occupied washington times: volume 1, issue 3

8/2/2019 Occupied Washington Times: Volume 1, Issue 3

1/4

Inside

Wethe

99%

McPherson SQ. Washington, D.C. Vol 1 Issue 1 Year 2011

THE OCCUPIED

Washington Times

3What the 1%should have said

Occupy DC responds to

Republican strategist on

how to discuss Occupy.

2

Occupy levels

climate blameCommon environmentarguments charged by

Occupy energy, organizaon.

3Professors andprotesters align

Acadmics, protesters lend

suport across disciplines

4Its here! Itsfnally here!

Occupy DC General

Assembly approves

Declaraon - graphic on 4.

Vol 1 Issue 3 Year 2011

Funding

The Occupied

Washington Times

is funded through

individual donaons,

and contribuons

from the Occupy DC

General Assembly fund.

Please help sustain our

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Occupy DCDeclarationapproved,assertspurpose ofmovement

Ofcial recovery leaves jobs behind

Jubilation erupted

on the night of Nov. 30

when the Washington, D.C.

General Assembly (GA)

unanimously consented

upon The Declaration ofOccupy DC. Friends old and

new hugged and strangers

shook hands before moving

on to Post Pub to celebrate.

It had been a long time

coming.

During the rst week

of Occupy DC the Occupy

Wall Street declaration

was read aloud in unison.

The document focused on

corporations, the economy

and the government. After

the recitation of Occupy

Wall Streets declaration, the

decision was made to make

one for Occupy DC that

would focus on government,

corporate power, and the

disenfranchisement of the

District of Columbia.

The GA then chartered

the creation of a Declaration

Committee, which was

made up of approximately

55 diverse individuals, with

attendance that uctuated

from meeting to meeting. A

submissions box was set up

in McPherson Sq. on Oct.

11, to solicit feedback on

what grievances should be

included in the declaration.Over 200 suggestions were

received within a week.

Following this, the

Declaration Committee then

met on an almost daily basis,

using a leaderless consensus

process, to condense all 200

suggestions into what is now

By Drew Veysey

Occupiers stand rm at Battle of the Barn

Occupiers engage in civil disobedience by refusing to abandon a wooden structure erected in the early morning hours at

McPherson Square on Sunday, Dec. 4. Police ordered that the structure be vacated and dismantled. (Photo by Craig Hudson)

On Sunday, Dec. 4, Oc-

cupy DC had its rst major

confrontation with police.

D.C. Metropolitan Police

and U.S. Park Police came

to order the removal of a

wooden structure that had

been built overnight. The

10-hour standoff resulted in

the arrest of 31 occupiers.

Between midnight and 2

a.m. occupiers had erected a

wooden structure from pre-

fabricated pieces. Alternate-

ly referred to as the Peoples

Pavilion or just The Barn,

it was to be used for General

Assemblies,meetings, and as

an emergency sleeping shel-

ter as needed, said organiz-

ers. At 11 a.m. the Metro-

politan Police Department

and U.S. Park Police ordered

the removal of the structure.

Were here to stay,

were here to ght. Thatsthe message Antoinette (last

name withheld), 23, a recent

college graduate in criminal

justice, said she was hop-

ing to convey by submitting

to her rst ever arrest on

Sunday. Were just build-

ing ourselves up, were still

growing.

Joel Northam, 24, said

the action left him invigo-

rated. He also believes that

press coverage will challenge

perceptions and attract new

people to the movement.

Its fun being in my suit and

tie, seeing someone reading

about us in The Examiner

and telling them Oh, hey!

I was the second person ar-

rested!The day after [the in-

cident] we had people from

different occupies show

up in McPherson Square,

Northam continued. Even

if its just to show other

occupations were not stag-

nant, its worth it.

The proposal for the

structure was carefully con-

sidered, explained Paul (last

name withheld), the archi-

tect of the structure. We

took it to a lot of commit-

tees, he adds, everyone

was enthused with it.The proposal was, how-

ever, defeated when initially

brought to the General As-

sembly (GA), the open fo-

rum, decision-making body

of Occupy DC. A conten-

tious debate centered on

concerns about legal conse-

quences and the possibility

of police confrontation.

We had to break up

the rst GA, said Antoi-

nette, who felt arguments

over legality were irrelevant.

From day one weve been

occupying illegally here.After a day of reection, the

proposal passed at a second

GA, on Nov. 7.

Continues on 4Crowds of protestors, bystanders, and media surround the Occu-Barn. Aer a 10-hour stando

between protestors and police, it was demolished with a forkli. (Photo by Craig Hudson)

Wells Fargo is the prin-

cipal investor in the GEO

Group, the nations second

largest private prison corpo-

ration. In 2001, with back-

ing from Wells Fargo, the

GEO Group erected the

for-prot Rivers Correc-

tional Institution in Winton,

North Carolina. According

to NPR, Rivers is the na-

tions largest federal prison.

Despite being over 200

miles away from the city, it

currently incarcerates over

1,000 D.C. residents.

Individuals and groups

advocating for prisoner

rights say that private pris-

ons in general are nefarious.

The GEO Group seems to

t the bill. Its track record

of mistreatment in its for-

prot prisons, mental health

facilities, and juvenile deten-

tion centers includes sexual

abuse and assault by staff

and guards. Their doctors

have been sued for malprac-

tice and have also abused in-

For Wells Fargo,prisons pay

Continues on 2

Continues on 2

By AmeliaAshmall-Liversidge

Corporate prots havemore than doubled from the

depths of the recession to

$1.5 trillion today, accord-

ing to the St. Louis Federal

Reserve. Bureau of Labor

Statistics data for Novem-

ber report unemployment

at 8.6 percent, the lowest

since the ofcial end of the

recession. It looks like a re-

covery on paper, but the of-

cial statistics hide the fact

that the jobs situation has

hardly improved for most

Americans.

When someone stops

searching for work entirely,

they are counted by the Bu-

reau of Labor statistics ashaving left the labor force

but not as unemployed.

The November em-

ployment report said

120,000 jobs were created

last month, but 300,000

people left the labor force

in October, said Univer-

sity of Maryland political

economist Gar Alperovitz.

Thats whats really been

dropping the unemploy-

ment rate, he said.

The bottom line is

that the ofcial rate does

not adequately describe the

true level of suffering. If

you take people who have

stopped looking, or wouldlike to work full time in-

stead of part-time, youre at

25 percent unemployment,

said Alperovitz. Many

economists say were going

to be stuck with this for a

decade, and the idea that it

may be permanent is grow-

ing as well.

Jobless Americans are

also spending more time out

of work than ever. In 2011,

the average unemployed

worker spent 41 weeks out

Continues on 4

By Andrew Breiner

By Karina Stenquist

www.OccupiedWashingtonTimes.org


2/4

2 December 12, 2011

OPINION

Park regulations state

that temporary structures

may be erected for the pur-

pose of symbolizing a mes-

sage or meeting logistical

needs. Although sturdy and

made of wood, the Occupy

structure was designed foreasy assembly and disman-

tling. It was raised in under

two hours and was intend-

ed to be disassembled and

moved as needed, to avoid

violating regulations.

The Park Police could

not be reached for comment

on the designers claimed

temporary nature of the

structure, or on their inspec-

tors decision to label the

structure: Dangerous.

I was insulted, said

Paul, who has an M.A. in

Architecture from Catholic

University. He said he hasbeen working construction

since he was 12 years old

with his father, with whom

hes built over 100 houses.

Despite the care that

went into designing the

easy-to-dismantle structure,

police arriving on Sunday

morning, quickly cordoned

off the structure, and or-

dered those inside to leave

under threat of arrest.

At that point, police

informed occupiers that

they would have to take the

structure down, and get a

permit to rebuild it. We felt

that [getting a permit] was

unlikely, said Gecko De

LaDouche, 25, who was lat-

er arrested, so wed occupy

and defend it instead.

The decision displeased

some. I almost left, said

Melinda Butler, 22, who hasbeen staying at McPherson

since Nov. 3. She continued,

I didnt want to be seen as

one of those people who

antagonizes police, refer-

ring to them as fellow blue-

collar 99% workers.

Police didnt display the

type of heavy handedness

witnessed at U.C. Berkeley

or U.C. Davis, where images

of nightsticks and pepper

spray have become infa-

mous. However, arrested

occupiers did report some

rough treatment.

Im a buck fty, said

Steve Hartwell, 23, refer-

ring to his slight, 150-pound

frame, and they took four

or ve guys to take medown....It felt like I got hit

by a truck.

After being dragged

over concrete and through

manure left by ofcers

horses, Hartwell says they

made his handcuffs extra

tight before shutting him

in the paddy wagon. They

were very emotionally in-

volved, Hartwell comment-

ed, They werent behaving

professionally.

Regardless of police be-

havior, which left him with a

sore back, Northam said he

was not concerned about

treading lightly around law

enforcement.

To me, not pushing

buttons because we dontwant to have bad relations

with the police is counter-

revolutionary, he said.

Their job is to protect the

status quo. Were all here

because of our afnity for

disobedience.

Theyre gonna evict

other camps but were gon-

na be all kinds of creative.

Protestors arrested after 10-hour perchContinued from 1

Protester Joel Northram, 24, smiles as he is handcued and carried away by police ocers for

disobeying a police order. Ten Occupy DC protestors were arrested during the Dec. 4 protest

concerning the constructure of the Peoples Pentagon. (Photo by Craig Hudson)

mates. The conditions are

horrible, says Christopher

Glenn, a former Rivers in-

mate who now works with

University Legal Services in

Washington, D.C.Former inmates are

generally given few oppor-

tunities to get back on track

after being branded as fel-

ons.

According to a report

from the Council for Court

Excellence, nearly 50 per-

cent of D.C. residents with

criminal records are unem-

ployed after release. All are

at high risk of ending up

back in prison,as stigmati-

zation leaves many without

jobs or support.

The private prisonindustry is one of the

driving forces behind the

over-incarceration of youth,

primarily youth of color,

explains Sam Goldberg, a

D.C. attorney and juvenile

justice advocate. [Privati-

zation] has also led to even

worse conditions in prisons,

resulting in severely inad-

equate mental and physi-

cal health care, in addition

to increased accounts of

abuses.

As the rate of incar-

ceration increases, Wells

Fargos prots rise. Inves-

tors, however, do not see the

families and communities

broken apart by the cycle of

imprisonment.

While D.C. residents

continue to be swept up by

the GEO Group, a damag-

ing social blow is inicted

on the city. As thousands

occupy Wall St. to protest

nancial institutions in-

volvement in the economic

collapse, millions more in-

voluntarily occupy private,

securitized jails for the ben-

et of a corporation.

On Friday, December 2,

2011, Occupy DCs Criminal

(In)justice Committee led

an action against the prison-

industrial complex. At 4pm,

100 protestors marched

from McPherson Square

to the Wells Fargo ofce at1901 7th Street NW. The

crowd gathered to block

the entrance of the bank.

They handed out fact sheets

detailing the number of

D.C. residents in GEOs

private prison and the high

value of Wells Fargos

investment in the GEO

Group. Organizers say this

action is only the rst step

in a sustained effort to effect

Wells Fargos divestiture

from the private prison

industry.

With edits and contributions from

Brenda Pearson and Sean Wellock.

Continued from 1

Bank prots tied toprivate prisons

Leading climate experts

from NASA, the Intergov-

ernmental Panel on Climate

Change and the Internation-

al Energy Agency warn that

when it comes to global cli-

mate change and warming,

we have two options. We

can take immediate action to

drastically reduce our emis-

sions of greenhouse gases

by essentially halting our

consumption of fossil fuels

coal, natural gas, and pe-

troleum or we must face

increasingly catastrophic cli-

mate conditions.

Cyclical variations in

earths average temperature

and climate are normal.

However, our heavy use of

fossil fuels has caused the

atmospheric concentration

of heat-trapping greenhouse

gases - particularly carbon

dioxide and methane - to

spike over the last 200 years.

The chemical composition

of our atmosphere can only

be altered so much before

the earths systems of self-

regulation are derailed. If

fossil fuel consumption is

not reduced at this criticalmoment in history, we can

expect to see a dramatic in-

crease in severe and wide-

spread droughts, wildres,

ooding and climate-related

disease epidemics.

President Obama, for

his part, has stated: Un-

less we free ourselves from

a dependence on these fos-

sil fuels and chart a new

course on energy in this

country, we are condemning

future generations to global

catastrophe. He has also

publicly acknowledged that

transitioning to renewable

energy sources such as so-

lar and wind power has the

potential to grow our econ-

omy and create millions of

jobs. Yet his administration

continues to spend billions

on subsidies and tax breaksfor fossil fuel corporations

every year. Legislation aimed

at curbing greenhouse gas

emissions and developing

renewable energy infrastruc-

ture is consistently blocked

in Congress.

Moreover, permits for

destructive extraction proj-

ects like mountaintop re-

moval coal mining, off-shore

petroleum drilling, and natu-

ral gas hydro-fracking are

being granted to multi-bil-

lion-dollar corporations in-

cluding Massey Coal, Shell,

and Halliburton. These

companies fund massive

public relations campaigns

designed to debunk global

warming and advertise their

products as clean. As they

aim to convince the public

that environmentalism willcost U.S. jobs, its no coin-

cidence that average Ameri-

cans remain skeptical of cli-

mate science.

The Occupy movement

is in a position to challenge

Big Oil. Unfortunately,

focus on the nancial sector

has allowed companies like

ExxonMobil - whose 2010

revenue was nearly ten times

that of Goldman Sachs - to

avoided scrutiny. Yet, like

the banksters, fossil fuel

execs are proting through

reckless disregard for the

99%.

Lobbyists for oil giants

Chevron, Koch Industries,

and ExxonMobil, consis-

tently rank among the high-

est industrial spenders on K

Street and Capitol Hill. They

pour hundreds of millionsof dollars into political cof-

fers each year and appear to

have bought a central role in

shaping energy legislation.

In 2002, the National

Resources Defense Council

conducted a study of 13,500

pages of energy policy that

had been released under or-

ders from a federal judge. It

found that Bush adminis-

tration ofcials sought ex-

tensive advice from utility

companies and the oil, gas,

coal and nuclear energy in-

dustries, and incorporated

their recommendations, of-

ten word for word, into the

[national] energy plan.

The Obama administra-

tion has had little success in

reforming Bush era energy

policies, despite some at-

tempts. Given the politicaland nancial clout of the

lobby, the failure is unsur-

prising. Now, though, we

are in position to speak out

against them. We must stop

relying on their products

and buying their lies. Other-

wise, well all pay the highest

price.

The Sustainability Committee

meets on Tuesdays and Thurs-

days at 8pm or after GA.

Occupy Earth: How big money fuels climate changeBy Kelsey Tribble


3/4

Meet Your Neighbors Professors stand with Occupy protestors

By: Just Regular Folks PR, Inc. We here at the Just Regular Folks PR rm have bailed you 1 percenters out of some

tight spots before. But all of a sudden, the whining index is on the rise. Suddenly, these noisy upstarts think theyre

entitled to something more than a swift kick in the pants. The problem? You 1 percenters are getting sloppy with

language. Remember, not everyone is as intelligent and hard-working as you are. If they were, theyd be making the big

bucks too. Millions of low-class Americans are so dumb, they dont even know how to move a factory to China! Theyre

so lazy, they dont even hire lobbyists! You guys need a primer on how to talk down to these lesser Americans:

3OPINION

At a recent learn-in

for college professors at

McPherson Square, partici-

pants asked how occupiers

and academics could collabo-

rate more effectively. Some

suggested more workshops

delivered at McPherson

Square and elsewhere; others

called for free courses at local

universities. Few noted how

intensively faculty and pro-

testers have already been en-

gaged with each other. While

it may be difcult to measure

the inuence that college

professors have had on the

Occupy protesters, there is

no question that the protest-

ers have had a dramatic im-

pact on many academics.

Sometimes by design

and sometimes serendipi-

tously, Occupy protestersand college professors have

in many ways been joined

at the proverbial hip. Aca-

demics have been following

the movement intently, and

have directed research ef-

forts at its impact. Occupys

inuence on the media, for

example, attracted immedi-

ate attention. A widespread

discussion of inequality and

injustice has suddenly ood-

ed local, national, and inter-

national media, marking one

major accomplishment of

the Occupy protesters.

Professor Peter Dreier

of Occidental College, using

a LexisNexis search of news-

paper articles, found that 409

stories contained the word

inequality in October 2010.

For the next 11 months, that

number hardly changed. In

October 2011, it spiked to

1,269. Similarly, stories with

the word greed uctuated

between 452 and 728 per

month over the same peri-

od, but jumped to 2,285 the

month the Occupy protests

launched. One of Occupys

key phrases - the richest one

percent - appeared between

11 and 32 times each month

before appearing 174 times

this October. We are the 99

percent is a slogan that will

not soon be forgotten.

Academics are appear-

ing more often on the op-ed

pages and being cited more

frequently in news stories in

major newspapers and maga-

zines. Scholars like Robert

Reich, Emmanuel Saez, and

others have been writing

about the nations surging in-

equality for the last 30 years or

longer - and they have found

a much larger global audience

since September. They dis-

cuss the issues that gave rise

to the Occupy movement

on blogs of various political

stripes, television and radio

news, and public affairs talk

shows. They work for labor

unions, community organiza-

tions, and progressive elected

ofcials. In all this work their

messages are informed and

inspired by Occupiers. And

this is not likely to be a short

term phenomenon.

For example, to exam-

ine the lessons of the Oc-

cupy protests for future fair

housing initiatives, a con-

ference will be held at the

John Marshall Law School in

Chicago next year, to be fol-

lowed by a book, both to be

titled From Foreclosure to

Fair Lending: Advocacy, Or-

ganizing, and the Pursuit of

Equitable Access to Credit.

Fair housing and fair lending

activists, lawyers, community

organizers, HUD and Justice

Department ofcials, as well

as scholars who have stud-

ied social justice movements

will come together to identify

next steps in light of the les-

sons of the Occupy protests.

Similar discussions and

projects are taking place

around the globe. Recently,

Cornel West told a George

Washington University audi-

ence that they needed to nd

the courage to be critical. Oc-

cupiers are helping more aca-

demics do just that.

Gregory D. Squires is a Professor

of Sociology and Public Policy and

Public Administration at George

Washington University.

McPherson Sq. Occupiers at a glance

What the 1% should have said

By Gregory Squires

Protestors and bystanders listen to a lecture by Lawrence Lessig, Harvard Law professor anddirector of the Edmund J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics, at an open teach-in held OCt.

18 in McPherson Square, the site of the Occupy DC movement. (Photo by AJ Mack)

I was prey skepcal about

the Occupy movement before

October 1. I was involved

in various horizontally-run

student acvist groups, which

all collapsed ignominiously in

ts of young white maleness,

and I didnt imagine the people

chilling in Zucco would have

much of an impact on anyone.

On September 30, someone

menoned that Occupy DC

was starng the next day.Someone else scoed and

said it would never work, that

what the American le really

needed was beer messaging.

Someone else said Democrats

just needed to recruit beer

candidates. I wanted to throw

up. Im done pung my faith

in men. I decided to come

down the next day and put my

faith in us.

I am parcipang in the

Occupy movement in DC to

address issues of systemic

racism, misogyny, queerphobia,

ablism and the myriad of other

isms that have informed our

varied percepons of history

as occupiers. As a strong

supporter of the decolonizaon

movement, I rmly believe

that in order for real progress

to occur we must examine the

ways in which we, through

our thoughts, words and

acons, manifest and replicate

the exploitave system thathas rendered invisible the

suering of oppressed people.

Ive learned so much from

seasoned acvists whove

injected amazing energy into

the Occupy/Decolonize DC

and Ive found challenging and

fullling work in the Declaraon

Commiee and the White

An-Racist Allies Caucus. Im

excited to watch the movement

and its members grow, myself

included.

On October 5th, I decided to

stop by Occupy DC aer work

and immediately knew (as

clich as it sounds) that I was

supposed to be there. Ever

since then, I have been very

acve in the Acon Commiee

and helping out wherever I can.

I am involved because we can

no longer sit around waing

for someone else to make the

change that we want to see in

the world. It is empowering to

see women standing strong in

this movement. I encourage

all people to talk with us

and realize we are all in this

together.

Ive been waing for something

like this to happen in the U.S.

all my life. Im from Bolivia,

where the neoliberal model

was imposed by the military-

nancial complex that is now

controlling the U.S government.

Ive seen how this system of

debt peonage works. Now

the vulture has come home

to roost. Im glad America is

waking up and that a peaceful

revoluon is underway.Cecilia

SarahShaw

RobWohl

TateJawdat

Dont talk aboutcareers! People arent

going to have those

anymore. Instead, talk

up the huge revenue

opportunities in selling your

organs and blood.

You arent raisingthe retirement age to 75!

Youre extending job

opportunities to millions of

jobless seniors.

Dont say: Tax cutsfor the wealthy! Call it:

Returning money to its

rightful owners.

Dont use the wordsmillionaire and

billionaire! Its just

upper-middle class.

Dont say capitalism!Say: The only alternative to

mass chaos and starvation.

If someone mentionstaxing the rich, hit back

with: You mean America-

hating bums literally

robbing taxpayers at

gunpoint?

Remember!When theywrote the constitution, only

white male property owners

could vote. So were getting

back to what the framers

intended.

Most important of all,

relax! Youve earned

it! Anyway, here at Just

Regular Folks PR Inc.

were already working

on getting complaining

criminalized.

This will all blow over

soon.

(All photos by Natalie Camou)

(All photos by Craig Hudson)


4/4

Hidden unemployed, demandfactors create economic drag

The Occupy DC General As-

sembly in McPherson Square

has entrusted a newspaper

working group with the cre-

ation of a newspaper to docu-

ment the social and economic

injustices of our time and

news of the occupation itself.

A rotating editorial board, held

accountable to the Occupy DC

General Assembly, determines

the nal content and tone of

the newspaper. The opinions

expressed represent those of

individual authors. In no way

do we speak for Occupy DC

or the Occupy movement.

The Occupied Washington Times

Editorial Board

A disclaimer about OWT

4 December 12, 2011

Declarationof theoccupation

www.OccupiedWashingtonTimes.org

Editorial Board Contributors

Jillian Blazek

Jarrad Davis

Benjamin Daniels

Siobhn McGuirk

Justin Jacoby Smith

Karina Stenquist

Karina Stenquist

Drew Veysey

Amelia

Ashmall-Liversidge

Andfew Breiner

Kelsey Tribble

Rob Wohl

Cecilia

Nat Jawdat

Sarah Shaw

Gregory Squires

Craig Hudson

AJ Mack

Natalie Camou

Continued from 1of work, up from the 2007

average of 16.8 weeks.

These long spells

of unemployment reduce

a workers chances of

ever returning to the la-

bor market, according to

Economic Policy Institute

economist Heidi Shierholz.

People who otherwise

would enter the labor force

cant because the jobs arent

there, and older workers

who are laid off may never

return to work, she said.

But Shierholz empha-

sizes that unemployment

is not built into the post-

recession economy.

We know how to

x it, she said. Theres

strong, strong evidencethat there just isnt enough

demand. Substantial scal

stimulus would translate

into demand, and if done

on a big enough scale, bring

down unemployment. We

can completely afford it.

It comes down to politics,where Im completely sty-

mied.

Robert Zieger, Distin-

guished Professor of His-

tory Emeritus at the Uni-

versity of Florida, noted

that citizens have risen up

in the past to demand polit-

ical change in times of eco-

nomic distress. In 1932,

thousands of unemployed

World War I veterans

marched on Washington,

said Zieger.

That Bonus Army,

a group of over 40,000

marchers who camped out

in D.C. and whose demands

were eventually met by

Congress, set a precedent

for todays occupiers. They

lived in tent villages not un-

like those in the occupied

parks, said Zieger.

Full employment maynot return naturally at the

end of this recession with-

out similar political action,

according to Columbia Uni-

versity sociologist Herbert

Gans. Static wages, new

technology, and outsourc-

ing mean corporations can

make more prot with few-

er employees, he said.

Alperovitz agreed. We

dont have an economic

problem, we have a power

problem. Were the richest

country in the history of

the world, he said. Un-

less you change the power

relationships, it wont be

xed.

continued from 1

Find full text

of the Occupy

DC Declaraononline at

OccupyDC.org/Declaraton

the published Declaration.

Once the committee

nished the work of

condensing suggestions intoa single document, it went

to the GA where it received

three separate rounds of

amendments before it was

nally consented upon on

the eve of Occupy DCs two

month anniversary.

After a great deal of

challenge, Occupy DC has

nally consented upon a

solid foundation for its

future.

occupied washington times: volume 1, issue 3

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