“If you believe that America needs real progressive leadership, help us send Barack Obama a message,” says Richardson. Richardson’s policy platform includes the following positions:

- Against the XL pipeline from the Alberta tar sands across the Ogllala Aquifer down to oil refineries in Texas.
- For bringing back the Glass-Steagall Act
- For cap and trade climate legislation
- For a “capital levy on wealth”
- For a new, larger economic stimulus package
- For a new Works Progress Administration
- For the proposed constitutional amendment by Bernie Sanders to overturn the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling, which allowed the current corrupt system of independent expenditures in campaign finance to begin
- For an immediate end to American involvement in the civil war in Afghanistan

Darcy Richardson is on the ballot as a Democratic presidential candidate in New Hampshire. If you’re a Democrat or a political independent looking for a solid, serious alternative to Barack Obama, Richardson would be a reasonable choice.

Occupii started up on Friday, December 30, and membership is expanding fairly quickly. By the 3rd of January, there were 1200 members, and today there are over 2000. The social network started up in the UK, but membership in the American group has quickly surpassed membership in the Occupy UK group.

At 3:30 PM, Santorum will have a campaign event at the Concord Town Hall. His final appearance will be at 7:00 PM, at the Windham Town Hall.

I don’t know about these events because I have an inside source in Santorum’s presidential campaign. I know where Santorum will be today because New Hampshire Citizen Action has assembled a bird dog list of all the appearances of all the Republican presidential candidates. The list has been made available so that activists know where to place their protests.

If you can’t depend on Democratic Party politicians, who can you depend on? When it comes to defending the Bill of Rights, you can depend on the ACLU to do the research, dig up abuses and effectively advocate for constitutional protections. We’ve given to them in the past and will do so again in the future. When it comes to articulating the policy needs of low-income families in America, you can depend on the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Ever since the Reagan years, the CBPP has been staffed with rigorous statisticians and economists whose…

what, did I lose you with that last phrase? Well hang on.

… whose work is infused with the goal of making sure the federal budget and federal policies do right by Americans with low and moderate incomes.

For 30 years, CBPP has been doing the thorough, detailed, accurate work necessary for people to push for a fairer economy, fairer policy and a fairer budget. That may sound boring, but it’s the sort of detail that a movement for the 99% needs. That’s why this time aound we’re sending a few bucks to the CBPP.

P.S. Even if you don’t donate to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities this season, by all means check out their reports. I particularly like this one debunking the “51% of Americans pay no taxes” myth.

Number of people confirmed to have been arrested in America, most for nothing more than assembling, speaking, and petitioning for the redress of grievance, as of December 8: 5,087.

Number of Occupy protesters arrested as of right now:

Get confirming sources here, organized by place and date. The same web page features the updating counter image you see here. Thanks to Occupy Arrests for compiling this documentation.

Irregular Times will be listening in and live blogging the event tonight.

General Strike: November 28, 2011!

The only thing we have left is our labor. This is what we must withhold.

The debt “super committee” makes its budget recommendations on Wednesday, November 23rd, the day before Thanksgiving.

We know that the recommendations will include deep cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security.

We know that the Republicans in the Senate and House will overwhelmingly approve of the austerity package that is sure to come from the super committee’s recommendations.

We also know that the Democrats will by and large fold and accept the austerity package.

We know that Obama will approve of the budget recommendations. (Otherwise, he would have invoked the 14th Amendment and lifted the debt ceiling.)

Likewise, we know that as of November 23rd, ironically the day before Thanksgiving, the austerity package will be forthcoming and that the vast majority will now pay an additional price for the criminality of the corporate, military and financial oligarchy.

The vast majority will not have the corporate, military and financial oligarchy to thank on Thanksgiving.

Instead, the vast majority is being attacked by the corporate, military and financial oligarchy and its representatives in the White House and both houses of Congress. We are being forced to pay for the failures of the capitalist class and the precariousness of the profit system.

We are no longer represented by the U.S. government. Instead, the government is an instrument of the capitalist class and this class has nothing but its own interests at heart. This class will continue to force its will upon us. The two political parties are simply two levers by which this capitalist class controls the political processes in the U.S.

The only thing we have left is our consent to work. The only thing we have left is our labor. This is what we must withhold.

Likewise, Citizens for Legitimate Government is calling for a General Strike to begin at 7 AM EST on Monday, November 28th, 2011!*

Extend your Thanksgiving weekend by refusing the austerity measures to be imposed on the vast majority by the corporate, military and financial oligarchy!

General Strike, Monday, November 28, 2011!

*Note, the CLG encourages ALL workers in the U.S. (and abroad) to join the strike. This is a unified strike of the entire workforce.

Are you planning to participate in this general strike? Explain why or why not.

According to the Occupy Together coordinating website, 497 new occupations are set to begin on Saturday, October 15. These new occupations are concentrated in the United States but are not limited to it: from Amsterdam to Rio de Janeiro people are beginning occupations around the world.

The effort is not wholly part of the Occupation movement, but is an aspect of the 15 October mobilization that had plans prior to the initiation of Occupy Wall Street and is sympathetic to it.

Watch for the wave… or add your force to it.