by Vargus Pike I’m getting ready for the beat down I know it’s on the way. I’m getting ready for the beat down Just a matter of time. Uppity freedom talkers dare to talk freedom Saying he has a RIGHT to be an individual. She claims the right to determine her OWN destiny They clearly…
Category: Vargus Pike
When Not Enough Is Too Much People Get UPSET
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Vargus Pike When not enough money for education becomes too much for people to bear, they form organizations like UPSET (Underfunded Parents, Students, Educators Together). In three short weeks UPSET has grown from just an idea to a collaboration between concerned students, parents, teachers, and community members that organized over one thousand people for a…
Portland Police Bureau’s Press Release Stripped Naked
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by Vargus Pike The Portland Police Bureau’s press release in response to accusations of police brutality on May Day is a masterful piece of propaganda. Its author knew full well that the local news and radio stations would parrot the high points of the press release that cast the police as shining examples of truth,…
M1: Striking Students Provide a Lesson in Democracy
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This story is part of our feature about the many protest events on May 1, 2012. Visit the feature page to see more. by Vargus Pike Since the Great Recession began as a result of the avarice and criminal behavior exhibited by those in the banking and mortgage sectors, one of the vital segments of…
The Pot Calls the Kettle Black
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by Vargus Pike Once again in America the pot is calling the kettle black. In a grandstand maneuver, our illustrious president stands tall with Elie Wiesel at the national Holocaust museum to speak out against the governments of Syria and Iran and the way they control their citizens’ internet and phone access. Meanwhile, the NSA…
Why I Occupy: A Call for Essays
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Every person has a story to tell about what is important to them. A story about decisions they have made and the motivating factors for those decisions, whether it be family, friends, economics, ethics, or some other reason. Every person has a story to tell about an event that changed their life. A turning point…
Blackwater Polemic
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by Vargus Pike This was written several years ago after the Blackwater massacre 9/16/2007 in Nisour Square, Baghdad Still seems topical today Blackwater transforms to… Black ice cold fingers of death reaching out across a plaza Freedom transforms too… Dogs of war tear into flesh, indiscriminate blind to politic. For I have met the enemy…
Small Meetings, Germinating the Seeds of Democracy
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By Vargus Pike There is a side of the Occupy movement that does not consist of street marches and confrontations with police. It doesn’t involve the occupation of parks or shipyards. It is a side that receives little to no press, but in the end may be one of the most important aspects of the…
Occupy’s ‘Shut Down the Corporations’ Action: Building Change One Action at a Time
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By Vargus Pike It can be said the Occupy movement’s national day of action, “Shut Down the Corporations”, was a success for many reasons. On the local Portland level a thousand people braved some of the worst weather of the year to demonstrate against a few of the corporate and legislative members of the American…
Black Bloc: Two Wrongs Never Make a Right!
Had enough of discussions about Black Bloc? No? Good! Because we’re running a three-day series on Black Bloc tactics. Click the Black Bloc Series tag to read the other articles, delving into the controversy currently sparking throughout the Occupy movement and beyond. By Vargus Pike In the realm of mathematics two negatives when added together…
