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by MatthewCCox

Occupy The Roads Visits for Thanksgiving

November 20, 2012 in United States

Although Occupy hasn’t been in the news much lately, this doesn’t mean they haven’t been busy.

In fact, as I wrote yesterday, they are taking ideas born out of their protest movement and are actively working, mostly in anonymity, to make a difference.

The Rolling Jubilee is one peaceful response.

Pueblo HouseAnother one is PuebloHouse in Pueblo, Colorado.

This effort is being led by Tino Fuentes of Occupy the Roads.

My readers may remember that I met Janet Wilson and her team, including Tino, last spring.

They were wrapping up several months on the road by coming through Albuquerque on the way to Southern Colorado. When they weren’t able to make connections with the local chapter of Occupy, they decided to park the V on our outdoor basketball court and relax for a few days.

It was a divine appointment that gave me a direct connection to Occupy and gave Janet and Tino a place to get away from their adventures.

During that visit, they shared their vision of establishing a community in Southern Colorado.

Their subsequent forays into Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado produced land in a high mountain valley location.Pueblo House

They quickly decided that the location was perfect for their community summer work. However, the harsh winter would not be conducive to living in tents while building houses so they looked for another project.

Eventually, their journey took them to Pueblo and the possibility of a donated house that was originally built in the 1880s.

The property’s owner, Mark Carlo, donated the house to Occupy to be used as a headquarters for much needed community services in the local area.

There was one catch.

They had to clean the house and bring the 130 year old building up to code.

Tino agreed to dedicate two years to the project. He started work last summer and finally took a week away from it to spend Thanksgiving week with our community.

During my recent discussions with him, I discovered his team interviewed local residents to determine what services were needed in Pueblo. They decided the location was ideal as a headquarters for an Occupy community. It was relatively close to their mountain land and it provided opportunity to serve.

Tino, who has a background in community health, knows he has the skills to help the area. However, he is less skilled in rehabbing a 130-year old house.

This is where he has enjoyed divine appointments within the Pueblo community and beyond.Pueblo House

The local inspector has advised Tino on how to bring the home up to code.

Movement Resource Group (MRG) provided a grant for the new roof.

Ken Shore and his interns from Pueblo Community College have put in the electrical wiring.

Visitors from Denver, Fort Collins and Taos, New Mexico have come down on weekends to help.

Other volunteers, including those from Occupy Pueblo, have helped with the cleanup of the yard and the home’s interior.

The property is taking shape.Pueblo House

The ductwork has been prepared to handle the newly donated furnace.

The basement is cleaned and secured.

The yard is ready to be used as an annex for the community garden next door.

Along the way, Tino has learned a variety of general contractor skills, including how to repair walls and floors.

One of his teachers came from an unlikely source.

Last summer, as Tino was working in the heat of the day, he noticed a homeless man, obviously drunk, lean against the fence and sink slowly to the ground.

Tino gave him some water and invited him to rest in the shade. They chatted for a while and the man went on his way.

This happened for several consecutive days.

The man would come by, visit with Tino, and leave.

Then, the morning arrived when it was time for Tino to repair the brick walls. He had purchased materials. However, he didn’t have any idea where to start.

His friend showed up and, during their conversation, Tino explained his predicament.

The man’s expertise was bricklaying.

He supervised Tino through the repair work.

When the project was complete, so was this divine appointment.

The man left that day and never visited again.

Pueblo House

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by MatthewCCox

Occupying Solutions

April 14, 2012 in World

The more time I spent with Janet Wilson and her Occupy The Roads team, the more I realized they were about more than protesting. They were about solutions.

Occupy The RoadsJanet’s background is financial. Therefore, she understands the financial challenges of the Occupy Movement. We discussed the lack of financial transparency within the movement. We discussed the possibility that old habits die hard and our society has a habit of hoarding money and then, lying about doing so.

Janet’s business background combined with her experiences at the protests told her that any long-term solution would require a society that shares resources while allowing individuals to explore their passions.

She briefly talked about her visit to The Venus Project. Janet said this was “a plan to develop a world without money and without prisons.”

I made a note to learn more.

We discussed solutions to the problems with our current government.

Janet’s idea was to promote an online “USA Assembly” where Americans could honestly vote and then compare those results to the results of the actual elections. She wanted to find a way to demonstrate that the official election results were fraudulent.

I understood her frustration. However, I couldn’t think of a way to prevent an online voting system from being manipulated. After all, the power doesn’t come from being able to vote. It comes from being able to count the votes.

She said that as the world unites, we will need to implement a similar idea with a World General Assembly.

She told me about the 99% Declaration and how they attempt to speak for the ninety-nine percent. However, not all of the occupiers agree with them.

I asked her if she felt there was enough of a public mandate for change to create change.

She said she has seen the desire for change everywhere, from coast to coast, from city to country, from all ages, all races, and all facets of life. She said the only missing piece is leadership. No one seems to know how to organize a revolution.

We discussed the original American Revolution and wondered how they did it without the internet. How did they communicate? How did they keep everyone on the same page?

I told her about Drake and David Wilcock and Ben Fulford. I explained that if what they are reporting is accurate, the leadership may be moving into place. (NOTE: David Wilcock reported late last night that legal papers have been served on the Federal Reserve. Drake has confirmed that this is one of the steps necessary to start the plan he has discussed.)

We agreed that things are happening, that a transition is taking place. It is growing as each person commits to creating peace in his or her part of the world.

I saw this during our visit from Occupy The Roads.

They just happened to have a need for some of the items we have been trying to move along. We just happened to have a need for clarification regarding the national movement.

The two day connection allowed both of those needs to be met. In addition, it allowed us to see that each of us has a role to play. These roles create an energy that puts the peaceful pieces together.

My role is to write on this website each day while helping my readers and my clients resolve situations in a peaceful manner.

Janet and Occupy The Roads role is to travel the country supporting the Occupy Movement, gathering information, and sharing solutions.

The next stop on their journey is to explore the idea of developing a self-sustaining town in the San Luis Valley of Southern Colorado.

After two days here, they headed north, through Santa Fe and Taos, towards Colorado.

I was richer for the experience of following the signs at Starbucks a few days ago.

Occupy The Roads was better equipped for their mission because they were able to stay here for a few days.

There was no doubt that this was a divine appointment. These are common when we follow the signs to interacting with one another.

I was still thinking about our discussion when I heard a story from Iceland that demonstrates true financial change is taking place.

I will tell you about that remarkable event tomorrow.

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by MatthewCCox

My Phone Call to The IRS

April 13, 2012 in Finance

Continued from yesterday…

The next day, I called the IRS Practitioner Priority Line. This is something I do several times a month. The IRS representatives in this call center are better trained than those who work the main lines. In most cases, these phone calls are pleasant experience where I am able to work with the IRS to resolve clients’ issues.

When the representative answered, I explained that I had married clients, “Fred and Wilma,” who had received letters regarding their accounts with different amounts due. My clients and I were curious about how this could happen since they filed their tax returns jointly.

The representative told me she had never seen this before. She put me on hold several times to review the account, coming back to me each time to ask questions.

When she came back to the phone the final time, she was still puzzled.

Fred and Wilma’s discharge of the debt had somehow disrupted the information on the screen.

“Is the account paid or not?”

“Well, it looks paid…er… There are payments pending so the account is at zero. I apologize. I can’t see everything. I’ve never seen anything like this. It will take two weeks from the payment on March 23 for us to have this sorted out.”

I looked at the calendar.

“Ma’am, we are already past that time frame.”

“Oh – we are, aren’t we? Well, it should be resolved by the end of the week.”

“Will we get a letter or should I call back?”

“You’ll get a letter.”

I could tell the representative wasn’t sure about her answer and that the call had somehow disturbed her. I thanked her and ended the call.

I reviewed the conversation.

She said the account was paid.

She said the payments were pending.

She said she had never seen anything like this.

She put me on hold a total of three times to review the account. She was obviously confused about something she was seeing.

Did the confusion come from seeing something new that she didn’t understand?

OR

Light bulb ideaDid the confusion come from seeing something she understood and didn’t know was possible?

Had our conversation shone a bright light on something new?

Was she having trouble adjusting to the brightness?

I wondered if she had just realized, like I realized last year, and like those who participate in the Occupy Movement must realize, that our current systems, financial and otherwise, are facades.

This was one of the topics I discussed with the Occupy The Roads team while they parked their “V” with us for a couple of days and recuperated from their nationwide traveling adventures.

During one conversation, Janet commented that she was amazed at how each protest she attended followed a similar script. The protest would start. It would proceed peacefully. Then, it would end.

However, if the police showed up, the script would take a different turn. Law enforcement would begin to throw their weight around and the violence would begin.

She said she watched this happen, like clockwork, at each protest. She seemed mystified about why the violence was tied to the appearance of the police when they had traditionally been considered “officers of the peace.” We concluded that they had transformed into law enforcement officers, brutally enforcing the police state instead of maintaining the peace.

Janet and her team relayed numerous stories of those who had been mistreated by the systems, whether judicial, financial, or religious.

Of course, this is old news. We all know that many things are broken.

What can we do to fix them?

Janet and the Occupy The Roads team had some ideas. I’ll tell you what we discussed in tomorrow’s article.

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by MatthewCCox

Occupy Peace of Mind News

April 11, 2012 in Spirituality, United States

Monday was an out-of-the-office day for me. I left early to spend the day meeting with clients.

As often happens on these days, there were unexpected schedule changes. I know that is how the Universe arranges the timing of events for my benefit. It is part of following the signs. I’ve learned to expect it.

My last scheduled appointment was with a client at a local Starbucks.

Occupy the RoadsAs I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed a large RV, the one in this article’s picture, plastered with stickers.

My heart raced as a variety of questions bombarded my brain. Is this RV really associated with WikiLeaks? Does a local person own this? Is someone passing through the area?

I intuitively knew that all of the scheduling quirks had landed me here at this time.

I grabbed my business bag and got out of the truck. As I did, a woman crossed behind the RV and headed towards Starbucks.

“Are you with this RV?”

“Yes, I am.”

“What are you doing?”

“We are with the Occupy Movement. We are trying to get the money out of politics.”

Her name was Janet Wilson. She was with Occupy The Roads. (This is a link to their Facebook Page) (This is a link to their website.) She and her team were on their second trip around the country supporting the Occupy Movement. She was currently traveling with Tino, one of the original Occupy Wall Street participants at Zuccotti Park.

I quickly learned that Janet decided to join the movement when it started in September. She arrived in New York, from the Seattle area, early in October, the day after seven hundred people had been arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge. A few months later, she had been arrested herself for covering the Occupy Congress event in Washington DC.

She had been all over the country, at the biggest Occupy events, providing media support for participants. She was taking pictures, gathering information, and reporting it on her website.

I introduced myself and briefly told her about my interest in the Occupy Movement. I explained that I had followed it from the beginning and it was one of the reasons I started this website.

My client arrived and Janet said she was waiting for a return phone call so she agreed to continue the conversation afterwards.

During our second conversation, she explained her vision of establishing an alternative government that could replace the current government when it fails. She told me about visiting the Venus Project, a community that exists without money.

She outlined an idea to build a completely self-sustained town in the San Luis Valley of Southern Colorado. She described the plan to Occupy a School. This would allow students the opportunity to select their topics of study and methods of learning.

As I left, Janet asked if she could take a picture of me in front of the RV. I agreed.

We hugged and wished each other success and freedom.

On the way home, I realized Janet had never received the return phone call she was waiting to receive. It dawned on me that they might need a place to park for the evening.

When I arrived home, I chatted with the family about my adventures for the day and told them Occupy The Roads might need a place to park for the evening.

“Call them.”

Janet had given me her card so I called her and explained that we had a basketball court that would be perfect for the RV. We also had a electrical plugin and water if they needed it.

Janet accepted our offer.

Over the next couple of days, we had the opportunity to talk more about Janet’s adventures. I’ll relay some of those conversations in future articles. In addition, I will tell you about an unexpected financial lesson I learned while waiting for Occupy The Roads to get to our home.

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