#NatGat: Occupy National Gathering Philly - Day 1

My first day at Occupy National Gathering in Philadelphia. It was good to see some familiar faces.

 An excellent sign that I had never seen before, which aptly summed up why we occupy.

The march to end corporate personhood took us to Wells Fargo Bank -- a big forecloser -- as well as Fox News, the Mint, and Dow Chemical. "Whose streets? Our streets!" chanting a rambling crowd of about 300.

At the very start of the march, who should I see but Capt. Ray Lewis (left), retired Philadelphia policeman who showed up at Occupy Wall St. back when the first police brutalities had occurred, to remind officers that force is only supposed to be used when people are in danger of getting hurt, or killed. Oh, yeah, that. I wanted to shake his hand and he wanted to say, "It's you people who brought me out here. You're the ones that did this."

Soon encountered my good peace friend from Maine Palma Ryan, who helped me hold a flag that was very popular with the photographers in Philadelphia in the run up to 4th of July.

Also very glad to see Vets for Peace there.

This occupier on the cot had several run ins with federal park police, who insisted that he remove his cot -- which he would then flip up to display big words saying, "Now it's a sign," or collapse one of the legs asking, "Now, is it still a sleeping structure?" As our wonderful hostesses arrived from picking up FreedomLA at the airport to whisk us home,  we left behind a lengthy debate on the fine points of occupying public space.  More to come tomorrow....

Occupy the Roads at Summer Camp: Whose V? RV!

Source: Occupy The Roads, posting from Occupy Maine Summer Camp

When the big RV pulled in to camp on the evening of Day 1, I was most enthralled by the Wikileaks and Free Bradley Manning messaging on the starboard side.

 

Once I got a chance to talk with V owner and roads occupier Janet Wilson, I realized that the V is one big Occupy scrapbook: the side I loved was contributed by Occupy Newark, while the other sides of the boxy rolling encampment are a montage created in visits to 104 sites as of Kennebunkport.

Janet started out in Seattle, where she sort-of lives, purchasing an RV owned by an elderly couple and taking to the road. Occupy Portland, OR gave her the slogan, "Whose V? RV!" The arrest of 700 people on the Brooklyn Bridge gave her the motivation to cross this great country of ours, "uniting American communities for change."

She has a bookkeeping job she can take on the road, especially after being wired for connectivity by Occupy friends on the east coast. She has a husband back home who sighs over the credit card bills, and who talks her back from the edge of the cliff when the going gets tough.

Mostly she has fun connecting with everyone, though. She told me, "The great thing is, every encampment that I've gone to, when I leave I say, Those are the most amazing people! But then I get to the next camp and I feel the same way!"

As she prepared to head out again from Occupy Maine Summer Camp, Janet took a group of campers over to the gated compound of the Bush dynasty, a site of frequent protests by large crowds back in the day. 

Source: Jen Drury of Occupy New Haven, now Occupying the Roads!

Maybe it was even a little bit nostalgic for the Kennebunkport police.

I hope I meet up with the V and its denizens again at Occupy National Gathering in Philadelphia this coming weekend! 'Cause they really know how to have a good time.

Another photo lifted from Jen Drury, of the great banner produced at summer camp and now adorning the front of the V as it heads to Philly by way of Worcenster and a whole lot of other places. Check out where they've been and where they're going at OccupyThe Roads.com.

Feminist GA at Occupy Maine Summer Camp

Occupy New Haven, Maine, The Roads, Our Neighborhoods, TV, and Farms exchanging ideas.

Young, old and in between, we've all got to feed ourselves. Consensus: Local food as the basis of local economies is an idea whose time has arrived in a big way.

I was able to be part of three good discussions during day 2 at Occupy Maine summer camp. We started on the patio surrounded by fields sprinkled with tents, and the bugs weren't too bad as long as you slathered up with fragrant oils that bugs hate.

In the morning we heard from local farmers and transition town planners, and talked about how how we can work together to make our food supply sustainable, healthy and democratic. Diverse models of engagement between people and their food were considered. The people in the group were of varied ages, life work and, to some extent, geographic origin, which made for a rich discussion about the all important questions of what to eat and how to live.

Potluck lunch followed and who should appear but The Stolen Mural, a band from the area, high school students that totally rocked the neighborhood, performing revolutionary songs with verve. One could still talk if one shouted as if at a night club, so I listened and ate while having some interesting talks with people as I look forward to anywhere I am able to Occupy. When the band ended to loud applause, as it faded away the neighbors could be heard singing "God Bless America."

After lunch the subject was local citizens fighting corporate polluters and water miners. Activists discussed  ongoing efforts to exercise the right to Home Rule and stop Canadian Tar Sands from entering our bio-region! Successful campaigns to block corporate development of local water supplies, and to clean up a river so polluted that the mist peeled the paint off buildings along its shores were described. By now large and engaged group had crowded into the upstairs floor of the barn where antique fans were moving hot, humid air around. (The first four days of summer have hit at least high 80's and often 90's around Maine. Scary hot for this part of the world. How do we stop global warming before it's too late?!)

In late afternoon it was time for the Feminist GA, co-led by myself and Pat Taub, CODEPINK Maine's newest Local Coordinator in Portland. We went back to the patio, hoping for a cool breeze.

Feminist GA note taker and facilitator at work.

Twenty-eight people, nearly as many men as women, gathered and introduced ourselves. We each commented on why we had chosen to take part in a Feminist GA. Options for a meeting structure were considered briefly and there was a strong consensus in favor of breakout sessions. This turned out to be a very productive arrangement in that it created supportive space for people to talk about how they experience gender, and what that has to do with the patriarchal systems that all people and the Earth suffer under. 

Men and women held their own circles for about 40 minutes, and then after a short break reconvened as a whole group for another 30 minutes, hearing reports from the breakout sessions, and continuing discussions.

Occupy Freeport, MDI and Maine come together at Feminist GA

Wonderful notes were kept thanks to Diane, Ian, James and Susan. Just some of many interesting ideas:

• Coming together as women is an opportunity to recognize the power of our intuition, and the wisdom of collectively listening to it. This experience builds trust, which also strengthens connections among people. Occupy is about horizontal democracy, and Fem GA is about changing relational dynamics of power that we are all conditioned to, replacing them with trust. Equality can be expressed by “Level Glance” when people are on the same level, eye to eye. Also, we can aspire to listening without being afraid there won't be time to speak, and to not rush when it comes our time to speak.
  
  
• Women tend to hide their light under a bushel, to defer, and to deprecate themselves in relation to others. Getting over this tendency and celebrating our best qualities and strengths would be good for the pool of ideas. Women supporting other women is a good way to help them step out and speak up, even if their voice shakes a little. Supporting younger women is a way of bearing witness to the strength of their individual contribution, and will tend to encourage their participation. Women are very under-represented in media, even more than in government or other decision making roles.
  
  
• Raising decent, healthy sons in a vicious patriarchy is a challenge. The culture is against you. Men suffer as much under patriarchy as women and children do. It's an inhumane system that would benefit everyone and the Earth if dissolved.
  
  
• Men reported their families influenced their understanding of what is is to be masculine. Sometimes groups they are in make them feel they don't belong if they are not masculine in an “acceptable” way. Some men felt listening and observing carefully would be a masculine strength if this was valued. Men reported a lack of any opportunities at all for discussing these issues, and that being able to do so at Occupy summer camp was appreciated.
  
  
• There has been so much loosening up of masculine gender requirements. It's all over the map how you can choose to be a man now. Paradoxically, at the same time as that has been changing, patriarchy has gone out of control, with dominance, violence, war and destruction of the environment everywhere. (I was intrigued by this point and have been mulling it over ever since.)
  
  
• Gender roles are in flux – don't make assumptions. Accidentally hurt feelings made us realize we had erred in offering only two choices, male or female, and we need to remember than gender identity is fluid, and multi-faceted.

As a wrap-up each person was invited to share one thing they would be doing to bring about the better world that is possible. Many people voiced the wish for more opportunities to have conversations around ending patriarchy. As the meeting ended, little conversations broke out all over the room. We had now taken refuge in the barn again because....

There came an enormous thunderstorm and torrential rain -- followed by a

 A good omen! 

And after that I met up with Occupy the Roads, a story that deserves its very own post.

Report back from Occupy Maine Summer Camp - Day 1

Occupy Maine Summer Camp got underway yesterday in Kennebunkport as campers began setting up tents, activity stations (banner painting! button making! and drumming circles, natch).  

Signs I brought along: the assephant that Occupy the NH Primary folks gave me, and the No East-West Corridor sign that my friends Abby and Fang gave me. Their friend Bozin made many of them to help us protect our state and its natural resources from the private-public partnership our governor and the CEO of Cianbro Corp. are in cahoots to build across the Maine wildnerness.

 

Some people really have this encampment thing down!

 

 

Following a terrific communal dinner, we held a GA with about 35 people participating. Hearing why everyone was there and seeing the generational diversity was very inspriring. A Norwegian artist named Una Hunderi who is traveling in the US to investigate "idealistic communities" came from the farthest away to be with us. We were also grandparents, young farm interns, and several videographers and writers. Something we all had in common -- the desire to occupy mosquitos!

  

As the GA wound down, who should arrive but a NYC contingent bringing activists from the New School to talk about resisting mountain top removal coal miming in Appalachia. It was so exciting to see the big van I've only seen in photos pull into our bucolic camping site.

 

Codepink Maine members Curtis Cole and Pat Taub posed in front of my favorite side of the first vehicle in the Occupy Caravan. There will be many more assembling over the next few days to head to the National Gathering in Philadelphia. Occupy the Roads!

Today we'll hold a Feminist GA at camp, in advance of the national one at NatGat on July 1.

Why We Occupy: Feminist GA To Gather Collective Wisdom

SOURCE: OccuCards.com Print 'em yourself, buy printed sets, or donate to help them reach others.

One of the chief delights of being alive in the second half of the 20th century, and the first half of the 21st, has been the explosion of ways to share information.

Who knew about OccuCards before, say, five minutes ago? I did not, but a CODEPINK sister on the left coast emailed me a link, and I shared it with a fellow organizer who lives in a house named for Melman and then I got inspired to showcase this particular card in my blog.

And who knows who may see it here, and share it with even more people...

This is why the authorities kick Occupy out of public spaces for no worse a crime than camping. Because our coming together to share ideas is very, very threatening.

One of the chief ways we've been kept from coming together is by systems of control where some people, the very wealthy, have way more power than other people. They control the banks, the Congress, the courts, the White House, and the mass media. Their paid hacks trivialize, marginalize and attack anyone who tries to take their head out of the sand and speak up about what's wrong and what to do about it.


Unfortunately, we all get brought up in this system. We watch "debates" where people shout each other down. We are flooded with false messages so loud, so flashy and so constant that it become a radical act just to shut them off.

We remain silent -- sometimes to save ourselves from annihilation, sometimes out of habit.

One of the amazing features of indigenous communities around the globe is inclusion of all the voices. Collectively humans are far more wise than any one individual. When citizens have to shout and get arrested just to be heard in bodies that allegedly represent the people, it's time for a new order.

I will be supporting and helping to organize Feminist General Assemblies (#FemGA) at various Occupy events this summer. This is not because I am mad at men or think they have nothing to contribute. It is because I know how many young women are silenced by the oppressive powers that be. They are ridiculed for not being gorgeous enough, they are marginalized for not being aggressive enough, they are forced into industrialized labor and childbearing in order that they may never discover the awesome power they embody.

It's time for the patriarchy to step down, and I have no doubt that righteous brothers everywhere are hoping and working toward this end just as women are.

I'm going to do my part to hear from the young women, the women of color, the low income women, the older women--those whom the patriarchy shouts down. I'm excited about the ideas they will share with the rest of us when they get into a space where their voices can be heard.

We can't have it be a contest to get your voice the loudest. That's what we have now, and look where it's gotten us.

SYSTEM SUCKS: Pictures That Are Worth 1,000 Words

Occupy Oakland silkscreen image, not sure which artist(s) to credit

An Iraqi boy in an orphanage drew his mother and slept in her arms.

Image credit: imgur, via James Hobbs' facebook page.

Source: Occupy Maine facebook event for May 1, 2012 General Strike

Jeju Island, South Korea, where the Samsung Corporation is being paid to pour concrete over the UN Heritage Site coral reefs in order to make a port to dock Aegis nuclear weapons equipped destroyers built in Bath, Maine, USA. (In case you were wondering what the sign in the first image -- SYSTEM SUCKS -- was talking about.)

Birth defects in Fallujah after use of depleted uranium weapons by US military in 2004. Source: http://truth-reason-liberty.blogspot.com/2010/07/more-suffering-for-people-of-fallujah.html

From Michael Kelly today in Business Insider The US Poured So Many Toxic Weapons On Fallujah In 2004 That Residents Still Pay The Price:

The study, released by the Switzerland-based International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, shows that in the years following Operation Phantom Fury there has been a 4-fold increase in all cancer, including a 12-fold increases in childhood cancer in those aged 0-14.

Conservative 99% dupes support 1% candidate for U.S. Senate

Maine State Treasurer Poliquin worked for the 1% in CT and NY managing pension funds (check his resume) and now he wants to represent them in the U.S. Senate.

Naive state legislators -- like mine, Phil Curtis, and perhaps yours -- think this will be good for their constituents in Maine. Nothing could be further from the truth -- but maybe it's their own campaign coffers they are thinking of?

Scroll all the way down to see Poliquin's bogus claims. Then join me in writing a truth-filled letter to the editor today.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bruce Poliquin <info@bruceforsenate.com>
Date: Thu, Apr 5, 2012 at 6:15 PM
Subject: Our campaign is moving fast!
To: Patriot <lsavage3@gmail.com>

 

Dear Patriot,

Our campaign for U.S. Senate is moving faster and faster every day!

Last week, Utah Senator Mike Lee endorsed me with an announcement to his national network of conservative supporters.

Earlier today, eight fiscally conservative state legislators from across Maine also endorsed my campaign:

Representative David C. Burns (R-Whiting)
Representative Phillip A. Curtis (R-Madison)
Representative Larry C. Dunphy (R-Embden)
Representative Jeffery A. Gifford (R-Lincoln)
Representative Peter B. Johnson (R-Greenville)
Representative Mel Newendyke (R-Litchfield)
Representative Beth A. O'Connor (R-Berwick)
Representative Deborah J. Sanderson (R-Chelsea)

 

Rep. David Burns from Washington County said "I am pleased to support Bruce Poliquin in his candidacy for the U.S. Senate.  Since coming to know Bruce in 2010, I have been impressed with his strong conservative values and the tenaciousness with which he works for this State and our citizens.  I believe that Treasurer Poliquin would be a very dynamic member of the U.S. Senate from the very beginning and would truly represent well the interest of all Mainers."

Rep. Peter Johnson from Piscataquis County stated "I am excited to endorse Bruce Poliquin’s candidacy for the U.S. Senate.  He has been a great Treasurer for the State of Maine.  His aggressive leadership on the boards of many quasi-government organizations, like the Maine State Housing Authority, has uncovering wasteful spending and potentially illegal practices.  Bruce has proven that he has the ability, initiative, and toughness to uncover waste in complex government programs while withstanding criticism for doing what is right.  He will do the same as our next United States Senator from Maine.”

 

Rep. Beth O'Connor from York County commented "It is a pleasure and an honor to support Bruce Poliquin for U.S. Senate.  He has been strong on all fiscal issues regarding the State of Maine, and has put us on a much more secure financial footing.  Bruce is the most fiscally conservative candidate in the race for this open U.S. Senate seat.  With his tenacity and excellent grasp of the financial difficulties we face as a nation, I believe Treasurer Poliquin is the only candidate that can help restore fiscal sanity in Washington and safeguard the purse strings of the American people."

Every day, more state and national leaders believe that I am the Republican who can beat former governor Angus King in the general election.  I am honored to have their support, but am really depending on people like you to give our campaign the momentum necessary to win!

With three other U.S. Senate seats poised to shift Republican, the balance of power in Washington could very well hinge upon Maine's open seat. 
...
The financial crisis in Washington worsens.  This open U.S. Senate seat in Maine is a rare opportunity for you to help send to Washington a fiscal conservative with 35 years of private sector experience who is not a career politician.

Please help me join a growing group of fiscal reformers in Washington to address our nation's out-of-control spending, rising debt, and unaffordable entitlements  --  just like we've done in Maine.

Best regards,
Bruce

 Occupy Mainers in Portland say: TAX THE RICH!

Maine Bring Our War $$ Home Speaker: "I Am 17 Years Old, And I Am The 99%!"

Young voices dominated the Marching Against Fiscal Madness: Fund Human Needs rally and news conference in Maine's State House Hall of Flags on March 20. Singer/Songwriter Morgana Warner Evans of West Bath, about to graduate from high school, serenaded Tea Party Governor LePage and a crowd of about 100 who joined in singing the chorus to her adaptation of the union anthem "Which Side Are You On?" The event was co-sponsored by Occupy Maine and the Bring Our War $$ Home campaign coalition.



High school senior Alaena Merrill also wowed the crowd, drawing sustained applause several times (full disclosure: I edited out much of it because my camera work got shaky during those intervals) with her remarks about what funding can do for public school programs, and what war spending does to school budgets.




College senior Nicole Moreau of CODEPINK Maine and Veterans for Peace delivered stunning testimony about the high cost of education and the astronomical levels of debt today's students are graduating with -- into a bleak landscape with few job prospects.



College student Curtis Cole captioned this photo I shared on his facebook page: "Pic of my speaking with members of the ruling class looking on."

His speech also drew cheers and prolonged applause -- though not from the governor (at left in blue shirt with hand on his mouth).

Stagnation: War Money and Maine Society

I’m here today on a simple mission: that mission is to tell all of you of the obsolete and deceitful nature of the 1%. You see, the 1% would like us to believe it is in our best interest to spend billions of dollars annually on a defense budget. They would like students to believe that it is in the student’s best interest to maintain funding occupation soldiers’ salaries; they want us to believe that we can ‘suffice’ without quality healthcare, education, civil servants, and decent infrastructure. Yet, most of all, they would like society at large to swallow the ultimate lie: that maintenance of the Imperialist Murder Machine, i.e. The Military Industrial Complex, is needed for our safety.

Such words are blasphemous to the truth. We, the 99%, need a military in the same way that hell needs more fire. No, we do not need to spend any amount, let along such obscene proportions, on war. Here in the Great State of Maine, the taxpayers are gouged of 1.3 billion dollars annually. This drain is directed towards the military defense budget. A budget which is so over bloated that our nation’s budget alone dwarfs that of the rest of the world’s-combined!

You see, the ‘Powers that be’ needs the young to believe that without an armed force breathing down their necks at all times society as we know it will collapse. Masterful propaganda has made our modern world one of such sharp distortions that even breaking away and glimpsing the truth is a daring feat.

To accomplish this they saturate the media with horrifying claims. Claims of mass murder, genocide, and land hungry entities annexing their neighbors accompany images of tactical maps indicating the supposed threat to American safety. Without a strong police state, the warmongers argue, society will inevitably be taken over by foreigners, communists, Queers, Muslims or whatever new scapegoat the liberal/ conservative alliance dreams up; dreaming being the primary method of thinking and data collecting for the elites who create such fantasies.

Fantasies such as this condemn people to live in poverty and indignation. Mainers must fight against these draconian measures otherwise nearly no one would have access to healthcare (as the sum would readily be reallocated to the wars). As Many as 1 in 5 Mainers² live in rural areas, and are unable to even locate a healthcare provider; let alone pay the exorbitant post-procedure costs. With Maine Care being slashed left and right, it is becoming increasingly impossible to afford vital treatment. Yet, under our current system such low-income people are disregarded as lazy, underachievers because of their socio-economic class. A designation labeled onto them despite rigorous efforts at improving their lot through education. This task would be easier if working class and young people were actually able to access higher education.

I believe the term ‘mediocre’ is a fitting word to attribute to an administration which views funding state sanctioned murder as a more pressing concern than providing for its citizens. You see, the Military Industrial Complex exists for two reasons and two reasons only: To start wars and for capitalists to make profits. That’s it! The government controls over 1000 military bases worldwide; bases which they use to dictate the world stage of affairs³. Each base must be filled with troops, small arms and ammunition, weapon systems, and food. Obviously this is all expensive and is indicative of only a single base.⁴

This total amounts to over 800 billion dollars, however, this tally doesn’t include the amount spent financing expansionist wars, “donations” to sympathetic armed factions, and the salaries of “fighting men.” Instead this marks only the expenditures for the Navy, Air Force, Marine, and Army branches; the strain of them purchasing battleships, tanks and fighter jets, small arms and protective gear. When one adds in the amount of this “hidden” waste the sum skyrockets; total war in Iraq and Afghanistan, covert operations in Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, as well as the continued defense of client states Israel, South Korea, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, the true total, while breathtaking, is at least four trillions dollars!

Hear that? That was trillion, with a “t.” For the same amount over 530thousand children could receive low- income healthcare, 15.2million elementary school teachers and 17.4million firefighters could receive salaries for a year, over 939million households could revive renewable wind- powered electricity, and over a 131million college students could receive year ‘round scholarships.

This is the reality of life in Maine so as long as we continue to allow the para-fascist 1% to dictate our future. Such people need the 99% to believe the delusion they spread -delusion about capitalism, about wealth distribution, and resource allocation-because they need all afraid of foes which do not exist. They need all brainwashed into believing this manufactured fairytale about terrorists all while ignoring the fact the United States is the world’s biggest funder of actual terrorism. The truth is stark: we have no enemies; we make our own future and if we are to create, as some here wish, a horizontal workers democracy, than what we must do is rise up and overthrow the 1%.

1 http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/spending.htm

2 http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/08/rural_schools.html

3 http://militaryindustrialcomplex.com/what-is-the-military-industrial-complex.asp

4 http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=5564

Mayor Karen Heck was introduced by MC Mark Roman as the person currently holding the office last held by the governor. Her remarks stressed the local impact of budget cuts that continue to roll out of Augusta:

My name is Karen Heck and I am the Mayor of Waterville. Our city is facing an $800,00 shortfall between our expected revenue for the city and $1.6 million less this year than last for our schools…and that’s without spending the money we should be investing in our youngest residents, those 0-3, at a time when they are developing 85% of their brains. If we could be fully supporting their healthy development, we could be reaping the benefits within a few short years of lower special education costs, higher fourth grade achievement scores and higher graduation rates. Instead, we are being forced to cut 12 more teachers in our K to 12 system, don’t have enough money to staff an available infant and toddler classroom, and are facing the elimination of two head start classrooms due to proposed elimination of state funded Head Start. 

What kind of country have we become when we are killing and maiming women and children half way around the globe at the same time we are abandoning poor women and children here at home? It is time we stopped this madness and brought our war dollars home.

An issue even closer to my heart than the lost revenue for our struggling cities and towns, is the disruption of families and the loss of life. Two years ago, the family of Alan and Mary Slack received the kind of news no parent should have to hear. Their 19 year old son Wade had been killed in Afghanistan. A year and a half later, Alan Slack died of a broken heart leaving the family coping with the loss of two of its members due to the war. Another family in our town, is now on pins and needles praying for the safe return of their father and husband. Dr. Joseph Lopes was called up to return to the war for the fourth time in the past 5 years. 

You can bet if we had a draft and the sons and daughters of Congressional leaders were being called to duty, we would have been home years ago. I am sick to death of watching old men send young men and now women to war while they do nothing more than wear flag lapel pins and drive around with yellow ribbons on their cars. We need to stop this madness. We need the President to overrule the generals, stop the fighting and bring our war dollars home now.

Tammy Trask of MAIN gave stirring testimony of the effects on Maine's poorest families while the governor looked on.

Loren Snow from Food AND Medicine, a retired state worker, gave the gritty facts of barely surviving on a pension and health care benefits that are being whittled away year after year. Loren thought he had worked many years to earn a secure retirement caring for an ailing spouse and a disabled adult child who still lives at home.

The governor, who had been halted by some in the crowd chanting "shame, shame" as he scurried into his office near the rally, gave this non-verbal response (zoom in to see what the governor learned in Kindergarten):

photo credit: Peter Woodruff

 Full coverage of all speakers at the rally will soon be available from Occupy Maine TV. Stay tuned!

Occupy Together, Because You Can't Arrest An Idea Whose Time Has Come

You can't arrest an idea whose time has come, and the gathering of about 150 occupiers from all over the state of Maine last Saturday in Augusta was brimming with ideas. People of all ages came together as the 99%, and the youngster on the left wanted people to think about an economy that is based on value rather than on cash. She joined the Alternative Economies breakout session and explained her idea; she also listened to the ideas of people who have experienced those kinds of arrangements. The next day she told me, "I want to do more stuff like that. Stuff that changes things and make it better."

Introductions during which people identified where they Occupy ... Portland, Augusta, Bangor, Brunswick, Ellsworth, Blue Hill, MDI (Mt. Desert Island), Waldo County, Mt. Washington Valley/Conway, Boston, Wall St., cultural mythology,  the food supply, independent media.

Portland, Maine was identified as the longest continuous occupy encampment in the country -- established October 1 and still going strong despite punishing cold, and an eviction notice from the city hanging over their heads since December 15. They have vigorously pursued relief in the courts, and are awaiting news on a permanent injunction to halt eviction.

Occupy Augusta pulled up stakes rather than apply for a permit, removing their Capitol Park teepee with dignity and self-respect, continuing to hold General Assemblies each Saturday at 5pm indoors.

In our diversity lies our strength!

After an amazing rapid whole group share of examples of occupation that covered centuries, we moved into small groups with people we didn't know to address two prompts:

1) Why did you join the Occupy movement? 2) What's special about the Occupy movement?

This was ably modeled by Curtis (above, left) who responded:

1. To gain experience. Our world's falling apart and many people don't seem to care. But those who do care need to get together, share knowledge, and form a movement.
   
   
2. It signifies nations all across the world rising up and demanding an end to the common ills we all share – war, poverty, unemployment. Shows the governmentts that we, the workers, will not be silent. We will fight back, and take what's ours.

I joined a group to talk about Media. Ten people briefly discussed the problems with mainstream media, and then spent most of the time talking about alternative media in forms including local access tv and radio, online news, YouTube, blogs; and direct actions/publicity stunts that attract MSM attention. Further uses of MSM included letters to the editor, online comments, developing relationships with reporters, and providing press releases to reporters. The role of drum circles at Occupy sites from Wall St. to Maine to Native communities in Canada was examined also, with reference to their importance in building community, and as an outlet for expression that is non-verbal.

Then I joined a group to talk about Food and Land. About 35 people gave examples of local food production and land use including becoming farmers, supporting the work of farmers, addressing the problems of landless farmers, various land use schemes, cooking, educating, gleaning, and exchanging food for work. Then the group brainstormed ways that the Occupy movement can or does connect with food production/land use.

This is a strong strand for Maine and there are years of intelligent collaborative effort to build on. A murmur of delight went through the crowd when I mentioned a Wall St. tweet I'd seen that the OWS  kitchen had quickly organized to feed the largest number of folks ever, daily, in NYC. No wonder they were perceived by authorities as such a threat!

Further news of the 99%: While we were meeting, Occupy Oakland in California was being tear gassed, beaten, shot with rubber bullets and flash bang grenades, and arrested in droves (especially reporters). Their crime: trying to occupy a years vacant building to establish a community center. Solidarity events broke out everywhere on Sunday. Here's an inspiring video from Occupy Boston:

Occupy Augusta Maine Responds to Eviction Threat by Occupying Governor's House

Occupy Augusta Maine received an ultimatum similar to those being issued by spokesmen for the 1% to Occupy encampments around the U.S.: apply for a day permit by Mon 11/28, or be evicted from Capitol Park. This was their response: 75 or so activists occupied the Governor's residence, Blaine House, which is across the street from the encampment in Capital Park. (Gov. LePage was believed to be elsewhere, possibly Florida or Jamaica where he has other homes.)

A tent was pitched on the governor's lawn next to a snowman that held a sign reading "Maine's Labor History Mural Lives in Occupy Augusta."

Nine people chose to commit civil disobedience for refusing to leave the grounds. They were arrested and it is believed they were charged with criminal trespassing, and failure to disperse.

Meanwhile, a young couple in the neighborhood had a burglary to report, but could not find any police interested in taking their report of a house break-in and stolen laptop. Officers were observed from six jurisdictions: Maine State Police, Augusta City Police, Capitol Police, Hallowell City Police, Kennebec County Sheriffs, and -- most dreaded by Mainers -- Game Wardens.

I asked one of them what the game wardens had to do with what was going on, and he said, "I've got two of my guys in there" as he rushed through the gate.

Note: No animals were harmed in the making of this video.

Occupiers Aren't Buying False Dichtomy Anymore

Occupy Augusta received some terrific mainstream news coverage yesterday from WGME 13 as about 100 folks joined the hardy souls of the tent occupation -- which has doubled in size since I was there two weeks ago -- to march, chant, drum, and take a little field trip to the home of the biggest corporate lobbyist in Maine, Severin Beliveau.

The founding partner of the law firm Preti Flaherty Beliveau Pachios did not appear to be at home. Maybe he was schmoozing with some lawmakers; Severin was a major influence in the administration of (Democrat) Gov. Baldacci, and contributed heavily to the third party candidate campaign that split the Maine vote to put the current corporate lackey (Republican) Gov. LePage in office.

The people I spoke to in Augusta yesterday were clear on the absence of any meaningful distinction between the two corporate-controlled parties, and on the acute lack of people's voices in government at the local, state, or national level. And if the people don't stick up for the Earth, who will?



Meanwhile, to the east of us Occupy Bangor got some kudos from resident author Stephen King, and to the south of us the Occupy Maine folks in Portland received good news that there was no truth to rumors that the police were planning to evict them.

And this from Boston from the blog Revolutionary Frontlines:

A flotilla with as many as a dozen activists — including Code Pink’s Kit Kittredge- was bound to Gaza bearing humanitarian aide on November 4th. The Israeli military boarded seized the ship, and took all of the activists into custody.

Occupy Boston then marched on the Israeli Consulate in solidarity

Notice how -- no matter who is in the White House or which party has a majority in Congress -- that we, the taxpayers, still send Israel $3 billion a year in mostly weapons? That's why corporate media like the Washington Post have to work overtime to keep us believing bullshit:

What can be said at this point is that, after three years of pitched battles between Obama and congressional Republicans, the country is heading toward a high-stakes contest. Election 2012 will be a contest not just between two candidates but also between two starkly different views of the role of government that underscore the enormous differences between Republicans and Democrats.

Bangor Leads In Our Historic Struggle for Free Speech, Assembly

Dear Bangor Public Library,
The news of your action on behalf of free speech and the right of assembly in Bangor tomorrow has been shared far and wide in my network of women-led activists, coast to coast, and beyond our shores.

I was born in Bangor and, though I have ranged far, I now live in Solon, Maine and often visit Bangor. Thank you for warming my PINK heart today with your courage, your wisdom, and your historic action on behalf of Occupy Bangor.

Occupy Augusta is alleged to be the only site that has permission for an open fire. Perhaps Occupy Bangor will be the only site protected by a public library. Hooray for Maine!

xoxxoxo
Lisa Savage  |  #CODEPINKMaine Local Coordinator
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