Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Activist Blasts Wall Street in Hit YouTube Song


Ireland Native Gaining Popularity Within "Occupy Wall Street" Movement

John Baxter, a lifelong resident of the Rockaway community, in the Queens section of New York City, is a noted musician, playwright, television producer, political/social activist, and the former host of The John Baxter Show, which aired on Queens Public Access Television.

The multi-talented Baxter, who often professes his devotion and love for his homeland in stage plays and songs, contacted From The G-Man to express concern over the current economic crisis that has a stranglehold on the country -- and to acknowledge his staunch support for the "Occupy Wall Street" movement.

The video, as well as the op-ed below, was submitted by Baxter.

Dear Editor,

The demonstrations on Wall Street are beginning to rock the world. It is not confined to America anymore. According to reports on the Internet, there are going to be 80,000 demonstrations across the globe this weekend, thanks to “Occupy Wall Street”.

Only one country has not responded, and that is North Korea. Apparently, the entire world is faced with the same problem: the wealthy are taking the lions share of everything. There are no leaders in Occupy Wall Street, and that is the main reason it is such an enormous success.

No one has never seen anything like this in America or the world. No one would ever believe that this movement would spread all over the globe as quickly as it did. Thank you world, for having so much faith in America. We can, indeed, work together to create a better world. A world where all are equal and treated with respect. It is now apparent, that your problems are our problems.

The Occupy Wall Street movement will surely do more to solve the problem that all the yawpers in the White House and Congress couldn’t, or wouldn’t do for years. And don’t be fooled by the news media -- claiming that the demonstrators have no idea why they are there. They are extremely well organized. They know exactly why they are there.

They know that our government is being controlled by the wealthy. They are well-aware that the wealthy are not paying their fair share of taxes. They know that our representatives no longer represent their constituencies because they were put in office by the wealthy and they are slaves of the wealthy. They know that the working class is being shafted... and they don’t even have a mine! They know that the politicians let the banking CEO’s slither away and prevent them from doing stretches in jail. They know that our government is running a war in Afghanistan without telling the American people the reason.

Give New York City's emperor, Mayor Bloomberg, credit for calling off the police, who were there in droves to evict the demonstrators on the morning of October 14. The crowds consisted of people from all walks of life, which created a situation that proved overwhelming for New York's Finest. You couldn’t even get near certain areas, no matter how you tried to squeeze in.

When the Emperor called off the cleanup, people didn’t trust the message. The outcry was expressed loud and clear from the demonstrators: “Stay in the park! Stay in the park!” Over and over they chanted, "All day, all week, Wall Street!” Two hours later, you couldn’t get in edgeways to the park.

I guess you are wondering how they spread the word without a microphone or even a bull-horn? The old fashioned way, of course. One single voice cried out twice, “Mic check, mic check!” and that was echoed by hundreds of people around that single person, and echoed again and again throughout the crowd. That is the call to listen up. You would swear that some of these demonstrators were dug up from president Lincoln’s days.

This is the real America showing what its made of, and we should all be proud. The entire world is. The working class, blue and white collar workers. The young, the middle-aged and the elderly. Men and women of all races, pulling together for a single cause: A cause to make life a little easier. Unlike the Tea Party people, there wasn’t a sign anywhere portraying politicians as Nazis, or joker, western-like, gunslingers from the days of Jessie James with their guns hanging on their sides.

The demonstrators aren't interested in politics. They are well-aware that it is too late for that, and they are well-aware that the problems facing America today will only be solved by the people speaking out.

The owners of Zuccotti Park are up in arms over the demonstrators, claiming they're dirty and stink. The demonstrators are claiming that it is the bankers and the corporations on Wall Street that are spewing the real dirt and imposing a stench on the American people, and it is them, the demonstrators, that are there with the fumigating equipment to sterilize and hose them down. The owners of the park didn’t complain when they received huge sums of taxpayer money to fix it up recently. Not bad for a private park, eh?

What is the answer? Many of us believe that the wealthy should pay the same amount of taxes as average citizens. If that could be accomplished, it would help restore the lost dignity to the working class. Many of us believe that the wealthy are willing to do that, but they are held back by our dysfunctional Congress, which believes it is wise to kiss up to the wealthy.

We know one thing for sure: The Congress, with a 13 percent approval rating, cannot solve this. We know for sure that the Congress is hiding out in a cocoon, and they are oblivious to what is going on with the working class. I know, under normal circumstances, it isn’t right to bypass the Congress, but these times are not normal. A panel of business people could and should be formed to talk to the wealthy of America, and who better than Warren Buffett to lead it?

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