Goethe

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free."

• Anti-Wall Street protests spreading to cities large and small.
• Fannie Mae, the mortgage finance giant, knew as early as 2003 of extensive foreclosure abuses.
• Send food and supplies to those occupying Wall Street.
• #OccupyUSA live blog.  Wednesday will be fun. 
• A manifesto of sorts has emerged from Occupy Wall Street:

  As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.

  As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.

Zizek!

With protests and revolutions spreading across the world, what better time to start thinking about the type of world we want to construct?  Some interesting ideas come from Slavoj Zizek,  a senior researcher at the Institute of Sociology, University of Ljubljana and a professor at the European Graduate School, considered to be one of the world’s leading intellectuals, and currently the "hip" philosopher of our time. And some Golden Gopher pride, Zizek formerly taught at the University of Minnesota. 


Zizek has had more impact than just in the classroom and theory, individuals such as Julian Assange, the publisher of Wikileaks, cite Zizek’s philosophical outlook as influential in their work.  A Sundance documentary on Zizek can be watched on YouTube.

#OccupyWallStreet

Here comes the American Autumn:

• More than 700 protesters were arrested yesterday in New York.
• The New York Transit Workers Union, the United Federation of Teachers, Workers United and the local Service Employees International Union have in the last 48 hours joined the Occupy Wall Street movement.
• Statements of solidarity have been issued by the United Steelworkers and National Nurses United, among others.
• The local SEIU chapter will be providing meals and medical training to protesters for the next week.
• Fuck the politicians, but props to the one's fighting the good fight: Senator Bernie Sanders, former President Jimmy Carter, former Vice President Al Gore, Elizabeth Warren, Representative Keith Ellison.
• People are starting to organize across the country - check out Occupy Together to learn about events taking place in your neighborhood.
• Message from Anonymous regarding #OccupyWallStreet:

Creator of The Wire on Future of America

From Dangerous Minds:

David Simon, creator of The Wire and Treme, gives a sobering assessment of the future of America in these powerful clips from a 2007 talk at Loyola College.

Simon feels we’re headed for separate Americas, where the “haves” exploit the “have-nots,” and where human beings will lose their value. He faults “raw, unencumbered Capitalism” for making our country numb to the plight of the most vulnerable among us. America makes the wrong choices every time, he says, and unless we change, Simon predicts “we are doomed.”

The man is a genius, and as a writer and journalist, he’s explored the very darkest corners of our fraying “civilization”—trust me, this is really worth listening to… Keep in mind as you watch that this was recorded a year before the world economy did a belly-flop on concrete.

The Message

The Pound Is Sinking

Senator Sanders

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders from December: