As stated earlier, I signed the petition . . . but magically and oh-so-wisely (LOL) the petition site allowed me more room to express my views. Here is what I wrote there. My comments identify the sort of specific actions that I believe are needed to build citizen support, guide efforts with elected officials, and measure effectiveness (results).
The United States needs to regain the focus that made it great ... average working and middle class citizens who provide the labor that produces goods and services and the purchasing that makes businesses successful, The working and middle classes are the only genuine job creators. Without them there is no economic success and no business profit.
Corporations and the wealthy must resume making an adequate investment in the nation and the economy from which they have disproportionately benefited. They must actually pay their share proportionate to their benefit for public education, healthcare, social services, infrastructure maintenance, alternative energy development, worker retraining and development of other resources from which they benefit but for which, over the last three decades, have ceased to contribute adequately.
Individual citizens not corporations must set the agenda and guide the action of elected officials and legislative bodies at the federal, state levels of government.
Voter participation must me made easier and expanded not complicated and constricted as is the current intent of GOP state governors and legislatures in the phony and contrived name of "voter fraud prevention" a totally non-existent threat the cannot be objectively documented to any significant extent.
A constitutional amendment that permanently reverses the SCOTUS "Citizens United" decision granting personhood and constitutional rights to corporations must be passed by the Congress and ratified by the states within one year.
Public funding of elections must be made mandatory not optional by 2014.
The Congress must pass permanent, strict requirements that prevent the current "insider trading" by which members can financially enrich themselves using confidential information gained from official duties. Enforcement must be strict and penalties harsh including loss of all retirement income an benefits to any party found guilty. Said member would also be subject to federal criminal prosecution.
The nation was created as a "participatory democracy" based on "active liberty" which requires that citizens involve themselves on a frequent, ongoing manner and that those whom they elect to act in the people's best interests must listen and do as the citizens require not as most benefits the office holder.
If the United States is to regain its prosperity and excellence, its government must return to the principles that shaped it and fostered the widespread opportunity for all that made it the envy of people around the globe.
Thanks, Jake.
I signed the petition in the spirit of support and cooperation.
That said, I still think it lacks the focus needed to ask anyone in power to take action.
Here is my comment that I feel offers the sort of specifics (within the # of characters allowed on the petition site LOL)
The nation needs to regain the focus that made it great ... average working and middle class citizens who provide the labor that produces goods and services and the purchasing that makes businesses successful, The working and middle classes are the only genuine job creators. Without them there is no economic success and no business profit.
Corporations and the wealthy must resume making an adequate investment in the nation and the economy from which they have disproportionately benefited. They must actually pay their share proportionate to their benefit for public education, healthcare, social services, infrastructure maintenance, alternative energy development, worker retraining and development of other resources from which they benefit but for which, over the last three decades, have ceased to contribute adequately.
As another example of the kind of specifics or framework I suggest, here are a couple items.
Cheers!
MarkDylan Ratigan (rightfully) loses it on air
http://youtu.be/gIcqb9hHQ3E
Want to DO Something? Visit Dylan's site, http://www.getmoneyout.com/ Read the proposed Constitutional amendment draft, share your thoughts, and sign the petition.
In a conversation with a show panel about the country's debt and credit downgrade, MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan passionately calls both the Democratic and Republican economic plans, "reckless, irresponsible and stupid."
(From MSNBC, Tuesday August 9th, 2011)License:
Standard YouTube License
As Seen On: The Raw Story
On Sun, Dec 11, 2011 at 5:28 PM, Jake <jakewest_tn@yahoo.com> wrote:Hi,Here is the group with all the discussion as well as copy of the petition.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Occupy_Wall_Street/join
Further: Here is the petition:
Proposed Petition for Redress and Pledge of Action
By Bear
[Side Note: Originally placed on Facebook, November 19, 2011]
[Side Note: Catalyst for Petition: Occupy Wall Street, Action
Required by 99%]
In 1776, representatives of the residents in thirteen North
American colonies adopted a Declaration of Independence that
set forth the philosophical principles behind their recent
and future actions, their grievances against King George III
of Great Britain, and the redress they sought. The Declaration
famously illuminated the unalienable rights of life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness held by all women and men. The
writer of the Declaration substituted "pursuit of happiness"
for "property" found in earlier formulations of enumerated
natural rights, considering property to be a creation of humans
that is valued, protected, and used but not intrinsic to human
endeavor.
After struggle, victory, and peace, representatives of the
citizens of the thirteen sovereign, independent states established
from initial trial and error, through debate and consensus a
new form of government of, by, and for the people. That
government has withstood invasion, wars of expansion, defense,
principle, ideology and questionable motive, economic
transformations, immigration of individuals from every part
of the world, cultural awakenings, social unrest and political
corruption, assassinations, and a great conflagration that
soaked this country's fields with blood from self-inflicted
wounds and tore the fabric of its shared civic culture. That
government has evolved as its creators intended to meet new
challenges and provided infrastructure, regulations, and
services as the need arose. That government remains a beacon
of hope for all human beings seeking democratic, representative,
responsible, humane, and limited rule over their affairs.
Today, many citizens of the United States of America fear their
government has become a creature of the wealthy, the corporations
from which the wealthy derive their resources, and the politicians
driven to act in the interests of those corporations due to
their need for funds to fuel their endless campaigns to stay in
office. Some of those citizens have made their concerns known
by occupying parks, streets, and public areas in the cities and
other locations around this country. These peaceful groups have
called upon the one percent that wields power through wealth and
elected office to return the government, its policies, laws,
regulations, and justice to the ninety-nine percent that have
the capacity to fuel the economy, generate jobs, mobilize society,
and move forward but are starved of the resources to do so. They
seek change.
As the colonial representatives knew two hundred thirty-five
years ago, great change must be founded on rational principles
soundly developed from evidence, facts, and natural law. Such
are the times now that some choose to twist, dissect, or profane
the principles supporting change out of fear, ignorance, or
self-interest. Nonetheless, the foundations for change are
present for all to see. The evidence is clear.
We truly are created equal, endowed with certain rights, among
which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We all
require and are entitled to consistent shelter, social and
familial companionship, wellness and good health, education to
our potential, full and complete nourishment, adequate clothing,
employment of our skills and knowledge, and safety from harm.
We build communities. We support our brothers and sisters
regardless of skin color, religion, ability, belief, condition,
sex, attribute, or characteristic. We treat one another with
respect and dignity. We are a diverse, compassionate nation of
free individuals.
The ninety-nine percent are held back by the actions and whims
of the one percent. Witness the facts: the wealthy have steadily
increased their share of the nation's wealth at the expense of
the poor and middle classes; politicians have pledged to enact
no taxes despite the necessity for revenues to meet the needs
of the people and revitalize our nation's infrastructure;
corporations have been deemed persons with political rights,
allowing these corporations to support candidates and political
causes financially, thereby drowning out the voices of voters;
elected officials have engaged the nation in lengthy, unwarranted
wars that have sapped the economy, killed and harmed tens of
thousands of people, and invoked ill feelings abroad; state
legislators and governors have used the narrow tenets of religion
as the sole basis for laws that restrict the exercise of
fundamental human rights by all; politicians have set out
arbitrary and selfish requirements prior to debate on issues
that require negotiation and consensus; companies, business
groups, and single-issue interests have used their resources
to influence and shape legislation and regulations for their
limited benefit, squeezing out the common good; representatives
have conducted inquiries and provided earmarked funds for their
own self promotion; laws have been passed to address issues
that do not actually exist and other laws have not been taken
up that would address pressing concerns, all for partisan gain;
the judiciary has become suspect of issuing opinions based on
ideology and party affiliation rather than the law and common
sense; financiers and investors have used the markets and banks
with little oversight and adjustable scruples to speculate,
profit, and gain without adding real value to the economy; many
news media businesses have adopted clear ideological perspectives
while continuing to claim the mantle of unbiased journalism; the
United States Senate has adopted rules that require almost all
legislation to find support from many more than half plus one
members of the chamber, making a mockery of the idea of unlimited
debate established by the nation's founders; and candidates for
public office have created the endless election cycle in their
quest to hold onto their offices once acquired.
These are reasons for deep concern regarding the future of this
nation. Their mitigation and elimination require substantial
action. Citizens that have occupied Wall Street, Oakland, the
tundra, Albany, and other places have taken the first step in
calling attention to the plight of the ninety-nine percent and
the power of the one percent. This petition is the next. We seek
redress of our grievances from the government, the wealthy, and
the corporations. We seek the resources to take action to correct
the deficiencies that have arisen in this country. We seek the
means to rebuild our communities and the support to fulfill our
essential needs. We seek dignity and honor from our labors. We
seek peace, security, and fulfillment. In return, we offer action.
We offer involvement in our cities, towns, and villages. We offer
engagement with those that need. We offer ourselves to the
betterment of our country and the future. We offer participation
in civic culture as a defense against the weaknesses of apathy
and self-absorption. We offer to be active, American citizens.
Bear – 8 November 2011
The petition needs every onbe's support and signature at:
https://www.change.org/petitions/the-proposed-petition-for-redress-and-pledge-of-action
.....Jake
--- In Peckers_Pics@yahoogroups.com, Mark Fischer <fischerwdc@...> wrote:
>
> I will be glad to support this petition as I have supported hundreds of
> petitions on Change.org . . . but first I need to know what exactly is
> being suggested in somewhat specific terms.
>
> I have searched, read and re-read . . . I cannot find the SPECIFICS of the
> "Proposed Petition of Redress and Pledge of Action" . . . that are
> referenced on the petition site (text copied below). . .
>
> Why This Is Important
>
> As the Occupy movement has demonstrated, the United States of America has
> reached a crossroads where the economy and civic culture are hamstrung and
> strained by disparities. However, the Occupy movement has failed to reach
> out beyond the urban parks to seek the agreement of the ninety-nine percent
> with the principles, grievances, remedies, and action the occupiers have
> illuminated. The consent of the governed is necessary in order to lay the
> foundations for the change that is needed to reduce the disparities and
> place the country on the path to progress.
>
> *Proposed Petition*
>
> Howdy,
>
> I researched and wrote on political change movements for years as an
> undergraduate and graduate student at Johns Hopkins University and taught
> political science at several colleges before some life events moved me on a
> different path. I also have a law degree from Case Western Reserve
> University. I have continued to read, observe and think about political
> change over the years.
>
> I went back to the classroom this fall to teach political science for the
> first time since 1991. The five teenagers in my course discussed OWS with
> me in early November. We came to the conclusion that the occupiers had
> begun to tread water. They were continuing to produce documents from their
> General Assemblies listing grievances and citing principles. They called
> for more action that would get the attention of the government, the wealthy
> and the corporations. These were things they already had done successfully.
> They were going to do them again. Well-known people like Michael Moore have
> since proposed further action that look like the exact same things the
> Occupy movement already has done. Occupy D.C. spent a month working on a
> Declaration that says what already had been said.
>
> They are not leaving the parks. They are not speaking to others except for
> some media. They are not doing anything other than thinking of variations
> of the theme of occupying places. They are not accomplishing anything more
> than what they already have accomplished.
>
> I wrote the *Proposed Petition of Redress and Pledge of Action on November
> 8, 2011.* The * document sets forth* *(Where is this document?) *the sweep
> of history that has led our country to this point and the principles upon
> which the Occupy movement has based its actions. It states in moderate,
> objective tones the grievances that the occupiers have spelled out in
> resentful, angry words and seeks the same redress the movement has sought,
> using broad strokes rather than specific demands. Last, the* text describes*
> *(Where is the text?)* what those who signal their agreement to the
> Proposed Petition offer in exchange, a willingness to once again become
> engaged, thoughtful citizens of the republic.
>
> The Proposed Petition contains the same ideas the occupiers, Elizabeth
> Warren, President Obama, and many others are talking about as the areas in
> which our country must seek change. The difference is that the Proposed
> Petition is intended to be presented to the ninety-nine percent one by one
> to ask their consent for that change. I am asking for the same horizontal
> decisionmaking that OWS uses, just not in the snow globe environment of the
> encampments but rather the wider world. I am asking that the energy being
> used now to continue the occupations and tread water should be used by the
> occupiers to reach out to the ninety-nine percent, get the ninety-nine
> percent to signal that they understand what has happened as a result of
> OWS, and ask the ninety-nine percent whether they agree, yes or no, with
> the principles, grievances, redress sought and action needed that the
> occupiers identified.* (Where are these specifics?)
> *
> Hugh Kevin "Bear" McNeelege aka ruffbear7 aka Mao Kaiwen
>
> *ALSO . . . WHO IS BEING PETITIONED?*
>
> The text urges OWS to take action . . . BUT . . . the Petition site says
> the Petition is directed to elected officials
>
> Petitioning
>
> 1. The President of the United States (+ 5 others)
> <https://www.change.org/petitions/the-proposed-petition-for-redress-and-pledge-of-action>
> Petitioning
> close<https://www.change.org/petitions/the-proposed-petition-for-redress-and-pledge-of-action>
> - The President of the United States
> - The U.S. Senate *Are you going to deliver copies fo the petitions
> to each of the 100 Senators?*
> - The U.S. House of Representatives *Are you going to deliver
> copies of the petitions to each of the 435 Representatives?*
> - The Governor of NY *Why just him?*
> - Rep. Paul Tonko (NY-21) *Why just him?*
> - The federal government, corporations, and wealthiest one percent (c/o
> Occupy Wall Street) *Where do you deliver the petitions to these
> people*
>
>
> I'm not trying to be a difficult pain in the ass . . . but the information
> online is unclear . . . and that is likely why signatures have been slow in
> being added.
>
> Also, *this needs to be put on Facebook* . . . a place where well
> engineered efforts develop legs and gain speed. On Facebook or with
> Facebook distribution as part of the strategy, petitions get signatures
> that reach into five and six figures. * Twitter *works well to but I'm not
> as familiar with Twitter strategies as I am with those for Facebook.
>
> Thanks for any clarification you can provide.
>
> Mark
>
>
>
> On Sun, Dec 11, 2011 at 1:18 AM, Jake jakewest_tn@... wrote:
>
> > **
> >
> >
> > *There will be no future pics posted until we have 200 signatures on
> > petition! So, So Sorry. But, I am working hard, begging guys to sign and
> > all i got in 6 yrs are 16 signatures. Well I need 200 signatures within 24
> > hoursnd this is not good so far. With all honesty, i9 would think we could
> > get 1000 signatures. *
> >
> > *Therefore, no more games. Sign the perition on Change . org (it has
> > place to not make your signature public and i know they do not release
> > info. So sign it. It is our main project right now. Mw need this for pres.
> > Obama and wew feel it is our best course to stop a distraction and to get
> > him re-elected. *
> >
> > *Sign the petition by Bear for the 99% at: *
> >
> > *
> > https://www.change.org/petitions/the-proposed-petition-for-redress-and-pledge-of-action
> > *<https://www.change.org/petitions/the-proposed-petition-for-redress-and-pledge-of-action>
> >
> > *.....Jake*
> >
> > *One little favor, please join our Occupy Wall Street group and discuss
> > the Petition @ *
> >
> > *http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Occupy_Wall_Street/join*<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Occupy_Wall_Street/join>
> >
> >
> >
> > Every one sign the petition you and I promise you better pics than ever
> > than ever before.
> >
> >
> >
>
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