Man... There Are Days When I Really Miss Occupy... At Least There Was Some Hope There...

[WillyT]

Hope seems to be in very short supply, lately.

[Cali_Democrat]

1. Obama: Income inequality threatens American Dream

WASHINGTON — President Obama sought to revive the issue of growing income equality on Wednesday, saying it restricts economic mobility and threatens to shrink the middle class.

"I believe this is the defining challenge of our time," Obama said in a speech at an event hosted by the Center for American Progress, a pro-Obama think tank. "It drives everything I do in this office."

The growing gap between rich and poor can be closed by actions ranging from an increase in the minimum wage to better education to following through on his health care plan, Obama said.

Basically outlining an agenda for the remaining three years of his presidency — as well as next year's congressional elections — Obama repeated calls for legislation that would strengthen unions, reduce the pay gap between men and women, and make college more affordable.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/12/04/obama-income-inequality-speech-center-for-american-progress/3867747/

[markpkessinger]

4. So courageous of him to wait until he's s a lame duck . . .

. . . to address an issue that has been pressing since Day 1 of his presidency.

[Rockyj]

9. Agreed!

This fast tract TPP Obama's pushing for is even scarier! Now stuck with corporate owned Hillary in 2016.

[1StrongBlackMan]

24. Can you honestly say ...

that the vast majority of the American electorate (not liberals, progressive, the politically engaged; but the average voter) was prepared to hear the economic inequity/wealth disparity case?

[2banon]

38. Actually, the time of Obama's entrance to the WH was the perfect moment

It couldn't have been better tailored made for tv.

It was likely the only possible moment for at least another millenium to easily and successfully make the case.. In my view, it would have been stating the obvious.. but it was played out like the elephant in the room which no one in the media or most of congress critters would dare mention out loud.

There were exceptions of course, but Obama was not one of them.

Which is the point.

[1StrongBlackMan]

48. I disagree ...

liberals and progressives and most Democrats were ready for that message; but we constitute only about 50%+/- of the electorate. And far too many believed that they were just one great idea ... one powerball ticket ... one boss recognizing them for the genius that they are ... from being a member of the 1% class. Further, there were far too many folks believe that the "they" they were talking about was someone other than them. Witness the 45.99% of the population that voted republican (and against their economic interests) in 2008, and the 46.99% that did so in 2012 ... where economic inequity was inserted into the race.

However, NOW is the perfect opportunity to present the message because more of the people have been disabused of the "American Dream/Embarrassed Millionaire" myth.

[2banon]

59. I couldn't disagree more.

The mortgage and financial crises was so severe, it actually hit the "middle class' badly; and of course the poor and the working poor got the brunt as per usual.

The corruption those events exposed was unprecedented (in terms of real time exposure) and nothing like it since the Great Depression (to which most of the population had no personal frame of reference or experience) has occurred or is likely to be repeated anytime soon, despite predictions I often read or hear about by economists.

At this juncture, the "middle class" might still be struggling, but hey, Wall Street is going gangbusters so everything must be doing pretty good, right?. That's the current narrative.

Sure, it's just another psyops program to promote the perception that the new reality is hunky dory and because there's actually some improvement, things must be getting better. "Not perfect yet", but gettin' better.

Just saying the relative conditions is no longer as visible or painful to the extent it was then, therefore I am compelled to believe That Train done left the station back in 2009/2010.

Having said all that, I would LOVE to be proven Wrong on this conclusion. I sincerely mean that with all of my heart.

[1StrongBlackMan]

66. The mortgage/Financial crisis ...

didn't hit for the vast majority of homeowner until late 2008, after the election and no one really the depth of the crisis until mid-2009 .. and the wall street corruption did not come out until 2010 (in fact, the "man on the street" still can be heard blaming FannieMae/FreddieMac/the CRA, though not by those names).

Just saying the relative conditions is no longer as visible or painful to the extent it was then, therefore I am compelled to believe That Train done left the station back in 2009/2010.

I disagree ... though the economy shed a bunch of jobs through 2010, the folks that lost those jobs still are back to work ... and those that are working, are doing so at 60% of the pay with no benefits ... and it is that cohort that largely voted in the teaparty in 2010 and they weren't trying to hear any populist message, they were stuck on smaller government.

I don't think (I hope) they won't make that mistake again ... especially, since they are now hearing a message that affects them directly and daily.

[2banon]

70. We're both speculating, so it will be interesting to see how things play out

I actually believe that everything was at a free fall in 2008/2009, to such an extent that people were in a serious panic, not just the 1%, but the middle and working class.

Those of us in the working poor class, wanted to see the entire system abolished, and rebuilt with actual socio-economic value. But I know we were a very small minority and that's an entirely different discussion.

Just explaining the lens through which I view things, such as it is.. I've never read Marx, but I've been accused of being a fan.

[NuclearDem]

18. While fast-tracking TPP

Give me a break.

[Cali_Democrat]

26. Obama Urges Congress to Extend Unemployment Benefits

U.S. President Barack Obama says 2014 will be a year of action.

Obama said Saturday that action should begin with Congress extending unemployment insurance for the 1.3 million Americans who were laid off during the recession.

In his weekly address, the president called the federal program a "vital economic lifeline" that helps people support their families while they look for a new job.

The president he will meet with college presidents next week to lay out specific steps to help more workers learn the skills needed for today's jobs.

http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-2014-is-year-of-action/1827934.html

[NuclearDem]

34. Also done while fast-tracking a corporate coup d'état.

Sorry, but his actions are currently contradicting his words.

[Enthusiast]

71. + a shit load......nt

[sabrina 1]

40. Why did they get cut to begin with?? So they could then appear to be standing up for the working

class? Don't WE control the Senate? How about Dems never, ever support Republican policies so they don't have to go back, AFTER they support them, and try to fix them?

Seriously they really do think we are stupid.

Talking to college professors isn't going to help those who are unemployed today.

And it sure won't help anyone here in this country when they push through their latest 'sell American jobs out' so-called 'Trade Agreement'.

How about Obama talk to those who are trying to sell out the American Working class and tell them that if they think HE, a Democrat is going to sign that obscenity of a bill written by Corporations, some of the foreign no doubt, they are sorely mistaken. THAT might help today's working class.

[abelenkpe]

55. Yay! Extend the already cut benefits

How about extend them at pre sequestration levels? Or better yet, actually do something about offshoring? Start a jobs program? Stop tax incentives and subsidies to companies that send work overseas? Repair our infrastructure?

[Cali_Democrat]

33. Obama urges Cabinet to identify executive actions to boost economy

WASHINGTON — Calling for “all hands on deck” to assist the economy, President Obama is urging his Cabinet to identify ways to keep his administration relevant to people struggling in the up-and-down recovery.

With two weeks left before delivering an economy-focused State of the Union address to Congress, Obama is picking up the pace of his jobs message and demonstrating how he can advance his economic agenda administratively and through his ability to coax action from important interest groups.

“We’re not just going to be waiting for legislation in order to make sure that we’re providing Americans the kind of help they need,” Obama said Tuesday as he convened his first Cabinet meeting of the year. He said he would instruct his department heads to “use all the tools available to us” to assist the middle class.

On Wednesday he will go to North Carolina to draw attention to the type of manufacturing innovation hub that he promoted in his 2013 State of the Union speech. On Thursday he has invited college presidents to discuss ways to improve workers’ skills. Later this month, he is convening CEOs at the White House to lay out plans for hiring the long-term unemployed.

http://www.registerguard.com/rg/news/30998886-76/obama-congress-executive-state-union.html.csp

[Cali_Democrat]

35. Obama's proposed minimum wage of $10.10 would help a million Florida workers

Obama's proposed minimum wage of $10.10 would help a million Florida workers
January 12, 2014|By William E. Gibson, Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Can you get by in Florida on earnings of $7.93 an hour?

Florida's minimum wage rose by 14 cents on Jan. 1, which makes it 68 cents higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 but still leaves hundreds of thousands of workers in the state hovering near the poverty line.

Now President Barack Obama wants to give them and millions of others across the country a raise to $10.10 an hour by 2016 through a gradual increase in the federal minimum wage. More than a million Florida workers would benefit because they now make less than $10.10 an hour, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

"I would be so, so happy," said Wilna Destin, 39, who makes $9.02 an hour as a housekeeper at a Walt Disney World hotel. She and her husband, a kitchen worker who also makes $9.02, say the extra dollar would improve their lot as they raise two children.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2014-01-12/news/fl-push-to-raise-wages-20140112_1_minimum-wage-tipped-workers-economic-policy-institute

[bvar22]

53. OH!.. I want to play too!!!!

Obama Appoints Bain Capital Consultant Jeff Ziets to Top Post
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023662209

Obama selects former Monsanto lobbyist to be his TPP chief agriculture negotiator
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023662210

Study: "Trade" Deal Would Mean a Pay Cut for 90% of U.S. Workers
http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade/2013/09/the-verdict-is-in-the-trans-pacific-partnership-tpp-a-sweeping-free-trade-deal-under-negotiation-with-11-pacific-rim-coun.html

New Rule (Passed by Congress and signed by President Obama) signals Kiss of Death for Pensions
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100694955

65 percent of working families are living from paycheck to paycheck.
http://billmoyers.com/2014/01/10/why-conservatives-old-divide-and-conquer-strategy-%E2%80%94-setting-working-class-against-the-poor-%E2%80%94-is-backfiring/

95 percent of the economy’s gains have gone to the top 1 percent
http://billmoyers.com/2014/01/10/why-conservatives-old-divide-and-conquer-strategy-%E2%80%94-setting-working-class-against-the-poor-%E2%80%94-is-backfiring/

Billionaire wealth doubles since financial crisis
http://www.upi.com/blog/2013/11/12/Billionaire-wealth-doubles-since-financial-crisis/5011384268135/?spt=hts&or=12

US Wealthy Have Biggest Piece of Pie Ever Recorded
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/09/11-6

Rates of unemployment for families earning less than $20,000 - have topped 21 percent
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_JOBS_GAP_RICH_AND_POOR?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-09-16-08-11-23


Gallop: 20.4% of Americans now “going hungry”.
http://inplainsight.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/12/20460846-1-in-5-americans-struggling-to-put-food-on-the-table?lite

The Totally Unfair And Bitterly Uneven 'Recovery,' In 12 Charts – HuffPo
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023662029

Larry Summers Gets 'Full-Throated Defense' From Obama In Capitol Hill Meeting
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014553343#post1

Wall Street will get away with massive wave of criminality of 2008 - Statute of Limitations
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022516719

Income gap widest ever: 95 Percent of Recovery Income Gains Have Gone to the Top 1 Percent
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/09/10/one_percent_recovery_95_percent_of_gains_have_gone_to_the_top_one_percent.html

Older Workers:.Set Back by Recession, and Shut Out of Rebound
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/booming/for-laid-off-older-workers-age-bias-is-pervasive.html?smid=tw-share&_r=3&

THIS ^ does NOT happen by accident.
It is the result of carefully planned and implemented Economic Policy.
It requires careful preparation, marketing, buying the right politicians, message control, courts packed with Conservative Corporate Rights Judges, and the marginalization and suppression of any opposition.

[2banon]

62. ^This! 1000+!

[Enthusiast]

72. Well played. You are right. This is no accident.

The "defenders" (apologists) will ignore the evidence you presented.

[Cali_Democrat]

37. Obama makes pitch for 'Promise Zones' to boost depressed areas

By Tom Curry, National Affairs Writer, NBC News

President Barack Obama announced at the White House Thursday the first five of 20 “Promise Zones,” distressed areas located in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Antonio, Southeastern Kentucky, and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, that will get tax breaks and federal aid.

He said there are communities across America “where for too many young people, it feels like their future only extends to the next street corner or the outskirts of town; too many communities where no matter how hard you work, your destiny feels like it has already been determined before you took that first step.”

The president’s White House statement was part a renewed emphasis from Obama in the past few weeks on poverty and economic opportunity, a theme he promised that he’d continue to discuss in his State of the Union speech in two weeks.

http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/09/22244941-obama-makes-pitch-for-promise-zones-to-boost-depressed-areas?lite

[Cali_Democrat]

39. Obama Urges Infrastructure Spending to Spur U.S. Economy

President Barack Obama sought to put aside turmoil with the rollout of the federal health insurance marketplace by focusing on the billions of dollars in public investments he says the U.S. needs to boost the economy.

Speaking yesterday at the Port of New Orleans, Obama urged Congress to get past partisan battles and pass a budget that increases spending on science, research and education, and upgrades roads, bridges and ports.

“That creates jobs, it puts people to work,” he said. These are “not partisan issues, they are American issues.”

Obama also prodded lawmakers to pass a farm bill and immigration legislation, two items on his agenda that he has said he wants finished by the end of the year.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-09/obama-urges-infrastructure-spending-to-spur-u-s-economy.html

[NuclearDem]

41. I get your point, you can cite speeches and promises until the end of time.

Only action I see here is TPP.

[Cali_Democrat]

42. There is an election in 2014!!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251319531

[WillyT]

54. Yeah... And Somebody Better Start Rallying The Troops And Keeping Elected Dems In Line...

or you are gonna be MASSIVELY disappointed in 2014.

Right now many voters have no loyalty, because they have been shown no loyalty by so many of our elected officials.

You DO NOT want the mantra of 2014 to be... "What's the fucking difference?"

We need to start lighting that fire NOW... not in September.

[blkmusclmachine]

2. Nobody in DC is listening.

Not that I'm under any misconception that they actually CARE...

[2banon]

63. ^This! 1000+!

[rocktivity]

3. Yes -- it was Occupy who pushed income inequality into the mainstream

Last edited Thu Jan 23, 2014, 07:46 PM - Edit history (2)

which in turn prevented the mainstream from forcing the R-Money/Lyin' Ryan ticket upon us...


rocktivity

[WillyT]

5. Most Excellent Point !!!

[uponit7771]

8. True, ... 1% 99%.. yeap... now that's common language ... very true

[Blue_Tires]

10. +1

[1StrongBlackMan]

27. income INEQUITY ...

not income inequality. Equity goes to FAIRNESS; equality goes to SAME in amount or treatment

I don't think Occupy wasn't talking about everyone having the same income, regardless of talent, effort, or even blind luck; but rather a system where everyone has enough to live AND the OPPORTUNITY to get more, based on one's talent, effort, or even blind luck.

[jtuck004]

30. Damn right. If we had gotten him the tax cuts for the wealthy might

have been made permanent while only extending unemployment for 2 years, no jobs program, and offers to cut social security benefits on those who need it most while trying to pass a corporate giveaway program like the TPP behind closed doors.

Whew! Thank goodness for Occupy.

[Enthusiast]

73. + a shit load......nt

[woo me with science]

79. [phone]

[Turn CO Blue]

6. I was enormously impressed with Occupy Sandy and the mutual aid

movement they've inspired. Occupy Sandy was in the heart of the worst-hit place in NJ after the storm, and did more work, more directing than FEMA and Red Cross - in fact, early on fema and Red Cross were going to Occupy Sandy to get their assignments and marching orders.

I was getting minute by minute updates in my FB newsfeed (go and "like" their page). at one point Occupy Sandy had like 50 stations set up and thousands of volunteers working for several months. They are still organizing and doing work in NJ.

Several other groups have done some mutual aid in the last two years as well.

So I don't think Occupy has gone anywhere. Some of them morphed more in to providing direct aid for now. I would personally would love to see Occupy get directly involved with free clinics and setting up large free healthcare conventions and take the battle for wellness directly to the people.

I read something a couple of times a few days ago about Occupy Wallstreet planning to restart in the spring 2014... I will try to remember where I saw that.

[smokey nj]

12. Occupy Sandy continues their work in NY and NJ. People are still hurting and they're still helping.

[Turn CO Blue]

15. Yes.

They posted a picture the other day of some Red Cross trucks sitting there on a dock - the trucks and equipment inside just rotting away.

Some days I can't believe that this is the richest country on earth :/ an we have people in NY and NJ of all places (not remote at all) still hurting.

[uponit7771]

7. There was SOMETHING different with the existence, they put some new words in vocab though

[polichick]

11. Agreed. Thanks to Occupy for changing the conversation!

[smokey nj]

13. You don't have to miss them, WillyT, they're still around doing their great work!

http://occupysandy.net/

http://strikedebt.org/

[WillyT]

17. And Look What I Found !!! - Thanks For Cheering Me Up smokey nj !!!

Right here in Sacto this coming Saturday !!!



Link: http://occupysac.com/

[smokey nj]

19. You're welcome, WillyT!

Anything for you, my friend!

[1000words]

14. Occupy was merely the opening salvo

The seeds are cast, far and wide.

[bvar22]

16. Occupy lives on.

It is a mistake to view Occupy as a distinct, short lived, independent Movement.
It is/was not.
It was a different incarnation of ALL the Justice Movements over the last 100 years
that demanded Equal Opportunity, Equal Justice, and Equal Protections for EVERYBODY.

My grandfathers and Great Uncles who shed blood for the LABOR movement looked down on Occupy,
saw their offspring, and smiled.

The protest movements of the 60s were just a different face of the same movement,
all demanding the same thing.

OWS lives on,
and when the time is right,
it will resurface and re-manifest... maybe a different name,
but it IS the same movement.

[font size=4]Equal Opportunity, Equal Justice, and Equal Protections for EVERYBODY!
[/font]
That Movement will NEVER die.

[KamaAina]

25. deOccupy Honolulu is still out there.

http://www.deoccupyhonolulu.org/

[MADem]

44. Their most recent post is the video from June of last year.

Is no one managing their website? Looks like one person joined/posted yesterday, but other than that, there's not much happening anywhere save that one post in the "discussion" area.

[KamaAina]

65. They were physically out there around this time last year

I know because I briefly joined them.

[lordsummerisle]

61. let's hope you're right... n/t

[truedelphi]

20. Like others here are saying, the movement continues to grow.

A lot of people in many many places are standing in front of their Post Office, getting signatures for marijuana initiatives.

Others are plugging into Time Banks, or organic community gardens.

Willy T, if you wanna know of a local group, google the name of your County and the word "Transitions." If there is no Transitions group near you, you might think of putting one together.

[WillyT]

21. Check Out Post# 17...

[Bluenorthwest]

22. Every Sunday....Occupy Medical

Free Medical Clinics
All are welcome, no charge. No appointments; first come, first served. If you have any medical conditions, concerns or questions, please come by.
http://occupyeugenemedia.org/tag/medical/

[Zorra]

86. Wow. That's so kind, and nice. nt

[lunasun]

23. +1

[2banon]

28. I love that image!

[beachbum bob]

29. Perhaps the movement needs to

Remessage and include the unemployed and under employed....

[BelgianMadCow]

31. It's time to get back out

it has lived on, because it was, to me, essentially a revolution in consciousness, and waking up is irreversible.

But yes, it's time for another push. I look forward to rekindling the fire.

Hang in there, WillyT. And don't forget that fear and negativity is the enemy. I guess we could all make it a habit to post positive stories about either protest or alternatives (time-banking, sharing, cooperatives, community banking, transition etc).

[Warpy]

32. Oh, they're still out there running Rolling Jubilee

taking donations to retire debt that has made it to the collection agency boiler room circuit.

They really did do something very important, they educated all the people who can be educated about what's going on in this country that has been throwing most of us farther behind every single year.

They woke up a good proportion of the 99%, especially the younger 99%. Their effect is far greater than their numbers were and the PTB knew it, which is why they were so viciously crushed.

The teabaggers are the flip side of the same coin, only they're people who know they've gotten screwed but are authoritarians who will be marched in lock step with any corporate drone posing as their leader.

[jtuck004]

36. Hell begins the day that God grants you the vision to see all that you could have done,

should have done, and would have done, but did not do.

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German poet, novelist, playwright, scientist and philosopher (1749-1832) - See more at: http://josephsoninstitute.org/quotes/quotations.php?q=Memory,%20the%20past#sthash.tRs8vt1s.dpuf

Don't take that personally, however, but more in a general sense of what we could have been had we all worked together as a world, or even as a country.

Instead we are all very likely fucked for our lifetimes (it's very likely to get worse from here on out) , and those who come after us may either make it better or starve on an uninhabitable planet.

Then again, I may be too optimistic. It might get a lot worse than even I think.

And try to occupy yourself with some busy work, convince yourself that change is happening. It seems to soothe those feelings among some, I've noticed.

[bvar22]

52. You aren't "fucked" until you stop resisting,

....and start to go along meekly with their program.

It is not so much a physical thing
as it is a State of Mind.

[jtuck004]

67. Imho, you can be fucked all the time you are resisting. Then be killed, and your death

bring nothing to help those who come after. It's quite possible, actually, because most people resist ineffectively. They routinely underestimate their enemy and are poor strategists and fighters. They have heart, but often couple that with ego instead of brains. And when they win they forget to destroy their opponent, finishing their victory so the enemy never, ever has a chance of recovering.

But if it brings peace to someone (that "State of Mind" thing) to think their effort rises to some level of importance despite the absence of any independently-derived and substantive proof to the contrary, they should go for it.

In my view it is just another way of absolving themselves of responsibility.

But that's just my view.

[Rex]

43. Hope was just beaten to death by cops for resisting...I dunno

resisting the urge to die from blunt force trauma to the head? Yeah bad mood Monday has hit me like a ton of bricks.

[cinnabonbon]

45. I think they had much potential, too.

I heard rolling jubilee has done much good, so they're still around.

[woo me with science]

46. Occupy was brutally targeted by our own government.

The Constitution is being brutally targeted by our own government.

[font size=2]No, the "reasonableness" of these police state tactics in the USA is not debatable. http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4325662[/font size]

The federal government has systematically targeted Occupy Wall Street protesters for surveillance.....and not *only* surveillance, as we now know that the brutal police assaults on Occupy protesters were also federally coordinated. The federal government has partnered with Wall Street and built taxpayer funded surveillance centers in Manhattan to allow *Wall Street itself* to surveil protesters. And that is just the outrageous tip of a hideous proto-fascistic iceberg. The US Department of Defense is working with corporations to train police to treat peaceful protesters as terrorism suspects. Individual Americans are being given ratings of their potential terrorism threat and need for further scrutiny based on protest activity or political grumbling (see below). And the NSA's sweeping up of private communication is being used to chill investigative journalism and persecute journalists who challenge this corruption.

NSA, DEA fabricating evidence trails to imprison Americans using spying.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023406605

2011: Wall Street firms spy on protesters with police in tax-funded center
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023286585

OUTRAGEOUS: Our Tax Money Funds Gov Surveillance Center In Lower Manhattan--& Wall St Is Part Of It!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2178769

Report Details How Counter Terrorism Apparatus Was Used to Monitor Occupy Movement Nationwide
http://www.democraticunderground.com/12527647

NSA Monitors Porn Habits To Discredit 'Radicalizers'
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024099994

How FBI Monitored Occupy Movement
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101651867

FBI started surveillance of Occupy before it occupied
http://sync.democraticunderground.com/10022930860

Wall Street Protesters Complain of Police Surveillance
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101618930

Whoop, There It Is... 'Evidence Homeland Security Coordinated Occupy Crackdown' -
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002462465

ACLU discovers FBI is labeling peace activists as 'potential terrorists'
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4500788

Why is FBI Manufacturing Reasons to Arrest Occupy Protesters, Ignoring White Supremacist Violence
http://www.democraticunderground.com/12522821

DHS Tracked Occupy Wall Street to 'Control Protesters
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101463537

'Occupy' crackdowns coordinated with federal law enforcement officials
http://www.examiner.com/top-news-in-minneapolis/were-occupy-crackdowns-aided-by-federal-law-enforcement-agencies

FBI uses new powers to bug anti-war groups
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x237625

ACLU: FBI instructs police to suppress peaceful protests
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x253574

Ridiculous FBI list: You might be a domestic terrorist if ...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1790765

"Clear evidence of collusion between TransCanada and the federal government assisting local police to unlawfully monitor and harass political protestors”
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023049508

DoD Training Manual: Protests are "Low-Level Terrorism"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/100227662

ACLU: On revenge and the NSA
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023491532

On the Espionage Act charges against Edward Snowden Glenn Greenwald
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023066929

US Uses Espionage Act To Convict Manning Using Words Added In 1990: "with a computer"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023375845

Fed Court: Just changed interpretation of Espionage Act to cover leaks that are NOT Harmful To USA
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023365713

Obama's abuse of the Espionage Act is modern-day McCarthyism
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023413935

NY Times: White House Uses Espionage Act to Silence Employees, Press
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101616764

Obama Has Charged More Under Espionage Act Than All Other Presidents Combined
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023080388

A Nation of "Suspects"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x5011487
http://www.truth-out.org/nation-suspects/1314810046

That magic word, "terrorism." The government's identification of those needing further scrutiny
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022730456#post13

Do You Like Online Privacy? You May Be a Terrorist
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002257966

"Arrogant complaining about airport security is one indicator Transportation Security Administration officers consider when looking for possible criminals and terrorists"
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/04/15/tsa.screeners.complain/

Top US counterterrorism official: drone critics are Al Qaeda enablers
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002279862

.

[Demeter]

49. They had to have some reason to justify the billions spent on the NSA

[sabrina 1]

51. All the massive spying never caught a single terrorist we know now thanks to Snowden, but

robo cops lost no time rounding up unarmed innocent citizens, nearly killing some of them and jailing and brutalizing thousands more. But they are still here, OWS, they couldn't erase their reason for being no matter how hard they tried. Like any other Social Justice Movement, they can brutalize them off the streets for a while, but they can never eliminate them when their cause is right.

Amazing how they saw fit to spend MORE time and effort on peaceful protesters than on actual threats to this country, isn't it?

OWS exposed who they view as the REAL 'terrorists' without a shadow of a doubt.

[woo me with science]

57. Even if the spying had caught a terrorist, that would be beside the point.

You are right, of course, that it hasn't, but I dislike this argument about whether the spying is *effective,* anyway...especially since sociopaths could twist events to provide "proof" if the premise were accepted. Even if the spying had stopped a terrorist attack, it still would not justify trashing the Constitution and turning the United States of America into a surveillance state. The relevant issue here is that they are growing corporate fascism, and using terrorism as an excuse.

There are only two real reasons they are building a surveillance state:

1) Total information awareness FOR PROFIT,
and
2) A surveillance state to prevent resistance by those being exploited FOR PROFIT.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024189392#post15

That they can't prove greater safety from terrorism is ultimately beside the point. Even if they *HAD* stopped a terrorist attack, it still does not justify this trashing of our Constitutional protections. Life has risks. Making every citizen wear a personal camera and be accompanied by a government-appointed bodyguard might make everyone safer, too, BUT THE GOVERNMENT STILL HAS NO RIGHT TO DO IT. We are being propagandized to fear the danger of terrorist attacks, when we should be fearing the even greater assault of dismantling our representative, Constitutional system of government.

Even if a surveillance state DID make us physically safer, THEY STILL WOULD NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO SPY ON US.

The Fourth Amendment does NOT say: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized....UNLESS IT MAKES EVERYONE SAFER."


We should not concede increased safety as a good reason for abrogating Constitutional rights. In the worst case scenario, I worry about desperate, sociopathic fascists who might try to *supply* proof of the grave dangers they keep telling us we face...

[sabrina 1]

58. Of course I totally agree with you. I was merely using their own lies, lies that did get support

from enough people to allow them to continue their Constitutional violations sadly, to demonstrate that those who 'trusted' them were stupidly taken in by fear of something the propagandists obviously feared less, if at all, than INFORMED citizens as is evident by their lack of 'urgency' re the threat they CLAIM we are under while the urgency with which they attacked unarmed citizens protesting Wall St was remarkable. To me that told us who THEY view as the real threat to their 'agenda' and it isn't foreign terrorists.

Thanks as always for your clear statements of the facts. No way should a country claiming to be a democracy EVER be willing to give up all of their rights in order to 'feel safe', even if, as you say, the threat was actually real.

[woo me with science]

60. I understood that you understood.

Really. You understand far better than most people.

I just really, really dislike seeing the argument, because I don't put ANYTHING past these sociopaths.

If they can let grow, publicize, and promote this argument about ineffectiveness as the generally accepted reason that Americans oppose spying, then they can just as easily change that widespread opposition merely by arranging events to "prove" that the spying was effective after all.

IMO, we must NEVER stray from (or dilute in our messaging) the REAL, fundamental reason the spying is unequivocally unacceptable. It is a violation of our fundamental Constitutional rights, and an unconscionable assault on our freedom and the foundations of our democratic nation.

[sabrina 1]

69. You are absolutely correct.

IMO, we must NEVER stray from (or dilute in our messaging) the REAL, fundamental reason the spying is unequivocally unacceptable. It is a violation of our fundamental Constitutional rights, and an unconscionable assault on our freedom and the foundations of our democratic nation.

No excuses ever for the crime of violating the Constitutional rights of the people. I could not agree more, thank you for pointing out how cautious we must be when defending those rights.

[Enthusiast]

74. +1 a whole bunch.

Yay, Occupy!

[Rex]

90. + million

The Establishment did everything in it's power to show obvious disdain for the citizenry. That msg came through loud and clear to all of us that still believe in a representative government.

[sabrina 1]

50. No need to miss them, they are around and very busy. See the OWS forum for details.

[KoKo]

80. North Carolina's "Moral Mondays" (Inspiring Video) Continue & Spread to Other States

(The Occupy Movement lives on...taking new forms. Moral Mondays have seen 700 Arrested Non-Violently and has addressed Teachers Rights, Medical Care, Voting Rights, Women's access to Health Care and Abortion, Income Inequality and more on Mondays at the State Legislature)

NC Moral Mondays continue, spread to other states
Posted: Dec 26, 2013 12:10 AM EST Updated: Dec 26, 2013 12:13 AM EST
By The Associated Press

The leader of the Moral Mondays movement that began last spring to protest legislation passed by North Carolina's GOP-controlled legislature says the protests won't abate in 2014 and will spread to other states.

Activists from a dozen states attended a meeting in Raleigh earlier this month to learn how to hold similar demonstrations in their areas. Georgia and Alabama plan protests of their own.

In North Carolina, the demonstrations were organized by the state chapter of the NAACP to fight a series of legislative actions that included rejecting Medicaid expansion and adding new voting restrictions.

The head of the North Carolina NAACP, the Rev. William Barber, says the protests will continue in 2014, starting with a mass march in February.

http://www.wspa.com/story/24305084/nc-moral-mondays-continue-spread-to-other-states

Published on Jan 7, 2014]/b]

January 8th, 2014 - On February 8th, 2014, North Carolina will see the largest, most diverse and visionary cross-issue mass mobilization ever in the state. This brief overview view explains why you should join the Movement as North Carolinians, led by the Forward Together Movement and HKonJ Coalition, strive to move their state forward out of the regressive polices being implemented by the current Governor and leadership.

[Vashta Nerada]

56. What happened to Occupy?

It was there and then it wasn't.

Were they forced out?

I loved their message.

[markpkessinger]

64. You missed the series of raids around the country on OWS encampments . . .

. . . coordinated by Obama's Dept. of Homeland Security?

[sabrina 1]

83. They are still there doing amazing work all over the country.

See the Occupy forum here for news on their activities and if you are on Twitter you can follow all of the groups there.

Their work with Sandy victims et, even made the MSM and they are still there. Building small homes for the homeless, buying up student debt, millions so far, stopping foreclosures to keep people in their homes etc.

They were brutally driven from the public square because they challenged Wall St but they did not go away although I'm sure they are being carefully watched.

[Vashta Nerada]

89. Thank you for the response.

I'm glad Occupy didn't go away and it seems they're still doing a lot of good.

[Zorra]

87. That was just the trailer for the upcoming feature film. nt

[Vashta Nerada]

88. I hope you're right.

[Zorra]

68. In the next round, we'll need a whole lot more support and real time participation from a whole lot

more people.

The lack of support and participation we got when we called for a General Strike on Nov 2 2011 and the west coast port shutdown on 12/12/11 was a turning point in the movement. When the sacrifice got really serious the weenbags turned on us and joined the other team. Oh, those awful protestors are costing regular people money! Whine, snivel, someone call the fucking waaaambulance.

Keeping the fires of hope alive takes everybody working at throwing some wood on the fires. It's for damn sure that we are not going to fix this thing simply by electing more Democrats or voting third party.

Freedom ain't free by any stretch.

[mmonk]

75. Moral Mondays are spreading.

Protesting once a week during legislative sessions seems to work well and not being bogged downed and removed by mayors due to continuous occupation. Allows for greater participation.

[Generic Other]

76. Occupy Occupy Occupy

A video I made.

[randome]

77. How can you miss something so alive and growing, the rest of the Universe pales in comparison?

Check out the Fire Walk With...I mean the Joe Slabot...I mean the Occupy Activism forum. There may be a new round of three or four posts since last Tuesday.

And there is a good lesson to be learned from your graphic. If Occupy had focused on one or two key demands, something more substantial might have been accomplished.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Precision and concision. That's the game.[/center][/font][hr]

[bvar22]

81. LOL!

Last edited Wed Jan 15, 2014, 02:28 PM - Edit history (1)

Before OWS:
President Obama's State of the Union Address was Austerity for the Working Class
"It is time for us to Eat our Peas."

After OWS:
President Obama's State of the Union Address was ALL about Disparity & Economic Injustice.
He hasn't tried that "Eat your Peas" bullshit again, THATS for SURE!
Thank You, OWS.



OWS changed the language of the National Dialog.
THAT is a massive achievement.
Even those who try to minimize the effectiveness of OWS
have adopted the language of OWS.


Solidarity-OWS!

[Zorra]

82. I've decided to put all our local Anti-Justice Movement corporatists back on ignore, starting now.

I believe it's time.

[Rex]

85. At least you know what you are getting with that one.

Pro NSA, anti OWS...like clock work.

[sabrina 1]

84. There you again. And once again, I am compelled to correct that talking point re OWS.

'If Occupy had focused on one or two key demands etc etc.' Lol, I would have thought that one would have been laid to rest by now considering that it WAS BECAUSE they focused on A Key issue that Wall St. panicked and had their robo cops armed with military grade weapons sent out, (Bloomberg's Army and here we thought they were civilian police) to brutally try to silence them.

OWS more than accomplished their goal of focusing the public's attention on THE issue that has destroyed this country. First by choosing their title 'Occupy Wall St'. More people around the world get that message than know anything about their own local governments.

As for the OWS Forum here, it's one of the best on DU and one of the few I have on my list of forums to read.

OWS has its own media. Most OWS supporters are way too busy actually doing things than to waste their time babbling online about what others should be doing and when they are online they are not on partisan forums where they do not have the time to bother with the anti Social Justice Movement garbage, it's a waste of time for people who have more important things to do.

'There are none so blind as those who will not see'. I can't think of more accurate statement.

Btw, you don't have to worry so much about OWS, they are still totally focused on that one 'demand', just to put your mind at rest.

[Niceguy1]

78. I miss what they stood for

But I don't miss their domination and destruction of public places. Had they a better form of governing they may have still been a player today.

[KoKo]

91. That really wasn't true with Occupy. And, they are still active.

If you check out the replies in the thread above you will see their energy and activism was there and still there in NJ and NY helping people after Hurricane Sandy and in ongoing efforts around the US which were inspired by Occupy.