excerpted from Liz Moran of Stand With Montanans … Stand With Montanans is leading a campaign to pass a citizen initiative on  the Nov. ballot that will ban corporate personhood and corporate campaign  contributions and charge our congressional delegation with proposing a  constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizens United decision. You  might’ve read in today’s Chronicle that we had a launch event in Helena on  Thursday where the Gov, Lt Gov and a former Secretary of State signed the  petition and called on Montanans to do the same. “I’m the area organizer in Bozeman and we’re just getting the campaign … Continue reading →

Occupy Bozeman had two gatherings in celebration of May Day 2012. Here are some pictures and captions from today’s soapbox gathering at Soroptimist Park as well as the one at Montana State University’s 11th Avenue roundabout. Marshall gives the history of May Day. Don’t work! Enjoy the view! Like the IWW soapboxes of old during the free speech fights (1906-1916) in towns as near as Missoula and across the country, activists were jailed for speaking like Marshall is. Remember, it was the working class who did more to protect free speech and improve our quality of life than any other … Continue reading →

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Marshall Swearingen (406) 580-7030 BOZEMAN GROUP TO HOST DISCUSSION ABOUT ALTERNATIVES TO BIG BANKS Occupy Bozeman invites public to free event, representatives from Montana state bank working group and local credit unions to speak BOZEMAN, MT — Occupy Bozeman, a Montana group in solidarity with the international Occupy movement, invites the public to a discussion about alternatives to corporate banks. Representatives from local credit unions, as well as from a working group aimed at creating a Montana state-run bank like that of North Dakota, will speak and answer questions. The free event will be held at the … Continue reading →

download flyers (full size, 4 per sheet) Sunday, April 29, 2012 1:30pm until 3:30pm GALLATIN LABOR TEMPLE 422 E Mendenhall Street OCCUPY BOZEMAN ALTERNATIVE BANKING www.occupybozeman.org Join the discussion to learn more about state banks and credit unions, which are not-for-profit financial cooperatives.Occupy Bozeman is organizing this event to provide information to locals who are concerned about the effects of corporate banks such as Wells Fargo, which has been the focus of a divestment campaign. Corporate banks have abused the taxpayer support provided by the 2008 bailout, engaged in fraudulent practices, and hurt the economy. There are many benefits to … Continue reading →

(download audio 1:40:15) Occupy Helena Community Dialogue Series March 25, 2012 Transcript – Wells Fargo Divestment Campaign and Public Banking Institute.docx Location: Lewis and Clark Library, Helena, Mont. Frank Kromkowski: My name is Frank Kromkowski, and I’m a member of Occupy Helena, and I’m a member of a workgroup of Occupy Helena called the Community Connections workgroup, which has been doing a variety of dialogue events since December. Occupy Helena has been in existence since October 15 when we joined the national movement in support of Occupy Wall Street. This particular event today is the third in a series that … Continue reading →

Audio file (click the link to play on your computer – length 1 hour, 40 minutes, 15 seconds): http://radio.indymedia.org/uploads/wells_fargo_divestment_campaign_talk_helena_march_25_2012_0.mp3 Jim Macdonald and Josh Davis of Occupy Bozeman led a discussion in Helena for Occupy Helena‘s Community Dialogue Series. Jim talked about Wells Fargo, particularly what’s at stake … how big banks have left us without any meaningful voice; Josh talked about an alternative being developed to big banks – the Public Banking Institute … based on a model used successfully in North Dakota, a state that has not felt any noticeable effects from the national recession. Jim also writes this: … Continue reading →