December-January 2012 Newsletter
The following articles can be found in this month’s newsletter:
Another World is Possible
by Kathy Kastania and Mike Connelly, Metro Justice members
As events were unfolding in Zucotti and Washington Square Park longtime activists Mike Connelly and Kathy Kastania were there helping make history. They share their experiences and insightful perspectives.
Organizer’s Report
by Colin O’Malley, Metro Justice Organizing Director
Mayor Richards, an esteemed member of the 1%, backed down as unions and the Civil Liberties Union deployed savvy tactics. Colin details the action.
Why Mubarak Fell
Michael Schwartz, Tomdispatch.com
Protest in Tahrir Square and elsewhere in Egypt undermined tourism revenue, a critical factor in bringing an end to Mubarak’s 30 year reign.
It’s the Beginning of the Beginning
by Jon Greenbaum, Metro Justice member
The occupy movement has spun mainstream media reporting 180 degrees around. Unemployment and poverty are now the lens through which events are reported.
How to Be a 1%
by George Zornick, The Nation
The United States is one of the most unequal (industrialized) societies on the planet and the inequality is growing. Why is that a problem? CEO’s in the 1% have used their stacks of Benjamins to buy favors in Congress, bending legislation to protect them from lawsuits. They also have used their influence to have trade deals work in their favor. Oh, and also; lax antitrust enforcement, federal labor law that leans hard against workers, corporate governance rules that hamstring shareholders and a tax system that works like a rigged slot machine.
Americans Agree on #OWS Goals
No, you aren’t crazy and you aren’t alone. Americans really want to live in a more equal society.
Let’s Bail Ourselves Out
by Doug Noble, Metro Justice member
President Obama seems to have forgotten something. His to do list included getting his daughters a puppy and bailing out the banks (in order to stabilize our economy). OK, fine, but isn’t something missing there? Where’s our bailout? Conservatives tell us the US is a Christian nation. Then they should join us in calling for a Jubilee (the bible refers to the ancient practice of Kings cancelling debt to revive a stalled economy). This isn’t just the moral thing to do, it is economically necessary.
Iceland Overthrows Austerity
by Deena Stryker, Dailykos.com
Wall Street’s drunken housing derivative mayhem spread to Europe like the plague. Facing the economic crisis Euroelites prescribed the usual medicine – extreme austerity (massive cuts to services) in order to insure that billionaire bankers would be repaid their ill-considered loans. But a funny thing happened in Iceland – riots and the toppling of the government. Not only did the people of Iceland tell the IMF to go to hell, they promptly instructed Interpol to pick up the bankers responsible for the problem and put them on trial.
How Wall Street Occupied America
by Bill Moyers
“On August 23, 1971, a corporate lawyer named Lewis Powell—a board member of the death-dealing tobacco giant Philip Morris and a future justice of the Supreme Court—released a confidential memorandum for his friends at the US Chamber of Commerce. We look back on it now as a call to arms for class war waged from the top down.”
The Myth of American Free Markets
by S.M. Miller, Dissent
Elizabeth Warren reminded conservatives and their wealthy patrons that “you didn’t get rich on your own,” pointing out that the benefits of public spending (like education, public safety and infrastructure) create the basis for all wealth creation. But she didn’t go far enough. The founding fathers and generations of American leaders who followed would be flabbergasted to hear the mad free market ramblings of today’s conservatives. Back then the federal government intervened massively in the economy, establishing the first national bank in order to finance manufacturing development, constructing national roads, canals and railroads, handing out land, establishing colleges and national pension and widows benefits and used tariffs to protect infant industries.
How to Get Medicare for Everybody in Monroe County
by Bill McCoy, Metro Justice member
Spoiler Alert: When the mining disaster struck the town of Libby Montana Senator Baucus came to the rescue of the WR Grace Company, absolving them of any responsibility and inserting a provision into Obamacare guaranteeing medical coverage to the entire community. So…
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