Occupy Wall Street: A Manifesto (from Fail Quotes)

[AnCap Dave]

THIS

Demand one: Restoration of the living wage. This demand can only be met by ending "Freetrade" by re-imposing trade tariffs on all imported goods entering the American market to level the playing field for domestic family farming and domestic manufacturing as most nations that are dumping cheap products onto the American market have radical wage and environmental regulation advantages. Another policy that must be instituted is raise the minimum wage to twenty dollars an hr.

Demand two: Institute a universal single payer healthcare system. To do this all private insurers must be banned from the healthcare market as their only effect on the health of patients is to take money away from doctors, nurses and hospitals preventing them from doing their jobs and hand that money to wall st. investors.

Demand three: Guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment.

Demand four: Free college education.

Demand five: Begin a fast track process to bring the fossil fuel economy to an end while at the same bringing the alternative energy economy up to energy demand.

Demand six: One trillion dollars in infrastructure (Water, Sewer, Rail, Roads and Bridges and Electrical Grid) spending now.

Demand seven: One trillion dollars in ecological restoration planting forests, reestablishing wetlands and the natural flow of river systems and decommissioning of all of America's nuclear power plants.

Demand eight: Racial and gender equal rights amendment.

Demand nine: Open borders migration. anyone can travel anywhere to work and live.

Demand ten: Bring American elections up to international standards of a paper ballot precinct counted and recounted in front of an independent and party observers system.

Demand eleven: Immediate across the board debt forgiveness for all. Debt forgiveness of sovereign debt, commercial loans, home mortgages, home equity loans, credit card debt, student loans and personal loans now! All debt must be stricken from the "Books." World Bank Loans to all Nations, Bank to Bank Debt and all Bonds and Margin Call Debt in the stock market including all Derivatives or Credit Default Swaps, all 65 trillion dollars of them must also be stricken from the "Books." And I don't mean debt that is in default, I mean all debt on the entire planet period.

Demand twelve: Outlaw all credit reporting agencies.

Demand thirteen: Allow all workers to sign a ballot at any time during a union organizing campaign or at any time that represents their yeah or nay to having a union represent them in collective bargaining or to form a union.

These demands will create so many jobs it will be completely impossible to fill them without an open borders policy.

[Ibrahim90]

THIS

in other words, they're a bunch of stupid idealistic hippies.....

well, let's break this down. I propose sending this maybe to these people:

1-yes, let's blame the marketplace for the ****-up created by the federal government. and what the hell is a living wage? this sounds like nonsense. people live on 1$ a day. do these people want a minimum wage of 1$ a day? yeah, we'd all be dirt poor and emaciated, but we'd be alive...barely.

2-because the constitution means nothing.

3-that's redundancy personified: didn't they mention a similar proposal to this in # 1? why not lump them together into one proposal?

4-not going to happen sunshine. and personally, that would be a bad thing. we already get too many stoners here in CSU who ride college for free. it should be a selective and difficult process-with the less govt. the better.

5-until they can find a fuel more efficient that fossil fuel, with which to run our vehicles, they can shut the **** up.

6-**** off. does this even need addressing? do they really think we have this money? if so, what the hell are they doing at wall street?

7- why not just pool money together and buy some of that land themselves? oh wait, they won't-I wonder why....and again, this goes back to what I said in # 7

8-we have that; I don't think citizenship is predicated on color, so in theory we should all already have equal rights. what, do they want government to snoop around on us? won't work.

9-ok, whatever.

10- won't happen. tough s***.

11- I'm sure the Chinese would be just fine with that. 

12-yes, because the constitution means absolutely nothing (thus contradicting themselves-twice too!). and heaven forbid if there were private agencies who could alert us to possible credit fraud, or alert businesses to possible bad credit eggs.

13-why do we even need unions?


and no, they won't create jobs-unless we're all in la-la land.



anyways, here's my latest find:

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the Williams Brown character (the lady), is the fail.

[VectorM]

These demands will create so many jobs it will be completely impossible to fill them without an open borders policy.

This HAS to be a parody.

[MrBogosity]

Split this off to foster more discussion--and because I wanted to post this amazing piece of win:

http://reason.com/archives/2011/10/05/occupy-wall-street-a-manifesto

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men, women, and transgendered—and any other human who is able to elude the tyranny of work for a couple of weeks—are created equal. We gather to be free not of tyranny, but of responsibility and college tuitions. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that a government long established and a nation long prosperous be changed for light and transient causes. So let our demands* be submitted to a candid world.

First, we are imbued with as many inalienable rights as a few thousand college kids and a gaggle of borderline celebrities can concoct, among them a guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment and immediate across-the-board debt forgiveness—even if that debt was acquired taking on a mortgage with a 4.1 percent interest rate and no money down, which, we admit, is a pretty sweet deal in historical context...

...but down with the modern gilded age!

We demand that a Master of Fine Arts in musical theater writing, with a minor in German, become an immutable human right, because education is crucial and rich people can afford to fund unemployment checks until we find jobs or in perpetuity, whichever comes first.

We demand a minimum wage of $10, no ... make it $20. We earned it. And we demand the end of "profiteering," because there is no better way to end joblessness than stopping the growth of capital. We also demand a maximum wage law, because selfish American dreams need a firm ceiling.

We demand the institution of direct democracy, because if a bunch of people say it's OK, it's OK. And everyone deserves to have his or her voice heard. Except Mr. Moneybags, who we demand stop contributing his own money to candidates we disagree with, to issue groups we loathe, and to lobbyists who do not work for organizations featuring "Service," "Employees," "International" and/or "Union" in their title.

We demand the end to bailouts and corporate subsidies, unless we're talking about companies that feature sunflowers or sun rays in their logos, because that's the kind of morally gratifying institution we approve of, and thus, they should totally be fast-tracked and bailed out with your money to bring the fossil fuel economy ("the economy") to an end.

We demand the end to a corrupt Wall Street ("Apple" "your 401(k)") because banks hold too much power. We demand that government consolidate authority so that elected officials can make prudent choices for us. All that cash in banks was printed by the war god Mars and has nothing to do with the voluntary deposits by ordinary Americans, so we do not consider this theft.

We demand the end to corporate censorship, because if we can't force private news organizations to run the types of stories with which we agree, there can't be a healthy democracy. So actually, we demand the end of all corporate news organizations in the name of free speech.

We demand the end to health profiteering, because everyone knows that all the wondrous and lifesaving advances in modern medicine were invented in the People's Democratic Republic of Laos. Smart people work for the good of humanity, not because they're greedy.

We demand these rights because of the mass injustice of being able to freely protest against racism and corporatism without any real fear of imprisonment in the most diverse city on earth. And to the wiseguy who walked by the other day and claimed that I'd be writing this manifesto with a quill pen on parchment paper if it weren't for capitalism, we have two words for you: Koch brothers. Think about it.

This is the fifth communiqué from the 99.9 percent. We are occupying Wall Street, and we're not going home until it gets really cold.

*These grievances are not all-inclusive.

[AnCap Dave]

So apparently now they're claiming that these demands were not official.

Admin note: This is not an official list of demands. This is a forum post submitted by a single user and hyped by irresponsible news/commentary agencies like Fox News and Mises.org. This content was not published by the OccupyWallSt.org collective, nor was it ever proposed or agreed to on a consensus basis with the NYC General Assembly. There is NO official list of demands.

If they weren't official, why didn't you say that before? Why did you just post them and not put a disclaimer on there stating that it was merely the opinion of one person? It seems like they realized people saw through their bullshit and are now trying to play damage control.

[Virgil0211]

So apparently now they're claiming that these demands were not official.If they weren't official, why didn't you say that before? Why did you just post them and not put a disclaimer on there stating that it was merely the opinion of one person? It seems like they realized people saw through their bullshit and are now trying to play damage control.

Heh. I thought the same thing when I read that.

[Ibrahim90]

So apparently now they're claiming that these demands were not official.If they weren't official, why didn't you say that before? Why did you just post them and not put a disclaimer on there stating that it was merely the opinion of one person? It seems like they realized people saw through their bullshit and are now trying to play damage control.

official or not, I'm sure quite a few people there believe that (though not all).

[FSBlueApocalypse]

I was at the Occupy Wall Street protests in Jacksonville today. I can't say it speaks for the movement as a whole but most of these people are simply pissed off and want answers. This is why the Libertarian Party should be there in force at these meetings. If we're not going to be the people in their ear, the socialists will.

[Virgil0211]

I was at the Occupy Wall Street protests in Jacksonville today. I can't say it speaks for the movement as a whole but most of these people are simply pissed off and want answers. This is why the Libertarian Party should be there in force at these meetings. If we're not going to be the people in their ear, the socialists will.

It may be a bit like the tea parties, where each group has its own lean. But yes, we should be out there to speak to those people who would be receptive, whatever their concentration in the overall group might be.

Just hope you don't run into lotion man or his local equivalent. =P

[Ibrahim90]

It may be a bit like the tea parties, where each group has its own lean. But yes, we should be out there to speak to those people who would be receptive, whatever their concentration in the overall group might be.

Just hope you don't run into lotion man or his local equivalent. =P

well, this whole "occupy sth or other" deal has somehow gone west: apparently, they're having an "Occupy Fort Collins" event here in Ft. Collins; some students and other locals are gathered for a show of solidarity with the NYC protesters. this may be my chance to do sth useful-if I have time from my studies sufficient to the task at hand.

here's the link: http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20111010/UPDATES03/111010020

and since I'm not a Chicken, I will not avoid the lotion man should he come! I defy him! he will KNEEL before me! 

[Virgil0211]

and since I'm not a Chicken, I will not avoid the lotion man should he come! I defy him! he will KNEEL before me! 

With lotion already in hand...

Lol. Sorry. It was either that or a General Zod joke. :-P

[AnCap Dave]

Apparently at the Occupy Boston protests, it got nasty. The Veterans for Peace were apparently attacked by Boston police officers.

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[AnCap Dave]

Well, so much for Obama being on the side of the protesters eh?

Source

Despite his rhetorical attacks on Wall Street, a study by the Sunlight Foundation's Influence Project shows that President Barack Obama has received more money from Wall Street than any other politician over the past 20 years, including former President George W. Bush.

In 2008, Wall Street's largesse accounted for 20 percent of Obama's total take, according to Reuters.

When asked by The Daily Caller to comment about President Obama's credibility when it comes to criticizing Wall Street, the White House declined to reply.

Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer says the distance between the president's rhetoric and actions makes him look hypocritical.

"It's almost as if President Obama won't cross across a Wall Street picket line except to get inside with [his] hand out, so he can raise money," Fleischer told TheDC, referring to the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators who the president has been encouraging over the past week. "That sort of support causes him to look hypocritical."

Fleischer continued by saying that President Obama and Democrats, such as New York Sen. Charles Schumer, who has received approximately $8.7 million from Wall Street since 1989, should stop taking campaign donations from Wall Street banks if they are so offended by their actions.

"They can't say we hate Wall Street, but we love their money," Fleischer said.

Being Wall Street's campaign cash king is hardly the image President Obama has been trying to project in public, where he has been setting himself up as the champion of the progressive Occupy Wall Street movement and as the avenger of jilted Bank of America customers.

"Banks can make money," Obama said last week, responding to questions during an interview with ABC News about Bank of America's decision to levy a $5 monthly fee on debit card users. "They can succeed, the old-fashioned way, by earning it."

In fact, the Sunlight Foundation, a nonpartisan watchdog group that tracks lobbyist spending and influence in both parties, found that President Obama has received more money from Bank of America than any other candidate dating back to 1991.

An examination of the numbers shows that Obama took in $421,242 in campaign contributions in 2008 from Bank of America's executives, PACs and employees, which exceeded its prior record contribution of $329,761 to President George W. Bush in 2004.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Wall Street firms also contributed more to Obama's 2008 campaign than they gave to Republican nominee John McCain.

"The securities and investment industry is Obama's second largest source of bundlers, after lawyers, at least 56 individuals have raised at least $8.9 million for his campaign," Massie Ritsch wrote in a Sept. 18, 2008 entry on the Center for Responsive Politics's OpenSecrets blog.

By the end of Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, executives and others connected with Wall Street firms, such as Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, UBS AG, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley, poured nearly $15.8 million into his coffers.

Goldman Sachs contributed slightly over $1 million to Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, compared with a little over $394,600 to the 2004 Bush campaign. Citigroup gave $736,771 to Obama in 2008, compared with $320,820 to Bush in 2004. Executives and others connected with the Swiss bank UBS AG donated $539,424 to Obama's 2008 campaign, compared with $416,950 to Bush in 2004. And JP Morgan Chase gave Obama's campaign $808,799 in 2008, but did not show up among Bush's top donors in 2004, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Obama's close relationship with JP Morgan Chase was highlighted earlier this year when he tapped Bill Daley, a former top executive with the bank, to replace Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff.

Wall Street's generosity to Obama didn't end with his 2008 campaign either. Wall Street donors contributed $4.8 million to underwrite Obama's inauguration, according to a Jan. 15, 2009 Reuters report.

So far Wall Street has raised $7.2 million in the current electoral cycle for President Obama, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Obama's 2012 Wall Street bundlers include people like Jon Corzine, former Goldman Sachs CEO and former New Jersey governor; Azita Raji, a former investment banker for JP Morgan; and Charles Myers, an executive with the investment bank Evercore Partners.

"When he calls Wall Street bankers fat cats, then his base cheers, so you'll see him constantly trying to shift back and forth, and keep Wall Street happy at one point and his base happy at another point," Jim Moorehead, current crisis adviser at Steptoe & Johnson, LLP and a former Goldman Sachs investment banker, explained in a July interview with FoxNews.com.

The Republican National Committee echoed Fleischer's comments in a statement to TheDC, similarly accusing the president of Wall Street hypocrisy.

"The president wants his cake and eat it too," RNC spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski wrote in an emailed statement. "It's the height of hypocrisy for President Obama to demonize Wall Street on the stump while looking the other way as they line his campaign coffers."

Politcal analyst Dr. Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics sums up Wall Street's 2008 infatuation with Obama as having been more about wanting to back a winner than anything else.

"Two things have changed that. First, the economy is still rotten. Obama's policies just haven't worked — or at least not so anybody can tell," Sabato said.  "Second, Obama has to direct the public's anger and frustration somewhere if he's to have a decent chance of reelection."

"There is a great deal of animosity still present in the general public about Wall Street and the banks," he continued. "The more Obama scapegoats them, the less inclined they are to back him this time. You don't get the votes and money of people you insult."

[Travis Retriever]

I heard from a student today that from what he's heard, many of the wall street protesters are college graduates with mountains of debt, who can't get a job, despite being ostensibly on top of things.

[AnCap Dave]

I heard from a student today that from what he's heard, many of the wall street protesters are college graduates with mountains of debt, who can't get a job, despite being ostensibly on top of things.

That seems to be the case, since one of the major points is that they think education is a right.

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Source

The Official Declaration of the Occupation of Wall Street read by Keith Olbermann 10-05 2011

As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.

As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power.

We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments.

We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.

They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.

They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.

They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one's skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.

They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.
They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless animals, and actively hide these practices.

They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.

They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.

They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers' healthcare and pay.

They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.

They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.

They have sold our privacy as a commodity.

They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.

They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.

They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.

They have donated large sums of money to politicians, who are responsible for regulating them.

They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.

They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people's lives or provide relief in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantial profit.

They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.

They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.

They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.

They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.

They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.

They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts. *

To the people of the world,

We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.

Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.

To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.

Join us and make your voices heard!