The Occupy newspaper, in discussing the movement’s consensus process, suggests it is itself surprised at how well this experiment continues to  work itself out: No one has ever managed to pull off something like this before–groups of activists organized into separate affinity groups, each representing a single spoke. Direct democracy has been a hallmark of previous movements, most vividly during the civil rights movement. OWS organizers credit this to its commitment to direct, consensus-based democracy: that in the same way human beings treated like children will tend to act like children, the way to encourage human beings to act mature and responsible adults is to treat them as if they already are.

Anyone suggesting this is a mob or a ragtag group needs to be taken to task.  I doubt Eric Cantor or any of his ilk have spent any time among the protesters–Zuccotti or elsewhere.  The occupants of the park are educated, committed, and unemployed for the most part. Some, who can arrange their hours, leave work for periods of time to help out.  We spoke at length with a Wall Street employee who spends his daily lunch hour reaching out to the reachable.  He feels awkward sneaking his poster out of the office but, to quote him, Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Might such expectations be applied to the participants at the Teapublican debates?  Where is the element of direct democracy or consensus-building in taking an oath to never raise taxes?   Seems to me that any elected official taking such an oath, superseding one’s oath of office, treats his/her constituents as children.  Reprehensible.  May as well remain at home and just call in one’s votes.

On the train ride home I recalled a conversation of several days ago outside Peter King’s office.  Having not received the return of any of my several calls (might they have a do-not-call list?) I decided to venture over and wait for a staff member to emerge.  Long story short, I informed the staffer that I had called repeatedly to inquire why Cong. King was not supporting the Occupy movement (silly me, I acted naive).

The response rolled off her tongue as though repeated many times, Cong. King considers the movement’s demands vague. How do you expect him to respond? My rejoinder, The protesters are demanding legislation that corrects a system that encourages disproportionate wealth among Americans; they are demanding legislation that reacts appropriately to the greed and malfeasance of the big banks.  They may have not yet written it out but it is as apparent as the noses on their faces.

I remained surprised that she allowed this back and forth to continue, but not by her retort: The expectations of the protesters are too vague to be translated into legislation.  Cong. King does not yet understand the demands.

An aha! moment if ever there was one. I responded, The protesters should not be expected to write law.  That’s the legislator’s job.  If Cong. King is unable to translate a message so apparent that it resonates with four of every five Americans then he continues to be totally tone deaf to the people. . .  You know, King Kong ultimately met his end from a great height.  This could be the moment when King Cong. finds a similar fate awaiting him.  Please remind him, or a surrogate of his choosing, to return this constituent’s calls.

She wrote my name and phone number on a card.  Let’s see if I get a call back. I’m still waiting. Big surprise.

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Haircuts–Visitors Get Cropped to Remind Banks of Their Obligations to Millions of Foreclosed Americans

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It got pretty chilly this weekend. Next week will surely be cooler.

The protest – which has focused the eyes of the world on corporate greed and economic inequality – is free speech in action. But without shelter, the protesters occupying Wall Street down at Zuccotti Park could be frozen out and forced to an early end.

Occupy protests from Boston to Philadelphia to Seattle have been allowed to put up tents to provide shelter and warmth. But down at Wall Street, tents are against the rules. Even the protest’s medical tent was nearly removed before the activists’ impassioned defense saved it.

Tell Mayor Bloomberg: Let the protesters stay — let them set up tents.–

Bill Lipton
Deputy Director, WFP

This Wednesday, the Town of Hempstead Democratic Committee asks you to rally with them! Let’s shine a light on suburban blight.  JOBS NOW!

Who: Town of Hempstead Democratic Committee

What: JOBS NOW! RALLY

Where: 832 Merrick Road, Baldwin NY(we are going to take up the block!)

When: Wednesday, October 26 5:30pm to 6:30pm

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Gary Port and the Democratic Team have a Plan to Create Jobs

At the same time as we prepare to rally for jobs, Teapublicans demand that businesses stop hiring people.  This is another of their blatant attempts to prevent President Obama from achieving success.

Tea Party Nation sent a message to their members today urging businesspeople to stop hiring people in an effort to sabotage the economy and make President Obama fail. The message came from activist (and traitor) Melissa Brookstone, and reads as follows.

Resolved that: The Obama administration and the Democrat-controlled Senate, in alliance with a global Progressive socialist movement, have participated in what appears to be a globalist socialist agenda of redistribution of wealth, and the waging of class warfare against our constitutional republic’s heritage of individual rights, free market capitalism, and indeed our Constitution itself, with the ultimate goal of collapsing the U.S. economy and globalizing us into socialism.

Resolved that: President Obama has seized what amount to dictatorial powers to bypass our Congress, and that because the Congress is controlled by a Progressive socialist Senate that will not impeach one of their kind, they have allowed this and yielded what are rightfully congressional powers to this new dictator.

Imagine that–”a progressive socialist Senate”!  Is that the group that last evening blocked President Obama’s plan to hire teachers, police, and firefighters?

What is Yes We Can! Long Island really all about? Is it just an email message on important issues? Merely a website where people can post and debate news and commentary?

Yes We Can! Long Island is a lot more than that. It is concerned individuals like you coming together to take action to support candidates, policies, and ideas that put people first.

At a time when those who would divide America are pushing their agenda with support from billionaires like the Koch Brothers and the Fox News / New York Post right-wing media noise machine, Yes We Can! Long Island stands strong for progressive values. With your support we will continue to do so.

Here are just a few of the things we have done since 2009:

• demonstrated against Rep. Peter King’s intolerant congressional investigation of the Muslim community in America.
• supported the Wisconsin State Employees demand for fair collective bargaining rights.
• met with members of the Long Island congressional delegation to suggest ideas and offer our support.
• repelled the 2010 Republican tidal wave on Long Island by helping to reelect Timothy Bishop and Carolyn McCarthy to Congress.
• counter-demonstrated the Tea Party in Merrick.
• held numerous rallies and advocated for enactment of the Affordable Healthcare Act of 2010, the first major healthcare reform legislation since Medicare.
• hosted the “Going Green-Climate Change Conference” exploring safe and clean energy alternatives and the impact of climate change right here on Long Island.
• Instrumental in the historic election of Barack Obama, Yes We Can! Long Island has continued to fight for progressive causes and candidates ever since. When Tea Party activists rallied in our community, who stood up and confronted them? Yes We Can! Long Island.

Now, for the first time since the 2008 election, we must ask you to make/renew your financial support and commitment. The 2012 election is rapidly approaching, and the right-wing is lining up to try to recapture the White House, take control of the Senate, and maintain their majority in the House. It is time to re-energize and reorganize.

Please give generously to allow Yes We Can! Long Island to continue its important work.

We cannot do it alone. Thank you.

YWC!LI’s Board

YWC!LI resists any proposal designed to manipulate existing legislative boundaries designed for the purpose of advantaging a political party over the people it may govern.

A county judge has temporarily blocked Republicans’ proposal for redistricting of Nassau County from becoming law. A standing room audience at Monday’s legislative session loudly voiced its opposition to a plan that would violate the Voting Rights Act, moving almost half of the County’s population, well beyond one-half million people, into new legislative districts. Of equally great concern, this meeting was to be the only public hearing for consideration of the proposed plan. We are, in Nassau County and at this time, revisiting a sad part of this nation’s history that our country continues to struggle to put in its rear view mirror. Fifty years ago, this month, the Freedom Riders put their lives at risk for a basic human right. Fifteen years earlier a Journey for Reconciliation challenged segregation laws in the South. The struggle for equality of all citizens endures. Countless other acts of non-violent protest have advanced racial equality across America.

Sadly, the Republican Party in Nassau County pursues actions aimed directly at diluting the minority vote. The media continues to reveal the sad details of that strategy; the facts need not be repeated here.

Yes We Can! Long Island stands strongly in its opposition to the Republican redistricting proposal:

YWC!LI resists any proposal designed to manipulate existing legislative boundaries designed for the purpose of advantaging a political party over the people it may govern at a particular time. In 1961 people sat together in segregated restaurants, at lunch counters, and in hotels to bring an end to the violation of their human and civil rights. Five decades later, hundreds gathered at the Nassau County Legislature to raise, in unison, their voices in opposition to a gerrymandering effort that would set back voting rights for the minority population on Long Island.

A great lesson learned from the Freedom Rides is that change is the result of small steps taken by courageous people demonstrating their human rights. While May 2011 marks the fiftieth anniversary of The Rides, the same battle continues to be engaged across Long Island communities. Yes We Can! Long Island joins with those many voices in protest of the County’s Republican legislative majority to limit the voting rights of minorities.

And so Yes We Can! Long Island took shape. Meet-ups at Barnes and Noble and Starbucks began. Membership quickly grew. We opened our first storefront in Bellmore and soon after added another in Glen Cove. Each office was filled seven days a week by volunteers addressing and stuffing envelopes, making phone calls, and signing up volunteers to ride weekend buses to the Philadelphia area to do door-to-door and Get-Out-the-Vote activities. At times there were lines of excited people out the storefronts’ doors seeking the opportunity to help in some way. I had rarely been so energized. And my enthusiasm and commitment are unchanged despite difficult months having passed.

At first little events led to bigger ones. Kitchen gatherings led to picnics in the parks. Soon to follow were a jazz fest in Mineola, a backyard social at my home, culminating in the October Obama Rally and Concert at the Chapin Band Shell in Eisenhower Park. 8,500 people gathered to embrace the moment, cheering and embracing to the music of Crosby and Nash and an exciting array of local talent. Had Newsday cooperated with our request for an advertisement of the event, no doubt 25,000 would have found their way to this happening. All the major unions and most Democratic electeds showed up in support of Barack Obama. It was a very special moment amid an extraordinary period of time.

With the election of Barack Obama having been achieved, we became focused on committee work in support of the environment and health care reform. YWC!LI’s conference on ‘Climate Change/Going Green’ at The Metropolitan in Glen Cove drew participants from across Long Island and New York City. Later that afternoon we joined with OFA, walking the streets of Glen Cove asking and answering questions as the election neared.

Within months, YWC!LI had filed with the federal government as a Political Action Committee–an action necessitated by growing contributions from our members and from storefront donations in exchange for Obama/Biden tee-shirts, banners, buttons, and bumper stickers. Of necessity, we incorporated YWC!LI in order to be able to legally and responsibly send busloads of supporters to Pennsylvania to canvas suburban Philly communities weekend after weekend. Our revenue stream permitted weekend bus rentals without cost to our hundreds of volunteers who made the trip one or more times.

The excitement over the election of President Obama was great and YWC!LI gained prominence as an energized grassroots advocacy organization growing beyond 1,500 members. We met with members of Congress to share our ideas and our expectations. Beyond that we formed important alliances with other groups like Long Island Supports Barack (LISB/Huntington) and MoveOn locals; we worked alongside neighborhood Democratic clubs. YWC!LI leadership was invited to the White House in recognition of its efforts throughout the presidential campaign.

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Not so long after Barack Obama’s election the economy became our country’s great distraction, impacting so many Americans’ lives. A malaise of sorts became evident; local political organizing became increasingly difficult as families focused on getting by during a very stressful economic time. Big media’s attention was drawn (ridiculously and unfortunately) to the Tea Party. YWC!LI’s membership, as did that of most political action committees, stopped growing. Momentum waned. Influence was depleted.

Given the recent and continuing difficult financial times Yes We can! Long Island stopped soliciting annual dues. We continued to conduct our events without asking for admission fees. Our resources slowly diminished.

Fortunately, and largely the result of our ongoing events,
YWC!LI has maintained much of its base. Its Board is grateful to the many that have remained loyal over the past two years and appreciate our membership’s continued support of our activities. It was good to see so many familiar faces as we attended events and shared stories of what had been accomplished and what lay ahead.

We are just now beginning to gear up for another presidential campaign. And so we will soon be soliciting dues so that Yes We Can! Long Island can resume the activities that have been so well received in the past.

Progressives, liberal , independents, and rational conservatives fine ourselves outnumbered recently. I can point to the recent demonstration we joined at Peter King’s office in Massapequa in opposition to his position regarding the Muslim community. More recently we joined labor in Mineola to fight anti-union decisions on the part of the Town and County. Numbers impress. Noise less so.

Please remain involved. Continue to support us. Election Day 2012 may seem asome time away. It isn’t–not for political purposes. It’s over in a blink. We need to fight hard beginning now to have sufficient resources to combat those of far-right and tea party groups whose raison d’être is to diminish and destroy policies and programs that progressives, liberals, independents and rational conservatives have lond held so dear.

People too often lament, “What can I do? I am just one person.” Well, I’ll tell you what can do. We can organize. join ranks. We can, we must, use our greatest resource–numbers.

At a time of economic adversity we will need to fight big money with big numbers– people, groups, excited crowds, thunderous multitudes. That is how we will gain the kind of attention that works in a democracy.

As great as the work done in Madison has been, it was a reactive response to actions aimed at destroying the working/middle class. Policies and legislation aimed at dividing us and distracting us from the real issues by pitting public sector workers against private sector workers so that the super-wealthy and the corporations could continue to grow conditions advantageous to their mission of greed.

We must not let this happen again. We need to get out in front by coming together in large number.
Please and thank you.

–Marvin

As I mentioned above, we will be asking for your contribution to Yes We Can! Long Island in the next few weeks. Should you be so moved to make a donation in advance of our solicitation that would be great. Contributions may be mailed to:

Yes We Can! Long Island
C/o Paul Tusa, Treasurer
1818 Bellmore Avenue
Bellmore, New York, 11710

Bottom line, nothing changed. Those true to their liberal/progressive DNA clung to the same values to which they had been long-term committed. After all, a leopard can’t change its spots. We simply exchanged labels.

More recently the unutterable word has become COMPROMISE. Not fashionable. Not ethical. The label serves to further POLARIZE. Now, there’s a useful tag: ‘I’m not a moderate; I’m a polarizer. And proud of it.’

And who does the compromise cloak fit best? President Barack Obama. Yeah, sure. Now he is getting it from both ends of the spectrum. In the short term, the C-label is unfair, counterproductive. Too close to words such as pragmatic, practical, thoughtful. In the long term, “Compromise, like smoking, may be hazardous to your health.”

Recall what Obama’s presidency has managed to accomplish during the past copule of months:

• Most recently, his foreign policy team refortified critical alliances from NATO to East Asia. Following the NOvember (not a typo) election, there were whispers of how American power had eroded and the president had become unfocused and weakened. He now has a stronger, better aligned team. Tom Donilon, the new National Security Adviser, flies below the media radar but is a proven policy guy. Rahm Emauel is busy running for governor and that will make foreign policy goals somewhat easier to accomplish. It already has.
• Obama’s backbone is evident once again. He has strengthened ties with India without upsetting Pakistan! No easy accomplishment, for sure.
• An important free trade agreement–without making key concessions to South Korea. Bi-partisan support at home. Impressive.
• Holbrooke (he will be missed) got NATO to support a timetable for Afghanistan’s transition. Maybe not all we had hoped for, but nonetheless a neat trick.
• The Afghanistan-Pakistan Review avoided a political land mine. Fragile? Sure. Reversible? All too likely. Nevertheless an achievement in the short term.
• Repealing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’. Anyone think that was not acrobatic?
• Ratification of the New START Treaty with Russia. You have to bow to this one. Almost every conservative politician who recognized that this was a major accomplishment had outwardly condemned it. Amazing. Yet, not surprising.
• Formation of an Iraqi government. This may be a house of cards. But for now, we’ll take it.
• Korea. We were about to prepare to mobilize for war. All it would take would be a tad more provocation by North Korea. Its nuclear capability was a threat to America. Obama got the Chinese to intervene on our behalf. North Korea got the message.

Those who do not not believe that each of these achievements involved COMPROMISE are mistaken.

Those unwilling to accept that COMPROMISE will be a recurring path as we move ahead (in terms of time and in terms of PROGRESS) can’t get past the perfect.

At the start of Obama’s presidency the phrase, “Don’t let the prerfect be the enemy of the good” was fashionable. It remained the mantra. Until it didn’t. It didn’t because COMPROMISE became a dirty word.

It seems the L-word is back as an acceptable adjective. I am noticing that progressives are more often referring to themselves as liberals once again. It took a bit of time to get there. Too long in my opinion. But it is happening, as in ‘I’m a LIBERAL’.

Repeat after me. ‘I’m a LIBERAL and I’m proud to say it.”

Good. Now say it again with conviction.

Great. Three more times.–loud.

Even greater: Go say it where someone can hear you.

Best: Say it straight to a conservative who spends his/her days bitching about Obama-Care or saving the auto companies and hundreds of thousands of jobs or financial reform or . . . (see above).

Soon, the C-word will regain acceptance as a verb, an action word, that can be said in public without having to run for cover. ‘COMPROMISE’ will once again be permissible for use in mixed company–liberals and conservatives working toward some areasonable goal. It will be like the ’90s. In hindsight, Bob Dole does not appear to have been so bad.

Most important, if we are to declaw Issa, Palin, Kantor, and their ill ilk, we must return to being a culture of reasonableness. Might that then become the R-word? People will only converse across political lines in the shadows, in locked rooms, after checking for transimtters?

Compromise is too often viewed as the enemy of reason, rather than being somewhat synonymous.

I just returned from a stay in Florida. So, believe me, I know.

This morning I sent letters to several activist progressive friends of whom I am very proud.  I won’t reveal names for fear of neglecting any who may be equally deserving for their efforts on behalf of progressive candidates.

I will also communicate to NCDC and SCDC, once they have stopped licking their wounds, about their ongoing reluctance to identify, nurture, and meaningfully support a candidate who can reasonably be expected to challenge and defeat Peter King.

In the coming months we need to come together around a large number of critical issues (my short list; add to the list as you may):

• When our president proposes legislation aimed at creating jobs and supporting small business and at building and rebuilding infrastructure, WE must let our voices be heard.
• When our president proposes well-reasoned tax reform, WE must let our voices be heard.
• When our president proposes regulations focused on preventing certain industries and their lobbyists from taking advantage of Americans, WE must let our voices be heard.
• When our president proposes legislation that favors the environment over the profiteers fighting climate change, WE must let our voices be heard.
• When our president fights to maintain and refine health care reform, WE must let our voices be heard.
• When our president works to bring American troops home, WE must let our voices be heard.
• When our president proposes a new round of stimulus money,  WE must let our voices be heard.
• When our president fights to save Social Security and offers reasonable solutions to problems with entitlement funding, WE must let our voices be heard.
• When our president argues against the Supreme Court’s ‘Citizens United’ decision, WE must let our voices be heard.

This is hardly the time to tuck our tails between our legs.

This is absolutely the time to say loudly and persistently that which we should have been saying louder and more effectively all along.

Our president needs to hear our voices.  Four decades later we need to heed the call of John Kennedy to the just-plain-folk to ‘DO what we can for our country’.

Or we’ll be doomed to repeat yesterday’s mistakes.

They also ask, “What would be the impact on the middle class if the Republicans continue to hold the entire tax bill hostage in order to provide a windfall tax cut for millionaires and billionaires?”

So today we’re trying out something new to cut through the political back-and-forth you are hearing every day. We are breaking down an issue affecting American families into simple, understandable terms. The table below shows the actual impact on a married couple filing jointly for various income levels. It is based on taxable incomes, which are typically thousands or even tens of thousands less than gross income.

As you can see, the impact of the Obama tax plan for a family earning more than $300,000 is less than 1% of gross income; for families who earn from $400,000 up to $1,000,000 a year, it is less than 2%.

If the Republicans continue to hold the entire Obama bill hostage to the wealthiest Americans as they are threatening, the impact on the working poor families will be almost 3% and approximately 5% on middle class families.

This Republican effort is an attempt to give a tax break of tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars to millionaires and billionaires. We simply can’t afford to give the wealthiest Americans these big tax cuts that would add $700 billion to the deficit. According to non partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), this would be one of the least effective ways to grow our economy and just about the worst way to help create jobs.

Assumptions:
- Taxable income is after all deductions and exemptions but not tax credits (ex: solar energy tax credit)
- The Obama proposal includes an increase of 3% on top two existing tax brackets (ex: top bracket becomes 38% for married couples filling jointly with taxable income above $373,000 but only on the amount exceeding $250,000)

• Social Security
• Medicare
• Medicaid
• Health care benefits
• Minimum Wage
• Financial Protection
• Unemployment benefits

1. If you want all of the above programs to be eliminated, leave this website now.

2. If you want two or more of the above programs to be eliminated, leave this website now.

3. If you want even one of the above programs to be eliminated, leave this website now.

4. If you consider all of the above programs to be part of the American social and economic fabric and to be essential to the present and future well-being of all Americans, DO SOMETHING.

The choices of what you can do with three weeks remaining until Election Day:

• Vote on Election Day.  (certainly a good thing to do but hardlly enough)
• Get people you know to vote as you will on Election Day. (better)
• Make phone calls to people you do not know and tell them to vote, as you would want them to, on Election Day. (much better)

If this makes sense to you, email  me: mkyankee@gmail.com

YWC!LI is conducting phone-banking efforts on behalf of two representatives, Rep.Carolyn McCarthy and Rep. Tim Bishop.

Together, they represent half the number of Democratic members of Congress on Long Island.

Let’s keep it that way.

Phone-bank for Tim Bishop

Phone-bank for Carolyn McCarthy

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Marvin