Hey guys,

I'm fortunate enough to be the voice for my city of Jacksonville.

I will be live on First Coast News tomorrow morning discussing the Movement.

I'm not really sure what to expect as far as their questions go so I'd like to have something to say to fall back on in case I get stuck (it will be live). I figure if I need something to say, I'll state what the movement is, and what it is not.

This is where I need your help.

What are your suggestions on what I should include in these lists?

Time is of the essence as I meet with them at 5:45am tomorrow.

Thank you for your contributions!

So I think you should definitely make sure it is known to be a PEACEFUL protest.
State that it is a display of the dissatisfaction of the American people.
It is a way to communicate issues democratically amongst the people outside of media and corporate influence.
There really are no demands as of yet but the people are gathering and discussing the problems in order to create demands.
Topics are brought up within groups and consensuses are decided upon democratically by voting.
Urge people to form general assemblies within their cities and listen to anyone who wants to speak an issue, where everyone has equal say and no one is above anyone else.

These are just basic ideas I got from the videos on the website

Thanks for doing this!
Kick ass!

This is awesome! You absolutely rock!

Try to speak from your heart about the issues that you know the most about....these will usually be the ones you care the most about anyway.

Try to speak directly and not round-about or whishy washy. Better to take a moment to think before speaking than to confuse a mesage trying to think while you speak.

Issues I care about.
1) Separation of Business and State. We have to rethink campaign laws. Maximum donation of $1000 per person and only humans can donate. This levels the playing field for the average joe. As it is now large corporations donate huge sums of money essentially stacking the deck in favor of their directors views. This is wrong and it's not a democracy.

2) I'd like to see a flat tax rate on individuals and a graduated tax system on business. My arguments here are that we want to foster an environment where small business can prosper while making sure the larger businesses are held more accountable via higher taxes. This will work for a few reasons. 1) Obviously low tax rates encourage entrepreneurs...but 2) It wil actually cause large business to spend more because they will have to actually innovate to keep up with small business again. win-win.

3) I'd like to see an audit of the federal reserve. I call bullshit on any argument against it for the simple fact that they control the currency we 'base our faith in'. We have the right to know the balance sheet of the fed just as any investor has this right to know this information for any company he own's stock in.

4) We need scientists involved at levels with regards to the environment. This needs to be taken as the serious science issue that it is and not the political posturing issue it has become. Any news agency talking about climate change needs to be held accountability for accuracy of their statements.

5) We need to drastically consider raising the tax on gasoline for the simple fact that we are on a grossly unsustainable course with regards to peak energy. We have in all likely hood already hit peak oil in the 2005-2008 era. We need a real solution to this problem. Playing an end game scenario by positing military around the middle east is EXACTLY the WORST thing we humans can do as our supplies of resources dwindle. We need to invest very very VERY heavily in energy research.

6) Total government transparency. If we can build a space shuttle and send people back and forth to space the we CAN build a web site where any American can literally point and click to see EXACTLY to the penny were every single tax dollar goes.

Man I am sending some serious positive vibes your way. I'll be thinking of you tomorrow. I took the day off and am hoping to make it down to the Boston rally again.

Peace


-Speak directly from your heart.

I think these guys have nailed it, I just wanna say how awesome it is that your doing this MC.

you have my full support.

Thank you for your replies so far guys. I should have added some more details.

I will be on two, 2-3 min live bits. One at approx 6:03 am and the other at 6:33 am. I won't have much time to talk about the issues and I'm somewhat restricted on what I can say.

In order to get the proper permits for something like this, you have to apply for them 30 days in advance. This movement isn't even 30 days old.

Another thing is that it costs $300 per day just to protest and another $1,000 per day for insurance. Also, you must get a permit in order to feed the homeless.

So in order to keep the peace with the local police and keep arrests down, I have to keep words like protest, event, rally, movement, etc. down to a minimum. It's absurd what we have to go through. We've been asleep for so long that they've made it damn near impossible for us to exercise our 1st amendment rights.

Once we have some real numbers behind us, it will be easier to promote civil disobedience. Until then, we have to play by their rules as much as we can.

Suggesting a flat tax rate on individuals is an awful idea. Of course, it’s exactly what the wealthiest in our society have been propagandizing forever, so it’s no surprise that some see it as “democratic” or “progressive” or an “incentive” for innovation. It is none of these things.

It is wrong and immoral that those in society who have received the most (or more correctly, taken the most) should be taxed at the same rate as the poorest among us (many of whom are kept poor by those who take the most). It just doesn’t make sense.

I'm sorry you disagree Gibran. To bad you couldn't throw down something constructive. You usually have really good ideas.


BTW Can you prove that the wealthy have 'taken' everything they have? Can you conceive of the possibility that many of the business owners have actually busted their asses for years to create the wealth? Can you conceive that those people have created many jobs for others?

Also show me an American that is "kept" poor. What Bullshit. Any American that wants to get off his ass and create a better life for himself has ample opportunity...EVEN IN TODAY'S ECONOMY. Im not saying it's a level playing field. It's certainly is not. I want to make it more level..but I don't want to remove the field completely.

No I don't have a problem with wealth at all. I have a problem when someone of wealth has a bigger voice than the rest just because of their wealth.

BTW You are right this solution will still leave uber billionaires in the world. Short of flat out taking that money from them you can't change that.

Also you talk about morals. I find it immoral to tax me and then use that money to fight wars and kill people. I'm not all liberal by any stretch of the imagination. The truth is: People aren't all equal in every sense of the word. Some people want to get up and strive to make real lasting change in the world. Some people want to sit and be lazy doing nothing. I have no problem with either person. Do with life what you want, but don't cry that others have more if you waren't willing to work hard to get it yourself.

I'm not here to destroy every last system in government. I just want a separation of business and government. All I want to see is the people have a real voice. The people are the wealthy, the middle class and the poor. I want them to all have an equal voice...the 100%. not just the 99%.

They can keep their wealth. What the hell do I care? I just want to check their power.

And quite frankly...I want the government to quit using my tax dollars to fight wars I don't agree with. That is immoral. Equal percentage tax rates if anything is the ONLY moral way to apply taxes. BTW I know were you are coming from. I've been there. I've changed my views on it.

Do me a favor and just meditate on the outcome of a system like I proposed. Yes there will still be wealthy. yes there will still be poor. It has alway's been, and likely alway's will be like that. It sucks...but it is human. We don't all want the same things out of life. We don't all strive for the same things. Point blank we aren't really all perfectly equal...and you know what? That's ok. It takes all kinds to make the world go round. If Joe wants to waste 20 years of his life building a mulitnational company thats fine with me. He can't take that money with him when he dies. His life. His choice.

I'm not conservative by any stretch either. But socialism...pure socialism...just makes everyone poor. I don't want that at all. I want a system that harnesses human competitiveness and checks human greed.

So what ideas do you have?

Peace.

GOOD LUCK MELODIC CATASTROPHE!

I'm pulling for you friend!

Thanks Joe! I went there this morning and only got one 3 minute spot instead of two spots. I was so anxious that I didn't get much sleep and got the deer in the headlight eyes for a second. I bounced back pretty quick though. I haven't been able to find a video of the interview but I'm sure one will pop up sooner or later.

The news guy said that he would pass my cell phone number on to the crew that will be covering the protest tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to say some more then.

Thanks again for the moral support!

Tell us more! What sort of questions did they ask? What did you talk about?

Shit man I just down right proud of you and I've never even met you!

Peace.

They just asked if Jacksonville had any particular demands and I responded by saying we hadn't really gotten that far yet and we're mainly just showing solidarity for those who are protesting in NYC. I then gave the info on how to find the Declaration of Occupation so they could find out more details about why we are out there. They then brought up how NYC has been pretty violent with the police and I reassured them that we intend on this being as peaceful as possible. It was a really quick interview and they didn't really give me a chance to say much. I'm hoping I'll have more opportunities not only tomorrow, but at future rallies as well.

It seems that First Coast News has made me their go-to guy for now, so I hope to do the movement as much justice as I can. I'm passionate about change and I hope my enthusiasm can infect some others.

This is a link to the article from this morning but they didn't include anything I said this morning. The quote they included was from an interview I did a couple of days ago that I posted in the main revolution thread. I just failed to mention it was me in the interview when I posted the video.

It's supposed to rain really bad here tomorrow but I'm hoping that doesn't affect the turnout too much. I really think it will though. Jacksonville isn't quick to get on the bandwagon for anything that might bring about change. They are too caught up on words to think outside of the box.

Some examples of what I'm talking about can be found in the comments section of the above article. You guys feel free to go and set those guys strait.

Thanks again for your encouragement Joe, it really is appreciated.

Edit: The link now contains the video to the actual interview.

I’m not a social engineer and don’t propose to have the answers. But I don’t have to look too far to see the problems in our society today. Our country is in serious economic trouble. Many are still in denial about it, but eventually it will be impossible to ignore. In these times of trouble, some suffer more than others. So here are some questions to ask:

Who suffers the most? Who suffers the least? Who doesn’t suffer at all? Who created the current economic problems – the wealthy or the poor? Who controls our economic and political system – the wealthy or the poor?


I never said that the wealthy have taken everything they have, but it is a fact that a business owner has choices available that his workers do not. Business owners can choose to take profits and put them into their own pockets or put them into their workers pockets: A business owner who employs 1000 hard-working, ass-busting, profit-generating employees can choose to give himself a $1,000,000 bonus at the end of the year, or to give $1,000 to each of his employees. How do you think most would choose?

A business-owner can choose to move a plant to China in order to increase profits (not to lower costs for consumers) or to keep hard-working US citizens employed. What choice do most business owners make?

There are too many business owners and officers who, whenever presented with the opportunity to increase profit will seek to increase profit, regardless of the consequences. I find that immoral. Call me crazy, but I consider human lives and human dignity more important than increased profits for the top 1%.


Business owners decide the wages and benefits that their employees will make. Educated, motivated, hard-working people lose their jobs every day. You imply that only lazy, unmotivated people suffer in our society (and further imply that they deserve to suffer). So what is your solution? Go back to school? Who pays the bills while you’re back in school? Who takes care of the kids? Who takes care of dad with his Alzheimer’s? And after you get your diploma and the accompanying mountain of student loan debt that will take several lifetimes to pay off, what assurance do you have that your latest career won’t be outsourced to India or China or to a machine?


This is more propaganda from the wealthy. Do you think that poor people choose to be poor? Do you think they evaluate their options – “hmm, I can sit and be lazy doing nothing or I can have a happy, meaningful, and productive life” – and having made such an evaluation, they choose to be poor and unhappy and unfulfilled? And do you really believe that everyone who works hard and strives to make real lasting change in the world is guaranteed success? Do you deny the possibility that there are people out there who have worked hard all their lives and, through no fault of their own, have little to show for it?


Wealth = power. If you don’t see that, then the wealthy and powerful have been very successful at convincing you otherwise. To the wealthy and powerful: Job well done.


I wish I had a better grasp of political and economic systems than I do, but I don’t think that there’s anything about socialism that makes everyone poor. In fact, aren’t some of the wealthiest Scandinavian countries socialist?

Regardless, our wonderful capitalistic nation would grind to an immediate halt, both politically and economically, if we weren’t continually receiving loans from Communists. Ironic.

Melodic you did fine. I could tel you were a little nervous, but hell I'd have been plenty nervous as well.

Gibran.

I agree the world has plenty of problems.




Nope you never said everything you said most. I still implore you to prove that statement.

You are right a business owner has choices his employees don't have. His employees also have the choice to start a business. The business owner, in most cases, has put in far more time, effort and energy creating his business than any employee will ever put in working there.

Don't slam the business owners just because they have more money than you. That's nothing more then envy pure and simple. Rage against the practices of the big companies that are breaking the environment. Rage against business in countries that force people to work in horrific conditions. Don't rage at others simply because they have more than you. they probably worked hard for it.



The whole point of business is to generate profit. There is no other purpose behind business. I agre there should be consequences...these consequences should be legislated in. In a system were there is a separation of business and state (like I outlined above) the people would collectively have a much larger say in things like whether we drill for oil or whether we fund alt energy programs.



yes and employes choice wether they want to work there. Have you ever started a business? Do you have any idea how hard it is? Seriously? I have don it. My wife has done it. Suffice it to say I'm much happier as a high paid employee that I was as a business owner.



don't put words in my mouth. I implied no such thing. I lost my job a few months back and had the same fear everyone else has. I hit the pavement and found another job (paying more..with better benefits) in about 3 months. I busted my ass. I treated it like a job. I didn't just send out resumes. I hand delivered them. I called old colleges and spread the word that I was looking for work.

There ARE a LOT of lazy people with out jobs. I know SEVERAL of them...and yes of course you are right there are plenty of hard working educated people (like myself) that have felt the nasty ax of a job cut. It sucks. It's life. Noo business owner owes you a job any more than you owe him servie.

You agree to take a job then you agree to terms of that job.



I disagree completely. there is way more propaganda form the uneducated poor than the rich...ON AVERAGE.



I think the majority of the poor people in first world countries make decisions that keep them poor. I honestly wish this wasn't a drug board and I could divulge my entire life story to you. Suffice it to say that pretty much no matter were you start from in this country you can climb to pretty great heights. So this argument is Bullshit to me. No poor people don't want to be poor, but a hell of a lot of them didn't want to dedicate the time and energy to do the things that would put them in a position to not be poor. I will divulge this much about me: I went from living on the streets to PhD in less than 10 years.



Actually yes. I know people that have made that exact decision even though perhaps they weren't aware of it. Hell in college I remember leaving all the parties early to go home and study. I now have several old college buddies that wasted their time in college partying. They essentially made the exact choice you mentioned above. Dropped out of college and now work as waiters. I feel for them... honestly I do. But they made those choices themselves.



I do not deny this possibility at all. It's called life. Life isn't fair. I will say this though. The people that try hard, make sound decisions and do what's right rarely get in the situation you are talking about. People that buy houses far outside their price range and then lose a job...what should I say about that?



I went from living on the street to a PhD in 10 years. Do you think it was easy? No one paid my bills. I mowed yards to get through community college while I lived at my grandmothers house. I made good enough grades to get a scholarship to 4 year..which combined with loans made it possible to survive while I got through undergrad. Then in grad school I got a stipend for teaching pharmacy school classes...I also took an outside job. No one held my hand during this process. It was hard as hell. I'm glad I did it.



What assurance should I give you? It's a gamble. All of life is. Your chances of success in this world are much better if you do go to college and get an education...but how can I guarantee you a job? No one owes you or anyone else anything. Life is tough man.



I do see that. In fact if you hadn't been so quick to slam my post you would have seen that the primary point I was making was that we need to check the power the wealthy have. I don't care if they are wealthy...but their voice shouldn't be any louder than yours, or mine, or joe down the street.



At least you can admit it. More importantly though I think you don't have a good grasp on human motivation. We need a mix of capitalism and socialism like the USA used to be. We don't have a capitalist system any longer. Today the USA is a corporate owned state. The people have no voice. I want to change that. I want to make our voices all equal....not our pocket books. I don't hate business owners or the wealthy. I want to foster an environment that will allow more job creation so that more people can have jobs. I want a system were the Steve Jobs of the world can create a company like Apple and were people like us can choice to work for him or not.



I TOTALLY AGREE.


BTW. I do share your complete idealism. I just know it's not possible yet. I'm trying to think of solutions that will push us in the right direction. Trying to force an ideal world on today's society is beyond futile. We have to work to change the system by using the system we have. Remember there are entire groups of people that are completely appalled at what we call 'ideal'....

Nothing about this change is going to be smooth and easy, but we can't just wake up tomorrow and expect the entire world to be on board with our utopian ideas about society...you know why? Because there are almost 7 Billion people on this planet and EVERY SINGLE one of them has their own opinion about a perfect world. Your ideas are but one...my ideas are also but one.

We are fighting the same war my friend and I assure you we are on the same team. We don't have to agre on everything anymore than the wall street protestors agree on everything. What we all agree on is that shit is fucked up. We all also agree that it's not any one thing wrong. I think most of us also agree that in no way does any one person have all the answers..Lord knows I sure as hell don't. Right now we just need to focus on unifying as people of the world. If enough of us can do that I believe that positive change will be reflected.

Peace.

@ joedirt - Based on what you’ve written here, I must say that you are an exception and you are exceptional. To go from living on the streets to a PhD in 10 years is a remarkable achievement, and one you should be very proud of. But I hope you understand that this is not something everyone can achieve. Your views seem biased by your exceptional personal experience. If everyone had the tenacity, strength, and intellect required to accomplish what you have accomplished, then I don’t think we’d have the societal problems we have today. I’m currently self-employed, so I’m well aware of the challenges involved in trying to make ends meet on one’s own. It takes strength to succeed.

Unfortunately, not everyone is strong. Not everyone is smart. Not everyone is able to achieve as you have achieved. So the issue isn’t really about how we treat the wealthy and successful, rather it’s about how we treat the least among us. I’m not a religious person, but there is one Bible passage that really resonates with me: Mathew 25:40 – “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

How you treat your peers or your superiors or people who have something that you want or people who have control over you says very little about your character. But how you treat the lowest members of society – those who have nothing to give you, who can be easily ignored and forgotten, those who can be easily blamed for getting into the unfortunate situations they find themselves in – how you treat those members of society says very much about your character. I think the same is true of whole societies – how we treat the least among us is the true measure of the spiritual health of a society. And by that measure, we’re not doing well at all.

It seems that compassion is in even shorter supply these days than money and jobs.

I've very much enjoyed the tax policy debate guys but I have to side with gibran2. Joedirt: People are products of circumstance. Obviously there are outstanding exceptions like yourself but generally if you're born and raised poor you can't really do much about it...

Also I think the main thing is that there is no reason anyone should have multiple homes/luxury goods/etc. when there are people starving in the street.

I have much to say on this very cool discussion which I've also enjoyed... But it's Friday. !

So I'll have to come back at a more convenient time.

Another strong vote for gibran here as well, I'm afraid. I find it astonishing that anyone with the slightest experience of psychedelics could hold those horrible, simplistic right-wing views. To imply that because you have been born with the attributes (not to mention the lack of time-consuming obligations to others necessary) to study from nothing to PhD in 10 years, that therefore "Any American that wants to get off his ass and create a better life for himself has ample opportunity" is utterly grotesque.

How would you suggest someone who is a sole carer nursing a relative 24 hrs a day with Parkinson's goes about starting a business? Or the legions of people whose lives have been devastated by sexual and psychological abuse as children, whose upbringings have left them with an unconquerable feeling of self-worthlessness. Or the single parents holding down three menial jobs to support their children after a partner has died or just run off. Or any of the mentally/physically ill, those with severe treatment-resistant depression, or anyone whose neurotransmitters are even slightly out of balance, for whom it is a perpetual struggle just to get through each day. Or indeed any of the 75%+ of people whose brains are just not wired up in an over-achieving way.

I could go on and on...but for goodness sake, just because you have the energy and health and brains (and grandmother to live with), surely you can't really believe that everyone else could do the same, but for laziness?

Agghhhh!

I'm calm now..

Hmm, I'm curious as to what your stance is on inherited wealth, joedirt. Whether it's an abundance of wealth or an ordinary amount of wealth. I think most of the wealthy members of society are not self-made men/women, but results of years of accumulated wealth -- financial dynasties in a sense. To level the playing field, shouldn't wealth solely remain with the individual who earned it?

Here’s an excerpt from an Op/Ed piece written a few years ago by Robert Kennedy’s daughter. It’s amazing how attitudes have changed so much from the idealism expressed by RFK. (Who was very wealthy and very privileged.)