Who are the 99%?

As #occupy continues to go through media cycles (largely based on police violence) it becomes clear that the 99% will no longer remain silent. Who are they? The Washington Post answers the question from the other side.

Taken literally, the top 1 percent of American households had a minimum income of $516,633...

The number looks large but attainable. Then comes the real shock.

When you look at the disparity in net worth, things look even more skewed. Wealthier Americans have assets — in home equity, stocks and other investments — that generally outstrip their cash income. Average wealth of the top 1 percent was almost $14 million in 2009...

Yikes! Nobody in my circle of friends can boast that. The flip side is even scarier.

By contrast, the poorest households were experiencing declines in net worth even before the recession hit. In 2007, the bottom 20 percent of households had an average (negative!) net worth of –$13,800 in 2007, which fell further to –$27,200 in 2009. Altogether, “average wealth of the bottom 80 percent was just $62,900 in 2009 — a dropoff of $40,900 from 2007,” EPI writes. That means the wealthiest 1 percent held an average of 225 times the wealth of the average median household in 2009 — a ratio that was 125 in 1962.

Big numbers make the head spin. Visual!

Remember, that first group is NEGATIVE!

Who are the 99%? Just about everyone. Why are they speaking out? Because you don't become one of the 1% by working hard and lining up for Black Friday bargains.

More numbers and pictures at the New York Times.

UC Davis Incident

Watch the whole thing. What do you see? What reactions do you have?



Did you watch it? If not, do so now!

Then continue with this news article.

Officers in pepper spray incident placed on leave

Charles J. Kelly, a former Baltimore Police Department lieutenant who wrote the department's use of force guidelines, said pepper spray is a "compliance tool" that can be used on subjects who do not resist, and is preferable to simply lifting protesters...

After reviewing the video, Kelly said he observed at least two cases of "active resistance" from protesters. In one instance, a woman pulls her arm back from an officer. In the second instance, a protester curls into a ball. Each of those actions could have warranted more force, including baton strikes and pressure-point techniques.

"What I'm looking at is fairly standard police procedure," Kelly said.

At some point the people of this country accepted this behavior from the police. Now that people carry a pocket video camera with them at all times the behavior looks different. I read the above news story and compared it to what I saw in the video.

UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza has said the decision to use pepper spray was made at the scene.

"The students had encircled the officers," she said Saturday. "They needed to exit. They were looking to leave but were unable to get out."

Is that what you saw? What are your reactions now?

Constitutional Law

I have a radical idea.

The ACLU and the NRA should become a single entity. Join forces/resources. Fight the good fight together.

Honestly. I like them both.

The Occupation is Over; Long Live #Occupy!

The three most news worthy #occupy camps in three days all with mayors talking about health and safety issues. Just coincidence. Move along.

We should all be glad for this. The 1% has shown their hand. They say the word and the politicians leap. Spread the word and laugh.

Laugh because #occupy is far from gone. #ows got right back in the park. #occupyportland is still holding daily GA's. A contingent from #occupyoakland marched five miles to support Berkley. A movement that had settled into a simmer came roaring back into national news.

Are you enjoying this as much as I am?

Oakland Police Department Lies

The lies of the Oakland Police Department disturb me.

From the Guardian...

(I)nterim police chief, Howard Jordan, was similarly defensive when he spoke to reporters, denying that his men had used rubber bullets or flash-bang grenades, as some protesters alleged and adding: "It's unfortunate it happened. I wish that it didn't happen. Our goal, obviously, isn't to cause injury to anyone."

How can someone lie in the face of such condemning evidence? It certainly looks like a flash-bang grenade was tossed right in the middle of those protestors trying to help out a fallen protestor; a Marine who survived two tours in Iraq only to return to the United States and get his skull fractured for peaceful unarmed protest.



While on the topic of the Occupy Movement...

Several people have complained recently about protestors destroying parks. We could debate that point. I choose not to. Assume their occupation destroys the parks they inhabit. Better a few trampled parks than one trampled United States Constitution (First Amendment). Anyone else have good responses to these types?

Libyarated

BBC News - Libya's new rulers declare country liberated. Crowds cheered as one leader that wasn't elected announced the death of another leader that wasn't elected.

I am as misinformed about the meaning of 'Liberated' as I was about the phrase 'Mission Accomplished'.

Obama Pulls Out

US pulls out way too late. Says, "Don't worry, baby. I'm sure everything will be fine."

BBC: All US troops to leave Iraq in 2011.

So when Obama promised an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, he meant that he would get around to it when election season started up again? Lame!

Occupy Wall Street Lunatic 'Fringe of the Fringe'

The Forbes 'Occupy Wall Street' Gaining Respect...From Wall Street? article by Kenneth Rapoza is poor journalism.

The left wing lunatic 'fringe of the fringe' is gaining respect from the very source of the movement's disdain: Wall Street itself.

A 'news' article calling a movement of thousands in New York and hundreds of thousands if not millions showing solidarity as the movement turns into Occupy Everywhere can not be called lunatic 'fringe of the fringe'. This seems like a deliberate attempt at belittling the very movement the article purports to report support for.

Whether it fizzles out or gets busted up through divide and conquer strategies remains to be seen, but the movement, which got its start in the editorial offices of Adbusters, a non-influential magazine based in Vancouver, continues to spread around the world.

Send Mr. Rapoza back to school! First and foremost, this would make a fine example of a run-on sentence in any grammar book. The poor use of commas further complicates comprehension. The opening line, "Whether it fizzles out or gets busted up..." assumes unknowable foreknowledge. It again belittles the protests and assures the reader that this too shall pass into obscurity before any results are achieved. Calling Adbusters a non-influential magazine flies in the face of all evidence. The Occupy Wall Street idea started there and has spread around the globe over the past month. While the magazine may have played almost no role in organizing the event, their influence is evident.

Did Forbes and Mr. Rapoza deliberately publish propaganda? Are they shitty journalists? Do we have to choose?

Keeping things in check

Abolish the minimum wage. Institute a maximum wage of no more than 10x what the lowest paid workers make. Watch the lowest paid workers earn more than they ever thought possible.

Customer Service

One way to view the Occupy Wall Street/Occupy America demonstrations...

This is a customer service call. The citizens subscribe to a service called American Democracy. They are unsatisfied with that service. So they are calling out the service providers. They aren't clear on what the service provider needs to do, just what the failings of that service are and that they better do something because the service sucks.

Dear Service Provider,
Make It Right!

The Occupation Continues

What's it all about?

Anti-Wall Street Protests Spread From New York to San Francisco - Businessweek

“They’re just a bunch of wacko leftists trying to get on TV,” said Onel Delorb, 33, an unemployed office worker from the Bronx. “It’s my fault that I’m not doing anything for work. It’s not government’s fault.”

He said the demonstrators undermined their credibility by carrying iPhones and iPads made by Apple Inc., which is valued at $350 billion.

A valid point. Or it is a further indicator of how giant corporations fleece the population by over-charging for their goods. Having watched a lot of the live feed, I could also argue the protesters made wise investments in tools that have allowed them to become their own media outlet and spread the word. No major media outlet filmed policeman Anthony Bologna pepper-spraying innocent protesters. The protesters did it for themselves and spread it around the world in an instant. They aren't trying to get on TV because they don't need the TV.

Using the products of corporations against them. Definitely revolutionary*.

* In the sense that many revolutions are initially armed by the forces they come up against.

Truth be Told

After ten years of intense government surveillance of the citizenry, the public is turning the surveillance back on the watchers.

There is an attempt to edit history. I will do my best to not let them get away with it. I hope you will too.

How? By making certain as many people as possible know about it. Check out The New York Times. The originator highlights the times but also check out the authorship.

Then from the BBC you have to wade through a dozen paragraphs about demonstrator disorderly conduct before getting to this.

BBC News - Hundreds of Occupy Wall Street protesters arrested

Some of the protesters said police had allowed them on to the roadway and were escorting them across when they were surrounded and the arrests began.

We can't keep them from rewriting the page but we can keep them from rewriting history.

One Bad Pig in a System of Swine

Since September 17 a group of demonstrators has been practicing deliberative democracy while occupying Wall Street in NYC. The demonstrators have been heroically peaceful. Unfortunately, others have not.

Occupy Wall Street: 'Pepper-spray' officer named in Bush protest claim | World news | guardian.co.uk

The Guardian has learned that the officer, named by activists as deputy inspector Anthony Bologna, stands accused of false arrest and civil rights violations in a claim brought by a protester involved in the 2004 demonstrations at the Republican national convention.

In case you think that perhaps there was some provocation for Bologna's actions, watch this excellent piece that shows what happened.

Anthony Bologna should not have a badge.

Taxing the Rich Benefits the Rich

People opposed to taxing the rich don't understand why it is such a fabulous idea.

From a BBC News article:

"This administration's insistence on raising taxes on job creators and its reluctance to take the steps necessary to strengthen our entitlement programmes are the reasons the president and I were not able to reach an agreement previously, and it is evident today that these barriers remain," (House Speaker Boehner) said.

Let us assume that the rich are the job creators. I don't buy into this but millions of the citizenry do. Rather than argue with them we will, for argument's sake, play along.

The rich, as mythically heroic job creators, currently don't have a need for all of the workers available. They benefit from having such a large pool to pull from. So it's only fair that they pay for this benefit since they have the means to do so. They can pay for people to sit around waiting until the job creators have need of them for their next adventure. They can pay to keep them healthy since debilitated job applicants would do them no good should they decide to create some jobs. They can even pay to educate them so when they create those jobs they have the best possible pool to pull from. They can even pay for people to sit around and do absolutely nothing because it is cheaper to do that than to finance the criminal justice system that will have to deal with those whose options have completely run out. Ten years obviously isn't long enough for the rich to create those jobs they were talking about. Let's give them more time to hatch those grand ideas that will turn into jobs for people by having the rich pay for people to wait it out.

A little wealth redistribution can go a long way. Help the rich help themselves. Demand higher taxes on millionaires and corporations!

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Apparently it will be streamed.

Global Revolution

Terror Alert and I Just Don't Care!

New York on security alert amid warning of 9/11 terror threat. I don't care anymore. Every freakin' year as we approach September 11th a news story announces some terror plot meant to disrupt observation of the anniversary of what US citizens simply call 9/11. Every year the threat level gets raised yet again. And every year it amounts to nothing.

I think most of us recall the story of the boy who cried wolf. I just don't care anymore.

For the record, I still don't buy the official line as to what really happened that day. I don't claim to know what did happen, but what we've been sold isn't it.

This is the modern day JFK event. Most of the world seems 99.9% certain that the CIA orchestrated that one (while details vary). Most US citizens still like to live in denial about it. The level of disinformation surrounding September 11th leaves a familiar flavor.

But as for these annual terror alerts, I just don't care.

Two Views of the Same Event

Read both of these stories about the same event. Yes, read both of them.

Longshoremen expected to return to work in wake of federal court order

Long History Of Longshore Labor Unrest On West Coast

I realize that both stories have a certain amount of bias, but the FOX version would make a good substitute for ipecac.

America; Love It or Color It

Hey kids! Let's all take out our propagandist coloring book and learn what Right Wing Extremists think we should all believe about 9/11!

In Solidarity with Verizon Workers

Verizon Strike Highlights Union Effect on Middle Class Jobs. As someone working in a non-union shop, I appreciate all the struggles of the union workers. Their strength and success makes conditions at my place of work better. Fight on!

For the Anarchists

Seventy-five years ago the Spanish anarchists were in a fight with Spanish fascists... and winning! May workers one day rediscover their inherent strength.

Rich Guy Says, "Why isn't the government taxing the fuck out of me?"

That isn't exactly what Warren Buffet says, but it summerizes his sentiment as expressed in the New York Times.

Stop Coddling the Super-Rich - NYTimes.com

"I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation."

Wow! This country must be facing some serious shit if a billionaire is telling people that the rich must be taxed if we are to make it through.

South Africa becomes newest nation to make USA look like backwards hicks.

While citing the deep inequality between rich and poor, South Africa makes the United States look ill.

BBC News - South Africa unveils universal health care scheme

'The private sector is held up as an example of good service and quality of care - and this is mostly justified. What is not justified is the price tag that comes with certain forms of private health care provision,' he said.

'This is not only a burden to people using private health services, but a disservice to our country as a whole because it distorts pricing across the board.'

In other news, with the United States' credit rating getting a downgrade, for the first time in history all nations with a AAA credit rating have socialized medicine.

When Religion Controls the State

Some people are easily convinced that the United States is controlled by the Zionists and will do whatever Israel tells them to do. They are also easily convinced that Obama is a Muslim who does whatever the Arab world tells him to do. They don't trust the Pope much either. Many of these same people, without even a hint of irony, would support the posting of the Ten Commandments in public buildings.

Divide and Suffer

What we have is 90% of the people versus 90% of the money, and the money is winning hands down.

It wins because it pits the people against each other. It makes imaginary divisions between the ethnicities and pits those perceived as Mexicans or Asians or other immigrant groups against those who consider themselves 'Real Americans™' because they immigrated before everyone else was doing it.

It splits the people into ideological opponents based on two political parties that historically aren't that different from each other when it comes to capitulating to the wants and desires of those who have the money. It splits them into some weird left and right scenario hoping nobody will ever think to look up.

It divides the poor from the impoverished calling one group the middle class and the other a bunch of welfare loafers. It constantly draws attention to the small amounts being siphoned off to help those who are part of the 90% of the people while hiding the ever growing wealth in the 90% of the money.

It wins by selling people the idea of some day being a part of that super fantastic rich lot. Strike it rich at the casino, winning lotto ticket, smart investing, or maybe just in the right place at the right time. Then they will be the ones with the wealth and the power and they sure as hell wouldn't want anyone taking that prize away from them.

As they say, ain't no war but the class war. If you made less than a million last year, you know which side you're on.

90% of the people can totally take down the 90% with the money.

Commie Pinko Teabaggers

They said taxes were too high. They said they wanted a flat tax with no loop holes. They said they wanted less government control of their money. They said they were fiscal conservatives.

So I lay out the voluntary tax model for them. I explain how the government offers their constituents a bill of goods and services while people can pick and choose what they will and will not support. Then they send in as much as they are willing to give to the things they deem important.

They hated the idea. They called it the dumbest idea they had ever heard. Somehow I had managed to out-conservative the conservatives exposing them as Communists. Yes, they wanted government services (mostly military, medicare, and social security) but they wanted everybody to pay for it.

Communists!

Of course what they really wanted was for somebody else to pay for everything they wanted from the government. They were dead certain that the rich and the poor (people other than them) weren't paying their fair share. Yet they maintained that you can't tax businesses because doing so forces jobs out of the country. We had to capitulate to the demands of business for our own good.

Fascist Commies!

Guess I won't be getting their vote in 2012. Fine. I wouldn't want a bunch of fascist commies voting for me, anyway.

Trickle Down!

Trickle Down Economics

definition: The feeling that you are constantly getting pissed on.

1 > 85+

Today's top story:

Violent death of at least 85 people at the hands of a conservative Christian in the largest terrorist attack in Norway since WWII is completely overshadowed by 1 drunk celebrity snuffing it.

Income Disparity

Today a person explained to me how the wealth disparity in the United States is the greatest in recorded history. Even worse than at the height of the Roman Empire or just before the French Revolution when people rose up and put the heads of the wealthy on pikes.

Ponder, if you will, a radically simple solution. Let's do away with minimum wage laws and replace them with maximum wage laws. Nobody can make more than 10x what the lowest paid individual makes.

Simple, isn't it? Current National minimum wage is at $7.25/hour. Instead let's say that nobody can earn more than $72.50/hour. Assuming a 40 hour work week, that means a CEO couldn't earn more than an estimated $150k ($150,000) per year. Horrifying! At least it would be horrifying to the average CEO that currently makes $11.4M ($11,400,000) a year. But if our current minimum wage assumes that a full time worker can actually live on $15,000 a year, I feel certain the CEOs could figure out a way to survive. After all, they are so smart that they deserve to get paid huge sums.

But some people just love to make loads and loads of money. We can't just take that away from them. No problem! Two simple solutions. (I do love simple solutions.)

First, they can work tirelessly to raise the bottom income. If the lowliest worker saw a moderate increase to just $10/hour, a CEO could then earn over $200,000 a year! Raise it to $20/hour and the top dogs could bring home $400,000. And you can bet the minimum would go up fast if it directly affected the maximum.

The second option for people who just can't make enough money is to let them earn as much as they want. That's right, you can't actually cap their genius money making capabilities. They were born to horde cash! So every dollar earned over the 'maximum' gets taxed at a 75% rate. They still get to make more than everyone else and it helps to fund the government services we have all come to expect. Is that so much to ask? I bet everyone making less than $150,000 a year (roughly 95% of Americans) would find this acceptable.

Or we could just put rich people's heads on pikes.

Cops & Robbers

Cops vs. Criminals? Try Cops vs. Citizens.

Cops don't bust criminals. They can't bust criminals. Not if we wish to maintain the notion that a person is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Contrary to popular opinion (even I am prone to forgetting this), 'innocent until proven guilty' is not a right. Placing the burden of proof on the accuser rather than the accused is, however, a standard practice in our legal system. A damn good one at that!

Cops bust people. A court of law that could very well involve a Constitutionally guaranteed jury of one's peers determines if a crime was committed. Until that time, we should presume the person(s) innocent.

The next time you look through mug shots, observe an arrest, or even hear of one in the news try to think of 'the perp' as just another citizen or at the very least 'the accused'.

Or perhaps you like the idea of cops viewing everyone as potential criminals. Who am I to judge, jury or execute?

Gay Marriage in Old New York

BBC News - New York state approves gay marriage

New York has become the sixth and most populous US state to allow same-sex marriage.

I think we are reaching a point where this movement is snowballing. Coincidentally I also approve of snowballing. Whatever floats your boat.

As long as we have states that recognize same sex marriage the federal government needs to as well. I hear the disparity between state and federal tax codes makes it a real bitch to file.

We could make this whole thing super easy by outlawing ALL marriage. Then only outlaws would have in-laws.

War on (Some) Drugs

BBC News - Central America drugs war: Clinton pledges more funds

Mrs Clinton said funding for the fight against transnational organised crime in the region would be increased from $260m in 2010 to almost $300m this year.

Or we could legalize all drugs, tax them, generate millions in revenue, and no longer give a rat's ass about foreign drug cartels.

Too simple?

If you vote, It's your fault.

Jesse Ventura on Good Morning America

As much as I like Jesse, I don't think I could support him as part of a Ron Paul ticket. I'd be willing to entertain him as a Presidential candidate, though. Especially if I was on the ticket as VP.

Americans

As a nation we call ourselves Americans. The name America was derived from the feminized Latin form of an Italian cartographer's name who was in the employ of the Portuguese exploring the coasts of what would presently be Brazil.

Next time someone tells you that they are Proud to be an American, share this.

What Do You Mean 'Tunnel Vision'?

Let me start with a disclaimer*: In no way do I mean for this to support one party over another. I offer this as an illustration of how we trap ourselves in the reality tunnels we wish to perceive.

Study this chart. What do you see? Do you draw any conclusions based on this data?

I shared this chart with working class individuals of various political persuasions to get their reactions. As expected, those who tend to favor Democrats see this as 'proof' that Republicans lie about the 'tax and spend' agenda of their favorite party.

Those who favor the Republican party did not respond as I expected. I expected them to dismiss the data, call it misleading, claim that Republican administrations inherited terrible budgets and got it all straightened out just in time for Democrats to come along, take all the credit, and then ruin it all over again. Instead I repeatedly got reactions so coherently summed up by one individual when he said...

Whoa! Obama sure didn't waste any time ruining our economy.

Turns out I have no comprehension of how the conservative mind works. Any ideas for research that can help me better understand this phenomenon?

*A posting that starts off with a disclaimer probably has a hidden agenda, offensive material, or both.

Attention Walmart Shoppers!

China would like to thank you for making them what they are today. It wouldn't have been possible without you.

BBC World Service

China has overtaken Japan to become the world's second largest economy.

At its current rate of growth, analysts say China will replace the US as the world's top economy in about a decade.

Some day even our "Made in the USA" labels will be made in China.

Socialism vs. Capitalism

Socialism prioritizes investment in society.
Capitalism prioritizes investment in capital.
Of course I speak in utopian altruisms and over simplifications.
Of course.