Solutions Discussions - Occupy Cafe2024-03-28T19:15:47Zhttp://www.occupycafe.org/group/solutions/forum?feed=yes&xn_auth=noWhy Focus on Only One Amendment Before the 2012 Elections? This Is Why.tag:www.occupycafe.org,2011-12-10:6451976:Topic:168632011-12-10T04:45:23.427ZSteve Letsfixithttp://www.occupycafe.org/profile/letsfixit3
<p>When I first saw a notice out of NYC about a march - I think on 18Nov11 - and the wording said "in alignment with" a union, I brought it up at an Occupy Reno GA to highlight the error in judgement. The Occupy movement nationwide can welcome everyone, but it should align with noone.<br></br><br></br>The reason is simple. To win the hearts and minds of the broad American public for a Constituitional Amendment requires support from people of all political stripes.<br></br><br></br>America has been hijacked…</p>
<p>When I first saw a notice out of NYC about a march - I think on 18Nov11 - and the wording said "in alignment with" a union, I brought it up at an Occupy Reno GA to highlight the error in judgement. The Occupy movement nationwide can welcome everyone, but it should align with noone.<br/><br/>The reason is simple. To win the hearts and minds of the broad American public for a Constituitional Amendment requires support from people of all political stripes.<br/><br/>America has been hijacked by monied interests. And from that has flowed nearly all the negatives that have befallen its people. Since we have a Congress-for-hire, those monied interests have changed the law to suit the pursuit of profits. They have coerced favoarable court decisions. They have insured widely evident destructive activities have gone unpunished. Many things are wrong today in the nation and the world. The single most important law to return the focus of governance - of legislators - to the people would be one to cut off all funding from monied interests to politicians, whether from for-profit or non-profit organizations. To make it stick and avoid further assault, it would need to be in the form of a Constitutional Amendment. That amendment would also contain language to the effect that the rights and priviledges in the Constitution apply only to natural persons, which would overturn the Citizens United decision.<br/><br/>What made the Occupy movement catch on today was not smarter people (ahhh, maybe some...), it was the perfect storm of the L shaped economic downturn, the flagrant and evident responsibility of the banking industry in the global economic crisis, and the collusion of government before and after the crisis in letting big money off the hook. The iron is hot to gain 65-75% support for such an amendment today, but it won't be after the economy begins to recover.<br/><br/>Having seen how many of their colleagues were thrown out of office in the last election, legislators are only hoping our movement doesn't get it's act together by next summer and before the November elections.<br/><br/>If the movement produces a 5 (or a 25) issue platform by next summer it will fail because attention and support will be too divided. If it produces one single amendment, with which 76% of Americans already agree (corruption of Congress due to funding), we can win. It will take articulate, knowledgeable, respected members of communities across the land to sell it at Rotary Clubs, church groups, Republican and Democratic gatherings, etc., so legislators realize they have a clear choice: agree to the amendment or get voted out of office. Lesser or more devisive issues can be raised after the elections and after state legislatures pass the amendment. Until it passes, it needs the undivided support of every citizen possible.<br/><br/>The press and a majority of the educated and attentive public have been waiting and asking: "specifically what is it you occupiers want to do?" Now that the physical occupations have captured the mic and the public's focus, it is time to come together, formulate our platform and tell them. Steve</p> Reform constitutional amendmentstag:www.occupycafe.org,2011-12-06:6451976:Topic:158442011-12-06T19:40:18.352ZJoel S. Hirschhornhttp://www.occupycafe.org/profile/JoelSHirschhorn
<p>I speak both as a strong Occupy supporter who participated in the OWS protest when in New York City and as a former senior official at the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment and the National Governors Association. To fix the USA we no longer can think in terms of elections, because the iron grip of the two-party plutocracy has so corrupted the political system that we need an end run around this dysfunctional system. Our Constitution gives us what is needed: an Article V…</p>
<p>I speak both as a strong Occupy supporter who participated in the OWS protest when in New York City and as a former senior official at the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment and the National Governors Association. To fix the USA we no longer can think in terms of elections, because the iron grip of the two-party plutocracy has so corrupted the political system that we need an end run around this dysfunctional system. Our Constitution gives us what is needed: an Article V convention of state delegates that could propose reform constitutional amendments (e.g., getting all private money out of politics). It has never been used because Congress and nearly all other political powers fear the convention route to political reform. Learn more at foavc.org and read my blog here:</p>
<p><br/> <a href="../../../../profiles/blogs/occupy-movement-next-step-convergence?xg_source=msg_appr_blogpost" target="_blank">http://www.occupycafe.org/profiles/blogs/occupy-movement-next-step-convergence?xg_source=msg_appr_blogpost</a></p> Are You Interested in Joining a Conference Call on Strategy & Platform Issues for the Occupy Movement?tag:www.occupycafe.org,2011-11-20:6451976:Topic:114222011-11-20T01:19:27.036ZSteve Letsfixithttp://www.occupycafe.org/profile/letsfixit3
<p>As physical occupations wind down and are replaced by marches and rallies, the media and the broad American public are asking what the Movement's mission statement, objectives and platform issues are.</p>
<p>If you are interested in joining a dialog on just that topic join the Strategy Group and add a note to this thread. When we get enough people to make it meaningful, we'll begin setting up conference calls on strategy and platform issues.</p>
<p>NOTE. Since the conference calls are to a…</p>
<p>As physical occupations wind down and are replaced by marches and rallies, the media and the broad American public are asking what the Movement's mission statement, objectives and platform issues are.</p>
<p>If you are interested in joining a dialog on just that topic join the Strategy Group and add a note to this thread. When we get enough people to make it meaningful, we'll begin setting up conference calls on strategy and platform issues.</p>
<p>NOTE. Since the conference calls are to a long distance number, state your timezone and what times your phone gets unlimited free minutes. Those without unlimited minutes on their phones my want to consider:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.skype.com/download" target="_blank">Skype</a>, which allows a $3/month unlimited calling plan to North American numbers, or</li>
<li>Gmail Chat feature, which allows free telephone calls in North America through 2011. Just sign into a Google Mail account and i<a href="http://www.google.com/chat/video" target="_blank">nstall the Video and Voice plug-in</a>,</li>
</ul>
<p> </p> Preparing A Platform By Summer 2012 to Pressure Congress to Support It Before Electionstag:www.occupycafe.org,2011-11-19:6451976:Topic:114102011-11-19T08:50:08.933ZSteve Letsfixithttp://www.occupycafe.org/profile/letsfixit3
<p>Having seen 40 House seats fall due to the Tea Party, the Congress is now more attentive to reasonably organized movements. That is to Occupy Movement's advantage, provided it can agree on its top one, two or three platform demands by Summer 2012.<br></br> <br></br> The demands must have support of citizens of all political stripes to force Congressmen to either support the platform or lose their elections in November. Later, as issues get more detailed, they will have more trouble gaining broad…</p>
<p>Having seen 40 House seats fall due to the Tea Party, the Congress is now more attentive to reasonably organized movements. That is to Occupy Movement's advantage, provided it can agree on its top one, two or three platform demands by Summer 2012.<br/> <br/> The demands must have support of citizens of all political stripes to force Congressmen to either support the platform or lose their elections in November. Later, as issues get more detailed, they will have more trouble gaining broad support, so only the biggest, most broadly embraced demands should be attempted for our first platform prior to the 2013 elections. The Movement should avoid alignment with any group active in political lobbying in order to be able to win the support of the broad American public for its platform.<br/> <br/> To do this we must:<br/> <br/> 1) begin a national dialog of local movement participants for the purpose of identifying and agreeing upon the highest priority platform solutions.<br/> <br/> 2) have highly knowledgeable and experienced individuals explain the advantages asd disadvantages of our solutions (on video and audio for review by all).<br/> <br/> 3) have the platform solutions agreed to by local movements. where speakers will need to sell them at Rotary Clubs, the League of Women Voters, the local Republican and Democratic organizations, the Masons, the BFOE, etc.<br/> <br/> 4) keep the press informed, which will also sell the platform and scare Congressmen into supporting it.<br/> <br/> All of the marches, all the occupations, all the rallies will have little effect if we do not change the laws of the land. Steve</p> Solutions-- An evolving conversation on an OWS agendatag:www.occupycafe.org,2011-11-03:6451976:Topic:50352011-11-03T01:33:58.243ZGary Horvitzhttp://www.occupycafe.org/profile/GaryHorvitz
<p>I am posting below an evolving list of what was originally called "Demands": on the <a href="http://occupywallst.org" target="_blank">OWS</a> website. There are nearly 2000 comments on this list...so far. There may also be other lists. I'm sure there are. But they needn't be posted here. Feel free to add whatever issues you feel require our attention. Let us know how those issues affect you personally.</p>
<p> …</p>
<p>I am posting below an evolving list of what was originally called "Demands": on the <a href="http://occupywallst.org" target="_blank">OWS</a> website. There are nearly 2000 comments on this list...so far. There may also be other lists. I'm sure there are. But they needn't be posted here. Feel free to add whatever issues you feel require our attention. Let us know how those issues affect you personally.</p>
<p> </p>
<h1><a href="http://occupywallst.org/forum/proposed-list-of-demands-please-help-editadd-so-th/">PROPOSED LIST OF DEMANDS (please help edit/add so this can be submitted for consideration to those maintaining the official list)</a></h1>
<p class="info">Posted Sept. 28, 2011, 6:54 p.m. EST (1 month ago) by <a rel="author" title="View GandhiKingMindset's profile" class="user" href="http://occupywallst.org/users/GandhiKingMindset/">GandhiKingMindset</a> <br/> This content is user submitted and not an official statement</p>
<div class="words"><p><strong>Admin Note:</strong> This is not an official list of demands, it's a user-submitted post on our forum. The user who submitted this post only speaks for her/himself and their supporters, NOT the movement as a whole.</p>
<hr/><p>(Please click on this link if you haven't yet read the introduction called "OUR TURN": <a href="https://occupywallst.org/forum/our-turn/">https://occupywallst.org/forum/our-turn/</a> . Feel free to share this link with anyone you like).</p>
<p>TACTICS FOR "DEMANDS FOR CONGRESS"</p>
<p>We should make the demands below very publicly at a press conference a few days after arriving in DC. When doing so, we should give a clear deadline of 3 days for a firm written commitment with signatures from at least 60% of members of House and 60% of the members of the Senate to pass these bills by the end of the year. If this commitment on the full slate of demands is not met by midnight on the 3rd day (which it won't be) we should be prepared to non-violently block access to all or part of the Capitol complex the next morning by traditional proven non-violent tactics. The purpose is to bring the leaders of the House and Senate to the negotiating table.</p>
<p>NOTE: There are always entrances because there is always a point where people who work there have to leave the public street and enter secure space. We should focus our non-violent direct action and civil disobedience on those entrances no matter where they move them because these are, by definition, always accessible.</p>
<p>LIST OF PROPOSED "DEMANDS FOR CONGRESS"</p>
<ol>
<li><p>CONGRESS PASS HR 1489 ("RETURN TO PRUDENT BANKING ACT" <a href="http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-1489">http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-1489</a> ). THIS REINSTATES MANY PROVISIONS OF THE GLASS-STEAGALL ACT. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass%E2%80%93Steagall_Act">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass–Steagall_Act</a> --- Wiki entry summary: The repeal of provisions of the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933 by the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act in 1999 effectively removed the separation that previously existed between investment banking which issued securities and commercial banks which accepted deposits. The deregulation also removed conflict of interest prohibitions between investment bankers serving as officers of commercial banks. Most economists believe this repeal directly contributed to the severity of the Financial crisis of 2007–2011 by allowing Wall Street investment banking firms to gamble with their depositors' money that was held in commercial banks owned or created by the investment firms. Here's detail on repeal in 1999 and how it happened: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass%E2%80%93Steagall_Act#Repeal">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass–Steagall_Act#Repeal</a> .</p>
</li>
<li><p>USE CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORITY AND OVERSIGHT TO ENSURE APPROPRIATE FEDERAL AGENCIES FULLY INVESTIGATE AND PROSECUTE THE WALL STREET CRIMINALS who clearly broke the law and helped cause the 2008 financial crisis in the following notable cases: (insert list of the most clear cut criminal actions). There is a pretty broad consensus that there is a clear group of people who got away with millions / billions illegally and haven't been brought to justice. Boy would this be long overdue and cathartic for millions of Americans. It would also be a shot across the bow for the financial industry. If you watch the solidly researched and awared winning documentary film "Inside Job" that was narrated by Matt Damon (pretty brave Matt!) and do other research, it wouldn't take long to develop the list.</p>
</li>
<li><p>CONGRESS ENACT LEGISLATION TO PROTECT OUR DEMOCRACY BY REVERSING THE EFFECTS OF THE CITIZENS UNITED SUPREME COURT DECISION which essentially said corporations can spend as much as they want on elections. The result is that corporations can pretty much buy elections. Corporations should be highly limited in ability to contribute to political campaigns no matter what the election and no matter what the form of media. This legislation should also RE-ESTABLISH THE PUBLIC AIRWAVES IN THE U.S. SO THAT POLITICAL CANDIDATES ARE GIVEN EQUAL TIME FOR FREE AT REASONABLE INTERVALS IN DAILY PROGRAMMING DURING CAMPAIGN SEASON. The same should extend to other media.</p>
</li>
<li><p>CONGRESS PASS THE BUFFETT RULE ON FAIR TAXATION SO THE RICH AND CORPORATIONS PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE & CLOSE CORPORATE TAX LOOP HOLES AND ENACT A PROHIBITION ON HIDING FUNDS OFF SHORE. No more GE paying zero or negative taxes. Pass the Buffet Rule on fair taxation so the rich pay their fair share. (If we have a really had a good negotiating position and have the place surrounded, we could actually dial up taxes on millionaires, billionaires and corporations even higher...back to what they once were in the 50's and 60's.</p>
</li>
<li><p>CONGRESS COMPLETELY REVAMP THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION and staff it at all levels with proven professionals who get the job done protecting the integrity of the marketplace so citizens and investors are both protected. This agency needs a large staff and needs to be well-funded. It's currently has a joke of a budget and is run by Wall St. insiders who often leave for high ticket cushy jobs with the corporations they were just regulating. Hmmm.</p>
</li>
<li><p>CONGRESS PASS SPECIFIC AND EFFECTIVE LAWS LIMITING THE INFLUENCE OF LOBBYISTS AND ELIMINATING THE PRACTICE OF LOBBYISTS WRITING LEGISLATION THAT ENDS UP ON THE FLOOR OF CONGRESS.</p>
</li>
<li><p>CONGRESS PASSING "Revolving Door Legislation" LEGISLATION ELIMINATING THE ABILITY OF FORMER GOVERNMENT REGULATORS GOING TO WORK FOR CORPORATIONS THAT THEY ONCE REGULATED. So, you don't get to work at the FDA for five years playing softball with Pfizer and then go to work for Pfizer making $195,000 a year. While they're at it, Congress should pass specific and effective laws to enforce strict judicial standards of conduct in matters concerning conflicts of interest. So long as judges are culled from the ranks of corporate attorneys the 1% will retain control.</p>
</li>
<li><p>ELIMINATE "PERSONHOOD" LEGAL STATUS FOR CORPORATIONS. The film "The Corporation" has a great section on how corporations won "personhood status". <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SuUzmqBewg">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SuUzmqBewg</a> . Fast-forward to 2:20. It'll blow your mind. The 14th amendment was supposed to give equal rights to African Americans. It said you "can't deprive a person of life, liberty or property without due process of law". Corporation lawyers wanted corporations to have more power so they basically said "corporations are people." Amazingly, between 1890 and 1910 there were 307 cases brought before the court under the 14th amendment. 288 of these brought by corporations and only 19 by African Americans. 600,000 people were killed to get rights for people and then judges applied those rights to capital and property while stripping them from people. It's time to set this straight.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>NOTE 1: This is from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from the Birmingham Jail":</p>
<p>"Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks to so dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent-resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word "tension." I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, we must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood."</p>
<p>"The purpose of our direct-action program is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation. I therefore concur with you in your call for negotiation."</p>
<p>Here's the entire "Letter from the Birmingham Jail": <a href="http://abacus.bates.edu/admin/offices/dos/mlk/letter.html">http://abacus.bates.edu/admin/offices/dos/mlk/letter.html</a> . It's a treasure and is as timely as ever.</p>
<p>NOTE 2: Here's a short video from BBC to inspire you. It gets pretty extraordinary about halfway through: <a href="http://youtu.be/lqN3amj6AcE">http://youtu.be/lqN3amj6AcE</a></p>
<p>NOTE 3: If you haven't seen these 3 award winning documentaries -- INSIDE JOB, THE CORPORATION, and WHY WE FIGHT -- I highly recommend them.</p>
<p>NOTE 4: There needs to be a very well researched and concise addendum that contains a list of the top 50 corporate crimes / harmful actions during the past 15 years. This ought to really blow people away and will help increase support both on the ground in DC and in living rooms across America as the story unfolds. We can't assume everyone knows why these demands are necessary. We must demonstrate.</p>
</div>