There is a war on. The front lines are everywhere.
The Hamilton County Commission had declared war on dissent:
The Hamilton County Commission has filed a petition for declaratory judgement in Federal Court to force Occupy Chattanooga off the front lawn of the Hamilton County Courthouse. The County Commission is seeking to have the court provide legal cover for the enforcement of laws that were crafted in secret and, in a complete break from common procedure, twice added to County Commission agendas as "emergency resolutions" (see here and here) for the sole purpose of avoiding public involvement. Hamilton County Commission v. Occupy Chattanooga may be the first time in the United States that a local government is suing an Occupy, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Leave it to the government of Hamilton County to be the first in the United States to sue their own citizens.
But the Hamilton County Commission is not alone in their attempt to use the court system to crush citizen efforts at subjecting our government to greater democratic control.
Mayor Ron Littlefield has declared war on democracy:
In an unprecedented historical mobilization, hundreds of volunteers turned out last summer to collect over 15,000 signatures to recall the mayor. The Mayor immediately filed suit against the voters of Chattanooga to stop an election from proceeding to the ballot. The Mayor won a brief victory when Judge Jeff Hollingsworth, who has deeply troubling connections to the corporate law firm hired by Mayor Littlefield, threw out the recall. The Court of Appeals of Tennessee smacked down Hollingsworth's ruling and voided his judgment. The Hamilton County Election Commission quickly went on to certify the petitions and announce the recall election. Mayor Littlefield again filed suit and is taking the citizens of Chattanooga to court for a second time in an attempt to stop democracy in its tracks.
Recall, referendum and initiative are forms of Direct Democracy (which is also what Occupy Chattanooga's consensus decision making practice is). Recalls are legal channels of broad participatory power that provide citizens a method with which to hold elected officials accountable. Many governments around the world, much more democratic than our own, guarantee recall. The Venezuelan Constitution has provisions for the recall of every elected official, including the President. Many European Parliaments routinely allow for the entire government to be dissolved, not just one official. Not here in Chattanooga. In Chattanooga, if the people step "out of their place" and call for just one ballot decision on one elected official, the establishment goes crazy and hires corporate law firms to drag the citizens through the courts. While recall has existed in our charter for over a hundred years, this is the first time it has been used successfully. Unless, of course, Judge Jeff Hollingsworth again sides with the Power Structure and against We The People.
There is a movement taking place in Chattanooga.
The citizens are organizing to subject concentrated power in our city, county, state and nation to greater democratic control and participation. We are taking greater responsibility for our communities, for our country, for the state of our planet. We are beginning to hold elected officials to higher levels of accountability and are demanding greater degrees of transparency. We are literally creating a more democratic society.
Both Mayor Littlefield and the Hamilton County Commission have "lawyered up", ironically hiring the same corporate law firm, to take the citizens to court. What can we learn from their responses? Democracy is not in the interests of the power elite.
The Hamilton County Commission had declared war on dissent:
The Hamilton County Commission has filed a petition for declaratory judgement in Federal Court to force Occupy Chattanooga off the front lawn of the Hamilton County Courthouse. The County Commission is seeking to have the court provide legal cover for the enforcement of laws that were crafted in secret and, in a complete break from common procedure, twice added to County Commission agendas as "emergency resolutions" (see here and here) for the sole purpose of avoiding public involvement. Hamilton County Commission v. Occupy Chattanooga may be the first time in the United States that a local government is suing an Occupy, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Leave it to the government of Hamilton County to be the first in the United States to sue their own citizens.
But the Hamilton County Commission is not alone in their attempt to use the court system to crush citizen efforts at subjecting our government to greater democratic control.
Mayor Ron Littlefield has declared war on democracy:
In an unprecedented historical mobilization, hundreds of volunteers turned out last summer to collect over 15,000 signatures to recall the mayor. The Mayor immediately filed suit against the voters of Chattanooga to stop an election from proceeding to the ballot. The Mayor won a brief victory when Judge Jeff Hollingsworth, who has deeply troubling connections to the corporate law firm hired by Mayor Littlefield, threw out the recall. The Court of Appeals of Tennessee smacked down Hollingsworth's ruling and voided his judgment. The Hamilton County Election Commission quickly went on to certify the petitions and announce the recall election. Mayor Littlefield again filed suit and is taking the citizens of Chattanooga to court for a second time in an attempt to stop democracy in its tracks.
Recall, referendum and initiative are forms of Direct Democracy (which is also what Occupy Chattanooga's consensus decision making practice is). Recalls are legal channels of broad participatory power that provide citizens a method with which to hold elected officials accountable. Many governments around the world, much more democratic than our own, guarantee recall. The Venezuelan Constitution has provisions for the recall of every elected official, including the President. Many European Parliaments routinely allow for the entire government to be dissolved, not just one official. Not here in Chattanooga. In Chattanooga, if the people step "out of their place" and call for just one ballot decision on one elected official, the establishment goes crazy and hires corporate law firms to drag the citizens through the courts. While recall has existed in our charter for over a hundred years, this is the first time it has been used successfully. Unless, of course, Judge Jeff Hollingsworth again sides with the Power Structure and against We The People.
There is a movement taking place in Chattanooga.
The citizens are organizing to subject concentrated power in our city, county, state and nation to greater democratic control and participation. We are taking greater responsibility for our communities, for our country, for the state of our planet. We are beginning to hold elected officials to higher levels of accountability and are demanding greater degrees of transparency. We are literally creating a more democratic society.
Both Mayor Littlefield and the Hamilton County Commission have "lawyered up", ironically hiring the same corporate law firm, to take the citizens to court. What can we learn from their responses? Democracy is not in the interests of the power elite.