REMEMBER THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER: WHO NEEDS WHO?

There is no such thing as a "job creator".  A job creator is really a "profit creator".  Profit for a few from the labor of many. Many of the "jobs" that make people rich -- being a CEO or investor-- add no value to our world or our economy.

There is plenty of work, SO MUCH that needs to be done, but not enough jobs.  There is so much abundance, SO MUCH that is produced everyday, that goes to waste NOT because it isn't needed, but because it cannot be SOLD FOR PROFIT.

They tell us immigrants are stealing our jobs, that welfare is ruining the economy, but the moment a "job creator" figures out a way to move jobs somewhere with lower wages, they do.

They don't care about us.  They don't care about anyone but themselves.  They don't care about people starving or dying from diseases.  There is never enough for what we really need, and always plenty of excuses for things we don't need- like war.

The "job creators" need us a lot more then we need them. 

Please, on November the 5th, DON'T BUY ANYTHING. DON'T GO TO WORK. DON'T GO TO SCHOOL.

FOR ONE DAY, withhold your labor and your consumption.

Instead, stay home and call every government official that represents you, from local to national, and tell them what you want from your government: better schools, worker's rights, healthcare, etc.  When you are done, start calling the big corporations that are draining us of our livelihoods and demand they end their unfair and unsafe practices.

The Anonymous Million Mask March is happening that day, and I've heard it will be in Ferguson. But other than getting yourself to the march, don't participate in this giant scam called Capitalism.

They say that we need them.  SHOW THEM that they need us.

(EDIT: not saying quit your job or never buy anything again, I'm saying PUT THE RULING CLASS ON NOTICE.  They say they "create" their wealth "all by themselves"? Really? This is Missouri, so SHOW ME how you get rich without labour or control of natural resources.  Just for one day. Take a vacation day, call in sick, etc.)

VOTE FOR MICHAEL BROWN NOVEMBER 4TH, STRIKE NOVEMBER 5TH LEAFLET TO PRINT AND SHARE

This leaflet was produced in Open Office text with two columns, .49 page margins, and 1.0 (1 inch) between the columns.  It is two sided, with four of Side One on one page, and four of Side Two on the other.  The font is Arial, 11 points, the spaces are size 6.  (These changes are lost when I copy this to blogspot editor.)  PLEASE PRINT AND SHARE.

(Also, if you were at the September 10th highway demonstration, where I was handing these out for the first time, and you have video of me being arrested, please contact me.)

SIDE ONE 

 

VOTE FOR MICHAEL BROWN JR, NOVEMBER 4TH 2014

Vote because that is one of the only legal political muscles we have left in this country, and only between 12-20% have been flexing that muscle. Your vote counts more in local and state elections than on national issues. The city is 49.5% African American, and most of North County is more than 60% African American.

Vote because you want to send a message the “leaders” will understand. Right now they only talk to the constituents that vote for them, and only when they need campaign money or support. That needs to change. If we all vote, then they have to reach out to all of us.

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, ST LOUIS COUNTY VOTERS NEED TO SEND A MESSAGE THIS FALL: BOB MCCULLOCH IS RUNNING UNOPPOSED AGAIN. GET A PAPER BALLOT AT THE POLLS AND WRITE IN “MICHAEL BROWN JR” FOR PROSECUTOR. It would say a lot if Brown got more votes than McCulloch.

On November 5^th, call the Board of Election Commissioners and verify that they counted and reported your vote. 

SIDE TWO 

 

REMEMBER THE 5TH OF NOVEMBER

The day AFTER the elections, join the “Armchair Revolution” and “phone it in”. Don't go to work. Don't go to school. Don't buy anything. More than anything, the people in power need us to continue business as usual. Without our labor or consumption, they have no profits. They need us more than we need them. And we have more power than we realize if we stand together for real change.

On the 5^th, spend the day calling every elected official on a local, state and national level, and tell them what you need: Justice for Mike Brown? Job programs? $15 an hour minimum wage? Access to better health care? Solvent, healthy public schools? Better public transportation? No more GMO's? An end to tax credits and incentives for large corporations? A recognition of our First Amendment rights and the dismissal of all illegal “failure to disperse” arrests in Ferguson? JAM THE PHONE LINES WITH DEMANDS!

WE THE PEOPLE pay for the government. Without us they have nothing. Vote on 11/4, and on 11/5, be part of the revolution.

Please print and share this leaflet www.optinstl.blogspot.com

Occupy Public Transportation in St. Louis

REMEMBER THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER, 2014

If you are fan of the movie or graphic novel "V For Vendetta" (or you are in the British Commonwealth) you are probably familiar with the nursery rhyme about Guy Fawkes:

"Remember, remember the Fifth of November..."

Of course, OPTINSTL, and the "Hacktivist" group Anonymous, and protestors worldwide have adopted the Guy Fawkes mask worn by V as their own.

The March Against Corruption, planned for this November 1-8, is specifically about getting money (big money) out of politics.  I daresay if we accomplished that we could regain control of our government (and agencies like Metro and Bi-State) without blowing up any buildings.

http://marchagainstcorruption.com/

On November 5th, there is "Million Mask March" planned, a call for one million people to flood the streets wearing a Guy Fawkes mask.

WHO WE ARE The March Against Corruption is an international campaign to raise awareness about the corrupting influence of money and special interests in governance and public policy making; to provide a forum for people, to organize and speak out against corruption; and to educate the public about the consequences of corruption. “The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.” ― Tacitus...

Read more at: marchagainstcorruption.com/

WHO WE ARE The March Against Corruption is an international campaign to raise awareness about the corrupting influence of money and special interests in governance and public policy making; to provide a forum for people, to organize and speak out against corruption; and to educate the public about the consequences of corruption. “The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.” ― Tacitus...

Read more at: marchagainstcorruption.com/

WHO WE ARE The March Against Corruption is an international campaign to raise awareness about the corrupting influence of money and special interests in governance and public policy making; to provide a forum for people, to organize and speak out against corruption; and to educate the public about the consequences of corruption. “The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.” ― Tacitus...

Read more at: marchagainstcorruption.com/

http://theantimedia.org/support-building-for-2014-million-mask-march-on-november-5th/

OPTINSTL would like to suggest going one (or a few) steps further.  The 5th will be the day AFTER the elections, a day when basically no work gets done in the offices of elected officials (whether lame ducks or winners).

Updated "Jam Metro's Phone Lines Leaflet" for November 5th action:
http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/03/jam-phone-lines-leaflet-for-use-and-to.html

Whether you take to the streets or not DON'T RIDE METRO.  DON'T GO TO WORK OR SCHOOL.  DON'T BUY ANYTHING.  Spend the day "blowing up the phone lines" (or jamming the email and comments servers) of every elected official, every "corruption corporation" and signing as many petitions as you can, on every issue important to you.

Feel free to target locals like Rex Sinquefield,  (hedge fund investors are some of the worst economic predators in our world), or work on preventing anymore "Koch being shoved down our throats."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/09/koch-brothers-liberal-counterpart_n_5113492.html
http://ourfuture.org/fact_sheet/koch-brothers-exposed-why-we-must-act-and-how
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/05/rachel-maddow-koch-brothers_n_4545202.html

Our country-- our world!-- has been completely hijacked by a few greedy individuals, but the worst part is WE LET THEM DO IT!

They need our labor.  They need us as consumers.  They need our votes.  They need us to not disrupt their "business as usual."

Without violence, without doing anything illegal, we can take back our power by withholding our time and our money, and by joining the "Armchair Revolution." 

Start with elected officials.  Yes, get out and vote, and then call them, write them, give them your feedback and suggestions, make demands and inquiries, monitor what they are doing.  Demand that people's petitions become their primary source of legislative action.

There are more of us than there are of them.  Without us, the wealthy have no workers, no products, and no consumers.  One day of a nationwide strike and boycott would display that much more than any protest in the streets.  Think of it-- the police would have no tickets to write, the courts would hear no cases (get a continuance as soon as you can if the 5th is a court day for you), the businesses would have no profits.
 
Yes, yes, a nationwide total strike is unrealistic, but even 3.5% of us withdrawing from "business as usual" would be very threatening.

And if we demand that politicians work for us instead of the wealthy, that public policy protect us instead of shareholder profits and corporate interests, then until they are able to make this country a corporate dictatorship (which is looming ever closer), they will have to make changes, beginning with answering the calls of their constituents.... And this might be a good time to remind them that their constituents are NOT just the people that voted for them!  They work for all of us, and we pay for them whether we vote or not.

Remember, this Fifth of November, that "Ideas are bulletproof."

REMEMBER, REMEMBER THE (ARMCHAIR) REVOLUTION. 
REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE THE ONE WITH THE REAL POWER: WORDS. THE ENUNCIATION OF TRUTH.

"THERE IS SOMETHING TERRIBLY WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY..."

November 5, 2014, the day everything changed.

EDIT: Start the revolution early by writing in Michael Brown, Jr. on the ballot.
http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/09/november-4th-2014-vote-for-michael.html

WHAT THE METRO JOB FAIR ON JUNE 28TH IS REALLY ABOUT

Someone commented to me the other day that Metro must be worried about OPTINSTL's call for a boycott of Metro on July 1st.

"You know that is why they are holding that job fair on the 28th," he said.

http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Metro-hosting-job-fair-on-June-28-264767711.html

I have no idea if my campaign has reached enough people to be producing that kind of results.  Are the Metro phone lines flooded?  I don't know.  I don't work there.  I can only do what I can do, and wait to see what happens.

It would be wonderful if Metro was, indeed, trying to make nice with the public to prevent a rider boycott on July 1st.  But if they were really worried, they would not have raised fares in the first place.

I think the Metro Job Fair is actually about CEO John Nations, who is publicly opposed to unions and supports the union-busting "right to work" legislation, and a direct threat he is sending his drivers:

"Don't you dare strike the week of the Fourth of July, or we will fire you."

Metro is NOT really hiring.  They are barely solvent and have plenty of part-time drivers.  They just don't want a repeat of Cardinals Opening Day "Blue Flu".

http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/04/rider-alert-metro-whines-about-one-day.html  

They don't want St. Louis to get any ideas from San Francisco or Philadelphia (unlike Pennsylvania, we don't have a Republican Governor, although Nixon often seems like a Republican).

http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/06/san-franciscos-transit-workers-blue-flu.html

http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/06/philadelphia-transit-workers-strike.html

What kind of city do you want to live in, St. Louis?  A city where people are paid a livable wage with decent benefits?  A city with good jobs and good employers?

A city with a great public transit system?

Or would you prefer a city where officials that receive $250,000 a year salaries (entirely paid for from public funds) rob their employees pensions, refuse to negotiate contracts in good faith, and exchange "business development" for promises of future political campaign contributions?  (Nations make no secret of the fact that he is only at Metro to create a platform for his campaign for governor or senator.)

http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/06/vote-no-on-amendment-7-proposed.html

St. Louis, you deserve more from Metro!  I hope you will demand it!  Don't break the Metro Operators Union.  If you get a job with Metro, don't cross the picket lines.  Metro wants minimum wage drivers that have no benefits.  All the executives care about is there own fat-cat salaries.  If they could import bus driver jobs to China and hire children and prisoners for a dollar an hour, they would.

They would say "Oh, we were protecting profits."  And pat themselves on the back for doing a great job and give themselves big fat bonuses.

Metro isn't hiring, they are firing.

Remember that.

PS- personally, although a driver strike on July 1st would be fantastic, a driver strike on July 4th would be even better.

PPS- Something else at play here, both with the timing of the fare increase and the hiring fair, is that Metro's fiscal year ends on June 30th.  Too long to go into here, but think about it.  Even though the financial reports won't be ready for at least a few weeks, they do want to make a nice face to the public.  "Hey look, we're hiring, regardless of how obviously failing we look on paper, we are hiring." *cough* "...Not."

BOYCOTT METRO JULY 1ST

On July 1st, the day the new fares go into effect, it is time for transit riders to send Metro a message:  WE NEED A BETTER TRANSIT SYSTEM! WE, THE PEOPLE, DEMAND IT!

On July 1st, get a ride if you have to go to work or must travel with in St. Louis.

Don't ride the bus or train.

Call Metro, Governor Nixon,your local representatives (in the City that would be Mayor Slay and your local alderman), and local media of your choice, and tell them that you are not riding in protest of the increased fares, that bring no improvements in service.

Tell them you are boycotting Metro because they are asking riders to pay $5 million more over the next two years, even though Metro spent that same amount in 2013 in political campaign contributions ("contributions to outside entities").

Tell them you want Metro separated from Bi-State Development Agency, and from "business development" altogether! Public transit should be developed where it is needed most, not subsidizing private business interests.

Demand that Metro negotiate a new contract with their drivers! 6 years without a contract is enough! Demand that Metro stopping robbing driver's pension plans and benefits!

Tell them what services you need as public transit rider: public toilets? improved safety, signage, trash cans, and shelters at bus stops? discount passes for low income and unemployed?

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!

If you want to publicly demonstrate, make a sign and walk or get a ride to the nearest bus stop or bus and Metrolink transfer center and hold the sign up to passing cars.

JULY 1ST! STRIKE CITYWIDE! DON'T RIDE! BOYCOTT METRO! TRANSIT RIDERS ARE AGAINST THE FARE INCREASE! WE DEMAND BETTER SERVICE! 
WE DEMAND A PUBLIC TRANSIT AGENCY THAT SERVES THE PUBLIC- NOT POLITICAL AND PRIVATE BUSINESS INTERESTS!

OPTINSTL will be at Riverview Transfer Center in the afternoon, striking publicly!  We hope you will join us.  And please email us the details of your protest to share on this blog: optinstl@gmail.com