A Handful of Oligarchs Can't Stop History

A few days ago it became clear that the memo had been written and distributed to all corporate news outlets, including PBS's The News Hour, which bows to the Gates Foundation, one of its chief underwriters.  The same talking points, the same smears, the same alarm bells: the Occupy Encampments Have to Go.

And at the same time, the Oligarch$ funding the poster boy of corporate fascism, Scott Brown, released a smear ad against Elizabeth Warren with essentially the same talking points.  From Sourcewatch:

In November 2011, Crossroads GPS ran an ad in Massachusetts criticizing Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren for supporting Occupy Wall Street, and claiming the Occupy protesters “attack police, do drugs and trash public parks. They support radical redistribution of wealth and violence.”

The source for the ad's "radical redistribution of wealth" claim comes from an article critical of the protests in the Wall Street Journal by pollster Douglas Schoen. ^[9] Schoen wrote in the article that the protesters supported "radical redistribution," but his own numbers actually showed only 4% of those polled supported the concept. ^[10] In contrast, 35% of those polled said they'd like to influence the Democratic party (and 5% said they wanted a flat tax, a policy typically supported by conservatives). ^[10]

The ad quotes the Schoen article over the image of a sign that says "fight for socialism, abolish capitalism," apparently implying that the Occupy protesters were socialists and Warren was one of them. However, a section of the Schoen poll not superimposed over the "socialist" image showed an even number of protesters identified with the socialist and libertarian parties. ^[11]

The ad also uses a quote from Warren where she says “I created much of the intellectual foundation for what they do” to imply she was responsible for any violence that happens at the Occupy protests. What she actually said in an interview with The Daily Beast was this:

EW: Look, everybody has to follow the law. That’s the starting point. I’ve been fighting this fight for years and years now. As I see it, this is about two central points: one, this is about the lack of accountability. That Wall Street has not been held accountable for how they broke the economy. The second is a values question, a fundamental fairness around the way that markets have been distorted and families have been hurt. I’m still fighting that fight. I’m just fighting it from this angle…I want to fight it from the floor of the United States Senate. I think that is a place to make this difference.

TDB: Is showing solidarity with them going to get in the way of that?

EW: It’s not a question of solidarity. I just don’t think that’s the right way to say it. I support what they do. I want to say this in a way that doesn’t sound puffy. I created much of the intellectual foundation for what they do. That’s the right thing. There has to be multiple ways for people to get involved and take back our country. The fight that I’m fighting now is one that is directed towards the United State Senate. That’s just how I see it. ^[12]

The ad:

What the Kochs, Bloombergs, and their likenesses must know is that history will only be further roused by their police actions.  With nothing less at stake than the history of human civilization, a few men with a lot of worthless money cannot stop the movement, any more than they can stop the tide.  They can break up some nylon tents, but they cannot rip up the ideas that are secure in the minds of billions of citizens around the world who have read the writing on the wall.  The forces of Death must go--life deserves a chance to save itself. 
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It is time to think beyond Obama or the Nutjobs on the Farther Right.   How about a Unity Party in 2016? Wonder what Elizabeth Warren is doing in '16?

99% Educator Sarah Knopp interviewed at OccupyLAUSD

Teachers and students and parents are part of the 99% and that we're really one of the groups that has taken the brunt of the economic crises... In reality public employees and our unions are being blamed for a problem that was caused by the banks. Where the banks are getting a 700 billion dollar bail out, whereas the banks, Chase Bank in particular owes the City of Los Angeles 15 million dollars in unpaid property taxes, and yet 1,200 Los Angeles schoolteachers have been laid off, and 400 clerical staff, and we think there's the money exists to hire them back if there's the political will to do so. — Sarah Knopp (Educator and Activist)



[click here if you can't view this video]

High school teacher, UTLA member, and renowned activist Sarah Knopp was recently interviewed at OccupyLAUSD. Sarah and her class were one of the case studies in Jonathan Kozol's watershed Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America, and in turn, she has interviewed Kozol on several occasions.

A lifelong proponent of social justice, Sarah has championed for her students and their families for years, and she even ran for California State Superintendent of Schools in 2006. Her many articles articles and reviews can be found in the International Socialist Review, Counterpunch, United Teacher, and Rethinking Schools. Sarah is also the coeditor of the forthcoming Education and Capitalism title being published by Haymarket Books.

Disclaimer: Sarah was one of my most important political mentors and played an integral role in my becoming a social justice writer.

OccupyLAUSD starts now! Robert D. Skeels interview

Essentially we have a school board that was elected primarily with money from the Coalition from School Reform, which is Eli Broad, Jerry Perenchio, Philip Anshutz... all of these people represent the 1%. Their ideas and their policies are being implemented, while the 99% are being ignored. Parents, community members, students, and educators are shut out of LAUSD. — Robert D. Skeels



Interview Transcript

Subha Ravindhran: Good morning Leslie. Yes, hundreds of people are expected to turn out today. They will be marching to LAUSD headquarters, and they will be joining in with the Occupy LA Movement, they say that they too are part of that 99%, and they want an end to corporate greed. I'm actually standing here with Robert Skeels, he's an activist, and you're going to be joining in on this movement today. Tell me exactly what's going to be happening later on today.

Robert D. Skeels: Later today starting from here at four o'clock the teachers, community members, and other activists interested in defending public education are going to march from this location in order to tie in to the Beaudry Building, to LAUSD Headquarters.

Subha Ravindhran: And what they are demanding?

Robert D. Skeels: What we're demanding is that LAUSD stop being run by the 1%. Essentially we have a school board that was elected primarily with money from the Coalition from School Reform, which is Eli Broad, Jerry Perenchio, Philip Anshutz... all of these people represent the 1%. Their ideas and their policies are being implemented, while the 99% are being ignored. Parents, community members, students, and educators are shut out of LAUSD.

Subha Ravindhran: And you want the District to hire back a lot of people right?

Robert D. Skeels: Absolutely, the District has at least 50 million dollars that they have not used to rehire librarians that have been let off, nurses that have been let off and teachers that have been laid off.

Subha Ravindhran: Robert Skeels, good luck on your march today, thank you so much for the information. Again this march is going to be starting later this afternoon. They'll be holding a rally at LAUSD headquarters at 5:00PM and we understand that they'll be camping out there as well, just as these occupy LA people have. They say they will be pitching tents and staying out there for as long as it's needed.