Sunday, December 25, 2011

MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR - December 26-31

DECEMBER 28

1856 – BIRTH OF WOODROW WILSON, 28TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
“A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is privately concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men who, even if their action be honest and intended for the public interest, are necessarily concentrated upon the great undertakings in which their own money is involved and who necessarily, by very reason of their own limitations, chill and check and destroy genuine economic freedom.”

DECEMBER 31

1781 – BANK OF NORTH AMERICA ESTABLISHED
This was the nation’s first private commercial bank. The Articles of Confederation was the nation’s constitution at that time. Article 9 of the Articles gave Congress the power to “emit bills of credit” -- to create money. By a single vote, Congress voted to willingly transfer their authority to issue money to the The Bank of North America when it chartered the bank on December 31, 1781. Thus, the Bank served as a quasi national central bank. Why did Congress willingly give up their money power? The public argument was that the business of finance could not be ably conduced by a public body (Congress) — only by a small number of private financiers. The first head of the Bank was Robert Morris, the richest merchant in America. This same argument against public issuance of money is made today – a public body can’t be trusted to create and distribute our nation’s money supply. The result is the creation and distribution of our nation’s money supply by banking corporations.

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Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html

Saturday, December 24, 2011

MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR - Special Christmas Eve edition

DECEMBER 24

1294 – PAPACY OF POPE BONIFACE VIII BEGINS
Benedetto Gaetani became Pope of the Catholic Church on Christmas Eve, 1294. He instituted the first Christian “Jubilee” in 1300. Jubilee has both Jewish and Christian roots. According to Wikipedia, “The concept of the Jubilee is a special year of remission of sins and universal pardon. In the Biblical Book of Leviticus, a Jubilee year is mentioned to occur every fifty years, in which slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven and the mercies of God would be particularly manifest.” It was also common for land to be returned. Pope Boniface VIII conditioned the forgiving of sins and debt on personal confessions and pilgrimages to sacred sites (i.e. basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul in Rome) at least once a day for a specified time.

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Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html

Monday, December 19, 2011

MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR December 19-25

DECEMBER 23

1913 – FEDERAL RESERVE ACT PASSES CONGRESS - CREATING FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
The Act created a largely corporate controlled national banking and currency system. It was a major coup for banking corporations through the establishment of a private central bank authorized to "monetize" government debt (i.e. to print their own money and exchange it for government securities or I.O.U.'s). The central banking system was composed of 12 regional private/corporate banks owned by participating commercial banks. All national banks were required to join the system. Banking corporations now controlled the issuance and circulation of our national currency. By controlling our national money faucet, they could create inflation and deflation. This corporate monopolization of our currency allowed for public regulation, but not control. It was now banking corporations, not the US government, that was in control of the national currency.

DECEMBER 25

2011 YEARS AGO – CLAIMED BIRTH DATE OF JESUS
In his book, Money and its True Function, author FR Burch said, “As long as Christ confined his teachings to the realm of morality and righteousness, He was undisturbed; it was not till He assailed the established economic system and 'cast out' the protiteers and 'overthrew the tables of the money changers,' that He was doomed. The following day He was questioned, betrayed on the second tried on the third and on the fourth crucified.”

1983 – DEATH OF ROBERT H. HEMPHILL, CREDIT MANAGER, ATLANTA FEDERAL RESERVE BANK
"This is a staggering thought. We are completely dependent on the Commercial Banks. Someone has to borrow every dollar we have in circulation, cash or credit. If the Banks create ample synthetic money, we are prosperous; if not, we starve. We are absolutely without a permanent money system. When one gets a complete grasp of the picture, the tragic absurdity of our hopeless position is almost incredible, but there it is. "

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Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Bill of Rights are for People, not Corporations

Today is Bill of Rights Day. On December 15, 1791, the first 10 amendments were added to the Constitution.

Outside of the first three words contained in the Preamble, We the People, the most well known and, for many, cherished portions of our constitution are contained in the Bill of Rights. It provides a set of protections from political and social government intrusion.

The Bill of Rights include:
Amendment 1- Freedom of speech, press and religion
Amendment 2 - The right to bear arms
Amendment 3- Protection of homeowners from quartering troops, except during war.
Amendment 4 - Rights and protections against unreasonable search and seizure
Amendment 5 - Rights of due process of law, protection against double jeopardy, self incrimination
Amendment 6 - Rights of a speedy trial by jury of peers and rights of accused
Amendment 7 - Rights to trial by jury in civil cases
Amendment 8 - Protection from cruel and unusual punishment, excessive bail
Amendment 9 - Protection of rights not specified in the Bill of Rights
Amendment 10 - States rights, power of the states.

As we celebrate, honor and (re)commit to protect these sacred Rights on this day, here are five points to keep in mind.

1. These basic and “inalienable” rights weren’t part of what we know of today as our nation’s “original” constitution. The US constitution that became binding on June 21, 1788 didn’t contain a Bill of Rights. It was only enacted with the understanding that a set of political and social rights would be added in the near future. The “rabble” (the 99% of the day), many who had fought in the revolution for freedom and liberty, were incensed the drafted founding document of the new nation was void of basic political and social rights. They rebelled. They forced their state legislatures to condition ratification with a Bill of Rights. It took three and one-half years of educating, organizing and agitating for the Bill of Rights to finally be added as the constitution’s first 10 amendments.

2. Our nation’s first constitution was not the document that begins with We the People in the Preamble. Prior to that was the Articles of Confederation, ratified in 1781. For seven years our nation existed under a much more decentralized set of national governing rules. States possessed most political power. Most states also had their own Bill of Rights. This added to the outrage of those at the grassroots who saw the “new” constitution absent a Bill of Rights as a step toward a return of centralized authority. Adding to this perception, if not reality, was how the second constitution was created People from each state had gathered in Philadelphia to merely “amend” the Articles of Confederation. Once there, they locked the doors, tossed out the Articles and started over. The minutes from James Madison of the Constitutional Convention weren’t made public for over 50 years.

3. The Bill of Rights is limited in the provision of basic “inalienable” rights to political and some social. They represent a sliver of those rights professed in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which call for political, social, civil, gender, cultural, developmental and economic rights. In the midst of WWII, President Roosevelt called for a second Bill of Rights, an Economic Bill of Rights, including the right to income, medical care, education, housing and employment. "We have come to a clear realization of the fact," FDR said, "that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence."

4. Providing protections from political and social government intrusion, the purpose of the Bill of Rights, is extremely important. These protections have allowed for dissent and democratic participation. These political rights, however, don’t include the right to govern in direct and defining ways. The right to vote and to have one’s vote count, for example. Or the right of people to have control of their economy. Or the right to control and define corporations.

5. Corporations are not mentioned in either the constitution or the Bill of Rights. They were never intended to possess any inalienable constitutional rights — which were reserved exclusively to real human beings. The lack of their inclusion as a right of people to define these creations of the state created enough of a vacuum for corporate agents to argue that corporations were meant all along to be protected right along side real human beings from government intrusion.

The Bill of Rights and virtually every other amendment to our constitution is proof that changing the constitution can be beneficial in expanding the rights of people. Most every amendment occurred following major social movements, some longer and more diverse than others. It’s happened before. It can and must happen again. In the spirit of those who fought long and hard against the power elite of their day for a Bill of Rights, rights for women and people of color, expanding the popular vote for Senators and among young people, it is time once more to become part of expanding our Bill of Rights to include the right of we, sovereign people, to declare that a corporation is not a person and can be regulated and that money is not speech and can be regulated — as called for by the Move to Amend amendment -- http://movetoamend.org/amendment

Bill of Rights Day is a good day to (re)commit to these ends.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Prepared Comments at "No Cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security" Rally, Saturday, December 10, Cleveland, OH

[what I actually said deviated somewhat from these]

Thank you all for being here.

In the midst of WWII, FDR proposed a second Bill of Rights. It didn’t call for extended political liberties but economic liberties. FDR’s Economic Bill of Rights included,
- The right to earn enough income to provide adequate food, clothing and recreation;
- The right to a decent home;
- The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
- The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
- The right to a good education.

“We have come to a clear realization of the fact,” FDR said, “that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence.”

Four years later on this day, December 10, 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It proclaimed that political, economic, cultural, religious and other rights were inherently entitled to every human beings.

Compare these visions of inherent economic rights for all people with recent proposals to slash and plunder deferred income programs (Social Security and Medicare) and other social safety net programs that provide basic medical and income protection to millions of people. The ruling class over the past year has called for cuts of upwards of $4 trillion. The failure of the so-called “supercommittee” does not mean these efforts have ended. Far from it. Austerity efforts will continue in 2012 – most likely building momentum and seeking political cover following the fall elections during the lame duck session of Congress.

Economist Jack Rasmus has calculated that the US Federal Debt rose between 2000 and 2010 by $9.2 trillion. The major causes (by %) for this were:
Bush Tax Cuts: 34.2
War spending: 22.9
Bush-Obama Stimulus Package: 20.6
Direct bank and other bailouts (TARP, etc): 9.8
Nonfunding of Part “D” Prescription Drug plan: 4.8
Excess inflation costs for Medicare and Medicaid: 1.9

Guess where the 1% ruling class have focused their slash and burn deficit reduction energies?
On the 34% Bush tax cuts? The 23% war spending? The 10% bank bailouts? These 3 causes amount to 2/3rds of the increased debt over the last decade. The 1% ruling class, true to form, is, instead, focusing on the 1%. Actually the measly 1.9% increased costs for Medicare and Medicaid – claiming that this is the real cause for the exploding federal debt.

Nonsense.

Their ultimate goal, of course, is to privatize/corporatize them. To create voucher programs. To turn Social Security and Medicaid, at least, over to Wall Street to do with our social security and health care what they’ve done with our housing and pensions. Plunder them. And profit from them.

They say cut back. We say fight back.

It’s up to us to stop this nonsense. We must not accept calls to “balance” domestic cuts with war spending cuts – what will happen automatically in 2013 if no other deal is reached. The 99% must not accept austerity when the 1% are plundering us for their own prosperity. We must not accept that millions of people who depend on these social programs and deferred income programs will be bargaining chips to be used by some politicians against other politicians to wrestle a few minor tax concessions.

A majority of Washington public officials have been bought, rented, leased or retained by the super wealthy and corporations. They won’t turn it around. Only we will.

It’s time to say Enough.
It’s time to come together like we’ve never come together. And stay together after today.
It’s time to demand an economic bill of rights
It’s time to expand our political rights
It’s time to slash the military budget. To end the Bush era tax cuts on the wealthy. To end bank bailouts. And to end subsidies to health insurance corporations… in fact, to all corporations.

This is how to reduce the debt. And while we’re at it, eliminate the debt completely as Dennis Kucinich has proposed by democratizing our monetary system and ending the power of banks to create our money out of nothing.

It’s up to us. We must have the vision to see human rights extended far beyond where now are. And the commitment, drive, and desire to make it happen.

MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR - December 12-18

DECEMBER 13

2009 – DEATH OF PAUL A. SAMUELSON, ECONOMIST, AUTHOR OF ECONOMICS, AN INTRODUCTORY ANALSYS (BEST SELLING ECONOMICS TEXTBOOK OF ALL TIME)
“Few understand that all our money arises out of debt and IOU operations. The banking system as a whole can do what each small bank cannot do: it can expand its loans and investments many times the new reserves of cash created for it, even though each small bank is lending out only a fraction of its deposits.”

DECEMBER 15

1793 – BIRTH OF HENRY CAREY, PRESIDENT LINCOLN’S CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISOR
Carey advised Lincoln on creating public money, Greenbacks, rather than receiving loans from private banks during the Civil War. He helped prevent the destruction of Greenbacks by the National Banking Act and its subsequent modifications – which were presented by bankers as monetary “reforms” but with the intent of eliminating Greenbacks.

DECEMBER 17

1874 – BIRTH OF WILLIAM LYON MACKENZIE KING, 10TH PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA (1935-1948)
"Once a nation parts with the control of its currency and credit, it matters not who makes the nations laws. Usury, once in control, will wreck any nation. Until the control of the issue of currency and credit is restored to government and recognized as its most sacred responsibility, all talk of the sovereignty of parliament and of democracy is idle and futile."

2010 – NATIONAL EMERGENCY EMPLOYMENT DEFENSE (NEED) ACT, HR 6550, IS INTRODUCED IN CONGRESS
Congressman Kucinich (D-OH) introduced a dramatic new proposal to establish fiscal integrity, reassert Congressional sovereignty and regain control of monetary policy from private banks. The NEED Act would allow the federal government to directly fund badly-needed infrastructure repairs and fund education systems nationwide by spending money into circulation without increasing the national debt. The bill would end the current practice of fractional reserve lending, whereby the economy depends upon private financial institutions to lend money into circulation.
Congressman Kucinich stated, “The staggeringly bad employment and economic numbers represent a massive problem which cries out for bold action. Rather than crossing our fingers and hoping that banks will finally lend some of the billions of public dollars they haven’t thus far seen fit to lend, we can take action. My bill would replace the Federal Reserve System’s dependence on private banks to create credit. In its place, a Monetary Authority under the Treasury Department would directly inject liquidity into the economy by purchasing much needed public infrastructure repair. Today, we have idle capital, millions of able-bodied but unemployed workers, unused equipment, and record low interest rates. These conditions are the best possible time to make a long-term investment in our nation’s infrastructure. My bill would do exactly that.”
The bill was reintroduced in 2011, (HR 2990)

DECEMBER 18

1977 - DEATH OF MARRINER S. ECCLES, FORMER CHAIRMAN AND GOVERNOR OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
"That is what our money system is. If there were no debts in our money system, there wouldn't be any money. "

---------------------------

Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html

MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR - December 12-18

DECEMBER 13

2009 – DEATH OF PAUL A. SAMUELSON, ECONOMIST, AUTHOR OF ECONOMICS, AN INTRODUCTORY ANALSYS (BEST SELLING ECONOMICS TEXTBOOK OF ALL TIME)
“Few understand that all our money arises out of debt and IOU operations. The banking system as a whole can do what each small bank cannot do: it can expand its loans and investments many times the new reserves of cash created for it, even though each small bank is lending out only a fraction of its deposits.”

DECEMBER 15

1793 – BIRTH OF HENRY CAREY, PRESIDENT LINCOLN’S CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISOR
Carey advised Lincoln on creating public money, Greenbacks, rather than take loans from private banks. He helped prevent the destruction of Greenbacks by the National Banking Act and its subsequent modifications – which were presented as monetary “reforms,” by banks but with the intent of eliminating Greenbacks.

DECEMBER 17

1784 – BIRTH OF WILLIAM LYON MACKENZIE KING, 10TH PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA (1935-1948)
"Once a nation parts with the control of its currency and credit, it matters not who makes the nations laws. Usury, once in control, will wreck any nation. Until the control of the issue of currency and credit is restored to government and recognized as its most sacred responsibility, all talk of the sovereignty of parliament and of democracy is idle and futile."

2010 – NATIONAL EMERGENCY EMPLOYMENT DEFENSE (NEED) ACT, HR 6550, IS INTRODUCED IN CONGRESS
Congressman Kucinich (D-OH) introduced a dramatic new proposal to establish fiscal integrity, reassert Congressional sovereignty and regain control of monetary policy from private banks. The NEED Act would allow the federal government to directly fund badly-needed infrastructure repairs and fund education systems nationwide by spending money into circulation without increasing the national debt. The bill would end the current practice of fractional reserve lending, whereby the economy depends upon private financial institutions to lend money into circulation.
Congressman Kucinich stated, “The staggeringly bad employment and economic numbers represent a massive problem which cries out for bold action. Rather than crossing our fingers and hoping that banks will finally lend some of the billions of public dollars they haven’t thus far seen fit to lend, we can take action. My bill would replace the Federal Reserve System’s dependence on private banks to create credit. In its place, a Monetary Authority under the Treasury Department would directly inject liquidity into the economy by purchasing much needed public infrastructure repair. Today, we have idle capital, millions of able-bodied but unemployed workers, unused equipment, and record low interest rates. These conditions are the best possible time to make a long-term investment in our nation’s infrastructure. My bill would do exactly that.”
The bill was reintroduced in 2011, (HR 2990)

DECEMBER 18

1977 - DEATH OF MARRINER S. ECCLES, FORMER CHAIRMAN AND GOVERNOR OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
"That is what our money system is. If there were no debts in our money system, there wouldn't be any money. "

---------------------------

Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html

Sunday, December 4, 2011

MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR -- December 5 - 11

DECEMBER 5

1782 – BIRTH OF MARTIN VAN BUREN, 8TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
“The practice of funding the public debt…has long been discontinued…A National Bank has become a completely 'obsolete idea' among us, as thoroughly condemned in public opinion as a national debt.”

DECEMBER 6

1921 – THOMAS EDISON QUOTE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES
“If our nation can issue a dollar bond, it can issue a dollar bill. The element that makes the bond good makes the bill good... If the Government issues bonds, the brokers will sell them. The bonds will be negotiable; they will be considered as gilt edged paper. Why? Because the government is behind them, but who is behind the Government? The people. Therefore it is the people who constitute the basis of Government credit. Why then cannot the people have the benefit of their own gilt-edged credit by receiving non-interest bearing currency… instead of the bankers receiving the benefit of the people’s credit in interest-bearing bonds?”

DECEMBER 9

1946 – BIRTH OF SONIA GANDHI, PRESIDENT, HEAD OF CONGRESS, INDIA
“Let me take you back to Indira Gandhi’s bank nationalization of 40 years ago. Every passing day bears out the wisdom of that decision. Public sector financial institutions have given our economy the stability and resilience we are now witnessing in the face of the economic slowdown.” (2008)

DECEMBER 10

1896 – DEATH OF ALFRED NOBEL, INVENTOR AND BENEFACTOR OF NOBEL PRIZES
Each year, annual international awards are bestowed to honor great scientific and cultural advances. Nobel’s great-grandnephew, Peter Nobel, in 2001 asked the Bank of Sweden to differentiate its award to economists given "in Alfred Nobel's memory" from the five other awards. He said, "The economics prize, awarded by the Swedish Rupsbank, runs counter the idealism in Alfred Nobel's declaration that the prizes should be awarded to those who have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind - the vast majority of economic prizes have gone to people who reflect the dominating western view of the world. It's doubtful whether this really is of benefit to all mankind."

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Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html

Thursday, December 1, 2011

The Country is BROKEN Because the System is FIXED — ps

I wrote an article [ http://www.opednews.com/a/141081?show=votes ] with this title several weeks ago after having seen a photo of a random man wearing a t-shirt with this slogan at Occupy DC. I thought it was a perfect slogan summarizing our problems and the direction we must pursue. It inspired me to write the article.

A few days ago I received an email from him. Amazing!

Turns out Selden frequently googles the term to see what turns up. He read the article and approved of its message that the US constitution should be amended in response to the Citizens United Supreme Court decision extending never-intended corporate constitutional rights.

What he wrote next was even more remarkable. It so happens that Selden worked for one year in the International Division of the American Friends Service Committee in Philadelphia! He said the experience “permanently affected my view of society and the world economy.” AFSC has certainly had a similar effect on my awareness...coupled with those who have been educating and organizing to abolish “corporate personhood” and the legal doctrine that “money is speech.”

He also said he wanted to “honor the circle that led, somehow, from one F/friend to another.”

Much, if not most, of the time we never know the impact of our social action deeds — never able to complete of own circle of sorts. That’s the nature of the work. Quantifying outcomes can be nebulous when the task is to change structures or institutions, including constitutions and corporations. But we do them anyway because of our faith, compassion, commitment and/or will. But every once in a while, sometimes by accident, we’re able to catch a glimpse of at least some impact of what we do for others — where it all somehow, someway circles back and connects.

Selden saw that. At a much larger scale, Rosa Parks was able to eventually see the results of what she did on this very day in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat to a white person — sparking the Civil Rights movement which benefited her, other people of color and all the rest of us.

May we all be so fortunate to witness, on occasion, the effects of our cause.