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“Occupy San Luis Obispo” planned for Wednesday

October 5, 2011

A national protest movement comes to San Luis Obispo Wednesday afternoon, rain or shine.

Organizers are asking people to gather at 5 p.m. outside of the county courthouse on Monterey Street as part of “Occupy San Luis Obispo.”

The planned rally echoes larger protests recently held in New York, Boston, and Los Angeles, demonstrating against “financial crimes” of large Wall Street institutions. Several protesters were recently arrested in New York in response to their “Occupy Wall Street” demonstration.

“Wall Street and other fat cat entities brought us, and much of the world, to our economic knees. They are still making a killing while the Average Joe pays the freight,” said Pete Evans of San Luis Obispo, who is helping to organize today’s protest.


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All their economic hardships… boo-hoo… does that mean they’re going to sell their iPhones or iPads? Give up their expensive lattes? Have you seen these occupiers? It’s like spoiled kids who just don’t think they’re getting enough attention.


Someone is using that (and them) to press an anti-capitalistic agenda, yet none of them would be allowed to do this if we did not live in a free, capitalist society.


Capitalism is not perfect, but ask yourselves what they want as an alternative. Listen to their own words, read their pamphlets. It’s pretty frightening how much wasted energy goes into some of these events. If only there was something constructive they could do with it, other than sit and wait for someone somewhere else to tell them what to do.


I blame academia for this. Crappy education, ridiculous costs, no responsibilities, corruption at every level, tenure, etc. We’ve been forcing kids to go to college for years! It’s a stigma if one doesn’t. Now here we are! I’ve always said we’re pushing out too many degrees (most useless).


I feel bad for their parents and families… unless it is a multi-generational ill-education involved here.


Occupying space. That about sums this crowd up. Why not start getting rid of all the red-tape and bureaucracy and form your own companies! Just do it! Naw, they’d rather whine and cry and desire to take someone else’s stuff. Hypocrites.


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I agree that their an anti-capitalist agenda being pushed. But I think we need to use this as an opportunity. The problem is not capitalism, but it IS corporatism. It is my feeling that all businesses should be partnerships and sole proprietorships. I do not buy the argument that a capitalist will not take risks if they are not protect from liability. Corporatism socializes the losses while privatizing the profits, a combo which clearly does not work.


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Capitalism, socialism, fascism…each is a political name for an deology, theory or belief system..


I hope we can all agree that no where, at any time, has a pure form of any political ideology, theory or belief system, as a model of a country’s government, existed in a pure form.


That’s because, on paper, the -ism’s doctrine may look good, but as soon as you add people to the -ism, it becomes impossible to exist in a pure form.


The -ism theories are, at best, two-dimensional, and people are, at least, three dimensional. What is black-and-white on paper becomes corrupted into a mess of hues once it has to be applied in the real world as a government for people.


For instance, socialism (an economic system)–a very lofty set of ideals in which sharing the resources of a group of people wealth of the group with all members of the group, and where there is no hierchy of power–immediately falls apart when there is more than one person in the group. Once that second person shows up and joins, it is human nature that they will begin jockeying and competing for control of resources and power.


Some members of the American “punditocracy,” especially those whose audience has a large portion of the more uneducated folks, finds it convenient to describe opposing groups of people in terms of an “-ism.” That -ism is then demonized to such a point that someone unfamiliar with the pundit’s schpiel often has difficulty trying to figure out which “ism” the pundit is talking about.


The most obvious and vilified/worshipped pundit who uses this tactic is Rush Limbaugh who, of course, is himself now very wealthy and certainly at least on the edge of being accepted by the elites as one of their own.


This form of “division of the people by punditocracy” keeps the elites of a nation in control, and the people of the nation unable to organize to right the wrongs enacted by the elites.


If interested in the background of the theory of America being ruled by a small group of elites, I would recommend reading “The Irony of Democracy” by Dye and Ziegler.


I wish Americans would, instead of blindly incorporating the absurd “-ism” propaganda of the pundits, would describe groups of people based on what they perceive the group wants in a government and/or doesn’t want in a government.


When approached this way, we would soon find we have far more in common with each other than we have that is different, at least when it comes to political ideology. Then perhaps we could get it together to organize and undo some of the damage that our government has done to our country and its people.


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I strongly disagree. Capitalism, is not an ideology. Private property is an ideology. Capitalism is based upon observation on how people interact when they are allowed to be free and own property.


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in the interest of correct terms

here is an important component of capitalism you may have overlooked :-)

this was posted in the interest of correct word use only, no replies.

reply deleted, sorry


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Mary, lets car pool to the next rally.


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mkanney, I feel that a lot of people are frustrated with these corps but for different reasons but for the most part they are valid reasons. For me, I’m furious that we bailed out these banks and now they have the nerve to charge us to use our money. Let them fail, there will be credit unions and other banks that will gladly take our business. I’m also sick of paying Fed taxes while the wealthy get richer and richer while not paying taxes and they’re taking their business off shore. People on the right are saying that the 99%ers are directing their anger at the wrong people, that it should be towards DC. I feel that this is a message to Washington, no more nice guy, enough is enough. I don’t have a problem with corps, I am incorporated. To me ‘Corp’ is nick name for big giant business. I don’t dislike the people that own lets say Yangi’s (the local sushi joints), Mt. Air Sports etc., I’m sure that they’re incorporated. The big corps are out of control. I feel like the small businesses need protection from being incorporated, there just needs to be better regulation. These are truly hardworking small businesses that need our support not BofA, Walmart, GE etc. they need to pay up.


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correction,,small businesses need protection ‘by’ being incorporated not ‘from’ being incorp..


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“Capitalism is not perfect”


Whoa, hold on second. Can you honestly call what’s been going on in this country Capitalism? I don’t think so. I think protests against financial crimes, fraud, corruption and ineffectual political representation is long overdue.


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If you honestly believe there are no problems with the American financial system, you need to wake up. VIDEO LINK


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Not a single person ever jumped to that conclusion, so neither should you…


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Well, at least these people are doing something about it. You might not like their approach but at least they’re not pawns for the Koch brothers, BofA, and other big corps.. Yes it’s a loosely formed movement but it’s just starting.


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Thanks. That’s an enlightened, easy to understand example of what’s wrong. Of course, there will always be some who will reject anything that sends a ripple thru their comfort zone. :-(


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What follows is the first official, collective statement of the protesters in Zuccotti Park:


“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.


They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.

They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.

They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.

They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.

They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless animals, and actively hide these practices.

They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.

They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.

They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.

They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.

They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.

They have sold our privacy as a commodity.

They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.

They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.

They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.

They have donated large sums of money to politicians, who are responsible for regulating them.

They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.

They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives or provide relief in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantial profit.

They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.

They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.

They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.

They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.

They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.

They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government ontracts.*

To the people of the world, We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.


Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.


To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.


Join us and make your voices heard!“


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The Marxist professors have done a wonderful job. I remember the same mob from the sixties, they went on to become wall st. brokers.


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Just be careful that you don’t become a “useful idiot”


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Hey easymoney and Roger.. is this guy a loser who doesn’t know what he’s talking about?


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infinitely more coherent than anything that’s come from Bernanke’s mug. Thanks for posting.


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This guy’s voice has got to be killing him right now! Good Rant!


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Actually, I like this video myself…


“What do they want?” Cain asked when asked about the protests in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. “I don’t have facts to back this up, but I happen to believe that these demonstrations are planned and orchestrated to distract from the failed policies of the Obama administration.”

“Don’t blame Wall Street, don’t blame the big banks,” he continued. “If you don’t have a job and you are not rich, blame yourself!”

Cain said the banks were in part to blame with the 2008 financial crisis, but he said, “We’re not in 2008 — we’re in 2011!”


http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20116087-503544.html


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I’m not sure if you are attempting to promote Cain or not, but it seems like he’s just trying to turn it into a partisan issue. He seems to find nothing wrong with monetary policy and he claims that the Fed does not need to be scrutinized any more. He claims you can just call up the fed and get all the information you want, which is, of course, complete nonsense.


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I’m not promoting anyone. I look at lots of news sources and make up my own mind.

Here is a little tid bit that I’m sure won’t make the mainscream media and won’t matter much to those protesting…


“Obama Has Now Increased Debt More than All Presidents from George Washington Through George H.W. Bush Combined”


“(CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration passed another fiscal milestone this week, according to new data released by the Treasury Department. As of the close of business on Oct. 3, the total national debt was $14,837,099,271,196.71—up about $44.8 billion from Sept. 30.”


“That means that in the less-than-three-years Obama has been in office, the federal debt has increased by $4.212 trillion–more than the total national debt of about $4.1672 trillion accumulated by all 41 U.S. presidents from George Washington through George H.W. Bush combined”


http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-has-now-increased-debt-more-all-presidents-george-washington-through-george-hw


http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np


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WRONG! President Obama did not spend the monies that pushed the national debt to it’s current record level, he “put on the books” monies that President Bush had spent “off the books” with the wars/invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, for starters. Thanks for playing, try again.


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It seems to me that if one wanted to suppress the universality of this problem, and keep things as they are, they’d muddy the public dialogue, devolving it into a partisan issue.


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I agree with you – but the fact that the 99% have all lost in the income disparity, their partisan ship is rather diminished. The 99%ers all are facing future, if not present, hardships. That’s a strong bond.


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I agree that income disparity is experienced by the vast majority of Americans.


However, that does not mean that the two major political parties in America won’t continue to divide us with partisan issues. Income disparity has been an issue for decades, gradually worsening to where it is now. Yet Americans have allowed themselves to be divided into partisan groups.


The fact is, if we just cut the bullshit being spewed by America’s punditocracy and, instead, simply talked about groups of people based on what is truly their concerns, values and goals, I think we would find we have far more in common than we do that is different.


Until Americans can stop allowing media pundits–many of whom are quite wealthy and benefit from keeping us disempowered by partisanship– to define for themselves what to believe about other Americans, we will not be able to take back control and starting right the wrongs enacted by the elite-controlled legislative and executive branches, and sanctified by the judiciary..


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Typo might be there!


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The growth of OWS in the past 2 weeks is a strong barometer of the discontent of the general citizenry -the widening spectrum of support shows it’s coming from diverse political sectors. Hope you get to go.


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I did, it was really good to see so many people with such little notice. I’m not the only one mad, I now have renewed hope that we still have some pretty smart people in this country.


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Glad you got to go & that there was such a good response on short notice.

The local so-called news stations seem to have ignored it, though

I suppose we could get a 30second sound bite at 11.


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Dave Congalton was really good. He did an hour on it today just prior to the rally. But other than Dave and CCN there wasn’t anything. KCOY was there today but they were there basicly before it started.


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What a bunch of losers.


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Does this mean you’ll be there?


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“Losers”? I don’t think so. Unless you’re referring to the Wall Streeters who stood on

the Exchange balcony the other day, laughing and drinking champagne. They clearly also underestimate the 99%.


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Roger… as it is with all change, the people that get their first are the unemployed, the idle, those with the least education and those have been hurt worst by the whatever social, economic, or political problem they are protesting. They are the ones that have the least to lose. You should thank these people, because they are the beginning of a movmement to apply real pressure for change, espcially against the fiat money system. The fact that you, who live a cushy life and have nothing to do with your time but create problems for Dan Duvaul, would criticize these people says a lot about your true character.


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Curious why all of the protesters nationwide are not protesting against congressional members who pushed for crippling lending standards so that financially unfit borrowers could get into the housing market? Maxine Waters, et al, started this push back in the Clinton era and it ended with the housing market crash from foreclosures. Congress removed the rules and the lending sharks moved in. So who is really to blame?


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That situation would have also not gone on as long as it did or gotten as big and as bad as it did if banking hadn’t been deregulated blurring the line between lending and investment institutions. The deregulation also allowed them to “bundle” loans that they knew were bad with good loans and then sell them as investment instruments — a national version of our local hard money lenders. A big scam all around, starting with Congress, but BOTH parties are to blame. At least people like Maxine Waters were trying to get people into homes (good intentions, bad results). What were the intentions of the deregulation Republicans?


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Regulation in many cases is still in place. Barney frank and chris dodd, steering fannie and freddie down the sewer in spite of strict regulations is a great example. There has been legislative oversight in place but it was not done or circumvented to benefit a few.

These protests are being staged and manned by people who have no idea what they are talking about. Just watch some of the video on any news channel and it is astounding how ignorant some of the protesters are of facts or history.


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No easy, you mean just watch the videos on Fox (I can’t even put the word ‘news’ in the same sentence that network). I’ve watched they way they make the protesters look like idiots. They pick a few out of the crowd that look crazy or that aren’t too bright and they run with them. This is a trick that is a constant with Fox. Fox is the only network doing this, try turning the channel.


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typo, you are so predictable. I get my news from a wide range of sources.

You might try looking at a sampling of todays headlines from accross the reporting spectrum:


http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100108992/michelle-obama’s-taxpayer-funded-spending-is-an-embarrassment-for-the-white-house/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter


http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-campaign-says-gop-blocking-jobs-bill-after-reid-blocks-jobs-bill_595022.html


http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/cbs-news-reporter-says-white-house-screamed-swore-her-over-fast-and-furious_595011.html


http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/bernanke-economic-recovery-close-faltering-14663873


http://dailycaller.com/2011/10/04/occupy-wall-street-protesters-are-demanding-something/


http://wwwbreitbarttv/youre-a-bum-jew-man-berated-by-occupy-wall-street-protester/


http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/05/us-usa-economy-idUSTRE78C33C20111005?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=22&sp=true


http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/185693-senate-dems-quash-obamas-tax-plan


http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/185681-dems-rally-behind-occupy-wall-street-movement


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204612504576607493798163136.html


http://azguy.hubpages.com/hub/Protests-on-Wall-Street—what-the-news-media-isnt-showing-you


http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=587010


http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/dnc-chair-interprets-obama-s-assertion-us-not-better-4-years-ago


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LOL…Wall Street Journal? azguy? Breitbart? Weekly Standard?

Daily Caller? That’s a lot of sources – but considering the sources, it’s a bit of a stretch to call it a wide spectrum.


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OK brook, where’s your list?


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Love those sources easy, nothing less than what I would expect, extreme right wing propaganda and at least one of them didn’t’ have anything on this topic. But at first glance all those links looked impressive,,,if you can’t read.


I don’t have the time to send over links right now but it was pretty easy to find unbiased reputable news source. It took maybe a whole 1 minute to find ABC and CBS with up to the minute unbiased news on this topic and the people look normal, just regular people that fed up with the status quo.


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I don’t keep a list. Every subject brings different demands.

I do vet my sources for attributes such as objectivity, honesty -and for their material sourcing. My background & training in research is helpful. .


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Oh really, and the NYT, NPR, Wash Post has never done that with the tea party? Trust me, these bonus babies provide an idiot rich pool from which to draw.


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So, Democrats act like Republicans (softening regulatory limits) and you wonder why the world is collapsing?


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Claims that political figures caused the economic recession by pushing “crippling lending standards so that financially unfit borrowers could get into the housing market” were called “sheer nonsense” by Nobel Economist Joseph E. Stiglitz in his book Freefall (P. 10). “I know of no government official who would have said that lenders should engage in predatory practices, lend beyond people’s ability to pay with mortgages that combined high risks and high transaction costs. Later on, years after the private sector had invented the toxic mortgages…the privatized and under-regulated Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac decided that they too should join in the fun.” I agree that deregulation, particularly of the banking industry, was one of the main causes of the recent recession.


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They ought to add on the financial crimes that have occurred here in SLO.


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So get down there with your sign. I’m sure you’ll be welcomed.


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