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Occupy Calaveras!

The Calaveras Enterprise's video coverage of a recent "Occupy Calaveras" protest:


Occupy Calaveras from Calaveras Enterprise on Vimeo.

The Occupy Journal of a Country Radical: "Occupy Sacramento" October 15, 2011

By Michael Israel

ARRESTED AGAIN!

After I arrived in Sacramento on the 15th, I joined a large crowd surrounding the Capitol steps. I started looking through the crowd for fellow foothill activists. “Mike!” I heard Alan’s voice, somehow I had managed to walk right by and not see him. The rest of the foothill contingent drove back up early.

Cindy Sheehan joined us as the night wore on. I met up with some of the arrestees from the first night, and we catch up and shoot the shit. Some guy sung “Rebel Yell,” and though I’m not a fan of the song,  the guy actually sounded good. I think this was the same night with the drum circle too, which is not really my thing either. I am a Debbie Downer protestor; I guess it was good to see people with energy though.

My Path to Freedom

By Meghan O'Keefe




         WE WILL STAND
In 2010 I had been earning six figures for about ten years, owned a ritzy house east of Cleveland Ohio, and didn't think much about money. However, the poverty in Cleveland quickly wore away my "happily-ever-after". I wanted to get off the grid and out of a lifestyle that was isolating me from authenticity, freedom of expression, and my mission to Repair The World. Thus, I left my partner and my life and shortly after was laid-off.

Why Occupy Amador?

Originally published in the Ledger-Dispatch by David Roddy

Occupy Amador, Nov. 17 2011. Photo Courtesy of Alan Willard

Reckless Wall Street speculation and deregulation gave California some of the highest unemployment and foreclosure rates in the country. This disaster exacerbates the strain already placed on working families by three decades of neoliberalism. I believe our political and economic system must fundamentally change to ensure prosperity, equality, and freedom for future generations, and the Occupy Wall Street movement is a positive first step towards building a brighter future. The recession hit the Mother Lode particularly hard. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Amador, Calaveras, and Tuolumne average an unemployment rate of 13.6 percent, significantly higher than California’s 11.9 percent as well as the U.S. rate of 9.1 percent. Foreclosure rates in the tri-county area average every one in 864 homes, a drastic increase from previous years. Moreover, the slashing of public funds by zealous right-wing politicians steals the essential services needed to care for those most at risk in our community.

Our local governments have done little to challenge this toxic agenda. Unfortunately, start-up businesses cannot absorb these numbers, and with the diminished consumer demand associated with lower wages and high unemployment, there is little incentive to supply services anyways. A national jobs program aimed full employment would significantly increase demand and relieve the millions unemployed. On a local level, community owned enterprises could anchor capital in our region by selling shares only to residents. The solutions to the problems facing our economy must work on multiple levels, and the Occupy movement is opening the dialogue around them. As I write this, police are swarming Zuccotti Park in New York, but I have little doubt that the perseverance of the American people will overcome this setback. In Amador, residents are rallying in support of the movement, and will engage in protests in weeks to come.

To learn more about how you can help, visit facebook.com/OccupyAmador or join the discussion at facebook.com/groups/motherlodeleft.

Mother Lode Residents Attend Occupy Oakland General Strike

By Alan Willard

The whole world was definitely watching.  The Oakland mayor, cops, talking heads and general population found out just how much.  When the Occupy community in Oakland withstood the onslaught and then REBUILT, it was a true wakeup call to the 1%,  just how much the world cared. 

The Occupy Journal of a Country Radical: "Occupy Sonora" October 15, 2011

OCCUPY SONORA
By Mike Israel

I woke up in my small Sonora apartment on the morning of October 15th. I had heard in the days prior that a group would be meeting, a few blocks from my place, to show their solidarity with Occupy Wall St. I shoveled down some oatmeal, chased it with a mug of water, and then set out.

 People sure are occupying the Courthouse Park, but it is not the crowd expected. It’s a Pro-life group, and they seem well organized. Matching shirts, plenty of leaflets, banners, even a band playing. I decide to kick back in the park and see if any OWS people show up.

The Occupy Journal of a Country Radical: "Occupy Sacramento" October 8, 2011

By Michael Israel

David and half a shower curtain.

  I returned to Occupy Sacramento mid-afternoon, Saturday October 8^th. I met in Cesar Chavez Park with a handful of other foothill activists, including Alan Willard and David Roddy. David and I  worked on making a banner behind Alan’s tent, which serves as a sort of base camp for us Mother Lode folks. Armed with paint, stencils and half a shower curtain, we set to work:


“IF A JOB YOU LACK, DUMP WALL ST. OFF YOUR BACK!”

The Ground We Walk On: A History of the IWW in the Mother Lode and the Jackson Socialistic Circle (Post 2)

Assassination and Repression in Idaho
By David Roddy

Idaho governor
Frank Steunenberg

Temperatures dropped to miserable in Caldwell, Idaho, as the days waned for the year of 1905. Indeed, the temperature hovered around 20 degrees that winter, and ex-Governor Frank Steunenberg must have been chilled in spite of his six foot frame as he walked home through the snow on the night of December 30th . As he opened the gate to his yard, however, the snow and ice around him superheated as a flash of light, heat, and sound stripped him of his senses.

Other townspeople rushed towards the blast, which shattered all the windows of his house facing the street. Lying face down by the gate, amongst broken glass, splintered wood, and singed cloth, they found the governor. He was naked, as the explosion had burned his clothes away but for a few singed rags. Red pulp hung from his thighs, and chunks of his obliterated legs lay strewn around him.

“Who shot me?” he murmured to the growing crowd around him, before telling them to turn him over. Twenty minutes later, he was dead.

The Occupy Journal of a Country Radical: "Occupy Sacramento" October 6, 2011

By Michael Israel

On-site mugshot after being arrested at Occupy Sacramento

"When inspecting the bits of plant and other organic matter on my shoes, I was asked if that was where I “hid my bud,” I let the officer know he was only touching livestock manure."

October  6^th 2011
First Night of Occupy Sacramento

  The  Occupy Sacramento “open mic” sessions are long and scattered. Everyone wants to speak, to vent, to declare why they are there. The crowd is full of first time activists. Many appear nervous, anxious, but you can see the swelling pride and inspiration in them. The strength of this movement is its ability to draw out more than just the regular batch of activists, the familiar faces of past struggles. It is drawing to the streets, first timers young and old from all walks of life. I volunteer for a safety/security shift.