6 Burning Questions About the Violent Crackdowns on Occupations Around the Country | Occupy Wall Street | AlterNet

In the aftermath of a city-by-city crackdown featuring hundreds of arrests and evictions of Occupy encampments, plenty of questions demand answers.

CLICK TO READ THE DISTURBING ELEMENTS......

How Conservatives Exploit the Myth of "Wealthy Elderly" to Justify Gutting Social Security | | AlterNet

Right-wingers somehow think that seniors with incomes under $30,000 a year must sacrifice to balance the budget....

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING ARTICLE........

What Is The Most Important Message Women Need To Send To Our Politicians?

CLICK HERE TO SEE MESSAGE........


FROM MOVEON.ORG

Open Letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York by Kevin Powell

It is my honor to post a letter from Mr. Kevin Powell to Mayor Bloomberg....... NOTE: This blog can also be found at http://www.kevinpowell.net/blog/2011/11/open-letter-to-mayor-michael-bloomberg-of-new-york/ Open Letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York by Kevin Powell Tuesday, November 15, 2011 Dear Mayor Bloomberg: I was awakened in the wee hours of this morning by texts and calls from friends and associates distraught that Occupy Wall Street protestors were being forcibly removed from Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan. Even more troubling is that you chose to make a mockery of the First Amendment of our United States Constitution by not only evicting the peaceful activists, but also by blocking media outlets from recording the police raid. This is America, Mr. Bloomberg, a nation that through much effort, tears, blood, and, yes, deaths, has evolved from a slaveholding country that also destroyed much of Native American culture, to one where women, people of color, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, the physically challenged, Jews, Muslims, White ethnics from places like Ireland and Italy, and so many others have been able to gain some measure of freedom and democracy. We are not the nation we ought to be, yet, but we are also not the nation we once were, either. We do that history, and ourselves, a great disservice when we in leadership positions resort to tactics used to deny freedom and democracy, in the old America of Jim Crow laws, in the old South Africa of apartheid. As I watched the amateur video made of the raid online this morning, I got very choked up. I am a big supporter of Occupy Wall Street because it speaks directly to my history as a Black person in America. The occupation is nothing more than the bus boycotts, freedom rides, and sit-ins of the Civil Rights era. The nonviolent approach harkens back to the principles of Dr. King, borrowed, of course, from the great Indian leader Gandhi. The use of technology to spread the Occupy Wall Street messages is no different than how W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, and other visionaries used the media at their disposal in their day to communicate with the masses. So when we choose to walk down the path of repression, of removing and silencing those who would speak out, Mr. Mayor, we are saying that we are choosing to be on the wrong side of history. That we are choosing to be in bed with the devil, instead of on the side of God, of the noble promises of our America. As I said, I am a supporter of the Occupy Wall Street movement, here in New York City, and across America. I have been a part of many rallies and marches the past two months. I have spent much time talking and listening to participants, at Zuccotti Park, at planning meetings, and in private one-on-one sessions with some of the leadership. They are mostly good and decent Americans and I have not witnessed a movement like this since the anti-apartheid protests of the 1980s when I was a college student. It is the same energy, the same sense of purpose, and the same fire-in-belly belief that what they are doing is right. They are not anti-American. They are not anti-business. They are not anti-wealthy folks. They are not anti-police. They are not anti-you, Mr. Mayor. They, we, merely want to see our nation be a place where people, regardless of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, religion, or educational level can have an opportunity to have an opportunity; to not struggle to get or keep a job or career; to not struggle to pay for an education which should be our birthright; to not suffer through housing woes, including foreclosures; to not have to spend our entire lives in debt, broke, or broken spiritually and emotionally because of our finances. But what message are we sending, Mayor Bloomberg, when we come like the thief in the night to remove people by extreme force? What message are we sending when we inhumanly destroy a community built to show what democracy can look like in our era? How condescending and nearsighted are we to state these people are dirty and unfocused, that they somehow are more of a public nuisance than certain banks and corporations that have wrecked the lives of so many Americans? How arrogant are we to assume, just because we may have a certain financial background, status, or title, to think we are above relearning lessons of democracy at various points in our American lives? And how can we ever again say it was not right for militaries in Middle Eastern and North African nations to crack down on the democracies there, then we turn around and do the same on our own shores, only months later, and to our own children, to our own people? Mayor Bloomberg, you said on your weekly radio show, several weeks ago, that it was inevitable for Americans to take to the streets because of the state of our economy. But is the solution to beat these people back with batons and gloved fists, or is the solution to listen to their voices, hear their concerns, and figure out a way, together, for us as a people, all people, to transform America for these times and beyond? I know somewhere in your person, Mayor Bloomberg, you have a soul and a moral conscience. You are going to have to ask yourself, billionaire or not, mayor of New York City or not, whose side you are on, because the Occupy Wall Street movement is here to stay, and will only get bigger and stronger when leaders like you attack the protestors, as you've done. Justice, Mr. Bloomberg, is not on the side of those who would misuse and abuse their power. Justice is, forever, on the side of those who would even sacrifice their own bodies because they believe so deeply in their cause. Those are the kind of people and the kind of Americans I stand with, Mayor Bloomberg. Those are the kind of people I know, from their tents, blankets, and makeshift occupied communities, will do for America exactly what those Civil Rights workers did with their shoes, overalls, songs of freedom, and voter registration cards a generation ago. And so it shall be, and so it shall be- Respectfully, Kevin Powell Kevin Powell is an activist, public speaker, and author or editor of 10 books. His 11th book, Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, and The Ghost of Dr. King: And Other Blogs and Essays, will be published by lulu.com  in January 2012. You can reach him at kevin@kevinpowell.net, or follow him on Twitter @kevin_powell

Michael Stone: Love and Shadow in the Occupy Movement....excellent!

Here is a burst of optimism from a spiritual perspective about what the Occupy movement can accomplish.

Michael Stone (psychotherapist, yoga teacher, Buddhist teacher, author and activist) talks about the powerful shift that this movement is trying to re-imagine in our world.

It goes beyond corruption on Wall Street….......


CLICK HERE FOR...excellent BRIEF VIDEO: Michael Stone: Love and Shadow in the Occupy Movement

"The Four Agreements" /Don Miguel Ruiz/You Tube

This video is accompanied by the music of Enigma, one of my favorite groups.  The song is, "Return to Innocence".  The time is NOW!!!  Only LOVE prevails.......

Problem Solving EFT Ho'oponopono Guided Meditation/ YouTube

The Shift to Unconditional Love

Penn State Grad: “I have fully lost faith in the leadership of my parents’ generation”

When I read this article, I was aware that I am of the generation of this young person's parents  ..... and I am in complete agreement with him.


The Penn State scandal comes on top of a total breakdown in ethics and accountability in government and beyond. A Penn State grad and member of Sandusky's foundation discusses his generation's loss of faith in his parents' generation.........

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING.... | AlterNet

Obama: Kids Stuck in Foster Care Due to Deportation a “Real Problem”

From Alternet:

In a briefing last week, President Obama directly acknowledged that his administration’s immigration enforcement practices break up families.

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5 Hilarious Parodies of the Current Presidential Candidates | | AlterNet

The best spoofs include Tim Heidecker's "Cain Train," the Second City on Michele Bachmann, and of course, Baracka Flocka Flame.

CLICK HERE for: 5 Hilarious Parodies of the Current Presidential Candidates

A MUST READ article from Kevin Powell! "Joe Paterno, Herman Cain, Men, Sex and Power"

Kevin Powell: Joe Paterno, Herman Cain, Men, Sex, and Power

Joe Paterno, Herman Cain, Men, Sex, and Power
by Kevin Powell | special to NewBlackMan

Joe Paterno. Herman Cain. Penn State football. Presidential campaigns. Men. Sex. Power. Women. Harassed. Children. Abused.

These are some of the hash tags that have tweeted through my mind nonstop, these past several days, as multiple sexual harassment charges have been hurled at Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain; as Jerry Sandusky, former defensive coordinator for Penn State's storied football program, was arrested on 40 counts related to allegations of sexual abuse of eight young boys over a 15-year period. Sandusky's alleged indiscretions have not only brought back very ugly and unsettling memories of the Catholic Church sexual abuse mania a few short years ago, but has led to the firing of legendary coach Joe Paterno and Penn State president Graham Spanier, plus the indictments of athletic director Tim Curley and a vice president, Gary Schultz, for failing to report a grad assistant's eyewitness account of Sandusky allegedly having anal sex with a ten-year-old boy in a shower on the university's campus in 2002.

In the matter of Mr. Herman Cain I cringed, to be blunt, as I watched his press conference this week denying accusations of sexual harassment against him, which has swelled to four different women, two identified and two anonymous, for now. I was not there, so I don't know, only he and the women know the truth. But what was telling in Mr. Cain's remarks is that he was visibly defensive and defiant, rambled quite a bit about the media's smear campaign and, most curious, only once mentioned sexual harassment as a major problem in America, and it was just one quick, passing sentence. Then he went back to discussing himself, which he is particularly adept at doing.

What Herman Cain and the disgraced male leaders of Penn State have in common is the issue of power and privilege we men not only wield like our birthright, but which has come to be so inextricably linked to our identities. So much so, in fact, that many of us, regardless of race, class, religion and, in some cases, even sexual orientation or physical abilities, don't even realize what a disaster manhood is when it is unapologetically invested in power, privilege, patriarchy, sexism, and a reckless disregard for the safety and sanity of others, especially women and children.

Every single year, it seems, some well-known man somewhere gets into trouble because of sex, money, drugs, or violence, or some combination thereof (and God only knows how many unknown males do likewise). It is always the same themes, just with a new cast of characters. Yesterday it was priests of the Catholic Church. Today it is the male leadership of Penn State. Yesterday it was Anthony Weiner and Charlie Sheen. Today it is Herman Cain. I remember earlier this year, in fact, in the wake of Mr. Weiner's sudden and rapid fall from grace, a report was published that said over 90 percent of sex scandals in America feature us men as the culprits. That very few women engage in that mode of self-destructive behavior.

The question begs itself: Why not? I feel it has to do with how we construct manhood from birth. Most of us boys are taught, basically from the time we can talk and walk, to be strong, tough, loud, dominating, aggressive, and, yes, even violent, even if that violence is masked in tales of war or Saturday afternoon college football games. Without anything to counteract that mindset like, say, that it is okay for boys and men to tell the truth, to show raw emotions and vulnerability, to cry, to view girls and women as our equals on every level, we are left with so many of us, far into adulthood, as fully formed physically but incredibly undeveloped emotionally. And if you are a male who happens to have been sexually assaulted or abused yourself, and never got any real help in any form, highly likely you will at some point become a sexual predator yourself. And if you are a man who still thinks we are in pre-feminist movement America where it was once okay to, well, touch, massage, or caress a female colleague inappropriately, to talk sex to her, as she is either working for you or attempting to secure a job (and has not given you permission to do so), then you are also likely to be the kind of male who will deny any of it ever happened. Again and again and again-

The bottom line is that our notions of manhood are totally and embarrassingly out of control, and some of us have got to stand up and say enough, that we've got to redefine what it is to be a man, even as we, myself included, are unfailingly forthright about our shortcomings and our failures as men, and how some of us have even engaged in the behaviors splashed across the national news this year alone.
 
But to get to that new kind of manhood means we've got to really dig into our souls and admit the old ways are not only not working, but they are so painfully hurtful to women, to children, to communities, businesses, institutions, and government, to sport and play, and to ourselves. Looking in the mirror is never easy but if not now, when? And if not us in these times, then we can surely expect the vicious cycles of manhood gone mad to continue for generations to come, as evidenced by a recent report in the New York Times of a steadily climbing number of American teen boys already engaging in lewd sexual conduct toward girls. Where are these boys learning these attitudes if not from the men around them, in person, in the media, on television and in film, in video games, or from their fathers, grandfathers, uncles, older brothers, teachers, and, yes, coaches?

For sure, nothing sadder and more tragic than to see 84-year-old Coach Joe Paterno, who I've admired since I was a child, throwing away 46 years of coaching heroism and worship (and 62 total years on the school's football staff) because the power, glory, and symbolism of Penn State football was above protecting the boys allegedly touched and molested by Sandusky. Equally sad and tragic when Mr. Cain's supporters are quick to call what is happening to him a lynching when this man, this Black man, has never been tarred and feathered, never been hung from a tree, never had his testicles cut from his body, never been set on fire, as many Black men were, in America, in the days when lynching was as big a national sport as college football is today. Anything, it seems, to refute the very graphic and detailed stories of the women accusing Mr. Cain of profoundly wrong, unprofessional, and inhuman conduct.

But, as I stated, when our sense of manhood has gone mad, completely mad, anything goes, and anything will be said (or nothing said at all), or done, to protect the guilty, at the expense of the innocent. We've got to do better than this, gentlemen, brothers, boys, for the sake of ourselves, for the sake of our nation and our world. It was Albert Einstein who famously stated that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Then insanity may also mean men and boys doing the same things over and over again, for the sake of warped and damaged manhood, and expecting forward progress to happen, but then it all crumbles, once more, in a heap of facts, finger-pointing, and forgetful memories when convenient.

If any good can come of the Cain and Penn State disasters it is my sincere hope that spaces and movements are created, finally, where we men can really begin to rethink what manhood can be, what manhood might be. Manhood that is not about power, privilege, and the almighty penis, but instead rooted in a sense of humanity, in peace, in love, in nonviolence, in honesty and transparency, in constant self-criticism and self-reflection, and in respect and honor of women and girls, again, as our equals; in spaces and movements where men and boys who might not be hyper-macho and sports fanatics like some us are not treated as outcasts, as freaks, as less than men or boys. A manhood where if we see something bad happening, we say something, and not simply stick our heads in the sand and pretend that something did not happen. Or worse, yet, do something wrong ourselves, and when confronted with that wrongness, rather than confess, acknowledge, grow, heal, evolve, we instead dig in our heels and imagine ourselves in an all-out war, proclaiming our innocence to any who will listen, even as truth grows, like tall and daunting trees in a distant and darkened woods, about us.

A manhood, alas, where we men and boys understand that we must be allies to women and girls, allies to all children, and be much louder, visible, and outspoken about sexual harassment, rape, domestic violence, sexual abuse and molestation. Knowing that if we are on the frontlines of these human tragedies then we can surely help to make them end once and for all, for the good of us all.

That means time for some of us to grow, and to grow up. Time for some of us to let go of the ego trips and the pissing contests to protect bruised and battered egos of boys masquerading as men. Before it is too late, before some of us hurt more women, more children, and more of ourselves, yet again-

***

Kevin Powell is an activist, public speaker, and author or editor of 10 books. His 11th book,Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, and The Ghost of Dr. King: And Other Blogs and Essays, will be published by lulu.com in January 2012. You can reach him at kevin@kevinpowell.net, or follow him on Twitter @kevin_powell

What Do Herman Cain and Joe Paterno Have in Common? | AlterNet

I don’t give a damn about football.

I don’t care about Joe Paterno or his precious legacy as the winningest coach in Division I history. That he espoused honor and scholarship to his players, put Pennsylvania State University on the national map, made the school $52.3 million, or meant a lot to the 4,000morally deficient cult members students who literally rioted after the 84-year-old was fired for looking the other way while his defensive coordinator, Gerald “Jerry” Sandusky, allegedly raped, sodomized, fondled and manipulated young, poor boys under the guise of charity. 

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THIS BEVY OF SOCIOPATHS....

Well...THIS should go well!!! :-(

A Wall Street Journal article announces:

Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier will chair Penn State’s special investigation committee charged with investigating the “failures” that occurred at the school surrounding sexual abuse allegations against a former football coach.

Maybe it's just me, but a Harvard-educated attorney, who is the CEO of a Big Pharma company, and a Trustee of Penn State University?  I don't know but does anyone smell conflict of interest and a con-job coming??

My judgement is premature, of course, but....I'm just sayin'...........

The silver lining? If there can even be a silver lining to a sociopath repeatedly raping 10-year-old boys, while the 'boy's club' stands by with impotence (no pun intended...well, sort of....), this point is clear.  Between the Catholic church, and Penn State ... it is amazing to me how much the rape of males is given so much more attention than the rape of females and all those children and females in the sex trade industry.  Perhaps all will benefit from such scrutiny.  One can only hope our collective souls focus on the energy which seems so focused on violence to our children, and each other.

This article, by Katherine Hobson, from the Wall Street Journal is laced with "public relations", and the evolution of acts which had their genisis in something so dark....so evil....and the recurrent theme of sweeping the "nasty" under the carpet:

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2011/11/11/mercks-kenneth-frazier-no-stranger-to-public-debacles-heads-up-penn-state-investigation/?mod=google_news_blog

A Reminder for the Media: Sex Scandal, Sexual Assault, and Sexual Harassment Are Not Interchangeable Terms

From Alternet:


The recent accusations against Herman Cain gave us reason to remind the mainstream media of the differences between sexual harassment and sexual assault. Daniel Denvir writes:

TO CONTINUE READING, CLICK HERE:

What If The Country Isn't Really Broke??????

CLICK HERE, and see what you think.....

A Reminder, Ignored.......

The Sun Magazine | Last Night I Drove My Son Home

CLICK to read this wonderful story!

Rioting Penn State Students: "Sure, Children Were Raped -- But What About Our Football?!"

Sure, children were raped, but...

Football!

Seriously, Penn State students who are rioting because the board of trustees fired a man who helped cover up serial child molestation? You all should be ashamed. And if the comments on your school’sfacebook page are any indication of the level of intellectual discourse (and basic spelling and grammar skills) you’ve got going on over there, I would suggest you spend more time hitting the books and less time bleating about how Joe Paterno is a victim, too......

Click here to continue reading: Rioting Penn State Students: "Sure, Children Were Raped -- But What About Our Football?!" | AlterNet

3 Ways Elites Rig the System | Economy | AlterNet

From low capital gains taxes to stock buy-backs, here are the ways the elites ensure the markets benefit them......

CLICK TO CONTINUE READING....3 Ways Elites Rig the System | Economy | AlterNet