Now we're talking.

I'm getting word (via Twitter) that the Oakland branch of "Occupy Wall Street" has finally done what I recommended as the only course of peaceful action that will matter:

They have called for a GENERAL STRIKE November 2nd.

Why will a General Strike work?

Simple: It attacks the government in a lawful, peaceful manner in the one way they cannot counteract: It cuts off their funding!

You can't tax what doesn't happen, basically.  This is the people's way to peacefully withdraw consent to being governed. 

You buy nothing, you perform no work, you do nothing that is taxable.

The implicit threat is that you cut the legs out from under the government's ability to fund itself.  This is an entirely lawful action and I said in 2008 that this was the appropriate thing to be doing.

Well, here you have it.  One ex-Marine -- a combat veteran -- took a rubber round in the head.  He is in critical condition and may die.  That was not a mistake; that appears to have been aimed fire and if so would be an intentional assassination.  Sorry folks, that's facts - from 50' you don't "miss" and hit someone in the head with these things if you're shooting for the legs or other non-vital parts.  It appears he was shot in the head by someone who aimed for the head.  Those projectiles are not "non-lethal" and the device thrown by a cop at the people trying to come to his assistance (whether it was a tear gas bomb or just an ordinary exploding device) after he fell wasn't tossed accidentally either.

So here's the deal folks: Do you have a pair of clankers or are you still sporting mouse-sized nerfs?

Yeah, I know, participating in a General Strike means personal sacrifice.  Heh, that's how it is when you make choices.  There are costs.  Nothing's free, including doing nothing.  Four years of constructive consent has not brought you continued prosperity.  It has not brought the economy out of the slump and employment has not returned.  It has done nothing for you, and everything for the scammers and fraudusters on Wall Street and in DC.

Four years into this and there's been no end to the fraud.  No admission of what happened and who was responsible.  No change.  No honesty.  No truth.  And no prosecutions of any materiality.  Yeah, I know, they are going after one former board member now.  That's nice. 

But Obama just announced that he intends to "refinance" a bunch of home mortgages (again) and the primary beneficiary of doing so will be not you but the banks as that program includes a waiver of any fraud claims against the original mortgage so it cannot be "put back" on the originator.

Yeah, the "benefits" here will be small for the banks, since the number of people who will qualify will be small and the damages on a fraudulent loan that is paying (which you must be in order to qualify) are zero.  But fraud is still a crime, and this will make ignoring the criminal side t ivial as well.

I've said that it's time to choose for the four years.  Well, now you have a group that has thrown down the gauntlet for you and provided a date: November 2nd.

Elephant-size or mouse-size -- clankers or nerfs?

That's the question, and you will answer that question on November 2nd.

And incidentally, if there is no constructive response out of DC?

DECLARE NOVEMBER 25th-27th AS THE NEXT ONE.  AND YEAH - I'LL DO IT.  NO SPENDING OR WORK OF ANY SORT.  NOT ONE DAMN NICKEL.

Update: There are now people who claim to have original video showing the first shot at Mr. Olsen - it appears it was not a rubber or "bean bag" round that was fired at him but rather a 40mm "grenade" (e.g. gas round) -- if so that's even worse, as there's no reason on God's Green Earth to aim something like that at someone's head; at that sort of close range such a round has a high risk of killing the target, as it very nearly did.  I remain resolute in my call for the officer involved to be identified, indicated and stand trial for felonious assault.  If in fact, as some officers claim, the original assault was not committed by a police officer let's see their evidence.  As for the second assault upon the rescuers, that's clear, convincing, and going to be darn hard to refute.