The more we learn about the bankster bailouts and the “Federal” Reserve Bank, the more we see who really pulls the strings in our country. What we are witnessing is not capitalism; it's criminal, and we're the victims.

The plans they're making don't look like anything we would choose for ourselves. How much further from our constitutional base will we allow ourselves to drift? Who does our elected government really represent? What is the cause and cure of empire?

This is an uncommon opportunity to frame our own debate against a shared threat. Step outside the bickering of “conservative” or “liberal” politics to see that our country and our future are being stolen while, divided, we fall.

We are the 99 percent. There are hundreds of millions of us, and we've all been had. Now let's be heard.

The Occupy Lakeport event will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, in the “banker's block” at Fifth and Main streets.

Franklin Ley lives in Lakeport, Calif.