Raising Hell | Unexpected Leisure

July 29, 2012May 6, 2013

On the Duty of Fiscal Disobedience

OWS stated implicitly and explicitly that Washington, DC though full of sound and fury, signifies nothing. The nationâ€™s true political center of gravity is no longer Washington, but Wall Street. Read more [...]

May 28, 2012

Save Money On Your Medical Bills: Pay Cash

Unknown to most consumers, many hospitals and physicians offer steep discounts for cash-paying patients regardless of income. But there's a catch: Typically you can get the lowest price only if you don't use your health insurance. Read more [...]

December 6, 2011

Occupy Radio Network: A Proposal to the Occupy Movement

Currently most of the broadcast media in the United States are controlled by six major corporations, none of whom are friendly to OWS or any of the other Occupy communities. Imagine a network of stations sharing information, getting the word out, and making the case for creating a better world. Read more [...]

November 15, 2011

Zuccotti Park and the Incompetence of Violence

You would think that by now, Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD would have learned the lessons from Spain and Egypt and Tunisia and Wisconsin, that repression only causes certain kinds of ideas to flourish. OWS is one of those ideas, and it will continue to grow. Read more [...]

October 23, 2011

The True Message of Occupy Wall Street

Occupy Wall Street is telling the powers that be, "We can make a better society than you can, and here's how to do it!" Read more [...]

September 29, 2011September 30, 2011

Some Random Thoughts on “Occupy Wall Street”

As the general economic, political, and cultural climate continued to deteriorate it was hard for me to come up with hopeful, helpful things to say. I mean, what's the point of clipping coupons when massive, indifferent or even malevolent forces were (and remain) poised to do so much harm to so many for the benefit of so few? Read more [...]

September 27, 2011

Can you Make It on 8 Bucks An Hour?

Next time one of your smarmy friends or family members tells you how lazy the poor have it, how they get by with doing nothing and don't need to get any help from government, challenge them to walk that talk--digitally. Read more [...]

March 10, 2011

Lessons From Wisconsin

It has also occurred to me that I at least need to re-think some of my conclusions regarding how to get along in these times. Much of what I have advocated here has been along the lines of evading the powers that have wrought so much havoc in the lives of so many by presenting a smaller target. Read more [...]

February 23, 2011

Lessons From Wisconsin and Elsewhere

But the whole argument over unions and the accusation that unionized public employees make more money than their private sector counterparts (they don't), or that unions created the economic collapse we see happening around us (they didn't) masks what I think it a basic philosophical difference or, perhaps more accurately, a mythical difference. Read more [...]

February 8, 2011

From Welfare State to Punishment State

I noticed some time ago that the guiding philosophy behind the conservative approach to social problems is the belief that every social ill (real or imagined) can be solved by applying the right punishment to the those suffering the most from said social problem. Read more [...]