0:00:00.003,0:00:25.050 [Musical intro] 0:00:25.061,0:00:36.132 I'm Paul Levinson, and welcome to Light On Light Through, episode 87, Occupy Wall Street Chronicles, Part 1. 0:00:37.027,0:00:44.009 Well, it's Thanksgiving Day in America, that's November 24th 2011. 0:00:44.066,0:00:51.055 And I thought this would be a good time to[br]share with you some of the 15 blog posts 0:00:51.055,0:01:00.089 that I've been writing about Occupy Wall Street since the end of September and up until a few days ago. 0:01:01.031,0:01:07.015 And because I expect Occupy Wall Street in the United States and all over the world to continue, 0:01:07.710,0:01:11.718 that's why I'm calling these chronicles Part One. 0:01:12.103,0:01:20.924 But to give you just a tiny bit of background:[br]it was back in February of this year 2011 that I first made the point 0:01:20.924,0:01:30.293 that the Arab Spring was really a fulfillment of Marshall McLuhan's idea that we are living in a global village. 0:01:30.787,0:01:37.011 McLuhan made that point back in 1962 in the Gutenberg Galaxy, but back then, 0:01:37.011,0:01:45.015 it was more of a prediction, a projection, a metaphor, than a description of an actual reality. 0:01:46.019,0:01:53.069 But it seemed clear to me, in the Arab spring,[br]that the use of mobile phones 0:01:53.069,0:02:00.151 and the various Facebook, Twitter and YouTube connections and apps 0:02:00.966,0:02:07.042 allowed people in Cairo and other places in the Middle East 0:02:07.042,0:02:12.748 to not only help organize their events out in the street, 0:02:12.748,0:02:22.053 but to send videos, YouTube videos of various things that were actually happening at these events,, 0:02:22.053,0:02:29.046 including some of the brutality of the government responses to these gatherings. 0:02:29.846,0:02:35.986 So, with that in mind, I wasn't surprised at all to see the same sort of thing begin 0:02:35.986,0:02:40.044 to happen here in the United States and elsewhere in the world. 0:02:40.044,0:02:48.023 Actualy, I was in Barcelona in May of this[br]year and I saw, out on the Rambla, demonstrators 0:02:48.033,0:02:53.035 - they called themselves then the May 15th[br]movement - and it was interesting to me, 0:02:53.035,0:02:59.744 because Spain is a democracy. Egypt was not, still is not as a matter of fact, 0:03:00.532,0:03:04.075 but it was much the same as the Arab Spring. 0:03:04.075,0:03:12.050 And so, I decided to take a careful look at[br]what was happening in the Occupy Wall Street movements 0:03:12.059,0:03:17.670 here, in the United States, when they began to emerge in September. 0:03:18.022,0:03:22.911 And what I am going to read to you are a series of 15 or so blog posts. 0:03:22.911,0:03:29.028 I'll mention the date that each of the post was first made, and then I'll read the post to you. 0:03:29.683,0:03:39.048 Each post has a headline, and that, I hope, will give you an idea of some of the perspectives 0:03:40.019,0:03:47.056 that apply to Occupy Wall Street, or at least, some of my perspectives. 0:03:48.028,0:03:49.060 So we'll begin. 0:03:49.062,0:03:52.078 Tuesday, September 27, 2011. 0:03:53.006,0:04:00.090 New York City Police disgraced themselves in brutal treatment of Wall Street protesters. 0:04:01.043,0:04:08.030 I've lived in New York City all of my life, and I've never been a big fan of our police. 0:04:08.030,0:04:13.072 As a teenager, I was roughed up by cops in their search for firecrackers. 0:04:13.072,0:04:19.032 I saw them point blank attack protesters in the Vietnam War era. 0:04:19.042,0:04:27.070 I 've heard first hand, from friends I believe, about NYPD double-standard treatment of African-Americans. 0:04:28.019,0:04:35.068 And their shooting to death of Amadou Diallo who was unarmed, and their sodomizing of Abner Louima 0:04:35.068,0:04:39.666 (two separate incidents), were beyond horrendous. 0:04:40.077,0:04:47.064 But the NYPD have reached a new low in mass,[br]continuing violation of human beings and human rights 0:04:47.065,0:04:50.976 in their response to the Occupy Wall[br]Street protesters. 0:04:51.637,0:04:55.676 These are not isolated cases of cops gone crazy. 0:04:56.060,0:05:04.075 The tear-gassing of people behind barricades, the throwing to the ground of protesters who have no weapons and pose no threat, 0:05:04.728,0:05:13.074 is a systematic, widespread attack on human decency, the First Amendment and its guarantee of peaceful assembly, 0:05:13.920,0:05:20.833 as well as on the bodies and spirits of protesters[br]expressing their non-violent opinion. 0:05:21.737,0:05:32.015 Police Commissioner Kelly, in New York City, justifiably takes pride in how well the NYPD have defended New Yorkers from terrorist attacks. 0:05:32.623,0:05:42.074 He should also take pride in, or at very least insist upon, the NYPD defending and protecting the rights of New Yorkers 0:05:42.720,0:05:48.437 and any one who visits our city to express his or her opinion. 0:05:49.434,0:05:56.039 Based on what has happened so far, Police Commissioner Kelly obviously does not. 0:05:56.790,0:06:05.480 Mayor Bloomberg should replace him with someone who can grasp the difference between a criminal and a peaceful protester, 0:06:06.008,0:06:16.032 between throwing a protester violently to the ground versus firmly escorting the protester off any unlawfully occupied premises. 0:06:17.039,0:06:27.054 Social media - or, what I call new new media - are empowering people not only in the Middle East, but all over the world, including here in America. 0:06:28.019,0:06:33.067 We have a right to express our critique of Wall Street and the sad pass in the economy 0:06:33.091,0:06:38.083 - the financial disaster - Wall Street moguls have brought us to. 0:06:39.043,0:06:49.005 Mayors would be wise to respect this and restrain out-of-control police, lest the voters boot them out of office in the next election. 0:06:49.079,0:06:53.073 And the Federal government would be wise to do something constructive, 0:06:53.073,0:07:01.002 and bring any police officer who violates the rights of protesters up on charges. 0:07:01.071,0:07:11.034 And mainstream news media - I'm talking to you, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC 0:07:11.626,0:07:16.071 - what is taking you so long to catch up with the sustained coverage 0:07:16.071,0:07:25.034 Keith Olbermann has been giving this spectacle of police misconduct on his Countdown show on Current TV? 0:07:25.292,0:07:28.485 Thursday, October 6, 2011 0:07:28.623,0:07:33.202 Advice to President Obama: Join Occupy Wall Street 0:07:33.202,0:07:36.485 Some well-meaning advice to President Obama - 0:07:36.562,0:07:41.746 Come down to Wall Street, grab a bull horn, and tell the Occupy Wall Street people 0:07:41.792,0:07:46.140 excersing their democratic rights that you're with them. 0:07:46.248,0:07:50.361 You have much more in common with students, workers, and people concerned about 0:07:50.361,0:07:54.931 the abuses of Wall Street bankers and kindred millionaires 0:07:54.931,0:07:59.331 than you do with that upper one-percent of the nation's earners. 0:07:59.331,0:08:02.300 You've said so yourself already, many times. 0:08:03.038,0:08:10.264 The rich and the Republicans who are their friends - that is friends of the 1% - are not your friends. 0:08:10.264,0:08:12.479 You won't get their votes anyway. 0:08:12.971,0:08:21.679 You won in 2008 because you got a majority of votes of the 99% of Americans who are not fabulously wealthy, 0:08:21.679,0:08:28.244 who do not make it difficult for so many to earn a living or support their families. 0:08:28.244,0:08:32.356 And when you come to New York, bring along a contingent of Secret Service, 0:08:32.356,0:08:39.213 FBI, or whatever it takes to keep New York's out of control police at bay. 0:08:39.782,0:08:46.558 Did you see those white-shirted NYPD commanders clubbing protestors on the news today? 0:08:47.620,0:08:53.218 President Obama, is this the America you want? 0:08:53.818,0:09:00.013 You have a chance now to reclaim the momentum, to go with the tide of the future, not the past. 0:09:00.398,0:09:06.515 Go for it. Go with the tide of direct democracy, not the regressive reins 0:09:06.515,0:09:14.798 which have tied up our government for so long, and are starving our people of their future. 0:09:17.213,0:09:20.144 Sunday, October 16, 2011 0:09:20.652,0:09:24.625 Occupy Wall Street, Direct Democracy, and Social Media: 0:09:24.717,0:09:30.063 A Thumbnail History of Media and Politics Since Ancient Athens 0:09:30.063,0:09:37.963 The role of social media in triggering and facilitating the now world-wide Occupy Wall Street protests 0:09:38.025,0:09:43.155 - the role of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google+, and kindred systems 0:09:43.155,0:09:49.425 in getting word out about Occupations, and documenting them for the world to see and join - 0:09:49.471,0:09:54.740 has been remarked upon so often as to almost seem a cliche. 0:09:55.202,0:10:01.486 But the link between social media and direct democracy is true and profound, 0:10:01.486,0:10:10.202 and is the current culmination of an evolution of media and political expression that began in ancient times. 0:10:10.540,0:10:13.840 Back in the city of Athens, in the time of Pericles, 0:10:13.871,0:10:19.186 direct democracy arose, in part because of the new literacy 0:10:19.186,0:10:26.148 that allowed citizens to be informed of public events and the views and actions of their leaders. 0:10:26.409,0:10:30.063 The words that these people read were handwritten, 0:10:30.063,0:10:34.471 which meant that anyone who wanted to write and be read could do so. 0:10:35.086,0:10:40.232 Writing and publishing were just as about as easy, in other words, as reading. 0:10:41.617,0:10:46.271 All of that changed dramatically with the invention of the printing press, 0:10:46.271,0:10:50.925 which had the wonderful result of spreading the written word to millions, 0:10:50.925,0:10:58.948 but the anti-democratic effect of greatly reducing the ratio of published writers to readers. 0:10:59.009,0:11:05.417 Millions of people became accustomed to reading words written by a handful of others. 0:11:05.417,0:11:11.994 Unsurprisingly, when democracy slowly re-emerged in the Renaissance and the Age of Reason, 0:11:12.009,0:11:16.202 it was not the direct democracy of Ancient Athens. 0:11:16.202,0:11:24.225 It was instead, a representative kind of democracy, in which elected officials made all the decisions, 0:11:24.225,0:11:30.202 and all the people could do was vote the representatives up or down. 0:11:30.217,0:11:36.255 This was almost exactly parallel to the transformation in information production and reception 0:11:36.255,0:11:41.079 brought about by the printing press, in which all the people could do is read 0:11:41.079,0:11:46.025 and agree or disagree with a book or manifesto or pamphlet. 0:11:46.025,0:11:49.125 The people in no way write or produce it, 0:11:49.125,0:11:54.394 unless they were in the less than one-percent of the population 0:11:54.394,0:12:00.494 fortunate to have a monarch's or a printer's (later a publisher's) favor. 0:12:01.217,0:12:07.963 This inequality of producer and consumer – of few producers and legion consumers - 0:12:07.963,0:12:13.709 was not only continued but exacerbated by the advent of broadcast media, 0:12:13.709,0:12:19.840 which reduced the number of producers (it was much harder to get your views on radio and television 0:12:19.855,0:12:24.063 than in newspapers, which at least has letters to the editor) 0:12:24.940,0:12:33.902 and while the number of prducers were being reduced, the number of consumers were being greatly increased, 0:12:33.902,0:12:42.432 because it was far easier to listen to the radio than even go out and buy a newspaper or have one delivered to your door. 0:12:43.909,0:12:47.994 People in representative democracies became better informed, 0:12:47.994,0:12:52.571 but the information was created by fewer and fewer people. 0:12:53.494,0:12:57.179 In some countries, such as the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, 0:12:57.179,0:13:04.502 this inequality was masterfully mined to do away with democracy altogether. 0:13:05.286,0:13:10.833 The introduction of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in the first decade of the 21st century 0:13:10.833,0:13:17.613 has shifted that ratio back to a more even distribution of producer and consumer 0:13:17.613,0:13:26.398 for the first time since the handwritten manuscript held sway so long ago in Ancient Athens. 0:13:27.290,0:13:33.198 These new media live online, but they were unlike other new media like Amazon and iTunes, 0:13:33.198,0:13:41.792 which still run for the most part like traditional publishing media, with few producers and many consumers. 0:13:42.438,0:13:52.331 In contrast, any one can Tweet, post a status on Facebook, upload a video to YouTube - any consumer can become a producer. 0:13:52.331,0:13:59.633 That's why I say these new social media are not just new but "new new media". 0:14:00.387,0:14:05.429 People in the streets, demanding freedom and justice in the Arab Spring, 0:14:05.429,0:14:10.104 and redress of economic grievances in the United States, Europe, and Asia, 0:14:10.104,0:14:19.146 are the healthy and long-overdue political expression of the revolution in social or new new media. 0:14:19.623,0:14:26.659 The Occupy movements are expressing a dissatisfaction with others making decisions for us 0:14:26.659,0:14:33.736 - with our elected representatives doing the bidding of banks rather than the people who elected them. 0:14:35.059,0:14:40.582 With means of expressing one's political views in almost everyone's pockets and hands, 0:14:40.582,0:14:47.510 the age of mass media and representative democracy may well be in irreversible decline, 0:14:47.802,0:14:56.264 replaced by the more equitable system of direct democracy in which the majority not only truly rules, 0:14:56.264,0:15:05.133 but in which everyone's views can get a public hearing, and everyone can vote at any and all times. 0:15:07.079,0:15:10.656 I talked about all of this a bit more and led a discussion 0:15:10.656,0:15:18.946 after the 7 o'clock screening of Tiffany Shlain's new movie Connected, which was at the Angelika Film Center 0:15:18.946,0:15:22.341 in New York City this Wednesday, October 19. 0:15:22.341,0:15:28.471 I also discussed many of these issues on Good Day Street Talk, on Fox New York 5, 0:15:28.518,0:15:36.190 on a panel discussion taped Thursday October 20. It was broadcast the Saturday of that week. 0:15:36.744,0:15:42.133 And on Light On Light Through, I'll have links to these videos. 0:15:48.942,0:15:55.518 That's LIGHTONLIGHTTHROUGHdotCom, lightonlightthrough.com. 0:15:56.587,0:15:59.164 Let's get on to the next post. 0:15:59.887,0:16:03.479 Friday, Oct 21, 2011 0:16:03.941,0:16:12.118 Obama Should Call in National Guard to Restrain the NYPD in Occupy Wall Street 0:16:12.671,0:16:13.618 Consider the following - 0:16:13.618,0:16:19.252 - Professor and author Cornel West was just hauled off in a police paddy wagon 0:16:19.252,0:16:24.337 up in an Occupy Harlem protest in Mew York City. 0:16:24.383,0:16:29.221 - Professor and author Naomi Wolf was led off in hand cuffs earlier this week 0:16:29.252,0:16:36.460 when she was walking on a street deemed off-limits - a public street - by the NYPD 0:16:36.518,0:16:44.925 - and a woman seeking to close her Citibank account as part of the Occupy Wall Street protest was arrested[br] 0:16:45.987,0:16:51.410 President Obama finally announced the end of the US occupation of Iraq today. 0:16:52.195,0:17:00.571 Now he should send some of our National Guard to New York City to restrain our out-of-control NYPD, 0:17:00.587,0:17:09.364 because clearly Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Kelly either can't or don't want to restrain the NYPD. 0:17:10.241,0:17:18.202 Earlier this week, we also saw the inspiring lecture that former Marine Shamar Thomas delivered to the NYPD 0:17:19.618,0:17:28.302 Quote: "you're supposed to protect us, not attack us," unquote, he said. There are videos of that all over the web. 0:17:29.148,0:17:34.048 (He was not arrested, by the way - Bloomberg still has a clever sense of public relations - 0:17:34.279,0:17:39.395 he doesn't want a video of the NYPD taking into custody a former Marine. 0:17:39.918,0:17:50.664 But professors and authors and other law-abiding citizens - well hey! They and we are apparently fair game to arrest on camera.) 0:17:51.079,0:17:53.164 It is becoming more clear, every day, 0:17:53.271,0:18:00.571 that what we most in New York City need protection from is our own police. 0:18:02.464,0:18:05.556 October 26, 2011 0:18:05.648,0:18:08.382 No Expiration Date on First Amendment 0:18:09.167,0:18:14.959 I'm in Brussels, Belgium, to give a Keynote Address about Marshall McLuhan tomorrow. 0:18:14.959,0:18:18.562 I've been enjoying the conference on the Philosophy of McLuhan, 0:18:18.562,0:18:21.264 as well as this wonderful city. 0:18:21.910,0:18:26.879 But I've been following with grave concern the police aggression 0:18:26.879,0:18:32.545 against Occupy protesters in Oakland, California, and Atlanta, Georgia. 0:18:32.545,0:18:34.260 And I wanted to offer 0:18:34.260,0:18:40.982 - to police everywhere in the United States - the following point, which is: 0:18:40.982,0:18:48.095 There's no limit in the First Amendment on the amount of time people can peaceably assemble 0:18:48.095,0:18:52.162 - no time after which the First Amendment doesn't apply. 0:18:52.162,0:18:56.315 An assemblage can be an hour, a day, a year. 0:18:56.685,0:19:03.177 So when right-wingers tell you, the Occupy protesters have made their point, they should go home, 0:19:03.177,0:19:06.382 and the police should make them do that, by force, 0:19:06.382,0:19:12.229 those right-wingers are only displaying their ignorance of the law. 0:19:12.952,0:19:20.044 And that's ok. People are entitled to be ignorant of the law. But police and law-enforcement are not. 0:19:20.044,0:19:26.454 And when police break the law, or based on ignorance of the law deprive citizens of their rights, 0:19:27.300,0:19:31.051 that is a serious form of crime. 0:19:31.790,0:19:35.848 It's a crime that we the taxpayers are paying for. 0:19:36.464,0:19:44.648 No person with a conservative philosophy, no American, should be OK, let alone happy about that. 0:19:45.541,0:19:53.848 I call upon police everywhere to respect the law. Don't follow an illegal order by your commander. 0:19:53.864,0:19:57.767 You know what the First Amendment says and doesn't say. 0:19:57.767,0:20:05.013 And I again urge Obama to considering calling in the National Guard to protect Americans 0:20:05.013,0:20:14.362 being forcibly deprived of their rights, just as Dwight David Eisenhower did bravely for people in the South 0:20:14.362,0:20:21.190 being deprived of their rights by local authorities in the 1950s. 0:20:22.909,0:20:26.725 Saturday, October 29 2011 0:20:26.725,0:20:29.782 Into the Mind of a Conservative Bully 0:20:30.613,0:20:33.490 Here’s an insight into the mind of a conservative bully 0:20:33.490,0:20:40.900 – or maybe a glimpse of an oft-used game plan favored by unprincipled conservatives in their debates, 0:20:40.900,0:20:45.300 online and otherwise, with the progressives at hand. 0:20:45.900,0:20:56.264 A Facebook quote “friend” unquote – I but that in quotes, because this guy is not really a friend, not even online let alone in person – 0:20:56.956,0:21:02.716 takes issue with one of my many comments decrying the out-of-control police attack 0:21:02.716,0:21:07.613 on peaceful Occupy demonstrators out in Oakland, California. 0:21:07.613,0:21:11.638 They got just what they deserved, he says, appropriate for anyone 0:21:11.638,0:21:14.715 who defies the authorities and breaks the law. 0:21:15.762,0:21:23.088 Well, that's interesting, I replied. So how is it that the Mayor of Oakland – Jean Quan – issued this statement 0:21:23.088,0:21:30.198 in the aftermath of the police vicious attack on the Occupy Oakland people: 0:21:30.952,0:21:33.159 And here is Jean Quan's statement: 0:21:33.190,0:21:40.079 "October 27th, 9pm -- I am deeply saddened about the outcome on Tuesday., Quan writes 0:21:40.079,0:21:47.125 It was not what anyone hoped for, ultimately it was my responsibility, and I apologize for what happened. 0:21:47.125,0:21:55.518 Today I, Mayor Quan, visited Scott Olsen [this is the former Marine who bravely served in Iraq, 0:21:55.518,0:22:01.725 shot in the head by the cops with a rubber bullet that landed him in hospital in critical condition] 0:22:02.356,0:22:06.933 But back to Quan's statement: "Today I visited Scott Olsen and his parents 0:22:06.933,0:22:10.059 because I was deeply concerned about his recovery. 0:22:10.059,0:22:13.482 And I hope we will keep them all in our prayers. 0:22:14.113,0:22:20.675 We have started an investigation into the use of force," Quan continues, "including tear gas, on Tuesday. 0:22:20.705,0:22:28.398 I cannot change the past, but I want to work with you to ensure that this remains peaceful moving forward." 0:22:29.459,0:22:32.199 That's the end of Mayor Quan's statement. 0:22:33.199,0:22:46.495 And what was the response of my “friend”, in quotes, quote friend unquote? The response was: nothing. Nada. Zilch. 0:22:46.987,0:22:53.177 After two reminders from me and three days. He’s disappeared from the argument, 0:22:53.177,0:22:56.808 slunk back into the shadows from which he first emerged. 0:22:57.454,0:23:03.398 How many times have you seen this hit-and-run behavior, or been treated to it yourself? 0:23:03.752,0:23:06.736 A conservative makes a point that’s flagrantly wrong; 0:23:06.782,0:23:10.746 someone calls him or her on it, and presents the fact; 0:23:10.746,0:23:14.859 the conservative exits right, with no further word. 0:23:15.382,0:23:21.698 The modus operandi of the conservative bully - I guess there may be some progressive bullies like this too 0:23:21.744,0:23:24.305 but truthfully, I haven't run into them - 0:23:25.059,0:23:29.467 So, as far as I know, this is the modus operandi of the conservative bully: 0:23:30.036,0:23:35.310 puncturing rational dialog, bringing down a discussion, whenever possible. 0:23:35.925,0:23:39.146 It would almost be funny, if it wasn’t so sad. 0:23:39.146,0:23:43.096 And it shows, if ever we needed a reason, 0:23:43.696,0:23:52.062 that comments emanating from these kinds of partisans are probably best ignored. 0:23:53.202,0:23:56.582 Wednesday, November 2, 2011 0:23:56.613,0:23:59.767 Bank of America Bends to Will of the People 0:24:00.213,0:24:03.987 Bank of America yesterday bowed to the will of its customers, 0:24:03.987,0:24:10.715 withdrawing its plan to charge 5 bucks a month for use of its precious debit cards. 0:24:11.285,0:24:17.633 I see this as being just one of many reversals of corporate rapaciousness and insensitivity 0:24:17.633,0:24:20.064 in the new world in which we live. 0:24:20.602,0:24:26.362 This is a world very different from the old one, which is still in the process of ending, 0:24:26.362,0:24:31.629 in which corporations dealt out whatever they pleased to consumers. 0:24:32.413,0:24:36.798 In that old world, now being set back on its hind quarters, 0:24:36.798,0:24:43.182 people mistreated by corporations had no one to complain to other than their families and friends, 0:24:43.890,0:24:50.621 and governments which did little or nothing, and the corporations did far less. 0:24:51.159,0:24:58.531 Now, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube - social media - allow people to instantly and effectively communicate 0:24:58.531,0:25:04.506 to millions about the bad treatment they are receiving from their banks and corporate monoliths. 0:25:04.891,0:25:12.454 Abused customers no longer have to wait for a mass medium - a TV or newspaper reporter - 0:25:12.454,0:25:15.315 to deign to give their grievance coverage. 0:25:15.746,0:25:23.541 The consumers can get their own coverage via YouTube videos and Tweets that cost nothing to produce 0:25:23.541,0:25:29.946 and can be seen and read everywhere, on any smart phone or old-fashioned laptop. 0:25:30.931,0:25:35.342 Bank of America isn't the first corporation to feel this cleansing power. 0:25:36.403,0:25:42.731 Netflix earlier reversed its new, regressive polices after a torrent online complaints. 0:25:42.731,0:25:49.582 Netflix learned that online media can be used for more than selling movies and TV shows. 0:25:50.152,0:25:54.479 Some big corporations think that by hiring a cool PR firm, 0:25:54.479,0:25:58.731 they can develop an effective presence in the realms of social media. 0:25:59.331,0:26:02.746 But such con jobs can be seen a mile away. 0:26:03.377,0:26:06.469 Other companies have learned that online presence 0:26:06.469,0:26:10.016 must be accompanied by real benefits to the consumer. 0:26:10.016,0:26:15.515 Panera Bread, for example, not only offers free wi-fi in its cafes, 0:26:15.515,0:26:21.182 but gives free refills for coffee and tea, and other perks to its loyal customers. 0:26:21.798,0:26:28.213 Contrast that to Bank of America's attempt to squeeze five more dollars out of its customers. 0:26:28.875,0:26:34.931 The resurgence of direct democracy ongoing in Occupy Wall Street all over the world 0:26:34.931,0:26:39.664 is now beginning to have tangible economic consequences. 0:26:40.187,0:26:48.329 This is very likely just the start of an economic revolution that will go hand-in-hand with the political. 0:26:48.341,0:26:51.433 Thursday, November 10, 2011 0:26:52.033,0:26:55.613 Open Letter to Governor Jerry Brown 0:26:55.721,0:26:57.652 Dear Jerry - 0:26:57.652,0:27:03.464 We met several years ago, when the Department of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University 0:27:03.464,0:27:05.533 - of which I was then Chair - 0:27:05.533,0:27:10.382 invited you to give one of our annual lectures about Marshall McLuhan. 0:27:11.198,0:27:19.782 You and I had the opportunity to have an excellent, wide-ranging talk about media and society, prior to your lecture. 0:27:20.429,0:27:26.387 I was already an admirer of your perceptive vision and understanding of our society. 0:27:26.741,0:27:32.169 I consider our conversation one of the best I've had with anyone. 0:27:32.169,0:27:36.248 I was, therefore, delighted with your re-entry into politics, 0:27:36.248,0:27:40.331 and cheered when you were again elected Governor of California, 0:27:40.331,0:27:44.398 even though I'm a New Yorker, through and through. 0:27:45.382,0:27:51.352 But with this in mind, I've been stunned to see what your police have doing in your state. 0:27:51.382,0:27:57.680 And I find your lack of public response incomprehensible. 0:27:58.080,0:28:03.213 What on Earth is going on with you and the state of California? 0:28:03.213,0:28:10.095 A former Marine - an Iraq War veteran - was shot point blank in the head by a rubber bullet, 0:28:10.095,0:28:13.121 landing him in the hospital in critical condition. 0:28:13.598,0:28:18.137 A person who dared to point a video camera at police in another protest 0:28:18.137,0:28:22.045 was shot at point blank range in the body with a rubber bullet. 0:28:22.045,0:28:28.018 Just last night, I saw a video on YouTube of your police beating students 0:28:28.018,0:28:32.782 who dared to stand up for their First Amendment rights at Berkeley. 0:28:33.675,0:28:40.528 What on Earth is going on in California, and why are you doing nothing about it? 0:28:40.528,0:28:47.110 As you must know, none of the Occupy protesters in these incidents were the least bit violent. 0:28:47.110,0:28:50.381 In some cases, a few raised their voices a little. 0:28:50.381,0:28:56.382 All of this is their right under the First Amendment, to "peaceably assemble". 0:28:57.044,0:29:03.393 I am surprised and deeply disturbed and saddened that you seem unwilling or unable 0:29:03.393,0:29:07.546 to use the power of your office to curb your police. 0:29:08.162,0:29:13.725 Do you think rubber bullets which send citizens to the hospital in critical condition 0:29:13.725,0:29:18.777 are a proper response to people who are assembling and raising their voices 0:29:18.777,0:29:23.598 in protest of the economic and other inequalities in this country? 0:29:24.275,0:29:29.915 Whether the police are local, or even security forces at a private institution, 0:29:29.946,0:29:38.823 this brutality is happening in your state, and, as Governor, it is your responsibility to stop that. 0:29:39.654,0:29:44.115 I know you were once in a seminary, and thought of joining the priesthood. 0:29:44.592,0:29:47.613 I was always glad that you brought that sensitivity, 0:29:47.613,0:29:52.564 that awareness of the human condition, to your important work in government. 0:29:53.118,0:29:57.413 Our nation, your state, stand at a crossroads now. 0:29:57.890,0:30:00.985 You can make s decisive difference in the outcome, 0:30:00.985,0:30:05.669 and help our nation continue on its path to a better democracy. 0:30:06.285,0:30:13.582 You can become a national leader on the side of the angels and the Constitution in this. 0:30:14.398,0:30:22.582 Please stop your out of control police, before lives are lost, and you miss your chance. 0:30:23.213,0:30:35.073 And I aigned this: -Paul Levinson, PhD Professor of Communication and Media Studies [Chair of Department, 2002-2008] Fordham University. 0:30:37.146,0:30:40.402 Sunday, November 13, 2011 0:30:40.402,0:30:46.133 Lame CBS Broadcasts Only First Hour of Republican Foreign Policy Debate 0:30:47.141,0:30:52.712 So if you were watching the Republican Presidential debate on foreign policy on CBS last night, 0:30:52.712,0:30:55.606 you were treated to its ending after the first hour, 0:30:55.606,0:31:00.700 with an announcement that the remaining half hour would be available online. 0:31:01.500,0:31:06.403 Now, I'm all in favor of television being available online, but - 0:31:06.834,0:31:10.148 What about viewers who may not have been near their computers, 0:31:10.148,0:31:15.753 or would rather watch the debate on a screen a little larger than their smartphones? 0:31:16.446,0:31:22.023 I'm not a Republican, and I enjoy the jokes about Republicans not having a foreign policy 0:31:22.023,0:31:24.077 as much as any non-Republican, 0:31:24.523,0:31:29.632 but CBS's decision not to broadcast the entire 90-minute debate 0:31:29.647,0:31:35.142 strikes me as a profound disservice to our electoral process. 0:31:35.142,0:31:43.213 The truth is, Democrats, Independents, not only Republicans, were disadvantaged by CBS's decision. 0:31:43.782,0:31:48.131 It's good for anyone or any political persuasion to see what the person 0:31:48.162,0:31:57.331 who will likely face Barack Obama in the 2012 election thinks about major foreign policy issues. 0:31:57.715,0:32:06.664 As Walter Lippmann pointed out way back in the 1920s, democracy is a sham when voters are uninformed. 0:32:07.464,0:32:16.198 That's certainly not what William Paley thought when he took command of the fledgeling CBS radio network in the 1920s. 0:32:16.198,0:32:21.731 Coverage of all aspects of elections remained first and foremost in his network 0:32:21.731,0:32:25.464 when it added television to its roster in the 1940s. 0:32:26.187,0:32:30.631 I guess it's not surprising that CBS shows so little understanding 0:32:30.631,0:32:33.746 of current elections and what they require. 0:32:34.269,0:32:39.977 Like all the mass media, CBS has shown little understanding of Occupy Wall Street, 0:32:39.977,0:32:44.275 and the resurgence of direct democracy that it embodies. 0:32:44.967,0:32:52.679 CBS is an equal opportunity abuser of representative as well as direct democracy. 0:32:53.418,0:32:58.469 And what was so important that CBS had to cut short its debate coverage? 0:32:59.038,0:33:03.613 It was a rerun of NCIS - one of my favorite shows on television 0:33:03.613,0:33:13.355 - but I bet Gibbs, even Gibbs, would have given the president of CBS a head-slap on Saturday night if he could. 0:33:15.011,0:33:18.382 Tuesday, November 15, 2011 0:33:18.398,0:33:22.883 Mayor Bloomberg's Poor Understanding of the First Amendment 0:33:23.514,0:33:28.598 This is from Mayor Michael Bloomberg's statement about his clearing of Zuccotti Park 0:33:28.598,0:33:31.528 under cover of darkness early this morning - 0:33:32.251,0:33:37.868 Quote "No right is absolute and with every right comes responsibilities. 0:33:37.868,0:33:42.062 The First Amendment gives every New Yorker the right to speak out 0:33:42.062,0:33:49.495 – but it does not give anyone the right to sleep in a park or otherwise take it over to the exclusion of others 0:33:49.510,0:33:58.079 – nor does it permit anyone in our society to live outside the law. There is no ambiguity in the law here 0:33:58.079,0:34:01.575 – the First Amendment protects speech 0:34:01.575,0:34:09.802 – it does not protect the use of tents and sleeping bags to take over a public space." Unquote. 0:34:10.756,0:34:14.613 Well, here is where and why that is wrong - 0:34:14.613,0:34:18.048 1. The First Amendment reads, in full, 0:34:18.048,0:34:23.392 Quote:"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, 0:34:23.392,0:34:26.448 or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; 0:34:26.448,0:34:29.495 or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; 0:34:29.495,0:34:32.829 or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, 0:34:32.829,0:34:39.915 and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." End quote - conclusion of the First Amendment. 0:34:40.500,0:34:47.582 Now, clearly, the right to, quote, "peaceaby to assemble," unquote, a right which is distinct from free speech, 0:34:47.582,0:34:54.632 is listed in the First Amendment as a separate right, co-equal with speech and press. 0:34:55.417,0:34:59.618 Bloomberg's statement unsurprisingly misses that. 0:35:00.110,0:35:05.081 2. The rights in the First Amendment are indeed absolute 0:35:05.081,0:35:12.300 - "no law" - that's a quote from the First Amendment - "no law" means just that, "no law". 0:35:12.346,0:35:15.933 A law about tents not allowed in parks would be precisely 0:35:15.933,0:35:23.182 the kind of law not allowed by the First Amendment, if it gets in the way of people peaceably assembling. 0:35:23.782,0:35:27.198 3. Although Bloomberg doesn't address this, 0:35:27.198,0:35:33.264 the 14th Amendment to our Constitution extends the restriction on Congress in the 1st Amendment 0:35:33.264,0:35:37.331 to all forms of local government in the United States. 0:35:37.931,0:35:46.829 New York City, Oakland, California, Portland, Oregon, all the cities which have been Occupied are no exception. 0:35:46.829,0:35:51.576 4. Bloomberg's contempt for the First Amendment is also obvious 0:35:51.576,0:35:55.422 in the way the clearing of Zuccotti Park was conducted - 0:35:55.422,0:36:00.617 with media deliberately prevented from covering that news. 0:36:01.094,0:36:06.493 In that very action, Bloomberg is also flagrantly violating the First Amendment, 0:36:06.493,0:36:11.577 in this case, the freedom of press provision of the First Amendment. 0:36:12.192,0:36:17.848 In sum, Mayor Bloomberg's expressed comprehension of the First Amendment is less 0:36:17.848,0:36:24.829 than I would expect from an introductory class of students at Fordham University where I teach. 0:36:24.829,0:36:32.998 I look forward to the courts setting this misguided and dangerous billionaire Mayor straight. 0:36:32.998,0:36:41.121 For Bloomberg's complete statement, see AlterNet.org, which is a very good site. 0:36:41.121,0:36:49.608 And I add this note on Nov 15, 2011: The first Judge to hear case just sided with Bloomberg, 0:36:49.608,0:36:53.813 ruling protesters have a right to speech but not to assemble in tents. 0:36:54.521,0:36:59.062 I expect this ruling to be overturned by higher courts. 0:37:00.341,0:37:03.075 Wednesday, November 16, 2011 0:37:03.075,0:37:07.648 Violation of First Amendment to Cover Up Violation of First Amendment 0:37:08.233,0:37:11.582 More on what happened yesterday at Zuccotti Park - 0:37:11.582,0:37:19.248 The muzzling of media coverage, which we now know, went as far as arresting and literally pushing around reporters, 0:37:19.248,0:37:23.362 amounts to a violation of the First Amendment (freedom of press) 0:37:23.362,0:37:28.571 to cover up a violation of the First Amendment (the right to peaceably assemble). 0:37:29.079,0:37:35.168 It's not surprising that Bloomberg missed this, as he appallingly indicated in his public statement 0:37:35.168,0:37:39.285 that he thinks for First Amendment protects only freedom of speech. 0:37:39.285,0:37:45.996 But, as I pointed out in my last blog post, the First Amendment also quite obviously protects 0:37:45.996,0:37:49.115 freedoms of press and peaceable assemblage 0:37:49.115,0:37:56.414 (for which, by the way, no expiration date or limitation of duration of assembly is given). 0:37:56.767,0:38:02.879 Further, since Oakland Mayor Quan admitted that the clearings of Occupy sites across the country 0:38:02.879,0:38:07.095 were coordinated in a conference call with 18 mayors, 0:38:07.710,0:38:12.079 there may be good evidence of a conspiracy, here in the United States, 0:38:12.079,0:38:17.157 among mayors and government officials, to violate the First Amendment. 0:38:18.249,0:38:22.587 I once again call upon the Federal government to finally do something 0:38:22.587,0:38:26.998 to stop this coordinated attack on American democracy. 0:38:27.629,0:38:32.654 How about the US Attorney General investigating what those mayors did? 0:38:32.654,0:38:38.064 How about charging them with conspiracy to undermine our Constitution? 0:38:38.925,0:38:41.213 Do we live in a nation of laws, 0:38:41.213,0:38:48.115 or a nation in which government officials and police can do whatever they choose? 0:38:48.629,0:38:51.690 Sunday, November 20, 2011 0:38:52.198,0:38:58.885 What OWS Has Shown Us about Bloomberg, Jerry Brown and Obama 0:38:59.515,0:39:03.479 About Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City: 0:39:03.479,0:39:07.705 Trampled on the First Amendment freedom of peaceable assembly rights 0:39:07.705,0:39:11.644 of Occupy Wall Street protesters in Zuccotti Park; 0:39:12.429,0:39:16.982 trampled on First Amendment freedom of press rights of all New Yorkers and Americans 0:39:16.982,0:39:22.613 by banning media from his forced eviction of Zuccotti Park protesters; 0:39:22.613,0:39:30.146 has supported police beating of protesters, roughing up of journalists, arrest of protesters and journalists; 0:39:30.146,0:39:39.798 conspired with 17 other mayors to launch nation-wide clearing of Occupy Wall Street sites in cities across America. 0:39:40.244,0:39:45.798 I would not vote for Michael Bloomberg if I lived in New York City (where I work); 0:39:45.798,0:39:49.648 I will never vote for him for any other offices; 0:39:49.648,0:39:56.936 I would like to see a Federal investigation into his Occupy Wall Street conduct. 0:39:56.936,0:40:00.598 About Governor Jerry Brown of California: 0:40:00.613,0:40:07.213 Has remained silent as police in cities and campuses in California have shot rubber bullets at protesters 0:40:07.213,0:40:13.915 (one point blank at the head on an Iraq War veteran that put him in the hospital in critical condition) 0:40:13.915,0:40:23.346 and also at people with camera phones, and who used pepper spray, wantonly, with no provocation, at UC-Davis, 0:40:23.762,0:40:28.833 and has remained silent as police beat students at Berkeley. 0:40:30.187,0:40:37.187 I once admired Jerry Brown's vision and had an impressive, hour-long conversation with him at Fordham University 0:40:37.187,0:40:42.522 when I was Chair of the Department of Communication and Media Studies several years ago. 0:40:43.337,0:40:49.900 I no longer admire him, to say the least, and unless he moves very quickly now 0:40:49.900,0:40:54.146 to protect the people in his state from police brutality 0:40:54.146,0:40:59.998 I will speak out against him if he runs for any office again. 0:41:01.413,0:41:05.715 About President Barack Obama of the United States: 0:41:05.715,0:41:09.479 He has also been silent about all of the above. 0:41:09.479,0:41:15.248 I voted for him in 2008, and I wrote and spoke out in his favor many times. 0:41:15.679,0:41:19.085 Just search for Paul Levinson and Barack Obama on Google, 0:41:19.085,0:41:22.248 and you'll see the dozens and dozens of blog posts. 0:41:23.110,0:41:29.248 President Obama's silence about the above attacks on Americans exercising their First Amendment rights 0:41:30.110,0:41:39.077 is making me begin to wonder if I will ever be able to vote for him again. 0:41:40.613,0:41:43.546 Sunday, November 20, 2011 0:41:43.546,0:41:50.527 Jay Carney (and Obama) Have It All Wrong about Police and Occupy Wall Street 0:41:50.527,0:41:56.611 Did you catch this statement the other day from White House Press Secretary Jay Carney? 0:41:58.303,0:42:02.973 And this is a quote from an online source: 0:42:03.603,0:42:09.598 Speaking November 15 aboard Air Force One, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said: 0:42:09.598,0:42:14.596 quote: “The president’s position is that obviously every municipality 0:42:14.596,0:42:20.281 has to make its own decisions about how to handle these issues.” Unquote - 0:42:20.296,0:42:22.504 "these issues" being Occupy Wall Street" 0:42:23.166,0:42:27.115 Carney was seeking, in that statement, to debunk questions about 0:42:27.115,0:42:31.076 whether the Federal government is in some way coordinating 0:42:31.076,0:42:37.917 the police crackdowns on Occupy Wall Street protests across the country this past week. 0:42:37.933,0:42:43.319 (We already know that the Mayors of New York, Oakland, and 16 other American cities 0:42:43.319,0:42:48.479 coordinated their unconstitutional attacks on the protesters.) 0:42:49.187,0:42:56.685 But Carney's statement also says something quite important - crucial - that he likely did not intend to say. 0:42:56.685,0:43:03.648 And that is: allowing municipalities to make their own decisions regarding the protesters 0:43:03.648,0:43:10.762 is not an expression of innocence, but an admission of guilt, when what the cities are doing 0:43:10.762,0:43:16.671 is pepper-spraying the protesters, arresting and beating protesters as well as reporters, 0:43:16.671,0:43:24.485 and (in the case of New York City) deliberately shutting off the eviction of Zuccotti Park from press coverage. 0:43:25.069,0:43:30.084 The First Amendment guarantees citizens the right to peaceably assemble. 0:43:30.084,0:43:31.969 The First Amendment says: 0:43:31.969,0:43:37.152 quote: "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; 0:43:37.152,0:43:41.008 or the right of the people peaceably to assemble," Unquote. 0:43:41.008,0:43:49.479 and the Fourteenth Amendment extends that restriction to all levels of government, including municipalities. 0:43:49.895,0:43:57.664 So in leaving decisions about how to respond to Occupy Wall Street protests to municipalities, 0:43:57.664,0:44:04.864 the Obama administration is plainly shirking its responsibility to make sure 0:44:04.864,0:44:10.648 no local government violates the First Amendment rights of citizens - 0:44:11.371,0:44:16.754 by allowing them to be viciously attacked by police, pepper-sprayed 0:44:16.754,0:44:22.531 and by preventing the media from fully reporting these violations to the people. 0:44:22.531,0:44:28.662 Thank goodness that someone was there with a video app on a cellphone 0:44:28.662,0:44:37.347 and was able to show the world what those criminal police out at the UC-Davis were doing to the protesters. 0:44:39.285,0:44:49.862 The Obama's administration and its inability or not wanting to do anything about this is shameful 0:44:50.462,0:44:56.121 And Jay Carney's statement is not only shameful, 0:44:56.121,0:45:04.199 but an admission of an inability to govern by the Obama administration. 0:45:04.860,0:45:14.277 I hope President Obama and his advisers wake up to this disgrace and outrage before he's voted out of office. 0:45:15.612,0:45:18.464 Sunday, November 20, 2011 0:45:18.464,0:45:25.736 Failure of Budget Super-Committee Shows Further Decay of Representative Democracy 0:45:27.090,0:45:30.362 The bipartisan bozos in Washington 0:45:30.362,0:45:34.000 - the super-committee tasked this summer with working out a new budget 0:45:34.046,0:45:38.587 by the day before Thanksgiving (that was yesterday - 0:45:38.587,0:45:43.810 I'm now saying, as I'm recording this podcast, but I wrote this blog on the 20th). 0:45:43.810,0:45:51.095 So, back on the 20th, just a few days to go, the bi-partisan bozos in Washington are reported 0:45:51.095,0:45:56.710 to be on the verge of announcing failure to reach agreement on a new budget. 0:45:56.710,0:46:02.531 This is after Congress and the President failed to reach agreement on a new budget this summer, 0:46:02.531,0:46:07.447 and instead created the super-committee to come up with a budget, 0:46:07.447,0:46:12.423 with a back-up of draconian cuts to major arteries of government, 0:46:12.423,0:46:15.429 ranging from the military to human services, 0:46:16.029,0:46:20.233 if a new budget was not agreed upon and approved by Congress. 0:46:21.664,0:46:28.801 Here is the upshot: at a time when our and the world's economy are in serious crisis 0:46:28.801,0:46:32.864 - at a time, in other words, in which government is more needed than ever - 0:46:32.864,0:46:38.813 our representative government in the United States is incapable of performing. 0:46:39.521,0:46:41.915 Part of it is their own fault. 0:46:41.915,0:46:48.848 The Senate is tied up because it has imposed upon itself a de facto requirement of 60 votes 0:46:48.848,0:46:51.905 to pass controversial legislation. 0:46:52.551,0:47:00.731 Constitutional scholar Lyle Denniston quotes Senator Jeff Merkley (Democrat from Oregon, not on the super-committee) 0:47:00.731,0:47:10.613 as noting that the Constitution, quote: "only specifies a, quote, 'supermajority', unquote, for a limited list of Senate actions. 0:47:10.613,0:47:17.228 Some of them are: ratification of treaties, conviction of a President in an impeachment trial, 0:47:17.228,0:47:22.251 overriding presidential vetoes, approving constitutional amendments ..." 0:47:22.774,0:47:25.536 End of Lyle Denniston's quote. 0:47:26.074,0:47:33.182 Nowhere does the Constitution say that 60 votes are required for difficult or controversial legislation 0:47:33.829,0:47:38.910 - indeed, I would argue that, the more pressing the need for some kind of legislation, 0:47:38.910,0:47:44.582 the more illogical and counterproductive it is to require 60 votes. 0:47:45.305,0:47:50.105 That's in addition to that requirement being extra-Constitutional. 0:47:51.182,0:47:53.870 But there is a deeper factor at work here, 0:47:53.870,0:47:59.513 one that goes beyond our elected representatives shooting themselves in their own feet. 0:47:59.513,0:48:07.695 Representative democracy may well be floundering because we finally have the means, in our digital age, 0:48:07.695,0:48:14.121 to govern ourselves, to discuss and vote upon pressing issues, directly. 0:48:14.983,0:48:20.582 If budgets were put to a direct majority up-or-down vote of the American people, 0:48:20.629,0:48:26.214 surely one would soon get 50% of the vote plus one. 0:48:26.214,0:48:30.162 Surely, in other words, a new budget would soon be adopted. 0:48:31.192,0:48:36.382 The digital revolution - social media, or what I call "new new media" - 0:48:36.398,0:48:38.829 have given us the means to do this. 0:48:39.521,0:48:45.213 Occupy Wall Street and the the Arab Spring are the leading expression of this. 0:48:45.213,0:48:48.895 Unsurprisingly, representative governments and dictatorships 0:48:48.895,0:48:52.982 are alike in opposing these developments. 0:48:53.567,0:48:57.029 But the tide of history is turning. 0:48:57.029,0:49:03.633 The representative governments and the dictatorships will both continue to decay, 0:49:03.648,0:49:06.921 and the people will emerge triumphant, 0:49:06.921,0:49:14.992 one hopes will less bloodshed overseas and less brutality in the United States, 0:49:14.992,0:49:17.631 than we've seen so far. 0:49:18.662,0:49:24.946 And that blog post from November 20th is the last one that I will present to you here 0:49:24.946,0:49:29.000 in Part 1 of the Occupy Wall Street Chronicles. 0:49:29.877,0:49:37.397 Obviously. events are still going on. I think we are in the most significant revolution in many ways 0:49:38.074,0:49:41.867 since in the United States, the American Revolution itself, 0:49:41.952,0:49:46.252 certainly since the protest against the Vietnam War in the 1960's. 0:49:46.252,0:49:52.029 And when you add into this the new media that I've been talking about, 0:49:52.044,0:49:57.775 media which the protesters can hold up in the face of police brutality, 0:49:57.775,0:50:07.752 and maybe not stop that brutality at that instant, because a cell phone can be beaten down by a club. 0:50:07.752,0:50:13.513 But if that cell phone can convey to the rest of the world what's going on, 0:50:13.513,0:50:21.121 for the first time in history, police can't get away with their brutal response to protesters. 0:50:22.044,0:50:28.759 This actually began with the beating of Rodney King, really the first time in our recent history, 0:50:28.759,0:50:36.275 that a police beating was seen by more people than those that happened to be there as it was happening. 0:50:37.029,0:50:41.882 So I'm optimistic indeed that the tide of history is beginning to turn. 0:50:42.467,0:50:46.213 In the meantime, those of you in America, I hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving 0:50:46.213,0:50:50.129 and those around the world, I hope you enjoy your Thursday. 0:50:50.129,0:50:57.275 And I'll be back here soon with additional thoughts on Occupy Wall Street. 0:50:57.275,0:50:58.882 Thanks for listening. 0:50:58.944,0:51:04.044 Hey, I'm back with you. I just came across this after I recorded the podcast. 0:51:04.044,0:51:16.021 It seems that on Wednesday, November 23, the NYPD has been ordered to let the press do its job. 0:51:16.021,0:51:22.967 And this obviously pertains directly to the NYPD - New York City cops - 0:51:23.013,0:51:30.636 not letting the media cover the story of the evacuation of Zuccotti Park. 0:51:30.636,0:51:32.875 This was reported in the New York Times. 0:51:32.875,0:51:35.144 So that's progress, that's good news. 0:51:35.975,0:51:43.613 As far as Mayor Bloomberg is concerned, however - he apparently ordered this change in police policy - 0:51:44.321,0:51:46.867 I still think he should be impeached. 0:51:47.452,0:51:52.767 We need a Mayor who gets the First Amendment right the first time. 0:51:53.377,0:51:59.375 A lot of damage was done when the police arrested and roughed up reporters. 0:52:00.275,0:52:05.564 But I'll have more to say about this and ongoing developments in Occupy Wall Street, 0:52:05.564,0:52:12.449 and how all this relates to Facebook, Twitter, and the resurgence of the direct democracy, 0:52:13.203,0:52:20.295 in my next podcast, in which I'll continue the Occupy Wall Street Chronicles. 0:52:20.895,0:52:28.621 I'm Paul Levinson. You can listen to this and any other episode on Light On Light Through anytime. 0:52:29.098,0:52:38.734 at LIGHTONLIGHTTHROUGHdotCom. 0:52:39.781,0:52:41.892 [woman] The Light On Light Through podcast. 0:52:41.946,0:53:08.526 [music]