We need to bring some good out of this terrible tragedy. The organization called ALEC has actively fostered the spread of  ”STAND YOUR GROUND” laws to many states. These are the very same laws that led to the Trayvon Martin murder in Florida….laws that “allow” vigilantes to be judge-jury-and-executioners! Some mainstream corporations have funded ALEC. BUT… as their funding has been publicized, they have withdrawn their support. Call or write or email the following two ALEC supporters: JOHNSON  and JOHNSON, and STATE FARM …or ….visit www.pfaw.org/ditchALEC. Please urge these two companies to their cut ties with ALEC. Tell them that they should not want their brands associated with the dangerous laws ALEC promotes — including voter suppression, NRA-backed “stand your ground” laws, extreme racial profiling laws targeting immigrants, privatizing public education and protecting corporate polluters. If you do not want YOUR hard earned money to be used AGAINST your best interests, then tell State Farm and Johnson and Johnson, in no uncertain terms:  DON’T FUND ALEC! 

Help bring some good out of this tragedy. The organization called ALEC has fostered the spread of  ”STAND YOUR GROUND” laws to many states…the very same law that led to the Trayvon Martin murder in Florida. Many mainline corporations have funded ALEC, BUT as their funding has been exposed and publicized they have withdrawn their support. Call or write or email the following two ALEC supporters: JOHNSON  and JOHNSON, and STATE FARM …or ….visit www.pfaw.org/ditchALEC. Please urge these companies to their cut ties with ALEC. These companies should not want their brands associated with the dangerous laws ALEC promotes — including voter suppression, NRA-backed “stand your ground” laws, extreme racial profiling laws targeting immigrants, privatizing public education and protecting corporate polluters. If you do not want YOUR hard earned money to be used AGAINST your best interests, then you should join this effort. Tell State Farm and Johnson and Johnson, in no uncertain terms:  DON’T FUND ALEC! 

Did Current TV simply use Keith to gain attention and higher ratings? They KNEW what they were getting! Keith injects emotion into his commentary, his intelligent and incisive reporting, his humor, and his relationships….all of which makes his program so interesting. You FEEL his pain, you FEEL his anger, and you FEEL his heart-felt sincerity when he covers a story. He’s never just a talking head! If Keith is absent from Current TV, then I too will be absent from Current TV. Keith is one of the best- hands down; as shown by is coverage of OWS, which was outstanding. I wish him well and hope he is back on the air soon. We need his unique voice.

I was raised as a Catholic. Or perhaps lowered. Whatever…But i strongly disagree with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops statement denouncing President Barack Obama’s attempts at compromise as ”needless government intrusion in the internal governance of religious institutions” . On the contrary, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops comments are themselves a needless intrusion upon the proper functions of government. Someone should explain to them the concept of separation of Church And State. Perhaps if they moved to a county governed by Sharia law for awhile, they would be more enlightened? Just because a religious group in America claims to believe something, we cannot exclude or excuse them from obeying the law. They can legally attempt to change the law… not to deny it.

I am thankful this Thanksgiving for the fact that we have Barack Obama as President of the United States -and- as a viable candidate for re-election (as opposed to the sorry sorry set of rivals on the other side). Thank you Mr. President : your heart, your values, and your basic decency are all in the right place. But… your hands are tied. Unfortunately they were tied by us, the electorate…..by not providing you with a Congress that you can work with. Instead, you have a don’t-tax-the-1%-do-nothing Congress that battles you at every turn, while the people suffer.  God, they don’t EVEN let you pass your own appointments. It’s not Tea-publican gridlock, it’s Tea-publican sabotage. Heck, it’s Tea-publican TREASON. And then they try to pin the blame on Mr. Obama. These people have no shame…or else its been purchased by those who can afford to do so. Thankfully, Occupy Wall Street is part of an emerging grass-roots evolution…a down-to-to-earth change …a change that will help us to re-elect the President AND to give him a more progressive Congress. Therefore, this Thanksgiving I am thankful and grateful that you are the President Mr. Obama! And I wish you well. You STILL give me hope.

Leonard Cohen – BIRD ON THE WIRE lyrics
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.

Like a worm on a hook,
like a knight from some old fashioned book
I have saved all my ribbons for thee.

If I, if I have been unkind,
I hope that you can just let it go by.
If I, if I have been untrue
I hope you know it was never to you.

Like a baby, stillborn,
like a beast with his horn
I have torn everyone who reached out for me.

But I swear by this song
and by all that I have done wrong
I will make it all up to thee.

I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch,
he said to me, “You must not ask for so much.”
And a pretty woman leaning in her darkened door,
she cried to me, “Hey, why not ask for more?”

Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.

They came like thieves in the night…Bloomberg’s Blue Shirts. They robbed us of our rights, and our possessions…while preventing reporters from reporting on the scene. No free press…no free speech. Welcome to NYC. Bloomberg, the self-proclaimed number one defender of free speech (pause for gagging), said in no uncertain terms: “yes, you have the right…..the right to remain silent. So just shut up, and obey”. But this is only the beginning dear Mayor .0001%., not the end. This WILL be your legacy- of repression. But you will NOT succeed. These mayors, governors, city councils, police chiefs, and street cops of America need to realize that it is NOT UP TO THEM whether or not Americans peaceably gather, protest, discuss, or demonstrate. It’s up to a document called the US CONSTITUTION. You can beat us and arrest us and tear-gas us, you can try to “permit” us to death….but you can’t kill an idea. You can’t keep down a people’s hopes and dreams for a better life….for us, and for our kids. America USED to work. The people had work. The system worked (sort of). Hey, EVEN the Congress used to work (sometimes). God knows, it was far, far, far from perfect -but at least we all had some share in the struggles AND the rewards. But somewhere along the way, we lost our way. Because now we have an economy and a political system that seems to work only for the rich. With OWS America has found it’s voice, and that voice demands fairness and justice – for ALL. This land IS our land! AND WE WANT IT BACK! We want our LIVES back! We want our FUTURE back! But it’s much more than just words…. it’s much more than politics….. it’s your freakin’ LIFE, and how you want to live it, and how you WILL live it. Find a quiet place somewhere, and consider this: Each of us has only one brief life….one chance….one roll of the dice….and many choices. The time has come to choose….to risk…and to act. If not now…then when? If not you, then….who? You DO have the power my friend….and the choice IS yours. Don’t let your dreams die….

I don’t need 11-11-11 to remind me that America will always be number one in my heart…the land and the people that I love. Problem is, America used to work. The people had work. The system worked. Hey, EVEN the Congress used to work…(sometimes). God knows, it was far, far, far from perfect – but at least we all had some share in the struggles AND the rewards. But somewhere along the way, we lost our way. And now we have an economy and a political system that seems to work only for the rich. What they call “trickle down economics”… leaves most of us out in the cold cold rain. We need to get back to what America was, and what it should be, and what it can be. Occupy Wall Street is no longer just a place called Zuccotti Park – Zuccotti Park is everywhere. You can beat us and arrest us, you can mace and tear-gas us, and you can try to “permit” us to death….but you can’t kill an idea. You can’t keep down a people’s hopes and dreams for a better life…..a life with dignity and freedom….for us… and for our kids. More power to Occupy Wall Street, as it spreads to every town and city – because OWS is us, and for us, and by us. It comes up from the grassroots, and it lifts us up in turn. With OWS America has found it’s voice, and that voice demands fairness and justice – for ALL. This land IS our land! AND WE WANT IT BACK! We want our LIVES back! We want our FUTURE back! So why not take some time, find a quiet place somewhere, and consider this: Each of us has only one brief life….one chance….and many choices. It’s time to choose…and to act. If not now…then when? If not you, then….who? You DO have the power my friend….and the choice is yours.

America used to work The people had work. The system worked. It was far, far, from perfect – but at ;est we all had some share in the struggles AND the rewards. But somewhere along the way, we lost our way. Because now we have an economy and a political system that works only for the rich. We need to get back to what America was, and what it should be, and what it can be.  Occupy Wall Street is no longer just  a place called  Zuccotti Park —  Zuccotti Park is everywhere. You can try to pen us in, you can beat us and arrest us, you can mace and tear-gas us , and you can try to “permit” us to death….but you can’t kill an idea.  You can’t keep down people’s hopes and dreams for a better life…..a life with dignity and freedom….for us… for our kids. More power to Occupy Wall Street, as it spreads to every town and city  – because  OWS is us, and for us, and by us. With OWS America has found it’s voice, and it demands fairness and justice. This land IS our land! And we want it back! We want our lives back! We want our future back!

America used to work The people had work. The system worked. It was far, far, from perfect -but we all had some share in the struggles AND the rewards. But somewhere along the way, we lost our way. Because now we have an economy and a political system that works only for the rich. We need to get back to what America was, and what it should be, and what it can be. You can beat us and arrest us -but you can’t kill an idea.  You can’t keep down people’s hopes and dreams for a better life-a life with dignity and freedom , for us , for our kids. More power to Occupy Wall Street, as it spreads to every town and city  – because  OWS is us, and for us, and by us. With OWS America has found it’s voice, and it demands fairness and justice. This land IS your land! And we want it back! We want our lives back! We want our future back!

Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life, define yourself.-Harvey Fierstein

THANK YOU, Occupy Wall Street. Thank you for being out there FOR US – day after day, night after night , in the rain and cold and wind of a New York City autumn. Thank you OWS, for reminding us that people -ordinary working people- really do matter, and for helping open our eyes to what’s really going on in this country. Thank you OWS, for standing up for the workers, and for those looking for work, and for those that will graduate and find no work. Thank you OWS, for standing your ground, and for enduring senseless illegal beatings, while still maintaining your cool and your pride, and holding your head up high. Thank you OWS, for protecting and expanding our right to free speech and peaceable assembly. You, my friends, you are the true patriots. Thank you OWS, from all of us who can’t be there in person, from all of us who are working two and three jobs just to keep up, from all of us struggling to raise our children, or caring for our elderly, just trying to live with some dignity…..while all the while the rich become richer and more powerful, at our expense. The 1% are running this economy. Indeed, they’re running it right into the ground – with their get rich schemes, and their tax evasions. Hell, if they don’t want to pay their fair share, then let’s call their bluff. Let them leave. …cause they’ve already shipped their jobs overseas anyway. The REAL “mobs” are not the hardy souls of OWS – they are the public-be-damned Tea-publicans- who are blocking everything in Washington , trying to prevent Obama from doing his job. We may not be there physically with you OWS , but we are with you in spirit . You inspire and motivate us and strengthen us, and we’re damn PROUD OF YOU!

While our .00001 percenter Mayor Bloomberg gets ready to go to sleep tonight….on his sumptuous silk sheets, in his million dollar mansion…he is trying to kill off the Occupy Wall Street protests by denying them the use of sleeping bags…..while claiming that he is the number one defender of free speech. WHAT A HYPOCRITE!!!! Instead of cleaning up the park, he should help clean up the economic and social mess created by his Wall Street brethren. His city is suffering. The Emperor has no clothes. The Emperor has NO SHAME!