Occupy Wall Street growing rapidly

                  Airline pilots march on Wall Street Tuesday. (Dan Nguyen @ New York City/Flickr)




Occupy Wall Street is experiencing a burst of rapid visibility and support. 

Several established groups are now getting involved:
A loose coalition of labor and community groups said Thursday that they would join the protest next week. They are organizing a solidarity march scheduled for Wednesday that is expected to start at City Hall and finish a few blocks south at Zuccotti Park.

Some of the biggest players in organized labor are actively involved in planning for Wednesday's demonstration, either directly or through coalitions that they are a part of. The United Federation of Teachers, 32BJ SEIU, 1199 SEIU, Workers United and Transport Workers Union Local 100 are all expected to participate. The Working Families Party is helping to organize the protest and MoveOn.org is expected to mobilize its extensive online regional networks to drum up support for the effort.

“We're getting involved because the crisis was caused by the excesses of Wall Street and the consequences have fallen hardest on workers,” a spokesman for TWU Local 100 said.

Community groups like Make the Road New York, the Coalition for the Homeless, the Alliance for Quality Education and Community Voices Heard are also organizing for Wednesday's action, and the labor/community coalitions United New York and Strong Economy For All are pitching in as well.

It should also be mentioned that the Teamsters have been vocal in their support of Occupy Wall Street.

In addition to rapidly increasing support for the action in New York City, Occupy Wall Streetconfirmed over the phone that there will be at least 26 solidarity occupations in the U.S. by Oct. 6. Further, they said that up to 70 were possible by the end of October, and recommended visiting Occupy Together for more information.

Beyond institutional support, the use of pepper spray against demonstrators has significantly increased organic interest in Occupy Wall Street. TechPresident reports that there are now more online searches for Occupy Wall Street than for Speaker John Boehner:

After a pepper spray incident, Occupy Wall Street now gets a level of attention on Google somewhere between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner.

The occupiers in New York City say they are prepared to stay through the winter. Their numbers also appear to be growing, after suffering steady declines during the first week of the action. At this point, how long Occupy Wall Street lasts, and how big it gets, is anyone's guess.

ORIGINALLY POSTED TO CHRIS BOWERS ON THU SEP 29, 2011 AT 12:39 PM PDT.

ALSO REPUBLISHED BY DAILY KOS LABOR, CLASS WARFARE NEWSLETTER: THE PLUTOCRACY VS THE WORKING CLASS, OCCUPY WALL STREET, AND DAILY KOS.

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• Occupy America
• occupy together
• Occupy Wall Street
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Putting pot in its place

EDITORIAL

With a Rand study showing an increase in crime after some medical marijuana dispensaries were shut down, L.A. needs a better policy toward such facilities.

A Rand Corp. study this week seemed to nip the conventional wisdom about medical marijuana dispensaries in the proverbial bud, contradicting statements from law enforcement officials that these facilities are magnets for crime. On the contrary, Rand researchers said, crime actually increased in the vicinity of hundreds of L.A. dispensaries after they were ordered to shut down.

Does this mean that dispensaries decrease neighborhood crime rather than increasing it? Unfortunately, despite Rand's analysis, we still don't know the answer. There are so many obvious problems with Rand's study that it's impossible to come to solid conclusions about crime either way.

First and most glaringly, Rand's findings are based on a large and unwarranted assumption: that the dispensaries ordered by the city to close their doors on June 7, 2010, when L.A.'s sweeping medical marijuana ordinance took effect, actually did so. There were thought to be about 600 dispensaries operating in the city at that time, of which 430 received notification that they would have to close. Rand looked at crime statistics during the 10 days before the ordered closure and the 10 days afterward, and compared the numbers for locations near facilities that supposedly closed and the 170 that didn't. Within three-tenths of a mile of the "closed" facilities, there were 59% more criminal incidents than there were within the same distance of those that remained open, and a 24% increase within six-tenths of a mile.

That's all very well, but there is no way of knowing whether those 430 dispensaries actually closed, and officials with the city attorney's office contend that many of them did not. Even if they did, the study really only tells us something about the immediate effect on crime of closing a medical marijuana facility, not whether these facilities increase crime on a long-term basis. If the dispensaries did close and if crime did go up nearby, it may be because, as the city attorney has argued, disgruntled former customers went on a rampage or because the facilities held fire sales to get rid of their inventory, driving more people to the area. Moreover, the 20-day time frame is too short for deriving reliable conclusions.

For all that, we don't think the Rand analysis is completely without value. It's a rare attempt to quantitatively measure the impact of L.A.'s marijuana dispensaries on crime, and it points out that the story we've been told for years by law enforcement officials should be regarded with a degree of skepticism. The city attorney's office has argued in legal filings that the number of dispensaries in the city must be limited in order to deal with the "well-documented crime" they draw, yet the connection to crime is actually far from well documented. Similarly, county Sheriff Lee Baca has claimed that the state's medical marijuana program "has been hijacked by underground drug-dealing criminals who are resorting to violence in order to control their piece of the action," yet he hasn't presented any crime statistics to back that up.

The lack of solid information about crime doesn't discredit efforts by the city of Los Angeles to limit and regulate dispensaries, although the lack of progress on that front is discouraging. After six years of trying to get a handle on a gray-market business operating between state and federal law, it's not clear that L.A. is any closer to eliminating rogue operators.

The main problem for the city is that it's trying to build its ordinances on shifting and uncertain legal ground. Its 2010 ordinance, among the toughest in the state, ordered the closure of any dispensary that wasn't registered with the city as of Nov. 13, 2007, the date of a previous moratorium that was later overturned in court. Yet a Superior Court judge found that restriction unconstitutional, so the city had to craft a new law earlier this year. This time, any dispensary that could prove it was operating as of Sept. 14, 2007, whether it registered with the city or not, could apply to take part in a lottery, which would choose 100 facilities from among those eligible and allow them to remain in business.

Predictably, this new restriction has attracted multiple lawsuits that have yet to be resolved, and the lottery is indefinitely stalled. Meanwhile, storefronts emblazoned with the green cross that denotes a medical marijuana facility open and close continually. The city has moved to close some down, yet many have delayed action with legal filings. Staffing shortages in the city attorney's office and other municipal departments have made identifying and citing these scofflaws a very slow process.

Whether or not these rogue dispensaries attract crime, they are a nuisance. A lack of oversight means they could be selling anything, including marijuana laced with dangerous drugs or chemicals. California voters intended them to operate as nonprofit collectives, yet it's not clear they're all doing so. Also unclear is the extent to which they're selling to minors or people with no legitimate medical need. L.A. is right to try to crack down; now its lawyers just need to figure out a way of doing so that passes court muster.

Copyright © 2011, Los Angeles Times

Patriotic Millionaires Echo Occupy Wall Street

At last week's Occupy Wall Street San Francisco protest, demonstrators gathered in the Financial District chanting, "Why is life a bitch? 'Cause we don't tax the rich." And according to Bay Area-founded Patriotic Millionaires, many of the rich agree.

Now a national organization, the Patriotic Millionaires is a group of super wealthy individuals urging the government to increase taxes on those with incomes over $1 million -- the very tax group they represent. Members are largely made up of successful alumni from start-ups like Google, Esprit and Aardvark, and argue that if the 375,000 Americans with incomes over $1 million were taxed more aggressively, the nation could maintain the federally funded programs that helped make them rich in the first place. The group also encourages the expiration of the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts for the wealthy -- cuts that, the group points out, were never meant to be permanent, and are crippling the economy.

"I'm a millionaire," said member Dal LaMang, co-managing partner at IceStone, in a video interview posted on the group's website. "My government gave me student loans and I got a great education. Then the small business administration lent money to my company which then made me millions." LaMang argues that without crucial government loans, his success would never have been possible.

Ron Garret, a software engineer turned angel investor agrees. "Millionaires are not the cause of a robust economy," he said in another video interview. "They are the result of a robust economy." Garret argues that cutting crucial social projects and public services will stifle opportunities to create companies like the start-up he helped grow: Google. 

According to the group's website, allowing the scheduled tax cuts expire as planned would pay down the national debt by $700 billion. And while the figure is no solution, the Millionaires argue that it's certainly a start.

The Millionaires also argue critics are missing the point.

"There are thousands and thousands and thousands of very well off people with very high incomes whose effective tax rate is substantially below the middle class, the lower middle class and lower wage earners," said Dennis Mehiel, Chairman of US Corrugated Inc. "There's a fundamental inequity and it contradicts the progressive nature of our internal revenue code and our tax policies over generations in this country." For Mehiel, the proposed plan is as much about creating a level playing field as it is about alleviating debt.

Mehiel's argument is especially sensitive this week, as it echoes those on the signs marching down California street in San Francisco -- and the ones in New York, and in Boston, and in Los Angeles...

  Bush Tax Cuts ,   Video , Patriotic Millionaires , Occupy Wall Street , Occupy Wall Street San Francisco , Patriotic Millionaires Bay Area , Patriotic Millionaires San Francisco , Patriotic-Millionaires-For-Fiscal-Strength , San Francisco News

Cornel West on Occupy Wall Street: It’s the Makings of a U.S. Autumn Responding to the Arab Spring

It’s impossible to translate the issue of the greed of Wall Street into one demand, or two demands. We’re talking about a democratic awakening," said Dr. Cornel West when he spoke with Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman during a visit Tuesday night to the Occupy Wall Street encampment. Some critics have expressed frustration at the protest’s lack of a clear and unified message. But the Princeton University professor emphasized that "you’re talking about raising political consciousness so it spills over all parts of the country, so people can begin to see what’s going on through a set of different lens, and then you begin to highlight what the more detailed demands would be. Because in the end we’re really talking about what Martin King would call a revolution: A transfer of power from oligarchs to everyday people of all colors. And that is a step by step process." Dr. West also called on President Obama to apologize for calling on members of the Congressional Black Caucus to “stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop crying” when unemployment among African Americans has reached record highs and two of five Black children live in poverty. This transcript features Amy Goodman’s interview with Dr. West, along with his address to Occupy Wall Street protesters.

AMY GOODMAN: So, what do you say to people about what’s happening with Occupy Wall Street, and what you feel, talking to people here, are the key issues here?

CORNEL WEST: Well, I think we’ve got to keep the momentum going because it’s impossible to translate the issue of the greed of Wall Street into one demand, or two demands. We’re talking about a democratic awakening. We’re talking about raising political consciousness, so it spills over; all parts of the country so people can begin to see what’s going on through a different set of lens. And then you begin to highlight what the more detailed demands would be, because in the end we’re really talking about what Martin King would call a revolution; a transfer of power from oligarchs to every day people of all colors, and that is a step-by-step process. It’s a democratic process, it’s a non-violent process, but it is a revolution, because these oligarchs have been transferring wealth from poor and working people at a very intense rate in the last 30 years, and getting away with it, and then still smiling in our faces and telling us it’s our fault. That’s a lie, and this beautiful group is a testimony to that being a lie. When you get the makings of a U.S. autumn responding to the Arab Spring, and is growing and growing—-I hope it spills over to San Francisco and Chicago and Miami and Phoenix, Arizona, with our brown brothers and sisters, hits our poor white brothers and sisters in Appalachia—-so. it begins to coalesce. And I tell you, it is sublime to see all the different colors, all the different genders, all the different sexual orientations and different cultures, all together here in Liberty Plaza; there’s no doubt about it.

AMY GOODMAN: Does it surprise you, what you’re seeing right now?

CORNEL WEST: Well, not really. I knew there would be some moral outrage as a two party system begins to decay, and the mean-spiritedness of the Republicans moving more toward reactionary and quasi-fascist politics and the relative spinelessness of the Democratic Party, tied to oligarchs as well, but centrists, trying to hold off against the viscous right-wing politics of the Republican Party, but refusing to, in any way be progressive. And you heard broth Barack’s speech to the Black Caucus the other day. March with me, condescending, insulting—-

AMY GOODMAN: Take off your bedroom slippers.

CORNEL WEST: Disrespecting, stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop crying. I tell my brother; he got to understand the genius about Marley. He called his group the Wailers, not the whiners. The Wailers were persons who cry for help but against the context of catastrophe. When Wall Street cried out for help, they got billions of dollars. Working people, poor people are crying for help. Whining is a cry of self pity, of a sentimental disposition. That’s not what’s happening in poor America. That’s not what’s happening in working class America and that’s, certainly, not what’s happening in black America. It’s high unemployment rates, two out of five black kids in poverty, that’s not whining, that’s not complaining, that’s legitimate critiques and legitimate grievances out of a genuine grief. So that I ask the president to apologize. He needs to ask for forgiveness. You don’t talk to people that way; I don’t care what color they are when they’re suffering, not at all, you see. But, most importantly, here, people are straightening their backs up.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY LEADER: Mike check.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Mike check.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY LEADER: Mike check.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Mike check.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY LEADER: Mike check.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Mike check.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY LEADER: We are going to be starting...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: We are going to be starting...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY LEADER: Our general assembly...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Our general assembly...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY LEADER: We would like to...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: We would like to...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY LEADER: Start...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Start...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY LEADER: With some words...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: With some words...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY LEADER: From Cornel West...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: From Cornel West...

[CHEERING]

CORNEL WEST: There is a sweet spirit in this place.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: There is a sweet spirit in this place.

CORNEL WEST: I hope you can feel the love and inspiration...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: I hope you can feel the love and inspiration...

CORNEL WEST: Of those Sly Stone called every day people...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Of those Sly Stone called every day people...

CORNEL WEST: Who take a stand with great courage...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Who take a stand with great courage...

CORNEL WEST: And compassion...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: And compassion...

CORNEL WEST: Because we oppose...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Because we oppose...

CORNEL WEST: The greed of Wall Street oligarchs...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: The greed of Wall Street oligarchs...

CORNEL WEST: And corporate plutocrats...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: And corporate plutocrats...

CORNEL WEST: Who squeeze the democratic juices...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Who squeeze the democratic juices...

CORNEL WEST: Out of this country...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Out of this country...

CORNEL WEST: And other places around the world...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: And other places around the world...

CORNEL WEST: I am so blessed to be here...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: I am so blessed to be here...

CORNEL WEST: You got me spiritually break-dancing on the way here...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: You got me spiritually break-dancing on the way here...

CORNEL WEST: Because when you bring folks together...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Because when you bring folks together...

CORNEL WEST: Of all colors...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Of all colors...

CORNEL WEST: And all cultures...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: And all cultures...

CORNEL WEST: And all Genders...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: And all Genders...

CORNEL WEST: And all sexual orientations...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: And all sexual orientations...

CORNEL WEST: The elite will tremble in their boots...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: The elite will tremble in their boots...

CORNEL WEST: Yeah...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Yeah...

CORNEL WEST: And we will send a message...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: And we will send a message...

CORNEL WEST: That this is the U.S. fall...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: That this is the U.S. Fall...

CORNEL WEST: Responding to the Arab Spring...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Responding to the Arab Spring...

CORNEL WEST: And it’s going to hit Chicago...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: And it’s going to hit Chicago...

CORNEL WEST: And Los Angeles...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: And Los Angeles...

CORNEL WEST: And Phoenix, Arizona...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: And Phoenix, Arizona...

CORNEL WEST: And A-Town, itself...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: And A-Town, itself...

CORNEL WEST: Moving on to Detroit...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Moving on to Detroit...

CORNEL WEST: We going to hit Appalachia...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: We going to hit Appalachia...

CORNEL WEST: We going to hit the reservations with our red brothers and sisters...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: We going to hit the reservations with our red brothers and sisters...

CORNEL WEST: And Martin Luther King Jr. will smile from the grave...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: And Martin Luther King Jr. will smile from the grave...

CORNEL WEST: And say, we moving step by step...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: And say, we moving step by step...

CORNEL WEST: For what he called a revolution...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: For what he called a revolution...

CORNEL WEST: And don’t be afraid to say revolution...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: And don’t be afraid to say revolution...

CORNEL WEST: Because we want a transfer of power...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: We want a transfer of power...

CORNEL WEST: From the oligarchs...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: From the oligarchs...

CORNEL WEST: To ordinary citizens...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: To ordinary citizens...

CORNEL WEST: Beginning with the poor children of all colors...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Beginning with the poor children of all colors...

CORNEL WEST: And the orphans and the widows...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: And the orphans and the widows...

CORNEL WEST: And the elderly...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: And the elderly...

CORNEL WEST: And the working folk...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: And the working folk...

CORNEL WEST: That we connect the prison-industrial complex...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: That we connect the prison-industrial complex...

CORNEL WEST: With the military-industrial complex...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: With the military-industrial complex...

CORNEL WEST: With the Wall Street oligarchy complex...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: With the Wall Street oligarchy complex...

CORNEL WEST: And the corporate-media complex...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: And the corporate-media complex...

CORNEL WEST: And the corporate-media multiplex.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: And the corporate-media multiplex.

CORNEL WEST: So, I want to thank you and it’s a blessing to be a small part of this magnificent gathering.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: So, I want to thank you and it’s a blessing to be a small part of this magnificent gathering.

CORNEL WEST: This is the general assembly, consecrated by your witness and your body and your mind.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: This is the general assembly, consecrated by your witness and your body and your mind.

CORNEL WEST: Yeah. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you.

[CHEERING]

By Amy Goodman, Cornell West | Sourced from Democracy Now! 

Posted at September 30, 2011, 8:38 pm

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