Wall Street To SCOTUS: Yes On Marriage

Via CNN:

Wall Street's leading banks have signed a "friend of the court" brief pressing the Supreme Court to back same-sex marriage. Major financial firms including AIG, Bank of America, BlackRock, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs JPMorgan, UBS and Wells Fargo signed the brief that will be filed on Thursday. Spokespeople at each of the companies confirmed to CNN that they are named in the brief. Other signatories include a range of small and large companies in a variety of sectors including technology, healthcare and retail. "The brief argues that the existing confused legal landscape places significant burdens on employers and their employees—making it increasingly hard to conduct business," said Elliott Frieder, a spokesman for Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, the law firm that will file the brief on behalf of the firms.

A similar banking coalition filed a DOMA brief in 2013.

Eric Cantor Joins Investment Bank

Former GOP House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who suffered a stunning primary defeat this summer at the hands of an unknown Tea Party candidate, has joined Wall Street. And the teabaggers are screaming, "Told you so."

Kevin Broughton, communications director of the Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund, said, "many analysts accused Eric Cantor of paying more attention to Wall Street than to the people of Virginia's 7th District. He certainly didn't waste any time validating that theory." Since 1999, the seven-term congressman had raised more than $3 million from the investment industry. And in his last campaign, the industry was his largest contributor, donating $785,000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. For disaffected conservatives, especially among the tea party, which came to life early in the Obama administration and took on a populist message, Cantor's move to a boutique investment bank, Moelis & Co., as a vice chairman and board member is proof that their concerns were spot on.

NEW YORK CITY: Activists Demand "Robin Hood Tax" On Financial Institutions

Yesterday about a thousand activists marched on the United Nations, demanding the creation of a so-called "Robin Hood Tax" on Wall Street and financial institutions around the world. Forbes posted a press release:

To commemorate the 2nd Anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, the Robin Hood tax coalition that consists of two hundred million supporters around the world including Occupy Wall Street, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, The Vatican, The AFL-CIO, Lawrence Summers, Nancy Pelosi, Nobel Prize Laureates Desmond Tutu, Al Gore, Joseph Stigliz and Paul Krugman will rally to support H.R. 1579, the Inclusive Prosperity Act, a financial transaction tax of 0.5% that will raise hundreds of billions of dollars a year that puts people before profit and helps stabilize the financial markets. Dozens of major economies have already implemented this tax. 11 countries including Germany and France will begin to implement the tax on January 1.

From the Robin Hood Tax website:

This small tax of less than ½ of 1% on Wall Street transactions can generate hundreds of billions of dollars each year in the US alone. Enough to protect American schools, housing, local governments and hospitals. Enough to pay for lifesaving AIDS medicines. Enough to support people and communities around the world – and deal with the climate challenges we're facing. It won't affect ordinary Americans, their personal savings, or every day consumer activity, such as ATMs or debit cards. It's easy to enforce and tough to evade. This is a tax on Wall Street, which created the greatest economic crisis in our nation, and globally, since the Great Depression. The same people who have returned to record profits and bonuses while ordinary Americans, the 99%, continue to pay the price of their crisis.

Gothamist has posted a slideshow from yesterday and notes that among those arrested was openly gay New York state Sen. Bray Hoylman, seen below.

Tonight In Manhattan

Gothamist reports:

There are multiple reports of flooding across the city due to the storm surge from Hurricane Sandy that is now upon the city. There have been reports of people trapped and cars floating in the middle of the streets. We've also received reports that many subway lines throughout the city have been flooded as well. The city has now issued a warning to all New Yorkers to go indoors immediately, stay away from windows, and remain indoors until further notice.

Earlier tonight came the report that the storm surge has broken the all-time record of nearly 12 feet that was set in 1821. And it appears to be growing. The MTA's site is down but local television reports that subway service will not likely be restored for several days at the earliest. First floor shops at the South Street Seaport are reportedly completely underwater.  The bridge connecting the A train line to the Rockaways is also submerged.

UPDATE: Mayor Bloomberg has just ordered taxis to cease operation.

UPDATE II: The above tweet from the Weather Channel is being debunked by the NYSE itself.

VIDEO: The Con Edison station in the East Village has apparently exploded. Video was taken from the far side of the East River.

Convicted Inside Trader: Let Me Work On AIDS Instead Of Going To Prison

Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta, who faces ten years in prison for insider trading, is begging the court for leniency. Instead of jail time, Gupta is offering to go to Rwanda and work on that nation's HIV/AIDS crisis.

Mr. Gupta’s lawyers have pleaded for a lenient sentence of probation, accompanied by an order that he perform community service. Gary P. Naftalis, a lawyer for Mr. Gupta, made an unusual request in recommending that Mr. Gupta, who has played a leadership role in a variety of global humanitarian causes, be sent to Rwanda. “The Rwandan government has expressed support for a program of service in which Mr. Gupta would work with rural districts to ensure that the needs to end H.I.V., malaria, extreme poverty and food security are implemented,” Mr. Naftalis wrote. Mr. Gupta is hoping that Judge Rakoff is swayed by the more than 400 letters of support submitted on his behalf, including one from Bill Gates, the Microsoft billionaire and philanthropist, and Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary-general. The letters depict a man who, but for his insider-trading conviction, has led an exemplary life.

Gupta coming sentence is being closely watched by all of Wall Street as it may portend what will come for others so convicted.

$100 Million Gift For Central Park

Hedge fund billionaire John Paulson has donated $100M to the Central Park Conservancy. His gift is believed to be the largest personal donation to any park in American history.

John Paulson, 56, was set to meet with Mayor Bloomberg this morning to formally announce the mind-blowing contribution. Paulson was previously best known for making a killing in 2007, short-selling the mortgage and securities market. He reportedly made $4 billion by anticipating the monumental burst of America's housing bubble. “It is a great privilege to be able to contribute to the Central Park Conservancy, one of the most important cultural institutions in New York,” Paulson said. Paulson apparently has enough loose change to make the massive donation. He’s No. 28 in the Forbes 400 and No. 61 in the list of Forbes Billionaires.

RELATED: The Central Park Conservancy is a private non-profit group that operates the park under a contract with New York City. It was founded in 1980 after the city's near-bankruptcy woes in the mid-70s caused much of the park to fall into embarrassing and dangerous disrepair. Only 15% of their annual budget is provided by the city. The rest comes from corporations and private donations. Many of the Conservancy's biggest donors are the celebrities whose zillion-dollar apartments face the park.

OAKLAND: City Leaders To Discipline Cops For Abuses Of Occupy Protesters

Oakland's city leaders have announced punishments for police that abused and violated the civil rights of Occupy Wall Street protesters last fall.

Two police officers should be fired and another 42 officers disciplined or reprimanded for misconduct during the Occupy Oakland protests that turned violent late last year and in January, city leaders said Friday. The early findings come from a police internal affairs investigation triggered by more than 1,100 complaints issued against officers following the three major protests, police Chief Howard Jordan said. An internal affairs investigation has found that 44 officers committed some sort of misconduct, ranging from use of excessive force to failing to turn on their tiny video cameras attached to their uniforms, Jordan said. Jordan recommended that the two officers be fired, another one demoted and 15 others suspended. Another 23 officers were given written reprimands and three others were ordered to undergo counseling and training, Jordan said. "I've taken action to hold them accountable," he said at a briefing for several reporters. "Because in the end, I want our officers to exercise good constitutional policing."

Oakland's disproportionate response to Occupy protesters galvanized the movement nationwide.

Michael Bloomberg: Occupy Wall Street & The Tea Party Operate The Same Way

"The Tea Party I’ve always thought is very much like Occupy Wall Street. They say, ‘We don’t want it any more. We want to stop it.' And you say, ‘Oh good. What do you want to stop?’ And they can’t answer it. Both are groups of people who think that we’re going in the wrong direction. They may not have answers as to where to go, or their answers may be not-too-smart and not work and not be practical or whatever, but they are people who are not happy and they want to protest. Which is the American way, there’s nothing wrong with that. The trick is to not listen to people who have irrational ways to deal with the problems." - NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, speaking today on his weekly radio show.

Yesterday's Occupy Anniversary Concert

Video by JMG reader Phillip Davis.

On September 16, 2012 a concert was held in Foley Square to mark the first anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. Jello Biafra (of the Dead Kennedys) was the emcee. Other performers included Michelle Shocked, Lee Ranaldo (of Sonic Youth), Tom Chapin and The Chapin Sisters, Jimmy "The Rent is Too Damn High!" McMillan, Vermin Supreme and the outstanding Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine).

Occupy Marches On Wall Street

Today is the first anniversary of Occupy Wall Street and this morning protesters are attempting to block access to the Stock Exchange. Click over to Gothamist for their live streaming video.

Occupy Wall Street Turns One

The first anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement is this week. In addition to today's concert in downtown Manhattan, there will be a march tomorrow morning. ACT UP will be there. Via press release:

ACT UP NY (AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power) announced plans to endorse the Sept 17 demonstration celebrating Occupy Wall St.’s first anniversary. Members of ACT UP will join OWS in front of Trinity Church at the corner of Broadway and Wall St at 7AM on Monday calling for a Financial Transaction Tax to Tax Wall St, End AIDS. From 1914 to 1966 in the US, a Financial Transaction Tax (or FTT) was used to calm the stock market and generate funds for much-needed services. Today, economists estimate that a .5% tax on the financial speculation of Wall St institutions could generate hundreds of billions of dollars. AIDS activists are frustrated by the recent lack of attention dedicated to the AIDS crisis by the major political parties. “After watching the Republican and Democratic National Conventions and not hearing AIDS mentioned once, we see Occupy Wall St’s anniversary as a good opportunity to talk about AIDS and propose solutions, like the Financial Transaction Tax, to the AIDS crisis,” said Brandon Cuicchi of ACT UP. “The September 17 protest is an exciting way for us to kick off the 2012 election season.”

NEW YORK: Cops Arrest Four As Occupy "Guitarmy" Marches To Zuccotti Park

Their clip description:

The Guitarmy had returned from their 99 Mile March from the Occupy National Gathering. We had greeted them at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal and together we marched to Zucotti Park and celebrated. A feeling of glory days returned was in the air. To the NYPD we certainly seemed a menace, as a series of actions reminiscent of Occupation days drew overreactive violence. The first of these was the arrest of a drummer who had moved from the celebration circle to the West side of the park, the site of the old drum circle. Crying "that's my son!" an older Guitarmy marcher dressed as the Statue of Liberty fell to the ground, allegedly shoved by a police officer who regarded her as interfering with the arrest. At the same time a photographer was arrested, his camera confiscated and dog held by a police officer.

Occupy Bear Street

SEATTLE: Occupy Activists Dump $5000 In Marked Bills From A Hotel Window

Via Seattle Times:

Activists tossed $5,000 off a downtown Seattle building Wednesday to protest money in politics. Dollar bills came swirling down just after 5 p.m. at Seventh Avenue and Pike Street, to the delight of tourists. The money was printed with the words "money as speech silences us all," a statement of protest against court rulings that consider political donations from businesses a form of free speech. According to the activists' website, the money will go back into general circulation and get their message out. Holly Rozner, a tourist visiting Seattle from Chicago with a group of friends, fetched $14 from the sky. "I just saw it coming down," she said. "I didn't think it was real." Matthew Toles, a photographer taking pictures of the money drop, said a "shower of money" lasted between five and 15 minutes. At first, people carried on with their business, not realizing that it was money fluttering down, he said. The wind blew some of the money onto a bar awning and into a nearby alley, sending people hunting for cash on windowsills and Dumpster lids.

ARIZONA: Ex-Wall Street Banker Kills Himself With Poison After Arson Verdict

As news cameras rolled, a former Wall Street banker appeared to swallow poison moments after he was convicted of burning down his Arizona mansion. Paramedics pronounced him dead minutes after he went into convulsions on the court room floor.

All eyes were on the court clerk as she read the verdict on a single count. Then the jury left the room so that Cohen and the attorneys could set the ground rules for the ensuing hearing about whether there were aggravating factors that could result in a harsher sentence for Marin. What video later revealed is that seconds after the verdict was read, Marin rubbed his cupped hands across his face with an expression of dismay. His mouth seemed to open beneath the hands and it appeared as if he swallowed something. Then he took a sports-drink bottle from a briefcase and drank from it.

Investigators say they will make no conclusions until they get the toxicology report.

Hospital Stocks Soar On SCOTUS Ruling

And insurance company stocks drop. Details.

OccuPride At NYC Pride

Occupy And Stonewall: A Comparison

"This Sunday, as every fourth Sunday in June, the streets of New York will fill with prideful marchers celebrating Pride Month. There will be similar marches, too, in cities around the country. Sunday marks the forty-third year since the uprising in a Greenwich Village bar called Stonewall that supposedly started the modern gay revolution. The myth is that a few hundred angry people acted out in lower Manhattan, and the world changed. Maybe that’s where Occupy Wall Street got the idea that this is how it’s done.

"It’s the wrong lesson. Stonewall was the product of a handful of brilliant community organizers applying basic principles of social organizing. Without them, Stonewall would have been nothing more than one of several gay-bar pushbacks in the late sixties, or another one of the non-gay street demonstrations that characterized New York in that tumultuous time. It was the dedicated strategizing of the men and women of the nascent gay movement that turned something unremarkable into the Bastille. Their achievement is a field guide to how to make a social movement, and also offers insight into why Occupy is failing." - Renowned historian of the gay movement Linda Hirshman, writing for the New Yorker.

Hit the link for how Hirschman came the above conclusion. Her just-released book, Victory: The Triumphant Gay Revolution, is on sale nationwide.

CHICAGO: Three Occupy Activists Charged With Terrorist Plot At NATO Protests

Lawyers for the men say undercover police planted evidence as part of a campaign to discredit the Occupy movement.

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