SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
'Occupy Congress' Converges on Capitol Hill
Group aims to highlight "broken system," corporate control of elections
Jan 17, 2012
UPDATE: OakFoSho is streaming live video here.
***
UPDATE: The Atlantic Wire now reports arrests have begun.
***
Thousands of protesters under the banner of "Occupy Congress" are expected to converge on Capitol Hill today in what they hope will be the largest Occupy gathering.
From WMAL:
"This is going to be the biggest coming together of the most diverse group of occupiers from around the country," said Ben Zucker, a member of the Occupy D.C. media team, told WMAL.com.
MSNBC reports:
The congressional protest - which falls on the movement's four-month mark and the beginning of a new session of Congress - appears to represent a strategic shift aimed at winning support of the many Americans disillusioned with the legislative branch.
Highlighting the corporate control of politics, one occupier explains to WMAL:
"One of the big grievances ... is the corporate money in politics and corporate influence on politic elections," said Lucas Thayer, 26, a Los Angeles resident who travelled to D.C. for the events. "We feel that corporations own our country now and the people don't actually control it, so it is not a true democracy."
Thayer admitted that Congress has not paid much attention to the protesters but that he was determined to get Americans' attention focused on their message. "Congress doesn't intend to listen to us because we don't have money to give them," he said.
Explaining the motivation behind the day of action, the group says on the Occupy Wall Street website:
Our nation, and our world, is in crisis and our "elected" officials have failed us. They refused to hold their bankrollers--Wall Street--responsible for the financial crimes that bankrupted our nation and destroyed the global economy. This last legislative cycle was the least productive in recorded U.S. history; 90% of the country disapproves of these "elected" officials.
We refuse to accept the grim future that Wall Street's cronies have designed. We refuse to be the 1%'s captive citizenry. We stand together to show that the 99% are creating a better world.
The 99% will no longer be complacent. Our many voices will be amplified on the steps of Capitol Hill. We shall have a nation by, for, and powered by the people once again. We are building it.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
UPDATE: OakFoSho is streaming live video here.
***
UPDATE: The Atlantic Wire now reports arrests have begun.
***
Thousands of protesters under the banner of "Occupy Congress" are expected to converge on Capitol Hill today in what they hope will be the largest Occupy gathering.
From WMAL:
"This is going to be the biggest coming together of the most diverse group of occupiers from around the country," said Ben Zucker, a member of the Occupy D.C. media team, told WMAL.com.
MSNBC reports:
The congressional protest - which falls on the movement's four-month mark and the beginning of a new session of Congress - appears to represent a strategic shift aimed at winning support of the many Americans disillusioned with the legislative branch.
Highlighting the corporate control of politics, one occupier explains to WMAL:
"One of the big grievances ... is the corporate money in politics and corporate influence on politic elections," said Lucas Thayer, 26, a Los Angeles resident who travelled to D.C. for the events. "We feel that corporations own our country now and the people don't actually control it, so it is not a true democracy."
Thayer admitted that Congress has not paid much attention to the protesters but that he was determined to get Americans' attention focused on their message. "Congress doesn't intend to listen to us because we don't have money to give them," he said.
Explaining the motivation behind the day of action, the group says on the Occupy Wall Street website:
Our nation, and our world, is in crisis and our "elected" officials have failed us. They refused to hold their bankrollers--Wall Street--responsible for the financial crimes that bankrupted our nation and destroyed the global economy. This last legislative cycle was the least productive in recorded U.S. history; 90% of the country disapproves of these "elected" officials.
We refuse to accept the grim future that Wall Street's cronies have designed. We refuse to be the 1%'s captive citizenry. We stand together to show that the 99% are creating a better world.
The 99% will no longer be complacent. Our many voices will be amplified on the steps of Capitol Hill. We shall have a nation by, for, and powered by the people once again. We are building it.
UPDATE: OakFoSho is streaming live video here.
***
UPDATE: The Atlantic Wire now reports arrests have begun.
***
Thousands of protesters under the banner of "Occupy Congress" are expected to converge on Capitol Hill today in what they hope will be the largest Occupy gathering.
From WMAL:
"This is going to be the biggest coming together of the most diverse group of occupiers from around the country," said Ben Zucker, a member of the Occupy D.C. media team, told WMAL.com.
MSNBC reports:
The congressional protest - which falls on the movement's four-month mark and the beginning of a new session of Congress - appears to represent a strategic shift aimed at winning support of the many Americans disillusioned with the legislative branch.
Highlighting the corporate control of politics, one occupier explains to WMAL:
"One of the big grievances ... is the corporate money in politics and corporate influence on politic elections," said Lucas Thayer, 26, a Los Angeles resident who travelled to D.C. for the events. "We feel that corporations own our country now and the people don't actually control it, so it is not a true democracy."
Thayer admitted that Congress has not paid much attention to the protesters but that he was determined to get Americans' attention focused on their message. "Congress doesn't intend to listen to us because we don't have money to give them," he said.
Explaining the motivation behind the day of action, the group says on the Occupy Wall Street website:
Our nation, and our world, is in crisis and our "elected" officials have failed us. They refused to hold their bankrollers--Wall Street--responsible for the financial crimes that bankrupted our nation and destroyed the global economy. This last legislative cycle was the least productive in recorded U.S. history; 90% of the country disapproves of these "elected" officials.
We refuse to accept the grim future that Wall Street's cronies have designed. We refuse to be the 1%'s captive citizenry. We stand together to show that the 99% are creating a better world.
The 99% will no longer be complacent. Our many voices will be amplified on the steps of Capitol Hill. We shall have a nation by, for, and powered by the people once again. We are building it.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.