What Occupy can learn from Dr. King and the civil rights movement

I'm reading this really excellent book called Nixonland: The Rise of the President and the Fracturing of America (more details here). It's a fantastic analysis of the political career of Richard Nixon, who may well be the most brilliantly cynical and manipulative president in American history. The book gives great insight if you want to understand what's behind the 'Tea Party' movement and the right-wing's martyr complex politics in general.

Nixonland points out something interesting and still relevant. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. may be a sanitized figure in death but, as I've written about in the past, he was hardly a consensus figure in life.

The strategy of his wing of the civil rights movement was to disturb the (illusion of) peace and draw out the hatred that was really there, but lurking just beneath the surface.

The book also points out that the civil rights movement was adamant in NOT being linked to a particular political party, but rather to an agenda. When some Democrats refused to push, or even obstructed, parts of their agenda, the civil rights movement did not hesitate in encouraging people to not vote for Democrats.

They recognized that threatening to withhold their vote - and being willing to actually do it - was the only real leverage they had on legislators. They refused to reward people who crapped on them. They were about their agenda, not about a particular party.

I wonder if Occupy sympathizers will heed this lesson.

Occupy Wall St. validates Ralph Nader

No man is a prophet in his own land.

Dear Occupy Wall St. Sympathizers,
Occupy's message is virtually identical to that which many (most?) of you have spent the last dozen years smearing Ralph Nader and his supporters for while you've voted for militaristic, anti-civil liberties, corporatist Democrats. Glad you've finally come around. I just hope you don't develop amnesia between now and November.

The lobbyists of Gov. One Percent

The New York Public Interest Research Group (via the Albany Times-Union) has revealed the 100 top spending special interest groups in New York. Who was the most free spending group? The health care workers union? The evil teachers union? Supporters of civil rights for gays? Opponents thereof? Nope. #1 slot goes to the misnamed Committee to Save New York. This is an organizing comprising the top "donors" to the campaign of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and is dedicated to lobbying on behalf of the agenda of the One Percent.

Quote of the week

From a piece on Yahoo! News:

"I'm so scared of this anti-Wall Street effort. I'm frightened to death. They're having an impact on what the American people think of capitalism.” –Republican spinmeister Frank Luntz.

The Occupy movement in one sentence

The best, most succinct sign I've seen about the current situation:

'More equal economies grow faster'

Even the very establishment journal Foreign Policy ran a piece conceding that international evidence suggests that more equal economies grow faster.

It notes that equality of opportunity and the famed pursuit of the American dream are not quite what they are advertised to be. According to an analysis by economists Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis at the Santa Fe Institute, of children born to the poorest 10 percent of parents in the United States, more than half remain in the bottom fifth of incomes as adults.

In other words, socialism (to employ the most grotesquely misused word in American politics) is good for everyone.

Occupy is not about more handouts, but fewer

"If money is constitutionally protected 'speech,' then so are tents." -seen on Twitter


NPR's All Things Considered did a piece on Wall St. profits. It noted that Wall St. has made more money during under 3 years of the Obama administration than it did during all 8 years of the Bush administration. A Washington Post reporter pointed out that these profits were the direct result of government policies -- across two administrations -- in response to the financial crisis.

THIS is what Occupy is all about. It's not hostility toward people for having money or at corporations for existing. It's an anger at public policy that represents taking money from working people to hand out to corporations making record profits. It's an anger at the most grotesque form of of wealth redistribution.

Occupy is based not on a demand for more handouts, but for fewer.



"When I give food to the poor, I'm called a saint. When I ask why they are poor, I'm called a communist." -Archbishop Dom Helder Camara.

Help Occupy Glens Falls

If you're following the global Occupy movement and would like to participate, Occupy Glens Falls has twice weekly general assemblies at the Civil War monument downtown (across from the library). They are typically held Saturdays at noon and Wednesdays at 5:30 pm. You can also follow their Facebook page or Twitter feed for further updates.

Occupy America

Last Sunday, I took a day trip to Vermont's largest city. While there, I attended a bit of the Occupy Burlington general assembly. There were probably 100 people gathered in front of City Hall. It was an interesting gathering and process. Facilitators observed a loose agenda. Speakers used a "human microphone" in which their words were essentially repeated by the crowd to ensure everyone heard. There were a diversity of topics raised but they all revolved around the themes of abuses of power and the diminishing influence of citizens in American democracy.

The event was complete with a heckler (singular), who was largely ignored. He was a bit amusing though, berating protesters for not being as 'patriotic' as he. However, I noticed he didn't dare address his nastiness toward the elderly gentleman standing next to me wearing a Veterans for Peace hat.

While I've always supported its ideals, I was initially skeptical that the Occupy movement would actually influence anything. But clearly, it has the political elite nervous.

In New York state's capital, Gov. Andrew Cuomo put heavy pressure on Mayor Jerry Jennings to crack down on the Occupy Albany gathering.

As Gotham Gazette reported:Cuomo is concerned that protests could linger and add momentum to the push to renew the millionaires tax.

Jennings was rumored to be under consideration for a position in the Cuomo administration and at even one point rumored to be a choice for lieutenant governor. Jennings, according to the Times Union directed the police to make arrests but they didn’t.

The piece also quoted Albany County District Attorney David Soares as not wanting to waste scare resources on peaceful protesters.

Cuomo is now described by the protesters as "Governor One Percent," which has really been accurate since his election anyways.

Similarly, Long Island Congressman Peter King expressed his fear that the Occupy movement might change things. King told a radio shock job that he remembers a 1960s left-wing movement that took to the streets and caused policy changes... [and that] He hopes that the Occupy Wall Street protesters aren't re-creating the spirit and influence of that historical protest movement.

Inadvertently, the control freak governor and the neo-McCarthyite Congressman have conferred great legitimacy on the Occupy movement. If these erstwhile shills for The One Percent elite are this nervous, then clearly the movement is on to something.


Note: This site has information on Occupy events near you. There are events throughout not only the country but the world... in 2144 cities on all six inhabited continents.

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From Occupy Burlington - 23 Oct. '11 - (c) MOFYC

Video from Occupy Burlington general assembly - 23 Oct. '11 - (c) MOFYC

They may be loathe to admit it, but deep down, liberal Democrats know this guy has always been right.

More on the Occupy Wall St. movement

"When I give food to the poor, I'm called a saint. When I ask why they are poor, I'm called a communist." -Archbishop Dom Helder Camara.


A follow-up to my post on the Occupy Wall St. movement...


The excellent and highly recommended Yes! magazine has a good piece on Where the 99 Percent Get Their Power. The biggest single factor: it embodies real democracy.


Economic injustice in America is so obvious that even the very establishment Foreign Affairs journal explored Why the Rich Are Getting Richer... subtitle: American Politics and the Second Gilded Age.


It notes that: [Economists Jacob] Hacker and [Paul] Pierson refreshingly break free from the conceit that skyrocketing inequality is a natural consequence of market forces and argue instead that it is the result of public policies that have concentrated and amplified the effects of the economic transformation and directed its gains exclusively toward the wealthy. 


It's amusing to hear clever politicians like Pres. Obama and NY Gov. Cuomo express a certain degree of sympathy for the Movement, considering they represent the One Percent. I just hope that corporate Democrat organizations like MoveOn and Democracy for America don't co-opt (neuter) this populist movement.

Occupy Wall St.

"When I give food to the poor, I'm called a saint. When I ask why they are poor, I'm called a communist." -Archbishop Dom Helder Camara.

 I am remiss for not having yet mentioned the growing Occupy Wall St. movement that is holding marches on in New York City and many other cities around the country protesting greed, excess and corporate domination of American government and society.

 A few good websites about and covering the movement...

 -Occupy Wall St. website

 -Occupy Wall St. Facebook page

 -Democracy Now

 Readers are free to leave other suggesting in the comments field and I will add them.

Commenter John Warren adds: The Village Voice.