Hold Wall Street Accountable! Occupy Our Homes Week of Action, May 18-25

Via OccupyOurHomes.org and OccupyWallSt.org:

Over the last few years, homeowners and residents around the country have taken a stand against the banks and fought foreclosures and evictions. The growing network of Occupy Our Homes supporters have signed petitions, made phone calls, and showed up to events to help families stay in their homes. Dozens of homeowners around the country have won their fights, but the crisis is far from over.

Communities have been destroyed as millions of families have already lost their homes to foreclosure, while millions more are underwater on their mortgages. The big banks are bigger and more powerful than ever. To date, no high level Wall Street executives have been prosecuted for their crimes, such as mortgage fraud and predatory lending. US attorney general, Eric Holder even admitted recently that in the administration's eyes, the banks are not only ‘too big to fail,’ they're now ‘too big to jail.’

As a new housing bubble fueled by Wall Street speculation is forming, it's clear that the financial industry didn't learn their lesson from the last mess. It's more important than ever for us to take action to demand meaningful relief for homeowners and prosecutions for the criminals at the top. Only through the power of thousands of organized homeowners taking action in the streets can we make the Attorney General and the President listen. Occupy Our Homes, the Home Defenders League, and others are joining fed-up homeowners who are ready to demand action-- join us the week of May 20th.

Over the next two months, Home Defenders from across the country will have an opportunity to tell their stories and fight back. Some will travel to Washington, DC the week of May 20th to make their voice heard directly at the Department of Justice. Join the fight! Sign up now to fight in your city. Scholarships will be available to attend the Department of Justice Action in Washington DC.

Click here to sign up

Two and a half weeks after sequestration took effect, Congressman Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) is not standing on the sidelines in the face of the severe cuts.

The Other 98% released a video on YouTube Tuesday evening, showcasing Grayson's efforts to give a voice to hundreds of thousands of Americans in favor of repealing sequestration. Grayson delivered a petition signed by 300,000 individuals (I signed, too!) directly to House Speaker John Boehner's office. While Boehner was not present, the message was said to have been passed along.

"It will cause pain," Grayson says in the clip. "It will cause economic dislocation. And then, the wailing will begin. The wailing will begin."

Grayson cautioned that the GOP conversation would then shift toward more serious cuts, the so-called "entitlements."

"This is the first step down a slippery slope called "you work until you die,'" Grayson added. "And that's why this has to be fought so vigorously."

Back on March 3, Boehner criticized the automatic spending cuts as "silly" and "random," adding that he was "concerned about its impact on the economy." His blame has been placed on President Barack Obama, with the House Speaker saying in February that sequestration is a product of Obama's "failed leadership."

On Wednesday, the movement will be back in the hands of the people. March 20 National Day of Action will bring together those in favor of repeal at congressional offices and communities across the country.

In his weekly address, released this morning, President Barack Obama re-stated his desire for to take "meaningful action" in the wake of the shootings. But he did not expand on those remarks. He added words of sympathy:

"Most of those who died were just young children with their whole lives ahead of them. And every parent in America has a heart heavy with hurt.

Among the fallen were also teachers – men and women who devoted their lives to helping our children fulfill their dreams.

So our hearts are broken today. We grieve for the families of those we lost. And we keep in our prayers the parents of those who survived. Because as blessed as they are to have their children home, they know that their child’s innocence has been torn away far too early."

The full transcript is after the jump.

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Fight for better jobs, better wages, and the rights of all workers!

Across New York, our livelihoods are under attack. After years of massive layoffs and high rates of unemployment, wages and benefits are being cut from what used to be middle class jobs. On top of that, workers are working longer hours without overtime pay, health insurance or any retirement benefits.

Meanwhile minimum wage jobs are the fastest growing sector in the state growing ten-fold over the past five years.

A minimum wage earner employed full time makes just of $15,000/ year. That’s hardly enough to get by in New York. And many low-wage workers have tips and wages stolen by employers, forcing them to survive on even less.

Full-time work shouldn’t keep you in poverty. It’s time for workers to band together and demand respect in our work places. It is time to tell our elected officials that New York needs a raise. It’s time for broader prosperity across the country.

[Via]

It seems that in Los Angeles, California, it isn't chalking that's illegal. It's the message. Participants of Chalk Walk Respond to Mayor’s Statement & Selective Enforcement here.

You can't arrest an idea.

May is Move Our Money Month.
Bank Local! http://fthebanks.org

Will we continue down the path to less freedom, less free time, and more stress. More bills, more greed, environmental destruction. Will we allow the 1% to get away with destroying communities and controlling the government? Or will we say no more. We are the 99% and we will no longer tolerate the greed and rule of the 1%. Our actions determine the direction we go. Lets organize.

Let's move our money out of their criminal too big to fail banks.

Shot by Andrew Stern and Jeremy Baron of Starr Street Studios.

Tired of seeing the bad guys get bonuses while the good guys get jail time? Watch this video, then get ready to take action at the99spring.com, 99uniting.org and the99power.org - we'll see you there.

A revolution is coming to America.. Not Just America but the World, people are waking up and finally realising how the world works and that their rights as free human beings are slowly being taken away from them..

The 99% are rising up!

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 andsafer 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.

Continue reading »

Shut down Wall Street for breakfast, occupy the subways for lunch, take Foley Square for
dinner, or join other actions across the U.S. and the world.

Just days after the violent raid on the Occupy movement's home base in Zuccotti Square, a huge day of action is planned to take the movement to a new level.

Today, Thursday November 17th, marks two months since the start of Occupy Wall Street as well as International Students Day. To commemorate this two month anniversary, Occupy Wall Street will take to the streets in celebration and in solidarity with people around the world participating in a massive global day of action in hundreds of cities.

Here's the full schedule of the day's events from OccupyWallStreet.org:

Thursday November 17th

International Day of Action

Facebook Event | Twitter #N17 | Direct Action Resources

On Thursday November 17th, the two month anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement, we call upon the 99% to participate in a national day of direct action and celebration!

New York City

BREAKFAST: Shut Down Wall Street - 7:00 a.m.

Enough of this economy that exploits and divides us. It's time we put an end to Wall Street's reign of terror and begin building an economy that works for all. We will gather in Liberty Square at 7:00 a.m., before the ring of the Trading Floor Bell, to prepare to confront Wall Street with the stories of people on the frontlines of economic injustice. There, before the Stock Exchange, we will exchange stories rather than stocks.

LUNCH: Occupy The Subways – 3:00 p.m.

We will start by Occupying Our Blocks! Then throughout the five boroughs, we will gather at 16 central subway hubs and take our own stories to the trains, using the “People’s Mic”.

BRONX

Fordham Rd
3rd Ave, 138th Street
163rd and Southern Blvd
161st and River - Yankee Stadium

BROOKLYN

Broadway Junction
Borough Hall
301 Grove Street
St Jose Patron Church,185 Suydam St, Bushwick

QUEENS

Jackson Heights/Roosevelt Ave.
Jamaica Center/Parsons/Archer
92-10 Roosevelt Avenue, Jackson Heights
Manhattan
125th St. A,B,C,D
Union Sq. (Mass student strike)
23rd St and 8th Ave

STATEN ISLAND

St. George, Staten Island Ferry Terminal
479 Port Richmond Avenue, Port Richmond

DINNER: Take The Square - 5:00 p.m.

At 5 pm, tens of thousands of people will gather at Foley Square (just across from City Hall) in solidarity with laborers demanding jobs to rebuild this country’s infrastructure and economy. A gospel choir and a marching band will also be performing.

Afterwards we will march to our bridges. Let’s make it as musical a march as possible – bring your songs, your voice, your spirit! Our "Musical" on the bridge will culminate in a festival of light as we mark the two-month anniversary of the #occupy movement, and our commitment to shining light into our broken economic and political system.

Resist austerity. Rebuild the economy. Reclaim our democracy.

You can also follow the events on OccupyMaps as the day and events are added.

I'll have videos and reports coming in through the day to share with you, so be sure to check back in on the fun. If you're attending any of the events today - either in New York, or wherever you are - I hope you'll share your experiences in the comments thread.