Amen brother! Voter blocs? What's that?

I think this winter will be a time of intense organization. Once the snow comes and we can shed our civic duties long enough to be human for awhile & many great things can be accomplished. I think many people have already taken incredible collective action. I consider the occupy movement the flash-point for something deeply disturbing the world over, and now that the genie's out of the bottle, I don't foresee it going away soon. I think we have the next year or so window for some pivotal events to take place. Do or die.

I think the problems boiling up from the surface are overwhelming but to identify our enemy is probably the single most important objective over the winter. I like the amorphousness of us. We are decentralized and that's what makes us strong. If we become crusaders of social justice fighting the 'class war' on many fronts with the umbrella meme of 'occupy' it allows a faster exchange of ideas and a quicker consensus to be built. This is an emergence! I think to visualize this movement from a historical perspective is very important, but innovation can become the underdog of history.

Speed is of the essence to get on the scene, but to make real change much thought, effort, and community building is needed. In my opinion we need to have contingencies for the contingencies, map out all the likely and possible scenarios then strategize from there. On a macro and micro level. Think out every situation possible and beat the elitist at their own game.

Their view on any objective and its opponents is that of a chess game. Look at Zbignew Brzezinski's highly respected, yet dastardly masterpiece: "The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy And Its Geostrategic Imperatives." Chess is a plot device that restricts movements to a set of rules. There is much conditioning invested into our psyche to make us believe in the validity of some of these imposed laws & cultural 'norms'.

@MundusVultDecipi: I like the idea of beating the elitist at their own game.

I think socrates said it best:

1. Identify the problem
2. Develop a solution
3. Implement the solution

avete

I agree with you Typicalowsguy. There is significance to a leaderless movement, but even the message boards here make it clear everyone is working together, independently. Durandus, your response to Typical is nonsense. Looking back on history to evaluate how major social movements have been successful and failed is indeed intelligent. Being honest and strong enough to say, hey this is great but what next, is also prudent.

I believe first and foremost we need to establish a security group that stands by, on the people's authority, AGAINST police brutality and abuse of power, so that our fellow protestors have a chance in the first place. Clearly the controlling elite have identified a major weakness in the OWS movement and the American public at large. People are willing to stand by and watch cops assault and abuse elderly women, war veterans, pregnant women, etc. This unwillingness to step in, and physically restrain Cops BREAKING THE LAW and infringing upon our civil liberties EMBOLDENS them and the handlers dispatching them.

Think about how many examples of abuse of force with campus security guards are visible on youtube these days...all the while students/citizens 10x-20x the numbers of the security/police force stand by and watch. This instilled sense of complacency and fear is what discredits us and reduces our ability to stand with righteous truth and intention AGAINST these tyrants. Until we demonstrate our WILL to FORCE change and demand our rights be honored, we will always be dissolved quickly and with little effort.

I am a close quarter combat instructor and Marine Corps veteran. I am willing and able to help get something like this going, and have been speaking about a people's militia or security force, to audit city/state/federal agencies for years. Now that our own cities have waged war against us and our rights, the time is NOW.

@ typicalowsguy This particular thread is why I am here now. I really don't 'get' it or the movement which btw @ Durandus the FAQ of this website calls itself. "We are a group of individual supporters working in the interest of the movement."

typicalowsguy You have raised some interesting points and hope the movement does take some heed because I think the entire process is getting muddied up and lost in translation so to speak. Anyone I speak with about the movement is the same as me, they think what you all are doing is pointless and no one seems to understand it.

I am trying to figure out just what the end goal is for occupy movement. I explored the website and couldn't find a 'mission statement' an 'about' or any thing of that nature. From the outside looking in it just looks like a giant group of people having a love in or something. Does the movement really subscribe to wall street or big banks even taking the time to care? I don't think wall street cares at all about the movement, what they are doing or which City or State they are even in that's just me, just sayin'

imnsho I think it would be refreshing to read that the movement had done some restructuring and is providing some new ideas rather than just camping out trying to gain public support or get wall street attention. I am of the mindset that the power of the vote of the people would be an excellent start. But again I am not going to participate I did my thing in the 70's and don't plan on any re-dos of that any time soon. I do participate in my own way though, I don't follow typical mainstream thought processes, try to steer clear of what the media is trying to 'sell' me in the latest gadget, car, or luxury item. Buy what you can afford, pay with cash, cut your credit cards, save (in a credit union) and spend your hard earned money wisely.
Wall Street is what it is because the general consumer has helped create the monster.

@Sifujosh I watched the news the other night when the LAPD broke up occupy Los Angeles and was actually pleasantly surprised at the level of professionalism displayed by LAPD and the occupiers, I'm not sure if meeting a wall of LAPD with force is what the movement really wants. But that's just me, just sayin' because me, like so many people I know...are not really certain of what it is that you want or hope to gain. But talking about banding together with force imo would set you back.

Signing off now but if any one has any input I am still kind of curious.

@Sifujosh
I'm all for using force against evil force but under current conditions, such force isn't practical. Such force crosses a line that a PEACEFUL protest movement cannot cross. Once that line is crossed, one must be commited to full scale violent revolution. No more going home at night for a peaceful nights sleep after a march or demonstration. The state is equiped with weapons of mass dispersal and highly trained individuals of virtual endless supply not to mention those of a vigilante type of nature who are already armed and looking for an excuse to prove their manhood and patriotism. It is a recipe for chaos that the protesters themselves would strongly denounce. In fact, some may even suspect such suggestions to arise from an agent provocateur intent upon discrediting OWS and bringing it to its end. People who peacefully protest expect to endure state sponsored brutality in order to expose the coruption of the state and win the sympathy of the masses. Violence, even for self-defense, has no place in a peaceful protest (which is why I don't participate in them).

@LEO The problem with your non-violent pretense is that the government knows it can now launch police departments on the people and all they will do is cower and disperse. If you read enough message boards you will see less people are willing to turn out for lock outs and other events because they now fear police response. I'm not talking about standing up and looking for confrontation; but making it clear we will not tolerate OUR POLICE using weapons that are ILLEGAL IN WAR PER THE GENEVA CONVENTION, on US peaceful NON-VIOLENT protestors.

non-violence ALWAYS loses against individuals who have acquired everything in life through violence directly and indirectly. wake up.

I know several people who won't get involved because its obvious the current "occupiers" are too complacent and weak to even physically stand up for one another against public police brutality and felony assault. If this is really the approach of the movement, I will have to start a separate one, because this one is destined to fail. If you are worried about going home and sleeping at night, you aren't in this to win it. I served in the USMC, I'd be more than happy to sleep outside prepared to die for a real cause, a real revolution than brag twenty years from now about how I stood by and yelled at cops as they attacked unarmed children and women. Or how "I" stood in the streets of a city chanting rhetoric but fled when our government turned on us and prevented the most basic of civil liberties. You clearly are more worried about living as many days of life as you can, whereas I am more worried about living a life that leaves something greater than myself behind. We are at a crossroads, and one leads to a dark unenlightened global society where the 1% of the world control the rest...the longer you are unwilling to sack up and DEFEND your rights the quicker they will disappear forever.

The current approach of run-and-hide when facing illegal violent acts from the government has left the rest of us more vulnerable to even more violent acts in the near future. You have made it clear the people are weak, and not vested in their cause beyond standing around in the streets or sleeping on public spaces. I know the government has been fostering a more complacent citizen with each generation, but its worse than I could have ever feared. Everyone just stands around and says "shame on you" or snaps video footage....how is that going to change the system? So what you replace one cop for another one still operating under the same directives and misguided allegiance? Why can't we detain cops who break the law and do so in a way that demonstrates less violence and more respect than what they show us? If we make certain they are given water, and not handcuffed for 7 or 8 hours...if we don't beat them or choke them or pull weapons on them....

As far as what I hope to gain. I want the people to rise up and demand a NEW government. That literally every single person serving on any level of government be forced to resign by a specific date. Judges, congress, senate, state, city, town, ALL of them.

Until these career gangsters are unseated in total, they will continue to pass legislation that benefits them and their friends in the private sector. They will continue to exploit other countries for their natural resources....they will just continue and that is not an option.

@Sifujosh Thank You for the explanation above. I do understand what you are saying and I agree the present government is corrupt and I have the same fears as you do if nothing changes it all stays the same, we want more than that for the future generations of Americans.

Do you feel any changes could be achieved with elections and votes? I want to have the faith that it could be.

One thing that had me very confused about the occupy groups is that they all seemed to be doing their own thing, splitting themselves too far and having so many issues is what led to lots of confusion for me and those I know in my age group about the question of what do they want?

It is my understanding that there is no spokesperson for the movement perhaps if there were a small group within the group the message could become clearer to the general public. Also keep in mind that when I mentioned the people I know or in my circle of friends, we are educated, professionals, blue collar, general labor so it is a mix and we were all uncertain about the end goal for the movement. So is it possible that if the message you wish to convey is to change government on all levels, start there. Say what you mean and mean what you say... to that end you may find yourselves with more people ready for sweeping changes as well and possibly more willing to help.

@Leo, I hesitate to agree with you on "Violence, even for self-defense, has no place in a peaceful protest" The movement won't be taken seriously if we won't defend against any illegal violence thrust upon it. Violence should always be avoided, but self-defense should be considered a basic human right.

@ Sifujosh, NO MILITIAS PLEASE! Sometimes violent revolt arises from a genuine anger but in the past violent revolutions have created many even worse violent regimes. Fear and violence cannot be a motivating force for this movement or else it will change into something ugly. We all want change as much as you, but a lot of people will never join Occupy if it becomes violent and these people should be respected and never coerced with violence, or we will decline into even darker times. Moreover, "they" have nukes and we have tents.

@typicalowsguy, I agree with you 99%. The other 1% is contrary to your demand for strong leadership. No leader=no one to assinate (both character assassination, like we saw with Assange and literal assassination like MLK). A leaderless movement cannot die with one person, it can live on and evolve forever. I truly hope this movement still holds 'opposition to the cult of personality' as a priority and a key difference from any movement before it.

We DO need to organize. But I think Occupy should fill the void of Organized Labour who have been sympathetic but mostly sitting on their hands. Occupy needs to found, or support an affiliated Labour Union with real demands, like shorter work hours.

An Occupy Union could be an active union. We haven't seen truly active labour organizing in a long long time, but it's a very proud and interesting history to explore.

you say they have nukes we have tents. A nuclear attack on us would also be a attack on themselves.Moreover I believe quite a few people in the military would be hesitant to attack Americans. We have to remember they are also part of the 99%. Are they really going to come home and attack the occupiers, when many of them may be their family and friends? I dont know for sure. SifuJosh, maybe you could give us an idea of a military mindset. Would they attack there own people just because of orders? If not, then the primary concern of the movement will be police. Not too worried about them tho, if we stand together the police can easily be handled. There are more of us and we are much more intelligent than these ignorant police, who continue to support a system that keeps them a slave to the rich like the rest of us

Whoa! I wasnt actually saying that they would literally nuke us! You're missing the point @dboydm. I was merely saying they are more prepared for violence, and we can't win in a violent struggle. Please, let's avoid all violence here people!

@Sifujosh

You've said it yourself, you will have to start a separate movement.

As for your choice to make inferences about me based on what I said about coming home for a peaceful nights sleep, that's simply selective reading on your part since I revealed at both the beginning and end of my reply that I'm for force and self-defense and therefore don't participate in peaceful protest. The fact of the matter is that old ladies and young women as well as a lot of men DO expect to be able to come home to protest another day. They are in no way prepared for the actual realities of a real and violent revolution. They aren't AIM or the Black Panthers or the 60s NOI.

Liberation movements often have two components; a relatively peaceful above ground movement and a non-peaceful underground movement. It's important to keep the two separate. The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense had many good programs for the community but because there was no separation between the defense element and the social programs, when COINTELPRO was enacted against them, it was enacted against everything. A lot of good work was lost because of that. In fact, I would suggest reading up on the Black Panthers on how they applied their social self-defense program and adapt it for today to suit your needs.

But you better have your male bovine manuer together because the armed trigger happy police simply aren't going to allow themselves to be bumrushed and detained by a bunch of unarmed security protesters. They will shoot to kill. They will have armed reinforcements. And those armed reinforcements will be deployed on horseback, with dogs, in vans, and helicopters upon escalation. No matter how it begins, it will not end as a matter of close quarter combat. It will not be confined to just the security forces to engage them. There will be collateral damage.

Here's a radical idea I would never have the guts to actually enact myself. Have a security force composed of nothing more than uniformed unarmed little old ladies with picture taking cell phones. If the police actually lack the humanity to avoid abusing them, not even the Tea Party would fault the crowd that rushes to their defense.

Typicalowsguy, you open with a thoughtful, succinct analysis by stating the pattern of social movements and then noting where this one is. It’s an analytical approach. That’s what we need if we are to succeed.

Option A is “The movement organizes and identifies leaders with clear vision, message & goals (Ghandi, ML King etc...) and continues to grow - eventually realizing significant change on a permanent basis.” – I’m not a leader type, but I can help with the vision and goals by offering some of my work. I’m a sustainability researcher. This includes social, economic, and environmental sustainability. The Occupy Movement is a reaction to a rather unsustainable situation.

I’ve prepared this page as a possible discussion starting point:
http://www.thwink.org/sustain/articles/016/CorporateDominanceLoop.htm

The analysis on this page can help us to:

1. Create a clear vision. This would be a problem definition. A clear way to do this is to describe the present and the preferred goal states of the system. For example, the present state is corporate dominance. The preferred state is people dominance. We have to be more precise than that, but that’s the general idea. Excessive corporate dominance and its negative effects is a theme I see throughout the movement.

2. Set some goals. I’d say the top goal would be achieving the vision, so I think what typicalowsguy has in mind is milestone goals. The first few should be clear, the later ones less so. Here’s some possible milestones:

A. Agree that we need to continue the analytical approach that typicalowsguy established in this post. We take our time to “network and organize. To develop a clear message & vision. To educate people on the change we seek and why that will be good for them.” And so on.

B. Agree that we need to find the root causes of the problem before we can begin to talk about solutions.

C. Find the root causes and come to agreement on them.

The above will take awhile. Milestones after C are too iffy to list. We will be doing very well to get to C.

There’s no difference between this approach and how a business would approach solving one of their biggest problems. So why not mimic the masters? It works for them. Why not us?

Typicalowsguy and everyone, I hope this helps. Does it qualify as “something new”?

Jack Harich
Thwink.org

@mundus: Voter blocs are simply groups of people with like vision, who agree to define that vision, recruit members and grow until their numbers can have a significant impact on an election - be it local, state or federal. THe "Gray Panthers" group of senior citizens would be an excellent example. Grass roots start with a clear aganda: Don't mess with the old folks baby!

@ Jack Harich: What a great site! Wow! You must have worked really hard on that. Drop me a note and let's connect. minilo1978@yahoo.com

btw, anyone wanting to connect and discuss forming a more organized, political subset of Occupy is also welcome to e-mail me there.

typicalowsguy, hello. Please check out the progressive caucus' proposals. This maybe a good launching pad.

@therieldeal

I'm talking about an unarmed occupiers security force, that is identified and established legally, to make certain we are allowed our right to protest and assemble. I am not asking anyone to pick up weapons and attack police, but I am asking that people be willing to physically restrain ANY individual violently assaulting ANY other law abiding citizen...ESPECIALLY if that individual is a cop. A cop who took an oath to serve the people...the same people paying their wages and pensions.

i already have found people on this occupy site that agree with me completely and understand the need to demonstrate we have the fortitude and will to stand up for ourselves, but most importantly, for our fellow citizens and their rights.

@dboydm

I concur. The government will have a very hard time getting voluntarily enlisted military personnel to literally attack and/or detain american citizens. in this same capacity, they will not wage war on us if we remained skillfully trained but unarmed.

the key is being able to defend ourselves in hand-to-hand combat UNARMED. very hard for police and others to escalate the use of force against an unarmed group.

@ leo

i did in fact misread part of your post, and for that I apologize. If you search my profile and my other posts you will see that I only suggest this be a STRICTLY UNARMED force. However, they should be legally identified and in uniform so that everyone understands clearly that we mean to be a physical obstacle between the would be violent police and the peaceful demonstrators.

its all about being ready for confrontation, not looking for it. I would love to stand arm-to-arm with others like me, willing to protect those who just want to go home at night..and have every right to.

for me, its just not enough...i see the limitations and I am enraged by the governments reactions to all of this...

in short i believe we should be a separate "force" that can be called upon for protests and organized non-violent movements around the nation. I for one am in the process of transitioning into a mobile living situation so that I can go anywhere and interact with anyone. I'm broaching this subject and these ideas with some others from the site, so we will see where it goes.

As long as you operate within the law, @Sifujosh, you'd be an excellent ally for Occupy!

The most courageous, fair, and noble of acts are those that seek no reward other than to be courageous, fair, and noble.

@justcurious

My friend, to answer your question, no I do not believe any of this can be fixed through elections and votes. The current imbalance of wealth in the nation (and the world) makes it impossible for anyone to compete against corporations and interest groups. Take for example a company as "good" as Google. They have hired 19 NEW lobby firms, this year, to assist in laws being passed that benefit their needs above anything else...and thats just Google.

Think about the corporations and families that have had controlling interest in the government, since its inception. The type of money we're talking about is beyond what most people can comprehend, it is the kind of wealth that buys governments.

These are the people, families and groups that literally own the federal reserve. Yes, the bank that prints our money is privately owned...just as all the world banks are. THESE people will never allow democracy to return in its pure form. They will buy out whomever they need, and if that doesn't work they can make life unbearable and, have in the past, made people disappear.

Look at how often people from the Fed are hired by the President to be his chief financial advisors, or how legislation is written to benefit the former employees of current elected officials.

These are the people who own companies like Blackwater...military forces that are not limited by the Geneva Convention or other laws that traditional military and police forces adhere to. They are a privately owned business, hired by way of government contract, used domestically and abroad. Recently, cities around the country have begun hiring private ARMED guards (like blackwater and International Services Inc.) to function as police forces on the street. They claim it is far less expensive than hiring more police....but what does it mean that our streets are being patrolled/policed by privately owned security forces? Who do they answer to? Who oversees them?

So, ultimately no. Democracy no longer exists here because the government has been too deeply corrupted. Members of Congress have been writing laws that benefit themselves and their biggest financial supporters for so long that it would need to be purged completely first. Even on city and state levels government is corrupt. How is it that states can continue to cut education but do nothing to audit government contracts/bids. I know from personal experience that companies bidding on government jobs typically raise their pricing rather than sharpen their pencils. So much is wasted at the expense of the average citizen, its disgusting.

The idea of partisanship is laughable and only used as a diversionary device in the media to keep people apart and fighting. There are no Democrats or Republicans at this point...anyone who thinks otherwise has been duped. These people who fight on camera have dinner with one another and make business deals at our expense.

@justcurious

and regarding your comment about the LAPD and their professionalism as displayed on the news. Do not forget that "these people" i allude to own your news station. They control what is aired and what is not. Its like watching international news or democracy now and their coverage of the war in Iraq vs. domestic. Watching "our news" you wouldn't know that we've killed well over 100,000 Iraqi CIVILIANS.

It has become fairly public, also, that the government (aka police) blocked airspace banning news choppers from filming these evictions. There are also countless instances of individual citizens having their cameras confiscated or destroyed.

If the local news had anything to do with the news truly impacting us they would be covering IT instead of Herman Cain's grab-ass scandal, you feel me?

“Occupy” has been and always will be judged by its actions, whatever the actions, wherever the actions, whether destructive, ineffectual, anarchist, or otherwise.

Such potential exists for its sentiments and its energies: for focused political action, for focused legislative actions, for focused boycotting actions, for focused scrutiny and exposure of politicians, corporations.

But, as of today, nothing concrete yet, nothing defined, nothing submitted for reforms, nothing implemented yet, no effective pressure on government yet, no real threat to the powers-that-be.

Tis an elementary rule of nature: define yourself, or be defined.

It is way overdue for “Occupy” to evolve, from social protestations and social disruption to
Citizen Government and coordinated social action.

How? I submit this: by using the rights we have:
a) to “Petition Government for the redress of grievances”, and
b) to start boycotting campaigns of the true powers-that-be, the backroom interests and corporations which have not yet been seriously threatened at all.

A proposal: Composed of 4 Critical Steps:

Do not Occupy Congress, but “Direct and Move Congress”, as the 1% has been doing for history.

1) Identify one item for action, one item from our contemporary political agenda which represents governmental dysfunction, lobbying corruption, and special interests’ appropriation of our government.

Only one piece of legislation has been drawn after the financial collapse, and it’s the only piece of legislation, to date, which scratches the surface of addressing the recklessness and unaccountability of our banking and financial system. And those that are truly threatened and worried about this legislation have been spending their time and our money obstructing its completion, obstructing its enactment: The Dodd Frank bill, and its Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

2) Connect all “occupiers”, (that percentage of “occupiers” interested in constructive action), into a national constituency of “Citizen Government”, a living, pulsing organism interconnected via social media, which is to Define, to Act and to Broadcast …”the right of the people...to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”, and demand this Legislation to be fully passed.

All Citizen Petitioners will identify and broadcast the identity of politicians, lobbyists and corporate interests who are obstructing the passage of Dodd Frank, and who are obstructing confirmation of the nominee for director of its “Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. (A true measure of the potential threat of Dodd Frank and its Bureau is the nonstop obstruction tactics and red herring claims by those who have blocked it and thwarted it to date).


3) Boycott, by boycott:
Identify and broadcast on social media/internet, without pause or interruption, the corporate interests to be boycotted. Take your pick:
J P Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citi, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank.

Boycott without mercy! Create a ubiquitous, omnipresent internet/social media blitzing until corporations begin to bend, and do not stop until behavior changes.

4) Daily expose the lobbyists and obstructionists:
Use the social media connection of “occupiers” to evolve into a “Citizen Government”, and apply Citizen Pressure to turn this dysfunctional and corrupt system on its head.

Tis the age of boycott, by boycott, by boycott, by boycott, all made up of “occupiers”.

And, it is the era of Citizen demands of Congress, item by item.



Pick one agenda item at a time, one boycott at a time.

Do NOT LET UP

OWS would probably be most effective as a place where people can network to form their own groups. I don't mean GA type groups, but groups completely separate from OWS. Why? People aren't going to agree on most things, and they need to be able to choose who to align with. This would also allow the movement to move away from the Occupy sites and connect with the general population, which is

People should remember that the reason they gathered so much attention was because of the media support (starting with Democratic aligned media like MSNBC and blogs) and support of the public. OWS as a protest movement was drawing far fewer numbers than other protests until news of it really started spreading.

Today, there is an enormous amount of people that would be interested in getting involved with such a movement, but they have lives, and can't afford to spend a lot of time at a camp site. This is especially true if they feel that the movement isn't getting anything done, and that to go down would be a waste of their time. There should be a way to connect with these people, and a way to give them a plan of action, so they know somethings going to get done. I don't see such a plan being agreed upon by the group at large, so I imagine different groups breaking off to be the most practical way of going about it.

If OWS turns into a way that people who want change can network and move forward, it will be a success.

This isn't to say that the protest is insignificant, but the amount of attention that's been given can lead some to think that merely protesting will bring results. There needs to be a connection to the public, or it's meaningless. There needs to be some understanding of how this protest will lead to change, or else

If anyone's interested, I wrote a blog post about the reasons and goals for protesting. Feel free to let me know if you disagree or think I've overlooked something:
http://www.thesignalwire.com/2011/12/why-do-we-protest.html

@typicalowsguy Thank you for putting together this discussion. I think we both understand that another level of activism is necessary to both solidify our goals and set a course of action in motion to achieve them.
Where I disagree is the methodology to achieve this end and the false premises in your argument that lead you to it.

It is true that social movements tend to follow the pattern you outline: 1. A problem is realized. 2. Civil unrest occurs. 3. The movement grows.
From here though, the Occupy Movement (OM) does not fall into the A and B options you provide as the only available outcomes. It seems as though you are forgetting that the OM is global in scale, taking place in 951 cities in 82 countries around the world, so why limit ourselves to national policy?

The false premise you make is that we have arrived at a turning point where "leaders with clear vision, message & goals" have become neccessary for its continued success.
If we look at where we are now in the context of your steps 1-3, I think you'll find the OM looks something more like this:
1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3 ... 5
A problem is realized, civil unrest occurs, the movement grows. More problems are realized as people ask questions, more people protest these new problems, the movement grows more. The root cause of our problems is realized, the unrest becomes focused on this core issue, a broad base supports this core issue, and the movement grows. ... (so why a 5 and not a 4?) People realize that any deliverable demand they can make of the 1% will fail to effect meaningful change on the core issue of the movement and so turn to revolutionary solutions.

That core issue is this: END THE MONIED CORRUPTION OF DEMOCRACY!
( @JackHarich comes to much the same conclusion on his site- nicely done btw!)

Arriving at this core issue has not been easy, but the process of fully inclusive, horizontal decision making has solidified this as a cause worthy of our efforts. It has been messy. There has been seemingly endless accusations of racism, co-opting, violent anarchy and worse, but this messy process of leaderless decision making has managed the difficult task of arriving at a broadly supported core issue without alienating the Occupiers by delivering it through fiat.
It has been my experience that any and all solutions which have been prepared and delivered to the OM have been largely rejected for this reason: the need for open debate is crucial to arriving at tenable solutions. (one prime example: http://www.occupytogether.org/discuss/#/discussion/1279/angels-aliens-really-smart-guys-whoever-it-was-these-appear-to-be-well-thought-out-solutions-to-our/p1)

Consider the best possible outcome of the splinter group here proposed- we develop a clear message, select charismatic and honest leaders who support our cause, and then what? Do we deliver marching orders to all the occupations?

What legitimacy could we possibly hope to have as a splinter group over the General Assembly decisions of the hundreds of occupations around the globe? What authority would we have to speak for totality of the OM?
The same authority to lead others we all have - none whatsoever.
If you'll excuse my use of humor to make a point, Monty Python says it well: "Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony."
My point being this: if the OM does decide to select leadership, it will be because someone has been called to lead. It will not come from a volunteer, as most are far too paranoid of people who seek power for such a candidate to take a legitimate hold. No, it will come when an individual has risen up from the 99% because of the unbidden support others have given them. Come to think of it, Jesse LaGreca is approaching this...

Even so, is a bit naive to think that the right leader with a clear message in hand will get a fair shake from the media. Just ask Ron Paul how a revolutionary message plays over the Mainstream Media (MSM). While I don't personally support his brand of extreme Liberalism, I do see how he is treated when he offers well thought out, comprehensive solutions to our problems. The OM should expect the same treatment he has received if not worse.
Do you honestly think we can contend with the bipolar election system, playing the game by their rules on their turf? The Obama campaign alone will likely have over $1B with which to influence public opinion. How can we hope to compete with this massive level of electioneering?
If we select a leader for national office, we will become nothing more than a novelty. In the Grand Three-Ring-Circus that our election system has become, an Occupy Movement political campaign will be relegated the position of clown by the mainstream media.

Now before you get discouraged, know that I think you are spot on with your suggestions... up to a point.
"To those of you ready to do something: Time for us to network and organize. [edit] To educate people on the change we seek and why that will be good for them. Otherwise, why should they care? They need to know the difference between capitalism and consumerism. Between a Democratic Republic and a Corporatacracy."

Hear hear! Public education and information dissemination is crucial right now.
Every poll and study that examines OM support shows the same thing: as people learn more about the OM from sources outside the MSM, their support for Occupy grows.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Wall_Street#Public_opinion
The OM currently has majority support from a large segment of the US population: something that can not be overstated. The Gay Rights movement, Civil Rights movement, even the original American Revolution against Britain did not enjoy such broad public support.

If the OM is indeed at a turning point (which I still think is too soon), it is neither the A nor B option presented, it is this:
Do we organize a list of demands and official leadership to achieve our goals within the existing system? -OR- Do we create an alternative, with the intention of replacing our corrupt system altogether?

Make no mistake, our system is failing. Our elected leaders no longer represent the will of the people and are becoming irrelevant.
Can this be fixed through a historic election that sweeps both parties from power and replaces them with honest and accountable politicians who would remake the system according to the will of the people for us? I honestly don't know, but I am hesitant to place my HOPE for CHANGE on another charismatic politician.

Election policies, tax laws, and the other forms of legislative tinkering suggested so far have yet engage the public. It is all very complex and hard for the average American to even honestly understand what is being proposed. We need Revolutionary demands to address that core issue that will excite the public. Revolutionary Demands might look something like this:

1- Demand a Global Debt Jubilee.
2- Ban all currency not back by real assets and encourage new forms of economic exchange.
3- Uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for all people, without exception.


A Global Movement should have Global Demands.

Most agree that we need a better way to move Occupy agendas into more than protests. We would also all like to see change as quickly as possible. A new political party and major economic restructure are great long term goals- but we need some short term solutions to change the focus of government to act for the benefit of the 99% NOW.

We have an election in 2012- and we can all vote. So lets use our votes to force our existing candidates to join us or lose our votes to a candidate who will.

Will they publicly join with us and state that working for the benefit of average Americans will be the main purpose of their public service? If they won't join us in that simple a compact they don't get our votes.

I've set up a website with a basic compact we could all send to our elected officials. Could you take a moment and take a look at it and tell me what you think ?

The website is : www.middleclassclout.org

I would love your feedback. Do you think this is doable ? We have let big money use their Grover Norquist No New Taxes pledge as a sledge hammer against average Americans- so my thought is lets fight fire with fire and force anyone up for re-election this year to be for us-- and if they are not willing to publicy state they are for us then they are against us.

@auraemmett Cool idea, but the website link you provided isn't working.

"Not Found
The requested URL /org/m/i/middleclassclout/htdocs/ was not found on this server."

I'm not very skilled with this. Can you try:
http://www.middleclassclout.org

Hopefully that will work. Looking forward to hearing what you think.

I've blogged about organizing movements a bit during the last couple of weeks. If anyone's interested:

http://www.thesignalwire.com/2011/12/why-do-we-protest.html

In short: This says that we protest mainly for three reasons. To change things directly (think protests that knocked authoritarians out of power), to gain media attention, and for ourselves to network/get moral support. I think most of us would agree that the first reason doesn't apply to protests in the states, so knowing that a protest is for the second and third reason, we should try to get as much as we can out of it. If it's for the media, consider how the media will cover the protest. If it's for organizing, develop a system that people can access easily.

(let me know if I missed something)

http://www.thesignalwire.com/2012/01/principles-of-organizing.html

In short: This goes over some of the lessons I learned from a DC Statehood meeting. Action needs to be part of a strategy, and change can't happen without a movement. To form a movement, you have to be connected to the people and talking with them.

@auraemmtt-

I like your website. Have any of you checked out: www.getmoneyout.com ? It's for people to organize for a specific purpose (getting money out of politics). They seem to be doing a lot of good things so far in terms of organization.