Bradley Manning Imprisonment is An Unconscionable Travesty

You may not like Michael Moore.  Personally, he is one of my heroes.  But that's beside the point.  The point is:  don't fail to read this article because Michael Moore wrote it and you don't happen to like Michael Moore.  Take the time to read and follow the links....

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/18/1046557/-A-Man-in-Tunisia,-a-Movement-on-Wall-Street,-and-the-Soldier-Who-Ignited-the-Fuse?via=recent

http://www.bradleymanning.org/

CLOSER...THEY'RE GETTING CLOSER.....Tar Sands Sellout Pending

Remember that Daffy Duck recording, set to the tune of the Hungarian Rhapsody?  It was Daffy, portrayed as a hapless,hunted duck, awaiting execution, surrounded as he was, by a bazillion hunters intent on his demise. 

"Bang-bang here, And bang-bang there....bullets flying everythere....closer, they're getting closer....!!!"

And that's exactly how we who support environmental issues, democratic ideals. social justice, LGBTQ rights, etc.,  feel.  Everywhere we turn, we're being betrayed and "compromised"  to death.  For years, now, we've done the "right thing."  We've gone through the "proper" channels of petitions, calls to the White House...we've made excuses for the unresponsive administration....and here we find ourselves holding the butt with no barrel, of Daffy's shotgun. 

Here's our sad, bowed but not quite defeated completely, hero Duncan Meisel, two emails,here in reverse order to what I received late yesterday:

Friends --
Just wanted to pass along an update: today, we completely flooded the White House phone lines with thousands of calls opposing this deal on Keystone XL oil pipeline.

The good news: this means we overwhelmed the White House with calls. The bad news: it also means that a lot of people didn't get through, and that the comment line is now shut down for the weekend.


If you weren’t able to get through or make a call, you can leave a short message for the President on the White House website here.


Thanks again -- we’ll be in touch soon.


Onwards,
Duncan Meisel for the Tar Sands Action and 350.org Team
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friends,
It all comes down to Barack Obama.
As I type this, Big Oil's representatives in the House and Senate are pushing legislation that would rush approval of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Up until now President Obama has stood strong, threatening to reject any bill that includes the pipeline.


But in the last hour, some terrible news has begun to leak from DC: President Obama seems to be on the verge of caving on Keystone. There’s no way to sugarcoat it -- if the President allows Keystone to move forward, he will be failing the single biggest environmental test of his presidency.


The next few hours will be absolutely crucial -- the President needs to hear from you that cutting a back-room deal with Big Oil on Keystone XL is unacceptable. If he steps up and threatens to veto this bill, he can stop this pipeline in its tracks.


Can you make a call right away? Here’s the White House number: 202-456-1111


Feel free to say what you want on the call, but remember to drive this one message home: to keep his promises, President Obama needs to veto legislation that would rush approval of Keystone XL. This pipeline is a threat to our climate and jobs and needs to be stopped.


After you've called the White House, take 30 seconds to let us know how it went by clicking here.

(Don’t worry if you get a busy signal -- it’s actually a good sign: it means we’ve flooded the White House switchboard and that the movement is sending an overwhelming message to the President. Just keep on trying until you get through.)

President Obama came into office promising to “end the tyranny of oil.” This is his chance to prove he was serious. If he’s not, he needs to know right now that there will be real consequences.


Big Oil cut a back-room deal with the dirtiest Members of Congress to attach this legislation to a must-pass tax cut bill. These kinds of deals exemplify the tyranny Big Oil exercises over our government, and underscores why the President needs to threaten a veto.


We have just a few hours to convince him to stand strong and veto any legislation to rush the Keystone pipeline. Can you make a call right now and tell him that we expect nothing less? Here’s the number again: 202-456-1111


Your calls right now are absolutely crucial, and you should also be getting ready to get back into the streets in the days and weeks to come. We’re dusting off our plans to go to Obama 2012 offices and raise some ruckus. Call the White House, but also get in touch with your friends to start plotting your next steps locally.

Thanks to you, this fight isn’t over yet -- not by a long shot.


Let’s go,

Duncan Meisel for the team at Tar Sands Action and 350.or
P.S. Share this red alert with a few clicks on Facebook and Twitter to bring them back into the game.


BTW:  The Tar Sands pipeline project uses FRACKED gas in their process.

Conclusion?  What else can I say?  Back to the cliche of the boiled-frog analogy:  drop a frog into a big kettle filled with boiling water.  The frog, close to the top of the kettle jumps out easily and survives; drop the frog into a little cold water, heat it up slowly and the frog, never knowing he was in danger, boils, unable to jump out of the depths....We are working toward boiled frogs.

Friends, Americans,Countrymen, Lend Me Your Ears......

......sleighbells (alarms) ring...are you listening?

I know....we all have heard this since high school....but it might be a good idea to re-read it, and then pay attention to the National Defense Authorization Act....CLOSE attention.  Check out my recommendation at the very bottom of this post.....



Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;


I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.

The evil that men do lives after them;

The good is oft interred with their bones;

So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus

Hath told you Caesar was ambitious:

If it were so, it was a grievous fault,

And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it.

Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest -

For Brutus is an honourable man;

So are they all, all honourable men -

Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.

He was my friend, faithful and just to me:

But Brutus says he was ambitious;

And Brutus is an honourable man.

He hath brought many captives home to Rome

Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:

Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?

When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:

Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;

And Brutus is an honourable man.

You all did see that on the Lupercal

I thrice presented him a kingly crown,

Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;

And, sure, he is an honourable man.

I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,

But here I am to speak what I do know.

You all did love him once, not without cause:

What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?

O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts,

And men have lost their reason. Bear with me;

My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,

And I must pause till it come back to me

Tune in to WBAI radio FM 99.5 out of New York (http://archive.wbai.org/  Scroll down the archived play lists to Occupy Wall Street Radio...and others.

Check out the program for December 16th of Occupy Wall Street radio.

When you're done, scan the rest of the website for more interesting commentary and discussion.  And then put it on your list of Favorites.

Guess what! -- UPDATE

I'm wrong.  I apologize to Time.  Indeed the "Protester(s)" cover IS on the U. S. edition.

Time's "Person of the Year..."

They DIDN'T put the cover on the U. S. edition!  Does that tell you something???

From The Washington Post:  There are some hints of dissent. “Time's ‘Person of the Year’ is the person they did not put on their U.S. edition covers,” The Post’s Anup Kaphle wrote on Twitter.



In a viral screengrab, Internet users complained about the Dec. 5 cover story selection. Time Magazine put a protester with the headline “Revolution Redux on the cover of its Europe, Asia and South Pacific editions, but opted for the headline “Why Anxiety is Good For You” on the cover of its U.S. edition.

Meet Loukanikos...(name means sausage in Greek)!

And while you're at it, check out these articles on Time's Person(s) of the Year 2011....
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/15/1045590/-Time-Magazine’s-Person-of-the-Year:-Tear-Gas,-Concussion-Grenades,-and-the-Occupy-Movement?via=recent
WaPo has posted extensive links to Time's Person of the Year:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/time-person-of-the-year-2011-the-protester/2011/12/14/gIQAvZtntO_blog.htm
And meet Loukanikos...!

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2102191_2327694,00.html

And the beat goes on....

This is probably the worst thing going on right now (although it's hard to make that choice when faced with the corruption that exists everywhere including the very topmost levels of OUR "government".....and this, sponsored by our esteemed president):



http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/15/1045560/-Why-a-Constitutional-Law-Professor-Cannot-Sign-NDAA,-Allowing-Military-Detention-of-Americans?via=recent

Amazing to me that Congress (you know, the body that shall make no laws....) makes laws, like this. You might want to take your copy of the Constitution out of your hip pocket--the one you've been sitting on all these years, assuming everything is hunky dory-- and have a look:

 Amendment I


Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment IV

 The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized

 Amendment VII

 In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

 Amendment VIII


Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.


...and the beat goes on....Take a look at your Constitution. Seriously. How long has it been since you read the Bill of Rights? I'll make it easy for you. Go here:


http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/billofrights


Now....having read it,  and having had a RE-view of our Consitutional rights in this country, just go Google the NDAA (that's the National Defense Authorization Act sponsored by the president and MOST of the House (all but 4 voted FOR it) and MOST of the Senate....and picture ssstttttrrrrrreeetttcccchinnng that law just a teeny, tiny bit in order to imprison PROTESTERS--people that happen not to agree with "The Govrnment"....(of course the police or "authorities" would never "stretch" the "truth" (and if you believe that I have a big, juicy chunk of cow manure to sell you)...and let your mind wander. Heck, with this big weapon of power, militarized police can walk right onto my farm, pick me up, incarcerate me (no charges required) and keep me imprisoned for as long as they want without charge--in effect, throw away the key.


Finally, have a look at this:  http://occupywallst.org/article/defend-bill-rights-all-us/

No joke. Civil libertarians EVERYWHERE are in an uproar, and YOU should be, too. We are headed down the wrong path. All the damned petitions and protests we can mount, don't keep apace. The illicit "powers that be" want to remain "the powers that be"....you'd best start paying attention. Don't sit back and assume you're safe. Don't assume anything.

I Knew You Would Be Proud of Me!

Indeed. I accept your congratulations for having the foresight to join, support and publicize this awe-inspiring movement. What's exciting is that it's only just begun...! BTW, I'm told that I am now officially a terrorist because I support OWS, have more than seven days food stored, have smoke residue on my fingers (wood cookstove) and am generally speaking a cranky old bat when it comes to tolerating "personhood" and Republicans, and big banks and big oil and big pharma and the Congress and the president (lower case intended)...need I continue?
To read about Time's momentous decision go to:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45657166/ns/today-today_celebrates_2011/

Do you think you're well off, living in the U. S.?

It might be enlightening to read the following....  Maybe you'll want to reconsider.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/13/1044550/-The-mainstream-German-magazine-Spiegel-asks-has-the-United-States-of-America-become-an-Oligarchy?via=recent

Amazing! No wonder the oil, gas, coal, et al industries are worried!

Have a read of this!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cwSFu1Pz0g&feature=related

SQUIDDING

http://www.letsgosquidding.com/

This speaks for itself! (you might have to cut and paste here....don't know for sure.)

This Should Open a Few Eyes...

I am not a Ron Paul supporter.  Truth be told...I am not a supporter of ANY presidential candidate that is running, today.  Nonetheless, this gives pause for thought and is worth a couple of minutes of your time:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/10/1044056/-Ron-Pauls-Eye-Opening-Ad-on-our-Wars-This-Ad-Needs-to-go-Viral

FRACKING

Yesterday was gratifying.  I was a little worried prior to putting up our banner, "Save the Water Table.org"  MM and I are new at being visible activists, putting our bodies on the line, you might say (not that it even resembled that, but I was a tad nervous, if truth be told).  You never know how people will react to those who take up a cause that has the potential for conflict about critically important topics...their jobs, the environmnet, politics....

But when you share information about such a hugely important topic as water, people take time to listen;  at first they grow silent as the message takes root in their minds; and then it's like an awakening.....

We were at a little Country Store in the little unincorporated town in Greenville, West Virginia.  We shared the potential for disaster with all who came into the store between the time we arrived--10:00 a.m. and the end of our shift at 1:00 p.m.  And, it was soooooo rewarding!  Of the 48 people who entered the store during that time, 45 signed our petition.  Only one person was borderline rude, two didn't want any information (hard to imagine!) Two people even showed up for the specific purpose of signing the petition (as the signing locations had been well-publicized.

It was a good day.  A very, very good day.  Forty-five signatures may not sound like much, but keep in mind, this is a tiny place.....a very special tiny place....and the message was loud and clear:  no fracking, not here....not anywhere.  Go away BIG OIL....go AWAY!  All your feel-good-ain't-we-wonderful slick ads on TV are just so much bullshit.  You are ruining lives all across this country....lives of people who are defenseless...and you are the Goliaths against a humble population of Davids that risks losing everything...including our lives....all for BIG OIL PROFITS.

Watch the following to see how Fracking will impact this country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEB_Wwe-uBM

This is simply beyond belief, but it's true.....

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/09/1043781/-Why-Obama-Will-Not-Veto-NDAA-Military-Detention-of-Americans:-He-Requested-It?via=siderec

Think of all the protesters "they" will have the "right" to arrest without charge, and hold indefinitely.....connect the dots, folks....and make your voices be heard....Call the White House, your Senators.....only SEVEN voted AGAINST this bill....

Occupy the Plutocracy

Don't miss the vids!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/02/1041647/-Chris-Hedges-at-Occupy-Harvard-–-feeding-plutocracy-and-why-the-cops-are-scared?via=sidebyuserrec

Here's My Very Own Recommendation on the New website as of last night.

OCCUPYEDUCATED.ORG

In the belief that an educated citizenry is key to change, Occupy Wall Street--OWS--has --as of last night--introduced a new website to replace the exstensive library that was trashed by the New York City Police RAID in Zuccotti Park--Liberty Plaza.  You may recall that 5,000 books at Liberty Plaza were thrown irretrievably into dumpsters by the goon squad of Mayor Bloomberg. 

This replaces the physical books, and goes beyond.

It is an open forum.  YOU--anyone--can recommend additions.   With technological wizardry, OWS has produced a place where recommended reading is displayed for all to explore.  It shows how richly educated we already are!  And it also reaches out, offering to share our understanding of where we are, where we are heading, how we can help, what we need to know....on every possible front! 

What kind of world do we want?  How can we, as individuals, move our caring agenda forward?

Whether it be environmental, financial, legislative, climate change, unemployment, foreclosures, corporate personhood, money, income inequality--the list is infinite!  Please take a look at this wonderful resource. 

My own recommendation is for an inspiring film we watched about two weeks ago called The Singing Revolution.  It features Estonia, an incredibly lovely land and its people in their peaceful struggle for independence.  It's available as a streaming video on Netflix.  To educate yourself, check out the new OWS awesome website:

http://occupyeducated.org/forums/topic.php?id=67

Scary Stuff From Keith Olbermann's program this evening....

If this doesn't scare the daylights out of you....

http://current.com/community/93569564_government-activating-fema-camps-across-u-s-occupy-the-planet.htm

Fracking and Hot Diggity Dawg!!! Time Magazine's Story of the Year!

MM and I will be on deck at a table out here JOTOLR this coming weekend, getting people to sign our petition against FRACKING.  Our aim is to get fracking banned completely from our region at least, if not the entire country.  The name of our organization is Save Our Water Table.

And here is a small announcement about Time Magazine's story of the year:
 http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/07/1043118/-Time-magazine-picks-Occupy-Wall-Street-as-the-top-news-story-of-2011-?via=sidebyuserrec
 
You betcha! From four dedicated people to this...!!! And we're growing every single day with amazing stories as we Occupy EVERYTHING. Occupy is moving into illegally foreclosed homes across the nation, reclaiming them for the homeless.  Occupy even Mic-Checked the Metropolitan Opera the other evening and got at least 50 percent of the audience to APPLAUD THEM!!!  Right now, OWS is occupying Congress!  Awesome.  And this is only the beginning.  Get ready for more.  We are the 99%.
 
 

Port Shutdown on the West Coast

This should be pretty big....Hoping to put a few punctures in Goldman Sachs, et al...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/07/1043151/-Occupy-Seattle-Why-We-Shut-Down-The-Port-Part-I?via=recent

Embarrassing to say the least.....

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/01/1041370/-Der-Spiegel:GOP-Freakshow-Damaging-Americas-Reputation?via=recent

Now THIS is creative ACTIVISM!

Love it!

http://occupywallst.org/article/occupy-museums-goes-lincoln-center/

Complete with tanks...

...maybe even drones which currently fly over 8 U.S. cities spying on all kinds of activities, we're told...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/01/1041313/-Mayor-1-says,-Ive-got-my-own-army,-the-NYPD?via=recent