12.2.11

12.2.2011
I have finally distilled the connecting of the dots which has troubled me over the past few days.
1) FACT: Occupations across the country have faced militaristic shut downs, coordinated from the federal level.
2) FACT: Courts across the country have dismissed charges against occupiers on 1st amendment grounds.
3) FACT: The current defense funding bill (approved by the Senate, SB 1867, awaiting House approval) allows for indefinite detainment of Americans on US soil, without charges. This eliminates relevancy of posse commitatus, severely challenges habeas corpus, and is a total end run on anything which would legitimately protect occupations.

One does not have to be an Einstein to see how 1+2=3. I should say could =3, tho I cannot see past the linkage myself.

Let’s just throw a few more in for fun:
4) FACT: SOPA / IP protection act is an end run on the internet, a censorship act. The most severely handicapped areas of the internet will be the user supplied content sites, like youtube and facebook, two of the most powerful organizing, energizing factors in the OWS movement.
5) FACT: Italy (I think the 3rd largest economy in the EU) and Greece have surrendered sovereignty to bankers. Currently, at least 5 European economies are facing takeover by the EU.
6) FACT: The international financial scene is at the precipice of the void.
7) FACT: Congress is torn by where to cut spending to deal with deficit issues. Obviously, the “entitlements” are the first to go. The Defense Budget is sacred, so we need a new enemy to merit the $$. How about Iran?
How can people not see the math?
I am flummoxed. I am emboldened. My greatest strength is my writing, so I will occupy the blogosphere. I live way too far from any occupation to have a sustained or predictable presence there. Maybe, I’ll start my own occupation. Maybe, I’ll do it in my own back yard. I invite you all to join me on my journey of trying to suss all this out.
So, to re-begin, let’s all take a deep breath and think about our unity, expel thoughts of division.
My fear, and I say that in all honesty, is we are reaching the point of a “Give me liberty or give me death” moment. There is no greater threat to a peaceful movement than a martyr. No matter what “they” throw at us, we must remain at peace…this is not to say we must be OK with what the powers that be (PTB) contrive to stifle us, but quite the opposite. We must remain unattached, removed from the personal investment of these insults.
I am not predicting the entire trajectory of the movement, not by any means. I am staunchly behind the idea of slow but steady wins the race. Think tortoises, terrapins. The less we can be provoked by the PTB, the better off we are as individuals, hence we are better off as a movement. I am not of the new-age to the extreme, but I do believe the more positive energy one puts out, the more one receives. What goes around, comes around basically.
Based on this thought alone, what good does it do for 1,400 L.A. cops in riot gear, even the bike cops, to storm and clear the camp in LA. NOTHING! The act was nothing shy of a show of force which wilted in the face of love, sharing, and a firm basis in the US Constitution.
(As I write, 6 occupiers have been arrested in Nashville for who knows what and released with citations. So I guess, now it’s catch and release. They will when they reappear in court be charged and booked. Correction – 5 occupiers and one press)
What to say? I foresee mass crackdowns, with no charges. We are probably a year away from this becoming standard, or more, but prosecution of thought crimes is coming. Right now, we have no alternative but to spread the idea of universal participation. We have the tools and opportunity to flood the conscious world with nudges toward reform that might actually mean something. Reforms like the investigation of too big to fail banks and mortgages are not happening solely because the people have not spoken with a unified voice. This is something we can change. This is something that is changing.
There are a multitude of issues which need addressing, from housekeeping bs for the occupations to function better, to truly revolutionary directions for our society (by revolutionary, I a mean the product of a revelation).
Today, as I have been for much more than a week, I have been burdened with the thoughts of where OWS in general, and ON in particular, is headed. Only today have I been free of these turmoils. I have exorcised them here and in other correspondence. At the end of this, and after great reflection, I believe we as a group are on the right track, and with total respect for other’s opinions, and time, we will solidify a body which cannot be dislodged in the national discussion.
However, I am of the mind that without substantial, structural changes, we will fail. I invite all to submit their ideas and comments, as this is by no means the definitive statement on the matter.
More soon…it’s late.