Two Years Later

Fading Blue Moon. August 21, 2013. North Texas

Occupy (if you don't mind my mentioning that movement) spent the latter days of 2011 bringing the inequities of the US economy to light. Now, Vanityfair is writing about it. The message has gone a far ways from what I started back in 2004 in Yahoo groups.

Adbusters is acting like an economic and cultural Cleric casting judgment on Western culture. Reminds me of Iatola Komani denouncing the Shah of Iran from France before the Islamic Revolution. Still even Wiki no longer gives them credit for what was suggested on July 13, 2011. They do get credit for posting the "Hashtag" (#OccupyWallStreet) on Twitter, however.

Many Millennials blame the current state of affairs on the Babyboomers. It was Nixon who disconnected wealth from production in 1971, and it was Reagan who oversaw the gutting of US factory and manufacturing. They're not exactly Babyboomers. However, when the sun sets on this era, it will be the Babyboomers who get the responsibility for the I've-got-mine-to-hell-with-you attitude that came out of the chronic boom and bust cycles which have occurred since 1971.

According to CBS last night, Obama is considering bombing Syrian chemical weapons stockpiles. This is in response to the Syrian military using gas on the Syrian population. This Civil War began on March 15, 2011. Most of us in the west heard nothing about it until recently.

So many of the Anarchist cry "Smash the State" on the street. I wonder if they actually realize they are playing into the hands of the Multi-National Corporations who want nothing better than a world without borders where they can come and go as they please, and do what they please with populations. Somehow, there are supposed to be rights and liberties in a world without nation-states and civil authority. That is the Libertarian dream too. That is called "wage slavery."

Next week I will be starting the mandatory work on Saturday. I do like the work I do. Funny, I am reluctant to tell you more about that since I am concerned about being let go if I do. Right now I need the job. Funny what has been done in the US by Multi-Nationals misusing the laws (or lack of) in the US. The firm I work at is either out of Taiwan or Singapore. The supervisors are not exactly forthright about the corporate headquarter location. I get the impression that most of them don't know, and the ones who know will not say. The majority of their staff work through Temporary firms. The majority of their office staff are "not locals." 

National Gathering 2013

Occupy Chicago, Congress and Michigan, October 15, 2012

This coming week Occupy Kalamazoo is hosting the second annual National Gathering in Kalamazoo, MI. The conference begins on Wednesday, August 21, 2013, and runs through Sunday, August 25, 2013. The gathering is set to host Occupy activist, and others. 

The location of the summit is 1407 Bryant Street in Kalamazoo.  Detailed information is available on the website at: OCCUPY(INTER) NATIONAL GATHERING IN KALAMAZOO, MI. Information on resource sharing is available at Offer/Find/Share Rides,Housing, Supplies and Services for NatGat2.

Since I will not be there, there are a few exhibits which I am offering for consideration to everyone attending #NG2Zoo in Michigan.

First is a call for inclusive National dialogue which was written in 2007 as the clouds of concern were forming: You Say You Want a Revolution.

The second is a renewed call for safe community: Robin Hood.

The third is a discussion on race in general from the same 2007 work: Race Relations.

The fourth is an alternative view of the Justice system and the courts: An Alternative to the Judicial System.

The entire body of work, Wealth, Women, and War, is available through Amazon for the kindle.

In my opinion The Occupy movement has shifted away from the needs of the 99%. The economy, as shown by the Detroit Bankruptcy, is dismally anemic. We are in the sixth year of the contagion, and jobless recovery. Wages lag far behind the boom of the money traders on Wall Street. While slowing down, the bailed out banks are still taking homes away from people who played by the rules. While the citizens have learned to live on less, the Oligarchy still rules the nation with a heavy hand. These issues still beg for solutions, and move as raggedy ghost in the back alley of capitalism.

It is past time to put away differences, forgive personal weaknesses, look for conceptual solutions which will aid all citizens, and fix the disarray shaped by years of privileged glut.

Follow #Occupy and #NG2Zoo on twitter for more information as events unfold.

The Banks Got Bailed Out

Occupy Chicago, LaSalle & Jackson, September 24, 2011

The banks got bailed out, we got sold out. 

From the first steps of life we were taught work is rewarded.

An upstanding person was responsible, not sordid.

Unto the self a debt is owed to strive for what was awarded,

Slowly, however, that has become distorted.

The banks got bailed out, we got sold out.

In this age, and the one just past,

Work and service are considered a gaff,

Trapping  the young unsuspected for the rich man’s laugh.

And the only way off is to turn to graft.

The banks got bailed out, and we got sold out.

Promises were made to assure middle class,

But the new master’s ed gave it a pass,

To no one did they owe what was amassed,

Into their coffers the taxes did pass.

The banks got bailed out, and we got sold out.

One dirty deal followed another,

Horrible low pay and bad loan did smother.

Cost keep float up, and pennies given to child and mother.

We were assured it was righteous by the Good Reverend Brother.

The banks got bailed out, we got sold out.

All this while the corporate class,

Did all they could to give Americans a pass.

Sent the jobs to far flung hungry mass,

Emaciating our industry, productivity with out-right sass.

The banks got bailed out, and we got sold out.

So when the dirty paper came due,

The called up the President’s few,

Plans were made and messages flew,

The Corporate Government knew just what to do.

The banks got bailed out, and we got sold out.

And after they were all propped up,

They hired the local establishment cop,

And again they made sure the citizens dropped,

Out to the street, evictions did not stop.

The banks got bailed out, and we got sold out.

And most who toiled private sector,

Not protected by the public vector,

Were the exorcised the like a fading specter.

Even the progressive was their beloved laureate lector.

The banks got bailed out, we got sold out.

One by one the citizens accounts exhaust,

Stormed by Sheriffs possessions tossed,

Did not matter if they once paid full cost,

Out to the curb, abandoned, and lost .

The banks got bailed out, we got sold out.

So this was the setting on the mid-September date,

When a few hundred souls began to demonstrate.

Enough of the crime and graft and hate,

We were all citizens sharing the same fate.

The banks got bailed out, we got sold out. 

Occupy Chicago, LaSalle & Jackson, September 24, 2011