Occupy Wall Street Protest

[Luke_Wilbur]

Archive.org had some information about Kevin Zeese

 

http://web.archive.o...tent/view/18/35

 

 

Kevin Zeese. Photo: Jefferson Jackson Steele,

Baltimore City Paper

 

Highlights 'Peace, Justice, Democracy and Prosperity'

I'm running for U.S. Senate because the two major parties no longer represent the interests of most Americans. A recent poll described in July 16 th Economist, asked voters if they thought their elected officials represented their priorities. Only 17 percent said yes. And, if we look at the policies being put in place by those in office we repeatedly see that the American people are correct – their views are unrepresented.

 

Most recently, Hurricane Katrina has painfully exposed years of misplaced priorities and spending. Critical National Guard Troops were diverted to Iraq and unavailable when disaster struck. Billions spent on the war left urgent domestic needs unaddressed – resulting in thousands of lost lives and livelihoods.

 

It is not only the levees in New Orleans which were left to crumble. The American Society of Civil Engineers has reported the entire basic infrastructure of the United States including bridges, roads, sewage systems, and dams is rapidly deteriorating. They give the country's infrastructure a 'D' and describe a "looming crisis that jeopardizes our nation's prosperity and quality of life."

Just as lawmakers ignored the coming crisis in Louisiana, and our failing infrastructure, they are ignoring changes in climate which will bring increased frequency and severity of storms like Katrina. Adding to incompetance and neglect, Katrina made longstanding class and racial divides visible to all and highlights the need for a change in the direction of our country. If ever there were a moment to 'throw the bums out', this is it.

 

A majority of Americans -- some polls show up to 60% -- believe the Iraq War was wrong and want the U.S. to start withdrawing our soldiers. Only 35% of Maryland voters think the war in Iraq is worth it. Yet the U.S. Senate voted 99-0 for continuing to fund the occupation and is not even considering an exit strategy. Shouldn't there be at least one Senator that represents the view of a majority of Americans on this critical issue?

 

The same is true on other important issues: Americans want a government of 'we the people' yet we have a government dominated by wealthy interests. 'Big Business Socialism' is disguised in the rhetoric of 'free market.' Americans want an economy that creates prosperity for all – yet we have crippling trade deficits, skyrocketing federal spending, and mushrooming international trade defecits. On the personal level median income is diminishing, poverty is increasing, retirements are insecure and the U.S. has the largest rich-poor divide since the 1920s. Neither major party is willing to face up to these issues because doing so is against the interests of the monied elite who fund their campaigns.

 

Confidence in Maryland's democracy is threatened by paperless electronic voting that does not provide a paper record for open, transparent and independent vote counts. Two-thirds of Marylanders favor ending the failed war on drugs and putting in place treatment not incarceration, yet the two major parties continue to spend $50 billion annually on the failed drug war. These issues need to be debated -- people want choices – but they will not be debated by candidates from the two corporate-dominated parties.

 

This campaign will seek support from voters across the political spectrum whose views are not represented by the two major parties. Third party campaigns are often marginalized and ignored but this is not going to be your typical third party campaign. This campaign will be a Unity Campaign that brings together multiple third parties.

 

Why a "Unity Campaign" and not one party? Each of the parties represent values that are important:

 

The Populist Party stands for economic fairness for working families and recognizes how the U.S. has rigged our tax laws, finance system and corporate welfare to help the wealthiest while shrinking the middle class and undermining those whose work makes our country great.

 

The Libertarian Party emphasizes the central value of liberty – freedom – which is under attack in the United States with laws like the Patriot Act, eminent domain and a government that intrudes into private life. We need to consider the question of liberty in every action the government takes because it is our basic freedoms that unleash the creativity, entrepreneurship and greatness of Americans.

 

The Green Party's ten key values are a common sense outline of where our country needs to go. These values include: grassroots democracy, social justice, ecological wisdom, non-violence, decentralization, community-based economics, feminism, diversity, responsibility and future focus.

 

Many Democrats and Republicans are disenchanted with the direction of their parties' leadership. As a result the United States is going in more wrong directions at once than ever in my lifetime. Many Democrats and Republicans recognize that their parties represent the interests of big business donors, and are thirsting for a new approach to politics. I plan to provide voters with that new approach.

 

Maryland is ready for an independent alternative to the two major parties – a candidate for Senate who is free to serve the people of Maryland without divided loyalties or conflict of interest. Statewide, the fastest growing group of registered voters are independents and non-major party voters, who now make up 15.4% of the electorate.

 

According to a Baltimore City Paper article about the Unity campaign, since the presidential election of 2004, the number of voters who do not affiliate with either party was up by 6,517. During that time, the Maryland Republican Party gained 4,648 new members and the Democratic Party lost 450 members. Please join me in supporting Unity and Democracy.

 

We must end the corruption of our government. Senator John McCain said the electoral system "is nothing less than an elaborate influence-peddling scheme in which both parties conspire to stay in office by selling the country to the highest bidder." This is, in reality, such open corruption that all political commentators and most voters know it. If you know both parties are selling the country to the highest bidder we have a choice – remain silent, be complicit and join the conspiracy by our inaction (or worse) – or challenge the system.

I've decided to challenge the system. I am grateful to all those Marylanders who will join me.

 

Kevin Zeese U.S. Senate Campaign Committee

Nathan Bahn

Co-Chair, Montgomery Greens

Rockville, MD

 

Bill Barry

Baltimore City Green Party|

Baltimore, MD

 

Michael Cornell

Co-Chair, Maryland Green Party

Howard County, MD

 

Chris Driscoll

Chair, Populist Party of Maryland

Baltimore, MD

 

Kay Dellinger

Coalition Against Global Exploitation, Baltimore Pledge of Resistance,

Populist Party of Maryland Central Committee

Baltimore, MD

 

Pat Elder

Co-founder DC Anti-War Network

Iraq Pledge of Resistance

Bethesda, MD

 

Tomas Estrada-Palma

Libertarian Party of Anne Arundel

Annapolis, MD

 

Kristin Famula

TrueVoteMD

Severna Park, MD

 

Robert Ferraro

Eyes Of Paint Branch, TrueVoteMD

Colesville, MD

 

Lorenzo Gaztanaga

Baltimore Libertarian Party

Baltimore, MD

 

Susan Gaztanaga

Baltimore Libertarian Party

Baltimore, MD

 

Saul Iversion

TrueVoteMD

Howard County, MD

 

Joseph Klockner

Klockner & Company

Takoma Park, MD

 

Barry Kissin

Attorney

Democratic Candidate for Congress (6th District)

Frederick, MD

 

Ken Lerch

National Association of Letter Carriers

President, Local 3825

Rockville, MD

 

Jay Levy

Takoma Park City for Peace

Takoma Park, MD

 

Robert Lanza

Democracy for Maryland

Takoma Park, MD

 

Sheldon H. Laskin

Baltimore County Green Party

Baltimore, MD 21209

 

Mike Livingston

Montgomery County Green Party

Silver Spring, MD

 

John Low

Principal, Banning+Low

Kensington, MD

 

James Madigan

Correctional Lieutenant, Maryland Reception Center

Baltimore County Green Party

Parkville, MD

 

Douglas McNeil

Baltimore Libertarian Party

Baltimore, MD

 

Dick Ochs

Populist Party State Central Committee Member

Chair Green Party, Committee on Democratic Reform of Party Processes

Baltimore, MD

 

Anne Polansky

Energy and Environmental Consultant

Takoma Park, MD

 

Linda Schade

TrueVoteMD

Montgomery County Green Party

Takoma Park, MD

 

Joseph Schroeder

Populist Party of Maryland Central Committee, Treasurer

Baltimore, MD

 

Mounzer Sleiman

Vice President, National Council for Arab Americans

Poolesville, MD

 

Eileen Scott

Co-Chair Maryland Green Party

Silver Spring, MD

 

Eric Sterling

President, Criminal Justice Policy Foundation

Counsel, U.S. House of Representative, Committee on the Judiciary, 1979-89

Chevy Chase, MD

 

Robert Tufts

Anne Arundel Green Party

Churchton, MD

 

Pam Rasmussen

Montgomery County Coalition for Alternatives to War

Gaithersburg, MD

 

Virginia Rodino

Steering Committee, United for Peace and Justice

Baltimore, MD

 

Whitney Trettien

Co-chair, Frederick Green Party

Frederick, MD

 

Yvonne Wall

Montgomery County Coalition for Alternatives to War

Montgomery County, MD

 

Bahram Zandi

Montgomery County Green Party

Gaithersburg, MD

 

Organizations listed are for identification purposes only and does not mean the organization is involved in the campaign in any way.

Edited October 13, 2011 by wiley

[Guest I Eat Elephant]

Is Kevin Zeese the voice of Occupy Movement?

 

Archive.org had some information about Kevin Zeese

 

 

This campaign will seek support from voters across the political spectrum whose views are not represented by the two major parties. Third party campaigns are often marginalized and ignored but this is not going to be your typical third party campaign. This campaign will be a Unity Campaign that brings together multiple third parties.

 

Why a "Unity Campaign" and not one party? Each of the parties represent values that are important:

 

The Populist Party stands for economic fairness for working families and recognizes how the U.S. has rigged our tax laws, finance system and corporate welfare to help the wealthiest while shrinking the middle class and undermining those whose work makes our country great.

 

The Libertarian Party emphasizes the central value of liberty – freedom – which is under attack in the United States with laws like the Patriot Act, eminent domain and a government that intrudes into private life. We need to consider the question of liberty in every action the government takes because it is our basic freedoms that unleash the creativity, entrepreneurship and greatness of Americans.

 

The Green Party's ten key values are a common sense outline of where our country needs to go. These values include: grassroots democracy, social justice, ecological wisdom, non-violence, decentralization, community-based economics, feminism, diversity, responsibility and future focus.

 

Many Democrats and Republicans are disenchanted with the direction of their parties' leadership. As a result the United States is going in more wrong directions at once than ever in my lifetime. Many Democrats and Republicans recognize that their parties represent the interests of big business donors, and are thirsting for a new approach to politics. I plan to provide voters with that new approach.

[Guest American4Progress]

This report shows the movement is headed in the right direction. 2X more people support #OccupyWallStreet than oppose it.

 

HART/McINTURFF Study #11493--page 24

OCTOBER 2011 NBC News/Wall Street Journal Survey

 

Q29b Have you seen, read, or heard the news coverage about sit-ins and rallies in New York City and other major cities around the country with people protesting about the influence Wall Street and corporations have on government?

 

(IF YES:) And, have you seen, read, or heard a lot or just some about this?***

Yes, a lot .................................................. 40%

Yes, just some .......................................... 40%

No ............................................................. 19%

Not sure ................................................... 1%

*** Asked of 762 Respondents

 

(ASK ONLY OF RESPONDENTS WHO SAY "YES" IN Q29b:1-2)

Q30 From what you know about these protests do you tend to support or tend to oppose these protests, or do

you not have an opinion either way?****

Tend to support ................................................................... 37%

Tend to oppose ................................................................... 18%

Have no opinion either way .................................................. 25%

Not sure ............................................................................. -

No, haven't seen, read, or heard/not sure (Q29b) .............. 20%

**** Asked of 612 Respondents

 

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Sections/NEWS/A_Politics/October_Poll.pdf

[Guest American4Progress]

This report not only shows Americans support the #OccupyWallStreet they feel negatively about Wall Street and Special Interest groups have caused a large gap between the rich and the poor.

 

TIME MAGAZINE/ABT SRBI – October 9- 10, 2011 Survey

BASE=1,001 Adults Except Where Noted

 

Q11. IN THE PAST FEW DAYS, A GROUP OF PROTESTORS HAS BEEN GATHERING ON WALL STREET IN NEW YORK CITY AND SOME OTHER CITIES TO PROTEST POLICIES WHICH THEY SAY FAVOR THE RICH, THE GOVERNMENT'S BANK BAILOUT, AND THE INFLUENCE OF MONEY IN OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM. IS YOUR OPINION OF THESE PROTESTS VERY FAVORABLE, SOMEWHAT FAVORABLE, SOMEWHAT UNFAVORABLE, VERY UNFAVORABLE, OR DON'T YOU KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THE PROTESTS TO HAVE AN OPINION?

 

VERY FAVORABLE 25%

 

SOMEWHAT FAVORABLE 29%

 

SOMEWHAT UNFAVORABLE 10%

 

VERY UNFAVORABLE 13%

 

DON'T KNOW ENOUGH 23%

 

NO ANSWER/DON'T KNOW 1%

 

Q12. DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THAT POSITION?

 

A. WALL STREET AND ITS LOBBYISTS HAVE TOO MUCH INFLUENCE IN WASHINGTON

 

BASE: FAMILIAR WITH PROTESTS (787)

 

AGREE 86%

 

DISAGREE 11%

 

NO ANSWER/DON'T KNOW 4%

 

Q12. DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THAT POSITION?

 

B. THE GAP BETWEEN RICH AND POOR IN THE UNITED STATES HAS GROWN TOO LARGE

 

BASE: FAMILIAR WITH PROTESTS (787)

 

AGREE 79%

 

DISAGREE 17%

 

NO ANSWER/DON'T KNOW 3%

 

Q12. DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THAT POSITION?

 

C. EXECUTIVES OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FINANCIAL MELTDOWN IN 2008 SHOULD BE PROSECUTED

 

BASE: FAMILIAR WITH PROTESTS (787)

 

AGREE 71%

 

DISAGREE 23%

 

NO ANSWER/DON'T KNOW 6%

 

Q12. DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THAT POSITION?

 

D. THE RICH SHOULD PAY MORE TAXES

 

BASE: FAMILIAR WITH PROTESTS (787)

 

AGREE 68%

 

DISAGREE 28%

 

NO ANSWER/DON'T KNOW 4%

 

Q12A. IN YOUR VIEW, WILL THIS PROTEST MOVEMENT HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, A NEGATIVE IMPACT, OR WILL IT HAVE LITTLE IMPACT ON AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY?

 

BASE: FAMILIAR WITH PROTESTS (787)

 

POSITIVE IMPACT 30%

 

NEGATIVE IMPACT 9%

 

LITTLE IMPACT 56%

 

NO ANSWER/DON'T KNOW 6%

Q15. WOULD YOU SAY EACH OF THE FOLLOWING IS HAVING A MAJOR IMPACT, MINOR IMPACT OR IS IT HAVING LITTLE IMPACT ON AMERICA’S DECLINE IN THE WORLD?A. WALL STREET AND CORPORATE CEO’S

 

BASE: BELIEVE AMERICA’S POSITION IN THE WORLD IS DECLINING (732)

 

MAJOR IMPACT 63%

 

MINOR IMPACT 20%

 

LITTLE IMPACT 10%

 

NO ANSWER/DON’T KNOW 7%

 

 

Read more: http://swampland.tim.../#ixzz1ahgermPV

[Guest Luke]

I was there as well. It was pure Democracy.

 

The Occupation of Freedom Plaza

 

We Danced Waiting for the Police Who Never Came

 

By Kevin Zeese

 

"Information Clearing House" -- Last night, our permit officially ran out in Freedom Plaza. Early in the evening the police reminded us our permit ended at 10PM and they ‘had to do their job.’ We held an emergency meeting of many of the organizers and decided to stay. We took it to the General Assembly which agreed. We were in solidarity – Freedom Park was paid for by our tax dollars; the Constitution says “Congress shall make no law abridging” our right to freedom of speech and right to assemble to redress grievances against the government. We had grievances, so we were staying.

 

We decided to dance until the police came for us. We danced and our unity grew stronger. Margaret Flowers and I went up on the stage and danced before a massive replica of the Constitution “We the People in order to form a more perfect union” . . . we went to the stage so we could watch for police action. As the permit holders we felt a responsibility to everyone there. We wanted to warn them if we saw the police coming.

 

The rhythm of the drummers combined with electric music to create a pulsating beat that mixed in with our chants:

 

We are the 99%

We are the 99%

The People United Will Never Be Defeated

The People United Will Never Be Defeated

Doesn’t Congress Know: We Are the 99%

Doesn’t Obama Know: We Are the 99%

The 1% Should Know: We Are the 99%

 

We danced, danced, people held hands in lines TOGETHER, circling the front of the Freedom Plaza encampment. On the stage ten or so of us danced in unison, TOGETHER, clapping, moving, back and forth, back and forth. Unity grew in the threat of police action and with our solidarity in not fearing it – in knowing that if the police destroyed our encampment and arrested us, our movement would grow. We would be replaced. We would return. Repression would lead to a bigger occupation, not a smaller one.

 

Margaret and I were told that three police had just walked alongside the Pennsylvania Avenue side of Freedom Plaza seemingly counting how many of us there were. We decided to go meet with them. We approached the officers behind the stage. They were friendly and so were we. We too were united in the reality of the economic insecurity of the 99%. We shared concerns about today’s youth, leaving school with more debt than any generation before – and the worst job market for youth that any of could remember. We talked about the unfair foreclosures created by a banker-created housing bubble that inflated prices beyond affordability; about the death of Americans because they can’t get health care. We talked about the wealth disparity seen in the annual IRS report of the wealthiest 400 Americans – 400 people with the wealth of 154 million, paying taxes at a rate of half of middle class Americans. We all agreed they did not acquire that wealth because they were smarter and worked harder. We know some of the hardest working Americans are paid the least. We all knew of the deep corruption that led to economic disparity. We knew the unfairness. We all see President Obama charging $38,500 to attend his fundraisers – more than the individual median income of Americans; and wonder what promises he is making for those bribe-donations? How will the economic unfairness be made worse by his billion dollar campaign? One officer told us he had a four year old daughter. I told him about my two sons who are in the 20s, Margaret about her children in their teens. We were united. The 99% wants a more perfect union.

 

The police told us there would be no arrests that night. In fact, we had been out of compliance with the permit from the first day and we could have been arrested days ago. The law does not allow sleeping in the park, the first night we developed a euphemism that the police joined in – we were not sleeping, we were “deeply resting.” That night we agreed to wake people before the media arrived from their “rest.” As the occupation grew, the violations of the rules grew. People put up tents – the courts have always upheld the “no camping” rule in federal parks, but people knew their civil resistance history. Sometimes the simplest things led to the most dramatic changes. Americans have been inspired by sitting on a bus to close to the front, sitting at a lunch counter were they were not allowed, sleeping in a ditch outside President Bush’s ranch – so people camped in a federal park – doing a common human experience, sleeping.

 

Why are we doing this? Why are hundreds of occupations developing across the United States? Because the people need to take power from the political and economic elites who have destroyed the economy and have us trapped in war quagmires around the world; because we need to END CORPORATE RULE that favors gluttonous profits for the wealthiest while the basic necessities of tens of millions are not met; because we need to immediately end wars of the American empire that have literally killed and displaced millions of innocent people. We occupy to create a more perfect union where participatory democracy replaces the rule of concentrated wealth.

 

Now the police are telling the media that our permit ends today at 2:00 –the time the permit allowed for clean up. But, today at noon the Constitution will still say: “Congress shall make no law abridging” . . . and the occupation will continue. Join us.

 

Kevin Zeese is an organizer for the Occupation of Washington, DC in Freedom Plaza and co-director of Its Our Economy and co-chair of Come Home America.

[Luke_Wilbur]

Should a Canadian magazine be allowed to control all these OccupyWallStreet and other occupy domain names?

 

In my opinion, Adbusters should them over to the movement, otherwise people will view the leaders of this movement as AntiAmerican and just an example of foreign powers trying to directly encroach into American politics.

 

Early this year, the editors of a Canadian anti-establishment magazine watched Egyptians demanding democracy in Cairo, and young Spaniards camping out in city centers to protest high unemployment, and wondered, "Why isn't this happening in America?"So in an Internet posting in mid-July, Adbusters suggested a time — Sept. 17 — and a place — Wall Street — for people to make a stand. The editors didn't organize any activists, or even visit New York, but thousands of people took their idea and made it real.

 

"All of us had this feeling that there was this powerful wave of rage rising up in America that hadn't found its expression yet," said magazine co-founder Kalle Lasn, who came up with the idea for the demonstration with Adbusters editor Micah White.

 

The Vancouver-based magazine audaciously called for 20,000 "redeemers, rebels and radicals" to flood lower Manhattan and occupy Wall Street for a few months. The crowds have been substantially smaller than that, and another key part of the original Adbusters call — that the protesters come up with "one simple demand" — has yet to materialize.

 

But the demonstration has created a political buzz and inspired dozens more encampments across the U.S.

 

http://www.startribu...html?page=1&c=y

Edited October 14, 2011 by Luke_Wilbur

[Luke_Wilbur]

Spoke with Jeremiah today @ e-onlinedata.com also known as

 

PowerPay

320 Cumberland Ave, Portland ME 04101

Toll Free: (877) 877-3737

Local: (207) 775-6900

Fax: (888) 204-4040

info@powerpay.biz

 

The are handling the Occupy Wall Street Donations Payment Process. Jeremiah of PowerPay stated that I should contact the Alliance for Global Justice.

 

I have left three messages to Chuck Kaufman about this.

 

Alliance for Global Justice Headquarters

1247 E St., SE

Washington, DC 20003

202-544-9355

afgj@afgj.org

 

Chuck Kaufman

National Co-Coordinator

(ext. 500)

chuck@afgj.org

 

I am going to leave chuck an email. I would beware of donating to this organization until they respond.

 

Earlier today, we asked supporters to call E-Onlinedata to demand release of tens of thousands of dollars donated for Occupy Wall Street, a fiscal project of AfGJ.

 

Following extensive conversations with the company today, we are confident that the situation is on its way to a rapid resolution. Please stop making calls to E-Onlinedata and please forward this alert to any listserves to which you may have forwarded our original alert.

 

E-Onlinedata strongly assured us that there was no political motive in freezing our account and holding the funds. The company stated that, in fact, the fault lies with AfGJ for a number of reasons but particularly because donations for our Occupy Wall Street project reached a volume that was orders of magnitude greater than any activity on our account in previous years, exposing E-Onlinedata to a level of liability not covered in our merchant contract with them.

 

We believe that this is a reasonable explanation and we have no evidence that E-Onlinedata is anything other than a reputable company servicing merchants and the banking industry. While we are strongly critical of the policies and practices of the banking industry as a whole, E-Onlinedata does not deserve to be held responsible for the sins of the entire industry. We apologize to E-Onlinedata for any actions on our part that may have been construed as reflecting negatively on their company.

 

We thank our supporters for their quick response to our alert earlier today. Your actions helped bring this situation to a satisfactory conclusion. We urge you to continue to speak out in support of issues that are important to us all and the future of our country and our world.

 

In Solidarity,

Chuck Kaufman

 

http://afgj.org/?p=1765

Edited October 14, 2011 by Luke_Wilbur

[Luke_Wilbur]

I spoke with Adbusters, the creators of $OccupyWallStreet. They are telling people to donate to the following organizations.

 

 

nycga.net

 

occupywallst.org

 

I will check them later.

[Guest Drunk Economist]

A tea party / Occupy Wall Street merger might not be so bad. Maybe they could teach one another a thing or two.

[Guest Stephen]

I spoke with Adbusters, the creators of $OccupyWallStreet. They are telling people to donate to the following organizations.

 

 

nycga.net

 

occupywallst.org

 

I will check them later.

 

I went to Alliance for Global Justice:

 

http://nycga.cc/donate/

 

Mail your check or money order to the Alliance for Global Justice.

Please indicate “Occupy wall street” in the memo line.

 

Alliance for Global Justice

1247 “E” Street, SE

Washington, DC 20003

 

Or CALL at 202-544-9355 to make a telephone donation.

 

============================================

 

When I submitted money the page transferred me to the Global Alliance Nicaragua Network:

 

http://nicanet.org/?page_id=342

 

Then to Authorize.net

 

https://secure.authorize.net/gateway/transact.dll

 

=============================================

 

http://occupywallst.org/donate/

 

Donations

 

The support we receive in the form of donations plays a crucial role in helping the #OWS movement succeed. Below is a list of places to send money and/or supplies that we believe are legitimate.

Occupy Wall Street

 

NYCGA General Fund & Material Donations (~$150,000 raised, Recommended)

OccupyWallSt.org Fund (~$4,500 raised, not accepting currently)

OWSJ Print Newspaper Fund (~$75,000 raised, exceeded budget proposal)

LiveStreaming Team (unknown amount raised)

 

'NYCGA General Fund & Material Donations' goes to the Alliance for Global Justice

 

http://nycga.cc/donate/

 

http://nicanet.org/?page_id=342

 

Then to Authorize.net

 

https://secure.authorize.net/gateway/transact.dll

 

 

========================================================

 

Cannot figure how OWSJ Print Newspaper Fund makes donations

 

 

Looks like you have to join Kickstarter

 

========================================================

 

LiveStreaming Team (unknown amount raised) uses Paypal

 

in solidarity with FluxRostrum

 

https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?

 

FluxRostrum

 

http://fluxview.com/USA/FluxRostrum

 

FluxRostrum

aka Gianni Lazuli

founder of Mobile Broadcast News

 

 

As a Writer/Director/Editor FluxRostrum's digital shorts "DotCompost Heap" & "WOOD" were selected for The Malibu International Film Festival 2002, "Public Housing and Black Panthers in New Orleans" and "N.O. Evictions" were screened at the Anthology Theatre in NYC March 22nd 2006 as part of a program from Third World News Reel entitled "imMEDIAcy". "Public Housing and Black Panthers in New Orleans" was also screened at the 6th annual Anarchist Film Festival May 7 2006. Many FluxRostrum Films have been aired on FreeSpeech TV as part of the Blacked Out Media show and on numerous public access channels world wide, including Manhattan Neighborhood Network and PeraltaTV. Get That Camera! has aired on FreeSpeech TV, screened at a variety of film festivals and was aired on The Documentary Channel. Flux has worked as part of several collectives that regularly contribute footage and/or finished pieces, such as "Watch This!", "Mandate?" & "The Iraq War 3rd Anniversary Special", to FreeSpeech TV & PBS. Several videos from Flux's time in Post Katrina New Orleans have been screened at Columbia University, film festivals and are available for donations. The 2011 season of HBO's "Treme" also uses this footage in their opening montage.

 

Flux has contributed footage to several feature films and documentaries including "Better This World", "the F Word" (Tribeca Film Festival) and Still We Ride (Bike Film Festival). As well as contributing footage to Democracy Now, Deep Dish TV, French Television projects and the 2011 season of HBO's "Treme"

[Guest Friend of GATA]

I am browsing these archives.

 

N M Rothschild & Sons (more commonly known simply as Rothschild) is the investment bank company of the Rothschild family. It was founded in the City of London in 1811 and is now a global firm with over 40 offices around the world. The firm acts as a financial adviser to some of the most important companies, largest governments, and wealthiest families in the world.

 

The Rothschild family do own and control the Federal Reserve by their control of a majority of the Fed district banks. It has been estimated by Austrian economists that the Rothschild family owns and/or controls wealth to the tune of between $100,000 and $500,000 TRILLION. It is established historical fact that the Rothschilds were billionaires in the mid-1800s - it was estimated even then that they controlled at least half of the world's wealth. You see, when you understand the fundamental point about how money is created (basically out of thin air by privately-owned Central Banks), you soon realize that they can create any amount they want, when they want, to buy anything and anyone they want.

 

[Guest BigBlue]

Occupy Wall Street has HOT CHICKS. I am supporting their cause.

 

[Luke_Wilbur]

Looks like Alliance for Global Justice got their act together. Their occupy Wall Street donation now goes to:

 

https://www.wepay.com/xo71ir

 

 

Information

 

Alliance for Global Justice is the fiscal sponsor for Occupy Wall Street. All donations made through this page are tax deductible. Thank you for supporting social justice and giving to Occupy Wall Street!

 

WePay was founded in 2008, and has raised $10 million in venture financing from Highland Capital Partners, August Capital, Y Combinator, SVAngel, Dave McClure, Mark Goines, Youtube founder Steve Chen, and PayPal co-founder Max Levchin.

 

https://www.wepay.com/about/wepay

 

The money is now being kept in a credit union account at the Amalgamated Bank.

 

 

 

Established in 1923 by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, Amalgamated Bank continues the progressive traditions of its founders as the only 100 percent union-owned bank in the United States. Chartered by New York State, Amalgamated Bank is an FDIC insured commercial bank with $4.5 billion in assets. The Bank's corporate divisions also include Commercial Banking and Real Estate Finance. Through its Institutional Asset Management and Custody Division, the Bank is also one of the leading providers of investment and trust services to Taft-Hartley plans in the United States.In addition, Amalgamated Bank has 27 retail branches including 20 in New York City as well as branches in: Las Vegas, Nevada; Lyndhurst, New Jersey; Pasadena, California and Washington, D.C.

 

http://www.amalgamatedbank.com/home/aboutus

 

They have a branch office at:

 

1825 K Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20006

202.293.9800

MONDAY-FRIDAY 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

 

> Free Checking

 

> Free Debit Card

 

> Free ATM

 

I might even check them out. I would say that the transaction process looks now safe to donate. I tested it out

[Luke_Wilbur]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCs8mlwHZCE

The October2011.org Movement that is occupying Freedom Plaza, led an impromptu march of 250 people up Pennsylvania Avenue to the U.S.Supreme Court where Dr. Cornel West climbed on the steps of the Supreme Court and denounced court decisions that have produced money-based elections that empower corporations. Dr. West was holding a sign that said "Poverty is the Greatest Violence of All." He was arrested because holding political signs on the Supreme Court steps is illegal.

Dr. West spoke to more than 500 people on Freedom Plaza where he said that "if Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were alive today, he would be on Freedom Plaza." West described how the struggle against, poverty, war and injustice continues and confidence that the people will succeed. He applauded the occupation as "an inclusive social revolution for all of us" and a "leaderless-leader-filled movement" where people are "finding their own political voices rather than echoing others."

Kevin Zeese, an organizer of October2011.org said: "It is a fitting tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for Dr. West and the others to risk arrest protesting the unfair wealth divide and the Supreme Court empowering money over voters. In the battle for a real, participatory democracy getting money out of politics is a critical step."

Cornel West was arraigned in DC Superior Court, 500 Indiana Ave. today. He and 14 others of the 17 arrested were held overnight.

[Guest Fedup]

Rothschild banking dynasty selects the board of directors for the New York Fed and to direct U.S. monetary policy.

[Guest Ekul]

I am a most unhappy man, I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is now controlled by it's system of credit. We are no longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men. - Woodrow Wilson

 

The matter of a uniform discount rate was discussed and settled at Jekyll Island. - Paul M. Warburg

 

Nelson (Aldrich) had confided to Henry, Frank, Paul and Piatt that he was to keep them locked up at Jekyll Island, out of the rest of the world, until they had evolved and compiled a scientific currency system for the United States, the real birth of the present Federal Reserve System, the plan done on Jekyll Island in the conference with Paul, Frank and Henry... Warburg is the link that binds the Aldrich system and the present system together. He more than any one man has made the system possible as a working reality. - Bertie Charles Forbes

 

Intimately acquainted with European central banks, especially the Reichsbank, Paul didn't claim to originate new banking principles so much as import European practices. As with Max [Paul's older brother] in Hamburg, Paul meshed spectacularly with his historical moment. Once again, a Warburg succeeded because of his contradictory status. As a Jew in a gentile world, a German immigrant confronting a new country, Paul was able to spot flaws in American finance to which native bankers had been blinded by familiarity. - Ron Chernow

 

In 1933 Max M. Warburg served on the board of the German Reichsbank under governor Hjalmar Schacht. The Reichsbank was the central bank of Germany from 1876 until 1945.

 

Paul Moritz Warburg, a partner in Kuhn, Loeb & Company, a representative of the Rothschild banking dynasty in England and France, and brother to Max Warburg, head of the Warburg banking consortium in Germany and the Netherlands, and the chief architect of the Federal Reserve Board in the United States. According to Ron Chernow, Paul Warburg was the only person in America who understood how a central bank works. In 1912 and 1913, he drew up the basic plan for the Federal Reserve banking system, and he drafted the Federal Reserve Act.

 

Paul Moritz Warburg became a director of the Council on Foreign Relations at its founding in 1921, remaining on the board until his death. From 1921 to 1926 Warburg was a member of the advisory council of Federal Reserve Board, serving as president of the advisory council in 1924-26. He was also a trustee of the Institute of Economics, founded in 1922; when it was merged into the Brookings Institution in 1927, he became a trustee of the latter, serving until his death.

 

The American delegation at Versailles was also represented by Paul Warburg, of Kuhn, Loeb and the American branch of I.G. Farben, while the German delegation included his brother, Max Warburg, who would become Hitler's banker. The conference, which officially began on 18 January 1919, resulted in five treaties. Their host in Versailles, France during the "peace" conference was Baron Edmond de Rothschild, the leading force at the time pressing for the creation of a Jewish homeland in Israel. The Treaty of Versailles, signed on 28 June 1919 and ratified on 20 January 1920. The Versailles Reparations came in a variety of forms, including coal, steel, intellectual property (e.g. the trademark for Aspirin) and agricultural products.

 

The secret Anglo - Franco - Russian agreement of 16 May 1916, commonly known as the Sykes - Picot Agreement, divided the Arab dominions of the Ottoman Empire between Britain and France. Britain received the areas that are now Iraq, Jordan, and Israel; France got what is now Syria and Lebanon. The Balfour Declaration of 2 November 1917, also played a role in the disposition of Arab territories by the Conference of Paris. This was a letter from Lord Balfour, British foreign secretary, to Lord (Edmond de) Rothschild, a prominent British Zionist, that supported the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. For his Jewish philanthropy Baron Edmond became known as "HaNadiv HaYadu'a", (Hebrew for "The Known Benefactor" or "The Famous Benefactor") and in his memory his son bequeathed the funds to construct the building for the Knesset. Israel's 1982/5742 Independence Day coin is dedicated to the memory of Edmond de Rothschild and marks the centenary of his first projects in Israel. From 1982 until 1986, the Bank of Israel used his portrait on the 500 Israeli sheqel note.

 

The cartoon character, "Daddy" Oliver Warbucks in the Little Orphan Annie series, was inspired by the life and times of Paul Warburg.

 

[Luke_Wilbur]

The Federal Reserve has an article the substantiates Paul Warburg as the principal architect of the Federal Reserve.

 

http://www.minneapolisfed.org/publications_papers/pub_display.cfm?id=3815

 

Paul Warburg's Crusade to Establish a Central Bank in the United States

 

Paul Warburg was an advocate for a central bank in the United States and was chosen by President Woodrow Wilson to serve as one of the first members of the Federal Reserve Board.

Michael A. Whitehouse

 

 

Published May 1, 1989

 

Whitehouse is staff assistant in the Office of the Secretary at the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. He has written and lectured extensively on the early history of the Federal Reserve System and U.S. banking.

 

In paying tribute recently to Henry Wallich, late member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Bankers Magazine noted that Wallich was a successor, in more than one respect, to Paul Warburg. Both of these board members were emigrants from Germany—and from the higher circles of German and European finance. Warburg, a member of the first Federal Reserve Board, like Wallich, was a staunch advocate of sound finance. Both, having witnessed the strengths and weaknesses of the European banking system during economic debacles as younger men, brought their experience to the United States committed to putting those lessons to use.

 

It's been said that Governor Wallich's speeches and essays represent one of the best financial histories of our time. The same can certainly be said of Warburg's writings, speeches and testimony for the period after the turn of the century. His life's work constitutes perhaps the best history of the development of central banking in the United States and mirrors its controversies, struggles and the final accomplishment.

 

It's seems fitting then, in this 75th anniversary year of the Federal Reserve System, to look at the life of Warburg, one of the System's architects and staunchest proponents.

 

 

Warburg's Early Banking Experience

Paul Warburg was born in Hamburg in 1868. The offspring of a prominent German banking family, he had been trained in banking in the European financial capitals. After attending the university, at age 18 he began his career in London where for two years he worked for a banking and discounting firm, followed by a short stint with a London stockbroker. After that he moved to France and gained additional experience at the Russian bank for foreign trade, which had an agency in Paris. He then traveled to India, China and Japan before returning to Hamburg to become a partner in M.M. Warburg & Co., the family banking firm.

 

Warburg's father had fully expected that Paul would take charge of his family's banking business along with his brothers Aby and Max, but in 1895 Warburg married an American citizen, Nina Loeb, an accomplished violinist, and began to live part of the year in New York. Six years later, at age 34, he left Germany, took up permanent residency in the United States, and accepted a position as a partner at his father-in-law's firm, Kuhn, Loeb and Co.—one of Wall Street's most important and respected banking houses. While adapting quickly to his new business, he still viewed the United States through the eyes of a European banker and was literally shocked at what he considered the primitive status of banking and financial affairs.

 

In the early 1900s, the nation was suffering from periodic liquidity crises. These crises or "panics" occurred because the banking system was fettered with a rigid amount of currency that could not meet unusual demands, and a system of reserves that pyramided up to New York. During these panics businessmen and farmers were unable to obtain credit to finance inventories and the production and transportation of crops. The crises spread across the country and converged upon Wall Street, resulting in plunges in the stock market, a large number of bank and business failures, and a further shortage of currency.

 

Such phenomena deeply affected Warburg, a small unassuming man whose most obvious physical characteristic was a large drooping mustache that gave him more the appearance of a tenor in a barbershop quartet than an important international banker.

 

While small in stature, however, he was hardly tame or timid in his professional assessment of conditions then prevailing in his new country. "The United States," he said, "is at about the same point that had been reached by Europe at the time of the Medicis." Witnessing first-hand a period of high interest rates — "where call money went up to 25 and 100 percent," he felt compelled to "write an article on the subject then and there for [his] own benefit."

 

Warburg thought it a bit presumptuous to attempt to educate a country to which he was so new a resident, so when advised by an associate to put the paper aside, he did so and attended to duties at his firm. However, when the same conditions arose in the beginning of 1907, he could hold his tongue no longer, and he began to circulate his writings for the benefit of others as well.

 

 

The Panic of 1907

Early in 1907, New York Times Annual Financial Review published Warburg's first official reform plan, entitled "A Plan for a Modified Central Bank," in which he outlined remedies that he thought might avert panics, like the great one that would occur later that year. Furthermore, he identified what he saw as the "evils" of the system in the United States — the "decentralization of reserves and the immobilization of [commercial] paper." To remedy this, he advocated the development of an American discount market and a European-style commercial paper. This system was based partly on a concept known as the "real bills" doctrine, which maintained that the money supply should vary with the short-term "legitimate" needs of business and commerce. By allowing banks to borrow only against short-term loans, the real bills doctrine, in theory, provided liquidity through the discounting (or selling) of loans and at the same time restricted the ability of a central bank to expand the supply of money. Warburg also proposed the creation of a "central reserve" or central bank that would hold the reserve funds of member banks so that collective funds could be made available to a bank in need of liquidity. Both the discounting and reserve concept, he contended, would help make money and credit more elastic and keep interest rates stable.

 

The Panic of 1907 hit full stride in October. The crash was of such severity that it immediately helped focus public awareness on the problems with the monetary and banking system. Although the issue of a central bank was unpopular because of its connotations of powerful central authority, Congress was now forced to act. The Aldrich-Vreeland Act, passed by Congress in May 1908, provided for the issuance of emergency currency and created a bipartisan National Monetary Commission to study central banking and other alternatives for monetary and banking reform. Warburg would serve this committee and, through his efforts for the commission, achieve an influence on subsequent proposals for reform.

 

 

Warburg Meets Sen. Aldrich

Sen. Nelson Aldrich of Rhode Island, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, was appointed head of the National Monetary Commission. He divided the commission into two groups: one would study the US banking system and compile a report, and the other, headed by the senator himself, would travel to Europe and study the central banking systems in London, Paris and Berlin.

 

Aldrich was a known advocate of the extant bond-backed currency arrangement, which provided that bank notes could only be issued by national banks on the basis of the amount of US government bonds that were held to back them. However, the 67-year-old Aldrich, who was considered the most influential figure in Congress on financial matters, was committed to exploring new ideas for reform. In 1908, he announced that he would not seek office again and instead would devote his full attention to the currency and banking question.

 

Meanwhile, Warburg began to enlarge his circle of professional contacts and have his voice heard throughout the country. However, the German banker still didn't have the ear of the man who mattered most — Aldrich.

 

Aldrich first met Warburg by chance when the senator was preparing for the European trip and visited Kuhn, Loeb and Co. to gather preliminary material about the German banking system. Following that meeting, the German native began writing to Aldrich outlining his proposals, but Aldrich was cool to Warburg's plan and deferred his correspondence to A. Piatt Andrew, a Harvard professor whom Aldrich had appointed official secretary of the National Monetary Commission. As new ideas on banking reform began to crystallize for the senator, Andrew brought the work of Warburg to the senator's attention again and soon Andrew was corresponding with Warburg on behalf of the senator. Warburg was asked to write a study on the "discounting of commercial bills" for the National Monetary Commission, and became an unofficial advisor to the group. However, the banker and the senator still were at loggerheads on the question of what shape the central bank should take in the United States, and on the issue of discounting commercial paper.

 

In his monograph, "The Discount System in Europe," Warburg declared that the effective utilization of the discount policy was one of the most impressive victories for central banks in Europe during the Panic of 1907. The only structure that is safe, he concluded, is one that provides for effective concentration of cash reserves and their freest use in case of need, enabling banks, when necessary, to turn into cash a maximum of their assets with a minimum disturbance to general conditions. He noted further that a central bank is able to guard the cash reserve of the country and accommodate nonreserve banks by accepting prime security, like bank-accepted bills.

 

Warburg, in the meantime, continued his campaign on other fronts. He had followed his first New York Times article with a speech at Columbia University on "American and European Banking Methods and Banking Legislation Compared," and privately published a new, more complete proposal for a US banking system, entitled "A Modified Plan for a Central Bank."

 

In May 1908, the New York Times gave his revised plan prominent coverage. Primarily, Warburg continued to emphasize that the United States must finally develop some sort of central bank system, giving the country an elastic currency based on modern commercial bills payable in gold: a system similar in principle, if not exactly alike in form, to those of the important European central banks. He believed that "no measure that bases currency on a long term basis like the Aldrich-Vreeland Emergency Currency bill, (which allowed banks in regional currency associations to use their aggregate bank balances as the basis for the issuance of currency) can be acceptable." Also, he stressed that issuing notes "must be centralized into a few organs, or if feasible, into one organ to ensure effective expansion and contraction of reserves." The tireless reformer further stated that no central bank could be effective that "vests the powers of a central bank in political officers alone. That power clearly defined, ought to be vested in political officers and businessmen combined, in a way that would render impossible any political or financial abuse." Any hasty decisions on the composition of the directors of a central bank, he said, could stand in the way of the creation of such an organization. Better that those practical and political questions could be worked out after careful consideration.

 

 

Warburg's Contribution

The idea of an "elastic currency," which would expand to meet the legitimate needs of business and commerce, was not new. In fact, Warburg himself claimed no originality for the idea, but through his writings, speeches and counsel to others he began to have a greater impact than anyone else. Warburg did, however, succeed in injecting two new ideas into the discussion: first, shifting of emphasis from the currency problem to the reserve problem; and second, advocacy of the principle of rediscounting a new kind of commercial paper.

 

These ideas were starting to be discussed more seriously throughout the country, and other individuals involved in the banking and currency reform movement began to take note. With both the building momentum of other banking reform advocacy groups and Aldrich's own exposure to the efficient and effective central banking system in Europe, the senator finally opened to these other ideas.

 

The debate on central banking reform was still in full swing several years after the 1907 Panic. Indeed, it began to heat up, with the American Bankers Association standing opposed to "any form of central bank yet suggested by legislators." Meanwhile, Warburg, Aldrich and several other prominent figures intensified their efforts and began to form an alliance that was to last over the coming crucial years of the banking reform movement.

 

 

Aldrich Reconsiders His Position

The European interviews of the National Monetary Commission had a profound influence upon Aldrich. He had a clear plan for reform when he returned from Europe, radically different from his original beliefs. The change in the senator's thinking was so drastic that Aldrich's biographer explained it as an epiphany, saying, "Aldrich was converted on the road to Damascus."

 

When Aldrich and the National Monetary Commission returned from Europe in the fall of 1908, Aldrich asked Warburg to present his own ideas and answer questions regarding the European interviews at a meeting at New York's Metropolitan Club.

 

After Warburg's Metropolitan Club testimony, Aldrich pulled the banker aside and told him that he liked his plan for reform but he was being too timid about it. Warburg was surprised to learn that Aldrich, who before his European travels had not favored centralization and had advocated a national currency backed by government bonds, had changed his thinking and envisioned a European-type central bank for the United States. While Warburg now warned the senator against attempts to establish a full-scale central bank in the European sense—believing it politically unrealistic— he was nonetheless encouraged.

 

A particular key feature of the European systems persuaded the senator to reconsider his thinking. According to commission member Sen. Theodore Burton, the concept of currency backed by commercial assets began to take hold in Aldrich's mind in London, and the interviews in Berlin finally convinced him. Commission Assistant George Reynolds concurred, noting that "the experience and practice of German bankers in meeting the needs of commerce in their country demonstrated to Aldrich the validity of the use of commercial assets as a basis for currency. The idea, formerly so obscure, came home to him in great force from its demonstration in a non-political, practical atmosphere."

 

While Aldrich's conversion was a welcome one to Warburg and other progressive reformers, the very concept of a European-style central bank was still an anathema to a great many bankers and politicians. Bankers wanted reform that would make the banking system more efficient and better coordinated but were fearful of government interference in the management of a central bank. While Reynolds, as president of the American Bankers Association, had traveled to Europe and had become an intimate of Aldrich, his association was not supportive of reform. Moreover, many politicians believed that the geographic size of the United States and its diverse business conditions warranted a different banking system than those existing in Europe. Complicating the matter further was the fact that any plan to which Aldrich attached himself was sure to be attacked by Democrats and others who believed the senator had only the interest of eastern businessmen and bankers in mind. Aldrich had close ties with J. P. Morgan and other important bankers, and his eldest daughter's marriage to John D. Rockefeller Jr. did not help to dispel this suspicion.

 

 

The Jekyll Island Expedition

One evening in early November 1910, Warburg and a small party of men from New York quietly boarded Sen. Aldrich's private railway car, ostensibly for a trip south to an exclusive hunting club on an island off the coast of Georgia.

 

In addition to Warburg and Aldrich, the others, all highly regarded in the New York banking community, were: Frank Vanderlip, president of National City Bank; Harry P. Davison, a J.P. Morgan partner; Benjamin Strong, vice president of Banker's Trust Co.; and A. Piatt Andrew, former secretary of the National Monetary Commission and now assistant secretary of the Treasury. The real purpose of this historic "duck hunt" was to formulate a plan for US banking and currency reform that Aldrich could present to Congress.

 

Even Warburg at first questioned the motives of this gathering, not knowing if he was included because the group knew what he preached and was interested in what he had to offer, or if he was to be involved as a conspirator in order to be muzzled. He soon saw that the Jekyll Island conference was pulled together because, as Warburg later wrote, Aldrich was "bewildered at all that he had absorbed abroad and he was faced with the difficult task of writing a highly technical bill while being harassed by the daily grind of his parliamentary duties."

 

The group was secluded on Jekyll Island for about 10 days. All the participants came to the conference with strong views on the subject and did not agree on the exact shape a US central bank should take. Vanderlip noted: "Of course we knew that what we simply had to have was a more elastic currency through a bank that would hold the reserves of all banks." But there were many other questions that needed to be answered. If it was to be a central bank, how was it to be owned: by the banks, by the government, or jointly? Should there be a number of institutions or only one? Should the rate of interest be the same for the whole nation, or would it be higher in a community that was expanding too fast and lower in another that was lagging? In what open market operations should the bank be engaged?

 

Warburg realized that he had not been able to persuade the senator that if a central banking organization was to be created, it had to be a modified scheme based on the European models. In fact, Warburg, "the best equipped man there in the academic sense," according to Vanderlip, "was so intense ... and apparently felt a little antagonism towards Aldrich," so that there were some moments of strain that had to be eased by the others. Aldrich had his mind set on a European-style central bank, "a model he seemed loath to abandon," according to Warburg, and the senator strongly believed that the proposed central bank should be kept out of politics. Warburg and the others felt that whatever the theoretical justification for such a central bank, American conditions would require some sort of compromise and that concessions should be made considering government influence and representation. Aldrich, yielding somewhat, allowed that the government should be represented on the board of directors and have full knowledge of the bank's affairs, but a majority of the directors were to be chosen, directly or indirectly, by the members of the association.

 

Warburg also didn't agree with Aldrich's position on note issuance, conditions of membership of state banks and trust companies, or on the need for a uniform discount rate. Aldrich insisted, however, that a central bank should maintain a uniform rate of discount throughout the United States. He thought such a measure politically wise because it would refute the charges that other "great financial centres" would attempt to establish favorable rates for themselves in different regions to the disadvantage of other localities in the country.

 

Eventually all of the individuals at the Jekyll Island conference had to modify their views on a central bank plan. Nonetheless, Aldrich got out of the conference just what he intended—a banking scheme that rested upon a consensus of opinion representing the best-informed bankers of this country.

 

The banking bill the group brought north, which came to be known as the "Aldrich Plan," called for the establishment of a central bank in Washington, to be named the "National Reserve Association," meaning a central reserve organization with an elastic note issue based on gold and commercial paper. The association was to have 15 branches at geographically strategic locations throughout the country. The bank was to serve as fiscal agent for the US government and, by mobilizing the reserves of its member banks, become a lender of last resort to the American banking system. The association as a whole was to serve as a bank of rediscount, that is, it was empowered to discount a second time commercial paper that members of the association had already discounted. By rediscounting, the association could issue new money that might stay in circulation so long as the paper for which it was issued was not redeemed.

 

No one person was responsible for the final draft bill that was written. It was a record of their composite views. Yet Vanderlip regarded Warburg as having made significant and important contributions to the final result: "As a philosophical student of banking he was first among us at that time." Warburg was satisfied that the Aldrich Plan was not a central bank in the European sense. "It was strictly a bankers' bank with branches under the control of separate directorates having supervision over the rediscount operations with member banks," he said.

 

Warburg viewed the result of the Jekyll Island meeting as pivotal: "The period during which nonpolitical thought held the leadership in the banking reform movement may be considered as having ended with this conference." Up until then, bank reform had been an educational campaign carried on by individuals and groups; but at that point, the movement assumed a national character. Warburg saw Senator Aldrich as being the standard-bearer of a political proposal for a central bank. Said Warburg: "From then on until the final passage of the Federal Reserve Act, the generalship was in the hands of political leaders, while the role of banking reformers was to aid the movement by educational campaigns and, at the same time, to do their utmost to prevent fundamental parts of the nonpolitical plan from being disfigured by concessions born of political expediency." Aldrich presented his draft plan to the public in January 1911. One year later, on Jan. 19, 1912, the National Monetary Commission presented its report and endorsed the Aldrich Plan.

 

 

The Final Campaign

Warburg playfully described himself as a "fanatic" for what he considered sound finance. He was also pragmatic and sensitive to political realities, however. Thus he tempered his approach to a central bank in the United States, and his campaign over the next several years reflected that position. When he saw the roadblocks that lay ahead with Aldrich attempting to sell his plan to a greater part of the country, Warburg began a formal educational campaign to assist. Warburg believed that "beyond doubt, unless public opinion all over the United States could be educated and mobilized, any sound banking reform plan was doomed to fail."

 

The National Board of Trade appointed Warburg the head of a seven-man committee to set up a national group to promote reform. The group was called The National Citizens League For the Promotion of Sound Banking. It accomplished much of what it set out to do: establishing effective organizations in 45 states, printing a vast amount of educational materials for the businessman and layman alike, and publishing essays in pamphlets and articles in newspapers. Warburg also continued to publish in important journals and lecture before influential groups, doing all he could to help promote sound banking principles and convince larger audiences of the urgency for reform.

 

 

The Final Plan — The Federal Reserve Act

Before the Aldrich Plan could be enacted into law, the Democrats won the White House and took control of the Congress in 1912. The Democratic position called for a divisional reserve bank system, with a number of reserve banks or central banking cities. Nevertheless, President Woodrow Wilson believed that the Aldrich Plan was "60-70 percent correct." As a result, the plan became the basis for constructing the Federal Reserve bill, which began to take shape in Congress with the presentation of a bill proposed by Sen. Robert Latham Owen in May 1913.

 

When the Aldrich bill was rejected and the Democrats began to rework the banking bill, the group of bankers that had worked so hard in support of the Aldrich Plan began to split apart, and many of those bankers refused to consider an alternative plan. Warburg was more conciliatory and remained in contact with prominent Democrats, including Carter Glass, chairman of the House banking committee, and H. Parker Willis, the committee expert, and continued to write and speak on the new legislation. Warburg's reserve and discounting concepts were embraced in the Federal Reserve plan, though the central bank gradually abandoned the emphasis on discounting in favor of open market operations as the major monetary policy tool. Nonetheless, his efforts in educating the country, bringing sound banking techniques to the forefront of debate, were of tremendous importance in final preparation and passage of the Federal Reserve Act.

 

 

Epilogue

Warburg's career didn't end with passage of the Federal Reserve Act. In a sense, the close of this chapter marked the beginning of his next important role as a central banker. He was to wield a tremendous influence on the development of the System he worked so hard to help establish. In spite of vehement opposition from many Democrats and populists, President Wilson asked Warburg to become a member of the first Federal Reserve Board.

 

It appears President Wilson made a wise decision. Once Warburg was appointed to the board, Secretary of the Treasury William McAdoo, who often clashed with Warburg over policy matters, explained Warburg's appointment this way: "It was thought that his technical knowledge in international finance would be useful. It was useful, in some respects it was invaluable." Benjamin Strong, governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, went even further in his estimation of Warburg. Although Warburg was appointed as a member of the board (not as the chairman or vice chairman), Strong called Warburg "the real head of the board in Washington, so far as knowledge and ability goes."

 

But the fact that he was at all chosen to serve on the board seems to have been as much a surprise to the European-born banker as to those who took issue with his nomination. Indeed, he first declined the appointment because of the "rampant prejudice in this country against a Wall Street man," and balked at testifying before the Senate banking committee because other nominees had not been asked to do so. However, when World War I erupted in Europe, Warburg decided to waive all personal considerations "in deference to the president's urgent request and in view of the present urgency which render desirable the promptest organization of the Federal Reserve Board," and appeared before a largely antagonistic committee.

 

With Warburg before them, rather than take advantage of his vast knowledge in central banking to learn how the country would adapt to this new system, the senators chose instead to question the banker on Kuhn, Loeb and Co.'s "money trust" connections. Thus, one of the best opportunities for history to record Warburg's extemporaneous impressions on the final Glass-Owen Federal Reserve bill was lost. But when Warburg was questioned as to his motives for making the sacrifice — financial and otherwise — to become a member of the Federal Reserve Board, the nominee's answer was characteristically to the point:

 

"When President Wilson asked me [again] whether I would take this [on] and make the sacrifice ... I felt that I had no right to decline it; and I will be glad to make the sacrifice, because I think there is a wonderful opportunity for bringing a great piece of constructive work into successful operation, and it appeals to me to do that."

 

 

[Guest EG3]

Listen to this............

 

An INTENSE moment of TRUTH with MAINSTREAM Media

 

[Luke_Wilbur]

A few privileged individuals have corrupted the American Dream and given the idea of being wealthy a bad name.There is nothing wrong with working hard and being rewarded for your actions. The problem is that we have put the material over the spiritual. We rather converse with a machine than interact with those that love and care for us. We rather look for advice from a search engine than using the knowledge of our parents and elders. We live by polls more that by what we know deep down inside is right.

 

Good people are being manipulated by what special interest groups broadcast to be right.

 

Duty to God, Duty to Family*, Duty to Country. That is my sacred 3.

*Family includes friends.

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest dennis]

The Occupy Movement now has an Anthem!

 

 

Video shot by Dennis Trainor Jr, Kevin Egan and Asher Platts. Additional footage sourced from occupations everywhere.

 

Edited by dennis trainor jr and asher platts.

[Guest We Are The 99%]

Occupy Wall Street has become Occupy America. And here's what's really amazing. All of this happened with no recognized leaders, no goals, no list of demands, and no agenda. It's the least organized, yet one of the most effective, protest movements in our lifetime.

 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION >

[Guest Greenzen]

Freelancers better watch your steps.

 

 

From:NPR Communications

Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 6:12 PM

Subject: From Dana Rehm: Communications Alert

 

To: All Staff

Fr: Dana Davis Rehm

Re: Communications Alert

 

We recently learned of World of Opera host Lisa Simeone’s participation in an Occupy DC group. World of Opera is produced by WDAV, a music and arts station based in Davidson, North Carolina. The program is distributed by NPR. Lisa is not an employee of WDAV or NPR; she is a freelancer with the station.

 

We’re in conversations with WDAV about how they intend to handle this. We of course take this issue very seriously.

 

As a reminder, all public comment (including social media) on this matter is being managed by NPR Communications.

 

All media requests should be routed through NPR Communications at 202.513.2300 or mediarelations@npr.org. We will keep you updated as needed. Thanks. (NPR also addressed this issue in a blog post.)

 

Dana Davis Rehm is Senior Vice President for Marketing, Communications, and External Relations. In this role, Rehm creates and executes organization-wide strategies to communicate and market NPR's brand, programming, services, and accomplishments to key audiences, and grow the visibility of NPR and member stations as incomparable sources of news, talk, music, and entertainment.

 

http://www.npr.org/people/2101473/dana-davis-rehm

 

National Public Radio host Lisa Simeone appears to be breaking the taxpayer-subsidized network’s ethics rules by acting as a spokeswoman for Occupy D.C. group “October 2011,” which is currently “occupying” Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C.

 

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/10/19/npr-host-a-spokeswoman-for-occupy-d-c-possible-ethics-violation/#ixzz1bPcNrwFa

 

Lisa Simeone hosts WDAV's nationally syndicated World of Opera and Spoleto Chamber Music 2010. She also hosts The Grainger Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Radio Broadcast Series and the internationally syndicated documentary series Soundprint. Lisa has more than 25 years experience in radio and television, including stints with All Things Considered, Performance Today, Weekend Edition and The Metropolitan Opera.

 

http://www.npr.org/people/2101205/lisa-simeone

 

 

As host of World of Opera, Lisa Simeone is an independent contractor of WDAV Classical Public Radio. Ms. Simeone’s activities outside of this job are not in violation of any of WDAV’s employee codes and have had no effect on her job performance at WDAV. Ms. Simeone remains the host of World of Opera.

 

We continue to work with NPR to find a solution to the issues surrounding World of Opera, and we’ll publish any updates here!

 

http://blogs.wdav.org/2011/10/20/more-on-wdav-world-of-opera/

[Guest Friend of David Swanson]

Soundprint is a show that does touch on politics and includes political viewpoint in Simeone's ledes, but it is not an NPR program and not distributed by NPR. It is, however, heard on public radio stations. Despite the title "NPR World of Opera," that show is produced by a small station called WDAV for which Simeone contracts. Simeone was not an NPR employee. WDAV has not expressed any concern over Simeone's "ethics."

 

Simeone told me: "I find it puzzling that NPR objects to my exercising my rights as an American citizen -- the right to free speech, the right to peaceable assembly -- on my own time in my own life. I'm not an NPR employee. I'm a freelancer. NPR doesn't pay me. I'm also not a news reporter. I don't cover politics. I've never brought a whiff of my political activities into the work I've done for NPR World of Opera. What is NPR afraid I'll do -- insert a seditious comment into a synopsis of Madame Butterfly?

 

"This sudden concern with my political activities is also surprising in light of the fact that Mara Liaason reports on politics for NPR yet appears as a commentator on FoxTV, Scott Simon hosts an NPR news show yet writes political op-eds for national newspapers, Cokie Roberts reports on politics for NPR yet accepts large speaking fees from businesses. Does NPR also send out 'Communications Alerts' about their activities?"

 

Let's be clear about Simeone's political activities. We have three quarters of the country wanting billionaires taxed, two-thirds wanting wars ended, large majorities wanting funding moved from the military to green energy and education and jobs. Simeone has been taking part in a nonviolent encampment designed to facilitate the petitioning of our government for a redress of grievances, a right guaranteed by the First Amendment. That's all. She has been participating. Nothing more. There is nothing more specific to the allegation, nothing in particular that she has allegedly done other than participate in a nonviolent mass mobilization on behalf of majority opinion.

 

It may be difficult for NPR bigwigs to understand why we don't all just rent $400 per night hotel rooms instead of littering a public square with tents. But NPR's highly paid political agitators on behalf of the 1% are part of the problem. They are what we are protesting. And that is presumably what makes our speech and assembly "unethical."

 

Or perhaps the breach of ethics is to be found in behaving as a decent citizen while simultaneously possessing some connection to the most insidious corporate loudspeaker in the country, one labeled "public" but belonging to the 1%.

 

by NPR Communications

 

Classical public radio station WDAV says Lisa Simeone will continue to host World of Opera.

 

Please contact WDAV for further details:

 

http://www.wdav.org/default.htm

[Guest Funk Soul Brother]

A tea party / Occupy Wall Street merger might not be so bad. Maybe they could teach one another a thing or two.

 

The difference between Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party is pretty obvious.

 

[Guest dolfinguy]

OK--Some civil disbedience is good for the political soul & for national media PR....but... Are We the 99% Voters ready to take the REAL next step?

 

Here is the more proactive solution as the Necessary Next Step

 

http://www.getmoneyout.com/ --& tell a friend--tell everyone...because this ones gonna be the hardest next step to take.

 

Election Reform Now

 

One person , one vote ,$100 limit to voters only! Also--how many tent-totin' Occupiers are Registered Voters & ready to Organize Re-call Elections, or run for office, or propose local, state or federal referendums, initiatives or propositions?

 

These "99% Votes" would threaten & shock our current politicians to change their tunes --Recall one corporate-suckling congress person in every (or a few) states & see how the rest of elected officials will respond to the Power of the Organized Voters!!

 

Join & support -- GetMoneyOut.com -- Reform Elections first--tax reform will follow... Don't waste time & money on jail-bail. Keep it peaceful, keep it legal, & the 99% wins. Use your American Rights & Freedoms to Organize Votes & Fix America Now.

 

Read Jeffery Sachs--the "Price of Civilization: Renewing America's Values". or listen to: http://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/archive/podcast/dr-jeffrey-sachs-101011