OneAngryCultist: The Spirit of Occupy - Witness Under Fire

Tuesday was a day in which I witnessed first-hand the Occupy community of Seattle undergo a rebirth, a baptism of sorts, as well as possibly one of the most atrocious acts of brutality against demonstrators during which many non-violent demonstrators were indiscriminately pepper-sprayed including a blind woman, a priest, a non-denominational chaplain, a pregnant woman as well as friends and acquaintances caught in the cross-fires.

Although I was blocked off from being able one of those caught in the fray due to an ill-timed restroom break, when I was able to catch up to the group the first thing I saw was people corralled between Battery and Wall Street on Third Avenue and the first person I met coming out of that was Reverend Rich Lang of University Methodist Temple in the University District; the same man I had been walking alongside earlier as an individual clergy person representing my own gnostic, religious tradition of Thelema. His face was red and tears were coming from his eyes and he was still determined. It was later that I would find out exactly what happened, but seeing his dedication and witness made a very clear impact on me.

The next morning, I woke up and read the following missive that he had written in response to the events that transpired that day, A Pastoral Lament For My Country:

“I praise the courage and compassion, the discipline and the decency of the Occupy Movement. Out of the rag-tag mob came help, grabbing my hands, leading me (I was blind by then) to the wall and administering care and concern for my well being. The protesters were assembled around all the wounded, and maintained the discipline of nonviolence (granted the nonviolence was in behavior but not language). And they were not afraid. The spraying had been a baptism sealing them into the security of knowing that their prophecy of repentance was indeed the Spirit-Word through them --- it is as if they did not prophecy their very bones would melt within them. Against the wall in increasing pain and burning I realized I was in the midst of church.”

Reverend Rich is but one of the chaplains and religious who were pepper-sprayed that day, the other being Tsukina Blessing, amidst many others of varying religious and non-religious stripes gathered as a community to demonstrate against this country’s grave social and economic inequalities. In the course of that baptism by pepper-spray, Occupy ceased being a group of rag-tag demonstrators and transformed into an ekklesía - a community of believers – indeed, a church.

Although some may object to my overt use of religious language in describing Occupy, the fact is that we are all here in faith that we can restore some level of sanity to this country that has for too long strayed away from its true course and which we are all determined to bear witness to and restore to the brightness and wholeness that is capable of being – in Christian terms, “a city on the hill” for all to see and share in its blessings. In Occupy I have seen proof that in this movement there are many mansions to be found in every tent and every committee meeting and there is room at every table. This is what America can look like and what we are all fighting for.

Rev. Rich and Tsukina are true spiritual warriors, among the many participating in Occupy across the country. They are inspirations of endeavor and I admire them and all clergy, chaplains and participants in Occupy. Their demonstration of peace under fire is something, I think, all occupiers can learn from and put into practice and something that will make the movement succeed and prosper even more.

OneAngryCultist: Voting for God

Hold on to your horses, kids, the current GOP-led Congress is finally voting on something that is nothing short of Biblical and will bring about the second-coming; cure cancer, AIDS, hemorrhoids, and result in the liberation of all humanity accomplish absolutely nothing except reaffirm, "In God We Trust" as the national motto of the United States. The proposed bill would also encourage public buildings to include the motto in their architecture because, you know, architectural redecoration is some kind of job-creation, right?!

Congressman J. Randy Forbes (VA-04), Co-Chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus and author of H.CON.RES.13 cites the following reasons why this bill is necessary:

"President Obama inaccurately proclaimed "E Pluribus Unum' as our national motto. Last November before a worldwide audience, in a much-anticipated and much-publicized speech focusing on the United States' relationship with the Muslim world, President Obama falsely proclaimed that our national motto was E pluribus unum. The President failed to respond to congressional entreaties to issue a correction; the uncorrected transcript remains on the White House website.

Misunderstanding of the phrase "Separation of Church and State". The Supreme Court has held, “The First Amendment, however, does not say that in every and all respects there shall be a separation of Church and State. . . We find no constitutional requirement which makes it necessary for government to be hostile to religion.” The words ‘separation of church and state’ do not appear in the U.S. Constitution. Rather, the phrase originates from a letter penned by Thomas Jefferson on January 1, 1802, to the Danbury Baptist Association.

Inaccuracies and omissions in the half-billion-dollar Capitol Visitor Center. In 2008, the over half-billion dollar Capitol Visitor Center opened for the purpose of educating over 15,000 Capitol visitors daily on the “legislative process as well as the history and development of the architecture and art of the U.S. Capitol.” Yet, Capitol Visitor Center historians had sanitized the public building of any references to our national motto, including replacing the inscription of ‘In God We Trust,’ inscribed above the Speaker’s Rostrum with stars in a replica of the House Chamber and cropping an actual picture of the chamber so you could not see the words ‘In God We Trust.’ Only until Members of Congress intervened publically [sic.] and legislatively were these omissions and inaccuracies corrected."

So, essentially, what I'm reading is that Congressman Forbes took one of President Obama's gaffes a little too close to heart and is using Congress to make sure this doesn't happen again lest we all fall into godless heathenry.

Now, "Why is your OneAngryCultist chiming in on this particular issue?" you might ask. Well, because religion is important to me - not just mine, but all religions and spiritual perspectives atheism inclusive. As much as I like a little ceremonial deism here and there, H.CON.RES.13 is decidedly sectarian in nature and is part of a growing trend of denying the religious pluralism upon which this country was founded. While the issue of "separation of church and state" does not exist in the Constitution in word, the kind of religion that politicians like Forbes, Perry and others want to enshrine into law is not the kind of religion that would be recognizable by the founding fathers, let alone the 25% of non-Christians in the United States.

OneAngryQueer: Photos from Yesterday

A very big shout-out and special thanks for bystander and donator of coffee, Casey E., who took these amazing photos yesterday at the #OccupySeattle demonstrations.

OneAngryQueer: Sunday Occupy Report

OneAngryCultist filling in for Ian Awesome who is still down in Westlake this morning.

Yesterday OccupySeattle experienced a number of successes, not the least of these being the largest turnout of demonstrators for the afternoon march down to Pike's Place Public Market. Q13 Fox reports:

"Thousands of protesters took to the streets downtown Saturday afternoon as part of the continuing Occupy Seattle movement. At three p.m. the protesters marched peacefully from Westlake Park to Pike Place Market, and then back to Westlake for a concert and rally. When protesters returned to Westlake Park, some protesters burned and cut up their debit and credit cards from Chase and Bank of America. The crowd has spilled out of the confines of the park."

Turnout estimates approximately 3,000 at the peak of the demonstration, but no official estimates have been released by OccupySeattle or affiliated groups at this time.

Around 5PM demonstrators started setting up tents in preparation for the Occupy "Global Day of Action + Night of 500 Tents!"which was advertised throughout the city through leaflets, posters and social media.

Demonstrations were peaceful and SPD presence was reduced in comparison to previous nights to around thirty officers around midnight who were very proactive about not allowing demonstrators to sleep in accordance with orders from Mayor McGinn's office and keeping with policies of Seattle Parks and Recreation which was also on standby to help with waste removal.

As of this morning, no arrests have been reported and occupiers were allowed to stay overnight in Westlake Center under the condition that tents were to be taken down by 7AM. Demonstrations are expected to continue throughout the day. Pictures and updates will be available later in the day.

Donations are still being accepted by OccupySeattle for the benefit of demonstrators.

Urgent Needs:

• PEOPLE!!!
• Sleeping bags
• Water
• Extra large ziploc bags
• Maalox
• Blankets!
• Canned tomatoes
• Heavy socks!
• Eye wash
• Paper bowls
• Snack foods
• Hot water deliveries late at night
• Hand warmers
• Portal Power Source - Sherpa 50 Adventure Kit

  http://www.goalzero.com/shop/p/57//1:1/

• Charging equipment
• Deep Cycle Batteries

Also, other food items and bottled water can be delivered near the south side of the plaza at Pike and 4th Avenue.

Groupon Not Gay Enough For You? That's Okay, Cuz There's This

I know a few discount queers who are just gonna love this.  Yet another Groupon clone, this time with a gay slant:

Before becoming a Gaypon merchant, businesses are put through a background check of sorts, where they are investigated for any bad marks, like complaints of discrimination from customers and employees, poor hiring practices, etc. Gaypon says it also uses various tools, like the Human Rights Campaign’s “Corporate Equality Index” that rates American workplaces on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality.

Gaypon plans to donate a portion of proceeds to charitable organizations, and those that support the gay community, like The Trevor Project, which focuses on crisis and suicide prevention amongst LGBTQ youth, and Affirmations, which is one of the largest LGBT community centers in the United States. The exact percentage of those donations, however, is unclear.

  All right.  It sounds like a well-meaning enough gimmick, and I'm a cheap date (being a broke blogger helps, you can fix that with the donate link to the left) so I'll check it out.

GOP, Once Again, Holding Essential Funding Hostage

I reported a few days ago that GOP leadership was hinting at further obstructionist tactics in order to avoid raising taxes on the wealthy, and it turns out that speculation that they might use Hurricane Irene as a political tool was right.

Republicans, who control the House and have driven hard bargains on spending cuts all year, have insisted that there will be enough money for disaster relief. But they also pledged that additional spending will mean cuts in other areas. 

“Yes, we’re going to find the money,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said Monday in a television interview. “We’re just going to need to make sure that there are savings elsewhere to continue to do so.”

I know where to find the money, Eric.  How about your salary?

Hint:  You're bad at your job.

The thing is, it turns out that they are making cuts to support FEMA relief programs post-Irene.  Where are the cuts?  Well, one, from energy-saving green cars (that's not a surprise, might as well score a hit for big oil), but shockingly House Republicans are insisting on cuts to... FEMA budgets?

But in doing so, Republicans shifted money from a program that lends money to auto manufacturers to build more energy-efficient cars and cut dollars from other FEMA programs. Both ideas are unacceptable to Senate Democrats. 

“Does it really make sense to pay response and reconstruction costs for past disasters by reducing our capacity to prepare for or respond to future disasters?” Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) asked in a July letter critical of the cuts the House made to replenish the disaster fund. Landrieu chairs the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that funds FEMA.

This is outrageous.  These profiteering charlatans are so concerned with protecting the big business interests that fund their campaigns that they are willing to decimate future disaster relief to avoid levying  fair and appropriate taxes on the wealthiest 10% of America.  They have utterly lost touch with the purpose of representative government.  No wonder they're scared shitless at the idea of talking to their constituents.

Crossposted to FireDogLake.

The GOP: Only Too Happy To Use A Hurricane For Their Own Benefit

These motherfuckers are out of control.  Seriously.

The first story I ran across today related to the GOP and their cronies politicizing Irene was a ridiculous op ed published by Faux News (who else?) advocating getting rid of the National Weather Service, an ill-timed position suggesting that the NWS is a redundant government dinosaur that could easily be privatized to less cost for taxpayers. 

Today the NWS justifies itself on public interest grounds. It issues severe weather advisories and hijacks local radio and television stations to get the message out. It presumes that citizens do not pay attention to the weather and so it must force important, perhaps lifesaving, information upon them. A few seconds’ thought reveals how silly this is. The weather might be the subject people care most about on a daily basis. There is a very successful private TV channel dedicated to it, 24 hours a day, as well as any number of phone and PC apps. Americans need not be forced to turn over part of their earnings to support weather reporting.

Are you kidding me?  Saving people's lives with weather advisories is silly?  So their suggestion for replacing the NWS is that people buy smartphones and hope for the best?  Oh no, not just that, they continue with a great idea-- turn the whole weather prediction industry over to the insurance companies.

The NWS claims that it supports industries like aviation and shipping, but if they provide a valuable contribution to business, it stands to reason business would willingly support their services. If that is the case, the Service is just corporate welfare. If they would not, it is just a waste.

As for hurricanes, the insurance industry has a compelling interest in understanding them. In a world without a National Weather Service, the insurance industry would probably have sponsored something very like the National Hurricane Center at one or more universities. Those replacements would also not be exploited for political purposes.

Right.  Because big business would never ever sacrifice consumers' well-being in order to make a buck.  What Fox News won't tell you, of course, is that most weather reports from private news corporations actually get their data from the government.

Continuing the bullshit train, actual GOP leadership is hinting that they will be using Hurricane Irene and the resultant need for relief funds for their own political purposes.  Yes, friends, much like the debt ceiling crisis, they are willing to withhold essential services in exchange for spending cuts:

As East Coasters brace for what some say will be a historic pummel by Hurricane Irene, at least one lawmaker is fuming over a requirement by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) that any potential emergency disaster aid be offset by spending cuts.

"It is sinful to require us to cut somewhere ... in order to provide emergency disaster assistance for American citizens," Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) told The Huffington Post on Friday.
The Louisiana Democrat pointed out that this weekend is the sixth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated his district and cost the federal government more than $100 billion. That recovery effort would have been delayed "by years" if Congress had required the same kind of spending cuts to offset aid, he said.

Republicans need to stop playing politics with people's lives and their livelihoods. The American people aren't that stupid (really.  We're not).  Withholding federal aid so that they can cut spending (and avoid charging the rich the same taxes the middle class pays) is beyond sinful.  It's disgusting.

Turns Out Welfare Recipients Aren't Actually All Junkies

Perennial douchebag Rick Scott, the governor of Florida, raised eyebrows when he instituted a policy of forcing welfare recipients to submit to drug tests before collecting their benefits.  Even more controversial, the test has to be paid for by the person applying for benefits.  If the test is negative, the state reimburses the individual, but I can definitely see the cost of the test discouraging some people from applying. 

Anyway, the law went into effect and some surprising numbers have popped up:  only two percent of the people seeking welfare benefits have tested positive for illegal drug use.

Having begun the drug testing in mid-July, the state Department of Children and Families is still tabulating the results. But at least 1,000 welfare applicants took the drug tests through mid-August, according to the department, which expects at least 1,500 applicants to take the tests monthly.

So far, they say, about 2 percent of applicants are failing the test; another 2 percent are not completing the application process, for reasons unspecified.

I wonder how many poor people (to include people stricken with the disease of addiction) haven't even attempted to collect needed benefits because of this policy?

Another Rich Guy Thinks He Isn't Paying Enough Taxes

Warren Buffett created a stir when he wrote a piece denouncing Washington's efforts to keep tax loopholes available for the mega-rich last week, in which he wrote:

OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.

Another super rich guy has now joined the debate, and he supports Buffett's position.  What's more surprising is that he's a Republican.

Another multi-millionaire says the rich should be paying more taxes. Registered Republican and co-founder of H&R Block, Henry Bloch knows his opinion is not popular with many in his party. 

Like Warren Buffet, Bloch believes current tax code gives too many breaks to the rich.
He also has strong opinions about how much these tax breaks really contribute to job creation.

"That's so baloney," Bloch said. "Rich people don't create jobs. Companies create jobs."

This is another blow to the Reaganomically-minded Tea Party and the GOP at large, with "moderate" Republican candidate Mitt Romney scoffing at Buffett's remarks earlier:

Republican presidential nomination front-runner Mitt Romney, a multimillionaire ex-businessman, said Buffett had failed to take into account corporate taxes paid by his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway. 

"The problem with rich people is that many of them are smart," Romney said in the key primary state of New Hampshire. 

"High taxes on entrepreneurs and investors dissuade them from putting Americans to work," he said. 

It's time these knuckleheads gave up the ghost on this "trickle down theory" bullcrap they are trying to shove down our throats to line their own pockets.

Michele Bachmann Gets Caught In Too Many Lies To Count

The latest lie that Ol' Crazy Eyes has spouted is a sneaky one:

"Well, I think the one thing we have to do is reject the new normal level of spending under the Obama administration, because President Obama amped up spending to never-seen-before levels. . . . I mean, one example I'll give you is, we had one employee at the federal Department of Transportation that made $170,000 a year at the beginning of the recession. We had the trillion-dollar stimulus, and 18 months into the recession, we had 1,690 employees making over $170,000. Government has really been growing at — a lot of largesse, but the people in the real world aren’t. And that’s what has to change. Government has no conformity at all with the real world."

She is technically correct that spending took a turn for the worse when the recession began, and that the President approved crazy raises for government employees without heeding the signs that it wasn't economically feasible.  What makes this a lie, however, is her assertion that the President in question was Obama.  The Washington Post points out that it was, in fact, 2007 when the recession began, under George W. Bush.

In other words, Bachmann gives the impression that she is talking about something that Obama did, but in fact, the big increase in government pay that she denounces started under Obama’s Republican predecessor, George W. Bush. 

In fact, the apparent source of Bachmann’s claim, a 2009 article in USA Today, made it clear that Bush recommended across-the-board raises that, after they got through Congress, resulted in boosts of 3 percent in January 2008 and 3.9 percent in January 2009. By contrast, Obama in 2010 recommended the smallest federal pay raise since 1975 — 2 percent — and then froze salaries in 2011.

One of the major memes of the rat-race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination is pinning the economic crisis on the current administration.  Immediately following Standard and Poor's downgrade of America's credit rating from AAA to AA+, all the candidates for the GOP nomination immediately laid the slightly-worse rating squarely at the feet of the President, with one cleverly calling for "downgrading Barack Obama from president of the United States."  Oh Pawlenty!  We'll miss you.

“It happened on your watch, Mr. President,” Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota representative and Tea Party caucus leader, said, drawing applause at an afternoon rally here. “You were AWOL. You were missing in action.” 

She criticized the president for spending the day at Camp David. 

“I’m calling on the president of the United States to come back to the White House,” Mrs. Bachmann said, “address the American people before the markets open on Monday and give us his positive plan for putting the ratings back up to the AAA rating.”

Let me get this straight:  S&P downgraded the US because the President was at Camp David that day?  Hmmm.  She continued to state that S&P proved her right and that we shouldn't have raised the debt ceiling at the Ames, Iowa, GOP debate:

We just heard from Standard & Poor’s, when they dropped our credit rating and what they said is we don’t have an ability to repay our debt. That’s what the final word was from them. I was proved right in my position. We should not have raised the debt ceiling.

Of course, just about everyone knows now that that S&P actually downgraded our credit rating due to politicians holding our economy hostage and refusing to find new sources of revenue-- ahem, taxes on the mega-rich-- to bolster our deepening deficit.

Without specifically mentioning Republicans, S&P senior director Joydeep Mukherji said the stability and effectiveness of American political institutions were undermined by the fact that “people in the political arena were even talking about a potential default,” Mukherji said. 

“That a country even has such voices, albeit a minority, is something notable,” he added. “This kind of rhetoric is not common amongst AAA sovereigns.” 

The statement seems likely to bolster one Democratic line of attack, that it was tea party intransigence — not a shortcoming of leadership by President Barack Obama — that is to blame for the U.S. downgrade, from AAA to AA+. Obama himself called on Republicans to “put country ahead of party” Thursday — a dig at conservatives in Congress who are blocking his agenda.

So on just about every count related to the economy, Michele Bachmann has lied, attempting to pin a crisis on Obama when it appears to have been a problem rooted in the intractability of GOP politicians unwilling to solve this crisis in the easiest possible manner: asking those with tons of money to pay their fair share.

Of course, as we all know, this woman is freaking crazy and will lie about just about anything, to include her attendance at her own family reunion.  So who is surprised?

Thank You, Warren Buffett, For Telling The Gorram Truth

Billionaire Warren Buffett might have a chilly reception at the country club this week, as the well-known investor has now voiced his support for greater taxes for the richest Americans in an opinion piece in the New York Times titled "Stop Coddling The Super Rich":

While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors. 

These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places.

He goes on to break down exactly what he paid in taxes last year, clearly illustrating that he pays a lower percentage in taxes than most Americans.  It's a great read and you should click over to it.  He's clearly a smart man with some great ideas (hmm, Buffett for Prez?).

It's about time that at least one member of America's elite stops being so damned irresponsible and advocates shouldering the same burden we all have to carry.

I'm not the only one pleased with Buffett's honesty, as President Barack Obama mentioned Buffett during his a town hall meeting in Minnesota:

On the same day it was published, Buffett's op-ed became an applause line for President Obama, who used it to hammer home his call for higher taxes on the rich. 

"You're paying more than that," Obama told the crowd at a town hall meeting in Minnesota. "And -- now I may be wrong, but I think you're a little less wealthy than Warren Buffett. That's just a guess."

Thank you, Warren Buffett.

Starbucks Wants You To Know It Has A Soul

Change.org petitions seem to be everywhere these days.  I've made on before and shilled my crazy on this here blog, and Dan Choi seems to have one you want to sign every other day.  I've, privately, mused to myself whether or not they are effective, but one example glares out in headlines today as a demonstration of online activism.

Starbucks CEO and founder Howard Schultz was slated to appear at a church and give a speech, "How Starbucks Fought for its Life Without Losing Its Soul" at the Chicago-based Willow Creek Community Church.  This raised some eyebrows, as WCC is associated with a megachurch that has ties to "ex-gay" reparative therapy organization Exodus International.

Naturally, a Change.org petition was created and it sufficiently pressured Shultz to cut his relationship with the church.  The petition reads:

The church that is sponsoring the event on August 11th and 12th has a long history anti-gay persecution. For decades the church was a member of Exodus International, the organization that seeks to cure homosexuality through dangerous conversion therapy. The church split ways with the group, but in doing so stated that it wasn’t a change in belief but a change in focus. The church also has their own “outreach” programs to the LGBT community to spread their anti-lgbt message.

The Chicago Tribune also notes that Starbucks recently came under fire for the very public firing of a gay employee at a Long Island store.  Did Schultz decide to step carefully in this incident due to past mistakes his employees have made?  It's unclear, but good for him for withdrawing from the leadership summit in question.