So, I am in Seattle now, I am just posting this quick diary about my adventures of the last 24 hours here at Kossack flamigogrrl's place before I shower, change and head down to #OccupySeattle. I should be there by 8-9pm PT.
I will be on local Seattle radio tomorrow morning on KIRO radio with the Ross & Burbank show tomorrow morning around 9-10 am PT if anyone wants to tune in.
And the Rosie O'Donnell show just contacted me. I am sure the idea of me and Rosie in the same room will make some heads explode. That makes me even more excited to do it, the anguish of bigots motivates me.
But, now, a bit about the beautiful people of Wisconsin and more below the fold . . .
I ran into Giles Goat Boy and his lovely wife at Madison airport. They were my kind tour guides through the wilderness of Fitzwalkerstan. A beautiful state deserves a sane and non-corrupt government, which is why I was thrilled to hear voices outside of Madison's capital building shouting out "RECALLLL!" only to hear other voices respond from a different direction with the cry of "WALKER!" "Recall!" "Walker!", it was like playing Marco Polo without the Speedo's or sunburn.
I asked Giles what the local cuisine is, because I'd like to try the famois dishes of the places I am visiting, so I was pleasantly surprised to learn the local delicacy in Wisconsin is in fact beer. In the next life I want to come back as a Badger.
We met up with kossack Rule of Law and several others and toasted the political demise of Scott Walker and David Koch, and then we visited the home base of #OccupyMadison. I gavea short unrehersed speech to the General Assembly and then talked with some folks in the crowd, which is my favorite part of this trip, meeting working people and hearing what sounds like the same story over again is important to me, because we are all facing the same problems, exploitation at the hands of multinational corporations, low wages, poor employment, homelessness, the threat of homelessness, we are all now strangers in a strange land, one that used to have a viable middle class that has been transformed into a heartless profit driven oligarchy with an enormous disenfranchised peasant population. We have to fight back peacefully against the greed of the oligarchy. Our future is at stake.
Madison is a beautiful town, alive and grand. It saddens me to think that the seats of power in a good place like Wisconsin have been hijacked by a rogue oligarch and his political toadies, but it lifts my spirits to know that the good people of Wisconsin are fighting back, and I will gladly do my part to help Wisconsin rid themselves of these corrupt corporate hacks at the ballot box when the time to do so comes along.
After a short meal of brats and more local micro-brewed beer I said goodbye to Madison and headed for Milwaukee with two amazing new friends as tour guides. I slept in the car ride there, exhausted, but awoke to find a dozen or so people braving the elements at 11pm, banded together by circumstances and solidarity.
At #OccupyMilwaukee, I learned that Milwaukee has been especially hard hit by the economic maelstrom of Wall Street's greed. Poverty, homelessness and unemployment is on the rise, but so is corporate profits. I saw a town that reminded me of the city I grew up in back in New York's Hudson Valley, Newburgh, a place where people want to prosper but can not because of the lack of opportunities due to the outsourcing of our jobs and the greed of special interests. A public house, owned by the neighborhood (gasp! socialism!) served some of the best local brewed beer it has been my distinct honor to enjoy, and we talked with locals about Scott Walker, Bank of America, David Koch and the future that is being stolen before our eyes as we are marched off towards to abyss of peasantry, but as the evening grew late we met up with kossack puddytat and retired to her home, where I slept like a rock only to rise 3 hours later to get on my flight from Madison to Chicago and on to Seattle, where I am writing to you all now. I apologize to the good friends, some old and some new, whose names I have excluded in this account. Please know that your kindness and warmth have touched me and I will keep you in my heart always.
Now, regarding Bill Kristol.
Bill Kristol has been pushing the swill that #OccupyWallStreet is anti-semitic. I am a jew. On behalf of my Jewish mother,
חשבן את קריסטול יכל ללכת לגיהנום
Go to http://translation.babylon.com/... for a translation of the above text from Hebrew to English.
How dare this gutless unscrupulous hack besmirch this anti-corporate greed and political corruption movement as anti-semitic? The wingnut outrage machine has claimed that nazi's support #ows. It shows just how desperate they are to defeat this righteous movement, and since facts aren't on their side they ahve reverted predictably to Nazi Tourettes. You know what, the guy who lied us into Iraq has ZERO credibility, the people who fall for death panels and WMD's and tax cuts for the rich have ZERO credibility, and on behalf of Jews like me I would like to invite them all to suck my driedel. To those who would like to name call instead of debating facts and call #ows anti-semitic or nazi I have only this to say, on which planet do you spend most of your time.
So if you have pictures of people of Jewish descent at #ows events, please post them in the comments below. If you are of Jewish decent, please tell us your story in the comments below. With respect to all of the minority groups discriminated against by corporate conservatives who are tools for Wall Street, please post your pics and pics of our diverse crowds in the comments below, or email them to me at lagreca DOT j AT gmail DOT com, because I would love to post a photo diary in the near future to refudiate (lolz) these noxious and manipulative claims, and honestly, as I've stated before, if you support torture I don't want to hear your BS about nazi's.
Dishonesty and race baiting have no place in a discussion about our future, and if Bill Kristol can afford to spread this vile swill he can afford to pay higher taxes.
Just saying ; )
I apologize for the lack of depth or photos or video in this diary, I hope to give you a great multimedia run down of my road trip in the near future. This is Jesse LaGreca, live from Seattle, in solidarity with #OccupyWallStreet, wishing you peace and prosperity to you and yours everywhere.
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For more on my travel schedule . . . .
Oct Sun 23 & Mon 24 - Seattle, Washington
Oct Tues 25 & Weds 26 - Denver, Colorado
Oct Thurs 27 - Chicago, Illinois
Oct Fri 28 & Sat 29 - Washington D.C.
And for more info
1. Get this message out there. Get the word out about these protests of Wall Street's greed to everyone you know. Raise awareness, even if it is via word of mouth, every little bit helps.
2. Use the twitter hashtags #OccupyWallStreet and follow us on facebook and twitter accounts related to the ongoing protests. Help put this video on your facebook pageand any other social media that you use. Make it viral.
3. Make a donation to WeAreTheOther99%'s media fund. They need funding to stay active, and without huge corporate interests backing us up like the Teabaggers have, the only way this works is with your small donations.
4. Go to OccupyWallSt.org and make a donation to our General Fund to support the ongoing protests.
5. To send care packages to Liberty Square, go to OccupyWallSt.org for more information. WE NEED WATER.
Info from http://occupywallst.org/
MAIL
The UPS Store
Re: Occupy Wall Street
118A Fulton St. #205
New York, NY 10038
Money orders only please, cannot cash checks yet. Non-perishable goods only. We can accept packages of any size. We're currently low on food and water.
6. Find out if there will be an #Occupation event in your neighborhood and participate and contribute there if you can't come to NYC.
7. Be a better person to your brothers and sisters around you.
You can follow me on the series of tubes they call Twitter @JesseLaGreca