Via Occupy Wall St.:

If you are prepared to object to the unholy union of big business and the United States government, we implore you to join us in Albany, Tuesday, May 7th when Reverend Billy will preside over the ceremony to wed big business and government in a celebration even the wedding industrial complex would love. Since the law considers corporations people, then why can't they marry one?

We need you to show up in the streets with us on Tuesday to show Albany that we will not allow our democratic process to continue to be directed to serve the interests of big business and the 1%. We need more, we deserve better, and we are demanding a structural change in our elections. How many more years must we suffer the results of legislators who govern with the fingers of capital around their throats? How many more resources must we lose to the 1% and big business?

We live in a world that is defined at every moment by big business. From destroying local business communities, to enslaving our bodies to the pharmaindustry, the quality of our lives are determined by strategic plans drafted to serve the relentless building of capital.

Through the policies and candidates purchased through legislative loopholes and the coffers of cash found on K Street, our modern world is not one with with a separation of big business and state, but one of total devotion between these two massive entities.

At last we will witness the happiness to be found between offshore money and onshore servitude. On the same day in which those who choose to support the status quo by holding a sham hearing, activists will be in force to defend a publicly demanded system that continues to serve the community of New York City. It is called "public financing" and what it means is that elections are financed with money from the local community, not funds from mysterious LLCs with corporate financiers hiding in the shadows.

Join us and say no. Join us and demand a better system in New York State. We can lead the way to a new playing field in the United States that serves the people by rendering impotent the power of corporations with profits that outsize the GDP of many countries.

"All contributions by corporations to any political committee or for any political purpose should be forbidden by law," proclaimed Theodore Roosevelt. Certainly we can finally finish this fight, over a century later when we enter Room 124 of the State Capitol Building with our signs to show that the people should always contribute testimony on legislation that directly affects us.

Join the bus leaving from Union Square, Tuesday morning, in NYC.

Demand better for all of us. Just get on the bus.

To call attention to the dual threats of voter suppression and money in politics, activists have been organizing National Days of Action on and around January 19th to organize teach-ins, rallies and other events around the country. January 19th was selected because that weekend marks both the 3rd anniversary of Citizens United v. FEC and the Martin Luther King holiday. Individual activists are organizing events in their communities, and major events are being planned across the country to jumpstart campaigns to get the big Money Out, and the Voters In.

Filmmaker Dennis Trainor, Jr., caught up with Lee Camp, Aaron Black and Mark Green at the NYC event.

Statement of Purpose

In November, citizens in every state came together to cast their votes for President, Congress, and other state and local offices. The right to cast those votes -- to elect leaders who represent us -- is at the heart of our democratic system. But that right is in danger.

Our system of fair and free elections is under attack on multiple fronts. The Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United opened the floodgates for special interest money and corporate influence in politics. At the same time, a rash of voter suppression laws in more than 30 states has threatened to make voting difficult, if not impossible, for millions of Americans.

Throughout the history of our nation, powerful politicians and interest groups have tried to block eligible voters from casting a ballot. For much of the twentieth century, they used literacy tests or demanded poll taxes. Today they ask for photo voter ID, or create restrictive voter registration schemes. These laws, combined with the challenge posed by limitless corporate influence, strike at the very core of our democracy.
Our nation's history has been a journey towards true equality and the promise of a government of, by and for the people. Just as we have overcome many obstacles to achieve that promise, we are now committed to standing up against the pervasive, corrupting influence of an electoral system that auctions offices to the highest bidder and suppresses the vote of millions of Americans.

No matter what happened on November 6th, these threats must continue to be addressed. Together with our allies across the political spectrum, we pledge to fight for the rights of all voters in our nation and to move that much closer to creating a more perfect union. The future of our democracy depends on it.