What do OWS protesters want?

TO SOME IT MAY APPEAR THAT the Occupy Wall Street movement has no message, a lack of direction, and a haphazard way of presenting itself. I can agree that this characterization bears some resemblance to the truth, but the big picture is that there is “real trouble in River City” for most Americans and the intentions of the discontented, who are taking to the streets and public parks across this nation and the globe, are noble and just. They could get their message across better by employing a corporate public relations consultant and a professional group organizer; having in hand a cache of big bucks would also be a welcome boon to their cause. Yet not having these things in many ways proves their legitimacy. These are the people. There is indeed a class struggle in this country, even if the right wing elite refuses to publicly admit it — or seeks to delegitimize it before it gains traction with the “silent majority” of Americans. They may be too late. The following data shows why a major change in our present political system is swiftly needed. • Until 1974, real incomes of working class people kept pace. Between 1974 and 1995, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures, real incomes (adjusted for inflation) dropped to $550 per week. At the end of 2007, weekly incomes increased by approximately 10 percent to $612. Meanwhile, from 1979 to 2006, the incomes of the top 5 percent — those making more than $191,000 per year — rose 87 percent, while the incomes of the bottom 40 percent — those making $47,000 or less — rose only 16 percent. As women entered the workforce, family incomes increased a moderate amount but never kept pace with the incomes of the wealthy. • Political influence in Washington has swayed significantly to the benefit of the elite. The number of lobbyists paid by corporate America has increased to more than 35,000. In 2010, political contributions by big business amounted to approximately $1.3 billion, while the contributions from labor unions — the only major political outlet for working people to press their needs, improve workplace safety, and steward the environment —amounted to only $92 million, or 7 percent. • The income tax structure favors the rich far more now than it has in decades. Our present tax structure would make taxes paid by the elite during the Reagan years look like the pejorative “socialism.” According to the IRS, from 1992 to 2007 the top 400 elite households saw their effective tax rates drop from 27 percent to 17 percent. The effective tax rates of those earning more than $1 million dropped from 26 percent to 22 percent. Consider this: The top 400 taxpayers in the 1950s faced a 90 percent federal tax rate. Now it’s barely 16 percent. • The big banks have gotten too big to fail, too politically influential, too diverse in services, and are becoming less competitive to the sacrifice of the consumer. During the bank failures of the Great Depression, the Roosevelt administration and Congress enacted the Glass-Steagall Act to regulate banks and limit their ability to expand horizontally and vertically. Until the 1980s we had a relatively stable financial industry that stayed within limited geographic confines, with banks only lending, S&L’s lending on real estate, insurance companies only insuring, and the securities industry only selling stocks and bonds. Under Reagan and Clinton, Glass-Steagall was first defanged and then repealed — causing the S&L crisis of the late ’80s and the present mega financial industry crisis and meltdown of the real estate and other markets, and requiring hundreds of billions in bailouts. • Unemployment has reached dangerous levels. Is there a faint light of hope on the horizon, with joblessness levels slowly dropping and real private job creation improving? Perhaps. With reasonable regulations that protect the environment and the consumer foremost, capitalism can be an effective financial model for innovation and economic growth. But it is vital that basic needs such as health care, energy, minimal housing, food, and infrastructure be in the public domain. Call it socialism or whatever, but outcomes are what is most important. When taxpayer funds and facilities are used for the benefit of the masses, whatever it’s labeled, it’s a good thing. We bailed out the big Wall Street banks and protected the billionaires from ruin. Now we are being asked to make good on the debts they caused, while the super-rich get even richer — some making more than $2 million an hour! It would take more than 47 years for the average family to make as much as the top 10 hedge fund managers make in one hour. And that’s what OWS is fighting to change.

The devil I know

AS AN INDEPENDENT VOTER, I am supporting Barack Obama this year, not because I believe he is a sterling example of integrity and leadership, but because he is the devil I know, and I believe he will do the least harm to most Americans and the world at large. I say to people with whom I talk at our local coffee shop, “Obama is like a broken finger, compared to Romney being a broken leg. Pick your poison.” I would want Romney to run my business, but my business is not the culture of diversified needs and unique stakeholders that is America. I believe based on the data and past history of Obama’s behavior that if you are like most Americans in the “99%,” Obama is the best choice to represent your interests. All presidents lie to some degree. It’s a job skill required by the “shadow elite” who pull the puppet strings. Reagan lied about Iran Contra and Grenada, Clinton lied about covert CIA operations in Africa, Bush lied about WMDs and 9/11. The extent of Obama’s lies will become clearer with time. Regardless, here we are in probably the most corrupt, warlike nation in today’s world (based on dollars and covert incursions), trying to decide who is the best criminal liar to lead our country. Generally, the issues at the forefront in the upcoming election are the economy and job creation, the environment and climate change, women’s and gay rights, foreign affairs and national security, social responsibility, taxation and consumer protection. Most of these distill down to economics, human empathy and justice. The sole issue, for someone out of work or underemployed, is job creation. And for those with the “big bucks” — like Mitt Romney’s friends who are able to avoid paying income taxes by sheltering their money in the Grand Caymans or Luxembourg — are concerned about continuing crony capitalist subsidies, avoiding taxes, keeping the military strong and creating profit-making enemies, and removing controls on banking and business. Women, gays and people of color want government out of their private lives — except where it can create a level playing field in the job market and in educational opportunities — and would like a helping hand to enable them to survive in our society. Then we have the predominately older, male white Christian extremists who would prefer that we regress a couple hundred years to a time when women were property who had no reproductive dominion over their bodies, minorities were kept in their subordinate places and the rule of law was primarily influenced by “fire and brimstone” beliefs. This group of radicals has helped move our country so far to the political right that someone such as Nixon or Reagan would now be seen as moderate and would have great difficulty getting elected. They’ve even managed to push a moderate like Mitt Romney to the fringes. Based on his track record, I consider Romney a right-wing moderate. After all, he supported single-payer health care when he was Massachusetts governor, believed women’s reproductive rights were only a medical, not a government issue, and avowed that gay marriage was not a priority for him. But his choice of running mate Paul Ryan, an extreme tea party type and the darling of the Koch brothers, exemplifies how concerned Romney is with pandering to right-wing extremists — and the more he panders, the more he simply becomes one of them. Ryan is no Sarah Palin ignoramus; he is a very bright and articulate politician whose agenda is to destroy Obamacare, eliminate Social Security and eviscerate union and other working class rights. But Ryan may have more serious problems than mere stupidity. He has been documented as participating in insider trading with the likes of Hank Paulson of Goldman Sachs — a serious allegation that speaks to Ryan’s lack of integrity. Ryan may be fast on his feet, bright and articulate, but I believe he will turn out to be a millstone around Romney’s neck. Fourteen years of obscurity in the House of Representatives means Ryan could not possibly have been totally vetted before Romney chose him. When it comes to foreign policy, both Obama and Romney are way too hawkish for the needs of America, but we need to understand that the military industrial complex, corporate America and international bankers, now bolstered by Citizens United, dictate what happens in government. In the mix, Obama is more moderate and would be more inclined to scale back military spending and American imperialism. Meanwhile, on social and human rights issues, Romney has had to embarrassingly “flip flop” because of pressure from the far right. After nearly four years, Obama has finally gotten the courage and political sense to come out in support of gay rights, and in particular gay marriage, finally following the words of Martin Luther King Jr., who said, “Injustice for one is injustice for all.” To have a prosperous and civilized nation, we need to do whatever we can to empower those who are in the minority so they can fulfill their intellectual and economic potential, and participate in our society to the fullest. The influence of backward religious dogma is not beneficial to American society. Obama is more supportive of keeping the influence — and prejudices — of religion out of government. On another front, health issues that are the result of environmental factors and poor nutrition habits have become epidemic in the U.S., with the obesity rate now exceeding 30 percent. Obama advocates stricter food labeling laws, transparency in food ingredients, higher air quality and, generally, stronger environmental stewardship. Romney advocates laissez faire regulation in all these areas, inviting greed and abuse. One of the most important jobs of a president is the appointment of Supreme Court justices. With the court presently stacked with right-wing corporate lackeys and an elderly liberal, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, headed for retirement, this country does not need anymore “bench puppets” to give the corporations and banks more power. Citizens United was an egregious error and a stain on our nation’s character; Romney has said he would appoint justices in the mold of that abominable decision’s most ardent defenders. The biggest issue for most of us is the economy. “Trickle-down economics” for the most part is a myth perpetrated by those in the “1%” who do not want to pay taxes. I agree that a certain amount of investment capital is critical for funding new research and building manufacturing infrastructure. At present many corporations are flush with cash, and wealthy individuals have the liquidity for new investment opportunities. Capital finds the best return balanced with a modicum of risk — it has no patriotism or desire to create jobs, only return on investment, sometimes to the detriment of human beings and the environment. Approximately 70 percent of our GDP comes from middle-class spending. If we want to create jobs and jump-start the economy, we need to lower taxes for the 99% and increase taxes on the 1%, whose lifestyles will not be materially affected. Romney, whose net worth is estimated at $250 million, paid approximately 13 percent in taxes in recent years — or so he claims — largely because his income mostly derives from investments. This unconscionably low tax rate for the privileged few is an insult to the human value of working people. A working person has a payroll tax of 7.65 percent applied up through $106,800 of earnings; why should a CEO making million of dollars per year receive an exemption of more than $890,000 on income not subject to payroll taxes? This amounts to $68,000 per year that the elite may use to send their children to the best private schools and colleges, while the working class struggle to pay tuition, or their children become saddled with loans that are not even dischargeable in bankruptcy. Obama favors economic policies that favor the working class, while Romney has a real conflict of interest in raising the capital gains rate from a present historic low of 15 percent to above the weighted average of 25 percent. Why should working people be in a higher tax situation than the privileged wealthy? In the final analysis, we must bring America back to the center, halting its move in a dangerous direction of fascist oligarchy. I urge everyone to vote for the “broken finger,” because the “broken leg” will cripple the dream of the American middle class.

My ‘Occupy’ experience — and the rest of the story

AMERICANS, AND I AM SURE to a lesser degree people worldwide, often complain about their corrupt and deceitful governments while doing little to participate or solve the problem. I consider myself a doer, and to some extent an activist for progressive change. My goals for change do not necessarily run along political party lines but rather along moral and ethical ones. Those who know me either applaud me as a moderate liberal activist or demonize me as a “communist un-American socialist traitor.” Fortunately, most people see me as a moderate, reasonable person, though they may not agree with everything I espouse. The bottom line is that the “99%” — and even some of the reasonable “1%” like Warren Buffett — know that our way of doing socio-politico-economic business in America is broken. The time is long overdue for major changes in our corporate government system — and Occupy Wall Street is the forefront of that coming wave of progressive change. While a small portion of activists may behave in an uncivilized fashion, damaging property, impeding traffic, assaulting others or leaving debris in public areas, it’s important to remember that democracy is usually not an efficient process. Sometimes things get messy. The actions of a few immature or unstable people do not tarnish the whole movement, which is overwhelmingly intent on peaceful, meaningful change. Compared to the egregious machinations of government war criminals and government-aided corporate greed, a few messy parks are inconsequential. Of course, we see mostly slanted reporting from corrupt corporate media that depicts the unacceptable behavior of a small minority of Occupiers. Those who operate with a political agenda seek to tarnish the movement for other, equally nefarious reasons. Yet despite these and other ill-informed efforts to portray the Occupiers in an unfavorable light to the electorate, as the movement grows it continues to draw more support and participation from the 99%. I have made a commitment to be part of the solution, and to date have participated in two local protests. Several weeks ago, on “Occupy Bank Day” I participated in a very peaceful demonstration with about 30 other local residents in front of the JPMorgan Chase Bank in the main Vallejo shopping center across from Target. Many of us had signs — “Audit the Fed,” “Take your money out of big banks,” “Stop corporate corruption of politics,” “We are the 99%,” etc. — and we walked in a circle in front of the bank for several hours. It was very encouraging to see many people drive by, honking their horns in solidarity and showing support in other ways. I met a bright, enthusiastic community organizer I plan to connect with a consumer financial protection organization. Then, last month, my partner Jane and I participated in Occupy Martinez in front of the post office on Alhambra Boulevard at the junction of Highway 4. We counted approximately 100 respectful participants carrying signs and chanting slogans on both sides of Alhambra. I spoke with a volunteer named Frank who paid for the sign materials and personally made more than 75 signs. I was so moved by his dedication that I offered to donate two dozen cans of spray paint to aid him in making more signs. At that moment I felt hopeful that if enough people participate in this positive movement, there is a possibility of real change coming to our broken political system. Violence by protesters and police is unacceptable. The recent incident at the University of California-Davis, and uncounted incidents like it, should never have happened. But it is telling that this blatant abuse of power is seen as an isolated incident, while few discuss the ramifications of the timely donations of millions of dollars to the NYPD Foundation by JPMorgan, Bank of America, Barclays, Jeffries & Co. and other banking institutions. These banks know, it seems, who is keeping them from having to face the growing crowds who seek economic justice for having driven the economy into a ditch from which it has yet to recover. This, of course, highlights the OWS protesters’ chief complaint: that the rules don’t apply equally to all, that the Friedman/Thatcher/Reagan “trickle down” myth never really worked, that “corporate personhood” is an affront — and that capital protects itself by engineering the curtailment of constitutional rights. But there is a message and focus of the Occupy movement that is stronger and more powerful than the sum of its parts, and this cannot be curtailed. That message is that the “99%” will sleep no more. We are fed up with the corruption, exploitation and deceit and we are ready to take steps to effect change. My partner and I plan to participate in many more nonviolent demonstrations in our local communities, be it Vallejo, Benicia, Martinez or Concord. I strongly urge any of you who have not yet participated to demonstrate your patriotism and be part of the solution. Show your support in your local communities. One of the biggest threats to democracy and justice is not only the government, but the silence of good people. An active majority can definitely make a positive difference in our society. I am getting out there to be an active participant for change, and I hope you will, too.

America destabilizes the world 97 countries at a time

There is a continuing story spread by U.S. mass media propaganda and our Department of State and Pentagon that our military invades other countries to promote “Freedom and Liberation”. Anyone who has done some home work outside the veil of our duplicitous government and corporate owned media will quickly discern that the patently clear information speaks to the fact that the U.S. is the greatest barbaric terroristic imperialistic nation in the world. Our primary reasons for expanding our reign of terror throughout the world is protection of multi-national corporate interests, control of petroleum resources and minerals, enrichment of the Military Industrial Complex, and a strong signal to third world democratically elected governments that the spreading of benefits to their poor masses by taxing, nationalization, or pairing down the power elite will not be tolerated. Hugo Chavez who through U.S. mass media propaganda has been widely demonized, but in reality is a very popular leader in Venezuela and poses a threat by positive example to the oppressive power elite. George W. Bush has gotten the iconic insignia of being one of “Real Bad Guy” presidents, but in reality the stealth appearance of Barack Obama continues to promulgate world terror against 97 world nations. The following are excerpts from an article in Alternet.org news, a non corporate funded, very good source for more honest balanced information. The "arc of instability" includes 97 countries. A startling number of these nations are now in turmoil, and in every single one of them, from Afghanistan and Algeria to Yemen and Zambia, Washington is militarily involved, overtly or covertly, in outright war or what passes for peace. The Pentagon and U.S. intelligence services are also running covert Special Forces and spy operations, launching drone attacks, building bases and secret prisons, training, arming, and funding local security forces, and engaging in a host of other militarized activities right up to full-scale war. But while you consider this, keep one fact in mind: the odds are that there is no longer a single nation in the arc of instability in which the United States is in no way militarily involved. “Freedom is on the march in the broader Middle East,” the president said in his speech. “The hope of liberty now reaches from Kabul to Baghdad to Beirut and beyond. Slowly but surely, we're helping to transform the broader Middle East from an arc of instability into an arc of freedom.” “An arc of freedom”; you could be forgiven if you thought that this was an excerpt from President Barack Obama’s Arab Spring speech, where he said “It will be the policy of the United States to… support transitions to democracy.” Those were, however, the words of his predecessor George W. Bush. The giveaway is that phrase “arc of instability,” a core rhetorical concept of the former president’s global vision and that of his neoconservative supporters. In addition to waging more wars in “arc” nations, Obama has overseen the deployment of greater numbers of special operations forces to the region, has transferred or brokered the sale of substantial quantities of weapons there, while continuing to build and expand military bases at a torrid rate, as well as training and supplying large numbers of indigenous forces. Pentagon documents and open source information indicate that there is not a single country in that arc in which U.S. military and intelligence agencies are not now active. This raises questions about just how crucial the American role has been in the region’s increasing volatility and destabilization. Our presidents, irrespective of their political parties, become nothing more than “Puppeted dart boards” to catch the political flack that is created by the continuing malicious directives of the clandestine power elite. Given the centrality of the arc of instability to Bush administration thinking, it was hardly surprising that it launched wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and carried out limited strikes in three other arc states -- Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia. Nor should anyone have been shocked that it also deployed elite military forces and special operators from the CIA elsewhere within the arc. Many of these covert wars carried on by our CIA are financed from the proceeds of illegal drugs that are laundered through major banks and corporations that result in the destabilization of many countries. It has been the Obama administration, however, that has embraced the concept far more fully and engaged the region even more broadly. Last year, the Washington Post reported that U.S. had deployed special operations forces in 75 countries, from South America to Central Asia. Recently, however, U.S. Special Operations Command spokesman Colonel Tim Nye told me that on any given day, America’s elite troops are working in about 70 countries, and that its country total by year’s end would be around 120. According to Pentagon documents released earlier this year, the U.S. has personnel deployed in 76 other nations sometimes counted in the arc of instability: Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Syria, Antigua, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. A decade’s evidence has made it clear that U.S. operations in the arc of instability are destabilizing. A recent Zogby poll of respondents in six Arab countries -- Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates -- found that, taking over from a president who had propelled anti-Americanism in the Muslim world to an all-time high, Obama managed to drive such attitudes even higher. Substantial majorities of Arabs in every country now view the U.S. as not contributing “to peace and stability in the Arab World.” Despite the salient lesson of 9/11-- interventions abroad beget blowback at home -- he has waged wars in response to blowbacks that have, in turn, generated more of the same. A recent Rasmussen poll indicates that most Americans differ with the president when it comes to his idea of how the U.S. should be involved abroad. Seventy-five percent of voters, for example, agreed with this proposition in a recent poll: “The United States should not commit its forces to military action overseas unless the cause is vital to our national interest.” In addition, clear majorities of Americans are against defending Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and a host of other arc of instability countries, even if they are attacked by outside powers. Using key buzzwords such “Freedom and Liberation”, “Nation Building”, and “Furthering Democracy”, the U.S. in reality has overtly done more to increase terrorism through violence, destroy a countries infrastructure, oppress and barbarize innocent civilians, False Flag 9/11 events, and xenophobic Muslim bashing than all the other combined forces in the world. Since WWII the U.S. has been directly and indirectly responsible for the deaths of over 6 million innocent civilians through its covert and overt military operations. It is easy for Americans to demonize despots such as Hitler and Stalin for causing the deaths of millions of innocents, but our heavy handed foreign policy takes no back seat in brutality and destruction relative to these infamous dictators. If in fact if we put peace as higher priority than corporate and bankers greed and profit, and our own individual need to maybe be employed by, or profit from by the Military Industrial Complex than I believe the positive consequences will result in a more peaceful world.

We owe progress to the eccentrics not to the conformists

We may sometimes mock or vilify the non-conformists who think or act outside the box, but through history these are the steadfast heroes who have been the catalyst for progress. Societies need creative innovators and social pioneers, but societies also need the conformists and robotic masses to carry out the plans of the leaders and creative forces. From childhood, our school years, and in the work place we are constantly encouraged to blindly follow authority and conform to the wishes of our societal masters. Our Madison Avenue advertising and public relations machines constantly reinforce conformity through appearance, cars, music, and technology. Our militaries and religious institutions are a consummate example of follow and do not question. So lets beg the question where would we be today if it were not for the likes of Galileo, Carl Sagan, Ralph Nadar, Einstein, MLK, Edison, Job, Emma Goldman, Gandhi, and Teddy Roosevelt? Being a non-conformist may be inconvenient, cause societal rejection, and require massive courage and perseverance. I like to proudly label myself a non-conformist who marches to his own drummer. I could care less about people’s judgments of me. My observation is that most people are so caught up in being loved and accepted that they throw the special creative pieces of themselves away in trade for acceptability. Anyone can “Go along to get along”, but those that challenge the status quo, be it technologically or socially are the unique seminal forces that carry us forward. I believe that how we project and interface ourselves in society is a complex amalgam of the “Nature/Nurture” paradigm.

Columbus Day is an insult to the heritage of Italian Americans

Question: Why do we honor a man who, if he were alive today, would almost certainly be sitting on Death Row awaiting execution? Italian Americans have many people of their heritage, who have made great contributions to medicine, science, the fine arts, music, academics, finance, etc., but Christopher Columbus is a moral stain on the Italian Diaspora. We should have a Fermi, Marconi, Puccini, Tony Bennett, or Michelangelo Day, before we celebrate a despotic barbarian such as Columbus. If we choose to celebrate Columbus Day it would only be fair to have a Hitler, Kissinger, and Stalin Day. Columbus was nothing more than a plundering imperialistic oppressor who was responsible for the death, enslavement, and suffering of millions of native people. So let us dig further into why Columbus Day was created, and why many people including myself believe that the immoral legacy left by Columbus is nothing that any group of people should be proud of. My intention is not to demean any ethnic group, but only to rail against intolerance, protest untruthful reporting of history, and to not glorify perpetrators of violence and oppression. Columbus Day was created through political pressure by the Knights of Columbus (K of C) who lobbied FDR in 1937 to create a special day for the Italian community to revere a hero. The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus. Father Michael J. McGivney in New Haven, Connecticut was the founder of the K of C. The K of C has had a history of some progressive social and minority intolerance, but on a positive note is known for its community volunteerism and major charitable contributions to children and research with disabilities, and Special Olympics. In the United States, the K of C upholds the Roman Catholic Church's positions on public policy and social issues. The K of C has adopted resolutions advocating a Culture of Life, one of the largest contributors to Yes on Prop. 8, and promoting Catholic practices in public schools, government, and voluntary organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America. The Order also funded a postcard campaign in 2005 in an attempt to stop the Canadian parliament from legalizing same-sex marriage. As an alternative to the dishonest chronicling and hypocritical celebration of Columbus Day, Indigenous People's Day (also known as Native American Day) is a secular holiday celebrated in various localities in the United States, begun as a counter-celebration to Columbus Day. The purpose of the day is to promote Native American culture and commemorate the history of Native American peoples Much of the following information is abstracted from a well researched scholarly book entitled, Lies my teacher told me - by James W. Loewen. This book attempts to clear up much of the dishonest reporting of history specifically relating to Columbus, the Pilgrims, hero making, slavery, imperialism, American exceptionalism, and other polemics created as a propaganda tool to misinform and mold the minds of school age youth. Columbus wasn't the first European to discover America. Leif Ericson founded a village on Newfoundland 500 years before Columbus made his voyage to the Americas. The concept of Columbus discovering America is arrogant. Historians estimate that Native Americans discovered North America about 14,000 years before Columbus. New DNA evidence now suggests that courageous Polynesian adventurers sailed dugout canoes across the Pacific and settled in South America long before the age of Columbus and Ericson. Columbus wasn't a hero. When he arrived in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492, Columbus discovered that the islands were inhabited by friendly, peaceful people called the Lucayans, Taínos and Arawaks. Writing in his diary, Columbus said they were a handsome, smart and kind people. He noted that the gentle Arawaks were remarkable for their hospitality. "They offered to share with anyone and when you ask for something, they never say no," he said. The Arawaks had no weapons; their society had neither criminals, prisons nor prisoners. They were so kind-hearted that Columbus noted in his diary that on the day the Santa Maria was shipwrecked, the Arawaks labored for hours to save his crew and cargo. Columbus was a cruel and barbaric man who immediately seized the land of the Islanders for Spain and enslaved them to work in his brutal gold mines. As a result of his exploitation of the natives, in only two years, 125,000 (half of the population) of the original inhabiatants on the island were dead. Sadly, Columbus supervised the selling of native girls into sexual slavery. Young girls were the most desired by his men and were routinely ensalved. In 1500, Columbus casually wrote about it in his log. He said: "A hundred Castellanoes are as easily obtained for a woman as for a farm, and it is very general and there are plenty of dealers who go about looking for girls; those from nine to ten are now in demand." Many of the peaceful natives were forced to work in his gold mines until they died of exhaustion. If an "Indian" worker did not deliver his full quota of gold dust by Columbus' deadline, soldiers would cut off the man's hands and tie them around his neck to send a message. Slavery became so intolerable that many of these kind island people committed mass suicide. Catholic law forbade the enslavement of Christians, so Columbus solved this problem by simply refusing to baptize the native people. Columbus brought cannons and attack dogs on his second trip to the New World. Natives resisting slavery by Columbus, would have a nose or an ear cutoff. He was so brutal that he would have attack dogs hunt down the slaves, and the dogs would tear off the arms and legs of the screaming natives. Columbus would burn natives alive who attempted to escape from slavery. If Columbus crew ran short of meat to feed the dogs, they would kill Arawak babies for dog food. The lionized explorer’s acts of cruelty were so unspeakable and so legendary - even in his own day - that Governor Francisco De Bobadilla arrested Columbus and his two brothers, slapped them into chains, and shipped them off to Spain to answer for their crimes against the Arawaks. Greed took priority and the emporers of Spain, their treasury filling up with gold, pardoned Columbus and let him go free. It sounds like the leaders of our government pardoning people such as Libby, Cheney, Kissinger, Rich, and others who have committed high crimes. One of Columbus' men, who chronicled the atrocities, Bartolome De Las Casas, was so mortified by Columbus' brutal atrocities against the native peoples, that he quit working for Columbus and became a Catholic priest. He described how the Spaniards under Columbus' command cut off the legs of children who ran from them, to test the sharpness of their blades. According to De Las Casas, the men made bets as to who, with one sweep of his sword, could cut a person in half. He says that Columbus' men poured people full of boiling soap. In a single day, De Las Casas was an eye witness as the Spanish soldiers dismembered, beheaded, or raped 3,000 native people. "Such inhumanities and barbarisms were committed in my sight as no age can parallel," De Las Casas wrote. "My eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature that now I tremble as I write." De Las Casas spent the rest of his life trying to protect the dwindled population of helpless native people. Experts generally agree that before 1492, the population on the island of Hispaniola probably numbered above 3 million. Within 20 years of Spanish arrival, it was reduced to only 60,000 natives. Within 50 years, not a single original native inhabitant could be found. De Las Casas alos noted, Columbus was the first slave trader in the Americas, deriving most of his income from slavery. As the native slaves died off, they were later replaced with black slaves. Slave trading became a big family business, and Columbus' son became the first African slave trader in 1505. There should be no room in a civilized society or teaching in our classrooms of outmoded traditions, myths, and holidays that promotes intolerance, or celebrates the placing of despicable barbaric people such as Columbus in high esteem.

Sustainability, collectiveness, and long term thinking

Sustainability, collectiveness, and long term thinking will be the progressive paradigms and socio-economic engines that will lead us through the next 50 years. The past 50 years of America’s narcissism, rugged selfish individualism, social apathy, and excessive material consumption have led us through a period of relative economic prosperity and reckless disregard for the stewardship of the earth’s bountiful resources and sustainability of a healthy environment. Any political mutterings or movement away from this attitude of consumption and conservation has been demonized by selfish special interests and myopic thinkers as foolish “Bleeding Heart Liberal Enviro Greenie Tree Huggers” who don’t care about jobs or the short term increase in costs for addressing the important issues of sustainability. The chickens are finally coming home to roost in a major way from the eggs that were hatched by the incestuous partnership of government and major corporations, The Military Industrial Complex, and greedy Wall Street bankers. The seminal contribution to this deteriorating equation is an ignorant electorate that has time to watch a vapid soap opera, but lacks the time or passion to open a book, get involved in the workings of government, or truly questions authority. Our short term thinking is pervasive from the highest corporate and government levels down to the average consumer who goes into denial about the long term effects of a variable interest mortgage or the total cost of credit card borrowing. We have become oblivious to the long term effects and political “Blowback” from our continued global abusive military world presence and our attempt at imperialistic global domination and control. We are subordinate to many other developed countries in health care, education, sustainability, quality of life issues, and our empathy for our working class. We have let the propaganda of the corporate elite talk us into accepting the Reagan/Freidman myths of “Trickle Down Economics” and that low taxes for the rich create jobs. Well, part of the equation is true; the rich partly through their tax savings have invested in low paying jobs, but not so much at home, but in Latin America, India and China, thereby exacerbating joblessness in the U.S. Another myth bolstered by Pentagon propaganda and the False Flag 9/11 incident is that we are in such a state of threatened security that we need to spend more than half our federal budget on defense and its support services. These are all diversions of financial and intellectual capital that take our collective eyes off the important big ball; that being what is best for the long term health and prosperity of the American people as a whole, not the top one percent. America is no longer the open frontier of geographic isolation, rugged individualism, and every man for himself. We must all band together as a collective world without regard to separation by religion, ethnicity, nationality or economic status; after all stripped naked and bleeding we are all the same. With requisite sustainability policies there are enough resources for all assuming moderation and an abundant universe. Why does anyone need a hundred room mansion or a personal yacht the size of an ocean liner? Warren Buffett lives comfortably in a regular size home that he has owned for decades. Do we need to drive Hummers and oversized fuel guzzling pickup trucks? A New York mega millionaire real estate developer by the name of Durst, who makes money building “Green” buildings is OK driving a fuel efficient hybrid Toyota Prius. A survey was taken of what group of people are best tippers and most generous in helping others relative to their incomes; it was not the wealthy, it was your average working class American. Donald Trump was chastised for not tipping his cab driver. Trump said, “Why should I tip the cab driver who had the privilege of driving me in his cab”. I am not saying that everyone who is wealthy is a stingy tipper. There are wealthy people who have a sense of empathy and generosity. My point is that someone such as Trump can publicly feel comfortable making such an egotistical statement in a society that covets wealth and materialism to the point of excess without fear or shame of major judgment. Just think of all the water that could be saved, air and noise polluting lawn mowers that could be eliminated be replacing lawns with drought resistant plants or a healthy vegetable garden. We bought our house almost four years ago and the first thing we did was to remove the water dependant lawns in the front and back yards and replace them with drought resistant plants that require little water or physical maintenance, and fruit trees and vegetables. So what does this accomplish? It reduces our water, gardening and produce costs. In addition, the gas that is required to power the trucks that would have delivered that produce to Safeway is eliminated and the electricity that pumps the water is minimized using a drip irrigation system. We have the joy of food independence and the improved health benefits of eating non GMO and insecticide laden produce that is eaten the day it is picked, or dried without preservatives for future consumption. In the US when a typical building has been designed many developer/owners only looks at the first few years costs. In Europe and Japan developers look at the total costs and benefits relating to both building and operating the building over a 50 year lifespan. I believe the difference in philosophies stems primarily from a cultural attitude of short term thinking in the US, versus looking at the long term effects and the bigger picture in other countries. This myopic attitude in the US also sets a strong tone for a lack of long term planning and policies in many of our government agencies. For example there are some strong critics of our mayor’s long term wider vision of instituting sustainability programs in local policy. Granted a few sustainability projects due to a lack of proper and thoughtful due diligence may result in a dollar chasing a dime. I believe that these critics of the mayor lack a sense of vision and understanding of the positive domino effect that sustainability projects have on the private sector. The cities of Berkeley and Davis have been cutting edge leaders and who are very proactive in their goals and execution for instituting sustainability programs. As a result these cities have a relatively strong economic base, with many local developers following suit with privately financed “Green” projects. Sustainability must be both economically and environmentally viable, but must also be trendy and in vogue so that society as a whole will embrace this most important emerging paradigm with priority, gusto, and longevity. The cost of solar panels continues to decrease, while the cost of non-sustainable electricity production has been increasing approximately six percent yearly in the last few years. We also need to factor in the long term health effects and medical costs of dealing with health degradation due to the burning of fossil fuels. The demonstrable effects of green house gases on our atmosphere are all ready proving to be a threat to stabile climate conditions and our environment. Should we wait until the greater damage is done, or should we get ahead of the curve and invest now for beneficial sustainability outcomes in the future? Europe and Japan are way ahead of us in their planning and execution of sustainability programs. Before we get ourselves tweaked about the City of Benicia purchasing $30,000 worth of bicycle racks, that possibly were not a priority and that hurt no one, lets rain in big time on the massive multi-billion dollar wastefulness that continually goes on in the Pentagon and also results in massive deficits, death and destruction, and new enemies every day, worldwide.

What motivates the Occupy Wall Street Movement?

To some it may appear that the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement has little or no message, a lack of direction, and a hap hazard way of presenting its message. I can agree that the above characteristics of the OWS movement bare some reality, but the big picture is that there is “Real trouble in River City” for most Americans. The intentions of the discontented, who are taking to the streets and public parks, are noble and just. They could better get their message across by employing a corporate public relations consultant and a professional group organizer. Having in hand a cache of big bucks would be a welcome boon to their cause also. There is indeed a new emerging and disparate class struggle growing in this country, even if the right wing elite refuse to publicly admit to the painful reality. The following data easily reveals why a major change in our present political system and unfair oligarchy is swiftly needed. First, let’s take a hard look at income disparity. Up until 1974 real incomes of working class people kept pace. Unfortunately after 1974, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics real incomes adjusted for inflation dropped to $550 per week in 1995. At the end of 2007 weekly incomes increased by approximately 10% to $612. From 1979 to 2006 the incomes of the top 5% who made more than $191,000 per year rose 87%, while the incomes of the bottom 40% making approximately $47,000 only rose 16%. As women entered the workforce family incomes increased a moderate amount, but never kept pace with the incomes of the wealthy. Second, the relative political influence in Washington has swayed way to the benefit of the elite. The amount of paid lobbyists by corporate America has increased by mega proportions to over 35,000. In 2010 political contributions by big business amounted to approximately $1.3 billion dollars, while the contributions from labor amounted to only $92 million, or 7%. Insidious people such as the Koch Bros. want to totally weaken the labor movement dismembering union organizations, holding down real wages, so as to ultimately cripple the ability of working people to have a financial say in the outcome of government. Traditionally labor unions have been the only major political arm of working people to press for their needs, improve workplace safety, and steward the environment. Big corporations, rarely if ever, champion for human or civil rights and take a strong position to improve human dignity or health care. Third, the income tax structure has favored the rich far more today, than it has in numerous decades. Our present tax structure would make the Reagan taxes paid by the elites look like the pejorative “Socialism”. From 1992 to 2007, according to IRS data, the top 400 elite households saw their effective tax rates drop from 27% to 17%. The effective tax rates of those earning over a million dropped from 26% to 22%. The ultra rich paid less percentage wise than ordinary millionaires. The top 400 taxpayers during the 1950s faced a 90 percent federal tax rate. By 1995 their effective tax rate – what they really paid after all deductions as a percent of all their income – fell to 30 percent. Now it’s barely 16 percent. Another disparity is the Social Security tax that caps off at $106,800. A person making $50,000 per year pays a full $7.65% or $3,825, while someone making $10 million pays only $8,170, or .008%, a mere cost of a dinner and wine for 12 at a posh restaurant. Fourth, productivity has increased at steep rate without the benefit of increasing wages at the lower end and middle. Admittedly globalization and the present economic downturn of the last few years have had a hand in influencing the metrics. Productivity output per hour in the 32 year period rose from $800 to $1200, a 50% increase. Productivity has also greatly increased due to industrial automation and the ever present fear of people losing their jobs. In reality economic downturns are a boon to the wealthy when distressed assets can be picked up at bargain basement prices, workers will work longer hours and harder, money can be borrowed cheaply, and hungry vendors and sub-contractors will greatly trim their profits and margins. Fifth, the big banks have gotten too big to fail, too politically influential, too diverse in services, and are becoming less competitive to the sacrifice of the consumer. With the Great Depression bank failures the Roosevelt administration and congress enacted the Glass-Stiegel Act for the purpose of regulating banks and limiting their abilities to expand horizontally and vertically. Up until the 80’s we had a relatively stable financial industry staying within limited geographic confines, with banks only lending, S&L’s lending on real estate, insurance companies only insuring, and the securities industry only selling stocks and bonds. During the Reagan and Clinton years that decimated the Glass-Stiegel Act, that caused the S&L crisis of the late eighties and the present mega financial industry crisis, and required hundreds of billions in bailouts and a meltdown of the real estate and other markets. Sixth, unemployment has reached dangerous levels. Fortunately there is a faint light of hope on the horizon with unemployment levels slowly dropping and real private job creation improving. There are two issues that create major challenges to lower skilled job creation; they are increasing globalization and a domestic educational and skill training system that needs major improvements. We need to follow the role models of Japan and Germany who have been able to maintain a positive trade balance through the major export of high quality automobiles, top quality hi-tech production machinery, and improved medical and scientific apparatus. Maintaining elevated employment through the Military Industrial Complex is an unhealthy, immoral, and unproductive choice for any society. Capitalism with reasonable regulations that protect the environment and the consumer foremost can be an effective financial model for innovation and economic growth. Basic needs of society such as health care, energy, minimal housing, food, and transportation infrastructure should be in the public domain; call it Socialism or whatever, but remember labels are very subjective; outcomes are what is most important. When government taxpayer funds and facilities are used for the benefit of the masses, it’s labeled Socialism. When these same resources are used to support corporations and the wealthy elite it is called economic stimulus, job creation, and improving the security of America, as in the excessive military spending. We bailed out the big Wall Street banks and protected the billionaires from ruin. Now we are being asked to make good on the debts they caused, while the super-rich get even richer, some making more than $2 million an HOUR! It would take over 47 years for the average family to make as much as the top 10 hedge fund managers make in one hour. In 1970 the average CEO made 45 times what the average worker made. In 2006 that disparity of CEO earnings rose to 1,700 times what the average worker made; that’s a very unfair 38 times increase, or approximately 100% per year. Power to the people! Thomas Jefferson said that a working democracy depends on a good revolution every 20 years. The elites have been left to feel too secure. I believe that some major non-violent intimidation and emotional discomfort is long overdue for these selfish corrupt “Fat Cats”. When the government is bailing out wealthy billionaires and starting unnecessary wars just to enrich the Military Industrial Complex there is definitely a call for assertive focused action on behalf of the critical mass of the population.

Are government and business getting too close?

For many people the answer to the above question is patently clear. I believe the ubiquitous “99%” of us feel it both in our pocket books and the quality of our lives; to be painfully so. Be it damage to the environment, destructive manipulation of our financial markets, inappropriate health care rendition to increase the profits of the drug companies, inefficient energy policies, or alteration of our food supply through GMO’s and inclusion of carcinogenic chemicals as food additives, we see government policies or lack thereof that are clearly harmful to financial and physical health of our general populous. We may label this continuing unhealthy incestuous relationship between the influence of business on government as Oligarchy, Fascism, or the slang term “Crony Capitalism”. In any event this dangerous pattern of the lengthening of the fangs of “Corporate Personhood” is corrupting our democratic systems. Our state and federal legislators have become the prostituted whores of corporate lobbying money. So why has this widening pattern of “Corporate Incest” been increasing primarily since days of Ronald Reagan? The answer has many variables; I believe it emanates primarily from two sources outside of the basic corporations themselves, that being voter ignorance and apathy, and the appointment of corporate shills such as Rehnquist, Roberts, Scalia, Alito, and Thomas to our U.S. Supreme court. So one has to ask how did these justices become placed into these positions of power that are not in concert with the major needs of the people. I believe that the average working person was been hoodwinked into believing that they should vote against their own self interests for corporate favoring politicians who used the smoke screen of anti-abortion, homophobia, gun control, draconian immigration policies, and clinging to old time traditions as a means of attracting middle class voters to the Republican party of big corporations. Presidents who were supported primarily by the Military Industrial Complex and Fortune Five Hundred of America then appointed conservative judges to the U.S. Supreme Court. Now the real genesis of the problem is not corporations, court justices, or politicians, because we know that just like everyone else they operate in self interest. The major and continuing problem is an ignorant and apathetic voter base. The average voter given the power and insular characteristics of the above entities may also act in a way that is not in the best interests of the people they serve. I am not suggesting that most people are corrupt or immoral to a great degree, but only in shades of gray. How many people can you name who have never told a lie, were afraid to admit some erotic fantasies to their significant other, maybe hedged a few deductions on their income taxes, or kept their mouths shut when a cashier charged them for less than the amount that was stated? In an absolute sense these somewhat minor transgressions are still a breach of ethics and integrity. For the purposes of this writing, myself being a pragmatic ethical realist, I wish to focus on acts of individuals and entities that have a wide sweeping profound deleterious effect on society. Another powerful business group that has strong influence on government is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which in fact is a private PAC group that has no interest in promoting the interests of us “99%”. Despite its name, the “U.S. C of C” is not officially affiliated with the U.S. government. It is, in fact, a coalition of businesses that pool their money for lobbying and campaign donations, it also spends more than any other single entity. Ostensibly, they represent business interests in Washington. And by business interests we mean “almost primarily Republican” interests. In my forty years of being in business I have found that most business people and the purchasing public are good law abiding fair and ethical individuals. My focus in this article will be on some of the billion dollar private, and public companies that are not what I would consider to be totally ethical and forth right dealing companies whose focus is on the interests of the general public. Three major private companies that are examples of corrupting influence on government are the Koch Bros., Bechtel Corporation, and the Carlisle Group. These private companies have a major presence in the energy, construction and defense sector which have major importance to our economy. I believe that the Occupy Wall Street movement is well intentioned and primarily about the damage that has been heaped upon our nation as I have related in the above general introduction. Unfortunately OWS has poor or little leadership, lacks a coherent message, and has let a small minority of angry hoodlums and thieves taint the energy and direction of the protests with a bad taste in the public’s purview. Jack Abramoff is textbook example of a very greedy corrupt lobbyist who brokered many sleazy back room deals and had his hand in many of Washington’s pieces of legislation. He was so corrupt that in many cases represented both sides of many deals. His ethics were akin to an arms dealer who sells to both sides of a war. Abramoff was one of the biggest lobbyists in Washington during his time, and when the authorities eventually caught up with him, President Bush’s head of the Office of Management and Budget deliberately obstructed the investigation. Halliburton is one of the public corporate bad boys who laughed all the way to the bank after the Pentagon awarded them lucrative no bid contracts for the latest Iraq war. The stocks of war profiteers increased three fold relative to the general prices on the stock exchange. Halliburton’s stock holders and top brass were probably dancing in the streets when the False Flag “9/11” took place, which was the galvanizing “Pearl Harbor” event for the pre-planned invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan. Agricultural subsidies which were intended originally to help out the small farmer have been a boon to corporate food conglomerates such as Archer Daniels Midland, ConAgra, Monsanto, and Cargill. Farmers growing nuts, fruits , and vegetables receive little or no government subsidies. Ironically the primary ingredients, such as sugar, soy, corn for syrup, and some wheat that are used for candy, soft drinks, pet food, cattle feed, high fat and salt pre-pared and fast foods receive the lion’s share of agricultural subsidies. These refined fillers and sugar additives contribute greatly to our highest rate of obesity and poor life style choice health maladies. In essence we are encouraging poor eating habits through government policy. Subsidies to very profitable oil and gas producing companies is throwing money away that could be better invested in the capitalization, research, and production of alternative energy sources that would result in less foreign energy dependency, cleaner air, and a reduction in global warming gases. Another downside of energy subsidies is that they distort the market and make new energy innovations uncompetitive. For a developed country we have one of the poorest and inefficient internet infrastructures, which is the result of corrupted influences of telecom/internet providers on our government. “Financial Bailouts”, need I say more on this subject? I am not saying that Republican interests are the only corruptive influence in Washington, not by a long shot. The Democrats, specifically under Clinton and Obama, have also sold out to the Fortune Five Hundred and the Military Industrial Complex. The only difference between the Republicans and Democrats in high levels of power is what they do with the money after they steal it. As voters we do have a strong influence on government if we do our homework, ignore mass media corporate propaganda, show up to vote, and refuse to vote for Republican and Democratic candidates who prostitute themselves to greedy corporate and banking interests.

The unexpected benefits of OWS

Some people do not support the “Occupy Movement” (OWS) saying they do not have a clear focus or message. I separate these anti-OWS pundits into two groups; those who receive their information purely from corporate mass media sources and ask no further questions, or the “1%” who fear the movement as a threat to their unbalanced power position in our country. As I stated in my previous article that I have participated in two OWS groups recently, and found to my enlightened surprise very clear and focused demand statements from the participants. Some of these statements that were verbalized and echoed on placards said, “Audit the FED”, “Down with corporate personhood”, “Stop U.S. imperialism and wars”, “Respect labor”, “More taxes on the wealthy”, “Stop moneyed influence in politics”, “Transparency in government”. I do not believe that the majority of Americans would find these demands to be unfair or unreasonable, whether they are attainable appears to be difficult in our present system. The operative word is “Present System”. I liken our broken incestuous relationship between government and corporate America to an addict whose first step in a Twelve Step Program, admitting that they are an addict. OWS’s first step is boldly admitting that we have a problem. So before we put a lot of energy into criticizing the “Movement” for allegedly not having focus, we need to get real, and firmly grounded in the fact that we have a serious problem in this country. The important message that the “Movement” is conveying is that the present two party system is not working, and that the priorities of our government are misplaced, and that there is too much under handedness and corruption inherent in present America. Granted a small minority of protesters may be belligerent, cause property damage, or leave debris and human waste in their tracks, but we should not let this very small group within the larger group take our eye off the ball. Estimates are that only less than 3% of the larger OWS groups are trouble or nuisance makers. Some pundits who have nothing more intelligent to say demonize the protesters by condescendingly shouting, “Take a bath and get a job”. This insensitive comment clearly speaks to a patently insensitive attitude of some people who have little empathy for the rampant amount of unemployment in the US, and to the high amount of poverty in this country. In smaller locales such as Concord, Martinez, Walnut Creek, and other suburban areas every protesting participant has been non-violent, well behaved, and has respected other people’s property and persons. When the police have been tolerant and passive toward the protesters there have been little or no uncomfortable incidents. Within every group, be it religious, government, or private business, there are a few bad actors that negatively taint the reputation of the majority. One of the benefits of the “Movement” is that it is decentralized, unlike the traditional Democratic and Republican parties. The Tea Party movement also has many messages that are in concert with OWS. Fortunately the two major political parties have not been successful in co-opting both movements. So what do the Tea Party and OWS have in common? Firstly they respect the First and Fourth Amendments which are meant to protect us from censorship and suppression of a free press, and from Fascist government searches and seizures. Secondly both groups support openness and transparency relating to that private elite cabal called the Federal Reserve. Thirdly they question the movement toward the “New World Order”. Fourthly they are most concerned about US imperialism and illegal wars. Fifthly they question international banking policies and growing American debt. A more recent benefit of the “Movement” has been an awakened awareness of the American people that those in need require our sharing support. Reuters reports, “Growing poverty and a resonant Occupy Wall Street movement are likely to influence many decisions about giving this holiday season”. According to a recent Charity Navigator poll, a growing number of donors seem to be interested in directing their year-end gifts to human services groups that assist people with basic needs such as food and shelter. The poll comes at a time when the Occupy Wall Street movement has captured the imagination of the public and done much to highlight growing inequality in the country — which, philanthropy experts say, could affect both the generosity of donors and the nature of their giving. For example, Illinois resident David Moskowitz, 63, told Reuters that he plans to support both a local employment program and OWS because he "respects the movement for giving voice to the fact [that] people are suffering right now." He is not alone. Gillian and Adam Jones of Washington, D.C., gave each of their three daughters $500 to donate to a cause of their choice. After consulting with their parents, the girls, who range in age from 17 to 26, decided on a soup kitchen operated by their church, an afterschool reading program, and Occupy Wall Street. "Coming out in the new statistics and media reports is the idea that many [of our] fellow Americans are living paycheck to paycheck," Lisa Philp, vice president for strategic philanthropy at the Foundation Center, told Reuters. "When human-service or basic-need organizations reach out, there's going to be more receptivity among donors." Quoting from editor Sarah van Gelders book, “This changes everything”, the following are 10 ways the “Movement” changes everything: 1. It names the source of the crisis. The problems of the 99% are caused by Wall Street greed, corrupt banks, and a corporate takeover of the political system. 2. It provides a clear vision of the world we want. We can create a world that works for everyone, not just the wealthiest 1%. 3. It sets a new standard for public debate. Those advocating policies and proposals must now clearly demonstrate that their ideas will benefit the 99%, not just the 1%. 4. It presents a new narrative. The solution is no longer to starve governments, but to free society and government from corporate and special interest dominance. 5. It creates a big tent. WE, the 99% are made up of people of all ages, races, occupations, and political beliefs, and we are learning to work together with respect. 6. It offers everyone a chance to create change. No one is in charge or can dominate, anyone can get involved and make things happen. 7. It is a movement, not a list of demands. The call for transformative structural change, not temporary fixes and single-issue reforms, is the movement’s sustaining power. 8. It combines the local and the global. People are setting their own local agendas, tactics, and aims. But we also share solidarity, communication, and vision at the global level. 9. It offers and ethic and practice of deep democracy and community. Patient decision- making translates into wisdom and common commitment when every voice is heard. Occupy sites are communities where anyone can discuss grievances, hopes, and dreams in an atmosphere of mutual respect. 10. We have reclaimed our power. Instead of looking to politicians and leaders to bring about change, we can see now that the power rests with us. Instead of being victims to the forces upending our lives, we are claiming our sovereign right to remake the world. I urge everyone of you to participate and support those who are giving voice to our new hope. “Be part of the solution and not part the problem”. If you cannot find the time or value in supporting OWS right now, at least research their agenda, and see if it fits with your feelings of discontent with the present way of government.

Information about OWS not heard from the mass media

There is a plethora of information, much of it exaggerated in mythical hyperbole about what the “Occupy” movement is doing that is seen as harmful, what they should be doing and are not saying. The most ubiquitous comment that I hear from people is that OWS does not have a focus or clear message. Other comments I hear are these are “Lazy dirty hippies that need to take a bath and get a job”. When I have tried to engage people making these comments, my first two questions are: (1) Have you participated in any OWS protests in your local community? (2) Where did you get your information about OWS? There consistent answers are “No” I have not participated in any protests, and I watched the protests on TV. When I receive any information I try to keep my “Critical Thinking” light on at all times to safeguard me against corrupted or incomplete information. If I never participated in or observed first hand any event how can I be assured that the information that I am getting from another second hand source is credible? Secondly if I am receiving information from a secondary source, such as the mass media, which has had a long standing and even more so these days, a reputation for very poor journalism and intellectual integrity, how can I be so naïve to accept their reporting as being objective and thorough? Who does the mass media serve, let’s follow the money? The mass media is nothing more than a delivery system to bring observers and followers to the Madison Avenue table of advertisers who are the ones who bring in the money for the multi-national corporations. Anyone believing that the mission of the mass media is to objectively and thoroughly enlighten their audience has little understanding of mercantile economics. Do not ever be fooled into believing that the mass media is here to serve you the truth and objective focus on most events. I speculate that there is an emotional component in all of us that wants to believe in our traditional paternalistic institutions such as family, religion, less so government, and lastly our so called journalistic sources. What would our lives be like if we were constantly skeptical, never trusting, and always questioning the validity of our so called leadership icons? Well fortunately there are people, institutions, and moral foundations that we can choose to comfortably believe in. The most important person in our lives should be ourselves with a goal to try know ourselves as thoroughly as we can and to be grounded in our knowledge of our strengths and weaknesses. Unfortunately our culture of consumerism, superficial entertainment, and empty values deteriorates our true feelings of self worth and confidence. Some of us have heard about or read the protest signs that say, “Audit the Fed”, “Down with corporate personhood”, “Get money out of politics”, “Wars do not bring peace”, etc., but I have determined that the underlying message of OWS is that we have to start building and nourishing local community based centers of power and influence, thereby reducing the lopsided mega power of “Washington”. Within the many occupy groups people are discussing improved ways of living that will bring us more joy, peace of mind, and better physical and mental health. Americans suffer from an inordinate amount of depression. Much of the depression is not just genetic, but it is caused by human disconnection from another, distractions from our spiritual essence caused by too much technology and materialism, and by a mass media and government that we cannot trust to be truthful. There is a myth that participants in the OWS are primarily unemployed, misplaced Americans. This myth is incorrect, when I participated in the OWS protests I met lawyers, teachers, doctors, theologians, business people such as myself, other professionals, and many employed or self employed people who are serious about changing our broken system. An article in Mother Jones magazine show cased some people who had given up good paying day jobs to seek more personal satisfaction in trying to improve our society then just toiling for money. Amin Husain, 36 of Brooklyn said,” I had practiced corporate finance in Midtown for a large law firm and left it about two and half years ago, largely because I felt like I was making too much money. When I got my first $70,000 bonus check I cried. I didn’t believe I was worth that much. And I didn’t feel happy. I was one of the original organizers. On August 2nd, I was there by the raging bull statue for our first General assembly meeting to plan Occupy Wall Street. There were about 20 to 30 people there. There were a few key times in history, and this was one of them, and you feel it. I spend about 15 hours a day working on this stuff. And I’m not billing anyone. People have left their jobs, and they are committed to this because of what it is. What people don’t understand is that this is a popular uprising in the making. There is absolutely no question about it.” The leaders of our elite driven political system promote separateness in order to “Divide and Conquer”. We should not succumb to this age old political tactic. Every day I sit in our local coffee shop and over hear people on the Right bashing those on the Left, and equally I hear those on the Left bashing those on the Right. Rarely do I over hear those on opposite sides of the political divide trying to sit down with one another in a real listening and respectful manner in order to really hear what the other person is saying. It is human nature to want be in an environment that reinforces our present positions; after all our delicate egos are big stakeholders in the being right game. Thanks to the Benicia Herald I have made some good friends of some of my fellow OP-ED contributors who have a somewhat different view politically then myself. I have had stimulating conversations with these very intelligent men at the Relik bar over a beer and a cocktail. If Ronald Reagan could have made a good friend of Tipp O’Neil, then why can’t the rest of us just stop hanging out with the choir and start offering an olive branch to other side. The Military Industrial Complex has proven time and time again that there is big profit’s to be made in uncivilized conflicts. Why should we keep feeding that nasty over grown destructive beast that saps our financial and intellectual resources? In conclusion I have drawn that the real lessons to be drawn from the OWS movement is that we should focus our energy on building community, being more sustainable, self sufficient, thinking locally, taking back our power, and sacrificing some our time to participate in changing our dysfunctional societal paradigm that continues to erode the joy and financial and physical health of the 99%. So before you become quick to judge the motives of OWS, please take an hour or two to directly observe or participate in a OWS protest. If you are so inclined pickup a protest sign with the rest of the group and join in the energizing chants; you will come away from the experience a different person; feeling that you are potentially part of a solution.

Maybe Fixing Government Really Starts in the Classroom

“Washington Corruption”, “Politicians on the take”, and “Government Cover ups” are phrases that we hear sprinkled through peoples conversations every day. The underlying question is how do we stop this increasing avalanche of destructive behavior? I believe that much this behavior of subtle deceit and “White Lies” starts in our children’s homes as well as, and more importantly today, our school classrooms that teach history. Every country in their zeal to foster nationalism, and patriotism uses words such allegiance, loyalty, trust, patriotism, duty, self sacrifice, etc. to instill in the minds of our youth that the nation that we live in is omnipotent and always noble in it’s leaders behavior. Because we are not transparent in our teaching of history and do not stress critical thinking and questioning in our dissemination of knowledge, how can we expect to develop leaders for our country that act with a clear moral compass and acceptable ethical standards? More emphasis is placed on writing textbooks that place our nation in a stellar light and building love of country, then making a concerted effort to be forth right and transparent in teaching young students the truthful events of US history. Adolph Hitler was the consummate propaganda artist, he said, “Give me the youth, and Germany will rule the World". Well the American textbooks are not that far off the mark, with down-playing or omitting the mass barbarism of Columbus, the oppression and tortures of slavery, US imperialism and theft of Native American land through the doctrine of manifest destiny, and our role as a pre-emptive war mongering aggressor with hundreds of military bases and covert campaigns ongoing throughout the world. For over twelve years of their life, from the age of six to eighteen, children in America and around the world attend a local school where they supposedly are equipped with the tools necessary to attend college and get a career. But how pure is the knowledge provided by their textbooks? How much do textbooks shape the ideas and philosophies of young moldable minds? Textbook propaganda is a tool that has been used since the invention of the printing press by communist dictators and democratic capitalists to mold the thoughts of a child into the goals of the state. Hitler's training of the German youth was key in his dominance for a good part of the WW11. Without his youth soldiers and supporters, Hitler may not have had the same success. The declaration of the American Legion was not that far off the mark of propaganda by stating (the nation's largest Veterans organization who in 1925 declared that the ideal textbook "must inspire the children with patriotism... must dwell on failure only for its value as a moral lesson, must speak chiefly of success... must give each State and Section full space and value for the achievement of each". Basically, history textbooks should make children feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, as well as be fair to everyone-instead of giving children the cold hard facts. Students should feel safe to deeply question the reporting of history. How many people know about the attempted assassination of FDR by a Fascistic cabal of the leaders of General Motors, Dupont, U.S, Steel, General Electric, IBM, etc. who were so concerned about the inroads of communism in the US that they tried to use Marine Major General Smedley Butler to carry out the criminal murder of a US president. Most students truly believe that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor came about with total surprise, when in fact the US received multiple warnings, that if taken with responsibility would have saved countless lives, several weeks before the attack. In reality the attack is what FDR needed to galvanize the minds of Americans to support our entry into WWII. The “Official Report” on 9/11 has so many anomalies, contradictions, and missing pieces of evidence that only a blind fool could give it credence. Any teacher in the public school system who encouraged critical thinking , who tried to openly question the false information spoon fed to us by our deceitful government leaders about 9/11 would probably be censored or fired for speaking the truth and encouraging intellectual integrity. Textbooks have been a major tool used by countless nations to control what their people learn. From tyrannical leaders such a Hitler in Germany or Arafat in Palestine, to world powers to this day, such as the US and Britain, publishers have filled their textbooks with politically correct stories. Textbook propaganda works. Hitler successfully raised an army, and today most American children believe in the old stories of evolution. What can be done about textbook propaganda? Not much, its effectiveness has been proven useful in the past, and will remain the favored tool of dictators and tyrants. But here in free America, things can be changed. It is impossible to have a completely unbiased education system, for if we were to base our education system only on the truth of God's Holy Scriptures we would be no different that the humanists of today. Textbooks should present accurate facts, motivating stories and competing viewpoints. While in our school system, students should be free to form conclusions and develop personal worldviews. How many textbooks teach that Federal Reserve is secretive corporation made up of an opaque cabal of mega bankers, that have little direct connect to government. I never read in any of my textbooks that wars are primarily motivated out of economic demand, needing to steal another country’s resources, or to build up the national debt for the benefit of bankers profits. To the contrary I was brainwashed into believing that we wage war only for “Freedom and to spread democracy”. The major text book publishers who are owned by corporate media conglomerates, have nothing to gain financially by honestly reporting history that may alienate consumer oriented corporations, or the Pentagon who spends billions on public relations and advertising propaganda, or corporate contractors whose primary revenue source is the government tax trough. I believe that if we as parents protest the twisting of facts and incomplete reporting of history in school textbooks that we can turn around this system that encourages deceit and erosion of our youth’s moral fiber. But good luck on that noble effort to clean up our school history books. In Texas for example ignorant bible thumping patriots were concerned about too much candor about how Black Americans were really treated, that if we inform our youth about LGBT behavior that we are encouraging homosexuality, and that evolution can only be taught along with the mythical concept of “Intelligent Design”. We cannot expect moral and ethical behavior from our government leaders, if we as parents do not instill a culture of transparency, ethics, and morality all the way down to the level of the school classroom and the history textbooks. Major emphasis on materialism and acquisitiveness does not encourage healthy spiritual foundations and building of moral fiber. The home and the classroom is the breeding ground for future ethical politicians and leaders. Without a major change in the paradigm of our thinking and value systems, how can we naively expect to have a better nation?

Is OWS fading away?

The news about OWS seems to be cropping up less in the media this holiday season. Is it getting too cold out there on the streets for protesters to show their faces? Are there fewer incidents of drama and histrionics for media to create a buzz about? Are the participants to the movement dwindling in numbers? Are we just getting anesthetized to the phenomenon? Have the participants become so docile and passive in their behavior that there is no charge to showcase for the newscasters? Or maybe this just a place of evolution for the movement on the “Bell shaped curve” where it is moving toward its nadir? Well for the sake of this country and most of our citizens I surely hope that the momentum of OWS is not fizzling out. Unfortunately the financial and political influence of our major corporations, specifically the major financial institutions and the Military Industrial Complex have over taken our country’s body politic like a fast growing cancerous cyst. For example Lockeed-Martin who receives $45 billion in annual revenues, or $260 for every tax payer creates jobs and profits by manufacturing weapons of mass destruction. Their financial tentacles have direct influence over every major political candidate in our country. A major New York bank conveniently donated approximately $4 million to NYPD foundation right around the time of the OWS protests. Politicians are in the hip pocket of every corporation and union in this country who has a vested interest in keeping the government cash cow taken hay from the public and funneling milk to the special interests. So what’s that all have to do with OWS? For a moment I will digress into a “Critical Thinking” teachable moment that not only directly relates to OWS, but more importantly how we react to and process information from the mass media or what we read on the internet. This morning while I was in the process of constructing this article, a coffee shop friend of mine sent me an email, not authored by himself, comparing the well behaved Tea Party to the allegedly ill behaved OWS protesters. Digesting the data presented on its face, I would have come to the conclusion that most OWS folks need to take a course in manners and civility. Fortunately I stopped myself and starting asking some important questions such as who originated this information, what is their political agenda, how objective is the data, what type of control group did they use for the data, and how does this information relate to the behavior of the general population? Some of the highlights of table of data alleged 4,149 arrests, 7 deaths, 12 rapes, 25 American flags desecrated, a total of 3 American and Israeli and flags burned, cost to the tax payers $19,327,487, and “yes” to public masturbation, drunkenness, support for Hugo Chavez, Pelosi, Obama, Nazi, Socialist parties, 911Truther,etc. In contrast the Tea Party had a spotless record of behavior. First off very few large gatherings of any group rarely evolve without some behavioral idiosyncrasies. Secondly all the references to Socialism, Democratic politicians, and any group as not seen as the establishment who is “Clean, neat, and in their seats” is inferred to be negative. Well is it true that purpose and goals of the establishment being whoring politicians, “Crony Capitalists”, Wall Street, secretive Federal Reserve cabal, the military Industrial Complex, and minions of inside the beltway lobbyists is what has created much of the problem facing this country today? Let’s start with the alleged 4,149 arrests! Who are the police working for, is it primarily those wanting to preserve the dysfunctional status quo that primarily benefits the 1%. Could a contribution of millions dollars by a major bank to the NYPD foundation have any bearing on the police wanting to make wholesale arrests of totally innocent people who happen to be protesting, not obstructing traffic or causing bodily or property damage? What is the percent of the arrests of people actually committing felonies or misdemeanors compared to the total population of protesters? Next how does that percentage of arrests compare to the percentage of arrests in the non-protesting population. Where the deaths at the hand of murder, assault and battery, or from heart attacks, old age, heat exhaustion, or other maladies that have no relation to any criminal activity. Where the rapes committed by actual protesters or insane criminal elements that just happen to be in an occupying park. Again are the amount of rapes relative to this type of occurrence in the general population. On the “Yes” statement to the above referenced items, does that mean one incident or a hundred? On the issue of the cost to the taxpayers these are “pennies “ to each taxpayer compared to trillions of dollars we spend on the wasteful Military Industrial Complex that kills, injures, and oppresses people. Who said that the process of democracy was a free lunch? Maybe we should eliminate the voting process, some Fascist types would consider this yearly cost of hundreds of millions of dollars wasteful. I will gladly put in my share of seven cents in taxes to clean up after OWS protesters in order to attempt to further the messy process of democracy, rather than spending thousands to support the already “fat cat” untouchable establishment criminals who are the ones who really should be arrested for mega crimes against society. So now that we have cleared up some misconceptions about OWS that have been spuriously been spread on the internet and through the mass media let us get down to “What is the vitality of OWS”? You can follow what is happening with the OWS movement by going to their official website: http://occupywallst.org/ On January 3, 2012 there was a spontaneous show of solidarity starting in downtown NY against Obama’s signing of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Not only does this act violate our first, third, fourth, fifth and sixth amendments, as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but this Act was signed quietly this past New Years Eve violating what little trust remained between the people and their established government. The OWS wbsite says, “This upcoming Wednesday, January 11th is the 10 year anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo Bay Prison. This day is a somber recognition of previous repressive state measures that violate not only people on individual levels, but our international agreements on Universal Human Rights. We will be protesting in solidarity with others all over the world.” Relating to a vigil at the Nigerian Consulate, OWS says, “As we know in the United States, repression is on the rise. Between the continued use of inhumane prisons like Guantanamo Bay and the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2012, people in the US are becoming more and more aware of the injustices of this globalized corporate system. We stand in solidarity with the Nigerian people and all victims of this system. We also see the inconsistency of the US government's support of pro-democracy movements when it is actively derailing the very democracy it claims to protect.” On January 15th there will be a global observance of Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday. Dr. King said "A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation, it will look across the seas and say: 'This is not just.' Anyone who is trying to defame the OWS movement by vacuously claiming that they have no message or that they are purposeless, obviously has not objectively done their homework.

Blissful Denials or Uncomfortable Truths

Facing uncomfortable truths can be a daunting task for any human being. In my maturation I have had to deal with the emotional challenge of accepting varying degrees of bad news along my life’s journey. As I have gotten older, I have found because of continued practice, and that ultimately the sky has not fallen, that I can ultimately deal with any bad news no matter how painful. So what is it there about issues that affect our health, relationships, perceptions, and stories we create about institutions of government, religion, parenting, business, and personal relationships that can sometimes put us into a fearful tail spin of denial? We become personally invested in our stories and myths that we sometimes create about family, friends, and government. So why do we construct these fictitious stories initially? When obvious facts countermand the validity of our mythological constructs we become fearful, and this reaction serves to repudiate our own sense of personal judgment and self esteem. Denial is a blatant lie due to omission or commission. The problem with a major lie is that one has to construct more lies to cover up the initial lie of denial. The following is a definition of denial from various dictionaries: (1) An unconscious defense mechanism characterized by refusal to acknowledge painful realities, thoughts, or feelings. (2) Refusal or restriction of something requested, claimed, or needed, often causing physical or emotional deficiency. (3) An unconscious defense mechanism in which emotional conflict and anxiety are avoided by refusal to acknowledge those thoughts, feelings, desires, impulses, or facts that are consciously intolerable. So lets examine some of the operative words in the above definition. Unconscious defense mechanism as defined by psychologists is as follows: Because of anxiety provoking demands created by the id, superego and reality, the ego has developed a number of defense mechanisms to cope with anxiety. Although we may knowingly use these mechanisms, in many cases these defenses work unconsciously to distort reality. For example, if we are faced with a particularly unpleasant task of accepting a painful reality, our mind may choose to construct a myth in order to avoid the dreaded acceptance of the truth. In addition to reality avoidance, other defense mechanisms include rationalization, denial, repression, projection, rejection and reaction formation. Another term that is used to describe denial behavior is called cognitive dissonance. Wikipedia’s definition: Cognitive dissonance is a discomfort caused by holding conflicting cognitions (e.g., ideas, beliefs, values, emotional reactions) simultaneously. In a state of dissonance, people may feel surprise, dread, guilt, anger, or embarrassment. The theory of cognitive dissonance in social psychology proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by altering existing cognitions or adding new ones to create consistency. While all defense mechanisms can be unhealthy, they can also be adaptive and allow us to function normally. The greatest problems arise when defense mechanisms are overused in order to avoid dealing with problems. Researchers have described a wide variety of different defense mechanisms. Sigmund Freud's daughter, Anna Freud described ten different defense mechanisms used by the ego. The other operative word refusal is a verb or adverb that connotes personal choice. The term refusal skill is used as an adverb. Unfortunately the choice to refuse is not always a consciously rational mind function, but one that is triggered by fear and the ego, with little input from empirical or factual sources. Many times the person who carries out their irrational refusal process will purposely choose pieces of information that will support the person’s irrational argument to remain in and support their denial. A specific case in point is of a brother of a friend who died about 6 months ago from terminal cancer. The brother had serious physical signs appearing on his body of painful bulging in the groin area. He refused to take off a few hours from work, using his employee medical insurance to have a free examination. His excuse was that he could not afford to take time off from work. From what I knew about this person was that he had a child like view of the world and therefore constructed his story so that he would not have to face the painful fact that he may have a serious hernia or cancerous tumor. He finally went to the doctor after it was too late. He was diagnosed with stage four cancer that spread through many organs of his body. He was given a prognosis of 6 months to live. In addition he refused to use cannabis to relieve pain and nausea for fear of becoming addicted. There are other cases of personal relationships where one person does not want to hear about their spouse or partner being unfaithful. Even more painful situations are where a mother does not want to hear about a family member, primarily a husband or father physically and sexually abusing a child. The topic that seems to bring major denial by some people is “9/11”. Fortunately more people, due to their intellectual curiosity and just plain intuitive sense are strongly questioning the government’s Official Report and poorly concocted story about 9/11. There still remain many people, who have an emotional block, primarily those who have served in the military and government intelligence, those that were faithful Bush loyalists, those that label themselves traditional “Love it or leave it” patriots, and those that do not want to embrace the fact that they live in a country where there are certain criminal elements that would intentionally harm them for power and profit. On the other hand there are over 2,000 architects, engineers, scientists, military, security, and legal professionals who strongly question the Official Story and support a new independent investigation. When I have mentioned that I believe that the US government was complicit in 9/11 some people cannot accept the painful reality. I am careful to note their uncomfortable resistive body language and their sometimes use of pejorative phrases such as “Conspiracy Theorist”, “Crazy Nut Job”, “America Hater”, etc. I hear, “I refuse to discuss it”, “Just don’t go there”, or “Where do you get these crazy ideas”? These people who are fearful of having their story of “America the Compassionate Perfect Superior Country” challenged will close down their intellectual curiosity and critical thinking for fear of learning the truth. Another fear is that if the truth is uncovered that America will be so severely harmed that it will be destroyed as a country and cease to exist. These are merely fearful personal projections that are not based in supportable fact. If one is so interested in knowing the truth then why would they so reactively resist hearing information, watching documentaries, or doing their own investigative reading? I hope that the denial characteristics of those people who I have cited above will use this message as a bell weather sign to examine why they are in such fear. “Knowledge is power”, so therefore please let your intellectual curiosity catapult you into becoming a more powerful human being. Denial perpetuates the repeating and tolerance of destructive behavior by individuals and nations states. The first step in the Twelve Step program is for the addict to come out of denial and say I am an alcoholic or drug addict. A major step to world peace is for all Americans to admit that some of my countries leaders are immoral and must be held accountable for their criminal behavior, no matter what the cost. I would like to believe that most people understand why denial can be such a destructive behavior, that may result not only in their own harm and death, but more importantly in the cases of government sponsored “False Flag” events and deceit by high level criminal elements in our government, we will continue to have costly, wasteful, and immoral wars. Lobby for a new independent investigation of 9/11 at the local, state, and international level the federal government is not capable of honestly investigating itself.