The Message of the Occupy Movement

Occupy was started a year ago as a protest against corporate greed, government bailouts of big banks and corporations and the big banking manipulation and exploitation of the economy. It was a democratic, populous movement encompassing people from all over the political spectrum. In time the Occupy movement seem to fizzle away. They did however reappear yesterday though, at least in Canada, the message has changed. What happened and what is this new message?

In looking at the the Occupy rally in Ottawa yesterday and the Occupy Canada Facebook page we get a good look at what the new message is. There is almost no mention of corporate greed or big banking in the new Occupy message. You will see a lot of people holding signs saying "Stop Harper" which is a reference, not to a billionaire or big banking executive, but to Prime Minister of Canada. The "Stop Harper" sign was first held by former senate page Bridgette DePape who did not like the results of the last Canadian federal election and wanted the election overturned. Ms Depape either hates democracy or does not understand it. Benjamin Franklin said it best when he described democracy as "two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for lunch." In other words, you are never going to make everyone happy.

Others who fall into the sheep category have taken up Ms DePape's message and have taken over the Occupy movement in Canada. Union leaders, mainly public service union leaders, are now calling the shots at Occupy. And though the socialist rhetoric of class warfare still exists the underlying message is opposition to spending  cuts by the government. Specifically spending cuts that involve public service union members. And since part of Stephen Harper's election platform involved government spending cuts he is treated as an enemy by public service union leaders.

A conflict arises though with the original message of Occupy and the new message opposing government spending cuts. Luisa D'Amato says it best in a recent column on a teacher labour dispute that "We taxpayers are not some soulless multinational corporation that outsources as much work as possible and hides the profits in offshore banks. We’re just people. Most of us struggle to pay our bills and put our kids through college and university. Most of us, even those who are just as well educated, qualified and experienced, make less than you do. And frankly, we’re tapped out."

As it stands the Canadian government and most provincial governments are borrowing money to pay union employees. Spending cuts are needed to reduce our debt. By opposing spending cuts the Occupy movement is now advocating an economic policy that sees all of us sink deeper into debt bondage under the thumb of big banking.

In a future post I will introduce you to the blog of an original Occupier who offers some good insight into the who, what, where, when and why of the hijacking of the Occupy movement. In the meantime here is Neil Young song about heroin addiction:



Left Wing? Right Wing? Or Lost?

I do not fit on the typical right-left political spectrum that was taught to me in grade nine. On one hand I am a supporter of personal freedom. I am pretty much a live and let live person. I do not think it is the business of the government to tell the individual what they can and cannot do. Base on what I have said I would be a "left wing" person.

But what about this. I am also against social engineering. I do not believe the government is there to tell us what to think and do. I detest government regulation. It has gone too far. I also detest big government and those who see government as a way to provide lucrative employment to a select few. I beleive government should provide the very basic needs to resident. I am not a fan of ancient Rome or Medieval Europe where taxes go to providing an opulent lifestyle to a select few. So now I look right wing. What is there for me to do?

The truth is there is no spot for me on the political spectrum that exists in the western world today. Some have proposed an alternative to the two dimensional, left right, crap we put up with. Instead the promote a "Diamond" which had room for more than a few political views. Here is one of those:
http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz

It is one of many. I am curious to see how others score. I scored as a "Libertarian" which makes me feel vindicated and I am a member of the Libertarian Party of Canada. Our current "left-right" hang-up is the reason the most famous and respected Libertarian in North America, Ron Paul, will probably not get elected president. Though he does try.

Ron Paul, in 2008, ran for the Republican nomination. He is running again in 2012. In reality, he could run in either party since neither of the two American parties really fit Ron Paul. On the surface he seems to be the ideal "Tea Party" candidate. And, if the Tea Party is what they claim to be they would be all over Ron Paul. He wants to reduce government spending like crazy and thus reduce the deficit. He will oppose any pork barrel spending projects. Trouble is he also opposes some key "right-wing" institutions. He wants to cut spending on the military industrial complex. He is an outspoken opponent of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. He is also an outspoken critic of the American war on drugs. Now, a lot of people make money off of the military industrial complex, the wars and the war on drugs. So, his chances of winning the Republican nomination are slim.

As a treat I have inlcuded the speech Ron Paul made at the 2008 Republican Convention:

And other nice video titled "Freedom is Popular"

Stop Harper? Or Stop Democracy?

Most of you reading this will not be from Canada. So I will give you a quick rundown. For the past several years the Canadian Prime Minister is a man named Stephen Harper. He became Prime Minister as he leads the Conservative party which has the most seats in parliament. Though the Conservatives had the most seats they did not have most of the seats. Most of the seats were split up amongst three other parties. All this changed on May 2nd. The other three parties got together at the end of March and decided to force an election, which was set for May 2nd. Stephen Harper and his Conservative party then ended up with most of the seats in Parliament through a process known as "democracy" Canadians vote for the party they want in power. There is a very vocal, small, minority in Canada who have a hard time accepting democracy and the fact the Conservatives won the election. That is what this post is about.

Last week a Senate page named Brigette DePape stood in the middle of the senate floor holding a cute sign that said "Stop Harper" while the Governor General was making a speech. You can read about what happened here:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/06/03/pol-senate-page.html

The Conservative-hating CBC news was quick to give Ms DePape plenty of publicity for her stunt. She talked of Canada needing an 'Canadian Spring' similar to the Arab Spring going on the in the middle east. Some people have tried to compare her to the person laying in front of a tank in Tienanmen Square. As Chad Ochocinco would say, Child Please!

The tank guy and Arab Spring protesters were/are fighting for democracy. They are fighting for what we have. To choose their leaders. Like we did. On May 2nd. When Canada chose Stephen Harper. If anything Ms Depape has more in common with the person driving the tank than the guy laying in front of it. By holding up a sign saying "Stop Harper" you are encouraging the overthrow of a democratically elected leader. Someone who was elected a MONTH earlier.

Now, I am not a Harper supporter. I actually vote Libertarian. I do respect democracy though. And, contrary to what Ms DePape and her narrow circle of activist friends might think, in a democracy power goes to the one who gets the most votes. Not to the one who yells the loudest. The fact is Stephen Harper became Prime Minister the same way every other Canadian Prime Minister came to power. More Canadians see Harper as less undesirable than the other candidates. Those other candidates included a Quebec separatist, an egotistical socialist, and an even more egotistical ivory tower academic who spent most of his adult life outside Canada.

So what brings someone like Brigitte DePape to do what she did. Well, it is obvious she is an attention seeker. She even admitted her little stunt would not accomplish anything. Why does she have such a hard time accepting democracy though. I have an answer for you if you are prepared to read between the lines. If Ms DePape were truly being honest with herself and the country this is the sign she would have been holding: