Well, Chas, for one thing, victory would be the end of Corporate Person Hood. Victory would be a clamp down on the corruption that pervades our
government. (Local, state, and federal). It would be putting an end to the currently accepted cronyism, kickbacks, and contempt for fair play and opportunities for the “little people”. Victory would be our political representatives responding to the wishes and needs of the 99%, instead of catering to every whim of the 1%.

Victory would be when someone like you has an epiphany and finally understands how damaging the loss of a strong middle class has been for our country and our economy. Victory would be when you understood
that the degree of income inequality the US now has is greater than many
third world countries and its dangerous to our society and our country’s
future.

We can assemble for as long as we want and untill the outcomes we want come out

Armchair tough guy. You would have fit in well in pre WW2 Germany. Please give valid reasons for your anger. I’m sure the remote is next to you so turn off fox news and read a book, newspaper, or find common sense.

Salty, you should read the pledge of solidaridy letter from the citizens of Cairo. Since they have already been thru this in their country, they are providing advice and pledging their support (they are also reading this website). Salty, the “need the crap kicked out of them” part of your post may sadly be the eventual direction this thing takes. Corporate “gate keepers” like yourself threatening violence against American citizens. As a former U.S. Marine, I can assure you I will be on that battlefield in defense of my fellow Americans. I’ll be lookin’ for ya buddy.

Where did you read “forgiving student loans” as one of the movement demands? Did you read ANYTHING before you popped off at the mouth here? Let’s see how names you called your fellow Americans in your “spoiled brat” post; “Fools” (insane requests) “Folks like you”(jacked up) “bozos” and the icing on the cake, “spoiled brats”. It’s been my experience that “spoiled brats” are almost always the first people to resort to childish name calling…just sayin’

Well, thank you very much for sharing your observations, the conclusions you’ve obviously jumped to and all of the derogatory (right wing) suggestions you’ve volunteered so we can make improvements in efficiency and effectiveness. As far as us “leaving” or “going home” because you feel embarrased? Well, we probably ain’t gonna do that. You see, the name of the movement is “Occupy”…how can we call it occupy if we all go home?

Hey Carol – you sound like one of those spoiled state workers that gets a ridiculous salary and unmentionable benefits. Is that who you are? Well sorry for the inconvenience that the people who pay your salary have caused you. Just step over our poor, starving bodies on your way to your 2 hour lunch (likely paid for by us taxpayers). Or, better yet, go out and get a job in the real world like the rest of us and support yourself so that we don’t have to. I hope you are reading this at work – while my money pays your lazy a$$.

“Ain’t it like most people? I’m no different
We love to talk on things we don’t know about”
I don’t usually attempt to respond to persons who question the legitimacy of the occupy movement, as their minds are already made up and the entire purpose is to bait some one into an argument that can not be won. I don’t mean to question your sincerity, but technically speaking, a Republic IS a form of democracy- EG a subset of several “forms” of democratic government, and i might also point out that the rest of your supporting argument rests on recitation of the “pledge of allegiance” that did not exist until proposed by a Christian Socialist, (ain’t that a hoot), in 1892 – 116 years after the Declaration and more technically 104 years after we became one nation with the ratification of the constitution. (Of coarse the argument can be made that that question was not really settled until 1865, or even that it has still not been settled!) This pledge has been amended several times after coming into widespread use through a commercial for profit Columbus Day scheme to sell magazines to students- very American, don’t you think?- with the words “under god” not being added until 1954. All this by way of saying that the pledge makes a poor argument for or against the constitutionality of anything, nor could one say conclusively “Heaven forbid it ever be a Democracy… Things would be much worse if it were.” without further defining what you might mean by the term “democracy”, as there are localities in our country who practice more pure forms of democracy without seeming harm. Perhaps you are actually thinking of what is sometimes termed “mobocracy”,( or more appropriately ochlocracy before those who despise such rule sought to give it an uglier name), a state which will always occur at times in any form of democracy. As to your questions concerning the goals of the occupy movement, i could not speak for them specifically, though i am certain that if you wished to go and see for yourself how they operate and ask what they hope to achieve, you would be more well informed, and more well confused, for i have noted that those involved seem to encompass a very broad range of ideologies, ists, and isms; therefore if there are any of those that you hate, or love, you will surely find them. I think what they share in common is the sense that their government has been sold to the highest bidder, a situation that is neither new nor unfounded. Had Tennessee’s government not been bought by cotton wealth, we would have not been the last state to secede from the Union in June of 1861; just by way of pointing out how serious the ramifications of the situation may become, as this state bore the brunt of the war on the western front to satisfy the goals of the wealthy few over the welfare of the many. This is why East Tennessee has been staunchly Republican ever since; though this “reason” has long faded and the Republican party of today bears little if any resemblance to the party of Lincoln. Politics is a lot like religion- it is handed down through the generations, dogma intact, unless another “force”, IE Martin Luther, causes a change in belief systems- such as what happened in the Confederate South when the anti-Republican Democrats suddenly turned on them and sided with the Blacks, the Atheists, and the Homosexuals… but i digress.
Corporate Person-hood does not refer to any specific “person”, but rather a litany of court decisions that have resulted in the treatment of a non-human entity: the corporation; as if it were a human being – culminating recently with the Citizens United case, where the purchasing of government can now be exercised more blatantly than ever. I believe many of the occupy supporters feel as i do, that our state houses, executive offices, and courts should have large “real estate” signs posted on them stating “Property for Sale… At Absolute Auction to the Highest Bidder”.
As to fund raising, it is necessary for all organizations to have resources because, as the detractors so love to point out, “ain’t nothing free” not even freedom. As to taxation, well i suppose that is a matter for the IRS to determine. I have not yet heard anyone argue against rendering to Caesar what is Caesar’s… As to vagueness; how more vague could our Revolution have been? It took years just to figure out a constitution and we are still trying 235 years later to figure out what we/they meant. I believe that will go on as long as we exist- meaning both the US and OWS.
As to your question of faith, i have observed protesters in prayer, and i think there are those there out of deep religious conviction. I know, nor have i ever known of any such an entity as a “godless nation”. I have never been sure as to what was meant by that phrase, as all peoples seem to practice some form of belief whether persecuted or not, state sanctioned or not. Perhaps you refer to things you have been told about other countries concerning intolerance of other points of view, suppression of ideas and other Torquemada like inquisitions where the a group of individuals, believing as Torquemada did, that they were the soul possessors of “Truth” and therefore compelled to force others to see that same truth. That is known as a Theocracy and those who founded our nation were very much opposed to that idea- much more so than today- as our forefathers refused to even so much as declare a generic national day of prayer; a practice we do routinely today. Whether or not our economic future depends on acceptance of a deity i can not say; except believing in a force that “will provide” seems to be at the heart of all religion: so perhaps in some wise you are correct. I can only caution you that if we are not careful; we will become the mobocracy we hate, the intolerance we despise, the evil we deplore and everything from our own worst nightmares will become our reality. That is the nature of “the human condition”.

I know that reason fails in this age of twits and blurbs and few will read what has no ad hominem of violence or straw man of absurdity BUT

…As for me- give me liberty or give me death
http://www.law.ou.edu/ushistory/henry.shtml

and eliminate lobbying. So many problems, so little time to fix them.

An excellent book by Strauss & Howe, The Fourth Turning, is an excellent read. We are approaching a fourth turning.

“The Fourth Turning is a Crisis —a decisive era of secular upheaval, when the values regime propels the replacement of the old civic order with a new one. Old Artists disappear, Prophets enter elderhood, Nomads enter midlife, Heroes enter young adulthood—and a new generation of child Artists is born.”

http://www.fourthturning.com/html/history___turnings.html