OCCUPY DENVER

Democrats introduce bill to raise minimum wage to $9.80

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 13:16:10 -0600

Democrats introduce bill to raise minimum wage to $9.80:

abaldwin360:

nerdragerant:

abaldwin360:

justinspoliticalcorner:

More than 100 House Democrats introduced a bill Thursday to raise the minimum wage. Rep. George Miller’s proposed legislation would raise the minimum wage to $9.80 over three years, 85 cents per year, then link it to inflation, so that raising it wouldn’t have to be a giant political fight every few years. Tipped workers, who haven’t seen their $2.13 minimum wage increased since 1991, would get 85 cent raises until the tipped minimum was 70 percent of the full minimum wage.

If you work at the current minimum wage for 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, with no time off at all, the $15,080 you earn puts you $50 below the poverty threshold for a family of two. That—and the fact that many minimum wage employers keep workers at part-time levels—is why so many working people are forced to rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid and other aid programs. It shouldn’t be controversial to say that if you work, you shouldn’t be poor. But to today’s Republican Party, that counts as a radical statement.

H/T: Laura Clawson at Daily Kos Labor

Something else the GOP will probably filibuster.

Okay, here’s the thing about the minimum wage: raising it causes inflation to increase, because inflation is directly tied to how much money the general populace has (aka the money supply). When the money supply increases, inflation increases; this is why inflation is generally inversely linked with unemployment (except in cases of stagflation but that’s a very rare occurrence; the only time it has happened in American history is the Carter presidency). As more people are employed, they have more money, and so inflation increases. If you raise the minimum wage, more people will have more money, yes, but inflation will increase, devaluing that money. And if you link the minimum wage to inflation, it is quite possible that inflation could spiral out of control. Here’s what I mean.

Minimum wage goes to $9.80. Because of this, inflation increases, since the money supply has increased. So, minimum wage increases. So, the money supply increases, leading inflation to increase. So, minimum wage increases. So, inflation increases. So, minimum wage increases, so inflation increases, so minimum wage increases, and pretty soon we end up having to take wheelbarrows full of cash to the store to buy a loaf of bread. We would be making more money, but we wouldn’t be able to do as much with it. Economics 101.

Okay, here’s the thing, the purchasing power of one making minimum wage is 30% lower today than it was in 1968.

The minimum wage was $1.60 an hour in 1968, that’s roughly $10 an hour in 2012 dollars.

Inflation has outpaced minimum wage, so inflation happened anyway, and the result has been that the minimum wage is actually lower now than it was in 1968.

What was that about economics 101?

^^ BOOM roasted

Yes, please.

occupyiowa: The YouTube corporation and CBS have now censored...

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:39:30 -0600

occupyiowa:

The YouTube corporation and CBS have now censored the original video of Anaheim cops shooting at children. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MST4RhWdlMQ

“This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by CBS.”

Spread links to the mirrors. Keep firing.

Because news in America sucks.

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 16:17:44 -0600

In case you are out of the loop with what’s happening in Anaheim, California, here’s some stuff we posted on Occupy Denver’s Twitter and Facebook:

Fresh Anaheim riots: Rage over police shootings, cops fire pepper pellets (PHOTOS)

Police Brutality in Anaheim Sparks Outrage After 2 Latinos Shot Dead and Demonstrators Attacked

Tweet by Anonymous of a shot kid

Let’s face it: Mainstream media isn’t covering this because this is happening in a minority community and it doesn’t involve buggy eyed, orange-haired white guys that the media won’t shut up about.

:/ Really, Nolan. Really?

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 22:22:00 -0600

Because this movie doesn’t scream propaganda:

Bane’s dastardly plot involves a massive transfer of wealth using the stock exchange. It consists further of inciting civil unrest and taking control of cutting-edge technologies that can be used for good or ill. Nolan’s critique of Wall Street is implicit in the portrayal of the rapacious and arrogant Wall Street traders, but some uneasiness about the Occupy movement is evident, as well, in the film’s depiction of people’s tribunals. However, to say that the movie steers a middle course would be to impose coherence on what seems more like a scattered set of fears and impressions.

- Source

The final half-hour is cleverly written and on a spectacular scale. You may have seen a city trashed in many a blockbuster, but never quite like this.

The picture also has the courage to grapple, however superficially, with two big themes: the fear of terrorism and economic collapse.

The bad guy, Bane (Tom Hardy), is like an 18th-century French revolutionary hoping to unite the oppressed masses against the capitalists and authorities who have kept them under control for so long.

- Source

huerca zafada: For greater understanding about the context of the protests

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 20:16:49 -0600

huerca zafada: For greater understanding about the context of the protests:

guiltysky:

desliz:

Here are some English-language articles:

The Kingpins - Lengthy but pretty comprehensive article that lays out the relationship between the PRI, Enrique Pena Nieto, and the narcowar, as well as the influence drug violence has had upon Mexican voters.

Mexico’s Election: A Vote For Peace, A Plan For War - Offers some background regarding the origin of #yosoy132 and American interference in the elections.

Mexico’s Youth Uprising - Written just before the elections, capturing the mood at that time.

Raped, Beaten, Never Forgotten - Information about the widespread sexual assault of women in San Salvador Atenco, which occurred under Ernesto Pena Nieto’s watch, and is one of the biggest contributors to outrage against him.

Reports of gift card payments… - Concerning the gift cards to Mexican supermarket chain Soriana, which were used to buy votes for the PRI, and the origin of the the numerous Soriana references in the protests.

(I do not claim that the information in these articles is 100% accurate or free from contention, but they should give a sufficient understanding of the factors at play here.)

Read up, y’all. First Canada, then Mexico.

Sonecon, calls possibly "the biggest financial fraud in history."

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 15:52:00 -0600

Sonecon, calls possibly "the biggest financial fraud in history.":

guiltysky:

The news on Wednesday that cities and states are suing some of the world’s largest banks over Libor manipulation shows how this scandal could blow up into one of history’s biggest bank frauds.

That’s because interest-rate manipulation might well have kept your town or state from hiring firefighters or teachers, from paving roads or paying for indigent care or after-school programs for your kids — adding to the human suffering of the economic collapse these same banks caused in the first place.

If it’s any consolation, the lawsuits and fines over this manipulation could potentially cost the banks — which include not only Barclays but Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and many more — billions of dollars.

“This could get very ugly in a hurry for some banks,” Peter Tchir of TF Market Advisors wrote in a note.

And this could finally be enough to make Americans stop reacting to the Libor scandal with “a shrug,” as Joe Nocera recently put it, and push them closer to believing what Robert Shapiro, founder of economic advisory firm Sonecon, calls possibly “the biggest financial fraud in history.”

Would it be enough, maybe, to finally cause banks to lose the argument that regulating them too much will hurt the economy?

The New York Times wrote Wednesday that several states, towns and other municipalities are rounding up posses of lawyers to sue big banks over their manipulation of Libor, a short-term interest rate that affects borrowing costs throughout the global economy. Barclays has admitted to manipulating the rate for years, paying $450 million in penalties. Other banks are under investigation for doing the same thing. The scandal has already engulfed Treasury Secretary Tim Geithnerand Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke who have been asked to testify before a Senate subcommittee about rate manipulation.

The states and cities suing the banks often bought — from some of the same banks they’re suing — credit derivatives called interest-rate swaps. The swaps protected them when Libor rose, but hurt them when Libor fell. If these states and cities can prove the banks manipulated Libor lower, then they could have a case that the banks owe them some money.

Other potential litigants — hedge funds, maybe — bought derivatives that cost them money when Libor rose. Again, if they can prove that banks manipulated Libor higher, then they, too, could have a case that banks owe them money.

How much money are we talking?

Some of Wall Street’s best thinkers have scoffed that such lawsuits will likely result insmall potatoes, or maybe tater tots at best. It could be hard to suss out how much financial damage somebody really suffered from this, or how much any one bank — or even more than one bank — is responsible.

And a lot of borrowers, maybe including the same states and cities suing the banks,arguably benefited when the banks manipulated Libor lower, because it lowered their borrowing costs.

But the sheer vastness of the derivatives market makes this a potentially huge headache for the banks. There’s a general estimate floating around that Libor affects about $800 trillion in notional derivatives — that’s “trillion,” not “billion” or “million.” Banks are not going to be on the hook for anything near that much, as the bulk of this amount is “notional” — meaning, roughly, “not real.”

What is far more likely is that people with derivatives contracts tied to Libor lost tiny percentages of that $800 trillion with some regularity because of Libor manipulation. Some municipalities in the Times story estimate Libor manipulation cost them millions of dollars — $13 million in the case of Nassau County, New York, for example. That’s the same Nassau County whose crushing long-term unemployment is the subject of an HBO documentary, “Hard Times: Lost On Long Island.”

That’s “millions,” not “trillions.” Tater tots, if you’re a bank. But priceless for a municipality struggling to hire workers, build infrastructure or take care of the people being crushed by the recession and painfully slow recovery.

And there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of municipalities involved in this. A 2010Wall Street Journal article about how states and cities were losing money on derivatives noted that in Pennsylvania alone, 107 school districts owned interest-rate derivatives during the time period banks were allegedly manipulating rates.

That’s 107 school districts in one state alone losing untold millions of dollars because of lower interest rates, which may have been lower than they should have been because of Libor manipulation. That’s 107 school districts in one state alone that had a harder time paying teachers, buying computers, of funding art programs.

Peter Tchir of TF Market Advisors tried in a research note this morning to arrive at what some of the big numbers might look like, if all of these potential litigants decided to up and hit the banks all at once.

If the banks were responsible for moving the three-month Libor rate by just 1/100th of a percentage point on that entire universe of $800 trillion in notional derivatives contracts, then that would be worth $20 billion, according to Tchir’s calculations.

Banks are probably not going to be on the hook for derivatives worth anything close to that $800 trillion. But if banks manipulated rates by more than that 1/100th of a point, or for more than 90 days — the term of three-month Libor — on even smaller notional derivative amounts, then the numbers can still get big in a hurry. And that doesn’t even include punitive damages. And it doesn’t include the estimated $10 trillion in mortgages and other loans tied to Libor, including $275 billion worth of U.S. mortgages, according to an estimate from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency referenced in the FT.

“That is the real exposure a bank caught ‘lying’ faces,” Tchir writes. “If the lie was big enough and for a long enough period and anyone entitled to receive payment based on LIBOR can make the claim, the potential damage to the bank is enormous.”

Hi - I am trying to get in touch with FuckHammerDeathSquad regarding a November 13, 2011 arrest at Occupy Denver. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help.

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 16:57:57 -0600

If you have not done so, you can contact legal@occupydenver.org and see if they have any information. If you have a twitter account,

@OWSDenverLegal may also be able to help answer your question. But I’m tweeting them right now.

Transgender Housing Network

Wed, 02 May 2012 17:59:09 -0600

Transgender Housing Network:

fuckyeahfeminists:

Transgender Housing Network - a tumblr of temporary housing for trans* folks in need of a safe place to stay.

“a temporary housing network intended to connect trans people in need with safe and supportive places to crash. if you have or are in need of a couch, floor, or spare room, send an ask or submit with any relevant information you’re willing to share and we’ll try and connect you with other couch lenders or surfers near you.”

Please read their READ ME section if you choose to use or offer services: http://transcouchnetwork.tumblr.com/readme

Please use caution and safety.

Evict Albus Brooks from the Denver City Council for the urban camping ban

Wed, 02 May 2012 14:49:22 -0600

Evict Albus Brooks from the Denver City Council for the urban camping ban:

guiltysky:

Alright, let’s ignore Occupy for a moment. This is beyond that.

In case you’re wondering, basically, there’s a very privileged and rich force that wants to criminalize homelessness. How?

Shelter funding has been dramatically cut over the years in Denver. And a lot of homeless folks have nowhere else to go are forced to sleep on doorsteps, including business centers. If this ordnance passes, it will make it illegal to sleep out on the streets. These people have NOWHERE else to go. Homeless shelters are over-crowded. Many organizations who help the homeless, including Colorado Collation for the Homeless have voiced concerns over this ordnance.

Albus Brooks is an outspoken proponent for the ordnance, putting business over people, calling himself a minister. He forgets the fact that Jesus Christ himself would advocate helping the homeless. This man and many of the Denver City Council have never talked to the homeless. Many of the homeless are veterans and have been neglected by the system.

So please, sign and share!

Over 6,000 arrests since September 17th, 2011 since Occupy Wall...

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 21:27:28 -0600

Over 6,000 arrests since September 17th, 2011 since Occupy Wall Street just started. Why has the president NOT said anything?

I cannot support this government until the OWS manifesto is addressed and recognized.

Dear fellow Americans,

We are assembled in Zucotti Park — which we’ve renamed Liberty Plaza — in the financial district of New York, because we believe that the American economy is heading in the wrong direction and we have a few ideas for what to do about it.

There is a feeling shared by a growing number of people on the streets of the world that the global economy has become a kind of Ponzi scheme, a global casino, run by and for the benefit of the 1 percent.

We believe that it is possible to inject justice into the global economy. We have come up with the following list of things that can be done right now to rejuvenate democracy and economic justice in our country:

• Halt foreclosures for the unemployed, sick and elderly

• Increase funding to public services by taxing the richest 1 percent

• Forgive all student loan debt

• Reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act in order to control speculation

• Work with the other G20 nations to implement a 1% “Robin Hood” tax on all financial transactions and currency trades

• Ban high-frequency ‘flash’ trading and bring sanity to the markets

• Break up the “too big to fail” banks that threaten our future

• Arrest the financial fraudsters responsible for the 2008 meltdown and bring them to justice

• Ordain a Presidential Commission tasked with ending the influence corporate money has on our elected representatives in Washington

If you agree with any of these demands, then join us! We will stay here in our encampment in Liberty Plaza until President Obama responds to each of these demands. This is just the beginning, there is more to come as we work together to reshape America.

— The People’s Assembly of New York City

motherjones: restorationcalls: In Nothing We Trust: “I was...

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:10:42 -0600

motherjones:

restorationcalls:

In Nothing We Trust:

“I was middle class for 10 years, but it’s done. I’ve lost my home. I live in a trailer now because of a mortgage company and an incompetent government.”

—Johnny Whitmire of Muncie, Indiana

National Journal’s cover story on Americans’ lack of faith in core institutions is really worth your time. Give it a read.

denverpost: Denver commission calls for delay in introduction...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:32:48 -0600

denverpost:

Denver commission calls for delay in introduction of proposed homeless camping ban

The increasing numbers of homeless and Occupy Denver protesters camped out downtown overnight has divided the community as well as city lawmakers.

Advocates for the homeless are lining up against the ordinance. Business members are pushing for its adoption.

Does Denver need a camping ban? What alternatives are there?

Would you lovely people tell The Denver Post that this is class warfare at it’s finest?

OCCUPY STUDENT DEBT: what do my student debts have to do with my ability to do a job well anyway?

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:10:49 -0600

OCCUPY STUDENT DEBT: what do my student debts have to do with my ability to do a job well anyway?:

occupystudentdebt:

Years ago I went to college to study accounting, and like millions of other Americans I took out loans to pay for it. A few years later I got a temporary job in the accounting department at Bain & Co., and after 6 months of reliable work I was thrilled to be offered a full-time position.

However, just a few weeks after starting in my new position the company fired me because my debt-to-credit ratio was too high. I later learned that 60% of employers now check credit reports, which typically include student debts. How are you supposed to pay off your student debts if you can’t get (or keep) a job BECAUSE of your debts? And what do my student debts have to do with my ability to do a job well anyway?

fuckyeahfeminists: lol ALEC is working hard to delete comments...

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:58:41 -0600

anti ALEC Facebook comment #1

anti ALEC Facebook comment #2

fuckyeahfeminists:

lol ALEC is working hard to delete comments that are not in support of its right-wing, damaging practices. Feel free to visit their Facebook timeline and tell them how you really feel!

Once you post something, take a screenshot if you can and share with us. :)

You can sign the petition against ALEC & the voter ID laws they’ve been pushing to take away the voting rights of millions of Americans: http://colorofchange.org/campaign/alec/

If this is the first time you’ve heard of ALEC, check out these sources:

http://alecexposed,org/

Recent headlines

Anti-ALEC movement gains steam at POLITICO

ALEC: What it Does and Why Three Major Corporations Cut Ties at TIME

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Withdraws Support from ALEC at ThinkProgress

Coke, Pepsi, and Kraft Have Pulled out of ALEC- Is That Enough? at Colorlines

Teacher Fired over Trayvon Martin Fundraiser

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:26:58 -0600

Teacher Fired over Trayvon Martin Fundraiser:

paradiscacorbasi:

karnythia:

There’s a petition to get her job back. I signed, please consider doing so too.

shared with a lot of my friends on facebook who are teachers, educators, and who have sons of color.

WOFL Faces Backlash After Referring to Neo-Nazis as a ‘Civil Rights Group’

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 23:10:25 -0600

WOFL Faces Backlash After Referring to Neo-Nazis as a ‘Civil Rights Group’:

At the top of its 10 p.m. newscast on Saturday, Orlando Fox O&O WOFL reported that a “civil rights group” was starting to make its presence felt in Sanford, FL, where racial tensions have escalated following the shooting of Trayvon Martin.

The “civil rights group” at the center of reporter Jennifer Bisram‘s piece: the National Socialist Movement, an apparent neo-Nazi organization.

WOFL’s labeling of the National Socialist Movement–which has a swastika in its official insignia–as a “civil rights group” has drawn the ire of social affairs activists and bloggers, who believe that the station was negligent in its characterization of the organization.

“Civil rights groups attempt to expand freedom to more people,” Judd Legum, who wrote about the WOFL report for ThinkProgress, explained via email. “They are a neo-Nazi group who doesn’t think the constitution applies to anyone who isn’t white.”

David Badash of The New Civil Rights Movement added that the National Socialist Movement, like the KKK, is certified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

In her story, WOFL’s Bisram referred to the NSM as both a “civil rights group” and a “white rights organization,” echoing the language used by the group’s leader, who she interviewed.

WOFL originally posted the story on its website with the headline “Civil Rights Group Patrolling Sanford.” Over the weekend, the station pulled the original post and replaced it with one that calls the NSM a “neo-Nazi group” (it appears that the initial post included video of the report while the new post does not).

Based on the video of the report uploaded to YouTube (above) and the actions on WOFL’s website, it would appear that the station did an about-face in characterizing the group. Some context is needed, however.

Before and after Bisram’s piece ran on Saturday, WOFL anchors Tracy Jacim and Keith Landry called into question the NSM’s characterization of itself as a civil rights group.

“They actually call themselves ‘a civil rights group,’” Jacim said, introducing the piece. “It is made up of thousands of white-only Americans across the country.”

Following Bisram’s report, Landry told viewers that the Southern Poverty Law Center calls the NSM a neo-Nazi group.

“But the National Socialist Movement says that’s not what they’re about,” Landry added. “We will follow up if we need to.”

WOFL has not responded to TVSpy’s requests for comment.

>Update: According to a WOFL spokesperson, the station retracted the original post in order to add additional context to the story (and avoid misinterpretations). WOFL updated its follow-up post today to include an editor’s note as well as video of the story. The video clip includes what anchors Jacim and Landry told viewers before and after the report.

“The report originally published Saturday inadvertently referred to the National Socialist Movement as a civil rights group,” the editor’s note explains. “We intended to refer to them as a ‘self-proclaimed’ civil rights group.”

owsposters: To Fix High Teen Pregnancy Rates, Fix...

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:21:40 -0600

owsposters:

To Fix High Teen Pregnancy Rates, Fix Inequality

Download the poster pack

Info source: http://huff.to/teen-pregnancy-and-inequality

subconciousevolution: http://www.occupypatriarchy.org/ If you...

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:29:32 -0600

subconciousevolution:

http://www.occupypatriarchy.org/

If you ARE wondering about the sudden loads of post with the tags “occupy patriarchy”, this site is cool to check out :)

"It isn’t about feeling guilty for being white, it’s about motivating yourself and other white people..."

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:26:35 -0600

“It isn’t about feeling guilty for being white, it’s about motivating yourself and other white people to stand up against a culture which permits the murder of people of color to go unreported and blames them for getting angry about it. Not to mention the wage gap, stigmas perpetuated about people of color, misrepresentation in the media, etc. If the aforementioned pisses you off less than being asked to shut up and listen or admit that white privilege does exist, you have a serious problem.”

- stfuwhiteliberals (via thetart)

People ask me all the time if I’m “asking them to be guilty about being white.” NO! This explains it. -Jess

(via stfuconservatives)

warbyothermeansxvx: Hey, Denver, come to this on saturday and...

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:23:35 -0600

warbyothermeansxvx:

Hey, Denver, come to this on saturday and help support an awesome space that houses a ton of badass organizations and people(myself included)!

Like the flyer said, there will be a ton of delicious vegan food and it’s super affordable.

Reblog please?

You got it <3!

OCCUPY DENVER

Democrats introduce bill to raise minimum wage to $9.80

occupyiowa: The YouTube corporation and CBS have now censored...

The YouTube corporation and CBS have now censored the original video of Anaheim cops shooting at children. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MST4RhWdlMQ “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by CBS.” Spread links to the mirrors. Keep firing.

Because news in America sucks.

Fresh Anaheim riots: Rage over police shootings, cops fire pepper pellets (PHOTOS)

Police Brutality in Anaheim Sparks Outrage After 2 Latinos Shot Dead and Demonstrators Attacked

:/ Really, Nolan. Really?

huerca zafada: For greater understanding about the context of the protests

Sonecon, calls possibly "the biggest financial fraud in history."

Hi - I am trying to get in touch with FuckHammerDeathSquad regarding a November 13, 2011 arrest at Occupy Denver. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help.

@OWSDenverLegal may also be able to help answer your question. But I’m tweeting them right now.

Transgender Housing Network

Evict Albus Brooks from the Denver City Council for the urban camping ban

Over 6,000 arrests since September 17th, 2011 since Occupy Wall...

motherjones: restorationcalls: In Nothing We Trust: “I was...

In Nothing We Trust:

denverpost: Denver commission calls for delay in introduction...

Denver commission calls for delay in introduction of proposed homeless camping ban

OCCUPY STUDENT DEBT: what do my student debts have to do with my ability to do a job well anyway?

fuckyeahfeminists: lol ALEC is working hard to delete comments...

Teacher Fired over Trayvon Martin Fundraiser

WOFL Faces Backlash After Referring to Neo-Nazis as a ‘Civil Rights Group’

owsposters: To Fix High Teen Pregnancy Rates, Fix...

subconciousevolution: http://www.occupypatriarchy.org/ If you...

"It isn’t about feeling guilty for being white, it’s about motivating yourself and other white people..."

warbyothermeansxvx: Hey, Denver, come to this on saturday and...

The YouTube corporation and CBS have now censored the original video of Anaheim cops shooting at children. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MST4RhWdlMQ

“This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by CBS.”

Spread links to the mirrors. Keep firing.