Occupy Alaska! (Anchorage, Fairbanks, Homer, Juneau, Unalaska, Bethel, Cordova) updated
The Occupy movement has reached Alaska!
Occupy Fairbanks photos from Mudflatter “Fairbanksan,” and front page coverage from the Fairbanks Daily News Miner HERE.
Armed with megaphones, signs and the power of free speech, Occupy Fairbanks protesters occupied downtown for much of Saturday. The group of more than a hundred people marched from place to place, chanting, singing and speaking up about their frustration with corporations’ power in the country.
“I’m here today because I grew up loving America,” Marco Lewis, a retired military veteran, said. In recent years, though, he said, the country is different than the one he grew up in.
“It’s becoming an America controlled by the corporate elite,” Lewis said. He said politicians and representatives are financed largely by corporations and are being forced to serve those corporations.”
Occupy Fairbanks photos by Gary Black
Occupy Homer [photo by Shannyn Moore]
Occupy Homer from the Occupy Homer Facebook page
Occupy Anchorage from Mudflatter SapientAOhm
Occupy Anchorage from Mudflatter BlueInAK
To see more from BlueInAK, click HERE.
Occupy Juneau made the front page of the Juneau Empire!
There was little activity downtown, but the group received positive feedback from those who took notice. Some drivers honked, some stopped to take photos, and one man thanked the group for making the effort. Another man joined the group and started the chant, “Where’s my golden parachute?” while a demonstrator wrote on a piece of cardboard to create a sign for the man, who suffers from arthritis.
“Nobody’s going to have any retirement anymore, it’s ridiculous, I can’t believe it. People are working their entire lives paying taxes.” said the newcomer, who chose to remain unnamed.
And, we just had to include these last two again…
Occupy the Bering Sea, Unalaska! Photo by Jane Rice Bye
Occupy the Tundra, Bethel – Diane McEachern
OK, Barrow. Let’s have one by the arch!
[Send your Occupation pics to akmuckraker(at)yahoo(dot)com]
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Here are some pictures just in from Occupy Cordova! Let’s hear it for the folks on the “East Coast!” (of Prince William Sound) Photos by Kelley Weaverling via David Otness
Occupy Wall Street folks,
Here is information about Wall Street that the average person can understand. It is from Independent US Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont.
His July release
http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=9e2a4ea8-6e73-4be2-a753-62060dcbb3c3
His October 19, 2011 release-
http://sanders.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/101911%20-%20THE%20SANDERS%20REPORT%20ON%20THE%20GAO%20AUDIT%20ON%20MAJOR%20CONFLICTS%20OF%20INTEREST%20AT%20THE%20FEDERAL%20RESERVE.pdf
Ray Southwell, Nikiski
JaneE
Are you guys like stoned?
Go back and dwell on the pictures, you present no hope for future generations.
I want answers.
Ray,
I think you are not looking for answers. I think you are looking for a bumper sticker. We have serious problems, and nobody was even talking about them until Occupy started the conversation. Maybe we do not know the answers, but we are starting to ask the right questions. Here are some of mine:
Why were the too-big-to-fail banks bailed out of a mess that they created?
Why are the republicans blocking every effort to rebuild the economy?
When did a seat in the senate become a lifelong appointment?
Why does one of the richest countries in the world continue to argue over cutting benefits to our poorest residents, and at the same time, offer larger benefits to our richest residents?
That’s a start.
Riverwoman,
I would disagree with you but find it counterproductive. I would agree OWS has brought the anger to the forefront. Unfortunately it will be derailed much like the Tea Party has been.
You will probably object to me saying this but the Tea Party had the same issues. Now we are told they are a bunch of racists and hate mongers of the Republican Party.
Soon OWS will be taken over by the democrats and we will see the division grow among the people.
Here are answers to your questions.
Why were the too-big-to-fail banks bailed out of a mess that they created?
The big banks run the country-both political parties. These Banks are now bigger than they were when we bailed them out. Republican or Democratic President, does not matter-The Banks run the show.
Why are the republicans blocking every effort to rebuild the economy?
Don’t blame the Republicans. We the people must understand sound economics and come together to rebuild over the corporate owned politicians.
When did a seat in the senate become a lifelong appointment?
Money buys politicians and re-election to office.
Why does one of the richest countries in the world continue to argue over cutting benefits to our poorest residents, and at the same time, offer larger benefits to our richest residents?
I think those richest residents are called corporations. They in-fact are legal persons and pay off politicians. Why else does GE not pay any federal income taxes? Look up “corporate personhood.”
Juneaudream,
What are you writing about?
I am a simple person looking for answers.
You must be smarter than me because I don’t have a clue on what you just wrote.
Alaska Pi,
You did not give an answer, you stated what you want, just more complaints. Please explain a “living wage” and how we can get it.
You do seem to understand the importance of checks and balances of our capitalist system. Now that is a solution to our problems-checks and balances.
It appears you have forgotten the nature of man and his own self Interest.
We need to keep the self interest of man in check.
How do we do that?
I did give an answer. And I never forget the nature of (hu)mans.
However- not having seen your name here before , perhaps some of it is like starting a conversation in the middle.
Using one’s own lil dab of money , in concert with others, makes some difference. Business I manage took it’s money out of national bank and put in a fairly small Alaskan bank quite some time ago. Employees all choose to use credit unions for personal banking.
Our banks/credit unions aren’t perfect but they lend to our neighbors and don’t sell the mortgages and all in a round robin of phony financialization games.
A good hard look at the work of Phil Gramm and his authored and/or sponsored legislation- most notably the Gramm-Leech- Bliley Act and the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000- should give pause to those who shout deregulation at every turn will solve all our problems.
Can we reframe the whole way we look at the money industry and get rid of those laws? I think we can if we work at it. And I think we should.
We dropped affiliation with NFIB because of it’s anti-employee stances and history of fronting for
big business when legislation affecting business is proposed.
Living wage is a different notion than minimum wage.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_wage
Start reading the references provided .
Find the Primer on Neoliberalism and read it. ( I am limited in the number of links I can put in a comment here )
Find Daniel Bromley’s The Deceits of Fishery Policy and read it whether you commercially fish or not.
When we shifted towards neoliberal economic policy about 30 years ago , we gave up the ability to discuss much of our lives meaningfully.
The argument that concrete steps that rein in Wall Street and moneyed interests must exist before the infant Occupy movement can be taken seriously has merit. However, a necessary part of arriving at a concrete platform includes finding language which takes back territory ceded to a notion of economic wellbeing- neoliberal policies- a project which is itself in it’s infancy which includes some blowing off steam and all.
The centrist/ Third Way approach
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Way_(centrism)
has serious deficiencies so far – to my mind- and has just dug deeper holes.
The idea that this current president is dragging the country into socialism or would unless all these stalwart gridlock Congressfolk weren’t keeping it from happening is a not-funny joke. The accommodations made by centrist philosophy to neoliberal economic policy is part of the shift harder and harder to the right we find ourselves in and has robbed us of notions of common-good and public interest that we need to take back.
How about you?
What is going on in your community ?
It is an unicorporated community in the Kenai Borough.
Is that a good thing?
Do people there want more say in local government?
How are arguments about development and money framed?
Do you have ideas yourself about what can be done nationally ?
At the state level?
In your community?
Alaska Pie,
Thanks for your honest dialog. Also thanks to mudflats for allowing us an honest and open dialog. I find many Blog sites reject honest discussion. They prefer name calling.
I have not been able to follow-up on your sites yet. I will. Overall I believe you and Riverwoman have something in common. You both have followed a path that the “powers that be” have created-division among the people.
I would encourage you both to drop the boxes you have placed others in along with yourself and look outside the created differences.
The issues we find ourselves in are not left or right, liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican.
They are- we the people-and the rich and powerful. The rich and powerful are from all backgrounds and political affiliations.
Case in-point is the destruction of the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act. That was what the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act did. If my memory is correct it was passed by a republican congress and signed by President Clinton. It destroyed sound banking practices that allowed the destruction of our economy.
Last year Senator McCain attempted to bring Glass-Steagall back, he failed. This year a Democratic Congresswoman is attempting to bring it back. I believe she now has 34 co-sponsors. President Obama is opposed to it.
My point is- we the people- have been divided and become enslaved with the games played. I encourage you to look past the titles given to people and look to issues we need to come together on.
I wrote a probably too long reply which went into wherever it is that comments with too many links in them go. If it survives moderation it’ll show up.
If not I’ll come back later and try to rebuild it in pieces.
But I will ask- what are YOUR ideas on what a platform for Occupy.. should be?
Thanks for asking.
Here are just three-
First-Interest free money
In the last fiscal year 2011 we spent 454 billion dollars on interest on the US debt. It was approximately 1/3 of all taxes collected.
This money was paid to the private Federal Reserve Bank. This private bank creates money out of thin air and charges us interest.
We have had times in our history where presidents created interest free money or a public owned National Central bank created money and built infrastructure projects.
Second-Checks and balances-
We have seen these hard economic times before. In 1929 the market crashed. The people realized the banking industry was at fault. The sound commercial banks had been allowed to co-mingle with the speculative banks on Wall-Street. It brought down the economic system. The 1933 Glass-Steagall Act created a separation of commercial banks and investment banks. In 1999 Glass-Steagall was dismantled by congress and the president.
It once again allowed co-mingling of speculative banking and sound commercial banks. It brought down the economic system.
Glass-Steagall has been re-introduced to the current Congress. HR 1489- Don Young rejects the idea. Call him put political pressure on him to break up the Banking strangle-hold on the USA.
Here is a letter I wrote to my local paper some months back.
http://peninsulaclarion.com/opinion/letters/2011-06-14/legislating-sound-banking-practices-gives-glimmer-hope
Third-Infrastructure projects
The All Alaska Gasline to Valdez and the proposed Susitna Hydroelectric Dam. Both will create a “living wage” for the people and advance the standard of living for all Alaskans.
Here are a few letters I wrote about that-
http://peninsulaclarion.com/opinion/letters/2011-09-21/time-to-build-in-state-pipeline-is-running-short
http://peninsulaclarion.com/opinion/letters/2011-08-11/the-choice-is-not-always-about-money
http://peninsulaclarion.com/opinion/letters/2011-08-02/corporate-control-needs-to-stop
Things that need to change eh? I see..conversations..that wander thickly through the history of all peoples..picking up on those where words..flow..illuminate..and damage none. Much like the air I breath..arrives flowing toward me..no lumps, sour clots nor prickly spurs. Ideas phrased..in ..full-flowing openness ..allowing life to grow..mutate..but..at a snails pace. A..meditative pace. Time to let so many ideas..stew around..letting the brittle bones, fall to the bottom of the pot..and the savory, nourishing items..rise to feed us all.
You have such a way! Beautiful
I see everyone feels so warm and fuzzy about the pictures.
Just more people complaining and expressing their anger about our economic climate.
I want to see some real substance on what needs to change. Complaining and anger are easy.
Does anyone have a thought on what needs to change?
Ray Southwell, Nikiski, Alaska
You betcha.
Get a single payer health insurance system. Push for living wages. Pay attention AND say no to to whiny “job creators” who want communities to foot all the bills for infrastructure and “incentives” to bring them in while those bigs take the profits and walk away when it suits them.
Create alternatives to buying from companies who whine about the money it might cost them to clean up their acts re:water and air pollution if they are just unwilling to spend the money. That kind of money is also job creation.
When we talked ourselves into being a so-called cash economy and everyone should have a paying job routine we let go of a notion that part of what we do is grow some of our own food, hunt some of our own food, someone be home to care for the kids,etc.
All well and good if jobs for everyone are available . Not good if not. Villifying those without jobs and pushing to drop wages so goods can stay cheap for those who have jobs is an endless downward spiral. The part of ourselves which is the consumer can stand up and say BS and change what we buy, from whom, and how. The consumer driven portion of the market is huge- flex muscles!!!
Quit buying from outfits which treat employees badly .
Can think of many more and they all come under the heading of scrapping the neoliberal policies which got us in this mess and cutting loose of the centrist/third way which the Dems have adopted to try to reel it all in.
Rethink and reframe our public language so we can actually talk about the portion of ourselves which cannot be described by economics. Substituting economic indicators for everything including “common good’ and financializing more and more human interaction hasn’t advanced human society one bit.
Ray, here is one key: Bring back the Glass/Steagall act. Google it. It is my belief that our entire government…congress/supreme court/executive branch know exactly why OWS has happened and know exactly what policies are necessary. So write your congressperson and ask them!
Diane,
We agree. I hope you read the rest of my posts below.
I contacted Mr. Young months ago about Glass-Steagall. (HR 1489).
In recent days I am seeing the OWS movement being co-opted and derailed.
Can the people come together? What do you think of the Tea Party?
Wonder if all those who are against corporations, turned back their permanent fund dividend checks to the State, since they came from capitalism, corporate taxes and profits.
Maybe we just need laws that corporations (and especially unions) cannot make political donations, and we should be asking out politicians to make such a law.
I donated most of my dividend to Greenpeace on behalf of Glenn Beck.
Okay, let’s see…
Correct spelling of words – check.
Correct use of grammar – check.
Creativity – check.
Lack of racism, violent threats or images – check.
Yup…definitely NOT the tea party!
Like a real idjutt, I left home without my camera for the Colorado Springs Occupy I attended on the 15th. There was a _good_ turnout (bear in mind this is the bastion of FOF and _very_ conservative.) The police are being cooperative, no one can pitch a tent at the location because of a City ordinance, we have _lots_ of homeless here. And, the location is in what I would compare to a mini Beverly Hills, very upscale stores and etc. One person was arrested but I think they had to make an effort for that to happen.
Go Colorado Springs!!!
Yay!
Ok, Seriously. I get goose bumps from the Occupy The Tundra one. And not from cold. From awe.
These are all just awesome.
I love “the people are too big to fail”. That will be tweeted.
I think digby gets it right – again.
Feelin’ some deja vu vu
http://www.digbysblog.blogspot.com/
Matt Taibbi’s most recent article is worth reading, too.
Anybody else get a copy of Corey Robin’s The Reactionary Mind? I found it such an eye-opener that I’ve waded through it twice now. Yikes. You have no idea, I’m guessin’. Save it for Halloween night if you want something frightening to read.
`i am in absolute awe. wonderful signs. lovely people.
Here’s a good occupy song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VthTqvV0WrI
and heres livestreaming from the occupy sites worldwide-ish 221 and counting
http://www.livestream.com/guide/search?search_tag=occupy
That song is AWESOME!!
Did you notice, not one spelling error in their signs. =)
Bravo!
I see complaints and anger.
Where are the answers ?
Complaints and anger sometimes generate solutions and energy to see them through. I also saw good humor and friendliness.
Obama bailed out the banks and his wall street cronies and now he wants to bail out bankrupt California. If I wasn’t busy holding down a job, I would be out there protesting too…
The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to bail out the banks and other financial institutions was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 3, 2008.
Thanks for that ,Lee!
A NYer and a Marine ~ I LOVE this man:
“[Occupytimessquare] 1 Marine vs. 30 Cops (Marine Wins)”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WmEHcOc0Sys
“Marine Sgt. Shamar Thomas to NYPD: Why are you all walking like there’s a war going on? No one has guns! Why are y’all treating people like this? This is AMERICA. Why are y’all treating people like this? Why are y’all gearing up like this is war? This is not war! This is not war! Why are y’all acting like this? No one has guns. … how to act like this. … Nobody’s trying to hurt you guys. There are no bullets flying out here. There are no bullets flying! How tough are you? How tough are you? How do you sleep at night? There is no honor in this. There is no honor in this! None! None! There is no honor in this! You go back where you … … on unarmed civilians. There is no honor in that! There is no honor in this! There is no honor in hurting unarmed civilians!” … transcript by thatvisionthing on Kos
OWS national convention slated for 7/4/12 is in the works. I’m confused about their delegate format, it sounds like a “new” government. Maybe it means, they (OWS) intend to be a citizens “representative” lobby-type arm of the government:
http://www.readersupportednews.org/news-section2/316-20/7903-occupy-wall-streets-plans-for-a-national-convention
Instead of un-doing the government, perhaps, they OWS should put their man/woman power behind some of the good guys we have in the government currently. Help “un-elect” the corporate sponsored legislators.
This is so lovely. There’s a local newscast I watch almost nightly here in NYC (WPIX-11 in case you’re wondering). They were the first NYC station to talk about OWS, and in a good way. Every night, they show photos from around the world, and one of them was “Occupy the Tundra.”
Good on you, Alaskans.
WOOHOO ! that is soo coool:)
I was wondering……If corporations are people, do they pay taxes at the individual rate or the married filing jointly rate?
Depends upon who the corps. are snuggled up in bed with…
that would put rethugs and t-baggers at odds with their stated religious lives and their so called family values platform. I guess deep in their tiny,miserable little hearts they justify sleeping with korporate amerika by pretending korporations really aren’t people at all. They can easily explain peccadilloes,such as sleeping with inanimate objects as something the little lady needn’t concern herself with.
Actually I think they get a special rate and don’t pay much in taxes at all.
I love the sign that says: “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for”!
As a former Bethelite, it tickled me to see Diane McEachern out there all by her lonesome on that ole Tundra1 Keep up the good work, Diane!
Thank you! Been out there every weekend since. Going to retake the photo on 23rd with a bunch of people…”People the Picture!” Will post here.
So inspiring..sign after sign, expression after expression. I am..so proud of ..People Power.
How come there’s always that one guy with the Ron Paul sign?
Bravo Occupy Alaska!
This is what Democracy looks like…
of the people, by the people, for the people…
Keep on keepin’ on, dear ones.
Let those little lights shine.
L’Shalom,
thatcrowwoman