Republicans discuss the correct way to be divisive
Jon Stewart pulls out many video clips to illustrate the Republican version of divisiveness:
Areas of agreement with the Tea Party
I was excited to see the new Tea Party's birth. Watching the corruption of our government become more and more brazen, it was only a matter of time before counter-movements began to spread. Both the Tea Party and the #Occupy movements were born of this impulse. The original patriots of the Tea Party movement formed in opposition to the bank bailouts. I think it became apparent rather quickly, however, that their admirable movement had been co-opted into another arm of the Republican machine. I don't say this to cast aspersions though, as I do want to keep this post exploring our common ground rather than emphasizing our differences. The #Occupy/99% movement is actively resisting attempts to co-opt its message by the Democratic party and other left-leaning organizations, so let's keep exploring our similarities. Here then, is the 15-point "non-negotiable core beliefs" which I found on teaparty.org:
The United States of Corporations. Image by Brynn Jacobs
#Occupy movement sweeping the nation, now including Omaha!
I was at our local #occupy protests on Saturday for what organizers were calling a "Global day of action". This week marks one month since #occupywallstreet began their occupation in New York City, and have proven to be an inspiration to people around the globe. Omaha is not exactly known as a hotbed of radical activism or sentiment. Protests here regularly turn out a half-dozen or so committed activists, but rarely much more than that. My wife and I decided that the time had come for us to express our discontent with the existing socio-political environment here, and so we headed out to #OccupyOmaha on Saturday morning. Expecting low numbers, we were surprised when we could see people streaming towards the meeting site from blocks away.
The unpredictable patterns of collapse of power structures
Chris Hedges has seen quite a few social upheavals, and he recognizes the Occupy 99% movement as both substantial and long-lasting. He also sees little change of these protests being coopted by outside groups such as Move-On or unions. He sees this as a movement that powerfully speaks for the next generations.
Jeffrey Sachs describes his support for the Occupy movements
Jeffrey Sachs recently appeared at an Occupy Wall Street protest and explained that there are still "normal" countries where companies merely do business and they don't try to run the government. That is what we need here in the United States, and Sachs believes that the People can take back their government. He has much else to say on sustainable living, media, corporate misinformation, campaign finance reform, warmongering, the top 99%, typical folks who are unwittingly doing the bidding of billionaires, candidates who need to swear off big money, and the fact that big money has thoroughly Barack Obama. Sachs has just written a new book: The Price of Civilization: Reawakening American Virtue and Prosperity.