileges when lawfully justified. They take an oath of office, are expected to comply with professional codes of ethics, and are subject to various laws, rules, and regulations.
An officer develops his or her moral compass, character, or ethical base, from interacting with other individuals and studying ethics. Ethics training for police professionals helps them do the following:

• Readily recognize an ethical problem or dilemma
• Identify various options to address the particular issue involved
• Make a rational and ethically sound choice of which option to choose
• Take prompt action based upon that choice
• Accept responsibility for the outcome

Police professionals cannot simply think ethically; they must also act ethically. Ethics training provides tools for addressing ethical problems, but the police professional must have the courage to act.

Responding to a particular situation has two components: reaction (emotions and thought) and action. The law typically focuses on the action, that is, so long as the action complies with the law, the reason is generally irrelevant.

But ethics considers not only the action but also the motivation for the action. Thus, doing the right thing for the wrong reason is not ethical. Police professionals aiming for ethical excellence must also consider motives behind behavior."

The above was not by a civilian, a public defender or an ACLU lawyer. It was taken from Police Chief Magazine, Ethics Training for Police By Tag Gleason, Captain, Seattle Police Department, Seattle, Washington

I think, part of the problem is, law enforcement has no particular set of rules, or training to deal specifically with non-violent people in large groups. I looked and couldn't find a thing. Police - at least, in NY - also feel they have the permission of the city to do whatever they feel is necessary. Blue shirts are in the streets and so are their white shirted supervisors and law enforcement has become just as emotional as the people they're trying to keep under control. What's worse - from law enforcement's point of view - when they shut down an occupation, the protesters come right back. Well, of course they come back... They have to come back. The protesters are out there fighting for what they - and others - believe to be wrong; for their livelihoods, homes, families... their country and way of life. Law enforcement is doing a job... and that's why, the more force the police use, the more they lose for the people and entities they represent.

"Nonviolent action tends to turn the opponent's violence and repression against his own power position, weakening it and at the same time strengthening the nonviolent group. Because violent action and nonviolent action possess quite different mechanisms, and induce differing forces of change in the society, the opponent's repression. . . can never really come to grips with the kind of power wielded by the nonviolent actionists." [ThePolitics of Nonviolent Action, Part II. Pp. 111-113 by Dr. Gene Sharp].

Some protesters have been hospitalized because of injuries inflicted during these incidents. The violence carried out by police - in almost every case and in my opinion - has been unprovoked, excessive and disproportional to any threat against the police themselves and the public, in general. Emotions run high. Police have the training and a duty to the public, "because they are stewards of the public trust and are empowered to apply force and remove constitutional privileges when lawfully justified."

Question is, what is justification? Does a person deserve to be beaten, sprayed, etc., at all, in a non-violent protest? At what point is a protester no longer non-violent? Can and do the police consider being yelled at by a protester, threatening? Is being yelled at, cause for use of non-lethal force?

UC Davis Police's Ruthless, Ragtag Approach Toward Demonstrators:

"In a shabby spectacle, an officer empties his pepper spray canister at close range on a small group of seated individuals. The victims, mostly students, bury their heads in their shirts for protection, eventually incapacitated enough to be easily carried away. As the nearly-ten minute video progresses, though, it becomes clear that the group of officers has no exit strategy. With guns drawn, they are nearly surrounded by the overwhelming group of (still peaceful) protesters. In a rousing show of solidarity, a "mic check" is called. The protesters inform the police: "We are willing to give you a brief moment of peace; so that you may take your weapons, and our friends, and go. Please do not return. We are giving you a moment of peace." Thankfully, the cops take the hint, and slink away to the chant "you can go"". Read more: East Bay Express

Is there any reason for a police officer to pepper spray a person who has already been detained, is handcuffed and sitting on the ground, in the face? For what purpose? And in a situation like that, does it matter what happened before the person was detained? Let's say, for the sake of argument, the officer was called an ass hole. Is that a justification for non-lethal force?

The information that follows comes from the Institute of Justice and the FBI and all seems say, in so many words, that police are supposed to use the least amount of force needed and that less lethal technologies, like pepper spray are, "an alternative to using other physical force options that potentially are more dangerous to officers and suspects."

Source:http://www.nij.gov/topics/law-enforcement/officer-safety/use-of-force/welcome.htm

Less-Lethal Technologies

Police officers sometimes need to control violent, combative people. Their actions under such circumstances are governed by use-of-force protocols.

Less-lethal technologies give police an alternative to using other physical force options that potentially are more dangerous to officers and suspects. The technologies currently in use include conducted-energy devices (such as Tasers), beanbag rounds, pepper spray and stun grenades.
NIJ Focuses on Making Arrests Safer

The goal of NIJ's less-lethal program is to provide law enforcement and corrections officers with equipment that protects them and the public, reducing the possibility of injury or death. NIJ collaborates with international experts from various fields (for example, medical, scientific, military) when conducting or coordinating research.
See Less-Lethal Technology Partnerships.
Prominent areas of inquiry include:
Enabling law enforcement and corrections agencies to safely deny individuals or groups access to areas.

Making projectiles safe at any distance by modeling the technology and techniques that officers can use to deliver less-lethal force.

Understanding the human health effects of less-lethal technologies, including chemical, kinetic energy and Conducted Energy Devices such as Tasers.

Analyzing information about incidents of the use-of-force against humans, including the nature of the force applied and the nature of injuries suffered.

See Technology Research, Development and Evaluation Process.
Go to Deciding When and How to Use Less-Lethal Devices.
Source:http://www.nij.gov/nij/topics/technology/less-lethal/welcome.htm

Report Civil Rights Violations
File a Report with Your Local FBI Office

File a Report over Our Internet Tip Line

Visit Our Victim Assistance Site

Resources
Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law Statute

Principles for Promoting Police Integrity (pdf)

Addressing Police Misconduct Brochure

Law Enforcement Misconduct FAQs

Source: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/civilrights/color_of_law

See also, elsewhere:

UC Davis agrees not to punish student protesters | SignOnSanDiego.com
www.signonsandiego.com/.../uc-davis-agrees-not-to-punish-student-...UC Davis agrees not to punish student protesters. Comments ( ) ... Officials at the University of California, Davis have agreed not pursue disciplinary ...

UC Davis Pepper-Spray Cops Punished, Also Defended by Ex-Cop ...
inagist.com/carr2n/138385099870846976/1 day ago – UC Davis Pepper-Spray Cops 'Punished,' Also Defended by ... sfnewsnow : UC officials to review Occupy protest policies: Two UC Davis police ...

198 Methods of Nonviolent Action These methods were compiled by Dr. Gene Sharp and first published in his 1973 book, The Politics of Nonviolent Action, Vol. 2: The Methods of Nonviolent Action. (Boston: Porter Sargent Publishers, 1973). The book outlines each method and gives information about its historical use. http://www.aeinstein.org/organizations103a.html

Norm Stamper: Police Brutality: Deal With It: As a rookie cop, why did I abuse the very people I'd been hired to serve? Law enforcement, for the most part, doesn't pick bad apples. It makes them, and not through academy training.... Not to get too psychological, I did it because the power of my position went straight to my head; because other cops I'd come to admire did it; and because I thought I could get away with it. Which I did--until a principled prosecutor slapped me upside the head and demanded to know whether the U.S. Constitution meant anything to me.

It comes down to this: real cops, those with a conscience, those who honor the law, must step up and take control of the cop culture. Read more: HP

Oct 20, 2011

What happens when you put good people in an evil place? Does humanity win over evil, or does evil triumph? These are some of the questions we posed in this dramatic simulation of prison life conducted in the summer of ...

Thing of it is...: Retired Police Capt. Ray Lewis Arrested at OWS ...

Nov 17, 2011

NY Observer: This amazing image comes to us via tipster Lauren Thorpe, who wrote in ” I've been down at OWS all morning and am heading back down there again now,” with an attachment of former Philadelphia police ...

Thing of it is...: The People - The Police... Some people

Oct 27, 2011

When a marine sergeant stands and confronts police about their behavior, some people will call him belligerent and say, "The police weren't doing anything when he was doing the yelling, so that sergeant is out of line". ...

Thing of it is...: Fake Rubber Bullet Wounds: Not Helping!

Nov 18, 2011

"Videos made by police photographers show officers laughing after a woman attorney, dressed in a red business suit, was shot five times with rubber bullets during a November 2003 protest of the Free Trade Summit in Miami. ...

Thing of it is...: Occupy Wall St. Evicted: What Now? [My 2 Cents]

Nov 15, 2011

Hundreds of New York police officers rolled into Zuccotti Park just after 1 a.m. Tuesday with a dump truck and orders to clear the park, arrest the defiant and throw away their possessions. The New York Times reported that ...

Thing of it is...: Occupy Wall St.

Sep 28, 2011

It's become more about the behavior of the protesters and the police. People are .... "Today we received unconfirmed reports that over one hundred blue collar police refused to come into work in solidarity with our movement. ...

Veterans and Soldiers - For and Against Occupy Wall Street

Nov 11, 2011

Civilians raced toward a fallen protester lying on his back on the pavement, mere steps from a throng of black-clad police in full riot gear, pointing guns as the civilians attempted to administer first aid. The fallen protester was ...

https://www.commondreams.org/further/2011/11/14-1#.TsRnkE_Qj-1.facebook

"Justice without force is powerless; force without justice is tyrannical." ~Blaise Pascal

OCCUPY THE HIGHWAY: March from OWS to DC

2011-11-20T16:04:00.000-08:00

MOVEON.ORG: On November 23, the so-called “Super Committee” in Congress will decide on the future of America’s middle class – and whether it will stand with the 99% or the 1%. So a group of everyday heroes from Occupy Wall Street embarked on an incredible journey.

"A heroic group of occupiers is marching the 230 miles from Occupy Wall Street to Washington, to call on the Super Committee and Congress to stand with the 99%."

Fake Rubber Bullet Wounds: Not Helping!

2011-11-18T06:13:00.000-08:00

Thing of it is... the photo above, was posted by the Occupy Events group on Facebook, claiming the woman pictured is Elizabeth Ritter and this is a rubber bullet wound, she received while peacefully protesting. Ms. Ritter did indeed protest and receive more than one rubber bullet wound. It is also true that the police, laughed about it.

However, the woman pictured is NOT Elizabeth Ritter and that is NOT a rubber bullet wound. In fact, it is not a wound at all. Nor, does this have anything to do with Occupy Wall Street:

"Videos made by police photographers show officers laughing after a woman attorney, dressed in a red business suit, was shot five times with rubber bullets during a November 2003 protest of the Free Trade Summit in Miami. The woman, Elizabeth Ritter, had arrived for a court appearance and found the Miami Dade courthouse closed for security reasons. She was carrying a hastily made sign that read "Fear Totalitarianism." A video made by a Miami television station shows her being shot in the leg and the head. Police videos made later show deputies laughing and cheering about "the woman in the red dress." A sergeant is seen saying, "I don’t know who got her, but it went right through the sign and hit her smack dab in the middle of the head." The video was made public by the Miami Civilian Investigative Panel which found "demonstrators were profiled, unlawfully searched, detained and/or arrested." Read more: ABC

The image posted by Occupy Events has been cropped so the watermark doesn't show. I do not know if Occupy Events intended to fool people, or if they simply reposted this fakery from another site.This same comment about Ms. Ritter, with the link to the video of cops laughing, is posted on Current, with a note that says, "The image is not from the actual victim."

Image Source: http://lyzius.deviantart.com/art/This-is-What-s-Left-192118436

OWS has enough real problems to deal with. Anyone on any side of the movement, cooking up fake shit DOES NOT HELP. It gives detractors, fuel for THEIR fire.

Rubber bullet wounds can indeed cause serious injury - even fracture bone and cause internal bleeding. In some cases, enough injury to lead to death. I seriously doubt, anyone with a hole this big in their face wouldn't be standing, calmly, having their picture taken. If you look closely, you can see nice neat threads in that hole, pictured, as if a screw was used to shape the hole - which was probably made with gelatin, just like in the movies.

Retired Police Capt. Ray Lewis Arrested at OWS Protest [MSNBC Interview Included]

2011-11-17T23:44:00.000-08:00

"You should, by law, only use force to protect someone’s life or to protect them from being bodily injured. If you’re not protecting somebody’s life or protecting them from bodily injury, there’s no need to use force. And the number one thing that they always have in their favor that they seldom use is negotiation–continue to talk, and talk and talk to people. You have nothing to lose by that. This bullrush–what happened last night is totally uncalled for when they did not use negotiation long enough."Ret. Capt. Ray Lewis, referring to the eviction of OWS from Zuccotti Park, during which protesters were maimed and their property confiscated and probably destroyed.

Ret. Capt. Ray Lewis, arrested via Occupy Wall St. on Facebook

NY Observer: This amazing image comes to us via tipster Lauren Thorpe, who wrote in ” I’ve been down at OWS all morning and am heading back down there again now,” with an attachment of former Philadelphia police Captain Ray Lewis, who was arrested today in conjunction with the Occupy Wall Street protests. There is simply nothing more bizarre than looking at images of a man in police uniform arrested and handcuffed by people wearing lower-ranking NYPD garb. Read more: NYObserver

Nov 17, 2011

Fake Rubber Bullet Wounds: Not Helping! Thing of it is... the photo above, was posted by the Occupy Events group on Facebook, claiming the woman pictured is Elizabeth Ritter and this is a rubber bullet wound, she received ...

Thing of it is...: Occupy Las Vegas's Humble Beginnings

Nov 05, 2011

Thing of it is... the folks occupying, pretty much anywhere, are freezin' their patooties off out there - even in Vegas. If there's an Occupy near you, please consider donating something to help them keep warm, or ask what they ...

Thing of it is...: OWS EVICTED FROM ZUCCOTTI PARK

Nov 15, 2011

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Tuesday defended his decision to clear the park in Lower Manhattan that was the birthplace of the Occupy Wall Street Movement, saying “health and safety conditions became intolerable” in ...

Thing of it is...: Occupy Wall St: The Whining

Oct 17, 2011

... Thing's Blogs. Loading... 10.17.2011. Occupy Wall St: The Whining. Reactions: Newer Post Older Post Home. Occupy Las Vegas on Facebook. Occupy Las Vegas on Facebook. Occupy Wall St. on Facebook. Occupy Wall St. on Facebook ...

Thing of it is...: Occupy Wall St.

Sep 28, 2011

Thing of it is... many of you have seen video clips of Occupy Wall Street on YouTube and social networking sites. I think what's often happening on those sites is people are paying attention to the things that have nothing to do ...

Thing of it is...: If You Can't Occupy Wall Street, Stop Buying Shit [w ...

Oct 17, 2011

My new phone was shipped it to me within two days too... for free. The web site said free shipping was for online activation of new accounts only. When my phone arrived, to my surprise, a carrying case, a bluetooth headset ...

Thing of it is...: The Time For Action is Now

Oct 30, 2011

As graduate Film students at Hunter College in New York, we're very excited to see how the spreading Occupy Wall Street movement is giving new momentum to the militant protest culture of Cuny (City University, NYC). ...

Thing of it is...: To buy, or not to buy, American.

Nov 16, 2011

NYT By JAMES BARRON and COLIN MOYNIHAN Published: November 15, 2011. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Tuesday defended his decision to clear the park in Lower Manhattan that was the birthplace of the Occupy . ...

Thing of it is...: Call of Duty: Veterans Who Join the Occupiers Have ...

Nov 07, 2011

Video from the Occupy Oakland march on Tuesday, Oct. 25, looks and sounds like a war zone. The sound of gunfire is nearly constant in the video. Tear-gas projectiles were being fired into the crowd when the cry of "Medic! ...

Thing of it is...: Thirteen Observations made by Lemony Snicket ...

Nov 05, 2011

Thirteen Observations made by Lemony Snicket while watching Occupy Wall Street from a Discreet Distance by Lemony Snicket. 1. If you work hard, and become successful, it does not necessarily mean you are successful ...

Thing of it is...: GREED

Oct 03, 2011

GREED. OPEN NOTE TO: Anti-Occupy Wall Street on Facebook. I am not one of those who are Occupying - I live in Las Vegas. I am all for them being there. ... Occupy Las Vegas on Facebook. Occupy Las Vegas on Facebook ...

Thing of it is...: Tony Bologna NYPD: Is he an ass hole?

Oct 24, 2011

For the past few days we have repeatedly seen the unsettling images of NYPD Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna pepper spraying a group of young female protestors and walk away during the Occupy Wall Street rallies. ...

Thing of it is...: "BEWARE THE BANK GOBBLER"

Oct 28, 2011

I WAS sitting in George Hensel's big parlor talking with him about the new bank building just on the other side of the road. Hensel is the president of that bank and he was telling me about it and about other country banks and ...

Thing of it is...: Notes On Banks [How They Screw You]

Nov 29, 2010

Thing of it is... it any surprise that customers are sticking with large banks even as they raise fees? The big banks are all over the place. You need not go far, at least here in Las Vegas - even on foot - to find a ...

Thing of it is...: "SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE... " ~ OWS

Oct 01, 2011

If the banks don't go out and make loans we will not come out of our economic problems, we will not have jobs so anything we can do that's responsible to help the banks do that is what we need." ...

Occupy Wall St. Detractors [Poster]

2011-11-17T15:52:00.000-08:00

To buy, or not to buy, American.

2011-11-16T22:01:00.000-08:00

Thing of it is... lots of talk lately, with the holidays drawing near, about buying American and making Christmas about "caring for the American economy," supporting local business, buying American and not buying from other countries - specifically China. The following is currently making the rounds as a chain email and/or notes and status updates on social networking sites, like Facebook:

"As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods -- merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor. This year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands. Yes there is!"

I do think buying from local businesses and supporting local economies is a good idea. However, we need to remember, in this day and age, the economies of countries do not exist in a vacuum and stop at any borders. However, the part of statement quoted above, nice as it seems - is, in my opinion - off base. There are some excellent suggestions though. You can read the whole letter, at Daily Kos, here.

Many Americans see the recent economic boom in China and perhaps it's easy to assume if China is doing so great and we import their cheap ass stuff, the unemployment we have, must be their fault... As if the people we've elected to run things for us and the free reign we allow corporations, in our own country, couldn't possibly have anything to do with our own tanking economy.

The population of the United States is 307,006,550. We export a great deal to China. China has a population of 1,338,299,500 - that's more than triple ours. It's people who make, buy, sell and use stuff. Let's say we do stop buying from China. In part, not a good idea, because we're in hock to China. As of February, 2011, the U.S. Treasury Dept. estimates China owns $1.16 trillion in U.S. securities. We're in no position to play hardball with China. In fact, we don't want to play hard ball...

The U.S. exports a lot to China, [see screenshot below]. China is the third-largest US export market, in general, and the second largest U.S. agricultural export market. Agricultural exports to China finished fiscal year 2010 at $15.1 billion. You really want to put an end to that? Because if we stop buying from China - China is going to buying from us. Fact is, China could get their people to stop buying American by force, anytime, if they really wanted to.

While we're being All-American, shall we stop buying from European countries too? If we did, would they too stop buying from us? Or, is it just the countries with brownish people, we don't like buying from - because those kinds of people are backwards, so their products must be inferior? Today, many scowl at the sight of a label that says, "Made in China". Wasn't so long ago people scowled at "Made in Japan".

source

And what about Japanese products? Do we stop buying those? Guess so, since although Sony Corporation of America, is based in New York, NY, it is the U.S. subsidiary of Sony Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of approximately $87 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011, and it employs 168,200 people worldwide. Some of those people are employed in the U.S. Some of those profits are made here. Sony products are sold in U.S. markets where people who buy them also pay sales tax on them - handing their cash over to someone at a cash register, employed at a small business, in your American neighborhood.

In conclusion:

The debate about American companies employing cheap labor outside the U.S., costing American jobs and the numbers of products produced with parts from all over the world, etc., could go on endlessly. Like it, or not, we do live in a global economy. Countries trade with each other as well as loan to, and borrow from, each other.

Companies in the U.S. produce more than Americans can buy because they want to sell abroad. American farms produce more than Americans need because they too, want to sell abroad. Somebody has to buy all that stuff if those companies, corporations - ethical business practices, or not - are going to make a profit and continue to employ the people they do employ. That's the nature of business.

Yes, by all means, we ought to support the businesses in our local communities - not only because they are American - but because when provide us with service and products of good quality at fair prices. Are you willing to buy from a local Mom and Pop shop, if they treat you badly and overcharge? I wouldn't... And are you willing to buy any product that's American, even if it's crappy? I think not. Any particular crappy product is only as successful as its sales, no matter where it's made or sold. Don't like crappy stuff - don't buy crappy stuff. The manufacturer, producer, will either improve the quality, or eventually fail.

We cannot deny that big corporations like Walmart can afford to buy big and sell cheap. Many consumers do not have the luxury of having enough money to buy local, when local is more expensive. That's a cold fact. Frankly, when I find recognizable brands of products I like at the 99Cents Only Store, I buy there. There are locally owned dollar stores, in my area. The local dollar stores usually carry inferior, wtf brand products though. I'm a cheapskate. Not a wasteskate.

When I lived in California, there were plenty family owned businesses around me. I shopped at them frequently. Family run stores usually have family as employees. They get to know us, and we them. They get to know what what we like - and sometimes, we can even barter.

Good to remember though, that many of our local businesses sell products, imported from other countries too. For instance, you might pick up something at your local market - let say food coloring - to decorate your Christmas cookies. The label on that food coloring might say 'Made in America'. The stuff that makes the red coloring, red, might have been imported from Brazil.

Buying American - even if you're not hardcore about it - isn't all that easy. Even the Christmas tree you buy at your local tree farm, might have been cut down with an other-than-American chainsaw. [The Swedish company Husqvarna, builds chainsaws for both the professional and casual user and has been voted the most popular brand sold in America.]

Even though I'm an untheist, I do like Christmas. Christmas, to me, is a nice a reason as any, for people to get together, be merry, giving, sharing and have a nice meal. Humans seem to need assigned days for things like that. That's okay by me - minus the religious parts. I, for one, have given up on Christmas shopping. Don't do it, at all. My grandkids and I created our own Christmas gift tradition, which save me time, money and aggravation. The grandkids love it too. You can read about our tradition here.

Christmas is a manufactured holiday, as it is. Let us please not wrap this holiday in the American flag and turn it into a war on non-Americans - of US against them. They need us... And like it or not, we need them too.

Additional Resources:

US Exports to China by State 2010 [PDF]
China Emerges as the Second Largest U.S. Agricultural Exporter [PDF]
U.S.-China Trade Facts [Office of the United States Trade Representative]

Source: Business Insider

As Exports to China Boom, U.S. Companies Showcase Their Wares at China Trade Show
Posted by Katie Gorscak, Public Affairs Specialist, Foreign Agricultural Service, on July 26, 2011 USDA Blog

In May, 67 U.S. companies descended on Shanghai for the largest food and beverage show in China—SIAL China. U.S. exports are expanding all over the world, and China recently emerged as the United States’ top export market in 2010, and accounted for 20 percent of U.S. agricultural exports, valued at $15.1 billion in the first half of Fiscal Year 2011.

The potential of the Chinese market was evident by the strong presence at SIAL China. The U.S.A. Pavilion was not only the largest pavilion at the show, but it was the largest U.S.A. Pavilion ever at SIAL China. The SIAL China trade show generated at least $1.43 million in on-site sales, and of the exhibitors surveyed, a projected additional $26.6 million in sales as a result of their participation in the show. For many of these exhibitors, this wasn’t the first time they have participated in a USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)-endorsed trade show as they have experienced repeated success through their participation.

AMES International Inc., a small, minority-owned business based just outside of Seattle, specializes in high-end chocolate-covered dried fruits and nuts, chocolate-covered cookies, premium roasted and salted nuts, and gourmet teas. The company exports 20 percent of their product and their largest export markets are Korea, Hong Kong, China, Switzerland and France. The company is currently enrolled in USDA’s Market Access Program (MAP), which allows for discounted booth prices via the Western United States Agricultural Trade Association (WUSATA) to participate in events such as SIAL China. WUSATA is one of four State Regional Trade Groups and includes 13 member states from the West Coast. In conjunction with its member organizations, it administers programs funded through MAP. Read more: USDA Blog

Thing of it is...: OWS EVICTED FROM ZUCCOTTI PARK

Nov 15, 2011

Thing of it is...: Rural Farmers Unite to Feed Wall Street Protestors

Nov 07, 2011

Rural Farmers Unite to Feed Wall Street Protestors. Reactions: Newer Post Older Post Home. Occupy Las Vegas on Facebook. Occupy Las Vegas on Facebook. Occupy Wall St. on Facebook. Occupy Wall St. on Facebook ...

Thing of it is...: Call of Duty: Veterans Who Join the Occupiers Have ...

Nov 07, 2011

Call of duty: Veterans join the 99 percent 'occupiers' |Breaking the Sound Barrier By Amy Goodman 11-11-11 is not a variant of Herman Cain's much-touted 9-9-9 tax plan, but rather the date of this year's Veterans Day. This is ...

Thing of it is...: Speak English: It's the American Way

Oct 07, 2011

Thing of it is...: "A Portrait of the American Craftsman"...

Apr 04, 2011

"A Portrait of the American Craftsman"... ... is a photo journal by photographer, Tadd Myers' cross country tour of American factories, where people still use their own hands, to make things they care about. ...

Occupy Wall St. Evicted: What Now? [My 2 Cents]

2011-11-15T09:21:00.000-08:00

Thing of it is... while browsing the Facebook newsfeed last night, I got the heads up from Punk Patriot that the protestors occupying Wall St. were, at that very moment, being evicted. I watched the live stream last night... Watched people being herded, having their belongings confiscated and those belongings - everything from tables, tents and chairs to lap tops - being trashed.

Click here for links to all Occupy Live Streams

Many of us, who have followed the Occupy Movement, realize this eviction has little to do with health concerns. Mayor Bloomberg, his buddies and girlfriend, Diana Taylor former New York State Superintendent of Banks is on the board of directors for, Brookfield Properties, the company that owns Zuccotti Park. They all want to put and end to the protests. Simple as that. These are people who value things, money, profits - over people. They probably thought, that kicking people out and trashing their stuff, would do the trick. Everybody likes and needs their stuff. Americans can't do without their stuff.... Right?

Unlike, the one percent, many of the occupiers all ready know what it's like to lose everything. I certainly do. It's happened to me twice, in my lifetime. And I don't mean losing everything, in the sense that you have to ride the bus instead of driving. I mean losing everything to the point when I had nothing left but the clothes on my back. Some people take that hard and want to sit and cry about it. Others, think immediately, "Okay. What's my my next move?" OWS did the latter. I admire their self-control. It could have easily turned into an all out riot. It did not...

If there's ever a moment, when you realize you've got nothin' left to lose - and your eyes are open - it can be the most powerful moment, you'll ever have in your lifetime.

Emotions ran high during the eviction. But the occupiers, as a group, kept their heads and regrouped. When I woke up this morning and found they'd remained together and gathered again in Foley Square, vowing to re-take Zuccotti, I felt both relieved... and so proud too. Proud to see that humans, despite all our shortcomings as a species are capable, as a group, of keeping it together and not giving up, when giving up is not the thing to do.

New York Police Trash Occupy Wall Street | TD

Hundreds of New York police officers rolled into Zuccotti Park just after 1 a.m. Tuesday with a dump truck and orders to clear the park, arrest the defiant and throw away their possessions.

The New York Times reported that more than 100 protesters had gathered in “the kitchen,” singing and refusing to leave.

I asked The Brooklyn Ink, which has reporters on the ground, what the plan is and was told, “There seem to be a few plans right now. Some are calling for occupying Union Square. Some are meeting at Broadway and Fulton. The whole protest has spread out and it seems everyone is still getting their bearings on what to do next.”

This is a video of police tear-gassing the kitchen.

Tweets are pouring in and it is not entirely clear as of this posting what has happened or what will happen next, but this much is certain: The capital of the Occupy movement is under attack. —PZS

Photo of Eviction Notice served to Occupiers: Adam Gabbatt

Photo: Robert Stolarik for The New York Times
Protesters signaled resistance to the police as the officers entered the park.

Police Clear Zuccotti Park of Protesters

NYT By JAMES BARRON and COLIN MOYNIHAN
Published: November 15, 2011

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Tuesday defended his decision to clear the park in Lower Manhattan that was the birthplace of the Occupy Wall Street Movement, saying “health and safety conditions became intolerable” in the park where the protesters had camped out for nearly two months...

.... One protester, Nate Barchus, 23, said the eviction from Zuccotti Park was likely to galvanize supporters, particularly because a series of gatherings had already been planned for Thursday, the protest’s two-month anniversary.

“This,” he said, referring to the early-morning sweep, “reminds everyone who was occupying exactly why they were occupying.” Read more: NYT

Occupy Wall St.

UPDATE: Nov. 15 (Bloomberg) -- “Occupy Wall Street” protesters lost a bid to overturn their eviction earlier today by New York City police officers from a lower Manhattan park where they had been demonstrating for eight weeks.

“The movants have not demonstrated that they have a First Amendment right to remain in Zuccotti Park along with their tents, structures, generators and other installations to the exclusion of the owners reasonable rights and duties to maintain Zuccotti Park,” New York State Supreme Court Justice Michael Stallman wrote in a ruling issued today.

New York City police pushed into the park early this morning to remove demonstrators who had been camping there for more than eight weeks to protest inequality of wealth, unemployment and the financial industry.

“This was not about public health and safety. This was a pretext to shut down the occupation two days before a large protest is planned,” said Yetta Kurland, a lawyer for the protesters. She said they haven’t yet decided whether to appeal.

“I’m gratified Judge Stallman recognized the right of Brookfield to have rules that allow Zuccotti Park to be a clean, safe and fully accessible place,” said Douglas Flaum, a lawyer for Brookfield Office Properties Inc., which owns the park. More

CURRENT: In a Special Comment, Keith contextualizes Mayor Bloomberg’s actions against Occupy Wall Street at Zuccotti Park and how they have – unintentionally – vaulted the movement from a local nuisance to a global platform for the disenfranchised.

My 2 "What now?" Cents:

Eviction might be the best thing to happen to OWS, at this particular point in time. In every disadvantage, there's an advantage, waiting to get out... And nothing like a little cold water thrown in one's face to keep the juices flowing. This is not the time to get distracted by all the suppressing and those behind it.

In the beginning, Occupying on Wall St., made a point because of what Wall St. is and represents. During the past two months people all over the world have occupied where and when they can. The message is what matters. Not so much the particular piece of real estate, you're standing on when you're broadcasting it.

Now that the occupiers have been evicted, they could use this time to take stock - make adjustments in planning and logistics. Now, that with winter on the doorstep - maybe find a bigger, better and possibly a more comfortable place, [as in, a place with less concrete], to occupy. The message itself, is more important than the point on the map it's coming from.

Maybe... just maybe, the time for tents is over and done. Maybe it's time for direct action. More homeowners foreclosing on banks and stuff like that. Maybe occupying in places, big corporations don't want the public to know about, like Goldman Sachs' secret aluminum storage warehouses that allow, "Major aluminum producers to make out like bandits under the Goldman warehouse regime". We have the internet. OWS has live streaming video... And no matter where the occupiers plant their tents, they can still march if they so choose... Just sayin'

Goldman Sachs is getting in the metals market, in a way no one expected.

Nov 05, 2011

Thing of it is...: Occupy Wall St: The Whining

Oct 17, 2011

Thing of it is...: Occupy Wall St.

Sep 28, 2011

Thing of it is...: If You Can't Occupy Wall Street, Stop Buying Shit [w ...

Thing of it is...: The Time For Action is Now

Oct 30, 2011

Thing of it is...: Call of Duty: Veterans Who Join the Occupiers Have ...

Nov 07, 2011

Thing of it is...: GREED

Oct 03, 2011

OPEN NOTE TO: Anti-Occupy Wall Street on Facebook. I am not one of those who are Occupying - I live in Las Vegas. I am all for them being there. Like many of them, I too have a Macbook and an iMac.

Thing of it is...: ELECTION REVOLUTION! [HOW TO Take the Money ...

Oct 16, 2011

[HOW TO Take the Money Out of U.S. Politics]. Thing of it is... since the call to Occupy Wall St, many people seem to be somewhere on the "Fuck a Corporation" bandwagon. I am not speaking for the Occupy Wall St. community ...

Rural Farmers Unite to Feed Wall Street Protestors

2011-11-07T23:43:00.000-08:00

Veterans and Soldiers - For and Against Occupy Wall Street

2011-11-07T14:28:00.000-08:00

Embedding has been disabled. Please click to watch on YouTube.

Call of duty: Veterans join the 99 percent ‘occupiers’ |Breaking the Sound Barrier By Amy Goodman
11-11-11 is not a variant of Herman Cain's much-touted 9-9-9 tax plan, but rather the date of this year's Veterans Day. This is especially relevant, as the U.S. has now entered its second decade of war in Afghanistan, the longest war in the nation's history. U.S. veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are appearing more and more on the front lines — the front lines of the Occupy Wall Street protests, that is.

Video from the Occupy Oakland march on Tuesday, Oct. 25, looks and sounds like a war zone. The sound of gunfire is nearly constant in the video. Tear-gas projectiles were being fired into the crowd when the cry of "Medic!" rang out. Civilians raced toward a fallen protester lying on his back on the pavement, mere steps from a throng of black-clad police in full riot gear, pointing guns as the civilians attempted to administer first aid.

The fallen protester was Scott Olsen, a 24-year-old former U.S. Marine who had served two tours of duty in Iraq. The publicly available video shows Olsen standing calmly alongside a Navy veteran holding an upraised Veterans for Peace flag. Olsen was wearing a desert camouflage jacket and sun hat, and his Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) T-shirt. He was hit in the head by a police projectile, most likely a tear-gas canister, suffering a fractured skull. As the small group of people gathered around him to help, a police officer lobbed a flashbang grenade directly into the huddle, and it exploded.

Four or five people lifted Olsen and raced with him away from the police line. At the hospital, he was put into an induced coma to relieve brain swelling. He is now conscious but unable to speak. He communicates using a notepad.

I interviewed one of Olsen's friends, Aaron Hinde, also an Iraq War veteran. He was at Occupy San Francisco when he started getting a series of frenzied tweets about a vet down in Oakland. Hinde raced to the hospital to see his friend. He later told me a little about him: "Scott came to San Francisco about three months ago from Wisconsin, where he actually participated in the holding of the State Capitol over there. Scott's probably one of the warmest, kindest guys I know. He's just one of those people who always has a smile on his face and never has anything negative to say… And he believed in the Occupy movement, because it's very obvious what's happening in this country, especially to us veterans. We've had our eyes opened by serving and going to war overseas. So, there's a small contingency of us out here, and we're all very motivated and dedicated." Read more: AN

Occupy Wall Street protesters help 24-year-old Iraq War veteran Scott Olsen as he lays on the ground bleeding, after being hit by tear gas canister, thrown by Oakland PD. AP Photo/Darryl Bush

Open Letter to that 53% Guy
by Max Udargo via Faustian urGe

Hello,

I briefly visited the “We are the 53%” website, but I first saw your face on a liberal blog. Your picture is quite popular on liberal blogs. I think it’s because of the expression on your face. I don’t know if you meant to look pugnacious or if we’re just projecting that on you, but I think that’s what gets our attention.

source

In the picture, you’re holding up a sheet of paper that says:

I am a former Marine.
I work two jobs.
I don’t have health insurance.
I worked 60-70 hours a week for 8 years to pay my way through college.
I haven’t had 4 consecutive days off in over 4 years.
But I don’t blame Wall Street.
Suck it up you whiners.
I am the 53%.
God bless the USA!

I wanted to respond to you as a liberal. Because, although I think you’ve made yourself clear and I think I understand you, you don’t seem to understand me at all. I hope you will read this and understand me better, and maybe understand the Occupy Wall Street movement better.

First, let me say that I think it’s great that you have such a strong work ethic and I agree with you that you have much to be proud of. You seem like a good, hard-working, strong kid. I admire your dedication and determination. I worked my way through college too, mostly working graveyard shifts at hotels as a “night auditor.” For a time I worked at two hotels at once, but I don’t think I ever worked 60 hours in a week, and certainly not 70. I think I maxed out at 56. And that wasn’t something I could sustain for long, not while going to school.

The problem was that I never got much sleep, and sleep deprivation would take its toll. I can’t imagine putting in 70 hours in a week while going to college at the same time. That’s impressive.

I have a nephew in the Marine Corps, so I have some idea of how tough that can be. He almost didn’t make it through basic training, but he stuck it out and insisted on staying even when questions were raised about his medical fitness. He eventually served in Iraq and Afghanistan and has decided to pursue a career in the Marines. We’re all very proud of him. Your picture reminds me of him.

So, if you think being a liberal means that I don’t value hard work or a strong work ethic, you’re wrong. I think everyone appreciates the industry and dedication a person like you displays. I’m sure you’re a great employee, and if you have entrepreneurial ambitions, I’m sure these qualities will serve you there too. I’ll wish you the best of luck, even though a guy like you will probably need luck less than most.

I understand your pride in what you’ve accomplished, but I want to ask you something.

Do you really want the bar set this high? Do you really want to live in a society where just getting by requires a person to hold down two jobs and work 60 to 70 hours a week? Is that your idea of the American Dream?

Do you really want to spend the rest of your life working two jobs and 60 to 70 hours a week? Do you think you can? Because, let me tell you, kid, that’s not going to be as easy when you’re 50 as it was when you were 20.

And what happens if you get sick? You say you don’t have health insurance, but since you’re a veteran I assume you have some government-provided health care through the VA system. I know my father, a Vietnam-era veteran of the Air Force, still gets most of his medical needs met through the VA, but I don’t know what your situation is. But even if you have access to health care, it doesn’t mean disease or injury might not interfere with your ability to put in those 60- to 70-hour work weeks.

Do you plan to get married, have kids? Do you think your wife is going to be happy with you working those long hours year after year without a vacation? Is it going to be fair to her? Is it going to be fair to your kids? Is it going to be fair to you?

Look, you’re a tough kid. And you have a right to be proud of that. But not everybody is as tough as you, or as strong, or as young. Does pride in what you’ve accomplish mean that you have contempt for anybody who can’t keep up with you? Does it mean that the single mother who can’t work on her feet longer than 50 hours a week doesn’t deserve a good life? Does it mean the older man who struggles with modern technology and can’t seem to keep up with the pace set by younger workers should just go throw himself off a cliff?

And, believe it or not, there are people out there even tougher than you. Why don’t we let them set the bar, instead of you? Are you ready to work 80 hours a week? 100 hours? Can you hold down four jobs? Can you do it when you’re 40? When you’re 50? When you’re 60? Can you do it with arthritis? Can you do it with one arm? Can you do it when you’re being treated for prostate cancer?

And is this really your idea of what life should be like in the greatest country on Earth?

Here’s how a liberal looks at it: a long time ago workers in this country realized that industrialization wasn’t making their lives better, but worse. The captains of industry were making a ton of money and living a merry life far away from the dirty, dangerous factories they owned, and far away from the even dirtier and more dangerous mines that fed raw materials to those factories.

The workers quickly decided that this arrangement didn’t work for them. If they were going to work as cogs in machines designed to build wealth for the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts and Carnegies, they wanted a cut. They wanted a share of the wealth that they were helping create. And that didn’t mean just more money; it meant a better quality of life. It meant reasonable hours and better working conditions.

Eventually, somebody came up with the slogan, “8 hours of work, 8 hours of leisure, 8 hours of sleep” to divide the 24-hour day into what was considered a fair allocation of a human’s time. It wasn’t a slogan that was immediately accepted. People had to fight to put this standard in place. People demonstrated, and fought with police, and were killed. They were called communists (in fairness, some of them were), and traitors, and many of them got a lot worse than pepper spray at the hands of police and private security.

But by the time we got through the Great Depression and WWII, we’d all learned some valuable lessons about working together and sharing the prosperity, and the 8-hour workday became the norm.

The 8-hour workday and the 40-hour workweek became a standard by which we judged our economic success, and a reality check against which we could verify the American Dream.

If a family could live a good life with one wage-earner working a 40-hour job, then the American Dream was realized. If the income from that job could pay the bills, buy a car, pay for the kids’ braces, allow the family to save enough money for a down payment on a house and still leave some money for retirement and maybe for a college fund for the kids, then we were living the American Dream. The workers were sharing in the prosperity they helped create, and they still had time to take their kids to a ball game, take their spouses to a movie, and play a little golf on the weekends.

Ah, the halcyon days of the 1950s! Yeah, ok, it wasn’t quite that perfect. The prosperity wasn’t spread as evenly and ubiquitously as we might want to pretend, but if you were a middle-class white man, things were probably pretty good from an economic perspective. The American middle class was reaching its zenith.

And the top marginal federal income tax rate was more than 90%. Throughout the whole of the 1950s and into the early 60s.
Just thought I’d throw that in there.

Anyway, do you understand what I’m trying to say? We can have a reasonable standard for what level of work qualifies you for the American Dream, and work to build a society that realizes that dream, or we can chew each other to the bone in a nightmare of merciless competition and mutual contempt.

I’m a liberal, so I probably dream bigger than you. For instance, I want everybody to have healthcare. I want lazy people to have healthcare. I want stupid people to have healthcare. I want drug addicts to have healthcare. I want bums who refuse to work even when given the opportunity to have healthcare. I’m willing to pay for that with my taxes, because I want to live in a society where it doesn’t matter how much of a loser you are, if you need medical care you can get it. And not just by crowding up an emergency room that should be dedicated exclusively to helping people in emergencies.

You probably don’t agree with that, and that’s fine. That’s an expansion of the American Dream, and would involve new commitments we haven’t made before. But the commitment we’ve made to the working class since the 1940s is something that we should both support and be willing to fight for, whether we are liberal or conservative. We should both be willing to fight for the American Dream. And we should agree that anybody trying to steal that dream from us is to be resisted, not defended.

And while we’re defending that dream, you know what else we’ll be defending, kid? We’ll be defending you and your awesome work ethic. Because when we defend the American Dream we’re not just defending the idea of modest prosperity for people who put in an honest day’s work, we’re also defending the idea that those who go the extra mile should be rewarded accordingly.

Look kid, I don’t want you to “get by” working two jobs and 60 to 70 hours a week. If you’re willing to put in that kind of effort, I want you to get rich. I want you to have a comprehensive healthcare plan. I want you vacationing in the Bahamas every couple of years, with your beautiful wife and healthy, happy kids. I want you rewarded for your hard work, and I want your exceptional effort to reap exceptional rewards. I want you to accumulate wealth and invest it in Wall Street. And I want you to make more money from those investments.

I understand that a prosperous America needs people with money to invest, and I’ve got no problem with that. All other things being equal, I want all the rich people to keep being rich. And clever financiers who find ways to get more money into the hands of promising entrepreneurs should be rewarded for their contributions as well.

I think Wall Street has an important job to do, I just don’t think they’ve been doing it. And I resent their sense of entitlement – their sense that they are special and deserve to be rewarded extravagantly even when they screw everything up.

Come on, it was only three years ago, kid. Remember? Those assholes almost destroyed our economy. Do you remember the feeling of panic? John McCain wanted to suspend the presidential campaign so that everybody could focus on the crisis. Hallowed financial institutions like Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch went belly up. The government started intervening with bailouts, not because anybody thought “private profits and socialized losses” was fair, but because we were afraid not to intervene – we were afraid our whole economy might come crashing down around us if we didn’t prop up companies that were “too big to fail.”

So, even though you and I had nothing to do with the bad decisions, blind greed and incompetence of those guys on Wall Street, we were sure as hell along for the ride, weren’t we? And we’ve all paid a price.

All the” 99%” wants is for you to remember the role that Wall Street played in creating this mess, and for you to join us in demanding that Wall Street share the pain. They don’t want to share the pain, and they’re spending a lot of money and twisting a lot of arms to foist their share of the pain on the rest of us instead. And they’ve been given unprecedented powers to spend and twist, and they’re not even trying to hide what they’re doing.

All we want is for everybody to remember what happened, and to see what is happening still. And we want you to see that the only way they can get away without paying their share is to undermine the American Dream for the rest of us.

And I want you and I to understand each other, and to stand together to prevent them from doing that. You seem like the kind of guy who would be a strong ally, and I’d be proud to stand with you.

Related:
Occupy Las Vegas's Humble Beginnings

Occupy Wall St: The Real Whining

Occupy Wall St.

GREED
Notes On Banks [How They Screw You]
Gratitude Campaign: Have you ever wanted to say ...
Military brats
Links for Veterans
1 Marine Sgt. vs. 30 Cops [Orignal full version video + inte...

Occupy Las Vegas's Humble Beginnings

2011-11-05T16:29:00.000-07:00

Thing of it is... the folks occupying, pretty much anywhere, are freezin' their patooties off out there - even in Vegas. If there's an Occupy near you, please consider donating something to help them keep warm, or ask what they do need. Occupy Las Vegas isn't a big ol' crowd of people, like in NY and some other places. If you need to be at work and can't participate, maybe drop by for a minute and offer some moral support.

Interview with Michael Pellagatti at Occupy Las Vegas, near Thomas and Mack Center at Tropicana x Swenson. Check out Occupy Las Vegas on Facebook.

source

Looks kind of quiet... for now.

Thirteen Observations made by Lemony Snicket while watching Occupy Wall Street from a Discreet Distance by Lemony Snicket

2011-11-05T10:14:00.000-07:00

1. If you work hard, and become successful, it does not necessarily mean you are successful because you worked hard, just as if you are tall with long hair it doesn’t mean you would be a midget if you were bald.

2. “Fortune” is a word for having a lot of money and for having a lot of luck, but that does not mean the word has two definitions.

3. Money is like a child—rarely unaccompanied. When it disappears, look to those who were supposed to be keeping an eye on it while you were at the grocery store. You might also look for someone who has a lot of extra children sitting around, with long, suspicious explanations for how they got there.

4. People who say money doesn’t matter are like people who say cake doesn’t matter—it’s probably because they’ve already had a few slices.

5. There may not be a reason to share your cake. It is, after all, yours. You probably baked it yourself, in an oven of your own construction with ingredients you harvested yourself. It may be possible to keep your entire cake while explaining to any nearby hungry people just how reasonable you are.

6. Nobody wants to fall into a safety net, because it means the structure in which they’ve been living is in a state of collapse and they have no choice but to tumble downwards. However, it beats the alternative.

7. Someone feeling wronged is like someone feeling thirsty. Don’t tell them they aren’t. Sit with them and have a drink.

8. Don’t ask yourself if something is fair. Ask someone else—a stranger in the street, for example.

9. People gathering in the streets feeling wronged tend to be loud, as it is difficult to make oneself heard on the other side of an impressive edifice.

10. It is not always the job of people shouting outside impressive buildings to solve problems. It is often the job of the people inside, who have paper, pens, desks, and an impressive view.

11. Historically, a story about people inside impressive buildings ignoring or even taunting people standing outside shouting at them turns out to be a story with an unhappy ending.

12. If you have a large crowd shouting outside your building, there might not be room for a safety net if you’re the one tumbling down when it collapses.

13. 99 percent is a very large percentage. For instance, easily 99 percent of people want a roof over their heads, food on their tables, and the occasional slice of cake for dessert. Surely an arrangement can be made with that niggling 1 percent who disagree.

Originally posted at http://occupywriters.com/works/by-lemony-snicket

Peoples' Movements Are Messy

2011-11-05T09:45:00.000-07:00

Thing of it is... the movements in the 60s were messy and had plenty of problems. On the sidelines, people were inconvenienced and annoyed - wished it would all just go away so things would get back to "normal". There were people who paid little attention and kept doing whatever they'd always done; working, going to the movies, farming their farms, attending PTA meetings, mowing lawns, watching TV and committing crimes - all the regular things people have been doing, since there have been people to do things. Some kept doing what they have always done - because they had to go to work, raise their kids, farm their farms... Most people were paying, at least some, attention though - whether they liked to, wanted to, or not.

Back then, non-participants and participants alike, questioned the effectiveness of those movements. The government infiltrated and instigated too. Participants had organizational problems. There was infighting - arguments over how to, and who, should do what. There was aggravation all around. There was violence.

Change is messy and rarely colors inside the lines. Rules get broken. Rules get changed. Yes, the peoples' movements of the 60's were indeed, messy. They were also some of the most successful movements in the history of these United States.

The Time For Action is Now

2011-10-30T12:46:00.000-07:00

The Time For Action Is Now (Occupy CUNY) from ivarad on Vimeo.

"In 1969, a group of black and Puerto Rican students occupied City College demanding the integration of CUNY, which at the time had an overwhelmingly white student body. The occupation spread to other CUNY campuses, forcing the Board of Trustees to implement a ground-breaking new admissions policy."

Such occupations also occurred in the 1980s and 2000s.
It's that time again.

As graduate Film students at Hunter College in New York, we're very excited to see how the spreading Occupy Wall Street movement is giving new momentum to the militant protest culture of Cuny (City University, NYC).

We filmed the second General Assembly at Hunter College, and the first "Occupy Cuny" teach-in at Washington Square Park on October 21st, 2011.

During the last weeks, we learned how quickly small protest gatherings can turn into new social movements. This is a document about the struggle of students and adjunct faculty at Cuny.

This local struggle is part of an international student movement against neoliberal dictatorship.
This is only the beginning. The time for action is now.

Find out how to support, participate, take action:
cunygeneralassembly.wordpress.com
studentsunitedforafreecuny.wordpress.com
resistandmultiply.wordpress.com (at Hunter College)
cunyadjunctproject.org
nycga.net (Occupy Wall Street)
occupywallst.org

By Martyna Starosta & Iva Radivojevic

Tax Revolution!!! Money, Politics and All That Jazz

2011-10-29T18:48:00.000-07:00

Click here to read "Boston Tea Party: Eyewitness Account" by participant George Hewes

Thing of it is... I'm okay with paying taxes. How else is the government supposed to get money to do stuff? I don't want the government investing in stocks on Wall St. Do you?

Corporate income tax is a fading source of state revenue, anyway. Some of the people we see booing about taxation are the ones who have been duped by those with all the loopholes, or are the ones with all the loop holes. The more $$ you have, the more deductions, exemptions and loopholes you get. Not to mention, being able to afford the kind of accountant who will find those holes for you. [Click here for "10 Giant Loopholes Businesses Use to Dodge Taxes".] The reason Bush had to raise taxes for most, is because he handed out too much to the all ready haves.

Let's just say we don't raise taxes, at all - screech, halt and put a freeze on that, for at least X years... At least, until the economy straightens out. Maybe forever.
Countries, cultures, etc., are made of people and we are just as susceptible to human nature in groups, as we are as individuals... When a society, country, makes reforms, it's a lot like a person on a diet. When people on diets reach their goal, many have a tendency to pig out on what they couldn't have on the diet and end up, right back where they started. Reform, like a healthy diet, has to become a lifestyle in order to be maintained. Splurge when we can afford it - without going out of control. We can have a cookie, here and there, if it keeps us from eating a whole box of cookies in one sitting.

If we put a halt on taxation, revenue needs to come from somewhere. There is a lot of hidden money in what's not being taxed. Let's say, instead of raising taxes, we cut out all tax exemptions for all individuals whose income is greater than say, $200,000 year. And let's say, for tax purposes, we do not combine incomes for households anymore either. Each person's income is taxed individually. So, if your household/family/combined income is $400,000 year, you would still be able to claim most of the exemptions you currently claim - but as individuals - which means upper middle class families would not be paying any more - maybe less - taxes on their income. Leaves wiggle room for the upper middle class. This way, Mom or Dad, will still be able to get credit for the cost of childcare comes out of their paycheck and they get to decide whose paycheck it comes out of too.

Small businesses would still be under pretty much the same rules as now - for now. We certainly don't want to hold back small businesses. We want to encourage small business to start, hire, grow, etc.

Individuals, small businesses and corporations would still be able to write off charitable donations based on the amount of the donation. There will be limits on how much a corporation can write off for charitable donations.

Large corporations would be able to write off far less, overall. Large corporations would still get to claim exemptions/deductions for money used to create jobs, after they prove they have actually created - and have, at least, created more than half the number of jobs projected when planned. Large corporations will be able to receive exemptions/incentives for research and development, like they do, in other countries. There will need to be strict rules for that. Research and development into alternative fuels and should be encouraged, to the point of creating programs to help companies, large and small, to overhaul an industry that's outdated.

Haruka Nishimatsu, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, Japan Airlines International Co. says, "Businesses who pursue money first, fail."

No more more golden parachutes - no special contracts for CEOs. Corporations can define what they want to do when they fire any employee and the same rules would apply to all employees from the janitor to the CEOs. If a corporation wants to pay bonuses to the guys in suits, it will also have to provide the very same plan, based on pay scale, for the janitor and everyone in-between, as well.

No more corporate bailouts. [Click here for an infographic on the history of corporate bailouts in the U.S.A.] Anybody who wants welfare must meet the same damn standards - period. All the money saved from bailing out large corporations could be used to create jobs by helping to provide loans to start and encourage small businesses, improving infrastructure, etc.,...

Remember the 3 Rs of the New Deal? Relief, Recovery, Reform? Relief for the unemployed and poor; Recovery of the economy to normal levels; and Reform of the financial system to prevent a repeat depression. Well, maybe that it is too "social" for our times. This time Corporate America - big and small - could play a bigger role. I imagine many small and large corporations would be lined up for those contracts. We would need stricter rules on who gets those contracts too.... Perhaps some large corporations could be encouraged to partner with one, or more, smaller ones; partner, as in work together - not to give the larger any control over the smaller.

When a large business or corporation is on the verge of failure and thousands of people are at risk of being unemployed - these companies should be required, obligated, to make this information available to the public. No more dicking around with pension funds, etc., to make sure the white collars land safely, at the expense of the rest. The city, state or town [combined, if necessary], will have the option to buy the company out for the amount of its debt. The people who work for the company will be able to divide shares of stock, in the company equally, and elect or hire a new CEO. But maybe, just maybe, when a huge corporation bites the dust, maybe it's time for it to go - maybe it's time to allow room for some smaller ones to compete and take up that space.

The rules for Wall St. need to be overhauled entirely. Too many people win at the cost of others - most often, by manipulation and flat out cheating.

And no more lobbying either. If you own a big corporation and want a particular person in office, you can make your particular personal choice, at the voting booth like everyone else. [More on that and elections, here.]

Conclusion: My big idea here, probably seems extreme to most people. I get that. Even for those who would say, "Great idea! Wahoo!" there's still the huge question of how to set any part of this idea into motion. Well, let's not forget, there are a bunch of pissed off people Occupying all over the world. Somebody better get crackin', pretty damn soon, because it doesn't appear as though anyone, who is occupying, is ready to give up and go home any time soon.

There are class differences. Everyone knows that. It is the one percent who made those differences into a class war with their downright swindling. Now, it's the 1% who are pissed because the other 99% are drawing attention to it. Most people know the difference between the messenger and the message.

Who hates money? Damn near everybody wants more of it. The 99% are not on Wall St, begging for more social services. People are tired of being cheated by what can't be seen until it's too damn late... People are tired of having the economy manipulated around them, at high cost to them and their families. For every one of the 99% on the street, there are probably tens, maybe hundreds, more at home, having to go to work everyday - occupying in spirit and/or on the internet.

The one percent and their defenders have come right out and openly said, in so many words, that the majority of the population is 'nothing but a bunch of whining losers and spongers who are jealous of the very rich'. If it weren't for the rest of us, who would the rich make their money from? If they run us far enough into the ground, the only customers they'll have left, is each other. Who will be left to pay to bail them out then?

Other defenders of the 1% throw out patriotic words. Now that shit is hitting the fan, they want to remind us that we're all Americans and we can get through this together by behaving ourselves, staying home and waiting for the government to take care of things. We're not all that stupid. Are we? We know funds politicians. Don't we?

Most people and some politicians care about the future of this country. Wall St. does not. Wall St. lives in the moment of profit. They have heroes like Gordon Gekko They are the house that always wins. Wall St. is worse - far worse - than any casino in Vegas. The NV Gaming Commission regulates them. The house still has the advantage. Not allowing them to cheat does not remove that advantage. Regulation is good for the casinos and those who spend money in them.

Wall St., Corporate America and the very rich can not afford to continue to snub their noses and push back at the 99% for too much longer. The majority of Americans do like money. We do not like cheaters... And we root for the underdog. The 1% has most of the money and the power that goes with it. That makes us the rest of us the underdog.

Money buys political favors. Money buys armed police - directly and/or indirectly. Money provides more options. If your options squash other peoples' options, a time will come when the people being squashed are going to want to regulate your options. That time has come. That time is now.

So, maybe my idea stinks and no one will pay much attention to one blogger, in the midst of the bazillion others, on the world wide web. Somebody who people will listen to, better come up with something good, fast. Calling the 99% a bunch of losers doesn't work. Arresting them for no reason, doesn't work. Lobbying politicians won't work and paying off the police has not worked either.

The numbers on the streets are growing. What Wall St., Corporate America fails to see is what big powers that be, always fails to see; you can not win against people who feel they are fighting for their homes, families - for their freedom - for the future of their country. In recent history, England failed to see it in the war with colonies. The United States failed to see it in Vietnam and continues to fail to see it in the Middle East. Winter is coming... The cold will not send people packing. The longer people are out there, the madder they're going to get and perhaps the more willing to do something drastic. That's no threat. It's human nature. It's up to us all - do we want a full scale, even messier revolution than what's out there? Or, are we going to have economic evolution?

From Oxford Journals.org: The listing below includes journals currently published by Oxford Journals in this subject area. This listing does not represent the journals that are currently sold in our Economics and Finance collection. For a definitive listing of titles that can be purchased in the Economics and Finance collection, please click here.

[The University of Oxford is a university in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world.]

Economics

American Journal of Agricultural Economics
American Law and Economics Review
Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy
Cambridge Journal of Economics
Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society
CESifo Economic Studies
Contributions to Political Economy
European Review of Agricultural Economics
European Review of Economic History
Industrial and Corporate Change
Journal of African Economies
Journal of Competition Law & Economics
Journal of Economic Geography
Journal of European Competition Law & Practice
Journal of Financial Econometrics
Journal of International Economic Law
The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization
Oxford Economic Papers
Oxford Review of Economic Policy
The Quarterly Journal of Economics
Review of Asset Pricing Studies
Review of Corporate Finance Studies
The Review of Economic Studies
Review of Environmental Economics and Policy
Review of Finance
The Review of Financial Studies
Socio-Economic Review
The World Bank Economic Review
The World Bank Research Observer