October 26 2011
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cognitivedissonance:

From The Maddow Blog:

This sign - and commentary - is hanging outside a food pantry in Manhattan’s East Village. Maybe it’s time we did something about the economy.

Food banks all over the country are seeing record demand and having difficulty keeping the shelves stocked. I don’t know about you, but I’m taking a few cans to my local food banks this week. And there’s this:

The number of Americans receiving food stamps reached a record 45.345 million in July, the government said. The number was 0.4 percent higher than the previous month and 8.4 percent more than a year earlier.

Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program had set records every month since December 2008. Texas had the most food-stamp recipients in July, 4.051 million.

A record 1 in 5 people in the US receive federal assistance to feed themselves once WIC is factored in. The average monthly allotment per household is $283.68. Of course, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) thinks the program is out of control. Here’s what he said in an interview with ABC News:

“Well, look, do you think there are four times as many people that need food stamps today as they did in 2001? This year, they are proposing another 14 percent increase in food stamps without any real reform to understand how it is that it surged so dramatically. We cannot do this. We don’t have the money. If Congress doesn’t understand that we can’t continue to double the food stamp program every three years, they don’t understand how deeply we are impacted by the debt. The debt is already pulling down economic growth, costing jobs. We need people working with jobs, not receiving food stamps.”

The past year was an excellent one for Sen. Sessions. His net worth increased 124% in 2010 - raising him from millionaire to multimillionaire - which is likely why he said it was “rather pathetic” to expect multimillionaires to shoulder a little more of the burden. Meanwhile, in his state of Alabama, 36% of people receive food stamps and the unemployment rate is 9.8%. 

Yes, we need to have people with jobs - though Sessions voted against the jobs bill - and I have a hint as to the why this “surge” occurred: We have a government, specifically Congress, that cares more for dick waving contests and petty infighting than giving a damn that the food stamp usage rate has dramatically risen. American families are going hungry while Congress collectively twiddles their thumbs or butts heads over to what degree the richest 1% deserve to be subsidized.

American exceptionalism? How about being the most unequal industrialized country? How’s that for number one? This is unsustainable and unconscionable. Period. 

October 26 2011
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Police State Brutality Made Apparent Tonight @OCCUPYOAKLAND

(Source: thephrygiancap)

October 26 2011
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From @schuyler: A CS grenade, and two 12 ga shotgun shells purportedly used by the police to propel the beanbag bullets. #OccupyOakland

Meanwhile, police are reporting that they didn’t use any method like this at Occupy Oakland.

DONT STOP REBLOGGING, PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW

October 26 2011
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BUY NOTHING DAY.

AMERICA: Nov. 26

INTERNATIONAL: Nov. 27

October 26 2011
occupywallstreet occupy buffalo
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Occupy Buffalo needs ink!

occupybuffalo:

If anyone has any extra 564 XL Hp printer ink cartridges or could purchase some please drop them off at the media tent at Niagara Square! It would be much appreciated.

Help out other neighboring occupations! Here’s something you can do if you’re in the Buffalo area.

October 26 2011
Post has 11 notes

peopleinhellwanticewater:

Occupy Buffalo.

October 26 2011
99% american b/w change education equality girls movement occupy one ows people phot photo protestors revolution sign us wall st women world god jobs college jobless everyone society viacom time warner corporation
Post has 6 notes

(Source: thewallstreetrevolution)

We don’t support the suppression of civil liberties…except when it comes to our own people?

(Source: occupybinghamton)

October 24 2011
9 9% occupydc occupykst occupytogether ows sustainability society eco-friendly
Post has 29 notes

“I’m only one person. How can I change the world?”

So a lot of people are asking things like, “How can we fight back?” “What can I do to help bring more justice and equality into the world?” “How can I show corporations that I won’t tolerate their acts of greed any longer?” “I can’t go to a protest but I still want to help in some way. What can I do?

Answer: LOTS OF THINGS! BE CREATIVE! USE YOUR IMAGINATION!

The key to bringing back balance and harmony into our lives is to slowly become more sustainable in our ways of living and not depending so much on our government and what is manufactured in our big-chain stores today. We also need to respect and love our environment way more and start giving back to Mother Earth. Start taking your personal power back by following some of these suggestions:

• Move your money from a commercial bank to a local credit union.
• Cut up your credit cards. Only use cash or money orders.
• Barter and trade with people in your community for things you need if you dislike using cash. 
• Go to your local Occupy event. See how you can help. Start up one in your city/town if there isn’t one already available.
• Be a journalist for the movement. You don’t need a degree. Bring your camera, pencil & pad, or audio recorder and start documenting people’s frustrations with our society. Start your own digital media or newspaper for an Occupy event.
• Walk, bike, commute, or carpool to work. If you live in an area where it’s not really necessary to drive, then why do it? Oil companies have already taken enough of our hard-earned money.
• Grow your own food! What better way to eat organically, fresh, and using our beautiful fertile lands to survive and thrive?
• Pick up litter you see on the ground, no matter where you are. Thousands of people have walked by that plastic bottle, cup, or soda can. Don’t be the 1,001 and person to walk by it and not do something about it!
• Give teach-ins at a local organization or group that is dear to your heart. If you have a skill or craft to teach people, do it! Not only is knowledge power, knowledge is priceless!
• Boycott businesses that do not treat their employees fairly (*cough*Walmart for starters*cough*) or are just plain toxic for our society. Giving them your cash shows them that you are endorsing what they do.
• Shop at local [farmer’s] markets, Etsy, and any place that is a local business, especially a place that features hand-made goods.
• Make your own clothes! It assures that the item wasn’t made in a sweatshop by 10-year-old kids in a third-world country in deplorable conditions. More things need to be made in the USA anyway.
• Get into yoga, meditation or anything similar to open up your mind. If more people in the world meditated, the world would be a much more peaceful, compassionate place!
• Connect with other like-minded people who share your views about sustainability. The more the merrier!

This is just a small list of what you can do. Many of you already employ these tips in your daily lives but now is this time to really spread the word about these lifestyle changes as more and more people become disillusioned with society’s ways and are looking for answers. We must start making sacrifices and tossing out  what no longer works for us. It only takes one person to make a change. If you are putting out a good message that resonates with others, they will surely follow and institute their own changes in their lives. Which ultimately makes the world a better place!

in solidarity,

OccupyDC

(Source: occupywashdc)

October 24 2011
occupy wall+street 15O OWS occupy media blackout
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Hacker collective Anonymous announces Operation Fox Hunt, plans to take down FOX News website on Nov. 5.

youthiswasted:

The video message from Anonymous cites the network’s “continued propaganda against the occupations” as reason for vowing to “destroy the Fox News website.”

“Since they will not stop ridiculing the occupiers, we will simply shut them down,” the digitized voice explains, adding that an Anonymous-driven “propaganda campaign” against Fox News would follow.

October 22 2011
Post has 3 notes

Occupy Buffalo Livestream!

occupybuffalo:

If you can’t make it down to Niagara Sqaure, check out the livestream!!!