By Jerry Waxman

It really had to be important. Yes, the White House had a message so important that it couldn’t have been given in the Oval Office. It needed the right atmosphere for maximum effect. It was so important that the details were not released until 24 hours before the event. So important was it that the media hardly had time to respond for clearance by the 12:30 PM Wednesday deadline. I didn’t get the message until 8:00 Wednesday evening. Such important stuff can’t wait. During the years 1967 through 1969 I had top secret clearance when I was in the service so I know how important these important things can be. By the time I responded the White House web site’s Reservation Page had been taken off line; after all, important things can’t wait.

Given that I’ve enjoyed secret clearance in the past and have been cleared by seven Central Florida school boards as well as Broward County plus press clearance for Joe Biden’s speech at the Florida Democratic Convention not three months ago I figured that I would have no problem getting cleared for the press area in the Magic Kingdom. Wrong-O! The young security guard at the parking lot at the Contemporary Hotel said that if I wasn’t on the list I couldn’t gain access to the press area. This was the same security guard who personally walked me through the Joe Biden event. No one seemed to be willing to make phone calls to their superiors so that I could gain access. I guess that it is so important that they didn’t want as much local press there as possible, or else they were much too busy, after all this important event had international implications. This was so important that Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer had to leave the US Mayors Conference in Washington D.C. and hop a ride on Air Force One to be here where the President introduced him with the adjective “Outstanding”. Wow! Talk about being out of touch.

Okay, so I drove home and watched it on my 52” HD screen and recorded the whole thirteen minutes while eating a casual lunch. Yes the whole thirteen minutes. Hardly worth the effort considering the travel arrangements: the use of Air Force One, causing delays of traffic to and from the airport and all the hoopla attached to a presidential visit. You would think that all this important stuff was announcing that Medical Science has just found the cure for Cancer and Diabetes combined. If that were only true. The real reason for this was to announce to the world that in addition to the Travel Promotion Act which helps reduce the wait time for people in other countries to get visas to travel here the President was going to direct the State Department to include countries with growing economies, citing China, Brazil and India, on the speeded up list in order to kick start an increase in tourism, not just here in Florida, but all over the country. “We Can’t Wait” is the order of the day referring to Congress’s lethargic attitude toward job creation.

The sky was blue, and high above…………

Yes it was a picture perfect day in which the President was framed in front of Cinderella’s castle in a perfect setting to discuss his initiative. He was personable, self-deprecating and jocular enough claiming that it would be the first time his daughters envied him and pointing out that with Mickey Mouse in attendance someone finally has bigger ears than he. All he needed was Tinker Bell fluttering around spreading magic dust. He wanted to make the US top tourist destination in the world. More tourism equals more jobs as the saying goes. Sure, the intention is good-no one would argue that. But tourism is the last industry that is going to spur high paying, meaningful and lasting career employment. High speed rail, revitalization of the Space Coast, meaningful manufacturing jobs and high paying technical jobs are what is needed. Citing a conservative code word he said “Florida is open for business”. Hey, Mr. President, I’ve got news for you. So are 49 other states, some of which actually know how to attract good businesses. Tourism is the last thing we need, but it’s all we can get. Tourists from overseas don’t see our crumbling infrastructure, our impoverished school systems, our dismal cultural scene where we have no symphony, no ballet, no opera company, no first class professional resident theaters-the kind of assets that attract businesses to the area where their executive have to live. Tourists are in a bubble from the time they fly in until the time they fly out. Pure Fantasyland.

Instead, we are asking the $13.00 an hour (or less) Indian techies who are working in call centers that used to support American workers at much better money, Chinese sewing machine operators working for American manufacturers who used to employ American sewers, who probably have to save for years to make the trip and Brazilian laborers who are raping their ecology at the expense of the world’s health to come here so that Disney can employ more $7.00 an hour maids, porters, janitors and busboys. The irony of all this is that Disney will then be able to take advantage of a proposed tax break, offered by the Orange County Commission, that few citizens of the county even know about. There is a Republican primary election on Jan. 31, yet there is a ballot initiative that affects all county residents. In the dark secrecy of night the county commission slipped this initiative in, cognizant that only registered Republicans would be aware of it in any significant numbers. The proposal wants to eliminate property taxes for new businesses coming to the county and existing businesses who promise to create jobs, with no checking system for accountability. Disney wins either way. An economist friend of mine, Jim Callahan, pointed out that Disney now owns Pixar, and if they wanted to they could help the economy of the area just by opening a Pixar unit attached to a university here that would bring jobs that pay much more than $7.00 per hour. Speaking of tourist related jobs, the proposed high speed rail, vetoed by Rick Scott not only lost the money coming into the state, but caused highly technical high paying firms like Siemens to take 2500 jobs out of the state and move to North Carolina. Siemens is not alone. Replacing those jobs is going to be difficult. It’s time to get out of Fantasyland and step into the real world.

Another area that the president could have promoted is the artistic community here and elsewhere. Former Florida Secretary of State Sandra Mortham specifically singled out the arts as having returned four dollars to the local economy for every dollar invested, and a healthy arts community attracts tourism. New York’s Broadway couldn’t survive without the tourist business, oh and guess who controls a lot of Broadway theaters? A healthy arts community of theater, opera, ballet and symphony plus a healthy education system would attract actual business here that would build their offices here, executives and other employees who would buy houses here thereby adding to the local tax base and economy, something tourists do not do.

So much more could have been talked about concerning meaningful job creation but it will have to wait until another time. It was very important to be here to help Disney make more money despite their record profits last year. Well, time to go. After all, he had to go to New York and channel Al Green at a fund raiser; now that’s very important.

By Jerry Waxman

Mother, PLEASE!  I’d rather do it myself!

This has been a pretty full four day weekend for the activist community in Orlando. Celebrating Martin Luther King’s birthday took the wind out of the sails of other activities which should have been included in the festivities because the cause of freedom and equality is directly related to today’s activism. First activity of note was the press conference on Friday, Jan 13 at 10:00 AM by State Reps Darren Soto and Scott Randolph who have introduced HAR 1337, a bill which would allow for vacant Orange County Commission seats to be decided by local elections rather than by appointment from the Governor.

The most recently elected commissioner from District Three, Mildred Fernandez, was removed by then Governor Charlie Crist on alleged charges of corruption. Crist appointed her opponent, Lu Damiani to the post as a babysitter until the results of Fernandez’s trial proved her innocence or guilt.  From all reports Orange County Mayor was satisfied with Damiani and the commission even drew up redistricting plans which favored his election chances. District three is heavily Hispanic and much of that growth has happened since the last redistricting ten years ago. The Black, Latino and Hispanic Alliance, now renamed The Alliance for Justice had been lobbying hard to form a minority district so that their members would have a constant voice on the commission, but to no avail. The new district now has less Hispanics than it did before. Once Fernandez pleaded no contest to the charges the Governor stepped into action and declared to Mayor Jacobs that he wanted a Republican in the seat. Commission seats are supposed to be non-partisan. John Martinez, son of former U.S. Senator Mel Martinez was chosen over Republican Hispanic candidates who actually lived in the district. The Alliance for Justice and Occupy Orlando demonstrated vehemently at Martinez swearing in ceremony.

At a recent bi-partisan County Watch meeting Martinez was guest speaker, telling the assembled about how he was appointed, confirming Governor Scott’s statement that he wanted a Republican in that seat. Picking Martinez over other candidates from the community was a move to shore up support from the still powerful South Florida Cuban community for Scott’s reelection bid in 2014. Outside the meeting members of The Alliance for Justice were protesting vowing never to accept him as their commissioner.

HAR 1337 would end these kinds of appointments and allow for special local elections in the district. Here’s the full video of the press conference and a follow up interview with Trini Quiroz, one of the founders of the Alliance.

Chalk up another win!

 

Occupy Orlando stalwart, Tim Osmar showed that you can beat City Hall, and in doing so you can humiliate city officials and law enforcement in general. Osmar’s release from jail made both national and international headlines when news services picked up the article in the Orlando Sentinel. Osmar was arrested for writing on City Hall sidewalks in chalk. There is a city ordinance against sidewalk chalking for advertising and promotion, which Mayor Dyer ignored two years ago when he encouraged local business owners to promote The Orlando Magic’s chances in the NBA Playoffs by chalking their sidewalks among other ways to promote the team. Orlando Sentinel Columnist Scott Maxwell

made mention of it in his January 12 article. Osmar missed the holidays spending three weeks in jail instead. He was released and charges dropped because the city contended that he would have served that time if convicted. The real reason is that there’s no way the city could have made those charges stick. Tim’s position is that he was exercising his first amendment right to protest and that his rights were violated both by the police and his overlong incarceration. Tim’s attorney, Richard Wilson, a prominent first amendment specialist is sharpening his fangs and whetting his appetite to put the city in federal court for the abuse that Tim and a few others have suffered. Other occupiers who have been arrested on trespassing charges are expecting to have the charges dropped or be found innocent as well. Once Tim was released Crayola’s stock should have gone up by 5 or 6 points. His release opened the floodgates for occupiers to state their grievances over every square inch of walkable surfaces at City Hall.

A scheduled action for the afternoon by the Direct Action team was to occupy the former site of Occupy Orlando, Senator Beth Johnson Park which houses the Orlando Chamber of Commerce, which they consider to be a wholly owned subsidiary of the city of Orlando. The Chamber sits on city owned land and pays by special arrangement $1.00 per year for rent. Research shows that the relationship between the city and the Chamber goes far beyond the landlord-tenant relationship. Traditionally, local chambers do have good relationships with cities they are in and they should. Governments should work for the economic benefit of all residents and businesses in their constituencies, but they have to draw the line about where that stops, especially where taxpayer dollars are being used without any perceivable benefit to taxpayers as a whole. City Commissioner Robert Stuart and Chamber bigwig Jacob Stuart are brothers. In a city the size of Orlando that’s not unusual. What is unusual is the way the Chamber is set up as several different entities that receive money from the city that does not get spent to better the economic situation of the city itself. Recently, mayoral candidate Michael Cantone criticized the giving of $63,000.00 in city funds ostensibly for an “entrepreneurial academy” is a blatant attempt to get Chamber support for his reelection. Also, on January 10 the Orlando Business Journal reported that Central Florida Workforce may have given the Chamber a questionable and maybe illegal donation of a $300,000.00 gift to promote “economic development”. Critics say that this is nothing more than funneling PAC money to Chamber friendly politicians such as Mayor Dyer, Dean Cannon, Chris Dorworth and others. A few years ago this might have gone under the radar but today with all of the communications and networking sites available very little is going to avoid scrutiny and the occupiers and activists are keenly aware of this. It would be asking too much of Florida’s Attorney General to investigate this because she’s too busy firing good prosecutors. Eric Holder on the other hand seems to be finding his mojo recently so there may yet be hope that these shenanigans might be curtailed.

When you see me coming better step aside

So, freshly armed with “The Chalk Conspiracy” exoneration, the intrepid direct action team showed up at the Chamber and proceeded to chalk up the entrance to the chamber while chanting their disapproval. The protest went along until a Chamber employee called the Police. The first policeman was good natured about it, however the second to arrive was as arrogant as could be and deliberately sped into the Chamber parking lot just missing an occupier. He stopped short and admonished the young man saying (sic) “Get out of my way when you see me driving up!” He then spent the rest of his time talking with the chamber people and his superior. If anyone wants to delve more deeply into Mr. Macho’s act here’s a picture of his car:

We were not able to photograph his badge number or name but this should be a good starting point. The other policeman had a much cooler head and kept his cool. The decision was to let Occupy Orlando protest on the sidewalk leaving space for people to walk by. The reason given was that some female employees felt threatened by the occupiers. That did not go over well with the occupiers or the representatives of the Florida Civil Rights Association who were there to observe. In response the hero of the day Tim Osmar mic checked the group and started a Hokey Pokey routine where the group tested the limits of their patience. After a few more minutes of protest the group felt that it had accomplished its mission it was time to go back to City Hall and get signage ready for the MLK Parade in Orlando.

A small boy walked down a city street, and hope was in his eyes. As he searched the faces of the people he’d meet, or one he could recognize.

Although the official celebration for Martin Luther King Day is Monday, January 16, several celebrations take place over the weekend. Two of these events, parades, take place in Orange County: one in Orlando and one in the city of Eatonville. Activists from Occupy Orlando and the Florida Civil Rights Association, Central Florida AFL-CIO, the Orange County Democrats and UCF College Democrats participated in both celebrations. There were 109 entries in the parade representing schools, fraternities, city and county agencies, fraternities, sororities, African American churches and politicians of every stripe. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orlando City Commissioner led off the parade. Not to be outdone, Orange County Government, led by County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, put together a large float reminiscent of Animal House. State Senator Gary Siplin and District 5 School Board member Kat Gordon both took part. Next in line was US Congresswoman Corrine Brown. Bringing up the rear were Public Defender Bob Wesley, Tax Assessor candidate Rick Singh, Orange County Democrats with new chairman Scott Randolph, Belle Isle Commissioner Lydia Pisano, former Congressman Alan Grayson, and State Attorney candidate Jeff Ashton.

Brother, where are you? They told me that you came this way. Brother, where are you?
They said you came this way.

What was notable about the parade was who didn’t march. There wasn’t any organized effort by the LGBT community to participate. This seems awfully odd given that the city which sponsors the event and the mayor have recently passed a domestic partners registry that benefits the entire LGBT community. There are many reasons to disagree with the mayor’s agenda but this is not one of them. Martin Luther King was about equality for all regardless of race, religion, and gender or lifestyle choice and (to me) it is an absolute offense to his memory that they did not participate. They certainly know how to stage and handle their own parades and events when they want to. This should have been a no-brainer. Another group notable for its absence is the Jewish community. No other ethnic group in history faced both slavery and wholesale extermination and the Jewish community should have a rock solid affinity with the preaching of Dr. King which transcends religion. Sixty years ago the Jewish community was at the forefront of the Civil Rights movement and many of them gave their lives in that pursuit. Since Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath it is perfectly understandable that there were no marchers, but that doesn’t prevent Jewish organizations from enlisting the help of other organizations and churches to carry the banners for them. In orthodox communities there is always the resident “goy” who turns on the electricity or lights the gas and performs any work task that needs to be done. The newly formed Alliance for Justice had some individual members marching with other groups but there was no show of numbers. If they are protesting their treatment by county government they need to show that they have sufficient numbers and this was a prime opportunity. Same goes for the Asian and Muslim communities.

Other than Coca Cola corporate America had no representation. Neither Disney, Universal nor the Chamber, whose members willingly take our money, took advantage of the day to give back something. Kudos to the unions that did participate, but noticeably absent were the Teachers, and the Trades in any significant numbers. There are over 70,000 union members in Central Florida. There are over 30,000 employees, both union and non-union, involved in Public Education in Orange County alone. All of these people are under fierce attack by radical conservative legislators at state and federal levels yet it seems that they won’t speak up for themselves when they have a prime opportunity to do so. The Republican Party had no representation, nor did any white churches who should at least have some kind of ecumenical policy for events like this. Fortunately for all concerned very little media attention was paid to the event. Sunday’s Sentinel had one picture with a small caption buried on page 3 in the B section. The Highland Games got better coverage. The TV stations gave perhaps 15 seconds of air time to the event. Perhaps the organizers should reach out to more people for next year’s parade.

If non participation was the order of the day on Saturday it was partially made up for on Sunday evening when Shiloh Baptist Church held a multi-faith service attended by almost every ethnicity and faith. Mayor Dyer, to his credit, spoke of the need to practice those principles espoused by Dr. King every day. Keynote speaker the Rev. Jim Coffin repeated the sentiments espoused by every other speaker and added “The disparity between rich and poor is no less than it was in his day. We are just as willing to resort to war as we were when he was alive. …In other words, we still have a lot of ground to cover before darkness is dispelled and light reigns supreme.” It seems that we as a society still have a lot to learn and far to travel. Dr. King’s work has barely begun.

 

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep,
and miles to go before I sleep……………… and miles to go before I sleep.

By Jerry Waxman

I don’t want French fried potatoes, red ripe tomatoes, I’m never satisfied….

 

Okay, so it’s not Pre-Prohibition Delmonico’s, nor is it Maxim’s of Paris. It’s not even close to Horn and Hardart’s Automat. For that matter you get more choice at any fast food burger joint. What you don’t get from these other establishments is the love, caring and selfless dedication that goes into presenting and preparing every morsel that appears on the food tables at Occupy Orlando, and every other occupation site. The al fresco dining arrangements are not quite as elegant as those, say on Las Olas Boulevard or Park Avenue or the Rue de la Paix but nobody seems to be complaining.

Christmas dinner consisted of roast turkey, honey baked style ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, string beans, Brussels sprouts, selections of pasta and salad. Desserts were pumpkin and apple pies, cupcakes, cookies and a fabulous gingerbread layout

of the original occupation site at Senator Beth Johnson Park.

 

The unsung heroes of all the occupations are the people who keep the food coming. Every day new donations arrive from people just like you and I who may or may not do anything else yet feel the need to contribute something. Every time the city comes up with new barriers to overcome the food team uses its collective imagination and finds a way to deliver. Every day volunteers come and take the food that needs preparation home so that hot meals can be served. City regulations do not allow cooking of any type on site. They outdid themselves for this special day.

 

The move from Ivanhoe Boulevard is having a beneficial effect. Approximately 50 people have been arrested since the occupation began and most of them were for trespassing. They were denied access to the park, which won’t happen at City Hall. Since they can’t camp out or have permanent structures they follow the rules and there’s nothing the city can do about it. The number of occupiers has just grown to include the trespassers. The occupation is also much closer to the seats of power in both the city and the county and they will continue to occupy those chambers as is necessary. They also can march with signs along much more crowded streets to the approving honks of a lot of cars. The shouts of “Get a job!” or other epithets are few and far between. Working groups and teach ins are attracting a lot more people. GAs are becoming less tedious and more pointed. The redistricting and political lessons being learned are having their effect.

 

This week many occupiers are away visiting family and enjoying a much needed R&R from the rigors needed to be there every day, yet a goodly amount still showed up for Christmas dinner. It was a genial group that talked about their individual experiences. During the holidays there’s not much being done but come the first of the year this group is going to become more active and make its presence felt. Those 50 arrestees are not going to gentle into that good night. The courts are going to have their hands full all at city expense for absolutely ridiculous charges, and the city’s frivolity is going to cost the taxpayers a lot of money for nothing. The direct action team is going to come up with more imaginative ways to occupy, and cause the city and county a lot of heartburn, especially since it’s an election year. It’s going to be a long winter. Be prepared to take a lot of Prilosec.

 

I want the frim-fram sauce with the ausen fey, with chafafa on the side.

(Now if you don’t have it, just bring me a check for the water!)

 

By Jerry Waxman

 

 

“All the world’s a stage”

 

Composers Duke Ellington and Richard Strauss are both attributed to have said (each in their own way) that there are only two kinds of music: good music and bad music. The same could be said of any artistic expression including theatre. Some very bad Theatre of the Absurd occurred at the Orange County Commission swearing in ceremony on Monday, Dec. 19 at 1:00 PM, and some very good Theatre of the Absurd occurred at the Orange County Courthouse at roughly the same time. One of the things that Occupy Orlando must deal with is scheduling priorities in order to have maximum media coverage for effect.

 

Prologue

 

 “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark Florida”

 

Some theatrical productions are done on the cheap, yet can be very effective in conveying the intent of the playwright. Other productions can be overblown and overproduced with bad direction and even worse acting. “The Swearing in Ceremony” as we’ll call it is bad theatre at its supreme worst. Six months in preproduction the Orange County Commission (the producer) was mandated to come up with a redistricting plan as a result of the 2010 Census. Redistricting is mandated in all 50 states at all levels of elected government, from congressional elections on down to city districts. Incumbents use this as an effective tool to choose their voters rather than the other way around using logical geographical boundaries. Numerous meetings were held to redraw the boundaries and numerous plans were drawn to be decided on. Hearings were held and public input was invited, not out of the goodness of their hearts mind you, but because a very sensible law says that they must hold public hearings. Every civic group including the bi-partisan County Watch was for a sensible redistricting plan. While all the county districts had boundaries in play the battle heating up was on district three. The elected commissioner from District Three which had a huge influx of Hispanic residents since the 2000 Census had been Mildred Fernandez who got caught in a corruption scandal and was replaced by then Governor Charlie Crist with Luigi Damiani, a non Hispanic who had narrowly lost to Fernandez. Damiani was an independent and as such would not necessarily vote the way former Mayor Rich Crotty or current Mayor Teresa Jacobs would like but he had a stake in lessening the Latin impact in his district so that he could run for the seat. The commission didn’t want another ethnic minority district either. After all, that could also be a threat to their power. The final plan that the commission approved on November 29 came literally from left field. No one had seen it before, or if they had they masked it very well, yet from out of nowhere the plan came forth and was approved. The plan reduced the impact of the proposed Hispanic district and other minority areas. Once that was accomplished it was time for Damiani to exit stage left.

“What’s done is done”

It was now a question of who would replace Damiani. Several qualified people applied for the position including two Republican Puerto Ricans at the urging of Republican power broker Lew Oliver. Mayor Teresa Jacobs met with Governor Rick Scott just after the redistricting decision to come up with an acceptable choice. According to Jacobs it was Scott who pulled John Martinez out of the hat. Scott had said that whoever was appointed to the position must not run for reelection in 20012 and Martinez agreed. Speculation is that John’s father, Mel Martinez had a lot to do with it. Everyone is denying it but it certainly appears that way. You remember Mel Martinez; before he didn’t finish his term in the US Senate he didn’t finish his term as County Chief Executive and didn’t finish his term as Republican Party Chairman and didn’t finish his term as Secretary of HUD etc. etc. ad nauseum. While he doesn’t exhibit the bombast of a Sarah Palin and he’s nowhere near as vociferous he’s the personification of the one per cent chasing the Peter Principle. Born into a wealthy family in Cuba, he has ties to powerful and influential families, including his own. He is the perfect example of the upwardly mobile one per center in action. He now serves as an international banker for Chase. How much more one per cent can you get? The fact that his son now has the chance to make a name for himself smacks of the worst kind of nepotism-he doesn’t have to run for the office, and he has the chance to position himself for further political appointments and future elections with name recognition. It doesn’t matter that he has no ties to the community he represents. That’s a direct slap in the face to everyone in the county, not just District Three.

 

What doesn’t make sense is why Teresa Jacobs made a Faustian deal with Mephistopheles Scott-or does it? Scott has an approval level lower than the Marianna Trench and is continuing to fall so he has nothing to lose by making a deal with her. She has a lot to lose if things don’t go right, but she also has a lot to gain. She will continue to control the County Commission and in District Three’s reduced capacity there is probably no chance that a minority candidate will be elected. The 2012 election is already rigged in favor of the one per cent in District Three. Scott and his political cronies can shovel heaps of money her way to insure her re-election and she will by necessity have to give lip service endorsement to him. The Hispanic, Black and Latino Alliance members are justifiably up in arms at the total lack of respect they have been shown by Mayor Jacobs and the Commission. If the scheme works she’s home free, but if it fails does she have an escape clause like Old Joe Boyd? Will she be able to deny her endorsement and not return his money if he screws up even more than he has? What she will never gain back is her integrity. Wow! It must really mean that much to her.

 

“The Play’s the Thing”

 

So far, what has been written in theatrespeak is called “exposition.” It is a device used by playwrights to advance the plot from what has gone on before to real time now. “The Swearing in Ceremony” is a one act play with two scenes. As the curtain rises on Scene one, we see a crowd of protesters demonstrating on the sidewalk in front of the County Commission. Led by Doug Head, they are a coalition of the Hispanic, Black and Latino Alliance along with members of Occupy Orlando protesting the appointment of John Martinez to the Orange County Commission seat for District Three. Head went on to explain the feeling of disenfranchisement that the community is feeling for the advantage of the people in power. Further insight into the problem is provided by State District 49 Representative Darren Soto. End of scene 1 Curtain.

 

Scene 2. At rise the commission chamber is filling up. The protesters are filling up as many seats as possible and got in prior to the white glove crowd and power brokers. There are about forty of them altogether. The introduction has to wait because several Martinez family members and some one percent power brokers have not yet arrived. Finally the moment arrives and Martinez is sworn in. As he starts to speak the protesters start to boo and demonstrate which follows through the whole ceremony.The white glove crowd tries to overcome this by cheering and clapping loudly. Even the mayor is booed when she calls for civility. Here’s the video of the entire event. End scene 2. Upon exiting you could audibly hear catcalls from the white glovers. One particular exchange went this way: White glover: “You should be ashamed of the way you acted!”  Alliance member: “No! You should be ashamed of yourself and your  politicians that we have to act this way!” That woman has probably never had anyone speak to her that way before and she better get used to it.

 

“Good night, sweet prince.”

 

There was a press conference after the ceremony to spin the events with only media members invited. To attend would have made us miss the other drama “The Funeral of the Bill of Rights” being acted out at the courthouse. The cast included at least 30 members of Occupy Orlando eulogizing the Bill of Rights. Although individual liberties are not completely dead they have been severely curtailed due to recent Supreme Court decisions and the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which authorizes the military to detain anyone including American citizens for an indefinite period of time without access to counsel or trial as terrorists if so deemed by the President with or without cause. This Kafkaesque scenario is both frightening and saddening. In the hands of a President Obama most people would relatively be safe, however, think of the consequences if that power were given to a President Gingrich say, or a President Santorum or Perry. That’s really frightening. This minimalist scene in front of the courthouse was true to absurdist tradition with participants dealing with the futility of the situation and it was genuinely touching. Exeunt

 

 

 

Epilogue

 

“And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances”

 

Absurd as the two plays are the central theme is how ordinary people deal with futility and frustration before they find the courage to overcome their self imposed barriers (or roadblocks) and act. Mayor Jacobs either isn’t aware of or doesn’t care that these protests are a reaction to her arbitrary and cavalier attitude towards both redistricting and minority representation. It’s rather disingenuous of her to berate the protestors lamenting the loss of civility when she is the cause of it. That’s like Dr. Frankenstein asking the villagers to accept the monster even as it wreaks havoc. Doesn’t she understand that she is the elected representative of the 99% as well as the 1%, and there are many more of the 99ers? She’s about to find out the hard way. If she wants the civility she speaks of she might start respecting her constituents the way she would like to be respected. She caused it-she can remedy it. The press reported both events almost accurately. We’re taking Dave Damron to task for underreporting the Alliance and Occupation numbers with a page one article. Had the funeral occupiers coordinated with the Alliance occupiers there would have been over 70 protesters in a room that legally holds 138. You’d better believe that would change the dynamic causing those white gloves to turn ashen with sweat. Sentinel reporter Jon Busdeker, in as few words as possible, on page A4 at least captured the mood and tone of the solemn funeral event.

 

“Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air:”

By Jerry Waxman

Marching on K Street at 16th

Take back your mink. Take back your pearls.

What made you think that I was one of those girls?

Tuesday, Dec. 6. They are coming from all corners of 46 states. It started yesterday. The groups from Florida left on Monday at various times. The Philadelphia contingent came in early this afternoon. Boston, Wisconsin and many others are still arriving. The Central Florida group, thirteen strong, arrived at 9:00 Tuesday after 16 hours on the road in a van packed like a can of sardines. We had to stop every couple of hours just to shift body positions because we were so tightly packed. Why, I ask myself, does this septuagenarian body have to subject itself to the indignities suffered on the ride as well as roughing it in the rain in a tent and a sleeping bag? I’m not sure of the answer yet but the experience so far has been great, plus I’m none the worse for wear. So, let’s just say that it was important to experience the feeling.

Take Back the Capitol is not an occupation; It is an action sponsored by various groups with the lead sponsor being the SEIU. The group that left from Tampa is with the Florida Consumer Action Network. The purpose of all these actions is to bring to the attention of Congress the importance of their participating in the creation of meaningful employment (I hate the term jobs) and the extension of unemployment benefits without cutting funds from necessary programs such as Medicare. Delegations visited many of the congressional office to speak to their particular senators and representatives. They spoke mostly to their staffers. There was one incident in Missouri Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler’s (R-MO4) office where there was a constituent arrested for refusing to leave before he talked to her. A delegation from Oregon visited John Boehner’s office and were met with five Capitol Police ordering them out or else. Similar incidents happened throughout the Capitol building all day. 150 members of the Florida delegation went to Senator Marco Rubio’s office and were offered a glass of water but little else. Sure, they talked to a couple of staffers who were pleasant and said nothing in some of the most creative ways imaginable, but Rubio, coward that he is, never left his personal space to even acknowledge them. So far, we’ve not heard of any Republican legislator actually meeting face to face with their constituents while some Democratic lawmakers did meet constituents. A delegation from Minnesota could not get in to see Michelle Bachmann yet Keith Ellison came out of his office and gave them significant time. At 5:00 PM it was time for the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony and a huge contingent was amassing to go. Our group was standing outside the food tent conversing with several occupiers from all over. One twenty-something young lady who has been visiting many different occupations (with no visible means of support) overheard me say that I was pitching my tent at McPherson and asked if she could share the tent with me. It was obvious by her sweet tone and body language what she meant and I was flattered by it. A much younger, more hormonally charged me would already have had the tent pegs in the ground as I was saying yes. The older and wiser me, not wanting to outright refuse her, looking at Billy, one of our traveling group, said as diplomatically as possible, “I need to check with my tent mate. ”She said, “That’s okay, I love threesomes” to which I replied “That’s cool, but Billy doesn’t; he wants me all to himself.” It worked and I didn’t see her again. By the way, Billy is gay. Also, we had all been pre-booked into a hotel and there was no way I was pitching a tent in the dark while it was raining.

Take back the gown, the gloves and the hat.

I may be down, but I’m not flat as all that.

The Occupation got its turn at 9:00 PM. While the Occupation is not the reason for Take Back the Capitol, many members of occupations all over the country were in Washington for the event. The first ever National General Assembly was held at the base of the Washington monument with a crowd of several hundred participating. People who spoke came from as far away as Hawaii. Here are several videos featuring occupiers from Oakland, Washington DC, Charleston W. VA., Chicago, Duluth, Minn.,

Houston,Tex., Los Angeles, Boston, Seattle, and Madison, Wisconsin. I met up with the young man from Kansas City who had been arrested. He claimed to have been treated well by the Capitol police and that he was falsely arrested for trespassing when the sign on Hartzler’s door clearly read “Please Come In.”

I thought that each expensive gift you arranged was a token of your esteem

But when I think of what you want in return, it all seems a horrible dream….EEEEEK!

Wednesday, Dec 7. It started out raining and hasn’t stopped yet. It’s also getting colder. The mall looks like a giant mud wrestling ring. I wonder if the groundskeepers enjoy their work. This morning I did not go with the group. I decided to revisit the Marco Rubio’s offices. I took the shuttle bus to Union Station where it’s just a short walk to the Capitol building. Before my sojourn I decided to look around this elegant relic from the past. It’s a throwback to the time of elegant travel by rail with shops and kiosks that provide the traveler and tourist with everything they need; elegant and prole food services as well as jewelry, clothing and knick knacks. I needed an umbrella so I went to a souvenir stand and picked up one with the White House trademark on it. “Don’t buy that one” said the cute as a button clerk who looked and sounded like Butterfly McQueen.” That one doesn’t hold up! “Here, buy this one,” handing me one with the Smithsonian logos all over it. “This one is much better made, and if you’re a veteran I’ll give you a discount.” How could I resist a pitch like that?

There were significantly less people at Marco Rubio’s office than there were Tuesday, but this crowd from One Miami was not giving up. I spoke briefly with organizer Jose Suarez as he explained that Rubio just doesn’t care about his constituents and only serves special interests. As we were speaking, magnificently coiffed tailored suits and skirts galore were gaining access to the inner sanctum and shortly thereafter leaving as if on schedule to their next clients and the office staff couldn’t be more pleasant to them while at the same time condescending to the not so elegantly dressed Miami folks.

“That’s enough of watching K Streeters ply their trade” thought I, and after a brief but pleasant visit to Bill Nelson’s office where he did say “Hi” to me,  it was time to head over to the K Street protest march, and that’s a very long walk from the Hart Building (so I took a taxi-but don’t tell anyone).

By the time the marchers reached 16^th Street they numbered well over 1000 bodies, shutting down traffic and effectively paralyzing the whole area. A group of 16 locked arms behind the marching banners and refused to budge literally volunteering to be arrested. Throughout all this the rain constantly poured down, and the temperature continued to drop. Peoples clothing and feet were literally soaked to the bone yet they continued to go on marching and protesting. Several more arrests were made including two from our traveling group, Billy and Ashley, who were arrested at the Supreme Court Wednesday evening. In all over 60 people were arrested. Also on the same evening several 99ers mic checked a fund raiser for Newt Gingrich at the Willard Hotel. They were eventually ejected by security guards.

Thursday was sunny and it warmed up slightly in the morning. The soupy mud from Wednesday had coagulated into brown pancake makeup, but at least our feet were dry. The big action today was the march on John Boehner’s office. This first video shows the march from the tent city to the Capitol Park. This next video shows the marchers arriving at the park with members of the AFL-CIO handing out flowers. This short video has the marchers singing while occupying. 99 people, representing the 99% were selected to lead the march. John Boehner never appeared and the Capitol Police told everybody to leave. A whole group of marchers entered Boehner’s office and refused to leave until he came out. Jennifer Carpenter from Rochester, Minn. 35 and unemployed with a huge college debt was one of the protesters who refused to leave, however her bus back to Minnesota was leaving at 3:00 with or without her so she had a difficult choice.

After the march Jesse Jackson paid a visit and we all had an opportunity to shake hands an briefly speak to him. Here’s a poor quality video from my phone of most of his speech. My regular video camera wasn’t working. After lunch people started to pack up and leave the mall. There were some other actions going on, but my group wanted to get some sightseeing in before we returned to Florida. We also had had no contact with Billy or Ashley and were not aware that they had been arrested until later in the day. I did have a delightful conversation with a photojournalist named Jeff Malet, who is a Philadelphia native like me and a fellow Huffington Post blogger. I also spoke with my new friend Gordy Carpenter, Jennifer’s father and a retired high school science teacher about helping Jennifer get a job with people I know who would love to have a franchise in Minnesota.

Our group agreed to meet at the food tent at 6:00 and leave after dinner, assuming that our jailbirds were free. They appeared at 7:00, however their personal things had not been released yet so we had to wait for them as well as Jay, who’s mission was to get as many members of congress to sign on to a resolution to revive the Civilian Conservation Corps. He visited over 100 congressional offices and got a lot of supportive lip service from staffers. He was able to speak with Betty Castor (D) Tampa and Marcy Kaptur (D) Ohio who were solidly behind the idea. The only negative feedback was from Bill Young, his own congressman. By 9:30 we were all ready to go, but our group leader, Deb was a little miffed at having to pick up Jay. The trip home was long and mostly uneventful, yet a bond now exists between us and the thousands of participants, whom, despite their personal agendas agree that things must change.

So, take back your mink, from whence it came,

And tell them to HOLLANDERIZE it for some other dame! © Frank Loesser

*Author’s note- some of the videos and the K Street photo were supplied to me by a fellow blogger and new friend, David Safier of the Blog for Arizona. My camera broke down and he graciously allowed me to use his photos and videos.

By Jerry Waxman

 

  

 

 

 

 

Mmm  mmm  mmm  Would you like to take a walk?

Mmm  mmm  mmm  Do you think it’s gonna rain?

Thursday, Nov. 17 in Orlando did not start out as the most promising day. At 1:30 PM the sky was overcast and the threat of rain was imminent. The AFL-CIO had originally scheduled the day as an action to call attention to America’s crumbling infrastructure by demonstrating on bridges in many cities throughout the country. Occupy Orlando and many other occupations were quick to lend their support and, as witnessed in OWS in New York, the results were spectacular. The police actions the previous day only intensified OWS efforts on the Brooklyn Bridge complete with their own bat signal for encouragement.

Orlando’s action was not that spectacular. The clouds lifted by 4:00 which was a relief as the action was called for at 5:00. The spot chosen was in the southwestern part of Orlando at the Conroy Rd. Bridge over I-4 which leads into the Millennia Mall, the newest symbol of the upscale 1% big box stores hungry for your dollar. Occupation members joined the members of the AFL-CIO in sign waving and chanting for over an hour. The Orlando press was out in force, with all TV stations as well as the local Univision unit and the Orlando Sentinel interviewing anyone they could as the sun slowly faded into the western sky. The crowd of approximately 100 eventually migrated toward the eastern end of the bridge at the entrance to the mall. Passersby in cars honked continuously in support. Sure, there were a few who shouted “Get a job!” as they drove by, but they were few in number. At 6:00 the assembled waved and chanted for the cameras. And that was it-on to other things

mmm…mmm…mmm aint you tired of the talkies.

I prefer the walkies; something’ good will come from that.©

 

Would you like to take a walk By Harry Warren, Mort Dixon, Billy Rose

 

Other Matters

I’m in touch with my attorney Bernie

In a clutch he can speed right to the scene

and if I’m locked up in the jail

with just one phone call for my bail

He said to call his club collect

or deal directly with his answering machine

 

Any occupation needs a good legal team, and the Orlando Occupation is no exception. To quote another line from Dave Frishberg, “It’s amazing all the different things your average guy might need a lawyer for.” Orlando has an exceptionally hard working legal team that will be in court on Monday, Nov. 21 to plead the first 18 arrestees not guilty of the trespassing charges from the first evening of arrests several weeks ago. On Saturday, the Occupation also hosted a teach-in on how to handle foreclosures, hosted by Brevard attorney Carol Bess. Many members of the Occupation are just average people who have been hit by hard times and need legal help to avoid their homes being foreclosed on. Bess has made a career of foiling the bank’s attempt to take peoples’ homes, and apparently she’s good at it. She derives pleasure out of putting the screws to the financial institutions and makes no bones about calling most of the big banks incompetent. Her teach-in was recorded and here is part one and here is part 2.

Her schedule brings her into Orange County several times a week and she’s willing to consult with anyone on their foreclosure problems. She has offered to host more teach-ins and anyone interested in her services should look for future events featuring her on the website, www.occupyorlando.org.

Bernie tells me what to do; Bernie lays it on the line.

Berne says we sue, we sue; Bernie says we sign…..we sign

On the dotted line!©

 

My Attorney, Bernie  By Dave Frishberg

By Jerry Waxman

Give me an old trombone.
Give me an old baton,
before the parade passes by! ©

Before the parade passes by.  By Jerry Herman

Everyone loves a parade, and everyone loves an excuse to either watch, or be in one, or both. The weekend starting with Veterans Day provided ample opportunity for all to participate. Occupy Orlando is now holding its General Assembly at Orlando City Hall on Friday evenings at 7:00 PM. This is a prime opportunity to march from Senator Beth Johnson Park chanting, attracting attention and giving life to the old ghost of a downtown. On Veterans Day this was the only parade going on. Once at City Hall the GA took over.  It was long; there were also individual speeches that added to the length of time spent occupying City Hall. What actually gets discussed at GAs is posted on the web page www.occupyorlando.org along with the now added calendar of events, articles, information and donation button through WePay.

Veterans Day actually started out life as Armistice Day. After World War I the nations involved in the conflict chose November 11 as a day to remember their war dead and they declared it a national holiday, as did the United States. This was a day that we shared with the rest of the world and it was not a celebratory holiday. Armistice Day served us very well until 1953, when, at the height of the Red Scare and a “Commie under every bed” era (actually, as I’m writing this article, I’m watching the “The John Garfield Story” on TCM) some people in Kansas decided to withdraw from the rest of the world and expand the holiday to include all US veterans of all wars. This was serious stuff. The merchants actually closed their doors and the kids didn’t go to school. It was a solemn occasion. The movement gained popularity and congress passed the bill. President Eisenhower signed it into law on May 26, 1954. In 1971 the holiday was moved to the fourth Monday in October in accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Law Act. Nobody much cared for the October date and in 1978 it was moved back to the original November 11.

“Everybody wants ta get into da act”-J. Durante

Somewhere along the line the day morphed from a solemn occasion to the circus atmosphere almost paralleling July 4^th. The original concept was for stores to actually be closed on that day and that business as usual not be done. That’s why it was a national holiday, so that banks, the post office, schools and non-essential government services would not be open. The Orlando parade took place Saturday so that if a kitchen sink sprouted legs it could also take part. The festivities included Mayor Buddy Dyer, beaming out of both sides of his face and members of the city commission plus the usual suspects- veterans of all types and ages, floats, military hardware and devices. As if that weren’t enough the parade also included high school bands, vintage car motor clubs, motorcycle groups, police, firemen and all sorts of people who have absolutely nothing to do with Veterans Day. Occupy Orlando was there in force cheering the veterans on, however, the Tea Party unsuccessfully tried to spin it the other way.

 

Veterans deserve a lot more than a day of remembrance and a little hoopla thrown in, but since the Bush presidency and the privatization of America and the appalling facilities deterioration that was found out several years ago it is apparent that they have been given short shrift. There are probably no veterans doing meaningful work at the VA Hospital project in Lake Nona, even after the president signed an executive order in February 2009 specifying that Project Labor Agreements be the order of the day. Central Florida’s labor unions were quick to include veterans in their ranks to work on the project. The parade downtown would not have been possible without the service and sacrifice of our veterans. We owe them a lot more than a frivolous parade.

 

“and we’ll have a gay old time.”

There was a time in this country when you could use the word gay in polite conversation without raising eyebrows or outrage as witnessed by this last line from The Flintstones theme song which everyone watched no matter what their age. The word meant everything that encompasses fun and delight short of (or perhaps including) joyous climax. That describes to a tee the events that occurred on Sunday, Nov. 13 the rain date for the Come Out With Pride celebration in Lake Eola Park. The Weather Gods blessed the day with as perfect a day as could be and the hordes of people were having a marvelously gay old time (see how well it fits?). Tents were erected all over the park for the service providers and merchants who were wise enough to display their wares. Even Mayor Buddy Dyer spoke “straight” talk (think about it) out of the proper orifice when both he and Orlando  City Commissioner, Patty Sheehan, announced the Orlando Registry for domestic partners living in the city. Orlando is one of the first cities in the state to establish domestic partnership benefits for LGBT couples and the establishment of the registry is a further step in the right direction, and definitely something the city should be proud of. It is hopeful that GLBT rights are starting to make the progress they deserve. The end of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is a real bright spot and the coming spotlight on DOMA will eventually be overturned as wedge issues continue to erode, however slowly. It takes a long time and a lot of courage to defeat these issues, yet it is a necessary battle. I met two members of Occupy Orlando two years ago when the Westboro Baptist Church was here. Here’s my article on that event and how two brave individuals routed the protest.

 

The parade started at 4:00 PM and it seemed that everyone was in on the march. Occupy Orlando joined the parade after it started and received wild applause and cheering from both the parade participants and the crowd. The video I shot was from Robinson Street at the beginning and it is in four parts here, here, here and here. Featured prominently were the Mayor, Commissioner Sheehan and State Rep. Scott Randolph. The parade ended with the members of PFLAG, the understanding and caring parents of LGBT youth, who proudly marched.

 

As I started to leave to go back to the occupation I encountered what was perhaps the most compelling booth in the entire event, The Zebra Coalition. It is relatively new, yet it provides needed services for GLBT youth who have been kicked out of their homes by callous, ignorant, and hateful parents. The image of those parents, juxtaposed with the PFLAG parents was enough to make my stomach go sour. How could any parent be so disgraceful? There is no excuse for that behavior. The Zebra Coalition has suddenly become very important. To get involved go to the website zebrayouth.org or call 407 909 3272 or e-mail info@zebrayouth.org. On the way back to the occupation I stopped in a 7-11 to get a cold drink. As I was in line to pay a young man shouting curse words came into the store and loudly said “There’s a (expletive deleted) fairy party going on all over”. I watched the store manager’s temperature rise as she said “Oh, Lord Jesus, give me strength.” As he continued his tirade she commenced to give him a tongue lashing and a dressing down that would be the envy of any Marine Drill Sergeant. She kicked him out of the store and received uproarious applause from the customers. I quickly noted that there is some justice in this world.

 

Once back on occupation grounds it was time to celebrate the occupation’s one month anniversary with a cake cutting ceremony. One of the cake donors was former county commissioner Linda Stewart who is now a candidate for State Senate district 19. Commissioner Stewart has been a stalwart supporter of Occupy Orlando and she deserves everyone thanks for her support. At 7:00 former OCDEC chairman Doug Head held a livestream teach-in on redistricting. A throng of direct action team members have attended and will continue to attend and official meetings of city and county commissions, boards and events and make their voices heard. If our officials don’t like the quiet serenity of their meetings disturbed, well, that’s too bad.

 

Say it aint so, Joe

 

I really, really, really didn’t want to comment this next subject, really, but there is a teaching moment here on both human behavior and human nature that affects all of us, and none of us are an exception. Corruption in sports has been with us since sports were originated. It should never have been overlooked and should never be overlooked. Once we find out about it the damage is already done. College sports have been a hotbed of corruption considering how the athletes are treated in comparison to the rest of the students. The reasoning-sports bring tons of money into the school; IQ events don’t. Unwritten code: go for the money, screw the brains. In my lifetime I witnessed the college basketball scandals and Jack Molinas involvement in point shaving and betting on your own team, as well as the mid 60’s Philadelphia Eagles girls for hire scheme that sent Sonny Jurgenson and Tommy McDonald out of town on a rail, and the betting scandals that put Alex Karras and Paul Hornung out of professional football and Pete Rose out of baseball. Of course the most famous scandal of all, the Black Sox Scandal of 1919, where the above quote comes from still haunts the sport.

 

Joe Paterno should have known better than to try and save his football program at the expense of human suffering. My wife graduated from Penn State when Jerry Sandusky was a rookie on the team, before Paterno was the head coach. Paterno’s career in football started at Brown University in 1947 when head coach Rip Engle molded him into a quarterback. Engle moved on to Penn State in 1950 and took Paterno with him as an assistant, so Joe Paterno has been at Penn State since 1950 and has always been a popular figure on campus well before he became head coach. I was in attendance at Homecoming 1962 against Syracuse, where football great Ernie Davis made his farewell appearance, succumbing to Leukemia only a few months later. I also abruptly left a Thanksgiving Day dinner in Allentown, Pa to take my son to the 1978 Penn State-Pitt game in almost freezing weather. Yes, we were Penn State freaks.

 

Prior to Paterno, Rip Engle was also a legend. He started Penn State’s greatness both on the field and in the classroom. Paterno took it one step further, yet something in his 20 year association with Engle should have rubbed off on him and did not. Other than two years away from Penn State coaching at other schools Sandusky returned and spent the rest of his career coaching under Paterno. That’s a lot of years to not know somebody as well as you could. There had to be red flags and other warning signs. When things finally blew up Paterno did only the absolute minimum to deal with it, because protecting his legend was more important than doing the right thing. Had Paterno blown the whistle at that time the football program never would have suffered as it is going to now, and his legend would be inviolable. That’s all gone now. He’s learned the hard way what Richard Nixon, Martha Stewart and Scooter Libby learned. The crime, no matter how heinous is further exacerbated by the cover up.

 

“Slowly I turned, step by step, inch by inch……..”

 

Conditioning is something that happens to us many times without our knowledge. We hear comedians or commentators or politicians refer to others in such a certain way that it affects our perception. Just mention the names Noam Chomsky or George Soros to  right wingers and watch their heads explode. They can’t rationally explain why they hate them, but they’ve been conditioned to and they won’t break that programming. It’s the working model of Pavlov’s experiment with dogs and mealtime. The bell would ring and food would be served. After many times Pavlov withheld the food yet when the bell rang the dogs automatically started to salivate. The vaudeville routine using the trigger word Niagara Falls has the same effect. The trigger turns an otherwise docile, down on his luck hobo into a raving maniac who takes out his bloodlust on the hapless second banana. The routine was a classic for the Three Stooges and Abbott and Costello, and there is a ring of truth to it.

 

Mea Culpa

I did an unthinkable thing; I violated my own standards. Days later, when I heard of the meeting off-site to invite Matthew Falconer to speak on Nov. 5^th I naturally assumed that Wilson Cox was part of the cabal of Tom Tillison, Jayson Hoyt and the United West Hit Squad. I reacted by pointing Cox out as a Tea Party plant. What I did not do was give Cox an opportunity to respond before publication, thereby doing just what the Tea Party does. I’ve had subsequent dialogs with Cox, A veteran who served both in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he swears he was acting as his own agent, trying to do what is good for the Occupation, so I’m going to retract the allegation that he was working with Tillison and co. At this point I have to say that like a mother lioness, and a Nittany Lion coach, I am very protective of my family and friends and make hasty snap decisions, almost knee-jerk in my reactions. Just the mention or thought of what those people did to Shayan Elahi, who is like an adopted son to me, can trigger my Niagara Falls moment. I still do not condone what Wilson did, but he made an honest mistake. Matthew Falconer is a shameless self promoter who will take the microphone any chance he gets to spew his ideology. The microphone was open to him without an invitation and any moderator would have allowed him to speak. It is not the policy of the occupation to bar speakers. Compare that with the way the Tea Party handled protesters Saturday at one of their events where Sheriff Joe Arpaio was the keynote speaker. The event at the Airport Marriott was so poorly attended that they had to send out e-mail blasts to give out free tickets. Even at that the event attracted perhaps 50 people. Four women from Palm Beach County interrupted the event and they were thrown out, being manhandled all the way by Brandon Darby and his big strong bouncers. The video is on the Occupy Orlando website and it is chilling. So, the bell rang and I drooled. I’ve got to get out of that habit. It is obvious (at least to me) that the lesson we learned here is to stop and think about what you are doing. Doing the right thing may at the time be painful, but in the end there will be fewer consequences.

 

Life’s full o’ consequence

That old devil consequence

He takes all the frival out of fun

 

When you’ve got the candle lit

At both ends the scandal it creates

Always keeps you on the run

 

Life’s Full O’ Consequence © by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg

 

By Jerry Waxman

 

*Author’s Preface- I feel a little like Commander Minoru Genda, the Japanese architect of the air strike on Pearl Harbor. Genda was taken ill prior to the Battle of Midway and did not resume his duties until the conflict was about to begin. In his apology to Admiral Yamamoto he said “Please forgive me sir, I’ve been away from my duties for too long.” I feel the same way, that I’ve not been able to chronicle the events at Occupy Orlando on a day to day basis. Life gets in the way of even the best intentions. Business obligations, too full a schedule, family obligations, South Florida speaking engagements, loss of whatever muse inspires me, the State Democratic Convention (they’re lucky I haven’t reported on that fiasco yet) and sleep deprivation all have a part in it so please forgive me for not keeping you better informed. I shall try harder in the future.

 

As Day 26 wends its way into the history books it’s a good time to reflect on the progress that has been made, as well as the obstacles that have been presented.  There have been two major marches on City Hall since October 15, both with over 1500 participants. Whatever local mainstream media coverage (and it is not much) there has been has been split between supportive and derogatory; actually it leans slightly more towards supportive. There are marches and actions all over the downtown area every day so that a headcount is virtually impossible at almost any time. On November 3 Awake the State officially joined the Occupation. Occupy Orlando joined with Working America, Jobs with Justice and other union organizations on November 4 demonstrating in front of US Sen. Marco Rubio’s Office for quick jobs action and handed in mock job applications.  One of Rubio’s office staff, Byron Reid, to his credit took the time to accept the applications and address everyone who was there. People from occupy movements all over the northeast are now snow birding at Senator Beth Johnson Park. Occupation members began sitting in on official events such as the Legislative Update that was held here, Mayor Dyer’s shameless fundraising fiasco on the State of the Downtown (for which there was a $45.00 admission charge, City Hall chambers during commission meetings, and School Board redistricting and financial meetings. The faces of the officials showed real apprehension in some instances. If there were a thought balloon over their heads it would read “Goddamn Sunshine Law! How dare these ragamuffins take advantage of it!”

 

The impact is being felt. During the Tuesday afternoon School Board meeting there was an agenda item that called for a consent vote on extending current banking contracts with Bank of America and Wells Fargo for another four years. Traditionally, these contracts are for two years, but the super large  banks are feeling the pressure of the “Move your money” action s across the country, so, greedy as ever they want longer extensions on the Board’s three billion dollar per year banking needs. The occupations objections influenced one board member, Vicky Bell, to object and the item was taken off the consent agenda. Bell was furiously Googling local banks in the area that could have the capacity to handle that much money. The item passed in a subsequent vote later in the evening, however, it was noted that there is a sixty day period in which the Board could change its mind and go elsewhere. It makes a lot of sense to keep Orange County taxpayer money in Orange County, or at least in the State of Florida. During the City Commission meeting Occupy Orlando pleaded for permission to occupy the park overnight, but Dyer denied them. These excursions will continue until Dyer gives in. Last evening the AFL-CIO Central Florida Labor Council voted unanimously to give its support to Occupy Orlando, offering to discuss sensitive issues with their union affiliates in the police force as well as City Hall union employees.

There have been a few obstacles, some of which have been overcome and some that will take a little more work and some that are just ongoing. During the first week Tom Trento’s United West hit squad were taking pictures and trying to spin the argument that Muslims were taking over the occupation. They were swiftly confronted and dealt with. They were told that they are welcome anytime they wanted to come and that they could not only share the food but talk to any individuals that wanted to talk to them. The Trento post eventually made it to Keith Olbermann’s Countdown program. They no longer come back. Central Florida Tea Party leader Tom Tillison in his Florida Political Press attempting to portray the occupation as disorderly and uncaring of others got it wrong and was exposed. There has been some contention among the assembled with many distinct opinions. The open forums and general assembly meetings are continuing to make very slow progress. City harassment will continue to be a sticky problem. Buddy Dyer’s steadfast determination to make life difficult for the park occupiers will continue to be a sticking point. Allowing the police to needlessly arrest 33 people in three separate incidents is not good form for the city. The arrests did not deter anyone, cost city taxpayers a lot of money, and prevented police officers from performing essential duties in their own districts. Most police officers privately will say that they support the 99% but they also have kids and mortgages and their job comes first. They would love to not have to deal with the occupation. Of course, there is always going to be the occasional rogue cop who loves the power rush and will overstep his authority and the occupation has seen them as well.

 

The November 5 day of action came off rather well. It was a cool day and the impending threat of rain did not deter the 1500 or more participants from taking the two and a half hour march around City Hall and back. Once back the open microphone started again and a bone of contention arose concerning a speech by Tea Party activist Matthew Falconer in a thinly veiled attempt to co-opt the event. It seems that the Tea Party has had an undercover plant since day one on the media team and every scrap of useful information has been fed back to them. According to media team sources Tom Tillison and Matt Falconer had a meeting off-site with two young and very naive members of the media team for the alleged purpose of joining forces toward a common goal. In reality it was a blatant attempt to either co-op the event or at least take a little steam out of it. In a scene straight out of The Godfather a third member of the team had set the meeting up. That member was also the one to invite Falconer to speak. The Orlando Sentinel mentions Matthew Falconer prominently in their Sunday article. The Tea Party had a field day on both Facebook and Twitter. You can go on Twitter and follow TPartyTom (Hmmmm, I wonder who that is?) and see what vicious remarks they’ve been bantering back and forth.

 

In a media team informational meeting Tuesday evening it was revealed that the undercover agent was Wilson Cox. Team member Ty identified Cox as someone who was always showing up at a protest on the other side for several years. It was Cox who arranged the off-site meeting and invited Falconer to speak. It was also reported that Tillison had been there Saturday sitting in his car so as not to draw attention. What the occupation does now with Cox is anybody’s guess. There were other disturbing matters to deal with. It was alleged that there have been a series of conference calls between mayors of many cities discussing effective ways of stopping the occupations. There are team members researching this for proof so that the cities and mayors can be publicly exposed. It was also alleged that there is a police surveillance team on one of the higher floors of the Doubletree Hotel which has a complete 24/7 view of the park and its goings on. There may be some truth to this and it is being checked out as well. The sources who gave out this information are usually pretty reliable.

 

All during the evening election results were coming in and being met with cheers at every announcement. One bright spot locally was the news that a Democratic candidate won the Mayoral election in Altamonte Springs against huge amounts of misinformation and tons of cash supplied by Chris Dorworth and his political cronies. At a subsequent GA Wednesday evening WePay was approved as a donation source and a donation of $100.00 was processed today. Contributors can go onto the website www.occupyorlando.org to donate and find out up to date information about all the things Occupy Orlando is planning. Also available is WePay’s direct donation page www.wepay.com/donate/occupyorlando.

 

After less than four weeks Occupy Orlando is doing just fine, dealing with the city’s restrictions and making headway every day. The event calendar is almost full and new actions are being added all the time. New teach-ins and trainings are being conducted. This phenomenon doesn’t appear to be either diminishing or going away, rather it is gathering up a head of steam for the advancement ahead. Tomorrow is Veterans Day and although most of these occupiers have never served in the military they still appreciate what our veterans have done for us. They will proudly march in the Orlando parade.

 

Epilog- Whew! That’s over with. Now maybe I can do my article on the Convention, or do a piece on Veterans Day or actually have dinner with my granddaughter tonight, or possibly even play tennis in the round robin tomorrow. That would be nice.

 

By Jerry Waxman

 

Wildcat Kelley, looking mighty pale
Was standing by the Sheriff’s side
And when the Sheriff said, “I’m sending you to jail
Wildcat raised his head and cried

Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above
Don’t fence me in

Don’t Fence Me In©

By Cole Porter

Friday, day seven of Occupy Orlando was for the most part uneventful. The lack of a dedicated power source was overcome by both a generator and a series of car storage batteries hooked into power inverters so that computers could run. The Food Team kept getting donations and more supplies. The Materials team was always asking for more filing and storage capacity. The Media Team was reviewing its operating procedures. Everything was neat and orderly. A man identifying himself as Byron Sutton claimed that he was one of the owners of the property across the street and as long as the occupation kept the area as neat and clean as they possibly could he would not object. Sutton expounded how he was involved in regional economic development and was trying to keep Workforce Florida on the right track. Lamenting that even with Florida’s high unemployment, Workforce Florida did not have enough willing and qualified workers to handle the coming boom in business due to the impending Panama Canal “Trade Deal” that will come in two years for which Orlando will be a major beneficiary. Sutton’s appearance is contradictory to information furnished by the police regarding the property. They claimed that the ownership of the property was not known and that it was in foreclosure. Sutton offered no business card exchange with anyone, nor did he offer contact information. With all of the cameras and video equipment on site no one took any photographs. The occupiers felt relieved that there would be no potential problems, at least not immediately.

“Custer’s luck! The biggest Indian village on the continent!”

Custer had the false sense of security that everything was going his way; his words were of glee and anticipation. He could see all the kudos heaped upon him by the adoring press and public-he could feel the glory he so desperately desired. It would be interesting to know what his exact last words were, but unless someone invents a time machine that is not likely. Since the tarp incident on Thursday the same kind of false sense of security pervaded the air. The police were not bothering anyone, meetings were going on, live streaming was going on and few people bothered to leave the park at the 11:00 closing time. Shortly after 2:00 AM several policemen came into the park and ordered everyone to immediately vacate and get on the sidewalk which is not part of the park. Many people refused and stood their ground. At that point backup was called and the arrests were started. Here’s the raw video leading up to the arrests.

Here’s the raw video of the actual arrests. These videos were distributed to all TV stations in the area and several of them were used on the air. One of the nineteen people arrested was a young disabled man, Kirk Root, who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis was wrongly identified in Tea Party Honcho Tom Tillison’s totally misleading October 18 Florida Political Press article describing the occupation several days after Oct. 15. Two glaring misstatements in the article are that Root was just a passerby-There is no such thing at Senator Beth Johnson Park. It’s too far away from anything. Root, who has been lovingly named “Captain Kirk” by everyone in the occupation, is and has been a stalwart member from day one. The second most notable misstatement that Tillison offers up is about the Porsche convertible. He conveniently forgets that the car is parked directly across from the Doubletree Hotel where the owner is a registered guest.  There are others as well but they are minor. This is typical of the methods that Tillison and his cohorts, Tom Trento from United West et al use to distort the situation and try to put the subject in a bad light. Most of their allegations are unsupportable, but they have a readership that wants to see Christians thrown to the lions and they cater to those desires. They are in the same class as James O’Keefe and Andrew Breitbart. The legal team sprang into action immediately arranging for releases and bail where necessary. Later in the morning the police showed up and ordered everyone and everything off of the property across the street, claiming that they had a signed complaint from the owner without producing any document whatsoever. Once the items were removed the entire area was barricaded.

As the sun rose on Saturday, furious activity in the legal team and the media team was ongoing. Questions about use of the barricaded area arose and research was underway. Saturday was just another day in the park for most of the occupation. As long as everyone respected the boundaries there was no threat of action by the police. As the arrested occupiers came back to get their belongings they had to leave the park. They had all received trespass warnings and were prohibited from being on or near the park for one year, otherwise they could be prosecuted. The police gave them their boundary limits and they were respected. They all had to go through the demeaning process of mug shots, fingerprinting, personal effect inventory and strip searching. Even Captain Kirk, who was visibly traumatized by indignities he suffered. Handcuffing and staying in jail overnight is a terrible way to spend an evening.

 

I want to ride to the ridge where the West commences
Gaze at the moon till I lose my senses
Can’t look at hobbles and I can’t stand fences
Don’t fence me in