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The White Occupy Movement : WOWS
- user:mocracy Thursday, 9:09 pm
The White Occupy Movement : WOWS
Professor Hector R. Cordero-Guzman, PhD measured the increasing interest and levels of participation and involvement in Occupy Wall Street (OWS) by tracking the traffic to the main site for the protests- occupywallst.org.
Monitoring an average close to 400,000 visits per day, Cordero-Guzman found among the demographic characteristics of the 1619 users who took his survey:
“that 81.3% of respondents considered themselves White, 1.3% Black\African American, 3.2% Asian, .4% Native American Indian, 2.9% Mixed, 7.7% Hispanic, and 3.2% considered themselves some other group.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau 'whites' will be a minority by 2050 as the twenty-somethings that form the core of the occupy protests enter their 60s. If the data generated by the study is a snap shot of the occupy movement across the United States, yet another minority group – the future few – are forming a power base that does not in many ways include the realities of the future majority populations of this country.
Class has dominated the 'occupy' discourse over and above concerns about race and gender. As a minority, this aspect of the 'occupy' movement did not initially cause me to feel alienated from the movement. If I were asked yesterday, how I identified with the OWS movement, I would have proudly answered, that 'I march under the banner or the 99%'. As long as the movement was speaking for and to my social and economic concerns, I did not feel the need to take a second look at the racial make up of the movement.
Two things happen over the course of the last 32 hours that have unsettled my comfort level with an unqualified identification with the OWS movement.
1 In response to a post that I have submitted for discussion in several occupy.org forums a moderator of occupynashville.org after reading my “We The People Initiative” and presumably reviewing the subject matter of my blog (blog.erace-inc.com) made the following general comments before deleting my post:
2 - 'you did not write the proposal, it sounds like a group of people contributed to it' 3 - 'you have abused our private messages (PM) to Spam users' 4 - 'you are trying to use this site to promote your blog and your agenda' of race, gender etc.' 5 - 'issues of race and gender are important but not a focus of organizing at this time' 6 - 'you have not answered my questions about the 'origin' of the proposal' 7 - 'your proposal is not interesting as a lack of replies attest “ENOUGH SAID” 8 After reading the moderator's comments, I came across Cordero-Guzman's preliminary study sampling the demographic composition of the OWS movement as it is reflected in traffic to occupywallst.org. It occurred to me that there is a difference between the 99% and the OWS movement. More important than this distinction first entering my mind is the possibility that OWS movement may not include the energy and synergy of the future majority populations that will compose the 99% in 40 years time viz., in 2050.
It is unclear to me where the hostility towards my posts on occupynashville.org site originated.. In response to the moderator, I attempted to address her concerns by pointing out that I:
l - did not Spam any users nor create the hash-tag to which she attributed the spamming l - good or bad, I wrote every word of the “We The People Initiative” l - have [had] no agenda to promote my blog or any specific issues of race or gender
The only reason that my blog is mentioned at all on the site is in response to questions directed at me seeking information about the author and origin of the “We The People Initiative”. In resovling the issue the administrator of the occupynashville.org site took a no non-sense reasonable approach to the dispute that I view as a positive indication about the future of the movement in Nashville and overall.
After reading and responding to the moderator's sentiments paraphrased above, I read about the demographics of the movement. My experience in the occupynashville.org discussion forum made me pay closer attention to Cordero-Guzman's study. In this sense, the moderator's reaction to me, my proposal and my blog was helpful and positive in so far as it served as a catalyst for my reassessment of the movement is trying not to be and what that means to me.
Cordero-Guzman's observations point out among other things that:
l - “92.1% of the sample has some college, a college degree, or a graduate degree.” l The only time you reach the 90 percentile when considering the education of blacks and Hispanics, is when you are speaking of high school drop-out rates in rural areas and inner cities.
l - “50.4% were employed full-time and an additional 20.4% were employed part-time.”
The only time you see numbers this high about employment among blacks and Hispanics is if the discussion has to do with the disproportionate unemployment rates in minority communities.
According to the study, between 60 and 70 percent of the respondents regularly use facebook or twitter. Due to a huge technology gap along the lines of economic disparities, that percentage is amplified in the negative among minorities.
With much effort, sacrifice and determination the 'occupy' movement will hopefully not only last through the winter months but continue to grow in number and in influence. As this infant movement succeeds in harnessing the power of 'the People', I sincerely hope that it will actively encourage life experiences colored by differences of sex, race, gender and sexual orientation to inform in more creative ways the many aims and varied purposes of the movement.
When the most extreme and I would argue necessary elements of the movement are shouting “down with the government”, the fact that blacks and Hispanics have been down and out under the current government in the many years preceding the 'Great Recession' should weigh heavy on their minds.
As 'anarchist' champion their cause in loud and boisterous choruses, they should imagine what a black or Hispanic youth living in lethal lawless neighborhoods think when they see on television these young 'white boyz' wearing Palestinian scarfs demanding an end to current iterations of law-and-order that oppress them as they attempt to experience all the follies of their young lives with effortless anticipations.
Feel good liberals basking in the glory of global ambitions that envision the movement spreading to places 3,000 miles away, should keep in mind that within and outside of city's limits across the country, over 800,000 kids in the richest country in the world are going to bed tonight without dinner ending a day that began without the breakfast served at the more organized occupy protest sites around the country.
Above all, we must not forget that this movement as it has begun to define itself is not a vanguard consisting of the poor and disinherited millions that have been living under the 'poverty line' for many years. Rather, the occupy movement' is a vanguard of the middling classes that have recently had more and more occasions to live as 40 plus million poor and destitute U.S. Citizens have existed for years.
Just because the core of the current protesters have awakened, does not mean that it is morning in 'America' for everyone. Now that your eyes are open to and through your own situations and circumstance, open your minds to learning from people who have turned rock bottom into a foundation for basic subsistence and survival. Remember this when the resolve of the occupy movement is tested during the bitter winter ahead.
The next time you are bickering in your general assemblies, have a moment of silence for the voices and experiences that have been silenced by the persistent powerlessness of poverty since President Lyndon Johnson declared war on poverty in his 1964 State of the Union address. These are some of the same voices that were probably a mere whisper in your ear when the economy was 'perky' and a caffè latte in chique coffee houses was part of your budget and daily routine.
In conclusion, don't boast too loud about the benefits of vague goals, a lack of structure and a leaderless movement. The people of all shapes, colors, origins and orientations whose current situation has crushed their dreams, thwarted their goals and left them wondering in an economic wilderness might overhear you. If the movement addresses their concerns you may be fortunate enough to see them standing in solidarity next to you in the places and the spaces that you occupy.
It can and will be said that this post plays the 'race card'. This is not the case if for no other reason than as indicated in the demographic study, that card is apparently not even in the deck!
Original Meaning Of Democracy: Occupy Capacities
- user:mocracy Thursday, 10:49 am
The fundamental problem with our democracy is not that it is polluted or corrupted by 'money' and 'corporate' interest. From concept to the concrete realities that have subordinated the well-fare of the majority (99%) to the bottom line of corporations, our democracy has been functioning according to its original design.
Our democracy was designed to promote, protect and preserve the interest of private property, especially as this multifaceted task pertains to 1% appropriating the social production of wealth. The point here is that there is no 'fix' to our current democracy. What needs fixing is the participation of the 99% in the production, distribution and reproduction in our society and of social wealth.
Some currents of political science refer to our democracy as a 'technocracy'. This vantage point has emerged over the years because politicians from across the political spectrum have fine tuned their function as 'technical experts' for corporate interest. This means that 'elected' technical experts have mastered the craft of state and decision making by privileging private property. They have engineered a loophole in the social validity afforded democracy as a concept based on 'majority rule' by giving corporations 'person' status. (Amendment XIV 1965).
Through the legislative and judicial process (1907-2010) these extremely wealthy corporate 'persons' and their 'captains of industry' (e.g.Koch Brothers) have been sanctioned to join forces with the 'technical experts' that we elect for them. With the 'Citizen United' ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court stripped the concept of 'majority rule' of its last pretense. Since this was a pretense to begin with, the only thing that has changed is the degree to which “We the people” -the 99% - are coming to terms or not with the bareknuckle assertion of public power by the private interest of the 1%.
This post is an overall response to several points that have been raised in reply to the “We The People Initiative” that I have begun in discussion forums on several Occupy.org sites, blogs and bulletin boards across the country. You can find the proposal on this site by searching either my username 'mocracy' or the subject heading of the original post “We The People Initiative”. The main point or take-away is that viewed (or read) from the vantage point above, the 'We the People Initiative' is NOT an attempt to reform or even to transform our government, the current political process or the constitution of the United States of America.
The “We the People Initiative' whatever its short-comings is my hope and desire to transform and to reform the 99% of the people who are marching, occupying and protesting in and with commodities produced by the mode and means of production our government, the current political process and the constitution was designed to promote, protect and preserve. What I advocate as best I can is the presumption of the original meaning of 'democracy' – the capacity to do things, not majority rule. I understand the Occupy movement across the world but especially in the United States as the ripening of 99%'s capacity to do big things. Maybe the “We The People Initiative” is not big enough but any effort or movement that attempts or achieves less is too little.
Princeton professor Josiah Ober authored a paper titled “The original meaning of “democracy”:
Capacity to do things, not majority rule.”
(www.princeton.edu/~pswpc/pdfs/ober/090704.pdf)
Winter Warnings: Occupy Staying Alive
- user:mocracy Oct 17, 2011 10:20 am
Winter Warnings: 'Occupy' Staying Alive
Local authorities have varying degrees of leeway to require 'citizens' to vacate 'public' spaces in the name of 'health and safety'. For example, when the temperature drops below a certain level 'homeless' persons in some cities are not given a choice when it comes to placement in shelters. The survival of the movement during the winter months can learn a lot from the survival skills that homeless persons have developed over years of staying alive “outside”.
In places like New York City, homeless children 'occupy' the rooftop of buildings and abandon subway tunnels. In some cases, officials in cities like NYC have either given up on or reach a stalemate with the homeless persons that are occupying various spaces in their cities. Consider channeling the 'active' and 'aggressive' effort of city officials to blunt the 'Occupy' protest into spaces and places that have been abandon to a growing number of the most destitute members of our society.
Please consider and share your suggestions about options to deal with the 'cold' and the leverage that the winter months offers officials that are counting on the 'temperature' to have a chilling affect on the movement.
For example:
1) Flash protests in various and sundry places – modeled after flash mobs mobilized using social media and electronic devices. 2) Share and leverage the media attention directed at the movement by occupying some of the same places and types of places homeless persons occupy as a matter of survival.
What do you suggest? Please visit 23 Occupy URLs listed below and share your strategies and tactics for the winter months.
“We The People” initiative:
Occupymemphis.org
http://occupymemphis.org/index.php/forum/18-proposals/1488-qwe-the-people-initiativeq#1492
Occupytogether.com
http://occupytogether.com/forum/discussion/628/we-the-people-initiative
Occupyathensga.org
http://occupyathensga.org/messageboard/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=308
Occupysf.com
http://occupysf.com/forum/14-for-distribution-moderated/1819-qwe-the-people-initiativeq#1819
Occupylosangeles.org
http://www.occupylosangeles.org/?q=node/647
Occupyportland.org
http://occupyportland.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=112
Occupydallas.org
http://occupydallas.org/we-people-initiative
Occupylexky.org
http://www.occupylexky.org/2011/10/16/we-the-people-initiative/
Occupyboston.wikispaces.com
http://occupyboston.wikispaces.com/message/view/Solidarity/44102877
Occupyatlanta.org
http://occupyatlanta.org/discuss/forums/?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&t=80#.TptPT4ZV4xA
Occupytacoma.org
http://occupytacoma.org/forum/?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&t=44
Occupyaustin.org
http://occupyaustin.org/discuss/#/
Occupycolumbus.org
http://www.occupycolumbus.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=219
Occupystl.org
http://www.occupystl.org/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=1020#p1020
Occupysj.org
http://www.occupysj.org/sj/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=55
Occupytucson.lefora.com
http://occupytucson.lefora.com/2011/10/14/we-the-people-initiative/
Occupyasheville.org
http://occupyasheville.org/forum/current-topics/we-the-people-initiative-1/#p451
Occupyrockford.org
Occupyoakland.org
http://www.occupyoakland.org/2011/10/we-the-people-initiative/
Occupyslc.org
http://occupyslc.org/content/we-people-initiative
Occupychi.org
http://occupychi.org/forum/potential-proposals/we-the-people-initiative/#p1586
Occupymia.org
http://occupymia.org/forum/we-people-initiative
Occupyseattle.org
http://forum.occupyseattle.org/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=300&p=1301#p1301
“We The People” initiative:
Occupymemphis.org
Occupytogether.com
Occupyathensga.org
Occupysf.com
Occupylosangeles.org
Occupyportland.org
Occupydallas.org
Occupylexky.org
Occupyboston.wikispaces.com
Occupyatlanta.org
Occupytacoma.org
Occupyaustin.org
Occupycolumbus.org
Occupystl.org
Occupysj.org
Occupytucson.lefora.com
Occupyasheville.org
Occupyrockford.org
Occupyoakland.org
Occupyslc.org
Occupychi.org
Occupymia.org
Occupyseattle.org
List: 23 Occupy URLs
- user:mocracy Oct 16, 2011 3:40 pm
23 Occupy URLs
This proposal does not dictate how the 'The People's Act' and 'Amendment XXVIII' should read but rather suggests how the demands and the concerns of protesters can be written and passed into law.
“We The People” initiative:
Occupymemphis.org
http://occupymemphis.org/index.php/forum/18-proposals/1488-qwe-the-people-initiativeq#1492
Occupytogether.com
http://occupytogether.com/forum/discussion/628/we-the-people-initiative
Occupyathensga.org
http://occupyathensga.org/messageboard/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=308
Occupysf.com
http://occupysf.com/forum/14-for-distribution-moderated/1819-qwe-the-people-initiativeq#1819
Occupylosangeles.org
http://www.occupylosangeles.org/?q=node/647
Occupyportland.org
http://occupyportland.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=112
Occupydallas.org
http://occupydallas.org/we-people-initiative
Occupylexky.org
http://www.occupylexky.org/2011/10/16/we-the-people-initiative/
Occupyboston.wikispaces.com
http://occupyboston.wikispaces.com/message/view/Solidarity/44102877
Occupyatlanta.org
http://occupyatlanta.org/discuss/forums/?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&t=80#.TptPT4ZV4xA
Occupytacoma.org
http://occupytacoma.org/forum/?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&t=44
Occupyaustin.org
http://occupyaustin.org/discuss/#/
Occupycolumbus.org
http://www.occupycolumbus.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=219
Occupystl.org
http://www.occupystl.org/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=1020#p1020
Occupysj.org
http://www.occupysj.org/sj/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=55
Occupytucson.lefora.com
http://occupytucson.lefora.com/2011/10/14/we-the-people-initiative/
Occupyasheville.org
http://occupyasheville.org/forum/current-topics/we-the-people-initiative-1/#p451
Occupyrockford.org
Occupyoakland.org
http://www.occupyoakland.org/2011/10/we-the-people-initiative/
Occupyslc.org
http://occupyslc.org/content/we-people-initiative
Occupychi.org
http://occupychi.org/forum/potential-proposals/we-the-people-initiative/#p1586
Occupymia.org
http://occupymia.org/forum/we-people-initiative
Occupyseattle.org
http://forum.occupyseattle.org/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=300&p=1301#p1301
Proposal to transfrom Occupy protest demands and concerns into two legislative action items
- user:mocracy Oct 12, 2011 9:12 am
'We the People of the United States of America'
“We The People” initiative - Initiative to form a consensus of our collective interests that distills the aims and specific demands of 'Occupy Wall Street' protests into two pieces of legislation designed for submission to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate for two separate up-or-down votes.
'The People's Act' – Legislative Item #1 - a piece of legislation comprised of comprehensive social-economic reforms of the political process, with an emphasis on the role and function of money in our political system and process (elections).
'Amendment XXVIII' – Legislative Item #2 - a piece of legislation that addresses and redresses social justice issues, with an emphasis on equality, equity and rights.
October 15th - December 31st (Launch “We The People” Reform initiative) - a critical mass of protest synergies agrees on terms to launch the drafting of legislation as outlined below; open call for and selection of persons to form a 50 member (one per state as determined by state and local protesters) drafting committee.
January 1st New Year's Day (Drafting committees formed and finalized) - open collaborative participation in support of drafting legislation that resembles wikipedia style submissions and editing. 'We The People.org,- .com. - .edu etc site serves as host of master documents for drafts of the 'Act' and the 'Amendment', edits, submissions to draft 'Act' and 'Amendment' must be approved by a simple majority of the perspective members on the 50 member drafting committee.
January 4th – March 30th (Draft outline of 'The People's Act' and 'Amendment XXVIII') - general outline of first drafts with bullet point summations of key points of the proposed legislation for comment, debate and on-line voting on overall legislation as well as specific potentially contentious parts of each legislative item. Early March: discussion and debate pauses for 50 member committee to consider and revise initial drafts to be posted and voted for on-line.
April 1st – June 29th (1st Final Draft of 'The People's Act' and 'Amendment XXVIII') - first final draft of 'Act' and 'Amendment' posted on-line for public review and consideration followed by a popular on-line vote on the 'Act' and 'Amendment' with real time disclosure and display of voting results.
June 30th July 4th (On-line voting and registration for 'Act' and 'Amendment') - on-line registration and voting for 'Act' and 'Amendment' takes place simultaneously with final results posted on website: by end of day - Independence Day.
July 5th (CBO submission - scoring and analysis of legislation) -sponsored by House, Senate or President, a 'citizen submission of legislation' – the 'Act' -to the Congressional Budget Office for scoring or a reliable alternative that would yield the same kind and quality of result and analysis.
July 15th – July 28th (Draft, enlist and vote on U.S. Legislators to sit on 'Super committee' – 'The People's Committee of Congress') - select members of Congress are asked to serve on a NON-government 'We The People' version of the 'Super Committee' tasked with putting the 'Act' and 'Amendment' through a Congressional style committee process in anticipation of their submission to Congress employing the full commitment of their congressional staffs and expertise during the August recess.
August 1st – August 31st ('People's committee' meet during Congressional recess period to review and comment on draft 'Act' and 'Amendment'.) - Legislators who agree to serve on the 'People's Super Committee' – meet during the scheduled August Congressional Recess to review the draft 'Act' and 'Amendment' for the purpose of submitting specific proposals and revisions necessary to ensure compliance of the draft legislation with Congressional rules and procedures as both pertain to the submission and passage of each piece of legislation.
August 31st Public Consideration of Congressional input - specific proposals and revisions submitted by the 'People's Super Committee' are posted on-line for discussion, consideration, revision, adoption, adaption and finally voting.
September 6th Labor Day Weekend - on-line vote on the specific proposals and revisions submitted by the 'People's Super Committee'
October 11th (2nd Final Draft of 'Act' and 'Amendment' posted on-line for debate and commentary) - based on the outcome of the vote on the specific proposals and revisions made by the 'People's Super Committee' the 50 member drafting committee produces a 2nd Final Draft of the 'Act' and the 'Amendment'
Election Day Tuesday November 4th 2012 - National On-line vote for or against 'The People's Act' and 'Amendment XXVIII' – same day and time of U.S. Presidential Election- if the legislation receives a simple majority of the on-line votes, that version of the 'Act' and 'Amendment' will be petitioned to Congress for an up-or-down vote.
77 Days between election and inauguration November 4th – January 20th - intensify campaign to submit 'The People Act' and 'Amendment XXVIII' to either the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate for up-or-down votes. Petition a member of Congress and or the President of the United States to submit or sponsor 'Act' and or 'Amendment'.
Turn Out The VOTE! Mid-term elections for House and Senate - campaign to elect representatives that support passage of 'The People's Act' and or 'Amendment XXVIII' if either has not been passed into law by the time mid-term elections are primaried and scheduled.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the purpose of the 'The People's Act' and 'Amendment XXVIII'? A: Incorporate the demands and the concerns of the 'Occupy Wall Street' protest into pieces of legislation that are voted on by Congress.
Q: What is in 'The People's Act' and 'Amendment XXVIII'? A: The structure and content of the 'Act' and the 'Amendment' is determined by a transparent collaborative process that depends on the input and consideration of any and as many U.S. Citizens that participate in the process outlined above. This process and proposal does not attempt to define the 'Occupy Wall Street' protest but rather asks to be defined by the protest and the protesters in terms of the realities represented by the movement.
Q: Does this initiative as outlined above reign in or dilute the social movement that has been identified with the 'Occupy Wall Street' protest? A: Yes, if the protesters fail to shepherd their demands through each stage of the process or if specific demands or interest are not vigorously promoted and defended in a transparent structured public discourse.
Q: What if we can not get the support or the participation of members of Congress? A: We maintain the status-quo of a dysfunctional democracy that made the 'Occupy Wall Street' protest possible and necessary. It is the lack of support and participation of members of Congress in a fair and democratic process that has brought us to this point. Any request made of members of Congress is simply a request that they fulfill obligations to the country that they pledged themselves to upon being sworn into office.
Q: What is the advantage of channelling our movement and synergies through the process outlined above? A: If successful the demands and concerns that the 'Occupy Wall Street' protest represent will have the force of law and become a part of this country's fundamental and founding principles.
Q: What is the disadvantage of the collaborative structure and the nature of this 'We the People Initiative'? A: It will expose divisions and differences that could potentially splinter the movement and surrender the initiative to groups organized by 'Tea Party', 'Religious Conservative', and or Corporate interest.
Q: Who are the 50 members on the drafting committee? A: Hopefully, they are professionals, academics, public intellectuals as well as state and local officials who lend their expertise to a collaborative drafting process as did those 'gentlemen' we call 'founding fathers' who came from various and sundry backgrounds.
Q: How are the 50 members nominated and selected? A: The members are nominated by individuals who are organizing 'Occupy Wall Street' protest in each state. Ideally, the protesters in each state can agree on and vote on a list of candidates that have views and perspectives that qualify them to represent the interest, unique concerns and demands of the protesters in a given state.
Q: Doesn't producing two pieces of legislation require some kind or level of legal training or expertise? A: Yes, but no more or less that the lobby firms that draft legislation that members of Congress rubber stamp in exchange for hefty campaign donations. There are constitutional law professors, city council members, business owners etc among the protesters; they should be on the drafting committee.
Q: Who will host and be responsible for designing, hosting and maintaining the website that centralizes the creative drafting process of drafting the 'Act' and the 'Amendment'? A: The same type of people and expertise that are building and operating the on-line and technological aspects of the 'Occupy Wall Street' movement.
Q: Who is in charge of this entire process from draft to up-or-down votes on legislation that comes out of this process? A: You! This proposal is being submitted with the hope that it will be spontaneously adopted and adapted by the various individuals who are passionate about the issues and concerns that are being expressed and addressed in the form of protest 'occupying' financial districts nationwide. If this proposal can not be sustained by popular support and interest there is little to no chance of either the 'Act' or the 'Amendment' being drafted or voted into law.
Q: What is meant by on-line registration and voting for different drafts of legislation? A: Anyone, can register using basic and minimum information to ensure some degree of integrity to the voting process and results. For example, an imaged lettered verification form + last name- first initial- zip code and a single I.P. Address for each vote cast. You can vote and register all in one session on the site.
Q: How does this effort manage the large volume of comments and responses that would be submitted and directed at the various committees? A: Ideally, the comments will take the form of specific and constructive ideas, proposals, and recommendations that are scored – liked – by a critical mass of the people who visit the site and participate in the process. The most liked or highly rated posted ideas, proposals and recommendations enter the work-flow of the drafting committee. This is similar to blog and newspaper website that list the top ten stories or post based on the number of people who read or indicated that they – liked the post.
Q: What if you do not like a specific part of the legislation that the drafting committee produces? A: Vote and Voice against it! Then propose an alternative. In other words, share your opinion and then your mind.
Q: What if you do not like the comments and recommendations made by the 'People's Super Committee'? A: The People's Super Committee can only make recommendations to the drafting committee and those recommendations can only be considered by the 50 member drafting committee if they receive a majority of the vote by people like you. The purpose of including the input of members of Congress is the anticipation of the 'Act' and the 'Amendment' having to navigate the procedures and rules that govern the legislative process as it pertains to considering and passing new pieces of legislation.
Q: What if Congress votes down the legislation that we submit? A: Remember them in the mid-term elections. If a nationwide effort produces a genuine piece of legislation for Congressional consideration, the strength of your local movement and participation will determine how your elected member of Congress votes. It only matters to them if you matter to them.
Q: Is it fair or reasonable to ask a group of members of Congress to give up their August recess to work on two major pieces of legislation that come out of the process outlined above? A: During this last August (2011) recess members of the Congressional Black Caucus spent their free-time putting on Job Fairs and addressing the disproportionately high unemployment rate among African-Americans and Latinos. The idea behind this recess appointment of a 'People's Super Committee' is that the situation warrants it, no less than it – the situation- warranted the 'Super Committee' that has been tasked with coming up with a debt reduction package under the threat of draconian cuts to domestic and military budgets.
Q: What do we do when 'The People's Act' and 'Amendment XXVIII' are either hijacked or stymied by one of the two major political parties in power? A: That this is the fate of most legislation that promotes the social welfare of our society. The time table for this initiative piggy-backs on the electoral wave that will be generated by the presidential election. This will give the 'Act' and the 'Amendment' momentum and a longer shelf-life in a media culture of sound bites and short uninformed attention spans. Anticipating a difficult road to passage, this initiative has an organizational grass roots structure that if realized will make a push for the legislation more effective during mid-term and off-years elections. Keep in mind that a million people in any one of the key battle ground states can determine the next couple national elections. Instead, of targeting weak members of congress, a national effort against any committee chair person in Congress should deprive them of their seat if the legislation gets stuck, buried or stonewalled. Any U.S. Senator that attempts to filibuster the legislation should immediately be targeted by a nationwide electoral campaign that deprives him or her of their seat – no matter how entrenched or powerful they are or imagine themselves. Threaten the power and position of a committee chairperson and or U.S. Senator successfully – once – with an all out nationwide campaign and it will send a shock wave through Congress and force either of the two main political parties to spend a disproportionate amount of corporate dollars defending 'safe' seats while making vulnerable 'seats' that much more uncertain. It is not necessary to win every battle as long as the struggle drain their coffers.
Q: What does failure of this initiative and the legislation that it aims to produce look like? A: It looks like the status-quo. The only acceptable defeat of any legislative item or initiative that emerges out of the process above or one similar to it is when a majority of the people have voted it down after a fair and open exchange of ideas. If the 'Act' and or 'Amendment' gets an up-or-down vote by both houses of congress, win or lose the results of a clean and fair legislative process should be accepted. We get what we want by making it happen; not by demanding what should have been won or lost in a long struggle that starts now!
Q: What if the President of the United States vetoes the legislation or there is a Supreme Court challenge? A: Redirect the support that got the legislation through both houses of Congress to override the veto. Keep in mind that a super-majority vote will be needed to pass 'Amendment XXVIII' and super-majority vote of state legislatures will been needed to ratify the 'Amendment' if it passes. The 'Act' will be easier to pass, nevertheless, the goal of the overall process that produces the legislation is to mobilize a citizen power base to compel super-majorities on the federal and the state level. The closer we get to achieving this goal, the less successful will be Congressional, Presidential and or Supreme Court attempts to block or negate the legislation that emerges out of this process. It is not simply a matter of taking power from 'Wall Street' but to giving it back to the people.
Q: What can I do right now to make this happen? A: - Using your facebook, twitter, blogs, email, stamps and envelops to share this idea with as many people as possible.
- Ask people with a significant on-line presence to start a sign-up list for people who are willing to dedicate time and energy to building the site, serving on the committees etc.
- Petition and nominate your member of Congress to serve on the 'People's Super Committee'. Start a facebook page or a Google-circle for the petition state-by-state.
- Think about that woman or man who has articulated views that you want to be considered by the 50 member drafting committee and start a campaign to draft that person into service on the 50 member drafting committee! Promote them using the ideas that they shared with you and which made you think that they speak to an interest of the general public.
- Start a email list of supporters that you can direct to this effort at critical points when it starts to reach escape volatility challenges by entrenched money interest.
- If you are a student at a university or college get your political science departments and law schools on board.
- Those that have capacity on a server should offer to host a domain for the drafting committee or offer technical support for the site when it is up and running.
- Address any concerns or weaknesses that you find with this idea by improving it with ideas of your own.
- If you have connections to people that carry weight with law firms get them to ask their firm to donate hours pro-bona in support of this process and the pieces of legislations.
- If you are affiliated with a think-tank, newspaper, catering company or socially responsible lobby or investment organization secure sponsorships of this idea and practical things like donating space to host 'The People's Super Committee'.
- If a gathering of either the 50 member drafting committee or the recess meeting of member of Congress on the 'People's Super Committee' takes place in your area volunteer to staff the location and offer administrative support if you have those expertise.
- But most important, when and where you see this idea gaining traction support it!
re: 'The People's Act' and Amendment XXVIII
- user:mocracy Oct 13, 2011 6:06 am
"Money is the alienated ability of humankind" - Karl Marx -Money is a commodity. It is the abilities and capacities of humankind in commodity form. As a commodity the abilities and capacities of humankind are mystified to promote, protect and preserve the power of the few to control and to regulate 'state' power calibrated to the needs of 1% of our society to maintain control over the means of production and wealth. One of the mystified forms of money as a commodity is this 'theoretical fiction' known as "Finance". Revolution is a process of persisting change that must transcend the 'state'. Notice that the word transcend is used here and not the word abolish. We must demystify money and free ourselves from its current 'understandings' before we can free ourselves from it grip! It is not the aim of "The People's Act", "Amendment XXVIII" or the constitutional convention to transform the 'state' or even to reform the "state" the goal is to transcend it towards the achievement of a free association of human beings realising their abilities and capacities - viz., labor and needs - in a balance that truely allows society and the individuals in society to benefit "each according to his need" as each contributes "according to abilities". "The present is the future unfolding . . ." K. Marx. It is through legislative 'Acts' and 'Amendments' that I as a descendant 'slaves' can write to you here today as a 'relatively' free person. Where do you fit into the bends and fold of a movement that has to start somewhere if it is to go anywhere! Buck Up! or Shut Up!
"Words"
- user:mocracy Oct 13, 2011 5:08 am
What is free speech, when it is not free to do harm?
In a more appeasing expression of the same, what good can free speech be or do when it is harmless? The adjective “free” denotes an attribute of speech, not a condition of it. When we dare impose conditions on ‘speech’ or accept, in any context conditional speech, it is not ‘free’. It is in need of liberation of and from those whose very existence is conditional or a condition of quieting or silencing not just the physiological act of speech, the words spoken but the truth or untruth signified by the utterance of a signifier or an amalgamation of signifiers.
‘Free speech’ is not what it allows us to say about ourselves or others. It is that we can say it, write it, paint it, shout it and if necessary shut it up inside ourselves to protest places and spaces that do not allow it and above all to profane those persons whose private or public existence requires secrecy and silence.
READ REST OF POEM by Tom L. States @:http://blog.erace-inc.com/words/
"The People's Act 2012"
This proposal does not dictate how the 'The People's Act' and 'Amendment XXVIII' should read but rather suggests how the demands and the concerns of protesters can be written and passed into law.
http://occupyboston.wikispaces.com/message/view/Solidarity/44102877