Well, what do you know, our credit agencies insist your sucky life must get suckier.

Chicago- Saturday in the Park

So, if your high schooler comes home one day smelling of patchouli and wearing a peace sign amulet, and blames it on “the recruiters” — don’t worry, it’s not the Air Force Academy going soft. It’s simply the Army of One Hippie: the Peace Recruiters will provide a view of an alternative lifestyle to the video-game, shoot-em-up, go-to-war, get-your-education-paid-for, (did-I-mention-lose-your-legs?) United States Military recruiters.

On Friday at noon, a large crowd gathered downtown near the corner of Congress and Griswold in front of Bank of America to protest continuing home foreclosures in the face of catastrophic economic decline, in Detroit and around the nation — a decline which was caused, certainly in part, by the underhanded dealings of big financial institutions like BOA.

Handmade decorated altars lined the walkways at the annual Día de los Muertos celebration at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Saturday October 22, as families and groups honored those who have died. The celebration of Day of the Dead, held at the beginning of November, has been a tradition in the area around Oaxaca, Mexico, long before the arrival of the Conquistadors, and was incorporated by the colonizing Spaniards into the Catholic holy days of All Souls and All Saints.

It was perfect weather to stretch your legs and assert some rights Saturday here in Denver.

And about 2,000 other people besides myself and Mr. B thought so too. I was very pleasantly surprised when he started charging his camera Saturday morning and asked “when does that thing start?” He doesn’t have the same zeal I do for going to protests; and let me just say if the Occupy movement has gotten his attention, there is really some Occupy power in the zeitgeist now.

The New York Times used an article on Rhode Island’s pension system to denounce “the nation’s profligate ways,” which it warns will catch up with us. Newspapers are supposed to leave such editorializing to the opinion pages.

Republicans and other elite representatives of the One-Percenters running this country know that the facts are against them, in everything from economic dealings to the criminal-justice system to the environment. So, when confronted by the facts, they do everything they can to draw attention away from themselves, preferably through the use of inflammatory statements intended to bog people down in defending against them.

Professor Joseph McCartin, one of the nation’s leading scholars on the decline of the strike, has written the definitive account of the PATCO strike. In Collision Course: Ronald Reagan, the Air Traffic Controllers and the Strike that Changed America, McCartin details two decades of struggle by this group of often militant Federal employees culminating in the failed 1981 strike. Collision Course is a well written, meticulously researched, and detailed account of the PATCO strike.

Occupiers planned to “take the horse” in Grant Park on Saturday night. Just like one week ago, they anticipated many arrests because the city intended to enforce the park curfew, which is 11 pm.

A march to Grant Park was organized at about 7 pm to Grant Park. About 1000-2000 showed up to support. Many rank-and-file union members came out to lend support to Occupy Chicago’s effort.