Rev. Billy occupies Wall Street

24 Replies

Gregg Jocoy at Green Party Watch:

Changeallulia!

24 thoughts on “Rev. Billy occupies Wall Street”

  1. Richard Winger

    Reverend Billy petitioned his way onto the New York city ballot as a candidate for Mayor in 2009. He was the Green Party nominee. He hired Christina Tobin’s petitioning company to do this work. Despite the fact that the petition succeeded, according to Christina, Rev. Billy has never paid Christina for the work.

  2. paulie Post author

    I know that Darryl Bonner and some other people were getting paid on that drive in NYC. Are you saying Christina paid for it herself, without getting paid by the client?

  3. history ----- on the current system .... Lake

    Wall Street connection

    [welcome to the 21st Century ……….]

    About 15 people were taken to hospitals, while 20 or 30 more were treated right there, the ambulance chief told The [Allentown, Pennsylvania] Call.

    OSHA, which investigated conditions at the warehouse, told Amazon that the way the warehouse was run had “the potential to adversely impact” employee safety and health.

    In a statement Monday, Amazon said, “the safety and well-being of our associates is our number one priority.”

    It stressed it took emergency actions during the various heat waves, including shutting down the warehouse three times, but did not specifically challenge any of The Call’s extensive reporting.

    [WALL STREET] investors were undaunted; in the challenging Internet economy, this is the exact way they want companies to be run.

    On a down day for the market, the retailer’s stock rose $2.39 on Monday to a new high of $241.69, giving Amazon a market value of $110 billion.

  4. paulie Post author

    Jill on open thread:

    I’d love some discussion of the New York protests. I’m trying to keep an eye on what’s going on, but is this a Libertarian issue? Are the protestors trying to force more regulation on Wall Street?

    In the comments at http://irregulartimes.com/index.php/archives/2011/09/20/wall-street-occupation-protesters-slumps-in-updates-viewers-and-participants/

    knowsavage says:
    9/20/2011 at 11:44 am


    “When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion–when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing–when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors–when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you–when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice–you may know that your society is doomed.- Ayn Rand”

    This is what is happening at this time and age. It’s time to take it back, and give it to the people who deserve it.

    p] This indicates to me that at least some of the protesters and their sympathizers have libertarian reasons for their protest.

    Let’s not forget that Wall Street’s spending spree has been backed by massive government bailouts and the expectations of more bailouts (including hidden ones through the manipulation of the money supply).

    Of course, various big government types will seek to steer the anger embodied in these protests towards their own ends, but that anger is legitimate, and libertarians should be making our own appeal to claim some of it for our side.

  5. paulie Post author

    Another point: regardless of what you think of the protesters’ motivations, there are some very troubling police state actions in response to the protests that should certainly concern libertarians. I hope the LP and other libertarian organizations will be addressing these.

  6. paulie Post author

    http://irregulartimes.com/index.php/archives/2011/09/19/homeland-security-lawful-protests-against-wall-street-are-an-attack/

    “….According to this report, seven occupation protesters have been arrested to date. Their crimes? Two walked into a Bank of America building. One hopped onto the wrong side of a barricade on a public street. And four? Four of the arrestees were arrested for the crime of wearing Guy Fawkes masks…”

    I’m sure there have been more arrests since then.

  7. paulie Post author

    From the same link:

    “A peaceful assembly dedicated to petitioning for the redress of grievances — a First Amendment protected activity — has been reclassified by the Department of Homeland Security as an “attack” and an “illict activity.” Police officers have erected barricades to prohibit the free movement of citizens on Wall Street and have criminalized free speech.

    From whom stems the “illicit activities”? Who and what here is being “attacked”? From where I sit, it looks as though the Constitution itself is a target — and all this is going down during Constitution Week.”

  8. paulie Post author

    From comments on above post:

    F.G. Fitzer says:
    9/19/2011 at 12:59 pm

    Wearing a mask is a crime, now? Homeland Security Alert: Local law enforcement officials are urged to prepare for an attack currently being planned by domestic cells for October 31. The attack is scheduled for sundown, at which time, conspirators calling themselves “Trick Or Treaters” will emerge simultaneously to occupy the streets in communities across the USA and go door-to-door seizing private property. They will be wearing masks and other disguises designed to thwart efforts at identification.

  9. paulie Post author

    I’ll highlight the ones I agree with:

    http://irregulartimes.com/index.php/archives/2011/09/18/what-is-the-one-demand-of-wall-street-occupation-facebook-poll-points-to-possibilities/

    “On the other hand, if you head over to Occupy Wall Street’s online Facebook poll, you can get a more quantifiable idea of what participants would like the “One Demand” to be. As of right now, the current list of ideas for the “One Demand” gaining at least 100 votes is reasonably short:

    Revoke Corporate Personhood: 2556 votes

    Raise taxes on the top 2%!: 838 votes

    Abolish capitalsm: 772 votes

    Tax Wall Street: 522 votes

    Public Healthcare: 511 votes

    Presidential Commission to Separate Money from Politics: 490 votes

    End Corporate Welfare: 478 votes

    End the wars, withdraw from Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Pakistan, Yemen, etc.: 435 votes

    Close half of America’s 1000 military bases: 388 votes

    Four-hour work day: 267 votes

    Resource Based Economy: 214 votes

    Democracy not Corporatocracy: 206 votes

    Legalize Marijuana: 195 votes

    End the Federal Reserve Private Profit Empire: 183 votes

    Eliminate corporate tax loopholes: 138 votes

    De-militarize the Police: 129 votes

    Put those Responsible for Crisis in Jail: 128 people

    Demand separation of Church and State: 127 people

    A shrubbery: 125 people

    Dramatic Campaign Finance Reform. Stop the wealthy from buying our campaigns!: 108 people

    Free the Unicorns!: 108 people”

  10. Jill Pyeatt

    Thanks for the list above, paulie. Some of those issues are indeed issues Libertarians should care about. Even if that wasn’t the case, I’m also troubled by the police response. Since I think civil disobedience is probably our next step toward yanking our liberty back, I’m watching the developments with interest, and wish the protestors well.

  12. paulie Post author

    Now as for the ones where I disagree:

    Raise taxes on the top 2%!: 838 votes

    I disagree with taking their money by force. On the other hand, many of the top 2% – and especially the top 2% of the top 2% – earn much of their money due to government manipulation of the marketplace on their behalf, so a truly free market would “tax” more than 2% of their wealth.

    It would also spread the wealth round through natural, organic means and create more funding for all of the good things most of these folks envision being done with these taxes, but in a much more efficient manner. And, with strict liability, industry would have to bear the full risks and costs of pollution (among other things) which are now socialized while profits are being privatized. So, too, would financial speculators have to take their own risks, rather than count on bailouts.

    Abolish capitalsm: 772 votes

    Depends on what you mean by capitalism. See disambiguation at http://mises.org/daily/2099#6

    Tax Wall Street: 522 votes

    See first point above.

    Public Healthcare: 511 votes

    See http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2011/09/open-thread-for-september-2011/#comment-605009 and a couple of comments after that and links therein .

    Presidential Commission to Separate Money from Politics: 490 votes

    I agree we should separate money from politics – but the only real, effective way to do that is to make political force too irrelevant to our daily lives to be worth buying.

    More when I have time…

  13. Michael H. Wilson

    I’ve asked myself more than once; “Self now that corporation have freedom of speech do they now get to vote?”

    I can’t wait until the SCOTUS says Yes! Let them Vote!

  14. paulie Post author

    Four-hour work day: 267 votes

    Greater prosperity leads to more opportunity for leisure. The work day was going down before legislation. The rate at which it was going down actually slowed after the law passed.

    Resource Based Economy: 214 votes

    Not going to get into that one now. There was a long thread arguing about it on IPR at one time.


    Democracy not Corporatocracy: 206 votes

    False choice.

    Individual liberty is neither of those.

    Eliminate corporate tax loopholes: 138 votes

    See previous responses.

    Dramatic Campaign Finance Reform. Stop the wealthy from buying our campaigns!: 108 people

    There would be nothing to buy if the forced monopoly sector was cut down to night watchman size, or better yet eliminated before it grows again like the malignant cancer that it is.

  15. Steve

    I like that four hour work day idea – all the lazy bums can clock out early and I’ll be a millionaire in a few years just by putting in a normal shift!

  16. paulie Post author

    Socialist Party USA on their site:

    Members of the Socialist Party USA – from the NYC and Boston locals – took part in the multi-day demonstrations dubbed “Occupy Wall Street.” We weren’t just there as passive participants. In the meetings that took place among occupiers, Socialist Party members stuck to the political traditions of our organization – we pushed for militant direct action marches onto Wall Street despite the heavy police presence.
    –
    As a result, on Saturday we participated in a breakaway march that outfoxed the cops and made it down to Wall Street. And we are not just about marching – we set up a table and met dozens of people who were interested in becoming seriously engaged in radical politics. Having a supportive organization really helps in moments like these and we encourage all members and locals to continue to be engaged in the emerging anti-capitalist movement. If you are not organized – get organized. If you are organized – make sure your group does more than talk – make sure they directly confront the system. Occupy Wall Street!

  17. paulie Post author

    Surprisingly, I did not find any of the other socialist parties we link to talk about it yet.

    Haven’t checked politics1’s longer list of parties yet.

  19. paulie Post author

    Via Hammer of Truth:

    https://occupywallst.org/article/day4-arrests/

    https://www.examiner.com/human-rights-in-national/occupy-wall-st-police-raid-1-rights-defender-critical-condition-8-arrests

    http://www.suite101.com/news/occupy-wall-street-protesters-violently-arrested-in-new-york-a389725

    http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/668891/corporations_censor_the_resistance%3A_yahoo_blocks_e-mails_about_wall_street_protest/

    http://pastebin.com/LmzxjnVa

    http://www.livestream.com/globalrevolution

  24. Pingback: Occupy Wall Street: New Livestream Channel, IPR posts to date | Independent Political Report

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