Foreclose on banks: turning point for Occupy movement

                Alfredo, outside his home in East New York, addresses Occupy supporters


Perhaps the eviction from Zuccotti Square and other encampments around the country will be remembered as a positive turning point for the Occupy Wall Street movement.  I've spent part of the afternoon watching streaming videos from East New York where crowds of demonstrators have marched to support families scheduled for eviction from their homes.  There's much positive energy,  good "mic check" speeches, and a coming together of people from diverse groups, which is as sign that, as one person there commented, "the color of the movement is changing."

I like the drums, small brass band, chanting, appearance of the OWS sanitation crew to clean the house, banners, house warming presents, little girl looking a the window saying, "They're waving to you, mommy!"

Meanwhile, the practical effects of the protests are more and more evident -- not just "change in the dialog," but substantial political changes that would not have happened otherwise.  Here's one, via the New York Times, from Albany today.

Cuomo Strikes Deal to Raise Taxes on the Wealthiest

By THOMAS KAPLAN

Pubished: December 6, 2011

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and legislative leaders on Tuesday announced that they had reached an agreement to raise taxes on New York State’s wealthiest residents as part of a deal to overhaul the tax rates.

The leaders, seeking simultaneously to make the state’s income tax system more progressive and to increase tax collections during a down economy, announced their agreement as lawmakers began to arrive at the Capitol for an expected special session of the Legislature later this week. 

The tentative agreement would not only raise taxes for the wealthy, but also cut taxes for the middle class, by creating four new tax brackets and tax rates. The officials said the tax rate changes would generate $1.9 billion in annual revenue for the state.

“This would be lowest tax rate for middle class families in 58 years,” Mr. Cuomo said in a statement. “This job-creating economic plan defies the political gridlock that has paralyzed Washington and shows that we can make government work for the people of this state once again.”

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Some observers might say, "It would have happened with or without Occupy Wall Street."  (Yeah, right...uh huh....sure it would....) 

Update: 
Evidently, another sign of this turn of events came in Obama's speech on inequality and fairness in Kansas today.  I have only read excerpts so far, but the tone and content seem extraordinary, given the cautious approach the President has taken during the past three years.  Here's a passage from Greg Sargent's story:

Obama’s speech went to great lengths to criticize inequality in this context, and his historical references were also designed to support that theme. He drew a direct line between today’s debate and the debate at the turn of the century between the forces of unregulated capitalism, which caused massive inequality and suffering, and Theodore Roosevelt's insistence on humane government intervention in service of the national good. 

“Roosevelt was called a radical, a socialist, even a communist,” Obama said, in a tacit reference to similar attacks on himself. “But today, we are a richer nation and a stronger democracy because of what he fought for in his last campaign: an eight hour work day and a minimum wage for women; insurance for the unemployed, the elderly, and those with disabilities; political reform and a progressive income tax."                                                      
                                                            

If it's all about "public health and safety," why arrest a sink?

Under the guise of protecting "public health and safety," the arrest and removal of Occupy Wall Street protestors continues in several cities across the country.  To test the lame excuse that the encampments are not sufficiently clean, some clever folks at Occupy Boston introduced a sink for washing hands, dishes and whatever else needed cleaning.  The device was specially prepared by someone at MIT, using methods that transforms the runoff into "greywater" that can be harmlessly poured onto the lawn of a city park.  This is a civil liberties protecting, Lemelson Prize caliber, technological innovation of the highest order, a political artifact supreme.

The Boston Police were not amused.  During a crackdown of Occupy Boston last night they arrested demonstrators and confiscated the ingenious sink.  A news report from a local web site gives the details.

A standoff between Boston Police and occupiers ended with an arrest late Thursday night after officers apprehended a makeshift sink being delivered to Dewey Square.

According to police, Atlantic Avenue was temporarily blocked off and one protester was arrested for disorderly conduct and assault and battery on a public employee as members of Occupy Boston allegedly tried to keep police from removing the sink from the property.

Officers eventually hauled away the sink in a police vehicle. . . .

The sink, which cost the group roughly $200, was made so occupiers could address complaints city officials made in a court hearing earlier in the day in regards to sanitation and dirty dishes.  . . .

“It’s ironic that the city would complain in court about sanitation and in the same day remove a sink,” said B from Allston.

B, who wouldn’t give a full name, said campers are constantly working to improve the site at Dewey Square.

“When we try and get the sink, they then tell us we are being violent,” he said.

After the commotion settled, protesters began chanting “whose sink, our sink,” a play on words from one of their regular chants when marching through the streets of Boston.


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One of the signs of the imagination and resourcefulness of the Occupy movement is to test the absurd reasons offered by governments at all levels for the suppression of citizen rights.  As incidents of this kind spread, the application of raw, arbitrary power is unmasked for what it is. 

The underlying message turns out to be:  "We're using police force to protect the interests of the oligarchy that has seized control of the U.S.A.  Don't ask about our justifications  Just bow your heads!"


                                                          
                                                    

"Health and Safety" trumps 1st Amendment rights in L.A.

                        Guy Fawkes of Occupy Los Angeles stands in front of L.A. City Hall

Perhaps someone will explain to me why the so-called "liberal" majors of cities across the U.S. have suddenly decided that protecting "public health and safety" outweighs First Amendment protections of "the freedom of speech ...[and] the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."  Are there worrisome signs of illness at Occupy sites?    Beyond the news of police beating, gassing and pepper spraying demonstrators, is there compelling evidence of danger to public safety?  The sites I've visited have been clean, orderly and welcoming with no signs of disease beyond ordinary autumn sniffling from allergies and colds.  Yet we are led to believe that the encampments are major hazards to our physical well-being.

Here's the crucial part of the statement of Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles, justifying his order to evict Occupy Los Angeles on Monday.

The Occupy movement is now at a crossroads. The movement faces the question of how it can build on its initial success.  It is a question of whether energy will be consumed to defend a particular patch of earth or whether that energy will be channeled to spreading the message of economic equality and signing more people up for the push to restore the balance to American society.

The encampment in City Hall Park is not sustainable. This is especially true from the standpoint of public health and public safety. Accordingly, we must close, repair and re-open the park to public access. For this reason, we will close the park on Monday, November 28th at 12:01 am. The park closure will include a set of measures that will assist Occupy LA participants to move their personal belongings and property from the park. We will also offer social and health services for those in need.

I am very proud of the fact that since the start of the occupation of City Hall Park, we have done things differently in Los Angeles. We have not stared each other down from opposite sides of barricades and barbed wire. We have communicated. We have listened. We have negotiated. It has allowed us to solve problems peacefully and to avoid the scenes of violence and brutality that have strained the civic fabric of other cities.

It is my hope that we can conclude this first chapter of Occupy LA in a similar spirit. I admire your courage and character. You have opened the eyes of your fellow citizens to the economic hardship in their midst. I am encouraged by your passionate commitment to social justice and look forward to the continued progress of your efforts.

The condescension that drips from this proclamation appears to be an attempt by Mayor Villaraigosa to salvage his reputation and (until now) promising political career at the very moment that he's calling in the riot troopers.  His promise of "health and social services for those in need" will come in handy for those likely to be injured in the tomorrow's melee, since Occupy L.A. has promised to stand firm.  His praise for the his efforts "to avoid the scenes of violence and brutality that have strained the civic fabric of other cities" leaves out an additional phrase -- "until now!"

The flagrant dishonesty of the rationale the Mayor offers has become standard boilerplate in justifications for brutal crackdowns on Occupy Wall Street protests nationwide.  If public health and safety have somehow become America's most urgent problem right now, why are budgets for Medicaid, public health services and local law enforcement being slashed in our towns and cities?

Do us a favor.  Just tell us the real reasons for the arrests, beatings and episodes of political cleansing taking place in America right now. We can handle it  (and make plans accordingly).