Friday, October 21, 2011

Behold "The 99 Percent Declaration."

This is a collaborative effort drawn up by the Occupy Wall Street protestors, and it is AWESOME!

Please take a look:



WHEREAS THE FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION PROVIDES:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and topetition the Government for a redress of grievances.
BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
WE, THE NINETY-NINE PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in order to form a more perfect Union, by, for and of the PEOPLE, shall elect and convene a NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY beginning on July 4, 2012 in the City Of Philadelphia.
I. Election of Delegates:
The People, consisting of all United States citizens who have reached the age of 18, regardless of party affiliation and voter registration status, shall elect Two Delegates, one male and one female, by direct vote, from each of the existing 435 Congressional Districts to represent the People at the NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY in Philadelphia. Said Assembly shall convene on July 4, 2012 in the city of Philadelphia.  
The office of Delegate shall be open to all United States citizens who have reached the age of 18. Election Committees, elected by local General Assemblies from all over the United States, shall coordinate with the 99 Percent Declaration Working Group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the99declaration/) to organize, coordinate and fund this national election by direct democratic voting. The Election Committees shall operate like the original Committees of Correspondence did before the first American Revolution. 
II. Meeting of the National General Assembly and Deliberation:
At the NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY, the 870 Delegates shall set forth, consider and vote upon a PETITION OF GRIEVANCES to be submitted to all members of Congress, The Supreme Court and President and each of the political candidates running in the nationwide Congressional and Presidential election in November 2012.  The Delegates of the National General Assembly shall vote upon and implement their own agenda, propagate their own rules and elect or appoint committee members as the Delegates see fit to accomplish their goal of presenting a PETITION OF GRIEVANCES from the 99% of Americans before the 2012 elections.
III. Proposed Petition for the Redress of Grievances:
The PETITION OF GRIEVANCES shall be non-partisan and address the critical issues now confronting the People of the United States. The Delegates shall deliberate and vote upon proposals for the PETITION OF GRIEVANCES in consultation with the People as the delegates to the first two Continental Congresses did. Below is a suggested list of grievances respectfully submitted by the OWS Working Group on the 99% Declaration. The final version of the PETITION OF GRIEVANCES voted upon by the Delegates of the National General Assembly MAY or MAY NOTinclude the following suggested issues: 
1. Implementing an immediate ban on all private contributions of money and gifts, to all politicians in federal office, from Individuals, Corporations, Political Action Committees, Super Political Action Committees, Lobbyists, Unions and all other private sources of money to be replaced by the fair and equal public financing of all federal political campaigns. We categorically REJECT the concept that money is equal to free speech because if that were so, then only the wealthiest would have a voice. These actions must be taken because it has become clear that politicians in the United States cannot regulate themselves and have become the exclusive representatives of corporations, unions and the very wealthy who spend vast sums of money on political campaigns to influence the candidates’ decisions and ensure their reelection year after year.
2. The immediate reversal, even if it requires a Constitutional Amendment, of the outrageous and anti-democratic holding in the "Citizens United" case by the Supreme Court, which equates the payment of money by corporations, wealthy individuals and unions to politicians with free speech. We, the People, demand that institutional bribery and corruption not be deemed protected speech.
3. Prohibiting all federal public officials and their immediate family members, whether elected or appointed, from EVER being employed by any corporation they regulate while in office and/or holding any stock or shares in any corporation they regulate while in office until a full 5 years after their term is completed. 
4. A complete lifetime ban on accepting all gifts, services, money, directly or indirectly, to any elected or appointed federal officials or their immediate family members, from any person, corporation, union or other entity that the public official was charged to regulate while in office.
5.  A complete reformation of the United States Tax Code to require ALL citizens to pay a fair share of a progressive, graduated income tax by eliminating loopholes, unfair tax breaks, exemptions and deductions, subsidies (e.g. oil, gas and farm) and ending all other methods of evading taxes. The current system of taxation favors the wealthiest Americans, many of whom, pay fewer taxes to the United States Treasury than citizens who earn much less and pay a much higher percentage of income in taxes to the United States Treasury. We, likeWarren Buffet, find this income tax disparity to be fundamentally unjust.
6. Medicare for all American citizens or another single-payer healthcare system, adjusted by a means test (i.e. citizens who can afford it may opt-out and pay their own health insurance or opt-in and pay a means tested premium). The Medicaid program, fraught with corruption and fraud, will be eliminated except for the purpose of providing emergency room care to indigent non-citizens who will not be covered by the single-payer program.
7. New comprehensive regulations to give the Environmental Protection Agency expanded powers to shut down corporations, businesses or any entities that intentionally or recklessly damage the environment and/or criminally prosecute individuals who intentionally damage the environment. We also demand the immediate adoption of the most recent international protocols, including the "Washington Declaration" to cap carbon emissions and implement new and existing programs to transition away from fossil fuels to reusable or carbon neutral sources of power.
8. Adoption of an immediate plan to reduce the national debt to a sustainable percentage of GDP by 2020. Reduction of the national debt to be achieved by BOTH a cut in spending to corporations engaged in perpetual war for profit, the "healthcare" industry, the pharmaceutical industry and all other sectors that use the federal budget as their income stream AND a truly progressive income tax code that does not allow the wealthy and corporations to evade taxes through excessive deductions, subsidies and loopholes. We agree that spending cuts are necessary but those cuts must be made to facilitate what is best for the People of the United States of America, not multinational and domestic corporations. 
9. Passage of a comprehensive job and job-training act like the American Jobs Act to employ our citizens in jobs that are available with specialized training and by putting People to work now by repairing America's crumbling infrastructure. We also recommend the establishment of an online international job exchange to match employers with skilled workers or employers willing to train workers in 21st century skills.
10. Student loan debt relief. Our young People and students are more than $830 billion in debt from education loans alone. Payment and interest on these debts should be deferred for periods of unemployment and the principal on these loans reduced using a corporate tax surcharge.
11. Immediate passage of the Dream Act and comprehensive immigration and border security reform including offering visas, lawful permanent resident status and citizenship to the world’s brightest People to stay and work in our industries and schools after they obtain their education and training in the United States.
12. Recalling all military personnel at all non-essential bases and refocusing national defense goals to address threats posed by the geopolitics of the 21st century, including terrorism and limiting the large scale deployment of military forces to instances where Congressional approval has been granted to counter the Military Industrial Complex's goal of perpetual war for profit.
13. Mandating new educational goals to train the American public to perform jobs in a 21st Century economy, particularly in the areas of technology and green energy, taking into consideration the redundancy caused by technology and the inexpensive cost of labor in China, India and other countries and paying our teachers a competitive salary commensurate with the salaries of employees in the private sector with similar skills. 
14. Subject to the elimination of corporate tax loopholes and exploited exemptions and deductions stated above, offering tax incentives to businesses to remain in the United States and hire its citizens rather than outsource jobs and reconstruct the manufacturing capacity of the United States.  In conjunction with a new jobs act, reinstitution of the Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps or a similar emergency governmental agency tasked with creating new public works projects to provide jobs to the 46 million People living in poverty, the 9.1% unemployed and 10% underemployed.
15. Implementing of immediate legislation to encourage China and our other trading partners to end currency manipulation and reduce the trade deficit.
16.  Immediate reenactment of the Glass-Steagall Act and increased regulation of Wall Street and the financial industry by the SEC, FINRA and the other financial regulators, and the commencement of a Justice Department criminal investigations into the Securities and Banking industries practices that led to the collapse of markets, $700 billion bail-out, and financial firm failures in 2007-2008.
17. Adoption of a plan similar to President Clinton’s proposal to end the mortgage crisis and instead of the Federal Reserve continuing to lower interest rates for loans to banks who are refusing to loan to small businesses and consumers, the Federal Reserve shall buy all underwater or foreclosed mortgages and refinance these debts at 1% or less to be managed by the newly established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (and foreclosure task force described below) because 1% or less is the interest rate the Federal Reserve loans to the banks directly who hoard the cash rather than loan it to the People and small businesses.
18. An immediate one year freeze on all foreclosures to be reviewed by an independent foreclosure task force appointed by Congress and the Executive Branch to (in conjunction with the  Consumer Financial Protection Bureau determine, on a case by case basis, whether foreclosure proceedings should continue based on the circumstances of each homeowner and propriety of the financial institution's conduct.
19. Subject to the above ban on all private money and gifts in politics, to enact additional campaign finance reform requiring free air time and public campaign finances to all candidates who obtain sufficient petition signatures and/or votes to participate in the primaries and/or electoral process, to shorten the campaign season and to allow voting on weekends and holidays.
20. An immediate withdrawal of all troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and a substantial increase in the amount of funding needed for veteran job placement and the treatment of the physical and emotional injuries sustained by veterans in these wars. Our veterans are committing suicide at an unprecedented rate and we must help now.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that IF the PETITION OF GRIEVANCES approved by the 870 Delegates of the NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY in consultation with the PEOPLE, is not acted upon by Congress, the President, and Supreme Court, to the satisfaction of the Delegates of the NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY, said Delegates shall organize a THIRD, COMPLETELY NON-PARTISAN, INDEPENDENT POLITICAL PARTY to run candidates for every available Congressional seat in the mid-term election of 2014 and again in 2016 until all vestiges of the existing corrupt corporatocracy have been removed by the ballot box.
(Huge hat tip to Wit's End.)
 Update: Apparently this is the Facebook page for the 99%.

48 comments:

  1. Perfect, succinct , and would make the country a better place now and for future generations.

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  2. Anonymous2:47 AM

    Well, this coincides with my wish list for an utopian society, but unfortunately, given today's political climate, it ain't gonna happen.

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  3. AJ Billings2:57 AM

    Amazing, powerful, and we should be so lucky.

    That petition sounds like heart of the new Constitution we should have had all along.

    Thanks for posting Gryphen

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  4. Anonymous3:02 AM

    I have one comment about Cronyism. I will use Palin an as example.

    People complained that she hired her friends, while ignoring that this is common practice in all states and federal government. People hire who they know and trust, in private business and public affairs alike. That's my easy answer.

    Recently I heard one of of critics in AK say complain that she didn't hire ANY of her volunteers, people who worked tirelessly to get her elected. To me, it's pretty sad for the volunteers is they felt entitled to a job over other people JUST because they worked the campaign. Isn't THAT what you're fighting against? I mean, you can't have it both ways. You can't condemn someone for hiring friends, and become angry when that person won't hire you JUST BECAUSE you worked said person's campaign.

    People in AK sure are immature.

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  5. Sally in MI3:18 AM

    For a group with 'no goals,' this seems pretty specific, thoughtful, and damn awesome! The GOP will be quivering in their moon boots...the Party of No and the Queen of Snark will have no answers for this, even though some of the tenets are in line with what the fake Tea Party claimed to be about.This is just a tremendous example of real American spirit, real American ingenuity, and real Americans demanding to be treated as equals at last.

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  6. Randall3:24 AM

    This sounds like a well thought-out and comprehensive list of grievances and solutions.

    Isn't this what we pay our Representatives and Senators for?

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  7. FEDUP!!!3:24 AM

    This is wishful thinking on my part, that's for sure!
    I just wonder if anything like this will ever come to pass during my lifetime...
    It sure would be great...

    They do not address the Supreme Court, though - IMHO, the SC should NOT be selected for life -they should also just serve a very limited period of time, and then have to abdicate.

    Also, I did not see the salary/benefits of Congress addressed (maybe I am still too sleepy) - they should be elected for some period (one or two cycles), and have the same health benefits and retirement benefits like 'regular' people - NO life-time entitlement, and then have to go back to a 'regular' job and earn a 'regular' salary like the rest of us.

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  8. sharon3:32 AM

    well, I guess that puts to rest any further comments about them not having a specific plan from this movement. This is awesome!

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  9. Anonymous3:54 AM

    We had the Arab Spring.

    Now it's the American Autumn!

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  10. Anonymous4:06 AM

    I only skimmed this (have to go to work) but I didn't see anything re help for people who may lose their home because they can't pay property taxes. I live in the suburbs of Chicago and property taxes are impossibly high. As an underemployed worker I am in danger of losing my home with absolutely no help available. I can't get a loan because my credit score is bad after being unemployed (and ineligible for unemployment) for more than a year.

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  11. Anonymous4:11 AM

    They are nearly identical in moral direction to the original founders of this country. I will gladly be a part of this third party. Where do I sign up?

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  12. ywc_achieve4:31 AM

    Oh, I love it.

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  13. Can you say:Awesome!!!

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  14. Anonymous5:02 AM

    CHART OF THE DAY: The ‘47 Percent’ Pay Their Fair Share

    Conservatives are continuing their counter-protest against the so-called "47 percent." Specifically, that's the share of recession-era households that pay no federal income taxes. Most of them pay payroll taxes and other federal taxes (not to mention state taxes), but Republicans have chosen to depict them as the free-riding half of the country.

    The fact of the matter, though, is that those other taxes constitute a huge chunk of federal revenues. Check out the charts below. Over the 58 years preceding the Lesser Depression, the share of federal revenues that came from individual income taxes has remained fairly stable, fluctuating between 40 and 50 percent, and peaking just before George W. Bush slashed rates in 2001.

    The rest has come from corporate income taxes, payroll taxes, and various other taxes. To a surprising extent, the story of the last six decades is one of a shrinking burden on big business, and a growing burden on workers -- the bulk of the "47 percent". Since 1950, regressive payroll taxes have grown to comprise over one-third of federal revenues -- they used to comprise about one-tenth. For corporate income taxes, it's just the opposite -- what used to provide the Treasury over a quarter of its revenue now provides just over 10 percent.

    Income taxes, both corporate and individual, provide "general revenue" -- money that the government spends on most federal programs. Payroll taxes, by contrast, are dedicated to financing Medicare and Social Security, both of which have grown considerably as a share of national expenditures in past decades. Indeed, prior to 1965, there was no Medicare, and the payroll tax's share of revenue has grown since to reflect that. But to a wage-earner's annual bottom line, that makes no difference.

    Separately, revenue as a percentage of GDP has fluctuated over the years, climbing steadily from 1950-2000, declining in 2001 after the Bush tax cuts, then bottoming out after the financial crisis and recession. The charts below predate the recession, and the numbers have probably shifted to reflect high unemployment, lower incomes, lower profits, and a temporary but fairly significant payroll tax cut. But "the burden" politicians describe is the whole pot of federal revenue, whatever its size. And the "47 percent" have born their fair share of it.

    http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/10/chart-of-the-day-the-47-percent-pay-their-fair-share.php?ref=fpblg

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  15. Anonymous5:05 AM

    What the NYPD Really Thinks of Occupy Wall Street

    he New York City Police Department has dealt with a heavy dose of criticism for the way that it has handled the Occupy Wall Street protests, with an unprovoked pepper spraying, questionably legal arrests, and a dressing down by a US Marine at Times Square all caught on videotape. But in the interactions with police that I have witnessed and the conversations I've had with officers, a more nuanced picture has emerged: one of overworked rank-and-file cops torn between following orders and sympathizing with the movement and its goals.

    "We are all in this together," says an off-duty cop—let's call him Jim—who described himself to me as a 99 percenter and supporter of the occupation. Jim says he believes that most of his fellow officers feel the same. "We have no problems with what goes on there," he says.

    Jim has stubble, thinning hair, and circles under his eyes. He's been posted to Occupy Wall Street since Day One, and all the mandatory overtime is wearing him down. "I'm really working hard for this," he says. "I'm getting yelled at, I'm getting cursed out; I'd rather be at home with my family right now."

    And yet he understands that the same group that's squaring off against him at Zuccotti is fighting for his future. A 10-year NYPD veteran who helped escort people out of the Twin Towers on 9/11, Jim has seen his retirement fund cut in half by a declining stock market, from $40,000 to $20,000. He worries that his kids won't be able to afford college or find jobs. And he's frustrated about not being able to talk about it openly. "We're getting lost in the shuffle," he says, pointing out that other public-sector unions, unlike his own, have backed OWS. "We are in a union as well, and we are not rich."

    Sure, there are things at Zuccotti Park that Jim doesn't like...

    http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/10/nypd-occupy-wall-street

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  16. Anonymous5:08 AM

    The Demands group, first publicized yesterday by the New York Times, hasn't shared its proposal until now. The plan would involve the federal government raising about $1.5 trillion in new revenue and using it to create 25 million new public-sector jobs paying union-level wages. It would put Americans to work building bridges, roads, and affordable housing; providing free public transportation and free university education for all; staffing a single-payer health care system; and pursuing clean-energy research.

    http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/10/occupy-wall-street-demands-new-deal

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  17. Anonymous5:10 AM

    How Occupy Wall Street Really Got Started

    Meet the international activists who lit the fuse for the populist protest movement that's sweeping the world.

    http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/10/occupy-wall-street-international-origins

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  18. This is very exciting! It makes me hopeful for the future of our democracy.

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  19. Anonymous6:22 AM

    Awesome!

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  20. Anonymous6:27 AM

    Anon 3:02, The criticism of Palin regarding her volunteers wasn't that she didn't hire them, (maybe partially) the main complaint was that the "dark skinned" State workers that she fired after winning the election had volunteered & worked countless hours on her campaign. Typical of her throwing people who were dedicated to her under the bus without a thought. Like what she did to John Stein & Nick Carney who were her earliest mentors and responsible for her getting on the City Council & Mayor.

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  21. Anonymous6:52 AM

    I am so impressed! While i don't agree with everything, I am willing to seek common ground and use the c word...COMPROMISE! I am so ready to make this our reality-sign my up!
    -ayerishgrl

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  22. Anonymous6:59 AM

    Gryphen, usually you link to the entire article.
    Do you have a link to where this was published??

    This is fantastic!! I love the things in here. Without a revolution though, the politicians in this country as well as the wealthy and their right wing " paint chip eaters"
    will never let this come to be. This is something I would fight for.

    The only item I question is the getting rid of Medicaid completely and expecting indigent people to go to an ER. This is a bad idea for many reasons. We would be better off having non-profit health clinics for people with no money. Their idea could really hurt legitimately poor Americans. Get rid of fraud yes, but come up with something. That is my two cents.

    PS thanks for the " paint chip eaters" expression!

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  23. Anonymous7:00 AM

    I love this entire declaration. It may need some tweaking, but it's obvious this is one group that's serious about the core issues that caused and perpetuate the disparity gap, the unfair tax code, and the consequences of the greed on wall street being suffered by what was once the "middle class".

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  24. Anonymous7:09 AM

    All I have to say is OWS better show up at the ballot box in 2012 if there's even the smallest hope of getting this stuff passed. Not voting in 2012 and then forming a third party guarantees permanent Republican majorities.

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  25. Anonymous7:23 AM

    I still find it entertaining that Warren Buffett even discusses income tax. The man has NO income. Capital Gains taxed differently and he KNOWS this.

    Millionaires are a joke. If they really wish to be taxed more, WHY do they hire fancy lawyers and seek foreign banks to hide their money?

    LIARS, all of em

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  26. China is getting nervous about Occupy Wall Street:
    http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/10/beijing-grows-nervous-about-occupy-wall-street.html

    Check out this quote: "One percent of American people own 90% of the wealth. One ten-thousandth of the Chinese people own 90% of the wealth. In the end, who should have a revolution? Which street should be occupied?" wrote Wu Xianjian on his Sina microblog last weekend.

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  27. Anonymous7:40 AM

    Gryphen, usually you link to the entire article.
    Do you have a link to where this was published??

    This is fantastic!! I love the things in here. Without a revolution though, the politicians in this country as well as the wealthy and their right wing " paint chip eaters"
    will never let this come to be. This is something I would fight for.

    The only item I question is the getting rid of Medicaid completely and expecting indigent people to go to an ER. This is a bad idea for many reasons. We would be better off having non-profit health clinics for people with no money. Their idea could really hurt legitimately poor Americans. Get rid of fraud yes, but come up with something. That is my two cents.

    PS thanks for the " paint chip eaters" expression!

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  28. Anonymous8:01 AM

    I love this; it's a great beginning. I also love that it is just a beginning, and that they have plans to work more on this, have more inclusion and compromise, and are really interested in representing the will of the people. I can't wait to see them get started.

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  29. Somewhere, the Founding Fathers are smiling . . .

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  30. Hi all,

    Please note that the document referenced is the result of ONGOING brainstorming of a group involved in that website. NOT the NYCGA. The document is a DRAFT representing the thought of those in the yahoo group and forum only, NOT the whole Occupy movement.

    Feel free to join the group and forum though and become part of the discussion.

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  31. Anonymous9:17 AM

    Hi all

    A parallel and complementary development, taking a somewhat different organizing approach, is:

    THE AMERICAN PEOPLE'S NEW ECONOMIC CHARTER, incorporating the 9/29 OWS Declaration: http://bit.ly/pg5PN7 - Join the Charter Collaborative. Edit the 99%'s Economic Roadmap. Crowdsourcing Change!

    The companion Facebook site is: http://www.facebook.com/NewEconomicCharter

    We are also evolving rapidly as the OWS movement spreads and articulates.

    Beware: the Charter still contains much unedited material!

    Joins us.

    Ralph

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  32. Well, this is just awesome. It is funny: if we had of had some of these candidates to run in the 2010 elections, America would practically be a utopia right now. I just wish that they could get this up and running before the next big election cycle. A congress with these people, along with President Obama, would be absolutely amazing.

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  33. I would only add that all votes be taken on paper, and put a constitutional ban on all electronic "voting" devices. The rest of the Declaration of Rational Government is perfect.

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  34. ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT AND ABOUT TIME.

    Come on America - lead the way once more! Show the world what you're made of!

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  35. ibwilliamsi10:01 AM

    Summer 2012 should be an interesting time!

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  36. Great stuff, but I wish it had been written in bullet points, with the details written below each bullet.

    This was not an easy piece to read and would have been easier to digest if it had been done in bullet point.

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  37. Just to reiterate what someone said a few comments before me. This Declaration was not made in collaboration with the NYCGA or Occupy Wallstreet. It was never brought before our general assembly and no one had a chance to voice their opinions on it in person. This "working group" was announced at a nycga on october 15th. The workshopping of this declaration is ensuing online. It does not represent a collaborative effort with the NYCGA or OWS. It is an online group whose only affiliation is one announcement that took maybe all of five minutes at an actual general assembly. Many people in the nycga disagree with this document.
    We were never given a choice to consent to it before it was published as if it were our voice.

    I have many issues with this declaration. I feel it is weak on so many levels. To name two, the environmental declaration and the student loan declaration. One is vague enough for corporations to loophole out of and the other is no different than what already exists for unemployed students.

    I have other issues with this but I have to go to a meeting

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  38. Please realize not everyone can and will go to NYC. There are groups popping up all over the country with the best of intentions.

    The NYC group does not fully represent the 99% nor is the yahoo group or any other group in existence today. In order represent everyone everyone must be included in the discussion which is not possible in a localized manner.

    Different groups can REFLECT the sentiment of other groups and be in agreement with each-other on broad strokes. That is however not the same thing as REPRESENTING other groups.

    I feel the first priority should be to tie all these groups together for communication purposes to reflect and include as many voices as possible.

    Groups will pop-up all over the place with or without the consent of the NYCGA because this is not about NYC but about an issue that impacts the entire country and beyond.
    Everyone respects and appreciates the wonderful efforts of the people camping out. Just try to understand that people everywhere are excited to voice their own opinion as is their right.
    They do this by forming their own groups due to the lack of organization of communication at a national level. This is to be expect when dealing with such organic growth and is not malicious is nature.

    These people are not career politicians or marketeers so keep in mind that not every statement made of text published has been given its due diligence and may come out negatively despite the best of intentions. Just be patient and understanding of this fact. Its the good intentions of the people that matters. We can work on the rest.

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  39. Oh. Oh. I am so on board with every single one of the grievances on that list.

    And I suspect plenty more will be too.

    I'm am going to go join that Yahoo group. I want them to have as many members as possible. I'm going to link it in all of my blogs.

    And I am grateful they're doing this through Yahoo and not Facebook or Twitter, neither of which I subscribe to due to privacy concerns.

    So, off to Yahoo.

    Time for the American Spring.

    I hope D.C. is watching closely. If not, their body parts are going to be in a sling come the next election. They ignored the 99% for far too long.

    Now we'll see how far this country has slipped into a Fascist State and if we can bring it back.

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  40. Anonymous1:49 PM

    Amen, amen, amen! This is a great list. There are things I would add, but it provides a terrific structure and doesn't get too far into the weeds to be totally impractical. Most of these things are doable, if the Congress looked out for the best interests of the people, instead of themselves or their corporate underwriters.
    ~physicsmom

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  41. justforpostinhere6:45 PM

    THIS is a beautiful, eloquent response to one of those "53%" letters.
    http://spfaust.wordpress.com/2011/10/15/repost-letter-from-a-liberal-to-a-young-marine-that-53-guy/

    Truly a thing of beauty.

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  42. Anonymous12:19 AM

    Sorry, but this has not been adopted by the General Assembly of OWS. It is only a proposal from a working group.

    The objection of many is that it seems to want to create an "alternative" government. The real question is why not take over the Dem party and kick out the Blue Dogs?

    We can clean out the House and gain a needed Super Majority in the Senate. The last thing we need to achieve real reform is to have a liberal 3rd party to compete with good Dems like Warren.

    Hope you will update as many don't read teh messages.

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  43. Anonymous12:51 AM

    Funny that 2 weeks ago at our college towns very first GA a very personable young woman showed up mid meeting waving her petition and shouting that she had found the "answer". She read the points and most were nodding in the affirmative.

    I was the only objector. Not on the points but with the strong suggestion that we need to go 3rd party right now. There is also something "out of order" with the small group who seem to know all about this petition. They quickly formed themselves into a Steering Committee. They have "voted" themselves the "right" to veto and table any proposal that might come from a committee!

    I'm beginning to wonder if they are brainwashed Koch bots? I had a conversation with another Occupier who was around when CA had lots of Moonies, Nominnoyo chanters, etc. These people remind me of them. I've gotten to know them and they are incredibly knowledgeable in many area of politics for young 30'ies. Yet they are well trained in some major themes. Odd.

    One last note on this. They are very upset that MoveOn has gotten involved. Same with the unions involvement. If your objective is to create a real Progressive movement, why not welcome Progressives?

    The Adbuster Anarchists have no idea what they have unleashed. I tried reading some Adbuster political articles but it's as strange as anything I've ever come across.

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  44. In reference to the comment about Cronyism. It's one thing to hire your friends, but they should at least be qualified to do the job. Quite frankly, Palin's friends weren't qualified to dig ditches. I don't know where you are from, but there are many immature people in the lower 48 states, like you, who have bought into her lies, her half-baked governorship and administration. She whines, she complains, she blames others for what she herself has done to herself and her family. We Alaskans are not immature, we know the truth about Sarah because we have lived it and we saw her ruthlessness, her throwing people under the bus who have helped her. We have seen the threats she has made to others and we don't see her ever really as having been governor of Alaska. After she wasn't voted in as vice president, she stayed in her bedroom and pouted like a very spoiled child. Then she quit her job so that she could make the big bucks. She sold her heart and soul for a bunch of paper called money. I would have respected her if she had come back to Alaska and knuckled down to be the best damn governor Alaska ever had. I would have respected her if she had come back and educated herself about the needs of Alaskans, studied national policy and foreign affairs. But she didn't do these things. She is under some delustion that she has been appointed by God to be president, but she also told us Alaskans that she was appointed by God to be governor. So what did she do to God? She threw God under the bus too! If she would have come back and taken care of business and gotten educated about the things that are critical to president of United States then she would have been a qualified candidate. Under this scenario, I could have gotten behind her, but she didn't do these things. She sold us all out for the money--she quit and she threw all Alaskans under the bus too! She's not qualified to dig ditches either along with her friends. You think you know Sarah, but you don't know Sarah at all. Open your eyes and grow up.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Has anyone been able to find this Yahoo Group and join it?

    I've been searching but the link doesn't work and no searches of Yahoo Groups are coming up with anything.

    Is this another hoax?

    ReplyDelete
  46. Anonymous7:59 AM

    if you like this please sign up on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/www.the99declaration.org

    Get involved!

    ReplyDelete
  47. Anonymous8:00 AM

    http://www.facebook.com/www.the99declaration.org

    ReplyDelete
  48. the website is http://www.the-99-declaration.org/ check it out

    ReplyDelete

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