Black Friday:

"The idea is simple, hit the corporations that corrupt and control American politics where it hurts, their profits," the group's Facebook page reads, describing Black Friday as the "one day where the mega-corporations blatantly dictate our actions."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/11/24/occupy-inspired-campaign-urge...

From the Daily Kos on the union paranoia of “Uncle” Sam Walton which continues to this day:

We had a week-long schedule of anti-union sessions. They didn’t call them that, but essentially it was how to spot uprising employees. We had an entire day devoted to word phrasing, looking at how employees use words and what key words to look for. A computer test consisted of a "what’s wrong with this picture?" game. You were shown the area near a time clock, and different handmade and computer-made signs. One sign said "Baby shower committee meeting Jan. 26, 8 pm." Another said "Potluck Wednesday all day in break room." Which one of those signs should raise alarms with management? "Baby shower committee." Because of the word "committee," a manager would have to find the person who made the sign, find out why they used that word, then determine if the action got a warning or a write-up. If it was the store manager who found the sign, a write-up was almost guaranteed. They called it unlawful Walmart language, unbecoming a Walmart employee—words like "committee," "organize," "meeting." Even "volunteer" was an iffy word, and they would raise an eyebrow at "group."

Yeah, Sam was a great retailer, squeezing on both ends, the suppliers and his own employees, and becoming the poster boy for cheap imported goods from Asia. In other words, Sammy screwed Americans out of work on the front end and chiseled their wages on the back end, truly the mark of a classic One-Percenter.

Target and other mega-retailers followed suit of course, employees asked to arrive to work in the middle of the night to squeeze every nickel they can out of struggling consumers who figure these midnight madness affairs translate into more food on the table during the holidays. Perhaps so, but it should be noted that if those same people were earning a living wage instead of the peanuts Sammy is paying out, they wouldn't have to trample each other trying to provide for their families.

Hopefully, the Black Friday stay-at-homes will send a message to Sammy's ghost and his retailing philosophy. We'll see.

As the encampments across the country face challenges, shutdowns, police aggression of every variety and internal problems, the Occupy Los Angles group looks forward to expansion in some form when the peaceful protest gets kicked out of the City Hall park. The dialog regarding the next phase continues, and there is some agreement on these issues. The General Assembly will continue to govern the Occupation Los Angeles organization such as it is, but perhaps more importantly the articulation will not be impeded or thwarted any time soon.

We have progressed to a point where even without a formal list of demands, “the message” is rather apparent. Sometime during this holiday season, the numbers will be crunched, the crowds measured, the sales tallies a critical barometer for the rest of the economy. How will the average American respond to an economy that has been kindly referred to as stagnant? If the problem was only stagnation, there would be cautious investment in jobs, but instead we see corporations continuing to cut jobs as the cure-all for lack of growth and revenue. Federal spending has provided temporary, and minor, spikes in employment, but the strategy has proven not to be a permanent solution. The stimulus packages, which included bailouts for the banking industry, have not paid dividends as far as employment. Worse, consumer confidence and the outlook for 2012 seems to be pessimistic overall.

On this day of thanks, we will count our blessings. There is a rumor circulating that LAPD is planning a raid tomorrow night, perhaps at 2 AM to make news coverage unlikely, which is unverified. But if it happens that way, it will be the first time the City of Los Angeles has changed their strategy of open discussion which distinguishes them from city leaders in other areas applying police force as their primary tactic for disbursing occupiers. So we will be thankful for what we have, especially the civil rights we enjoy courtesy of the Founders, especially the freedom of speech, the freedom to assemble, and the right to protest those grievances we have spent so much time identifying and discussing here.