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Mountain Sage Blog will join the protest of the “Stop Online Piracy Act” (SOPA) and the “PROTECT IP Act” (PIPA) on Wednesday, January 18, 2012. The site will re-direct to http://sopastrike.com/ for 24 hours.

The Duchess Wilder Band proudly presents its original song OCCUPY:

WWII Vet Owns Town Hall Meeting

Politics Buzz The venerable Senator (and Occupy Wall Street supporter) Bernie Sanders held a town hall meeting at a Vermont high school last weekend, where World War II Veteran Verne McGrew stole the show. Listen to the kind man’s wise words.

via WWII Vet Owns Town Hall Meeting.

A number of elected officials evidently see American citizens as the enemy and no longer even pretend otherwise.

While nearly all Americans head to family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving, the Senate is gearing up for a vote on Monday or Tuesday that goes to the very heart of who we are as Americans. The Senate will be voting on a bill that will direct American military resources not at an enemy shooting at our military in a war zone, but at American citizens and other civilians far from any battlefield — even people in the United States itself.

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The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president—and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world.

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The bill was drafted in secret by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) and passed in a closed-door committee meeting, without even a single hearing.

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In support of this harmful bill, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) explained that the bill will “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield” and people can be imprisoned without charge or trial “American citizen or not.” Another supporter, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) also declared that the bill is needed because “America is part of the battlefield.”

The solution is the Udall Amendment; a way for the Senate to say no to indefinite detention without charge or trial anywhere in the world where any president decides to use the military. Instead of simply going along with a bill that was drafted in secret and is being jammed through the Senate, the Udall Amendment deletes the provisions and sets up an orderly review of detention power. It tries to take the politics out and put American values back in.

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Now is the time to stop this bad idea. Please urge your senators to vote YES on the Udall Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.

SOURCE.

A pretty remarkable thing just happened. A press conference, scheduled for 2:00pm between the UC Davis Chancellor and police on campus, did not end at 2:30. Instead, a mass of Occupy Davis students and sympathizers mobilized outside, demanding to have their voice heard. After some initial confusion, UC Chancellor Linda Katehi refused to leave the building, attempting to give the media the impression that the students were somehow holding her hostage. A group of highly organized students formed large gap for the chancellor to leave. They chanted “we are peaceful” and “just walk home,” but nothing changed for several hours. Eventually student representatives convinced the chancellor to leave after telling their fellow students to sit down and lock arms.

SOURCE

UC Davis Chancellor Kotehi walks to her car – YouTube.

Police pepper spraying and arresting students at UC Davis – YouTube.

Occupy Wall Street makes use of the Verizon building in New York to display it’s message. Brilliant!

Photo by Todd Maisel/New York Daily News)

Blue “99%” projection glows on the Verizon building.

7:48 PMAnjali Mullany   The projection on the Verizon building downtown has changed. It now reads, “We are unstoppable! Another world is possible! Which caused people on the bridge to start chanting it,” according to Kerry Wills.

November 17th Occupy Wall Street Day of Action – New York City – NY Daily News.

Eighty-four-year-old activist Dorli Rainey tells Keith about her experience getting pepper-sprayed by the police during an Occupy Seattle demonstration and the need to take action and spread the word of the Occupy movement. She cites the advice of the late Catholic nun and activist Jackie Hudson to “take one more step out of your comfort zone” as an inspiration, saying, “It would be so easy to say, ‘Well I’m going to retire, I’m going to sit around, watch television or eat bonbons,’ but somebody’s got to keep ’em awake and let ’em know what is really going on in this world.”

Current TV.

The chief legal adviser to Oakland mayor Jean Quan decided to resign late Sunday evening over how the city’s police have treated “Occupy Oakland” protesters.

According to The San Francisco Chronicle, Dan Siegel was disgusted by local authorities’ judgement on raiding the protesters’ camp near Oakland’s City Hall, calling their actions ”tragically unnecessary.”

“The city sent police to evict this camp, arrest people and potentially hurt them,” Siegel said. “Obviously, we’re not on the same page. It’s an amazing show of force to move tents from a public place.”

“I am really disappointed with the city, the most hostile city to the Occupy movement. Where else are they having 600 police officers take down some tents?”

via Oakland mayor’s top legal aide quits in solidarity with ‘Occupy’ protest | The Raw Story.