Walk This Way: The Anniversary Of A Dream

We are coming up on an anniversary of sorts.

It's been 50 years since Martin Luther King delivered his famous 'dream' speech, and 84 years since the Reverend Dr. was born. August 28th is really an anniversary of history itself. Much like the holiday we enjoy every January when we party on the civil rights' leader's birthday, the day he delivered the 'dream' to the American public will be celebrated with all due pomp and circumstance on the 28th.

In fact, throughout this month our nation's capitol will play host to a variety of civil rights groups honoring the occasion.

AFP/Getty Images, 1963

During the hot and sticky August of 1963, scores of Americans were drawn to protest in the nation's capitol. The beautifully interracial crowds marched on Washington D.C. demanding equal justice for all citizens under the law.

They congregated in front of the Lincoln Memorial which is located on the opposite end of the mall from the Capitol Building where President Barack Obama would be sworn into office a smidgen more than 45 years later. Martin Luther King predicted a time when freedom, harmony, and equality for all would become a reality in the U.S., and predicted his own death, leaving behind his “I Have a Dream” speech to speak to generations to come.

(Time, 2013)

In the eleven-year period between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice to protest and action to discuss.

He wrote five books and dozens of articles. He led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world. He formed the coalition of conscience, penned the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", and planned drives in Alabama to register African American voters. He conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson, still managing to get arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times. King was awarded five honorary degrees including The Nobel Peace Prize; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but a world figure, as well.

1963 Alabama Bombing

18 days after the March On Washington, four young girls were killed when a bomb exploded in the basement of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. Five years after giving the "I Have A Dream" speech, Revered Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Dead at the age of 39.

This Reverend, this leader of the hopeful, spoke directly to our souls. He articulated his vision so clearly, and with such moving prose, that it was through his eyes so many could see for the first time. The fact that The Struggle still continues today, that thriving racists still exist, is baffling to those of us who believe in equality.

In 1964 Congress passed the Civil Rights Act outlawing all forms of discrimination against racial, ethnic, national and religious minorities, and outlawing discrimination against women in the US. The fight isn't over. There always seems to be new and ingenious ways to strip Americans of their civil rights, and the ever vigilant have their work cut out for them decade after decade, Scotus decision after Scotus decision. Citizens United, Voting Rights Act. Work others died for being tossed around like Godzilla's playthings.

MLK's dream, once shared with the hundreds of thousands who listened to him live on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, was recorded and replayed to generations. Today, the gift of his vision lives in the hearts of the American public.

There was talk of the MLK monument being "out of service" on the anniversary, as decisions had been made to change the inscription, but luckily those changes were completed, phew, just in time. No, they didn't give the statue a facelift, and they didn't decide to uncross those famously crossed arms of the civil rights leader. No, the text that was removed from Reverend Dr. King's monument was — “I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness."

(Time, 1963)

That snippet was taken from Dr. King’s "Drum Major Instinct" speech, given two months before the "Dream" speech, in Atlanta. Critics said the engraved quote made MLK sound arrogant, so the chisels came out.

In the full quote, Dr. King was alluding to his possible eulogy: “Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.”

His words literally still vibrate today at a level apparently higher than any elephant can hear. Where those words were carved out of stone on the monument, there is now only sandblasted rock with no inscription at all.

Hoodie Truth, 2013

A week of events have been planned throughout the nation's capitol, which should be perfectly temperate this time around. If you decide to join this year's march from the Lincoln Memorial to the King Memorial on Aug. 24th, you'll find the weather around 80 degrees that day with only 10% humidity. It's an easy and delightful stroll from Lincoln to the MLK monument where there will also be an interfaith service on Aug. 28th.

Policy Geeks have put together a more complete guide to events, exhibits and attractions in the nation's capitol. Just check out our next blog post, Part II. Guide will be updated as more information becomes available. Feel free to add any items you know of, fun events to invite friends to, or meet ups here and there, below in the comments.

We recommend joining one of the many bus rides planning to descend on our nation's Capitol this week. If you need to know how to get around the city on Saturday, the Washington Post offers some advice and details. 

Rising from the floor of The Mall in the heart of Washington D.C., placed halfway between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial, MLK's monument tells the story of a nation torn by public bouts of racism, sexism, and blind hate.  Lessons as important today as they were then. So maybe come and visit. And be part of what stands between justice and injustice.

Come stand where he stood.

Come march for what he marched for.

The Policy Geek

How To Occupy (Chapter One Continued)

Occupy Boston (Lindo, 2011)

Continued....Occupiers have shown up in almost every country on earth. People saying they are protesting in solidarity with those who protest lack of regulation and consumer protection. These Occupiers journey to find each other and then take the time necessary to find the right questions to ask, that's really the most interesting part. It seems they find it not by taking someone else's answer, or even someone else's question, but by thinking for themselves. So as a policy geek, we have to applaud any medium that so clearly carries their crafted messages. 

"This makeshift city is a vortex of creation: To think for oneself is not merely to take sides on the same old issues that come up generation after generation, it is to bring forth the issues that make a difference. Occupy is a machine of bringing forth." ~~ Normi The Chef (Donald Trump's celebrity chef who came by with amazing meals for the warriors at Occupy LA)

"How can I matter?" That question led me to this opportunity to take a stand and leads me everyday to knowing the moments on which to act, to see decisive moments in which to make things happen. Things are actually happening here." ~~ Nick At Night, Occupy Wall Street.

Occupy Baltimore (Lindo, 2011)

"Everyday thinking and questioning people can, at times, demonstrate a remarkable demand for a domain of possibility- a context - in which individual lives can make a difference. And that is empowering even to the point of restoring hope." ~~ Prentiss, Occupy Baltimore

Occupy Maui (Lindo, 2011)

There is one other question on almost all Occupiers minds. With all the doom and gloom pouring out of main stream media, (which most of these sign holders definitely say they despise) there is a 2012 End-Of-Days drama to many conversations. 'Will we survive?' People say it about their families and their businesses.  Kids say it because they worry about recent nuclear accidents. The anti-war protestors say it about drones.

"In my generation's lifetime it really feels like we are in fact destroying ourselves economically and environmentally. A more useful question is, "What if we do survive all this mess, then what?" Then you have to say,  "How can I make a difference" If you ask yourself, I'm willing to bet you do. Because you made it here. To listen and self educate is living in the presence of making a difference by simply sharing self education. When we switch from "Can I make a difference?" to "I am making a difference!" that's what Occupy is all about." ~~ Drenda Herrera, Occupy Wall Street

Occupy LA (Lindo, 2011)

In all honesty, not much makes a difference. That's the reality. So where is the difference making?  Questions are much more powerful than answers, so these Occupiers tend to spend each day devoted to knowing whether or not there is a way to ask questions that make a difference?

The kind of human being that shows up in the presence of something is different than the people who live in the vicious cycle of corporate greed. These Occupiers don't know if the answer is yes, or no. They tend to think, from our travels, that they probably don't make a difference. They are not aware that simply being who they are they make a difference. Around the heating sources, they'll say the media has no idea what's been happening at one Occupy or another, they think no one is noticing they're there. In reality, by taking a stand and honestly looking at our problems, the closer they get to the facts of the matter, the more patriotic they are. These people are shouting about what is really true for them. They aren't showing up to make a profit.

Occupy Oakland (Lindo, 2011)

Occupiers for the most part are showing up to fight for civil rights and that common human courtesy be reflected in the law. Yet they tend to feel like the process is meaningless and difficult and time consuming when you talk over walks to the closest bathrooms. They are fighting being evicted and food issues and weather issues and security issues. If they were just allowed to be the populist think tanks they strive to be, perhaps we might find new domains that we might have not seen before in our government's commitments to preconceived answers, answers that are consistently paid for by the Koch Brothers. Yeah, that's another consistent message from all the different cities. We are here as witnesses to say that there are indeed new domains that open the possibility where things show up, where the future can show up, where the things that are missing begin to show up. When you take a stand in the clearing in the place where new ideas show up, things can truly get accomplished.  So our cameras and our recorders and eyes are there.

While all this is going on, it's hard not to flash on how things are back inside the beltway. Cocktail party floating in our nation's capitol is alot like being on a train ride. Inside the train people are having a fairly good time. There's music and food and the scenery is terrific as the countryside roles by. Then somebody looks out the window and notices where the train is going, and sees that the tracks lead to a disaster, maybe a Senator or a Congressman, or maybe a pundit. Now people who pretend to represent the rest of us start to organize the train." Listen" they say, "what we all have to do is get on the left-side-of-the-train. Hurry" So everybody moves over to the left side, and maybe we all try left-side-of-the-train thinking and doing for awhile, and then someone looking out the window of the train sees where we are going and sees, OMG, there is still a disaster ahead and yells, "this isn't working, we are still headed toward disaster!" Everybody knows what to do then and they announce: "Get over on the right side of the train, quickly. Everybody!" So everybody moves over to the right side. They give each other enormous numbers of promises that getting on the proper side of the train is what is going to make a difference. But it doesn't.

Occupy Baltimore (Lindo, 2011)

People who are looking out the window of the train now can see the disaster coming. The Occupy people are using twitter and all kinds of social media to share info and stay in touch, and Americans are starting to wake up to the fact that it is totally unrealistic to think that the side you are on is going to make any difference as to where the train goes. What we want to do here, is to prevent disaster. What we have been doing, is still leading us to disaster. The drama of these Occupations playing out on a national stage gives us an opportunity to get out in front of the train and lay some new tracks. That seems to be the only realistic practical thing to do. It seems to us to be wholly unpractical to keep trying the same old worn-out ways, just exchanging them in 30 year periods, generation for generation, or exchanging them from one administration to another administration or one Party to another Party. But doing otherwise, requires us, each of us, to think for ourselves and not take sides on issues. Candidates think taking sides on an issue is thinking for yourself. No. To think for oneself is to bring forth the issues that are important. Not to take a side. We're not saying people shouldn't take sides, but in reality, taking a side has nothing to do with thinking for oneself.  And these goose-bumped issue chewers are on the front lines of this different way of bubbling up answers, here as an example to the powers that be, in the absence of their proper use of power. And it's awe inspiring.

Occupy LA (Lindo, 2011)

This window has opened in our history, to build an alternative future. A domain in which a difference can be made, the exercise of future building. With care. With acceptance. With responsibility. Consensus is about opening up possibilities. Not about being committed to anything that claims rights over inalienable citizens rights. They are willing to take a stand with no proof, just naked courage. It's been an honor to document this movement. It requires courage to go down a road with no path to follow. Anyone can walk a path once shown it. Here, the path is made by the walking. So we walk with them, and take some pictures along the way.

UPDATE  At this time, we've never been at an Occupy during a violent event.  But there are reports. And there are calls for a National General Assembly to happen in Philadelphia summer 2012...

Lisa, The Policy Geek
(Inspired by The Network Review, 1983)

Muddy Waters

When you listen for a living, sometimes a talking point can hurt your ears. Lately, its been a forked tongue of talking points. On the one hand, Talking Heads saying that they don't understand the message of the OWS crowd (apparently, "Occupy" is too long a word to say on National television).

Coming out of one corner of the mouth of the coined is:

• OWS has no message,
• Their message could get hijacked so watch-out!,
• We can't possibly see what they are saying,
• They are so disorganized.

The other point of the fork says:

• They are nobodies,
• These people have no education (suddenly that's important),
• They aren't people like you and me, 
• Those are a bunch of disorganized religious zealots.
•  

To that we say, "Hngh." We think the better angels of nature are speaking loudly and clearly.

 (RTNews, 2011)

More and more world citizens think OWS's purpose and reason de etra are so simple that even this 9 year old understands and can articulate the message of the protesters he is standing with.

Former Representative Alan Grayson also seems to clearly understand why people are mobilizing and speaking to each other peacefully while mediating, exchanging ideas, and working on solutions to our nation's ills. It's called democracy and it's a shame that some people don't recognize it when it's intelligently done with intent and care.

(Bill Maher Productions, 2011)

We could go on and on. And if you would like us to go on and on, shoot us an email at thepolicygeek@gmail.com or make a comment here below. 

We can tell by the views and the demographics that we have hits from all over the world. So thank you. And welcome. And feel free to share our links or check out the books. Some of the images allow you to read full chapters while checking them out, so...indulge.

Meanwhile we still think President Obama is headed for Term 2.  Remember he got Bin Laden? Please?! Besides who are we up against? Michelle Bachmann? There was the 7th or 8th or 6th Republican debate on tonight, so we do what we always do. Listen. Our favorite quote from this of what will be 20 debates total on that side??:  "He put us in Libya. He is now putting us in Africa."  made by Michelle Bachmann. This is a no brainer.

Be back soon,

Lisa, The Policy Geek
thepolicygeek@gmail.com
Twitter: @thepolicygeek

It's A Good Thing

DC March For Sanity (Lindo, 2010)

Sometimes, in life, you are lucky enough to know it's time to take a stand. There are suddenly big clear choices and issues of justice at stake. And at those times, if you are VERY lucky, you can be part of history as well. You can boldly go where no one has gone before on a global level. You can seek out new forms of government, more representative of the People, give Gov a new life, and create a new definition of Civilization, of being a citizen of Earth.

(Lindo, 2011)

One of our friends calls the Occupiers horrible things and suggests violence against them, repeatedly.  (He) says I've 'drank the koolaid', tells me to 'fu@k off' for posting video of Occupy events (Sorry for the language, but we're just quoting here). We are talking informative, no comment videos, just people sharing. He says they are the 'lowest of the low', these people who attend Occupy Wall Street events, and that everyone in New York hates the protesters. He's honestly one of the smartest people we know, and yet, he thinks its just a huge anti-Israeli, anarchist movement that will end up destroying us all in the end. And even stranger, he lives on the Upper East Side. I'm just sayin'.

In the video below, Dr. Spence was answering the question, "Why are you here?" That's something that each of these people at these events seem to be pretty clear on. From "How my goin' pay my rent?" to "What rules will these camp outs live by?" every day is a clear and structured growth model for figuring out why these people are gathering.

 Dr. Lester Spence at Occupy Baltimore (Lindo, 2011)
Asst. Professor of Political Science, Africana Studies, Hopkins University

When you are a Policy Geek, it usually doesn't happen by accident. Usually you start out as some other type of geek, like a sports geek, or a stats geek, or a trekkie. And when that happens, and you combine that with the age of one who can remember a time without cell phones, or even cable, then every day now is a miracle. iTablets and wireless this and picture frames with video by the bed; twitter and Facebook and the very concept of Social Media is like living in Kubrick's 2001.  And now this, this worldwide instant communication series of events. In the utopia of Star Trek, direct democracy, freedom of speech, equality, fairness, justice, these were/are the ideals. Now, to see it in action, everywhere, real time, sharing, being, its very exciting. Its the energy of the world all going in the same direction. At least that's what we all hope it is. Perhaps its the potential power of the fringe that scares our FB friend. But this not-gonna-take-it-anymore crowd seems more focused on moving forward in the right direction, then letting the 1% steer the 99% even one more day.

So we are for this thing. This growing thing. And to our friend we say, "teach me, tell me. How could direct democracy fail?" 

Here's one anonymous quote from a protester at #OccupyDenver:  "Can't you be patriotic, support your nation's President and the troops and still be in the streets marching and occupying? Can't you love peace and cry out to end all the wars, knowing full well that we would still nation build? We are held to it by our Military Industrial Complex, after all. So we move to Africa, and we save lives and fight some real bad guys and help them replace real infrastructure. Africa will be the new frontier. And we know that money giant will be extremely hard to put on a diet so the Pentagon has to eat something. Since there are military offices in every county in the United States...that'll be harder to change, but isn't it patriotic just the same to want our troops to be home? Home and safe?"

(Lindo, 2011)

Admittedly, we can see no exit strategy, or pack out day ahead, and we suppose this is a weather permitting kind of thing. Nonetheless, you must appreciate how the Occupy movement is growing, its fine beginnings, and the quality of the people supporting the movement. And after careful research and intense outreach, twitter and YouTube hours, it appears to us as though thoughtful people all over the world in solutionary solidarity are standing up to Usury and Perfidy!! In fact, we're sure of it. The simple fact that they have free libraries set up at each encampment to share intelligent background on history and government and the state of our Congress today and the Constitution, et al says so much. Transparency at its most purist form. With all that, there are ridiculous fringe, what we would call 'out of the ballpark thinking' individuals there talking about conspiracies and the Fed and mind control, but by and large the distillation from each work group seems sane and well thought out.

What we mean to say is, if you really believe in Democracy, then you must believe in Democracy! right? And so you take a stand, FOR SOMETHING and not just against the GOP, but FOR justice, for ecological sustainability, and for intelligent solutionary debate on the economy and our futures as citizens of the world!!

If you have been paying attention you are daily correcting someone who thinks that Occupy Wall Street (OWS) doesn't have a message or that they are a bunch of kids or that the press isn't covering it. Those are all false concepts. The meme was planned for several months leading up to the Global Day of Action yesterday. 

(Lindo, 2011)

We've been to the one in Baltimore and took video and photos, also NY, DC, and they are talking about alternative currencies, like the Baltimore Buck (kind of like a Disney dollar, honored by 126 stores in Baltimore) in an effort to take money out of the system. They supported the idea of taking money out of commercial banks and putting your money in credit unions. They talk about creating legislation to protect the consumer, like what the Consumer Protection Agency is supposed to do but is instead being blocked by the GOP. 

Now that all these fights are happening openly, with respectful debate, we must also think about the 2012 elections. The more people we hear from, the clearer it is that President Obama needs to be reelected with as many Democrats as we can cram into 2012. Not arguing, just saying on that level, moving forward, he's gotta be your guy. As a Progressive. If you don't think so, then you might as well stop reading now, because we definitely are not going to see eye to eye over the months ahead.

(CBS, 2011)

DC's Miles Maestas says, "It easy to label people and wage partisan and ideological warfare. It's easy to do that. What's hard is to bridge differences and ask people to be better citizens. This is what's asked of us -- to be engaged, caring and active citizens right now. If you're already doing all you can, great. You're the perfect candidate to teach others how you do what you do. Get a view of the big picture and be responsible for painting a part of it. Thanks for participating in this big, ongoing responsibility of self-governance."

George Lakoff says, "The basic idea is this: Democracy is based on empathy, that is, on citizens caring about each other and acting on that care, taking responsibility not just for themselves but for their families, communities, and their nation. The role of government is to carry out this principle in two ways: protection and empowerment."  To read more about Mr. Lakoff's work: http://georgelakoff.com/2011/04/17/obama-returns-to-his-moral-vision-democrats-read-carefully/ Lots of his books are listed and available through that link as well. 

Consensus (Occupy Wall Street, 2011)

They/We talk about getting out the vote and one fascinating democratic vote after another, with all concerns heard and voiced before voting. Its just beautiful. This many people getting involved and caring about our nation's future. This blog, for one, will not be found writing about how they are failing just yet. And the above video is a really well shot and edited look into the birth of this movement from its Ground Zero (excuse the expression).

(CBS, 2011)

Its growing, its popular, and people who know how to build a society from the ground up are participating in the discussions. Educators, union members, city councils all voting to support these actions. It's a good thing. It's a very good thing. It will be a New Republic, if we can keep it.

And since they don't seem to be going home just yet, looks like I'll be here typing. And carving pumpkins.

Lisa, The Policy Geek

The Revolution Should Not Be PhotoShopped

(Adam Nelson, 2011)

One thing we know for sure.  

The picture above, of Charlie Chaplin and Errol Flynn wasn't PhotoShopped. Those people were there, with hats in hand, waving and cheering. It's a different day down at Wall Street now, especially in Zuccotti Park, formerly called Liberty Plaza Park.

(Wikimedia.org, 2011)

Here's a cool picture taken by the even cooler David Shankbone, another self proclaimed observer of life, who has 'driven motorcycles across Cuba and Portugal, camped in the Amazon, skydived over Italy, lost himself in Morocco and found himself in the Negev.' He goes around taking free use photos for Wikipedia.  This is one from September 17th, when things were just getting going in the moneyed districts of NYC. One interesting 21st century adaptation that took place to deal with the Big Apple's regulations, in lieu of a sound system, announcements are made and then repeated by the crowd, using the power of many to broadcast their messages without violating any sound ordinances. Ignore them, but they wil not go away.

Protesters Shut Down NYPD Precinct

It's a different day down at Wall Street now. Back when Chaplin climbed Errol to get a better look, there were happy faces all around. I have Manhattanite friends who have been down checking things out these last two weeks, tweeting, and well, some of what's coming out of there isn't what it seems to be. Most of what you hear IS true. People ARE chanting, cops HAVE been acting badly, cameras HAVE been destroyed, people HAVE been arrested, but mostly it's peaceful all the way around, and people are staying there, and staying put. 

Some of the protesters are trying to morph the "Occupation Of Wall Street" into something a little more reckless. Unfortunately, some aren't playing by all sorts of rules. They have agendas and complaints, but don't want to work within any system, especially when fighting a system that doesn't believe in rules. Throughout history Corporations have prefered to have the fewest rules imposed on them as possible (secretly the GOP are a bunch of Liberttarians if you ask me). So these natives are little more restless. These nonOccupation civil disobediants are mucking things up, but bringing attention to the cause nonetheless. Let's start with their propaganda problems. Here's their twitpic going around with the following messsage: "Think #OccupyWallStreet is only a few hunderd people? Check this pic out!" 

"Think #OccupyWallStreet is only a few hunderd people?"

As you can see it looks like a nice healthy crowd, and that maybe a couple of cabs and some other cars had gotten trapped in the masses. Interestingly, the reports I'm getting of 2500 - 3000 bodies on Friday would look like a lot fewer people, especially since much of them are under those trees. 2500 is nothing to sniff at. So let's check with reality. Here's the Google Earth Shot. And the actual link, just in case:  http://www.google.com/maps?ll=40.712899%2C-74.007667&spn=0.002082%2C0.005284&t=k&z=18&vpsrc=6
(better you know you are actually on google maps)

Notice the same cars? Same cars turning? So we have two photos, same cars, one with lots of people, one with much fewer people. Like a Google Earth shot was lifted and PhotoShopped. Now we can at least deal with some facts. When people do things like this, they sort of devalue the work that OccupyWallSt.org is trying to do. Not too sure what to make of that, but it is what it is, and that is a growing group of real people protesting in real time about real issues.

(OccupyNOLA,org, 2011)

American Citizens (and worldwide citizens of Earth) are PEACEFULLY ASSEMBLING to bring attention to those who, in full deception mode, have affected the economies of the entire world! Perfidy has continued to go unpunished, and now human beings everywhere, in solidarity, all over the planet, are going to point a metaphorical finger at those who do not act in the best interest of the average Citizen. Shining a verbal spotlight on those indictable predators who schedule a game, make a side bet that they will lose, use fake chips, have cards up their sleeves, and then take a dive for the money. In the old days, they called that The Sting and you could be hung for it. What the media is starting to understand is that this thing is not just happening down at Wall Street, and it is not about Occupying the Park Formerly Known As Liberty. It’s about 'player recognizin' player'; and it's going to happen in Madrid, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Athens, Sydney, Kansas City, Algiers, Tokyo, Amsterdam, London, and maybe even on The Brooklyn Bridge.

Nowadays you try to walk across a bridge (closely protected, of course, against acts of terrorism) and they'll arrest you (see video from You Tube). Not everyone likes to follow the sound ordinances; and some people like to play in traffic, so today, they arrested 700 American Citizens who did just that on The Brooklyn Bridge. Just bang some drums, and perhaps shut down a lane of traffic for a few hours of dancing, and "booooo!" they'll come arrest you. Even FOX News broke down and reported on what was going on, so let's put a rest to the "no news is covering this" meme, shall we? 

In fact, New York City police say about 700 protesters have been arrested after they swarmed the Brooklyn Bridge and shut down traffic TODAY. This offshoot from the financial district protest orchestrated an impromptu trek to Brooklyn this evening. "They walked in thick rows on the sidewalk up to the bridge, where some demonstrators spilled onto the roadway. Most of those arrested face disorderly conduct charges, while others were accused of resisting arrest after being told to stay on the pedestrian pathway" says an NYPD spokesman.

(Backs Photos, 2011)

The magazine The Nation has the organization and the concept behind this Occupation all broken down extremely well in a recent article.

Link: http://www.thenation.com/article/163719/occupy-wall-street-faq

Interestingly enough, The New York Transit Workers Union (TWU) voted to support the Wall Street Protesters at their meeting Wednesday night. A member of TWU Local 100 told a reporter that they planned to join the protest this last Friday. The Union has 114 autonomous locals representing over 200,000 members and retirees in 22 states around the country. And it's numbers like that that have caused the GOP to try to dissolve them. Unions back Dems, and there'll be no more of that. Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/a-massive-union-just-voted-to-side-with-the-wall-street-protesters-2011-9#ixzz1ZNr9x6HF

(OccupyWallSt.org, 2011)

Occupy Wall Street has been picking up some decent support from other unions in the past few days. Wednesday we reported that the Teamsters Union declared their support for protesters.
Washington Current Reports: After more than a two weeks of protests in New York against major financial institutions and the role they played in the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent economic meltdown, more than 1,000 people were in Boston yesterday to march on the headquarters of Bank of America headquarters. The action in Boston was organized by The New Bottom Line, a nationwide coalition of 1,000 faith-based and community organizations that also seeks to hold Wall Street accountable. Link: http://www.thewashingtoncurrent.com/2011/09/wall-street-protesters-to-move-on-to.html

(Adam Nelson, 2011)

Per Daily Kos today, here is their first official list of demands:
Declaration of the Occupation of New York City As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies. As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.

• They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.
• They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.
• They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.
• They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.
• They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless nonhuman animals, and actively hide these practices.
• They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.
• They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.
• They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ health care and pay.
• They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.
• They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.
• They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
• They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.
• They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.
• They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.
• They have donated large sums of money to politicians supposed to be regulating them.
• They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
• They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantive profit.
• They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.
• They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.
• They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.
• They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.
• They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
• They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts.*

To the people of the world, We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power. Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone. To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal. Join us and make your voices heard! *These grievances are not all-inclusive.

Talking Points Memo has reported "that many of the events around the globe are being coordinated and listed by the website Occupy Together, which says that its creators were inspired by the Occupy Wall Street events and wanted to create a “hub for all of the events springing up across the country in solidarity” with the movement. And in a merging of technologies old and new, infamous poignant prankster duo “The Yes Men,” previously best-known for posing as representatives from such companies as ExxonMobil and government agencies including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to critique their actions, launched a project on Kickstarter to raise money to publish an Occupy Wall Street Journal newspaper. The print-run is set for 50,000 copies for its inaugural issue. At the time of this posting, the project has already surpassed its requested $12,000 donations goal by about $5,000, and there are still nine days left to donate to the project."

Now, if anyone tells you that the people down on Wall Street are a bunch of disorganized homeless kids about to go home anyway, you can tell them that a little Policy Geek filled you in on the whole thing, and you don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon.  Who knows? All that seems to be abundantly obvious, is that at this rate we're gonna have to make a whole lot more popcorn.

Check back soon for more updates.

10/12/2011 ~ Bloomberg has given his blessing for the demonstrators to be in NY for as long as they like. Peaceful movements just get me every time. ;-) Interested in more? Drive by a meetup near you and get first hand glimpses at history. A world movement, in real time. www.occupytogether.org If this page stays current, you can check out how many occupiers there are at each site updated live here: http://www.meetup.com/occupytogether

Lisa Lindo

ThePolicyGeek

Dude, Where's My Camera?

What's not to love about New York City cops? They're brave and tough. They get there quickly and they take care of the city that doesn't sleep ~ keeping it safe from any possible additional terrorist attacks.

But there's a dark side to the American cop on the beat.

The Dark Side of The Men In Blue (OccupyWallSt.org, 2011)

It comes with the very nature of who applies to be a police officer in the USA. If you are the physical type, that enjoys a good ass kicking now and then, and you are searching for a career choice, it would seem that some sort of "protection services" might be the just the gig you're looking for. Unless you are planning on becoming a no-holds-bar-overseas-outside-the-justice-system-contract killer, and who wants all that travel anyway, you might find yourself attracted to joining The Force. Even the International Business News (UK) reports that, there are always a certain percentage, that come along with those who protect and serve and are compassionate, and they are the assholes, and the bigots, and the bullies.  And sometimes, they get to have their day.

But how many Rodney King's can we have? How many African Americans have needed to sit on a sidewalk next to their car for no reason? How many guards have gotten away with the slow torture of a human while doing time for a crime?

Michael Moore Late Night At Wall St (OccupyWallSt.Org, 2011)

NY Daily News has said that from 2007 to 2009 the number of officers with NYPD who received civilian complaints were up nearly 50%. Because of excessive force claims, in 2009 alone 315 of the 35,000 of officers were enrolled in a monitoring program created by the NYPD. Despite complaints of excessive force, many more incidents of go unreported because citizens are afraid. So the NYPD in Blue created a program to monitor these complaints back in 2007 and while keeping track of reports, they found that 90% of the reported cases where violent tactics were used the individual subjected to "use of force" was not even arrested. That kind of tells you everything you need to know right there. Many of those cases involved an officer drawing his weapon. In fact in four out of every five cases in which a weapon was pulled no arrest was made. In the vast majority of those cases involving a gun being drawn the officers justified that "use of force" because they suspected the individual possessed a weapon even when no weapon was actually found.

This isn't a new phenomenon, and last night Lawrence O'Donnell showed what shining a little spotlight on those who have crossed that line can do. According to all sources, the problem children where in fact the Men in White. 

Some Familiar Faces Visit To Support (OccupyWallStreet.org, 2011)

Reuters says that the Occupation Of Wall Street is evolving as a result. As of 3:00 p.m. Eastern today, they are claiming that The Occupy Wall Street movement was planning on Friday (tomorrow) an unauthorized demonstration on the streets outside the New York City police center of operations.

This evening at 8:00 PM, Senator Bernie Sanders addressed the protesters.

According to our friends over at PoliticsUSA, on Countdown With Keith Olbermann tonight, Sen. Bernie Sanders became the first US Senator to voice his support for Occupy Wall Street. (Video) Sanders said, “What I appreciate about what’s going on in New York right now is that there is a spotlight being focused on Wall Street. We desperately need that. If we are going to get out of this recession, if we’re going to create the millions of jobs we desperately need, we need real Wall Street reform"

Al Sharpton Lending His Name To Cause (OccupyWallSt.org)

We are gonna need some reform. The right thing to do now would be to get a consensus on how to word a petition and ask for Police Department Reform & Training, nationwide. You're thinking a petition takes time, it's a pain in the neck, etc.

Well, take a millisecond and check out this new link: www.whitehouse.gov/petition.

They have the coolest new feature over at The White House's website, and if you set up a petition on specific matter (really easy to do) and you pass it around to your friends (keyboard ready), and it gets 5,000 signatures, only 5,000, they promise to take the matter up.  Usually you would take months to create a petition and then run around getting 100,000 signatures before one of your Senator's assistants would answer your call.  Not anymore. You could start a petition to repeal the Citizen United decision while you are at it. Hard to complain to a true policy geek, 'cause she'll tell you exactly how to solve the problem right then and there. So ~ petitions, check, doable, check, timely, check.

Now go make a petition.  Not sure what to ask for? Google the word petition, and see what other people have asked for over time. Self educate. That's a fine trait of A Policy Geek.

You know we tend to fly south for the winter, right?  Wonk, wonk.

Lisa Lindo

The Coverage on Coverage

(OccupyWallSt.org, 2011)

It started slowly. One posting saying that no one was covering the Wall Street event. #OccupyWallStreet 

We had heard about it. Twitter people were headed down on Saturday. So there was tweeting and  blogging. Adbusters was live streaming.

Live streaming on Ad Busters
http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/occupywallstreet

and People For Political Change were (are) streaming it.

Sunday one activist friend pointed out that only 200 people showed up on Saturday, the first day of the Wall Street protests, and so CNN came and left. That didn't seem right.

YouTube hosted The Struggle Video Network's video, and it told sort of a different type of story. This looked like a lot more people than a couple hundred to me. Sort of sounds like more than 200 too. And much more fun to notice, there just happened to be some cocktail event on a 2nd floor balcony, where pearl draped women and well healed men in black tie and champagne looked down at the people flowing by, with nothing but flowering vines pouring down to the chanting crowds on the sidewalk below. They took pictures and smiled and toasted. Such a juxtaposition of money and revolution. Classic. Must see video (35,542 views at time of posting)

(Jeff Prager, 2011)

Sunday afternoon, a real live friend (one we've met in person) tweeted that he was getting a bite to eat, taking a shower, and going back down. Later he tweeted that 300 people had set up tents to spend the night. @TedLabs

Sunday night there were more FaceBook (FB) people complaining all firebaggery that no one would cover this, whining about a protest they couldn't be bothered to show up for, boggeled by a demonstration that tries to imply that Wall Street Corporations based in the U.S. should be taken to task in any way humanly possible. This steady stream of posts showing complete confusion over something quite simple. Wall Street is a man-made construct; therefore, anything we need to do to reshape it is theoretically possible. But there were the posts saying no one's covering the protest, as they armchair it through the economic downturn.

(OccupyWallSt.org, 2011)

Policy Geeks could find 8 or 9 videos on You Tube, and we posted the clearest of quality. A snipet there, a moment here. And yet, more people on FB and in social media were saying that no one was covering the protest. Well, we were. And so was CNN, and Salon covered it as well as the Washington Post, & Huffington Post. Oh yeah, and New York 1, ABC News, and CBS and FOX news, The New York Times, International Business Times, Wall Street Journal and Forbes. Waking up Monday morning, it certainly seemed like this thing was being covered.

Unless you listen to liberals who believe in media blackouts and conspiracy theory. But a policy geek is gonna be more interested in facts. The who-what-where of the whole thing. The kid at the end of this RT video pretty much got a handle on it. 

Democracy Now does a piece. Their take? There aren't any demands or requests being laid out for Wall Street. So what's it a all about, right? It doesn't take a genius to google or look up www.OccupyWallSt.org when that's what this entire event is called, "Occupy Wall Street".

The press think it's a march, but it's an Occupation, by artists and thinkers, and they laid out their demands clearly. (You can find it in our last blog entry.) Not that, as a wonk, we are saying that we agree with their demands, or that they are practical in nature. Simply, that there is a calling, a charter, and the press is having a little trouble finding it. Perhaps the concert TOMORROW, Saturday the 24th, will bring out some faces and some coverage.  Who knows?

Gotta go. Popcorn's ready. And I've got some You Tube to catch up on.

Lisa Lindo
www.thepolicygeek.com