Two insights that I wanted to share two insights with you that have emerged for me while participating in the OC online conversations.

It seems that our collective way of thinking (which we are usually unaware of) is what can collapse the movement's potential. I believe the following transitions of awareness…

Ever wonder where all those Bailout Trillions have gone?  What about all the Stimulus Trillions?  Or all the "Quantitative Easing" Trillions?

Ever wonder why it is that, no matter how many tax cuts & no matter how much borrowed money our Neoliberal "leaders" shower on the Oligarchs - the so-called "Job Creators" - none of it seems to "trickle down" to the 99%?

Well it turns out they're On Strike!  And they're not going to "trickle down" any more…

Calls for direct democracy have recently become a lot more prevalent around the world in the context of the Arab Spring, Los Indignados and Occupy Wall Street movements. This begs the question, how direct democracy would practically work, not only on a local but also a national and international scope. Popular wisdom seems to be that electronic voting could be the silver bullet that would make this possible. However, not only is it hard to trust electronic voting whenever a secret ballot is…

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

– Mark 8:36

 "The Contrariness of the Mad Farmer"

by Wendell Berry 

I am done with apologies. If contrariness is my inheritance and destiny, so be it. If it is my mission to go in at exits and come out at entrances, so be it. 

I have planted…

Definition of KLEPTOCRACY



: government by those who seek chiefly status

and personal gain at the expense of the governed; also: a particular government

of this kind



— klep·to·crat noun



— klep·to·crat·ic adjective

"(Merriam Webster Dictionary)



Christopher Hedges used this very apt word,

dating back to 1819, in his "teaching" at OWS.



It is the perfect word to describe our present condition..our present reality as the 99%.…

I just stumbled upon this essay, written in the aftermath of 9/11, but which has important things to say to some of the current discussions about a new economy and the role of technology. I've taken the liberty of highlighting some sections.

Thoughts in the Presence of Fear

by Wendell Berry, Autumn 2001 (reprinted in 73 countries and 7 languages) 

I. The time will soon come when we will not be able to remember the horrors of…

Thomas Paine's Revolution

An Ode to #OWS

"There are two kinds of property. Firstly, natural property, or that which comes to us from the Creator of the universe – such as the earth, air, water. Secondly, artificial or acquired…

Here's some excellent statements on the means and meaning of the OWS movement.

Just read this re-post from Op Ed News on the #Occupy Wall Street: New York City General Assembly website.  I couldn't agree more, that the teeth of this movement need to sink themselves into Congress.  The politicians that do the bidding of corporate interests can only operate if we 1. put them there; 2. allow them to stay.  It makes sense that Congress is the most vulnerable link in the chain of execution for continued consolidation of corporate power and control in our flagging…

Relief and extreme gratitude for the Occupy Movement this Thanksgiving weekend. Some would say that this movement was long overdue. To that I respond "timing is everything"; the time for OCCUPY was NOW. The WORLD is ready NOW!

I am so very grateful today feeling a shift in this movement -- a "rolling up the sleeves" of many people everywhere because of what Occupy has done by speaking what was unspoken, by inviting others to do the same, by including all the voices, young, old,…

It seems the 1% is preparing to crush the Occupy Movement in the USA once & for all.  A Bill being rushed furtively through the US Senate would designate the entire United States as part of the "Global Battlefield", allowing Endless Detention without Evidence & without Trial, Disappearances, Assassinations, Summary Executions, etc. - in short, Nazi-style Totalitarianism, here & now!…

A friend who I really respect just sent me this article by Naomi Wolf that came out in today's London Guardian.

At first blush, I didn't think it was offering anything new to the conversation.

It's worth reading, if only for this:

In New York, a state supreme court justice and a New York City council member were beaten up; in Berkeley,…

What is happening in Greece is of great relevance to us in the US. We may very well find ourselves in a similar situation. This piece by Mark Ames highlights how a powerful anti-democratic impulse drives the decision-making around spending there.

I've been following Ames for quite some time, from his days at the Moscow-based shock publication, Exile. As usual, I…

Foreclosed Homeowners Re-Occupy Their Homes

On Dec. 6, there will be a national day of action, “Occupy Our Homes,” where people across the country facing predicaments similar to Gage and Richardson may follow their lead.



Partly inspired by the Occupy movement, the day of action is supported by various community…

NON-VIOLENCE AS A POWERFUL WEAPON

First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win!

#OWS …

Next up, Occupy Christmas

Jesus would be on the side of the Occupy Movement, & WAS against the 1%!

#OWS #OLSX #Occupy