"Why I Occupy" – Diane Emerson

Diane Emerson (PORTLAND OCCUPIER):

Seeking love and affection any way I could, I found myself pregnant at 15. Knowing I did not have the parenting skills necessary to raise a child, I gave her up for adoption. Then I went on a drive to prove to the world that I was a good human being. With no help from my family, I got myself through college, and, eventually, with the help of my husband, graduated with an MBA. My goal: to be vice president of a Fortune 500 company. Why? This was the ultimate measure of success for a woman in this country. I worked hard, stuffed my feelings far down into my soul, and started climbing the corporate ladder. MORE...

"Fault Lines: Occupy Wall Street: Surviving the Winter" (video from Al Jazeera)

AlJazeeraEnglish, video (24:39):

Fault Lines follows key Occupy organisers through the winter as they continue to build a movement even after violent evictions across the country.

Tom Hayden: "Participatory Democracy: From the Port Huron Statement to Occupy Wall Street" (with video)

Tom Hayden (The Nation) with video (02:31):

This is the fiftieth anniversary year of the Port Huron Statement, the founding declaration of Students for a Democratic Society, issued as a “living document” in 1962. The SDS call for a participatory democracy echoes today in student-led democracy movements around the world, even appearing as the first principle of the Occupy Wall Street September 17 declaration. MORE...

"It's not about getting our elected officials to do something. Shit. They ain't gonna do shit."

"Meet Professor Occupy" (Josh Harkinson-Mother Jones):

As Occupy marches on, perhaps its greatest internal tension is between the reformers—pragmatists with concrete goals—and the revolutionaries.
"This isn't a protest movement, because protest movements are to address issues that the power structure could conceivably be willing to give up," a black-clad occupier named Max Bean told Fithian over lunch in early December. "We are asking to dissolve the power structure. And you can't ask for that. You can't protest for it. All you can do is grow until we are so big that we are everything."

Fithian weighed her response carefully. MORE...

Michael Moore: "Celebrating the 6 month birthday of Occupy Wall Street" (video)

deepdishtv.org with video (1:19:00):

Filmmaker, author, troublemaker Michael Moore delivered an impassioned, humorous and provocative presentation at the 2012 Left Forum at Pace University in New York City on March 17th. At the end of the speech Moore led the entire audience in a march to nearby Liberty Park (aka Zucotti Park) to join the Occupiers who had re-taken the birthplace of the Occupy Movement to celebrate its six month anniversary.

Michael Moore: "The Purpose of Occupy Wall Street Is to Occupy Wall Street"

"Zuccotti Park during an Occupy Wall Street protest in New York, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011." (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Michael Moore:

Our kids—the heart and soul of this movement—have watched us for years beating our heads against the walls of power, always marching on Washington, sending in checks to the environmental groups, giving up red meat—and what they got from this is that they are the first generation who will now be worse off than their parents. They still love us (which is remarkable when you think of the world we’ve handed them), but they are taking a different path from ours. Let them. The kids are all right. Do they know where their path will lead? Not necessarily—but that’s the beauty of Occupy Wall Street. The mystery of what’s ahead is the lure. Millions want in on that adventure because, deep down, they know they have no choice. And they know that there’s more of them than the men on Wall Street who currently occupy America. They have no choice but to win. MORE...

"Springsteen in the age of Occupy"

Marc Dolan (Salon):

Newly skeptical of Obama, music's greatest progressive hero remains as relevant as ever.
(SNIP)
At a press conference in Paris last month to promote the release of his new album “Wrecking Ball,” which will be in stores March 6, Springsteen gave a mixed to favorable review of President Obama’s first term, commending the president’s hard work on healthcare and his reduction of the war in Afghanistan but expressing frustration that neither effort went further. At the same press conference, Springsteen was more unalloyed in his praise of Occupy Wall Street, for their introduction of the very idea of income disparity to the national dialogue. MORE...

NPR: "Occupy May Seem To Be Receding, But Look Closer" (with audio)

"Occupy Wall Street protesters shout during a "Shut Down the Corporations" demonstration in New York on Wednesday."

Margot Adler (NPR), with audio (03:27):

For people who watch TV news or read newspapers, the Occupy movement might seem to be in hibernation.

Most of the encampments are gone, and diminished numbers take part in protests.

But there's a lot of ferment behind the scenes — at least at Occupy Wall Street.

Check the Occupy Wall Street website and you'll see at least 15 events every day: meetings by working groups on arts and culture, alternative banking, media, security. MORE...

John Nichols: "From Wisconsin to Zuccotti Park" (with video)

Elizabeth Whitman (The Nation) with video (03:33):

It began on a Monday morning with high school students, then spread to the state university. The next day, 10,000 people rallied at the state capitol in Madison. In this video, John Nichols traces the remarkable trajectory of the Wisconsin protests against Governor Scott Walker's measures to cut pay and benefits for public employees, from its humble origins in February 2011 to the impact felt nationwide with the birth and growth of the Occupy movement and more.

Read more about the Wisconsin protests in John Nichols's new book, Uprising: How Wisconsin Renewed the Politics of Protest, from Madison to Wall Street, or his recent article, "America's Youth Uprising."

"Rick Santorum tangles with Occupy protesters in Tacoma, Washington" (with video)

Juana Summers (Politico) with video:

Rick Santorum clashed Monday evening with protesters in this normally Democratic-friendly part of the state as he became the first Republican presidential contender to visit Washington state this cycle.

Filling the front row at the Washington State History Museum where Santorum spoke, a group of Occupy protesters disrupted the event, forcing Santorum to engage them. Occupy Tacoma, the local branch of the Occupy Wall Street movement, is camped out right next to the museum, and advertised Santorum’s visit on its web site. MORE...

Howie P.S.; Here's the coverage from SeattlePI.com by Joel Connelly:

The Santorum rally, at the Washington State History Museum, was the state's the most raucous political event since conservative talk radio activists provided a loud bump in the 1994 Hillary Clinton health care caravan.

The Seattle Times headlines the story on their front page: "Santorum praises gay-marriage foes in state." The AP story has this headline: "Santorum calls Occupy protesters 'radical element'."
KIRO7 headlines their story with video (01:17): "Santorum, visiting Olympia, calls for constitutional ban on same-sex marriage." Their story ended with this quote:

“People can be nice but still encourage people to hate one another, so they are still haters,” said Patty Imani, a protester.

KOMO4 News has "Santorum visits Olympia, says gay marriage signing not last word" with video (01:47). KPCQ takes a different angle:"At least two protesters arrested at Santorum rally in Tacoma" with video (02:16). Chuck Todd (MSNBC) says his campaign "has alot of work to do" to play on the national stage, with video (02:29)(scroll down).
H/t to Shanna.

Chris Hedges: "There is a recipe for breaking popular movements."

AP / Evan Vucci-An Occupy demonstrator sprawls beside a police car in Urbandale, Iowa, during a protest last December outside Republican presidential campaign offices in the Des Moines suburb.

Chris Hedges:

There is a recipe for breaking popular movements. I watched it play out over five years in the war in El Salvador. I now see these familiar patterns in the assault against the Occupy movement. It goes like this. Physically eradicate the insurgents’ logistical base of operations to disrupt communication and organization. Dry up financial and material support. Create rival organizations—the group Stand for Oakland seems to be one of these attempts—to discredit and purge the rebel leadership. Infiltrate the movement to foster internal divisions and rivalries, a tactic carried out consciously, or perhaps unconsciously, by an anonymous West Coast group known as OLAASM—Occupy Los Angeles Anti Social Media. Provoke the movement—or front groups acting in the name of the movement—to carry out actions such as vandalism and physical confrontations with the police that alienate the wider populace from the insurgency. Invent atrocities and repugnant acts supposedly carried out by the movement and plant these stories in the media. Finally, offer up a political alternative. MORE...

"Occupy Movement Regroups, Preparing for Its Next Phase"

"Dorli Rainey of Seattle became a public face of the Occupy movement after she was pepper-sprayed by the police during a protest in November."

Erik Eckholm (NY Times):

If the movement has not produced public leaders, some visible faces have emerged.

“I’m finally going to make it to the dentist next week,” said Dorli Rainey, a Seattle activist. “I’ve had to cancel so many times. It’s overwhelming.”

Ms. Rainey, who is 85 and was pepper-sprayed by the police in November, has been fully booked for months. On a recent Thursday, she joined 10 people in Olympia, Wash., who were supporting a State Senate resolution to remove American soldiers from Afghanistan. She led a rally near Pike Place Market against steam incinerators, which the protesters complain release pollution in the downtown area. In March, she plans to join Occupy leaders in Washington for events that are still being planned.

“People have different goals,” Ms. Rainey said. “Mine is, we’ve got to build a movement that will replace the type of government we have now.” MORE...

"What the Occupy movement must learn from Sundance" (with video)

Naomi Wolf (Guardian UK),with video (01:51):

These great documentary films have a simple lesson: effective political protest needs good organisation and smart messaging---Media exposure, a clear message, smart soundbites, clearly stated demands, and, most importantly, tasked, empowered negotiators working on the inside in concert with mass disrupters applying pressure from without – this equals political life. MORE...

"Occupy Everywhere: Michael Moore, Naomi Klein on Next Steps for the Movement Against Corporate Power" (video)

Democracy Now! with video (58:56):

How does the Occupy Wall Street movement move from "the outrage phase" to the "hope phase," and imagine a new economic model? In a Democracy Now! special broadcast, we bring you excerpts from a recent event that examined this question and much more. "Occupy Everywhere: On the New Politics and Possibilities of the Movement Against Corporate Power," a panel discussion hosted by The Nation magazine and The New School in New York City, features Oscar-winning filmmaker and author Michael Moore; Naomi Klein, best-selling author of the "Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism"; Rinku Sen of the Applied Research Center and publisher of ColorLines; Occupy Wall Street organizer Patrick Bruner; and veteran journalist William Greider, author of "Come Home, America: The Rise and Fall (and Redeeming Promise) of Our Country." [includes rush transcript]

Howie P.S.: Naomi Klein, underlying the significance of the Occupy Movement, says "This is a no kidding around moment." Joe Biden, if he could, might say it in his own way.

Papantonio: "Places To Occupy Next"

golefttv, video (09:39):

When a small group of protestors began to Occupy Wall Street two months ago, no one could have imagined that the movement would have spread across the globe in just a month's time. Instead of disappearing like the folks at Fox News had predicted, the movement is growing with each passing day, as more and more people are becoming fed up with the way corporate America has treated them. The big question now is, what is the next step? Mike Papantonio talks about that next step with investigative journalist Daniel Denvir.

"THE #OCCUPY SUPPLY FUND"

firedoglake.com:

The FDL Membership's Occupy Supply fund has raised an incredible $120,000 - 100% of which has been committed to preparing occupations across the US for the cold winter months.

We've already spent $81,835.71 on union and American-made winter weather gear, like -40 degree socks, hats, scarves, base layers, generators, food, sleeping bags and a lot more. Our reporter Kevin Gosztola has brought the Occupy Supply fund to over 50 occupations across the country, meeting with protesters and purchasing the things they need with the help of FDL members, the Machinists union, and volunteers.

FDL Members have also organized a dedicated national supply chain of 'Occupy Liaisons,' working directly with the occupations to assess needs and then collaborating with the Supply Fund to quickly distribute cold weather gear to those who need it most.

Every day, more and more occupations ask for our help - but we need your support to continue to fulfill their requests through the winter and beyond.

Can you please donate $20 or more to help us send occupations as much cold weather gear before winter as possible?

Click here to see the items and donate: http://occupy-supply.com

"OCCUPY WITH ALOHA: Makana at the APEC Dinner, Hawaii" (with video)

PiPhD, with video (11:33):

In this version Makana tells the FULL STORY as well as sings the full version of the song, "We Are The Many."

Makana's guitar tech shot this with a camera phone during his performance for the World Leaders Dinner at APEC, which was hosted by the First Family.

Makana wore an "Occupy with Aloha" t-shirt under his black blazer and sang his newest song, "We are the Many," an anthem of sorts for Occupy protestors.

He had to be extremely discreet as Secret Service had warned those on site that any phones used to capture photography or video would be confiscated. Since the technician has a guitar tuner app on the phone they were able to justify having it out, but grabbing video was not easy. They were under constant surveillance. Makana likes to have video of his every performance saying, "It's my art and my right."

About an hour into his set of generally ambient guitar music and Hawaiian tunes, he felt inspired to share some songs that resonated with the significance of the occasion.

He sang a few verses from "Kaulana Na Pua" (a famous Hawaiian protest song in honor of the anniversary of our Queen's passing), then segued into Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," Sting's "Fragile," and finally his newest song "We Are The Many."

Makana's goal was not to disturb the guests in an offensive fashion but rather to subliminally fill their ears and hearts with a message that might be more effectively received in a subconscious manner. He sweetly sang lines like "You enforce your monopolies with guns/ While sacrificing our daughters and sons/ But certain things belong to everyone/ Your thievery has left the people none." The event protocol was such that everyone there kept their expressions quite muffled. Now and then Makana would get strange, befuddled stares from Heads of State. It was a very quiet room with no waiters; only myself, the sound techs, and the leaders of almost half the world's population.

If he had chosen to disrupt the dinner and force my message I would have been stopped short. He instead chose to deliver an extremely potent message in a polite manner for a prolonged interval.

I dedicate this action to those who would speak truth to power but were not allowed the opportunity.

The lyrics include, "Ye come here gather 'round the stage; The time has come for us to voice our rage."

The morning before the performance, Makana said he was initially afraid about singing the piece, but decided to do it anyway because he believes APEC's leaders are not representing common people.

"It was my message that they are occupying Hawaii right now and they need to do it with aloha and not just say it," he said. "I don't personally feel they've done that. They are not representing the people they purport to represent."

Howie P.S.: For those complaining about the lack of "protest music" associated with the Occupy movement, your prayers have been answered. "We Are The Many" may be the biggest political tune in recent history.

Monday AM (West Coast version) Occupy Round-up

"Protesters severely disrupted operations at the Port of Oakland, Calif., earlier this month."

"Labor unions, Occupy Wall Street plan ‘day of action’ urging lawmakers to invest"(Kevin Bogardus-The Hill):

Unions and Occupy Wall Street protesters will be joining forces next week for a “day of action” to pressure lawmakers on jobs.

The AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union and the Laborers’ International Union of North America will partner with Occupy Wall Street for “We are the 99 percent” rallies on Thursday. Liberal groups like MoveOn.org and the American Dream Movement plan to participate. MORE...

"ICMA Survey Shows Most “Occupy Movement” Protests Are Manageable":

Describes the results of a recently conducted survey on the "Occupy Movement" in U.S. local governments. The survey covered relations with the protesters, concerns, management approaches, permit requirements, location of protesters, encampments, and other descriptive information. Some respondents offered advice based on their experience managing the protests. MORE...

"The New Progressive Movement" (Jeffrey D. Sachs-NY Times op-ed):

OCCUPY WALL STREET and its allied movements around the country are more than a walk in the park. They are most likely the start of a new era in America. Historians have noted that American politics moves in long swings. We are at the end of the 30-year Reagan era, a period that has culminated in soaring income for the top 1 percent and crushing unemployment or income stagnation for much of the rest. The overarching challenge of the coming years is to restore prosperity and power for the 99 percent. MORE...

"Quan's top legal adviser resigns over raid" (Matthai Kuruvila-sfgate.com):

Mayor Jean Quan's chief legal adviser resigned early this morning after what he called a "tragically unnecessary" police raid of the Occupy Oakland camp.

Dan Siegel, a civil rights attorney and one of Oakland's most active and vocal police critics, said the city should have done more to work with campers before sending in police. MORE...

"Occupy Seattle Disrupts Pro-Occupy Wall Street Forum, Drives Away Supporters" (Dominic Holden-SLOG):

No sooner had the panel finished opening remarks last night than a woman scampered up onto stage and yelled, "Mic check!" It was an orchestrated effort by several dozen activists to use the People's Mic to interrupt a forum at Town Hall—a forum in favor of Occupy Wall Street, featuring three wonks and three activists from Occupy Seattle. Their stunt replaced what was supposed to be an informed discussion of the movement with an uninformative, shout-a-thon about process that consumed most of the evening. They booed opinions they disagreed with and drove supporters out of the building.

"I walked in supportive and left unsupportive," said 69-year-old Mary Ann, who declined to provide her last name. "I’m turned off by the negative shouts, repetition, and all I can think about is a cult. And I believe in every one of their damn principles."

Paula and Brian King also headed for the door early. "It was frustrating to listen to people shouting and interrupting," lamented Paula. Brian added, "We are leaving because they are looking inward at themselves and their eccentric process rather than reaching out to people." MORE...

"Occupy Wall Street Protesters Shifting to College Campuses" (MALIA WOLLAN and ELIZABETH A. HARRIS-NY Times):

BERKELEY, Calif. — Goodbye, city park, hello, college green.

As city officials around the country move to disband Occupy Wall Street encampments amid growing concerns over health and public safety, protesters have begun to erect more tents on college campuses.

“We are trying to get mass numbers of students out,” said Natalia Abrams, 31, a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, and an organizer with Occupy Colleges, a national group coordinating college-based protesters.

Though only a handful of colleges have encampments, tents went up last week at Harvard in Cambridge, Mass., and here at the University of California, Berkeley. Additionally, protesters in California have vowed to occupy dozens of other campuses in the coming days.

Last Wednesday at Berkeley, about 3,000 people gathered on Sproul Plaza to protest tuition increases, and many then set up a camp. Demonstrators linked arms to protect their tents, but police officers broke through and took down more than a dozen tents, arresting about 40 protesters.

University officials said they had watched city governments struggle to deal with expanding campsites and decided to take a stricter line: no tents, no sleeping, period.

“The present struggles with entrenched encampments in Oakland, San Francisco and New York City led us to conclude that we must uphold our policy,” the university chancellor, Robert J. Birgeneau, said in a statement.

“Our experience with these encampments is that they are never temporary,” said Claire Holmes, a university spokeswoman. “We’ve had a long-term encampment at People’s Park for 43 years.” MORE...

"Hooray! Nick Licata's Occupy Seattle Resolution Likely To Pass the City Council" (seattleest.org):

Councilmember Nick Licata has introduced a resolution, offering support to the Occupy Seattle protesters--and City Council is getting behind it.

The resolution essentially does what the protesters at Westlake have not--makes clear the goals and mission of the Occupy movement--and includes provisions for changing legislature in favor of economonically-strained citizens, as well as mandating that the City look into move their banking away from Wells Fargo, and toward a community bank or credit union. Now, the resolution is being backed by 7 out of 9 City Councilmembers, which makes it likely to pass when it's put up for a vote on October 31.

Councilmembers Sally Bagshaw, Mike O'Brien have both blogged about the issue, while Jean Godden has added language to the resolution to emphasize the special needs of women and people of color, including reserving money for social services.

Rather than simply declaring their support and walking away, this move by the City Council would make active changes to address the concerns of the Occupy movement, including unequal power and wealth distribution, and policies which give wealthy individuals and corporations more rights and opportunities. The resolution also includes provisions like those which make it difficult for contractors with exceptionally high-paid executives from submitting bids to the city (due to language regarding the ratio of laborers' pay to executive pay), and a city-wide income tax, to help possibly balance out the current regressive sales tax, which is disproportionately costly for lower and middle class citizens.

So far, there's been no word from the Mayor regarding this resolution--though, with the amount of vitriol turned in his direction from frustrated protesters, one can only imagine that he'll get behind it, if only to preserve what political future he may have left.

If you support this provision, call or email your City Council representative and let them know that you'd like them to pass it in the coming weeks. If you've never attended a single protest, do this one thing.

"#OccupyLA: Insight Out News Interviews Bill Maher, David DeGraw and Derek Cressman" (video)

ows.org with video (16:36):

Insight Out News reports on day 37 of Occupy Los Angeles, includes interviews with Bill Maher, David DeGraw and Derek Cressman.