New Website....

We've moved to the new Word Press site at http://occupyphil.org ...you should be redirected in a moment.

No news is good news...for the 1%

Right now on the streets of Oakland, CA thousands of people have gone on strike, joining with Occupy Oakland, and marching to protest the crimes of the Plutofascist Corporatocracy that is largely responsible for the dystopian nightmare that is the day to day life of the 99%.

I checked the homepages of our major news providers. It seems that our corporate paymasters have ordered a blackout in reply to the strike. None of them so much as mentions what is happening in Oakland at the moment. Most are leading with Stories about Lindsay Lohan's alcoholism, and Justin Bieber's being a typical teenage boy with a lot of money. At least Fox News's top story is something important...namely our paymasters most recent push for a nuclear war in the Middle East....

Blackout Roll-Call
1. Fox News
2. ABC
3. NBC
4. CBS
5. MSNBC
6. NPR

Shame on them all.

Update: By 8:30 pm all news sources were carrying the story except for Fox News.
Update: 12:00 am Nov 3: FNC finally posted their (fairly unbalanced) story.

Why the 100% Should Support the Occupy Movement

I'm curious what readers will make of the following argument for the claim that not just the 99% but indeed everyone should support the Occupy Movement.

1. Either you are part of the 99% or you are a part of the 1%.
2. Assume you are part of the 99%.
3. If you are part of the 99%, then it is in your interest to support movements that promote a more equitable distribution of power (wealth) in society.
4. The Occupy Movement promotes a more equitable distribution of power (wealth) in society.
5. Therefore it is in your interest to support the Occupy Movement.
6. Now assume you are a part of the 1%.
7. If you are a part of the 1%, then it is in your interest to support movements that promote a more equitable distribution of power (wealth) in society.
8. The Occupy Movement promotes a more equitable distribution of power (wealth) in society.
9. Therefore, it is in your interest to support the Occupy Movement.

Now clearly (7) is the most contentious premise. What is there to say in its favor? It seems to me that history teaches us that precipitous inequities in power (wealth) distribution almost unfailingly lead to mass revolution against those few hands who hold all the power (wealth). The French Revolution, The American Revolution, The Bolshevik Revolution, and revolutions in countries throughout the world always seem to occur when the balance of power (wealth) skews to far toward any minority.

Thus it behooves the 1% to occasionally relinquish their hold on their ill gotten stores of power (wealth) so as to avoid mass uprising. To do anything else is contrary to their own interests. Sure, they'll have less power (wealth), perhaps much less, but they will survive and even flourish. If this argument is sound, then regardless of one's position, whether among the 99% or the 1% one should support the Occupy Movement. The alternative is too ugly to fathom.