Goodbye Occupy

The progressive movement in this country brought major victories to American history - women's rights, Civil Rights, the end of slavery, labor rights and unionization, education reform and reproductive rights. There's nothing that makes me smile more than to see left-wing causes being discussed in our increasingly corporate and right-wing media. So when the Occupy movement started last year, I thought it was the PERFECT answer to the Tea Party and the right-wing paranoia engulfing our nation and our people. My super left-wing heart soared. I went to the protests, I got involved. I had hope in the movement. But sadly, I would be very disappointed.

In its beginnings, Occupy seemed like it had a future. It felt like we actually has a springboard for change. We could make this happen. The people were speaking with one voice. But all of a sudden, it hit its crescendo, and started to slowly spiral. It seems Occupy has since turned into a mess of people, unwilling to be organized or have any sort of centralized message. They never once reached out to field candidates to run for office so the changes we all hoped for could be enacted, which is where the process begins.

What really brings us here today is what I read on Facebook. This afternoon I noticed I was still a 'fan' of Occupy, and something they posted caught my attention. The article in question, titled, "Resisting Genocide: Syria, North Korea and Cuba" is a real hoot. It blames the US for all the worlds ills, and uses the Ron Paul libertarian argument of "leave all nations alone. Let them deal with their own problems." Yes, let's let countries run by dictators with a disregard of human rights, run rabid and do as they please. If Assad made good on his promise of using chemical weapons, the world is supposed to sit by and watch? The author essentially argues that US imperialism and intervention around the world is the sole basis for the reasons Syria, North Korea and Cuba are having the problems they are, yet gives examples that said country's are far better than we realize. To some degree, that's absolutely correct. Because of America's unnecessary embargo on Cuba, for example, it does not have access it needs to quality healthcare equipment (no matter what Castro says.) America has caused undo destruction in Iraq and Afghanistan, where we had no business being in the first place. However, the article seeks to deceive the reader by using flawed claims, dubious and inflammatory language and assumes the general reader is not going to actually do research, which, when distributing propaganda for the masses, isn't hard. It's easy to read that the former head of the World Health Organization thinks the "DPRK had a healthcare system that should be the envy of the entire developing world." Really? In what universe? In actuality, Amnesty International (which the author of the article, Gearóid Ó Colmáin, doesn't seem to care for. So much for prisoner's rights) has reported that North Korea's healthcare system is some of the worst in the world.

“North Korea has failed to provide for the most basic health and survival needs of its people.  This is especially true of those who are too poor to pay for medical care,” said Catherine Baber, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Asia-Pacific"

According to the World Health Organization’s last available figures, North Korea spent less on healthcare than any other country in the world – under US$1 per person per year in total. 

Well, there goes that glowing review of North Korea's failed healthcare system. Looking for an unbiased, unfiltered view into North Korea? check out the Vice Guide to North Korea. It's a terrific inside account at the truth of North Korea. No filters, no political blinders, no propaganda. After, watch the video Vice did about traveling to a North Korean "work camp" in the outskirts of Sibera. It's eerie but worth the watch.

In Syria, Bashar Al-Assad - the man who slaughters his own people, has cabinet members fleeing from Syria in droves (Ask Syria's former military police chief why he defected) and even went so far as to threaten to prepare chemical weapons to use on his own people, has given the Syrian military one order - kill those who do not comply. Genocide Watch has tallied at least 37,000 people have been killed since the start of the Syrian civil war. Something I found interesting was that the article makes note that bakeries in Syria are "open and ready for business." In actuality, these places are shells of their former selves. Bakers are barely able to make enough food to feed the tremendous lines of starving people who stand and wait all day, hoping they might be able to eat. Humanitarian groups, who do not idly by and watch people die, have been able to bring in small batches of rationed ingredients so people may be able to eat that day. Also, this happened. A few days ago, warplanes bombed one of those bakeries, killing scores of people. But you must suppress any outrage you have at that, because you know, Syria will just work it out.

This is not an endorsement of war with these nations, or violent interventions I don't believe there's use for war and that's because I truly believe with all I am, that there are peaceful, non-violent solutions to the worlds problems. We wouldn't sit and watch someone kick a dog, would we? Of course not. So why should we stand back and let dictators run the world? Occupy craves freedom and liberation here at home. It's the central core in their mess of messages. Doesn't that extend beyond the borders of America? If we are struggling to fight for freedom here, it's the height of hypocrisy to deny it elsewhere. Human Rights are universal. It's an issue everyone should hold near and dear.

We're Number 37

By Keith Schmitz



Today when Romney the Robotic Republican was confronted by a 99er in South Carolina with “What will you do to support the 99 percent seeing as how you are part of the 1 percent?”, Mitt responded with a variation of the old Republican standard, "why don't you just get out of here..."

Let me tell you something: America is a great nation because we’re a united nation. And those who try and divide the nation, as you’re trying to do here and as our President is doing, are hurting this country seriously. The right course for America is not to divide America and try and divide us between one and another. It’s to come together as a nation. And if you’ve got a better model, if you think China’s better, or Russia’s better, or Cuba’s better, or North Korea’s better, I’m glad to hear all about it. But you know what, you know what, America’s right and you’re wrong.

Nice travelogue. Notice he left out the 37 or so countries that rank ahead of us on a lot of other rankings.

Most Unemployed No Longer Getting Benefits

This is rather dismal news:

The jobs crisis has left so many people out of work for so long that most of America's unemployed are no longer receiving unemployment benefits.

Early last year, 75 percent were receiving checks. The figure is now 48 percent — a shift that points to a growing crisis of long-term unemployment. Nearly one-third of America's 14 million unemployed have had no job for a year or more.
Congress is expected to decide by year's end whether to continue providing emergency unemployment benefits for up to 99 weeks in the hardest-hit states. If the emergency benefits expire, the proportion of the unemployed receiving aid would fall further.

The ranks of the poor would also rise. The Census Bureau says unemployment benefits kept 3.2 million people from slipping into poverty last year. It defines poverty as annual income below $22,314 for a family of four.

Yet for a growing share of the unemployed, a vote in Congress to extend the benefits to 99 weeks is irrelevant. They've had no job for more than 99 weeks. They're no longer eligible for benefits.

Their options include food stamps or other social programs. Nearly 46 million people received food stamps in August, a record total. That figure could grow as more people lose unemployment benefits.

So could the government's disability rolls. Applications for the disability insurance program have jumped about 50 percent since 2007.

But this is all because people are lazy and would rather get a $300 check than go to work, right? At least that's was the Republicans and the Teahadists would have you believe. The truth is a bit different:

Jon Polis lives in East Greenwich, R.I., one of the 20 states where 99 weeks of benefits are available. He used them all up after losing his job as a warehouse worker in 2008. His benefits paid for groceries, car maintenance and health insurance.

Now, Polis, 55, receives disability insurance payments, food stamps and lives in government-subsidized housing. He's been unable to find work because employers in his field want computer skills he doesn't have.

"Employers are crying that they can't find qualified help," he said. But the ones he interviewed with "weren't willing to train anybody."

Oh sure, I can hear some right wing nut job grumbling about how people like this could go get their own education and retraining, but that is hard to do when you have no money and when buffoons like Scott Walker are cutting funding for the technical schools where this sort of training goes on.

And then the right wing wonders why the Occupy movement is not only not going away but is growing.