#OM meets 6pm every Monday Upstairs at the Union Hall. 208 E. Main St. Missoula MT. All are Welcome. Bring an Open Mind. Be willing to Listen as well as be Heard.
MONTANA VOTES YES TO APPROVE INITIATIVE-166…..
By a clear margin, Montanans made it plain that we are fed up with corporate money & out of state interests corrupting our democracy. I-166 will send a clear message to Helena and Washington DC- We Will Not Accept The Collateral Damage of Corporate Citizenship In Big Sky Country.
I-166: “Ballot initiative I-166 establishes a state policy that corporations are not entitled to
constitutional rights because they are not human beings, and charges Montana elected
and appointed officials, state and federal, to implement that policy. With this policy,
the people of Montana establish that there should be a level playing field in campaign
spending, in part by prohibiting corporate campaign contributions and expenditures and
by limiting political spending in elections. Further, Montana’s congressional delegation
is charged with proposing a joint resolution offering an amendment to the United States
Constitution establishing that corporations are not human beings entitled to
constitutional rights.“ (full text of I-166 go to sos.mt.gov/elections/2012/ballotissues/I-166.pdf)
Stand Up for MONTANA. Stand Up for DEMOCRACY.
learn more: https://movetoamend.org/mt-missoula
Occupy Missoula (and many group/organization/others) will “take it (Independence) to the streets for a July 4 (Wed) Peoples’ Energy Independence Day Parade/Picnic …
Decentralized, unorganized and Independent, we will march, stroll, ride, skate etc
through Missoula, parading our Independence and Inter-dependence!
A whole lot of us (the 99%?) are fed up with the “way” it is and
want to facilitate change. Bring yourselves, your signs, books, soap box, instruments
(and picnic stuff) and let’s have some fun and connect the dots for everyone who shows up.
Maybe our theme will be “What does Independence/Inter-dependence mean to You?”
(An example – not set in stone) Show up at the XXX’s at 11am on Wed July 4 for an Occupy the streets Peoples’ Energy Independence/Inter-dependence Day Parade/Picnic. We will invite and include any non motorized modes of conveyance (i.e walk, dance, skate, wheel, cart, hop, strut, puppet, hula etc). We will parade through downtown to Kawanis Park where we will picnic from 12 to 5pm supporting our Independence/Inter-dependence. Please join us with your friends/neighbors …
Occupy Missoula is and will remain a non-violent movement. The General Assembly of Occupy Missoula officially denounces the violence perpetrated by authorities and citizens in Oakland on Saturday as reported by the media. The details of Saturday’s events are still unfolding. What is happening there can be followed by going to OccupyOakland.org. There may be sensational coverage in the coming days and we encourage people to educate themselves rather than counting on the 1% that controls our media to shape the facts. Because as we stated in our declaration, which can be viewed at OccupyMissoula.org, “Many among the economic elite are using their control over politics and the media in the hope that we will dissolve into our constituent parts and melt back into the woodwork. But we will not compromise our futures. “ We continue to stand in solidarity with the non-violent protesters in Oakland, around the nation, and around the world.
Occupy Missoula General Assembly
January 29, 2012
The Occupation of the Missoula County Courthouse lawn lasted roughly 3 months, 9 days, 6 hours. This is longer than many other Occupations across the United States, including New York City and Oakland, CA.
Throughout its life, The Occupation inspired compassion and exposed deep mistrust. It served to both unite and divide. Our Occupation was a paradox. Looking back, this seemed unavoidable.
So what now? What remains?
The open questions of our Civil Liberties remain: The Right to Freedom of Assembly; The Right to Free Speech; The Right to Petition for the Redress our Grievances.
The houseless remain also; not just the ones visible on the sidewalks and city streets or invisible in the back woods or nooks and crannies of our community, but the countless others who work by day and sleep in their vehicles at night. Unemployed. Under-employed. Facing Foreclosure. Collateral damage from a jobless recovery.
And the Greed remains. Is it getting better? Worse? Does this bother you?
And our Government is still broken. Unable to respond to a world where things on the ground are moving faster than the top.
So what remains is the Work. Much Work to be done. The hard Work for Real Change — not political rhetoric about Change.
You have now seen the Tents and heard each other’s Voices. This will happen again. How can it be any other way? There is nowhere left to go. We are the 99%.
Money is not speech, and Corporations are not People!!! Join us for a lunchtime rally and March in support of a Nationwide Occupy the Courts Action
FRIDAY, JANUARY 20th, 11:30-1 PM Move to Amend- Occupy the Courts!!! Rally
We invite all participants to bring signs , noisemakers, drums, etc.
“I am a PERSON”, “Money is not speech, and Corporations are not People”
On January 20 Occupy Missoula will be holding a protest rally to commemorate the second anniversary of theCitizens United Supreme Court Decision that granted first amendment protection to unlimited contributions by corporations and individuals to political campaigns as a form free speech. This rally is part of a nationwide Occupy the Courts day of action called by the Move to Amend Coalition (not itself an occupy organization) to build momentum toward the passage of an amendment to the US Constitution to overturn this anti-democratic interpretation. Organizations in more than 100 cities throughout the nation will be engaging in similar actions that day.
The idea of a constitutional amendment was supported by the City of Missoula in a city-wide referendum –which passed with a 75% majority – on November 8 of last year. Recently the Montana Supreme court courageously defended the state’s own Corrupt Practices Act against the countervailing Citizens United ruling which held that even state laws that constrain election spending are constitutional.
Missoula’s Occupy the Courts rally will be held in front of the Russell E. Smith Federal District Court, 201 E. Broadway, during the noon hour on January 20. Participants are encouraged to gather at Caras Park at 11:30 with signs, banners, and noisemakers for an 11:45 march to the courthouse.
The noon-hour rally will feature a panel of speakers well-known to Missoulians: City Councilors Cynthia Wolken & Jason Wiener, State Representative Dick Barrett, Political Science professor Paul Haber, Labor Council Executive Officer Mark Anderlik, and Missoula small business owner Aimee McQuilkin.
After 2 hours of testimony, mostly pro-Occupy, the Missoula County Commissioners passed their no camping resolution. OccupyMissoula applied for a permit, and was denied. Here are the responses of a few individuals and the County: Continue reading
