Occupy Lexington Announces State Divestment Campaign
LEXINGTON, KY - Today in Lexington, the Occupy Lexington General Assembly
announced a call to action for all citizens of the Commonwealth and the State Treasurer to divest the General Fund from JP Morgan Chase Bank and move it to a financial institution headquartered in Kentucky.
"We call upon Treasurer Hollenbach to Invest In Kentucky," said spokesperson
Ian Epperson. "The value of the Commonwealth’s General Fund in 2011 was 8.76
billion dollars. Such an account would provide a boost to a Kentucky financial
institution, creating jobs right here in Kentucky, right now, in a high paying sector of the economy. The idle funds in the Commonwealth’s account would be used for lending by the institution and would represent a major boost in the availability of credit and investment in Kentucky."
JP Morgan Chase was a major player in the subprime scandal and received 25 billion
dollars from the federal government through various rescue and bailout plans, intended to spur reinvestment and credit availability. In lieu of increasing lending, they paid their executives massive bonuses and lobbied Congress to roadblock substantive reform of the financial industry. Even though they gambled over 30 billion dollars in subprime loans, they paid a paltry 153 million dollars to end an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year over their exposure to CDOs and the subprime market.
Epperson continued, “While claiming “too big to fail” status, JP Morgan Chase did not let that stop them from acquiring Washington Mutual, the sixth largest bank in the country at that time.”
"JP Morgan Chase does not share the values of Kentuckians and has demonstrated
over and over again, that when given the opportunity to make a profit at the public’s expense it will lie, it will cheat and it will not hesitate.”
Occupy Lexington is launching a petition drive to present this demand to the state
treasurer, Governor Beshear, and congressional representatives. It is also announcing a call to action to all Kentuckians to pressure their representatives to invest in Kentucky.
For more information, see Invest in Kentucky
Showing posts with label OLKY Events. Show all posts
Showing posts with label OLKY Events. Show all posts
Friday, November 4, 2011
OLKY Study & Teach-ins Working Group: Study Group on "the history of corporate power & personhood" (November 6: 1-2:30 PM)
WHAT: Study Group on "the history of corporate power & personhood"
WHEN: Nov 6, Sunday, 1:00-2:30 pm, Room C, 4th Floor, downtown Public Library
READING: Chapters 5-10, Gangs of America: the Rise of Corporate Power & the Disabling of Democracy by Ted Nace
The Occupy Wall Street movement is very concerned with the growing power of a small number of massive corporations. Occupy Lexington invites you to a study group to explore the history of the corporation, including:
* the fiercely anti-corporate political culture of early America
* the rise of monopolistic corporations in the late 19th century
* the campaign for corporations to be declared legal "persons" entitled to universal human rights under the Bill of Rights-- from the notorious Santa Clara 1886 ruling to the 2010 Citizens United ruling of the US Supreme Court
* what does this growing corporate power mean for America, the world, the earth?
This is the second meeting in a four week course of study, sponsored by the "Study & Teach-in Working Group" of Occupy Lexington. The "price of admission" to the study group is that you try to read as much of the readings as you can...The book can be downloaded at To Read Gangs of America and a hard copy is available at Morris Bookstore
Please join us on Sunday!
~~~If you would also like to join our Working Group -- (contact Michael Benton mdbento at gmail dot com )
~~~to get notices re/ other events, join our listserv -- (contact Betsy Taylor betsy dot taylor at gmail dot com )
~~~ to learn more about Occupy Lexington
WHEN: Nov 6, Sunday, 1:00-2:30 pm, Room C, 4th Floor, downtown Public Library
READING: Chapters 5-10, Gangs of America: the Rise of Corporate Power & the Disabling of Democracy by Ted Nace
The Occupy Wall Street movement is very concerned with the growing power of a small number of massive corporations. Occupy Lexington invites you to a study group to explore the history of the corporation, including:
* the fiercely anti-corporate political culture of early America
* the rise of monopolistic corporations in the late 19th century
* the campaign for corporations to be declared legal "persons" entitled to universal human rights under the Bill of Rights-- from the notorious Santa Clara 1886 ruling to the 2010 Citizens United ruling of the US Supreme Court
* what does this growing corporate power mean for America, the world, the earth?
This is the second meeting in a four week course of study, sponsored by the "Study & Teach-in Working Group" of Occupy Lexington. The "price of admission" to the study group is that you try to read as much of the readings as you can...The book can be downloaded at To Read Gangs of America and a hard copy is available at Morris Bookstore
Please join us on Sunday!
~~~If you would also like to join our Working Group -- (contact Michael Benton mdbento at gmail dot com )
~~~to get notices re/ other events, join our listserv -- (contact Betsy Taylor betsy dot taylor at gmail dot com )
~~~ to learn more about Occupy Lexington
Michelle Alexander: University of Louisville, 11/10, 6PM
I'm interested in going -- anyone want to make it an OLKY group adventure....... please spread the word to other occupiers.
Joan's description for the UK Socialist Student Group:
Michael again :)
Here is a link to audio readings of her book The New Jim Crow
Another World is Possible: Michelle Alexander -- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
and an episode with her on Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers Journal: Bryan Stevenson and Michelle Alexander -- Are We Living in Marting Luther King Jr.'s America?
Let me know if you want to go,
Michael
Joan's description for the UK Socialist Student Group:
A lecture in Louisville by Michelle Alexander, author of the important new book about the racism inherent in the U.S. criminal justice system: The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness. The talk is Thursday next week (November 10) at 6pm; the carpool will leave from the UK Student Center parking lot at 4:30 pm that day. Please let me know if you think you might be interested in coming and whether you'd need a ride and/or more information. I've heard wonderful things about Michelle Alexander and missed the chance to hear her speak when she spoke at the UK Law School, so I'm eager to hear her speak. (The talk itself begins at 6pm in Louisville at the J.B. Speed Art Museum. The talk is sponsored by the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research. The talk is free and open to the public.)---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael again :)
Here is a link to audio readings of her book The New Jim Crow
Another World is Possible: Michelle Alexander -- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
and an episode with her on Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers Journal: Bryan Stevenson and Michelle Alexander -- Are We Living in Marting Luther King Jr.'s America?
Let me know if you want to go,
Michael
Thursday, November 3, 2011
OLKY Study & Teach-ins Working Group Description
Study & Teach-ins Working Group (formerly called the Education Working Group)
Mission: we facilitate in-depth study groups and teach-ins related to topics of interest to the Occupy Wall Street movement – in order to better understand key issues and to relate these issues to the public.
Goals:
a) to contribute to the self-education of Occupy Lexington, through study groups & other events
b) To create public forums, teach-ins, study & discussion groups on issues relevant to OWS
c) to develop a curriculum & teaching materials (charts, readings, videos, inventory of weblinks, handouts, etc.) as needed for educational events (organized by our Working Group, or made available to other activities in Occupy Lexington as appropriate)
d) To use & create liberating pedagogy
co-Bottomliners: Michael Benton (mdbento at gmail dot com) & Isaiah
Google group: if you want to be on regular email listserv, send an email to
(edu-occupylexky at googlegroups dot com)
Mission: we facilitate in-depth study groups and teach-ins related to topics of interest to the Occupy Wall Street movement – in order to better understand key issues and to relate these issues to the public.
Goals:
a) to contribute to the self-education of Occupy Lexington, through study groups & other events
b) To create public forums, teach-ins, study & discussion groups on issues relevant to OWS
c) to develop a curriculum & teaching materials (charts, readings, videos, inventory of weblinks, handouts, etc.) as needed for educational events (organized by our Working Group, or made available to other activities in Occupy Lexington as appropriate)
d) To use & create liberating pedagogy
co-Bottomliners: Michael Benton (mdbento at gmail dot com) & Isaiah
Google group: if you want to be on regular email listserv, send an email to
(edu-occupylexky at googlegroups dot com)
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