This was a hard fought campaign for them.

Chase bank officials agreed at their annual shareholder meeting to stop underwriting the strip-mining called “Mountaintop Removal (MTR).” Less than two years ago, the bank managed a $690 million bond offering with the top MTR mining company, Massey Energy.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Mr. Talen pen such a piece recently. He’s usually not writing because he is more active in the streets and after all he is running for NYC Mayor.

The average New Yorker deals with thousands of selling pitches each day, from six story high Kate Mosses down to the logos in the litter. The corporation has overwhelmed whole cultural traditions – the arts and religion and education and journalism. This “soft” side of society is now fully corporation-dependent. Anyone who opposes this take-over is called a “protester,” or “controversial.” We think we are full of energy and change because we believe the ads designed by corporate media reflect our own lives. The truth is that we are suffering a time of passive Consumerism reminiscent of American culture in the 1950’s. Everything we do in public life is thoroughly de-politicized.

And yet we live in a time where we can dream of freedom from Consumerism. As we say in the church, there is “Life After Shopping!” Consumerism, based on its false idea of prosperity – imploded in 2008. We call it “The Shopocalypse.” Here is one form the downturn took in New York: The bulldozers destroying our neighborhoods suddenly ran out of gas. And now families are coming out of their homes and looking around as if a bombardment has paused. We’re talking to each other on the corner. As the gleaming buildings stand over us, half-finished and frozen in space – we look back at the Bloomberg economy standing there and feel our true feelings rise up.

He’s basically equating the mayoralty to the real estate speculation that has been cast down on New York City.

And so we come to “the Rise of the Fabulous 500 Neighborhoods.” Lots of our smaller communities within the bigger Gotham had good economies before Consumerism attacked with its chain stores and luxury condos. Bloomberg runs our city thinking it is his corporation, New York City, Inc. Until last year, he was leading an assault on the neighborhoods like a military operation, creating an epidemic of high-rises, evictions and homelessness. He has turned over all that is best about our city to his market transactions. Mike Bloomberg’s persona is so comically a demonstration of Consumerism, that his illegal grab for another term and his spending $100 million on it – making the Mayorality one big product that he is buying – gives us the chance to demonstrate in unforgettable fashion how our Democracy needs to resist Consumerism.