Poetry

Another selection from blackcoffeepoet.com.  In this recent youtube, founder Jorge Antonio Vallejos reads 4 of his poems at the George Brown College event, We Are Who We Are.  In order:  1. I Don't Use Your Last Name  2. If At All  3. Water Was Not Enough  4. I Use My Mother's Last Name.

Health Care For All

Paul Krugman makes the case for Medicaid which currently covers more than 50 million Americans.  We all know what Mitt and Paul would do about that .. 

Also, a Truthout article on how the Obama administration is set to administer two national health insurance options.  750,000 people are expected to enroll in each during the first year alone.

Robert E. Moffit of the conservative Heritage Foundation worries: 

"[...] the nationwide health plans, operating under terms and conditions set by the federal government, will become the robust public option that liberals always wanted."

In the words of Poster Dr. Jack, one can only hope.  Though this would be a lot easier with an improved Medicare expanded for the whole country.

*  Photo credit/La Clínica del Pueblo

Sandy

Timcast tours a mandatory evacuation area before Hurricane Sandy touches down.

 

Lives In The Balance

Jackson Browne's Lives In The Balance.

 

War On Drugs

Real News hosts a discussion on the so-called "war on drugs," and with law enforcement officials calling for legalization.  The legalization of marijuana is on the ballot in Washington State, Oregon, and Colorado.  In Washington State alone, legalization could provide the state 1.5 billion dollars over the next five years, including money for jobs and healthcare in a system that had over 100,000 people on a state health plan waiting list.


 

Voter's Pamphlet

It isn't called an information war for nothing.  What is weirder about the following broadcast is that I received my Voter's Pamphlet the other week, and even more 3rd party candidates than those at the debates were listed. Always question that which leaves you feeling demoralized ...


 

March Of The Unemployed

Courtesy of RT

Photographer:  Justin Sullivan

Protester at San Francisco demonstration against benefit cuts; more than 1/2 of Americans depend on government subsidies.

Scheduled for the day after election day, announced by Occupy Wall Street, a March Of The Unemployed.  (Though I think the statistics, in reality, are much higher;  i.e. "10% of New Yorkers.")

Poetry

From BlackCoffeePoet.com, poet Clementine Cannibal reads The Girl With The Red Hair Really Needs To Shave Her Fucking Armpits.

Feudal Serfdom

Big Picture examines the Apostle of Rand budget. Though (not to split hairs but) I think feudal serfdom has already arrived.

 

An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Looks like more and more media will be doing this?  The continued expanded debate coverage from Democracy Now! featuring 3rd party/left candidates Jill Stein (Green Party) and Rocky Anderson (Justice Party). 

 

From Ora TV, the expanded debate forum blogged earlier, featuring Jill Stein, Rocky Anderson, and 2 3rd party/right candidates Virgil Goode (Constitution Party) and Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party).

Zen Meditation One

Spadecaller weaves his magic yet again in this video composition set to the New Age music of Gandalf.

 

Strategic Voting

Real News hosts a debate on the left blogged earlier here about "strategic voting"-- i.e. whether 3rd party/left supporters should vote for Obama in a swing state.  Arguing for "strategic voting" ("yes, vote for Obama in a swing state") is Jeff Cohen of rootsaction.org;  arguing for straight-up 3rd party voting whatever your state (and in this case, for the Green Party) is Cheri Honkola, long time poverty activist and vice presidential candidate on the Green Party ticket with Jill Stein.

Here is a New York Times electoral map showing Obama currently with 237 needing 33 electoral votes to win, and Romney with 206 needing 64.  Toss-ups include Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Virginia, Florida, and New Hampshire.  

I googled briefly to see if there was any comparable debate on the right, and at a quick glance, found this article on behalf of libertarians voting for Romney, and this article on behalf of libertarians not voting for (lesser of two evils) Romney, and this article challenging Romney to prove himself to libertarians tonight. 

Tonight, the two mainstream candidates debate foreign policy.  (I gather Democracy Now! will host an expanded debate, as before.) 

Tomorrow, the Free and Equal Elections Foundation (which looks mostly libertarian funded) hosts 3rd party candidates debating on the left and right, including Jill Stein and Rocky Anderson. 3rd party/right would be Gary Johnson and Virgil Goode.

 

Ugland House

Lee Camp, who I just discovered via this interview with Jill Stein, speaks (in the two videos below) about (a) how and why he went to the Cayman Islands to investigate Mitt Romney's offshore accounts, with (b) a trailer of his upcoming film on what happened when they brought journalists and cameras over yonder to the sunny beaches.  

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Uploaded by Rei-atur

Map showing the location of the Cayman Islands,

circled in red, south of Cuba

More blogging here about "tax havens" and how they are driving Americans into poverty.

We Can Do This Too

About the time Daily Show comedian Jon Stewart interviews Barack Obama, comedian host Lee Camp interviews Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, and shortly before her arrest with Cheri Honkala outside the CPD debate at Hofstra University.

Poetry

 Courtesy of Poets & Writers

Photographer:  Andrew Wessels

Poet Luis Rodriguez signs his book for a young fan at the Fullerton Public Library in Fullerton, California.

Poets And Writers reports that poet Luis Rodriguez recently appeared at the Fullerton Public Library in California, giving a talk and signing books for young fans. In the 2008 youtube below, he reads at Ave 50 Studio in East L.A.  

Luis Rodriguez is running for Vice President of the United States on the Justice Party ticket with Rocky Anderson.  His writing focuses on themes of healing and justice, as well as finding one's way in life, and often depicts the youth gang experience. 

In the next youtube, he talks about writing, including his latest work, It Calls You Back, and why children join gangs.  He joined a gang at the age of 10, and his own son was once incarcerated.

More blogging on Luis Rodriguez here.

 

Daily Show

Jon hosts Barack.  Two photos of Michelle quickly put the mainstream debate issue to rest;  in a later reflective moment, the President says he still wants to close Guantanamo.  Guest and host are in their element.  
 

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

*Editor's disclaimer: I discovered that the Daily Show takes their videos down after a spell. So, unlike youtube, these tapes may not be plastered *in perpetuity.*  (Youtube, we know, will always be there.  As will this internet time capsule powered by Blogger.)

Police Join Occupy

Atlanta police officers join Occupy Atlanta as activists resist eviction of retired police detective Jacqueline Barber from her house.  Officer Barber is also fighting cancer and lives in her Atlanta home with her four grandchildren.  They are facing eviction since she fell behind on medical and mortgage payments.

On Monday night, several police officers attended a meeting with activists at Barber's home south of Atlanta, and 20 or 30 former and current officers have spent time at the 24-hour Occupy camp there, according to activist Shabnam Bashiri. Occupy Our Homes activists hope support from local police could prevent an eviction.

Barber and several activists are committed to civil disobedience to defend the home, Bashiri said. An eviction could lead to an awkward clash between Barber, her former co-workers and law enforcement officers who carry out evictions.

Barber worked as a detective and undercover narcotics agent for the Atlanta Police Department until she was hit by a car and forced to retire in 2001. She was later diagnosed with myeloma, a type of blood cell cancer. Paying for the aggressive treatment needed to fight the cancer alongside skyrocketing mortgage payments became impossible.

 More here at truthout and here at Occupy Our Homes.  In the below youtube, flanked by community activists, Officer Barber speaks to cameras in front of her home.


 

Occupy Atlanta (which appears to have a more active site here on Facebook) has previously joined with Georgia police officers blocking evictions.  In November 2011, activists occupied the foreclosed home of a suburban sheriff's department officer and his family of five outside Atlanta in Snellville, attempting to prevent an eviction.  The family was later evicted.  This appears to be the first time they are defending an Atlanta police officer's home.

In Atlanta, where Mayor Kasim Reed has ruled, peaceful occupiers were thrown out of the city park in an extraordinarily massive show of police force - like an army - with even the head of the police department at odds with the mayor's decision-making, and the police arresting long-time civil rights and religious leaders, a senator and city council member, alongside occupiers.

Occupy Atlanta (more blogged here) has focused on foreclosures and evictions, with post eviction occupiers also joining the homeless at threatened encampments by city vents frequented by people without homes for warmth.

Sister Suffragette

Radical Disney.  I chose this youtube because it includes Mrs. Banks' description of her protest activities prior to bursting into song.  21st century mainstream media, if around then, would have missed this.

 

Photo Of The Day

  
President Obama endorsed Elizabeth Warren 
for U.S. Senate on Oct. 16. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

An astute move, considering the debate with Mr. Binder. 

Via Greg Mitchell's blog, how progressives can vote for or against Mr. Obama without regrets, and with an article by Daniel Ellsberg recommending swing state voters take the plunge with Democrats yet again, but cast votes for 3rd party candidates if the voters live in decisively blue or red states.  I wouldn't call those votes "protest" votes, however.  More like an opportunity to vote for people who more fully represent your positions on issues. 

I have no advice for anyone on these matters;  each voter must make their own decision, but by all means, vote.  Certainly stay abreast of the polling in one's own state.  (The reliable polls, if you can find them.)

 

85%

Green Party presidential and vice presidential candidates Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala are arrested at Hofstra University, protesting the Green Party's exclusion from the CPD debates. The two non-violent candidates spent 8 hours shackled to chairs by police.

In the video below, a Hofstra representative asks the candidates, "Do you have credentials?"  Doctor Stein and Ms. Honkala tell her that they do, and that they are on the ballot for 85% of voters.  (Here is a map of Green Party ballot status as of July 2012.)

The representative oddly counters that Hofstra is sponsoring the debate and that, "this is an educational event for faculty and students."  Odd because I think (a) 1st amendment protest is very educational, (b) the presidential debates are supposed to inform everyone, and (c) the presidential debates are supposed to inform everyone about all of the candidates. 



You can see the full video and read the full transcript for the Hofstra debate here at the New York Times. 

Truthout is carrying here a nice video stream for the full Democracy Now! expanded debate, and with three third party presidential candidates (I guess the 4th couldn't make it) answering the same questions posed by Candy Crowley, and responding to Barack Obama and Mitt Romney -- Jill Stein of the Green Party, Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party, and Virgil Goode of the Constitution Party.

Twitter was awash with commentary, wit, and contagious glee last night, the general consensus (to this viewer) that Obama decisively trounced Romney, with the exception of Donald Trump who huffed out in a retweet crossing my screen.   Finally slain on his own 47% sword, Cher compared Mitt to a snake, Michael Moore predicted binders of voters, Republicans declared they would never,  *the transcript moment* aplastered, polls announced, and Big Bird told on Staples.

I think Mr. Obama had people very worried, and the relief was palpable, even among the more restrained.

On the con side, and other than huffy Trump, *day after* alternative voices (see video below) stated that while Barack Obama is better than Romney, he needs to directly address the terrible economic inequalities growing in American society, raising wages, financial reform, climate change, and poverty.

What third party candidates talked about.

Sisyphus

Courtesy of The Nation

Photographer:  Allison Kilkenny

The Boulder of Sisyphus, N.Y.C., October 13, 2012 

at Columbus Circle on Global Noise Day

News in on Global Noise Day, announced earlier by Occupy Wall Street.  Protesters took the streets worldwide on Saturday, clanging pots and pans against austerity.  N.Y.C. activists created and pushed a giant boulder symbolizing the crushing level of debt many face. As Occupy activist Dominc Ryan explains in the youtube below, 

"This boulder is supposed to remind people of the Greek myth of Sisyphus who was doomed to an eternity in hell having to forever push a boulder up a mountain.  Once he gets up to the top, it just falls back down, and he just has to start pushing it up again.  So our debts that we'll never be able to pay off, it's like that burden.  If you look closely at the boulder, we've had people write all over it.  They'll write how much they owe, how long they think it's going to take them to pay off their debt, if they think they're going to be able to -- in many cases, it's forever-- or just a message to their bank, their creditors, and it's sort of a group therapy.  People can look at this and see that they're not alone, this isn't just an individual problem, it's a problem that's systemic."  

Marchers also target Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, heading over to luxury apartments at 15 Central Park West, banging pots and pans and mic checking outside about his role in selling risky mortgages and profiting when the market later collapses.

 

From Alison Killkeny at The Nation: 

Strike Debt and Occupy Wall Street handed out copies of the Debt Resistor’s Operations Manual, a project of the wonkier sect of Occupy that seeks to educate citizens, specifically about how debt affects everyone, the history of things like housing debt and what they can do to protect themselves if they’re currently in debt, and also gives them the tools to create a credit system that serves the people and not just the obscenely wealthy. (The manual is available as a PDF here.)

Speakers representing countries from around the world addressed the crowd before the march began, including activists from Mexico’s Yo Soy 132, Japan’s Occupy movement and the Canadian debt resistance.

One speaker received strong support from the crowd when she remarked, “debt is the new colonialism.”  Another protester, in talking about the ongoing austerity protests in the United States, Canada, Egypt, Spain and Greece said, “All our grievances are connected.”

 Photo credit as above/Alison Killkeny/The Nation

More here from Common Dreams, including video of Amsterdam.

More here from Occupy Wall Street.

Poetry

Big Bird's whistling poem.

 

Obama Commercials

Since I rarely watch mainstream television, I googled to find out what I'm missing.  From Morgan Freeman, with humor:




And Morgan Freeman with a serious ad: 

Open Debates

Returning to the establishment-excluded voices of third party candidates, and via RT, the Free and Equal Elections Foundation announces another non-mainstream presidential debate featuring Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party, Virgil Goode of the Constitution Party, and the two Medicare For All candidates this blog has been following-- Jill Stein of the Green Party, and Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party.
 
 
  
In early October, the Daily Paul reported numerous new sponsors for the October 23rd debate inviting the "top six presidential candidates" including "Link TV, The Josh Tolley Show, Ballot Access News, Come Home America, Owl Creek Gazette, Free Talk Live, Securing Liberty Radio, 1787 Network, Voice of Russia, Freedom’s Phoenix,Muslims for Liberty, National Constitution Party, The Justice Party, Blue Republicans, Restore the Republic, Re-Tea Party, Free the Vote NC, We the People, Grassroots for Liberty, New Progressive Alliance, Libertarian Party of Illinois, Liberty Candidates, Liberty Avengers, Liberty Chat, Cook County Green Party, Marin Libertarian Party, Rockford Tea Party, Dangerous Conversation, Wide Awake News, and Liberty Hour."

Mousebeat posts that the Commission on Presidential Debates disallows the two mainstream candidates from debating elsewhere (than what we already know).

The Free And Equal Elections Foundation debate will be viewable live here.

Tonight, Democracy Now! will be back with expanded third party coverage hosting responses by Jill Stein and Rocky Anderson to voter questions presented to Barack Obama and Mitt Romney at a Town Hall style forum hosted at Hofstra University, and with news analysis afterwards.

Democracy Now! also speaks here with George Farrah, and about secret contract deals between the CPD and the two mainstream candidates to exclude third parties.  George Farrah is founder and executive director of Open Debates, and author of No Debate: How the Republican and Democratic Parties Secretly Control the Presidential Debates.

RT speaks here with Christina Tobin, founder of Free and Equal, and about the October 23rd candidates' forum.

Update/Correction:

Democracy Now! has posted on their livestream at Hofstra University that the expanded third party debate will be tomorrow (not tonight) - and it will include four third party candidates (not two) - Rocky Anderson, Jill Stein, Virgil Goode, and Gary Johnson in special two hour coverage and discussion.   

Bill Of Rights Song

From jdanz24344, the Bill Of Rights Song.

Lower The Voting Age

Today's opinion piece is from James Boyle who is 14 years old and wants the right to vote.  He convinces me.  Not to mention that 14 year old James Boyle (who is apparently opposed to how much money the government is deducting from his paycheck, and without representation) pays more money in taxes than any given member of the 1%.

    

Check out what 1967Wedway says (also so well) in response to James Boyle's opinion (and apart from my other point):

Immaturity, incompetence, and apathy are very real issues among voters over 18, but accusations of these things aren't used to justify withholding their right to vote. So why is it that people under 18 are accused of these things to withhold their right to vote? Every citizen has a stake in government, so it is crucial that every individual be entitled to a say in the way it is run. I'll never understand why so many people are content with the government deciding who may vote for them.

Here is a 2008 commercial on behalf of lowering the voting age to 16 from the National Youth Rights Association.

  

Politicians make decisions every day that critically affect young people's lives and futures, and yet, young people have no say about it.  They may work and pay taxes, volunteer labor in their communities, live on their own, have children themselves, struggle to obtain an education or find affordable health care or jobs, worry about paying for college, medical bills, housing, transportation, food;  they have a stake in what happens to social security or their tax dollars.  They can't vote, but the government is already recruiting them in public schools to take on staggering student debt, or go fight in their wars that never seem to stop needing more cannon fodder from their ranks.  Definitely lower the voting age.

Narrative

 Courtesy of Wikipedia

Photographer:  Franklin Reyes of Havana, Cuba

"Indígenas de la etnia Wayuu aprenden a leer y escribir con la misión Robinson.  Lugar: Casusai, Parroquia Alta Guajira, Municipio Paez, Estado Zulia."

(Indigenous Wayuu learn to read and write with the Robinson mission.  Location: Casusai, Parish Alta Guajira, Paez municipality, Zulia State. - From Wiki - "Chavez' second term saw the implementation of social missions such as this one to eliminate illiteracy in Venezuela.")

Via Truthout, Keane Bhatt with the North American Congress On Latin America takes apart the mainstream media narrative on Chavez' huge win (yet again) in Venezuela.  And how far they are willing to "alter" the facts.

Video here and here with Venezuelans speaking shortly before and afterwards about how they felt about the election, and while occupying a voting system the Carter Institute has identified as the best in the world.

Not only that, poverty has radically plummeted since Chavez has been in office; see graphs at article link. 

Radically plummeting poverty sounds good.

What's Next?

Courtesy of Demand Progress

JP Morgan squeezes student debtors; "It must be there .."

JPMorgan Chase may have cut back on its private student lending, but the megabank is still making plenty of money on student debt. 

In addition to some $9 billion [PDF] in taxpayer-subsidized Federal Family Education Loans and untold millions in private student loans, JPMorgan, the country's biggest bank by assets, has a private equity arm, One Equity Partners. In turn, One Equity Partners owns NCO Group, a debt collector that makes millions of dollars a year from the federal government to collect on students who've defaulted on their loans. And that taxpayer money is paying for some pretty abusive practices.

In 2009, Jason Fagone at Philadelphia Magazine reported on one woman's experience with NCO as it tried to collect the $9,000 that her husband, at the time on active duty in Iraq, owed for school. At the time, Tara Burkholder told Fagone, she was working for free as a student teacher and had $92 in her checking account and a daughter to care for.

“The NCO lady told Tara it was time for her to give up on her dream of being a teacher, and get a paying job immediately: 'Honey, sometimes we have to do things that we need to do.' The lady also told Tara that NCO had contacted her husband’s commanding officer in Iraq, and that if she didn’t pay back the loan, her husband would be dishonorably discharged from the Army.”

Courtesy of Personal Money Network

Debtor's arrest

Debtor's prison not so far fetched a notion to some, says Maureen Dowd of The New York times. Though, from a site called Demand Justice, and regarding (weirdly) a (Wall Street Journal) 2011 investigative journalism piece, it is already happening:

The Wall Street Journal has been investigating the disturbing resurgence of debtors' prisons throughout America -- here's one especially infuriating example of what the banks are up to:  AIG got a $122.8 billion bailout from taxpayers.  Jeffrey Stearns happened owed AIG $4,000 on a loan for his pickup truck.  How'd the mega-corporation handle his debt?  Did they forgive him because of the public's recent largess?  No way: They had him arrested in front of his family.

After being handcuffed in front of his four children, Mr. Stearns, 29 years old, spent two nights in jail, where he said he was strip-searched and sprayed for lice. "I didn't even know I was being sued....It's the scariest thing that ever happened to me."

The Wall Street Journal's data reveals that across the country, banks are having tens of thousands of Americans arrested over their debts.  What happened to Stearns could happen to almost anybody. 

 

Courtesy of The State Journal-Register 

Photographer:  John Badman/AP/The Telegraph

"Robin Ebersohl closes her eyes as she recalls the experience of being arrested in Macoupin County and jailed for four days over an outstanding debt owed for medical bills she could not pay."

"It ain't enough to load these prisons up with people who need health care, I am sure we can find other ways, too."

Below, David Walker speaks nostalgically about the practice in 2010.  Same year, Democracy Now!  on its comeback.  From Huffpost, 2011, and legal in 1/3rd of states.

 

Expanding The Debate

Democracy Now! continues its expanded broadcast of the election debates with Vice Presidential candidates excluded by the CPD;  for the Green Party, Cheri Honkala, and for the Justice Party, Luis Rodriguez.

In the following two youtube segments, we hear from not just the two usual Republican and Democratic Party candidates-- but all four candidates on war, the economy, and healthcare:

 

The second youtube segment:

Earthship Biotecture

A tour of eco-architect Michael Reynold's sustainable New Mexico home where the inhabitants' entire food supply is produced in a 50% jungle environment with all human waste efficiently recycled onsite.  His work is featured in the film Garbage Warrior where he is quoted saying something like, "If all of the soldiers, and all of the armies, in all of the world were to put down their weapons and pick up their tools and start making sustainable housing for all the people in the world, life would just begin on this planet."

The Unbearables Vs Low Cut Blouses

Youtubes appearing from the 2012 100,000 Poets For Change from around the world.  This deluxe selection from New York writers co-ops features The Unbearables vs. Feminists in Low-Cut Blouses, with (in order) Jim Feast--emcee, Bonnie Finberg, Jane Ormerod, Rob Hardin, Patricia Spears Jones, Ron Kolm, Elizabeth Macklin, Susan Scutti, Madeline Artenberg. Video expertise by Director Mitch Corber of thinairvideo.com and Poetry Thin Air cable show. Produced by Kolm, Larissa Shmailo (also emceeing) and Steve Cannon of A Gathering of the Tribes.

 

Spontaneous Jam

Al Hayes and Collette Williams work the creative energy in a spontaneous jam.

 

Occupy Portland Not Afghanistan

Occupy Portland marked its one year anniversary a few days ago with a march to "Occupy Portland, Not Afghanistan."  A local mainstream news report (so put on your VIF);  Portland's anniversary reportedly coincides with the 11th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.  How time flies.

 

Also on Occupy Portland's one year anniversary, this film piece from Jordon Elliot McClure, Occupy Portland, Not Afghanistan:



Occupy Wall Street reports that both Occupy Portland and Portland Action Lab are calling on people to participate in a November 2nd and 3rd national mobilization and march against austerity.

Chavez

A clear win for Chavez, and a clear win for democracy, with massive voter turn-out in Venezuela, and as Venezuelans occupy their elections.  Real News reported in an earlier segment that the Carter Center identifies Venezuela as having the best election system in the world.  

I guess hope and change is working there.  Nothing like real universal health care, strong social security, affordable housing, jobs, closely audited elections, and college educations that don't require students to become debtor serfs ...


 

Venezuela

Venezuelans occupy their elections.

 

Peace March

Code Pink activists arrived in Pakistan for the peace march against U.S. drone attacks killing hundreds of innocent civilians, including children.  The march is led by Imran Khan, a former cricket star turned political leader, with thousands of Pakistanis reported marching.

Some news reports below:

 


From NewsyWorld:



From Reuters:

Expanding The Debate

In a landmark broadcast never before attempted, Democracy Now! expanded yesterday's presidential debate by hosting two third party candidates excluded from the CPD forum -- Jill Stein of the Green Party and Rocky Anderson of the newly formed Justice Party - hosting their responses to the same questions -- and while livestreaming the Denver debate hosted by Jim Lehrer - and so viewers could get a better idea of what they should be hearing in the national discussion, but don't, because the corporations keep other candidates out. 

An opening sample, and on creating jobs:

 

Another sample, expanding the health care debate:


 

On youtube, the Democracy Now! coverage is broken down into at least 15 video clips targeting candidate positions on creating jobs, medicare and health care, social security, and the banks.  You can't get a continuous video stream through the embedding code, so I am instead linking above with the continuous stream selection checked (if you don't get continuous stream, pull down the share menu below the video to see if yours is checked so you get the whole shebang). 

Day after mainstream news headlines seem to be crowing for horse Romney in their little race - though Rachel Maddow shows Obama actually ahead in the polls, while advancing where she thinks Barack Obama needs to move next to leave the guys on selfishness steroids at the nearest E.R. doorstep.

Real News hosts a series of guests discussing what mainstream candidates didn't discuss, asking why Obama didn't attack the Romney suit more and how.  (Same issue with several videos without a continuous stream available through the embedding code, but coverage starts about here.)

Guests also touch upon voter questions around swing states, whether "there is any difference" between the two mainstream candidates, and what they think people should do, as voters, depending on where they reside, or if these geographic differences should make a difference.

More information about the debates from The Green Party here, and The Justice Party here.

Photo credit above, CBS Denver, who also have the video below on demonstrators outside the restricted arena, including a clip of people marching (note the BOFA commercial and put on your viewer interpretation filter or VIF).  Photo stream of protests here.  Apparently, the police were well behaved, and no one was arrested.

 

Poetry

Los Angeles poet Matt Sedillo raps prolifically in a performers' series at The Healer.


 
Also interviewed here, including how he writes poetry, 

 

Matt Sedillo recently performed poetry at Occupy Los Angeles' one year anniversary rally and march this past Saturday.  

Photostream here on the protesters from KPCC Southern California Public Radio. 

The poet states, "[Occupy Wall Street] really changed the conversation. This educational idea of 99 percent, it’s permeated the entire society. [...] This whole use of percentages is a very new thing that was brought into the American dialogue and mostly by the Occupy movement.” 

More news on OLA's 1 year protests here at Huffpost, and here and here at the L.A. Times.

Stand Up And Fight

From Rock4Justice, Colette Washington and Al Hayes' Stand Up And Fight written for, and dedicated to, the 99%.

 

Global Noise Day

Get your pots and pans ready for the next big cacerolazo -- the Occupy Wall Street Global Noise Day on Saturday, October 13, 2012.   Thus far, 160 cities around the world are participating, and still counting.

Occupy London's announcement:




From DRY66:
 

Public Interest

Politico reports that the 3 justices reviewing Judge Katherine Forrester's decision blocking the indefinite detention of Americans as unconstitutional have extended a temporary stay on her order, and as requested by the Obama administration, concluding that "the public interest weighs in favor" of granting the government's motion.

2nd Circuit Appeals Court Judges Denny Chin, Raymond Lohier and Christopher Droney wrote the three-page order that expedites the appeal going next to another 3 judge panel.  Last month, Lohier blocked Forrester's order using what is called, "an administrative stay."

The order states:

 [...] First, in its memorandum of law in support of its motion, the government clarifies unequivocally that, "based on their stated activities," plaintiffs, "journalists and
activists[,] . . . are in no danger whatsoever of ever being
captured and detained by the U.S. military." (Mot. for Stay 1).
Second, on its face, the statute does not affect the existing
rights of United States citizens or other individuals arrested in
the United States. See NDAA § 1021(e) ("Nothing in this section
shall be construed to affect existing law or authorities relating
to the detention of United States citizens, lawful resident
aliens of the United States, or any other persons who are
captured or arrested in the United States."). Third, the
language of the district court's injunction appears to go beyond
NDAA § 1021 itself and to limit the government's authority under
the Authorization for Use of Military Force, Pub L. 107-40, 115
Stat. 224 (Sept. 18, 2011). In light of these and other factors,
see In re World Trade Ctr. Disaster Site Litig., 503 F.3d 167,
170 (2d Cir. 2007), we conclude that the interests of justice
would best be served by granting a stay of the district court's
permanent injunction.[...]

What does that mean?  More here from Michael Kelley, Business Insider (photo credit/AP).

Afghanistan

Little debate in the mainstream election campaigns .. just another war .. go back to sleep, America ...

 

Living Under Drones

Courtesy of globalpost

Photographer:  Thir Khan

 January 21, 2011:  Pakistani tribesmen protest US drone attacks in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan district. Witnesses told news reporters the drones were killing innocent people in the tribal areas. AFP reports a 2010 campaign doubled missile attacks in the tribal area with around 100 drone strikes killing more than 650 people.

Truthout reports on the horrific drone killings of Pakistani civilians.  Robert Naiman, Policy Director of Just Foreign Policy writes:

It's Official Dogma in political Washington right now that you can't touch the Pakistan drone strike policy. "Wasting bad guys for free" is too popular, the story says; besides, Democrats have to have some military killing of foreigners that they're for, to give them political cover for the military killing of foreigners that they're against. Most Democrats want to get U.S. troops the hell out of Afghanistan (outside of Official Washington, most Republicans agree.) But, the story goes, these Democrats have to have an "alternative," and the "alternative" is drone strikes.

According to a new study by human rights researchers at Stanford and N.Y.U., "Living Under Drones,"  U.S. "counter-terrorism" officials are greatly underreporting the number of civilians killed by these unmanned combat aerial vehicles. 

The study also cites The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, reporting 474 to 884 civilian deaths since 2004, including 176 children.

BraveNewFoundation speaks with researchers and Pakistani civilians who have experienced these traumatizing and psychologically debilitating attacks in Northwest Pakistan, been injured, or known others who have been killed:

 

Mr. Naiman joins 34 other Americans in a Codepink delegation,  October 3-10, "meeting with the families of victims of US drone strikes, participating in a peace march against the drone strikes, and delivering a petition to US and Pakistani officials from Americans, calling for the drone strike policy to end."

In his article, Mr. Naiman summarizes why drone attacks should end, asserting that they have killed and harmed too many civilians, they aren't making the U.S. safer, they have turned the Pakistani public against the U.S. (with 3/4th of the people now considering the U.S. its enemy), and that they violate international and U.S. law and undermine democracy.