Saturday, November 12, 2011

The Democratic Machine vs OWS

I don't think we have to worry too much any more about the Democratic Party co-opting OWS. The elite of the DNC have pretty much shut up about it.  Emails from MoveOn.org, trumpeting solidarity with the movement and trying to fund-raise off its back, no longer appear in my inbox. If you're paying any attention at all to the Democratic leaks out of the SuperCommittee, you're finding out that they're bending over backwards, offering cuts in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid -- even permanent extension of the Bush tax cuts -- in exchange for some loopy closings of corporate tax loopholes. I say loopy, because it's crazy to assume these little proposed wrist-slaps to the one percent will be permanent.  Lobbyists are already champing at the bit in salivating anticipation of ripping those loopholes apart at the seams the minute they're sewn shut with their cheap thread. But cuts in "entitlements" are forever. Poor people don't have a lobby. Yet.


That's the story under the Beltway Bubbledome: willful ignorance of the Occupy movement and the will of the majority, other than from the usual populist diehards like Bernie Sanders and Dennis Kucinich. But at the local level, in the cities, the encampments are under direct siege by..... Democratic mayors. And so, writes Paul Rosenberg in an excellent piece, it's about time we "Occupy the Democratic Party", too. Oakland Mayor Jean Quan has been the most egregious in instigating violence against the protesters. But, writes Rosenberg:


"... Oakland is hardly alone when it comes to Democratic mayors ordering mass arrests of Occupiers for exercising their First Amendment rights. In fact, aside from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg - a Republican turned independent - most of the mayors involved have been Democrats. Boston's Mayor Tom Menino had 141 people arrested on October 11. Under Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, roughly 300 Occupy supporters have been arrested in a series of attempts to set up a stable base camp. In Atlanta, 52 protesters were arrested on October 26 under orders of Mayor Kasim Reed, who said the “last straw” came when a man carrying an AK-47 joined the demonstrators. But the man was rejected by the Occupiers, and what he did was legal under Georgia law. Besides, no Tea Party demonstration was ever shut down because someone there was carrying an assault weapon."



Occupy Oakland Crackdown
 Part of the reason for Democratic reactions ranging from indifference to downright hostility, Rosenberg continues, are the dire economic straits most big cities are finding themselves in. Austerity is the rule. Babysitting the Occupy camps costs money.... money that no longer comes in from property taxes on homes that have been foreclosed, nor from Washington. Another factor is that so many cities have sold or leased themselves to private interests to make ends meet. The parking meters of Chicago, for example, have been rented out to the Kingdom of Dubai under a 75-year lease.


Just last night, Occupy St. Louis was forcibly shut down (by a Democratic mayor named Slay) at the urging of the private elite interests of the one percent.


The Republicans, of course, are simply, desperately off-the-wall, over-the-top nuts when it comes to trashing OWS. Americans for Prosperity, the Koch Brothers front group, had a kniption fit when protesters gathered around their hilariously named "Defending the American Dream" summit last weekend.  Tim Phillips, AFP spokesman, breathlessly sent out emails reporting the attacks of the rabble against the besieged One Percent:
"During our "Tribute to Ronald Reagan" dinner on Friday night, the protesters with Occupy Wall Street stormed the convention center trying to take away our 1st Amendment rights!!!....
Their violence, vile language, and disrespect for fellow Americans was outrageous. One of our activists who is wheel-chair bound was denied use of the ramp to depart the center.  A 78 year old grandmother from Michigan was assaulted and knocked down.  The 7 year old child of one of our AFP Foundation activists was cursed and jostled..... They (OWS) possess a vehement hatred of free enterprise and capitalism.  They openly call for socialism.  We know that free enterprise has lifted more Americans out of the muck and mire of poverty and despair than any economic system in world history.  They call for violence, break the law, and disrespect fellow Americans.  We respect the law and work to peacefully support sound policy for our nation."
Of course, this isn't true.* As a matter of fact, one of the OWS protesters was hit by a car driven by a convention attendee. The only people paying attention to the Andrew Breitbarts and the right wing any more are the minority die-hard right-wingers themselves. They no longer control the narrative, despite the implicit acquiescence of the conservative Democrats.  OWS is on the ascendant.  The pendulum is swinging back in the right direction --- or, should I say, in the left direction.


*Update/Clarification: I found this undoctored video of the event in question. No actual video exists of the elderly woman being pushed down the stairs, only the aftermath.** The usual Breitbart-ish splice and dice versions are, of course, making the rounds in Right Wing Cyberspace. What is not true, by the way, is Tim Phillips's characterization of OWS, as well as the claim that unfettered capitalism has raised Americans "out of the muck and mire of poverty and despair." Quite the opposite: deregulation of the big banks led directly to the crash and the overnight loss of trillions of dollars of household wealth, the greatest income disparity in history, 20 percent defacto unemployment and one in five people "officially" poor.

** Update on update: Reader Ned has found more videos of the pushing incident. See comments.

45 comments:

  1. Karen, I really enjoy Sardonicky and respect your funny and sharp criticisms. I think I can tell the difference between opinion and fact and expect you to legimately range between those two. Would you mind taking another look at the 78 year old woman who was knocked down at that dinner? I saw the tape and it was a chaos and she stupidly insisted upon wading into that mess. But she was knocked down. As I said, I respect you and will be open to your view of what happened.

    Ned

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  2. @Ned,
    Thanks, have posted some video on the incident from a reputable website. Nothing that I could see of her being pushed, and eyewitness accounts vary. Judge for yourselves.

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  3. She could have accidentally fallen, been bumped accidentally, or pushed deliberately. There is no way of telling from the video. You're right Karen.

    But I can see that the polite, educated, liberal middle class is being torn, torn by the very sight of it all. The poor bastards are finally waking up to the fact that this is a revolution, that we have been betrayed by the Democratic Party and that they are going to have to chose sides. Sorry folks, it's not going to be pretty and someone's going to hate you, someone's going to want to hurt you, no matter what side you're on - get used to it.

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  4. Karen I agree your video is undoctored and shows only the aftermath so no conclusion is valid. I can't be terrily helpful here - I'll try to find the one I saw. It started some minutes earlier, just inside the building, and there were more/lots people in the crush. There was a second older woman in a black and white striped top with white hair. I concentrated on her as the link noted a 78 year old woman had been pushed. She seemed to fit the description - the brunette doesn't, or didn't to me, look 78 to me. Note you don't get a good look at her until she turns over (woman in orange). The woman with white hair was remarkedly stupid trying to push through that crowd. I sure would hope my mother would not have been so stupid, or, for that matter, caught dead at a Koch event. Anyway, that video was pretty convincing. I'm being careful here for the tape had the problems we have seen many times of events filmed in a crush of antagonists. It was jumpy and quick. But it was filming as the entire event happened. The woman was caught in a crush, you lose sight of her (as would happen as she falls) the crowd "opens" and she is on the ground. I remember it well because I didn't want it to be true. Because it covers the entire event in a crowd of people, I don't know how it could have been doctored. I don't have an axe to grind here. I did see it, it was pretty conclusive. So while I very much regret it, I continue to question "it is a lie".

    Ned

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  5. @Ned,
    If you send me the link to the video you refer to, I will be happy to post it for comparison. If it comes from a Tea Party website, however, I wouldn't trust it. The AFP video was deliberately blurred and spliced. Just to be clear, I think the Tea Party "lie" is in their description of the OWS movement itself.

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  6. Karen

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prgkEAuSQT0&feature=player_embeddedren

    Not happy that this is what I have found so far. It is not the one I saw for you cannot see the woman making her way from inside the building to the outside. No need to point out the problem with DC. I know. But it does show more of the event. "Roshamon" anyone?

    Ned

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  7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=pTnOwaTRDog

    Karen, THIS shows exactly what happened to the woman in the black and white top. Still not the one I originally saw and only records moments of the event. I'd say the guy who did it was Not from OWS. But I'm basing that on pretty slim stuff - he's carrying a clip board! But we can know one thing for sure. This was not staged. And it was not intentional. But as James says: it's not going to be pretty...

    "Roshamon" over. But I do wish I could find that other view.

    Ned

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  8. I looked at the video and noticed that the camera appears to be following the woman in orange who 'fell'. Also a guy with a camera right before the 'fall' appears to be coming right in the direction of the woman who 'fell'. Another individual just before the 'fall' gives a hand signal in a downward direction. Right after those two events the woman goes down. It is not clear how or why she went down from the video. Perhaps the whole thing was stagged perhaps one of her fellow attendees pushed her perhaps it was an OWS protester. It is not possible to tell.
    All that said, people on both sides will be hurt some deliberately others accidentally if the protests go on. What's the saying? "You can't make an omlete without breaking a few eggs".

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  9. &James F Traynor
    I believe you're quite right. This is revolution in the making.
    And, the prospect of rampant social unrest frightens me.
    America is an armed camp, with the potential for massive bloodshed.
    I trained as a 'man the baracades' social worker, back in the day in the UK. I was young, I was idealistic.
    I am now older, much older. I know that our system of government has failed.
    But, the thought of what we will have to endure to effect change does frighten me.
    No power, no heat, no running water. Can my much frailer body tolerate that?
    I don't know, but I believe I will find out.

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  10. What's the big deal about a woman falling or being pushed? We're beyond that 'help the little lady cross the street' era. There are a lot of pushy ladies around. The older we get, the pushier we get. In your face, motherf'er!

    This is not a movement of saints, so let's not get suckered into a blame game, especially over a minor incident. Did she end up in the hospital with a brain injury? Did the people who tried to help her get an explosive thrown at them?

    Hey, maybe she simply fell off her shoes - did anyone look at her footwear and the height of the heels? I've seen lots of women twist an ankle or fall due to their footwear. Shit happens.

    The fact is, the establishment (and that includes TLOTE Democrats) is disowning us, and that is a good sign. They like their choice of evil in two varieties. We don't like either, and we're not buying their products anymore, no matter which corporation is sponsoring them.

    The Revolution has begun.

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  11. Karen Many thanks for posting the additional videos. We'd be in less trouble if there were more journalists with such integrity.

    Ned

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  12. @ Mac and all. Not to worry Mac. One, it is probably far too small yet to turn really violent. Two, I am not young any more either and remember no one gets out of this life alive. Three, there is a strong ethos in the OWS to avoid violence. If it stays that way(non violent on OWSs part, as I believe it should, and the momentum keeps building then, then like Gandi said "finally we win".

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  13. I just finished reading looking at realitychex.com and noticed the reference to this comment by Karen. I think that Karen's idea of occupying the Democratic Party is a truly great one. This is the party that is supposed to be for all the people of the USA not just the rich and their multinational corporations. Obama is a disgrace to the people's party and needs to be challenged and removed. He has lied and sold us out at every turn and is poised to do it again. We'd have been better off with McCain as president even with his sociopathic running mate. I can still remember her question a year or so ago, "How's that hopey thing working for you now". At least we wouldn't have been sold out by someone who is nothing more than a traitor to what the party has stood for in the past. Get rid of Obummer and all the rest of the corporate stooges.

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  14. Thanks, Anne, for putting the discussion back into perspective, lest we allow our own old toes to be tripped up on stumbling blocks neatly placed in our path yet again for the purpose of distraction from what is important, what counts.

    What counts? One woman at one particular event tripped up by her own heels, maybe, or jostled accidentally by a bystander, maybe, or pushed by some thug, maybe?

    Without swallowing everything utilitarian by Jeremy Bentham we might say that millions count a great deal more, especially if more grievously harmed day in day out for decades. As with the millions who have been left high and dry without their life savings so a relative few on Wall Street can swim in an ever growing pool of stolen green paper. Like the millions who will be foreclosed upon this year on top of the millions who lost their homes last year. Like the millions who have no work to support themselves and their families, not because they are lazy or without talent, but because of policies rigged to make bigger profits for those few special people called corporations. Want me to get into the big numbers relating to foreign policy?

    And we’re being asked here in the comments, despite the original subject of Karen’s blog, to focus harder and harder on the misstep of one woman who may or may not have been pushed at a political gathering? Give me a break. She’s being used by the trolls as another red herring drawing us away from the subject of a potentially large scale, radical social reform (OWS), which may be the more appropriate attention getter in face of the gross injustices of our times and the numbers affected.

    The issue is not twisted ankles; it’s slow murder perpetrated by those corporate persons.

    “It is common knowledge that poverty kills just as surely as the most bloody war. But poverty does more than kill, it leads to physical deformity (just think of Biafra), to psychological deformity (there are many cases of mental subnormality for which hunger is responsible), and to moral deformity (those who, through a situation of slavery, hidden but nonetheless real, are living without prospects and without hope, foundering in fatalism and reduced to a begging mentality).”
    Dom Hélder Câmara

    So, anyway, please go on about the countless angles view of one old woman’s stumble while we all turn away, in relief, from the millions in misery.

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  15. Great discussion by all about this issue. @Jay really nails it. The right-wing attempt to milk the fall by the old woman, whatever its specifics, is basically a distraction from the real issue of SYSTEMATIC harm, done over DECADES to MILLIONS of people. The right has devoted a great deal of effort to making the American populace believe that minimally-regulated, minimally-taxed capitalism is a great good for all. Their apologist retrenchment position is that if any harm does occur, it is transient and outweighed in importance by the fact that capitalism, no matter what its form, is supposedly "lifting all our boats". The statistics of wealth and income gain over the past several decades clearly show that to be false, and despite the pabulum and propaganda served up by the mainstream media, a significant number of people are becoming enlightened to the truth. So the next step for the plutocracy and the corporatists, and their water-carriers in government, is the classic "fear of disorder" gambit, which both scares the populace and legitimizes open repression by the instruments of state power.

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  16. There seems to be a lot of focus on the elderly woman but none on the businesses which are suffering losses due to the activities of the OWS "movement". This is not a revolution, it's just another mob demanding something for nothing.

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  17. @Jay,

    Slow murder.

    You've perfectly described the countless criminal acts of the corporatocracy in just two words. The sooner the rest of the 99% catch on to this horribly ugly truth, the sooner we can get on with the Revolution.

    (First time I've used the R-word in print. Feels good.)

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  18. Give us some details Anonymous.

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  19. @Everybody:
    The fact that the anonymati are starting to trash Occupy, despite the majority of those polled expressing their support, is testament to its rising power and success.
    I posted the last comment simply as an example of the growing backlash out there. But in the future, I will not be accepting anonymous comments unless they are accompanied by a name. The name can be fake or real, or just initials, but those wishing to use this forum must identify themselves in some fashion. Additionally, when someone questions the veracity of what I write, and does so in a respectful manner, I will make every attempt to clarify and if necessary, correct.

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  20. I'm happy to provide a name but perhaps is the Ms. Garcia is going to get her undies in a knot over anonymous comments she should remove that option.

    One thing is quite clear from the comments; opposing opinions are not welcome.

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  21. "The fact that the anonymati are starting to trash Occupy, despite the majority of those polled expressing their support, is testament to its rising power and success."

    So disagreement or expressing any opinion which doesn't support the "moderator" is now considered "trashing". My, my, we do have thin skins don't we?

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  22. Hello George R,
    You are welcome to post your views;I only wish to distinguish among those who wish to post anonymously to tell them apart. I gets confusing when three or four different "Anonymouses" are all posting at the same time. A Gordian knot, if you will.

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  23. George R,

    If you've got something to say, say it. If you are the nameless Anonymous answer my question. Give details of a small business or businesses suffering because of OWS.

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  24. James Traynor,

    Please, smashed store fronts, customers being driven off by offensive behavior, closing down the Port of Oakland, business owners firing employees they can't afford to keep. How much more evidence do you need?

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  25. One common thread on this and other sites is the need for people to have someone or something to blame for our own bad ideas, actions or inactions.

    Corporations are not to blame for the current economic mess. We are the cause. Who are the we? The we are those who borrowed huge amounts of money with no real idea or means to repay it. Be it the home buyer or the student who goes deeply into debt to attend college based on the assumption a college degree is the ticket to prosperity.

    Well, I hate to break it to you but it ain’t so. It’s not the 1%; they have it figured out. It’s the 99% who are victims of their own willful blindness enabled by well-intentioned government policies with no real thought given to possible negative consequences.

    It's time to grow up, go back home to the parent's house, take a shower and act like responsible citizens.

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  26. George R. What we really don't need are sexist comments such as yours about the state of Karen's clothing.
    Also George, please don't ask for sympathy for an unnamed store owner when millions have been dispossessed and had their lives badly disrupted by the multinational criminals and their paid off, traitorous politicians. Not only that but in many other countries like Iraq and Afganistan our armies are used to kill and maime hundreds of thousands and war criminals like Cheney and Bush get off not only scott free but with national honors. Get real George and wake the heck up!

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  27. Evaltri, there is a big difference between growing up and waking up – I’m awake, but are you grown up? Who are the “dispossessed”? You must mean “dispossessed” of common sense and reasoning.

    “…our armies are used to kill and maime hundreds of thousands…” Now what do you suppose armies are for? War is one of those uncomfortable facts of life. They have been going on since the beginning of time and nothing is likely to change. The only things which change are the scale and the locale; we have become much more efficient at killing. It’s easier to unleash a rocket from a drone piloted from half way around the world than to look your enemy in the eye while you put a sword through their heart. We are moving the battlefield into outer space but people will still die.

    The only deterrent to war is strength and the prospect of massive retaliation. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be working on radical Islam.

    You illustrate my point regarding blaming other with you blaming Bush and Cheney. You need to realize the world if full of people with less than altruistic motives and agendas.

    Predictably, those who don’t buy into your utopian views are either racist or sexist.

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  28. George R,

    Smashing store fronts is a crime and the perps should be punished. But OWS is not responsible for the crimes of the few who have done so. And from what I've seen, they actively try to prevent such things.

    Closing down the Port of Oakland? If they can do so peaceably why not. I imagine you're also against unions and strikes.

    As for your blanket claim that the 1% have it right, then you are condoning obvious thievery, thievery that is proudly proclaimed by people like you and unpunished by our government.

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  29. In response to James Traynor,

    “Smashing store fronts is a crime and the perps should be punished. But OWS is not responsible for the crimes of the few who have done so. And from what I've seen, they actively try to prevent such things.”

    So OWS is not responsible yet you hold all “corporations” responsible for the acts of a few. I suppose that makes sense to you.

    “Closing down the Port of Oakland? If they can do so peaceably why not. I imagine you're also against unions and strikes.”

    Why not? Well, because a lot of people are dependent on the trade into and out of the port to earn a living. I suppose if you are unemployed, miserable and full of self-pity and you just want to bring everyone down to the same level, it doesn’t matter.

    “I imagine you're also against unions and strikes.” You have an over-active imagination. I’ve worked with unions. In my opinion, unions have played a crucial role in the development of our economy and improving working conditions. However, unions have been infiltrated and corrupted by Communists and others with other not so noble objectives. Extorting money from those who are not union members by choice and using it to fund political activities opposed by the same union members is hardly looking out for worker interests. If you look at the evidence, unions have a history of racism, corruption, bullying and otherwise brutish behavior. The seniority system is in itself discriminatory. There are a few unions who get it and have worked with management toward common beneficial goals, but they are very few in number.

    Management is as much to blame as unions because they have routinely caved in to union demands – I’ve heard it expressed by managers as whatever the union gets we will get a bit more. Public employee unions are particularly bad. Even FDR, the leftist God, understood that.

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  30. Hey George, are you talking about all that damage the Penn State students caused, none of whom were arrested? As you say, "how much more evidence do you need?"

    And back at ya, George! "Grow up, go back to your parents house, take a shower, and act like a responsible citizen".

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  31. Here's a few additional thoughts related to judging the veracity of video at OWS gatherings: if no one is arrested from the 'incident', it is probably an inside job (police), especially if it is a policeman who claims to be injured. That also holds true if it appears to be a civilian since they it could still be a police officer.

    If injuries don't require transport to a medical facility, same - they don't want to get really injured, they just want it to look that way. Plus they don't want to pay for the medical expenses for a fake injury and take the risk of having it documented since that might give the game away.

    If there is no official investigation or documentation by police or medical facilities, then the alleged incident should be suspect.

    And as Veltri helpfully points out, check out who the camera is following before the 'act' and look for the partners. The fakes like police infiltrators act in pairs usually, not alone. A real kook or troublemaker will probably show up and act on his own and probably without a camera trained on him in advance.

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  32. @All I apologize for the distraction I caused by posting additional videos. I do not dispute that the column was excellent, OWS a laudable movement, and fully support the 99%. It was not my intention to get into a discussion of Bentham and utilatarianism where I am bound to be conflicted. But you do have my sincere apology. I have one request. Watch the video I posted at 12:52 am. The woman is bowled over by a man that I suppose is affliated with the Koch event. It is clear. If anyone, after viewing, says that she tripped or there was a problem with shoes and Karen supports that position, I will send $100 to Karen for her favorite charity.

    Ned

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  33. Anne Lavoie, ok, I’ve showered. You lost me with your Penn State comment; I never mentioned Penn State.

    Violent protests, including vandalism, against the firing of those responsible for committing and abetting sexual assault on children might make sense to some but is impossible to reconcile in my book. Does anyone really believe the entire coaching staff didn’t know what was going on? Even the janitorial staff knew about it.

    The Board of Regents should shut down the football program for a few years and clean up the mess. But, that would mean foregoing a lot of TV money - can't have that.

    As for the students, they should go back to class. Apparently many of the “adult” fans behaved equally as bad – screaming obscenities at a former grad who had the audacity to display a sign critical of the university.

    How many dead so far due to the OWS movement? How much property damage?

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  34. what I keep not hearing about is how the OWS keeps having psychotics, mentally disabled and other urban flotsam dumped onto OWS encampments by the authorities.
    I've said for a long time that the US will only listen when grandma and grandpa are getting their head beat with truncheons or shot with rubber bullets. I'd say the best course of action would be to protest naked like the Doukobours did when the Canadians tried to draft their boys into the military. The Canadians government failed.
    Now a days we risk civil seizure of our lifetime possessions starting with the house for protesting. You'd do well to figure some asset protection trusts before embarking on a precarious legal course of action. Protesters need to look like everyone else; otherwise todays hippie is tomorrows bum depending upon economic conditions. And the Democrats are the party revolutionaries join because they look and act like they dance more than Mitch McConnell's GOP.

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  35. Re: "unions have been infiltrated and corrupted by communists"....good heavens sir, this is 2011 not 1954. Is Joseph McCarthy your hero?

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  36. “George R,”

    You are taking a very few exceptions and pitting them against the rule. This is a rhetorical device meant to mislead readers into thinking you have a legitimate argument - which you don't. And guess what? All opinions aren't equal. There are educated opinions and there are ignorant opinions (hint: if your opinions are influenced by the non-stop propaganda of FOX "news" it is an ignorant opinion.) And what kind of a creep says something sexist and insulting like the "undies" comment? That is the kind of smarmy remark that a spoiled fraternity boy would make IN COLLEGE. It certainly doesn't belong on a blog where there is an EDUCATED polite exchange of ideas. Go away and come back when you can comport yourself with some dignity and manners - and in the meantime READ something that isn't put through the right wing propaganda filter.

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  37. @proponents of Revolution

    Revolution is relatively easy. What follows is hard, a new government and economic system. And don’t forget the ‘purge’ that would be necessary, as with the Cultural Revolution in China. Millions ‘disappear’ so as not to cause trouble with the new government and economic system.

    The 2008 economic collapse was a bubble gone pop. The bubble was created by the Federal Reserve and Greenspan in response to the slowdown after the 911 attacks. Bush told us to go shopping, and we did. But more debt cannot solve a debt problem. Re-inflating a bubble is folly; bubbles always pop, always. Osama bin Laden struck a death blow on 911, and we are dying, over stupid US foreign policy.

    The US enjoyed prosperity following WWII because our factories were not damaged in the war, and the rest of the industrialized world was in ruins. For about twenty-five (25) years the US enjoyed competitive advantage, and times were good. (1945-1970). By 1970 the US lost that competitive advantage. Nixon went off the gold standard in 1971 to preserve our perceived purchasing power. Reagan introduced unprecedented deficit spending in the 1980’s to preserve our unsustainable living standard. The US economic ponzi scheme lasted about 40 years, a good run for a fiat money economy.

    @George R

    Why did Wall Street and Too Big To Fail banks need taxpayer funded bailouts? Gambling style financial transactions. Credit default swaps, derivatives, unmanageable counter-party risk, all weapons of economic mass destruction designed by the so-called best and brightest, not the 99% unwashed masses. Problem is, the 1% are not that smart, just crooked, psychotic, or beneficiaries of inherited wealth, like the Koch brothers. In 2009 Obama should have told the banks it's time to grow up, go back home to the parent's house, take a shower and act like responsible citizens. And eat their peas. Instead Obama rewarded failure and drove a death nail into what was left of capitalism. Now we have crony capitalism. Even the US Congress is allowed to trade on inside information, as shown last night on 60 minutes. Nancy Pelosi is laughing all the way to the bank, along with her republican contemporaries. Democrat or Republican, two horns on the same goat. And so-called free-trade was a sellout by our leaders. Our biggest export for some time has been American jobs.

    How many dead so far due to the endless US wars and global military empire? How much property damage? Bush, Cheney, Obama, and Biden are ALL war mongers who unleashed crimes against humanity. Especially Obama because he defrauded those who voted for him. At least Cheney was an ‘honest’ war monger.

    @everyone

    Americans don’t have the stomach for revolution and what follows. The best we can hope for is a worldwide economic collapse and resulting realignment.

    Don’t waste your life playing by the rules when you know the game is rigged; to do so is to condone your enslavement. Don’t waste your death in a nursing home. On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.

    What will you do now? Eat your peas, or get radical?

    http://yousue.org/new-american-revolution/

    (hat tip to Charles Hugh Smith and Zero Hedge for quotes in the second to last paragraph)

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  38. @proponents of Revolution

    Revolution is relatively easy. What follows is hard, a new government and economic system. And don’t forget the ‘purge’ that would be necessary, as with the Cultural Revolution in China. Millions ‘disappear’ so as not to cause trouble with the new government and economic system.

    The 2008 economic collapse was a bubble gone pop. The bubble was created by the Federal Reserve and Greenspan in response to the slowdown after the 911 attacks. Bush told us to go shopping, and we did. But more debt cannot solve a debt problem. Re-inflating a bubble is folly; bubbles always pop, always. Osama bin Laden struck a death blow on 911, and we are dying, over stupid US foreign policy.

    The US enjoyed prosperity following WWII because our factories were not damaged in the war, and the rest of the industrialized world was in ruins. For about twenty-five (25) years the US enjoyed competitive advantage, and times were good. (1945-1970). By 1970 the US lost that competitive advantage. Nixon went off the gold standard in 1971 to preserve our perceived purchasing power. Reagan introduced unprecedented deficit spending in the 1980’s to preserve our unsustainable living standard. The US economic ponzi scheme lasted about 40 years, a good run for a fiat money economy.

    @George R

    Why did Wall Street and Too Big To Fail banks need taxpayer funded bailouts? Gambling style financial transactions. Credit default swaps, derivatives, unmanageable counter-party risk, all weapons of economic mass destruction designed by the so-called best and brightest, not the 99% unwashed masses. Problem is, the 1% are not that smart, just crooked, psychotic, or beneficiaries of inherited wealth, like the Koch brothers. In 2009 Obama should have told the banks it's time to grow up, go back home to the parent's house, take a shower and act like responsible citizens. And eat their peas. Instead Obama rewarded failure and drove a death nail into what was left of capitalism. Now we have crony capitalism. Even the US Congress is allowed to trade on inside information, as shown last night on 60 minutes. Nancy Pelosi is laughing all the way to the bank, along with her republican contemporaries. Democrat or Republican, two horns on the same goat. And so-called free-trade was a sellout by our leaders. Our biggest export for some time has been American jobs.

    How many dead so far due to the endless US wars and global military empire? How much property damage? Bush, Cheney, Obama, and Biden are ALL war mongers who unleashed crimes against humanity. Especially Obama because he defrauded those who voted for him. At least Cheney was an ‘honest’ war monger.

    @everyone

    Americans don’t have the stomach for revolution and what follows. The best we can hope for is a worldwide economic collapse and resulting realignment.

    Don’t waste your life playing by the rules when you know the game is rigged; to do so is to condone your enslavement. Don’t waste your death in a nursing home. On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.

    What will you do now? Eat your peas, or get radical?

    http://yousue.org/new-american-revolution/

    (hat tip to Charles Hugh Smith and Zero Hedge for quotes in the second to last paragraph)

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  39. Just saw and interesting video on youtube of the cop caught marching with the protesters in Oakland.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEUVA9WhIgY

    I guess I always want to give people the benefit of the doubt until they prove otherwise. And I would like to believe that there are police in the OPD who are totally against the rough police tactics. I think to myself, “Why shouldn't off duty police officers march with the movement? They ARE part of the 99%.” I remember being so impressed with OWS protesters saying to the NYpolice, "We are marching for you too! You are part of the 99%." I thought it was a great move, not just strategically but from an inclusive standpoint.

    And truthfully, the handful of anarchists latching onto the Occupy Movement are a problem - so it would be great to have some trained off duty police officers to help out if they see some thugs bent on violence and destruction. I think it would be great if more and more police joined the movement and went back to their police stations and reiterated that we are a peaceful group. It sounds like as they march, people have conversations about the purpose of the movement. Isn’t it better to have as many people on board as possible? I would think it would make fewer and fewer police so ready to hurt the protesters.

    I think the guy is sincere - just wondering what you all make of it.

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  40. @ George R. The dispossessed are the millions who have lost their jobs, homes, health care insurance or all three due to the unregulated greed and criminal behavior of the few powerfull CEOs of many of the multinational companies. But you, George, deny that and say those that were dispossessed were hurt due to their own ignorance. I guess you think they were ignorant for working for a company loyally for many years and they had no idea would just lay them off. Is it O.K. by you that the government should pass legislation allowing predatory corporations to take advantage of people? If the government does not make and enforce laws then cheaters and criminals will go unpunished. The problem now and the reason for OWS is that our government is working for those interests who want to profit off of those who are weaker then them politically and economically.
    You go on to accuse me of having utopian ideas and implying that I am against a strong national defense. Well, George I know that war is currently a reality and likely to remain one for long beyond the deaths of all reading this column. I do believe in a strong national defense but I also believe in only resorting to war when we are physically attacked by the country we declare war on. We have a military budget greater than the entire rest of the world's nations combined. George Bush and Dick Cheney are war criminals because they attacked and killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who had nothing to do with 9/11. It was all about the oil, George, which the multinationals wanted for themselves. Its a travesty of justice those two are not tried for their actions. WWII and WWI were necessary wars. Iraq was not and there is no good reason for us to continue to occupy Afghanistan.

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  41. Wow, this has been like the Charge of the Garcia Brigade. Good to hear from so many of the troops today.

    Thanks, George, for showing us that there is nothing like mindless opposition to bring us together, stronger and more confident than ever in our message.

    Occupy!

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  42. Is this the real OWS objective?

    "Americans don’t have the stomach for revolution and what follows. The best we can hope for is a worldwide economic collapse and resulting realignment."

    I'm sure that would help a lot of people.

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  43. @George

    So like a Rush Limbaugh Republican to take one line out of context and make it the focus of your whole argument.

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  44. @George R

    Yes George, an economic realignment would help a lot of people, it would benefit the 99%, and probably help you too. Please join us George. Get that 1% monkey off your back.

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