I love the Occupy Wall Street comedy improv and am convinced it will be the final nail in the Democrat's metaphorical coffin come November 2012.
As Occupy Wall Street gains attention the Last Energized Progressives become the face of the left, which can only spell doom for the Dems. Remember, Democrats (other than safe-seat progressives like Nancy Pelosi) are constantly running away from their base, not towards it. Who can forget John Kerry disguising himself as a rifle-toting sportsman, or Barack Obama "evolving" on gay marriage? Protesting lefties will induce Vietnam-Woodstock flashbacks in our media and draw all sorts of attention to all sorts of issues that national Dems would rather ignore.
What issues might the protestors have in mind? Every answer to that leads the Dems into a quagmire. Right now the protestors have no demands or agenda, other than recreating a Vietnam-Woodstock-Tahrir vibe. Will they eventually figure out their goals? Heaven help the Democrats if they do. Or don't.
With no goals the protestors become the perfect metaphor for Obama, a Progressive Adrift. But can they get behind just one sensible goal and rally themselves and the nation to their cause? No way. If they pick one hobbyhorse to ride, the protestors are implicitly rejecting twenty others. For example, if they limit themselves to calling for more taxes on the rich, they are implicitly turning their back on gay marriage. Can't have that! But calling for taxes on the rich and a push for gay marriage risks abandonment of everyone on death row. Can't have that! But a push for taxes, gays, and death row inmates means that Gaia will be left to choke on greenhouse gasses. Can't have that!
And very quickly the Occupy Wall Street movement will have adopted every stale idea the left has beaten into the ground over the last twenty years. Which will have the virtue of being very appealing to Barack Obama, who hasn't had an original idea since he left college. But most of America won't find this agenda any more appealing now than they did when they rejected Walter Mondale, the Duke, Al Gore, and John Kerry.
AND LEST I FORGET: These are modern, college-age lefties - wait until they get on the subject of Palestine and Israel. Hard to believe the MSM can keep a lid on that for fourteen months.
I suppose they could call for free money to fund marriages between homosexuals currently on death row.
Posted by: PD | October 05, 2011 at 08:12 PM
Steve Jobs dead of Pancreatic cancer.
===============
Posted by: My Mac will observe a moment of silence. | October 05, 2011 at 08:16 PM
Anarchists Unite! LOL
Posted by: fdcol63 | October 05, 2011 at 08:17 PM
when do they want it?
NOW
what do they want?
???????
Posted by: Clarice | October 05, 2011 at 08:21 PM
lol, Clarice
Posted by: DebinNC | October 05, 2011 at 08:23 PM
Really an outrage--from Fox News:
"A Philadelphia newspaper reporter assigned to cover the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York is moonlighting as a Media Matters activist — tweeting in support of the protests while writing about them. Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Daily News — whose front page article on Tuesday carried the headline “It’s About Time!”— is also, according to his own Twitter feed, a senior fellow at Media Matters, the anti-Fox News media group. FoxNews.com was unable to find any mention of Bunch’s association with Media Matters on Philly.com, which hosts content from the Philadelphia Daily News and its rival, the Inquirer..."
Posted by: Clarice | October 05, 2011 at 08:24 PM
How about Financial District Mobilization Day? Everyone working in an urban financial district wears Che t-shirts and attends lectures on Das Kapital and the like taught by aging tenured leftist professors? Catered by the local collective that buys its food only from local farmers and its coffee beans only from Certified Fair Trade growers.
Posted by: Thomas Collins | October 05, 2011 at 08:32 PM
This is going to be a fabulous show. With hippies and union thugs blocking the traffic consisting of working men and women, the GOP might make further inroads in Gotham.
Posted by: Danube of Thought | October 05, 2011 at 08:34 PM
I get to look forward to this until the first snow, then these lost birds will reappear in time for the G20 and NATO meetings in the spring. I'm so excited about it I could roll my eyes.
Posted by: Melinda Romanoff | October 05, 2011 at 08:36 PM
Taranto had a bit about that, today.
Posted by: narciso | October 05, 2011 at 08:39 PM
I agree. They're mad and not going to take it anymore, but there is no consensus on what 'it' is (insert Clinton joke here) or how to go about fixing it.
And to make matters worse (for them), and counter to their deluded thinking, they are in the minority on almost every one of the its, the general public doesn't agree with them on much of anything. The public wants to get rid of all debt? The public wants to spend a trillion dollars planting trees? (by the way, doesn't their goal of restoring rivers to their natural flow, which would necessitate getting rid of the dams producing electricity, run counter to their goal of moving to fossil fuel free energy?)
And finally, they're lousy spokesmen for whatever it is. They can't string a couple of coherent sentences together, they sound like they've memorized the cliches, but without understanding the context, and, other than themselves, inspire nobody to rally round it.
Other than that, I think they're really on to it.
Posted by: steve | October 05, 2011 at 08:39 PM
That the left doesn't even realize freak shows tend to, inexplicably, freak out ordinary Americans says all you need to know about them and their grasp of reality.
And that they equate weirdo slackers and the professionally angry with normal American Tea Partiers says the rest.
Posted by: Ignatz | October 05, 2011 at 08:39 PM
That's is one thing I like about Maguire's Predictability.
" will have adopted every stale idea ...." You mean like the Tea Parties' 'Taxed Enough Already? I'm still not tired of hearing that.
Does it ever occur to any of us that it is in the Status Quo's best interest that we remain divided? I thought you people were supposed to be smart...
Posted by: Benjamin Franklin | October 05, 2011 at 08:40 PM
If this results in a revival of Peter, Paul, and Mary tunes I'm gonna' be pissed.
Posted by: daddy | October 05, 2011 at 08:43 PM
Sad.
Steve Jobs did wonderful things to liberate computing and culture.
Posted by: sbw | October 05, 2011 at 08:45 PM
OWS - Nothing exceeds like excess.
Posted by: sbw | October 05, 2011 at 08:47 PM
Yes, he did, sbw. Someone that talented and creative does not come along often. His passing is a big loss.
Posted by: Clarice | October 05, 2011 at 08:50 PM
There was a NY post story last week with a quote from a ground zero laborer to the effect of "I bust my ass all day and these stinking hippies block my way home? It ain't right"
By all means, Keep screwing up the NYC commute. Great platform.
Posted by: scott | October 05, 2011 at 08:55 PM
Frederick got to meet The Woz on our MacMania cruise. He has sent him an email expressing his feelings for the guy who made it poosible to play Penguin Race on his iPad. My whole family is an Apple Store dream - over 6 MacBooks, 1 iMac, 3 iPads, 5IPhones, 3iPods and 1 Apple TV. That and the stock.
Thank you Steve and may God bless your soul and your family.
Posted by: Jack is Back! | October 05, 2011 at 09:06 PM
I am very concerned that the tea party is going to get lumped in with OWS. And I'm not sure how to fight that.
Posted by: Jane | October 05, 2011 at 09:10 PM
Jane, the tea party types are the ones laughing at misbehavior.
Posted by: sbw | October 05, 2011 at 09:13 PM
On my way to South Station in Boston to catch the commuter train, I came across a little tent city forming at the edge of the financial district. A woman was speaking about the need for facilitators, floor managers and agenda setters for tomorrow. She said everyone was welcome. There were two signs, one a Ron Paul sign and the other a sign for Iraqi veterans against the war. There weren't enough folks to block traffic (at least at 9 pm there wasn't).
Posted by: Thomas Collins | October 05, 2011 at 09:16 PM
That's the last thing you need to worry about, Jane. Just take a look at any pictures of the two groups.
I think they should be seen as a natural by-product of the Obama malaise. They are the very people who were his strongest supporters and now, after three years of painful nothingness, they've taken to massing aimlessly in the streets.
Burn, baby, burn!
Posted by: Danube of Thought | October 05, 2011 at 09:22 PM
Jane
As Ann Colter has said, the OWS is the same as the Tea Party with but three differences:
The Tea Parties all have
A Job
A Shower
A Point
Posted by: Gmax | October 05, 2011 at 09:23 PM
The Unions are joining them too. The fact that the Unions are connecting themselves to shirt tails of these clowns show how diminished the Unions have became.
Can you imagine Jimmy Hoffa ever coupling the Teamsters with the likes of these knuckleheads?
Posted by: ambisinistral | October 05, 2011 at 09:26 PM
TC,
Outside the Federal Reserve Bank Bldg.? Hey why not. They are just across the Peter Pan bus station and the South St. MBTA where the direct route on the Red Line from Harvard can bring all kinds of very interesting signs, demands and fashion. The MIT kids will probably demand a return to slip-sticks but Harvard is definitely on the open borders and free money track.
Posted by: Jack is Back! | October 05, 2011 at 09:28 PM
"Burn, baby, burn!"
There it is.....
Posted by: Benjamin Franklin | October 05, 2011 at 09:28 PM
Jane, the tea party types are the ones laughing at misbehavior.
Oh I'm laughing, but the left is doing whatever they can to lump us together, and those out of reach of both groups won't realize that we obey the law, pick up the trash and love our country.
Posted by: Jane | October 05, 2011 at 09:35 PM
The Unions are in because the communists are running most of the major unions these days, and the class struggle is accepted gospel for these folks.
Posted by: Gmax | October 05, 2011 at 09:35 PM
When will the Justice Brothers show up?
Posted by: Danube of Thought | October 05, 2011 at 09:36 PM
Across the street from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, JiB. You have the correct location. I would have gone over and interviewed them for JOM, but I didn't feel like waiting for the 10:30 train (my train left at 9:15).
Posted by: Thomas Collins | October 05, 2011 at 09:38 PM
I want Malik Shabazz. It would sure complete the circle.
Posted by: Gmax | October 05, 2011 at 09:39 PM
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15187257
"'I'm the 99%'
In Boston, about 200 Northeastern University students protested against what they called corporate control of government and spiralling education costs.
Protests in other US cities have attracted thousands of supporters
In San Francisco, a crowd of several hundred marched in a loop around the financial district, chanting "They got bailed out, we got sold out". Union nurses had a large presence at the protest.
In Chicago, dozens of activists kept up their protest at the heart of the financial district, banging drums and holding up signs.
Protests have also been held recently in the cities of Las Vegas, Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington; and in the states of Missouri, Ohio and Florida.
MoveOn.org - a liberal activism website - is encouraging participants to post photos of themselves with the caption, "I'm the 99%" - a reference to those not among the wealthiest 1% of Americans."
Posted by: Benjamin Franklin | October 05, 2011 at 09:39 PM
Infowars:
The great injustice remains unidentified.
Posted by: Danube of Thought | October 05, 2011 at 09:40 PM
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/05/national/main20115857.shtml
NEW YORK - Unions gave a high-profile boost to the long-running protest against Wall Street and economic inequality Wednesday, with their members joining thousands of protesters in a lower Manhattan march. Across the country, students at several colleges walked out of classes in solidarity..
People gathered at Foley Square, an area encircled by courthouses and named for "Big Tom" Foley, a former blacksmith's helper who became a prominent state Democratic leader. From there they marched to Zuccotti Park, the protesters' unofficial headquarters, where they refueled with snacks and hurriedly painted new signs as the strong scent of burning sage wafted through the plaza.
Competing drum circles went full speed on the north and south sides of the square as people continued to chant and march around the perimeter.
Susan Henoch, 63, of Manhattan said she was a "child of the `60s" and came out to the park for the first time Wednesday. She held a sign that read, "Enough."
"It's time for the people to speak up," she said. "Nobody's listening to us, nobody's representing us. Politics is dead.
"This is no longer a recognizable democracy. This is a disaster," she said.
Sterling W. Roberson, vice president for the United Federation of Teachers, said union members shared the same ideals as activists who have been camped out in sleeping bags for more than two weeks.
"The middle class is taking the burden but the wealthiest of our state and country are not," he said.
Thousands of protesters packed Foley Square, standing behind police barricades in front of the courthouse buildings. Some wore union T-shirts, others were in business attire, and many left work early to be there.
People in the crowd were carrying red-white-and-blue signs bearing a giant star-graced A -- representing the motto "Rebuild America." Other signs bore slogans including "Tax Wall Street" and "Make Jobs Not Cuts."
Posted by: Benjamin Franklin | October 05, 2011 at 09:41 PM
http://abcnews.go.com/US/occupy-wall-street-protesters-americans/story?id=14652698
They are hundreds strong, but the protesters calling themselves Occupy Wall Street claim to speak for millions.
"It's about democracy; it's about everyone here has a chance to speak and be heard," said Justin Brown of Brooklyn, who joined the protest a week ago.
Their causes include everything from global warming to gas prices to corporate greed, and the Occupy Wall Street website says organizers took their inspiration in part from the so-called Arab Spring demonstrations that have tried to bring democracy across the Arab world.
But while their message might be a tad muddled, all are united by their anger over what they say is a broken system, a system that serves the wealthy and powerful at the expense of the rest.
Protester Brendan Burke insists he and the others are fighting for more than 99 percent of the American population.
"Everyone has this problem," he said, "White, black. Rich or poor. Where you live. Everyone has a financial inequity oppressing them."
Few had heard of Occupy Wall Street two weeks ago when protesters moved into a park in the heart of New York's financial district.
But after 15 straight days, they are now getting the backing of prominent celebrities like documentary film maker Michael Moore and Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon.
They're also now backed by powerful labor unions with hundreds of thousands of members and millions of dollars behind them.
Posted by: Benjamin Franklin | October 05, 2011 at 09:43 PM
'dangerous, this class warfare..."
http://abcnews.go.com/US/occupy-wall-street-protests-police-make-numerous-arrests/story?id=14673346
Earlier today, the AFL-CIO, United Auto Workers , and Transit Workers' Union are among the groups that stood in solidarity with the hundreds of mostly young men and women who have spent the better part of three weeks sleeping, eating, and organizing from Zuccotti Square..
Their arrival was touted as a watershed moment for the "Occupy" movement, which has now seen copycat protests spring up across the country. And while the specific demands of the "occupiers" remain wide-ranging, the presence of the unions – implicitly inclined to making more direct demands – may sharpen their focus.
Today's rally and march began at 3 p.m., when the protesters marched approximately one mile north to Foley Square, where they met community and labor leaders. Then, at 4:30 p.m., they marched together back down toward Wall Street.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, speaking at a retirement community in Florida on Tuesday, denounced the movement. "I think it's dangerous, this class warfare," he said.
Posted by: Benjamin Franklin | October 05, 2011 at 09:46 PM
This is an axelrod move that will backfire big time. It is a Hail Mary move that has no chance of succeeding.
Posted by: Clarice | October 05, 2011 at 09:47 PM
You may have seen this before...
You may be seeing it again.
Posted by: hit and run | October 05, 2011 at 09:48 PM
Dana, they had the same combination of celebs, unions, students, OFA, and money in the trial run in Madison. They keep doing the same thing and expecting different results. There is a word for that.
Posted by: henry | October 05, 2011 at 09:48 PM
Oh,wait...
Dang he's fast. I guess that's why "insta" is part of his name.
Posted by: hit and run | October 05, 2011 at 09:49 PM
Barack Obama, who hasn't had an original idea since he left college.
Truer words have never been spoken (or written)
Posted by: Neo | October 05, 2011 at 09:51 PM
You'll know it's doomed when Joan Baez makes an appearance.
Posted by: Neo | October 05, 2011 at 09:54 PM
Congrats, Hit..and to think you did this three years ago! Well, the market's ripe now..time to display these at all the occupying events.
Posted by: Clarice | October 05, 2011 at 09:56 PM
Jane-
Sturbridge Tea Party
Donated Services Wing
Adolescent Cleaning Division
"Don't Mind Us, We Just Care."
[You might want to gin up some T-shirts.]
Posted by: Melinda Romanoff | October 05, 2011 at 09:56 PM
And bring some caring High School boys to keep an eye out for teh crazies.
Posted by: Melinda Romanoff | October 05, 2011 at 09:57 PM
D'Backs, grand slam HR. 4 to 1 against the Brew Crew. Great game and its still in the first inning:)
Posted by: Jack is Back! | October 05, 2011 at 10:02 PM
Sorry, but it is now 5-1. Back to back Jacks.
Posted by: Jack is Back! | October 05, 2011 at 10:03 PM
Joan Baez is a fossil! Maybe she can perform a duet with Belafonte ( the out of the closest Communist ) on the Banana Boat Song...
Posted by: Gmax | October 05, 2011 at 10:05 PM
http://pajamasmedia.com/tatler/2011/10/05/occupy-dc-protestors-claim-many-rights-if-confronted-by-police/
IMO, Washington DC will be the meaningful place for them to make their stand. Isn't that how John Kerry got his fame?
How's Obama going to retain any leftist support if he has the bums thrown out?
Posted by: pagar | October 05, 2011 at 10:06 PM
" will have adopted every stale idea ...." You mean like the Tea Parties' 'Taxed Enough Already? I'm still not tired of hearing that.
Just as well, as all signs point to you hearing it for five more years at least.
Posted by: Charlie (Colorado) | October 05, 2011 at 10:07 PM
"all signs point to you hearing it for five more years at least."
Predicting his re-election already? Bold !!
Posted by: Benjamin Franklin | October 05, 2011 at 10:10 PM
Dana, you're C&P-ing with no contribution of your own again.
Posted by: Charlie (Colorado) | October 05, 2011 at 10:10 PM
Potentially good news from, of all places, Washington state. Right now, if I were to offer odds, I would give the likely Republican nominee, Rob McKenna, at least 3-2 odds over the likely Democratic nominee, Jay Inslee.
When did a Republican gubernatorial candidate last win Washington state? 1980.
And it isn't as if my home state has had a series of brilliant and successful Democratic governors, though they have (mostly) avoided big scandals, with the exception of Gary Locke. (Oddly enough, he still has a clean reputation, in spite of the best efforts of Michelle Malkin.)
(I have a small post up at Sound Politics, if you are curious about my reaosning.)
Posted by: Jim Miller | October 05, 2011 at 10:11 PM
Shouldn't we focus on the important issue of the day: Can the Cards beat Philly without the support of home-town squirrels?
Posted by: Walter | October 05, 2011 at 10:11 PM
"Everyone has a financial inequity oppressing them."
I.e., everyone sees his betters being more useful, and thus making more money, and is thereby oppressed.
Posted by: Danube of Thought | October 05, 2011 at 10:12 PM
"Dana, you're C&P-ing with no contribution of your own again."
and..........?
Posted by: Benjamin Franklin | October 05, 2011 at 10:14 PM
If these reporter children had lived through the sixties, I don't think they would be so enamored with that era. If they even remembered those days. They sure weren't a time to romanticize as they do now.
Posted by: Sara (Pal2Pal) | October 05, 2011 at 10:16 PM
Really, Jim? Washington State? That would be something!
Posted by: Clarice | October 05, 2011 at 10:16 PM
Herman Cain to Wall Street protesters: “If you don’t have a job and you are not rich, blame yourself”
Posted by: Danube of Thought | October 05, 2011 at 10:18 PM
Protester Brendan Burke insists he and the others are fighting for more than 99 percent of the American population.
He doesn't speak for me and I think that 99% might be closer to .99%
Posted by: Sara (Pal2Pal) | October 05, 2011 at 10:20 PM
Delete the "for" and he might be right.
Posted by: PD | October 05, 2011 at 10:25 PM
(I have a small post up at Sound Politics, if you are curious about my reaosning.)
Jim, I'm glad you post here because at least once a week I click on your name to read your blog, which I enjoy quite a bit.
Posted by: Captain Hate | October 05, 2011 at 10:26 PM
Oh I'm laughing, but the left is doing whatever they can to lump us together
It's not so much lumping together as it is a lame attempt to free ride off the success of the Tea Party. And it will go as well as Air America and the Coffee Party.
Posted by: jimmyk | October 05, 2011 at 10:26 PM
Clarice - Well, just 3-2 odds, and it's early and all that, but yes, I think that it is more likely than not.
Try this search string at Google News if you want to see some of the evidence:
"poll + Inslee + McKenna"
For those who don't know him, McKenna is very smart (law degree from Chicago).
He's been clever politically, as attorney general, and before that. For instance, when he joined the suit against ObamaCare, he was careful to tell interviewers that he thought that single-payer probably would be constitutional, which must have pleased our moderates. (I'm no lawyer, so I won't try to guess whether he is right about that.)
Incidentally, during that long dry gubernatorial spell, Republicans were winning statewide races, just not the state house.
Posted by: Jim Miller | October 05, 2011 at 10:28 PM
Predicting his re-election already? Bold !!
I'm certainly predicting *someone* will be elected in 2012.
Posted by: Charlie (Colorado) | October 05, 2011 at 10:32 PM
and..........?
And I refer the honorable member to my previous remarks, ie, cut it the fuck out.
Posted by: Charlie (Colorado) | October 05, 2011 at 10:33 PM
Captain Hate - Thanks much.
And I should say that I often get ideas here. For instance, I plan to use a tip from porchlight in a post tomorrow.
Posted by: Jim Miller | October 05, 2011 at 10:35 PM
"Herman Cain to Wall Street protesters: “If you don’t have a job and you are not rich, blame yourself”
Now that is really rubbing salt into the wound. Plus the leftists have such fine examples, like the guy would went to Bali and got his bomb building friend to write a book or two for him and now look at him. Rich, got a big house with Rezko's help and all. If he can make it anyone should be able to able to do it.
Posted by: pagar | October 05, 2011 at 10:39 PM
We are the ones we've been waiting for!!!!
Speak truth to power!!!
Don't cry for me Argentina!!!
Officer please arrest me...I'm trying to impress that chick!!!
Posted by: Army of Davids | October 05, 2011 at 10:41 PM
CH-
You have mail (@ the CH addy).
Posted by: Melinda Romanoff | October 05, 2011 at 10:42 PM
Thanks Mel; I'll probably read it tomorrow morning in between working on a new mini-project.
Btw, because I'm all about diversity, have there been any anti-Obama signs at OWS?
Posted by: Captain Hate | October 05, 2011 at 10:47 PM
I knew I forgot to bring something!
No, not yet.
And, G'night.
Posted by: Melinda Romanoff | October 05, 2011 at 10:51 PM
when do they want it?
NOW
what do they want?
???????
Underpants Gnomes! LOL
I will breathlessly await the MSM stories about how the OWSers are all white, as they slanderously claimed about the Tea Party.
Posted by: jimmyk | October 05, 2011 at 10:52 PM
paraphrasing Cain..."Hey hippies...get a job"....LOL
Posted by: Army of Davids | October 05, 2011 at 10:52 PM
Where's the ACORN guy? I need an advance on my pay for this thing.
Posted by: Army of Davids | October 05, 2011 at 10:55 PM
Buddy Roemer comes out for 'Occupy Wall Street'.
Oy.
Posted by: Charlie (Colorado) | October 05, 2011 at 11:01 PM
Jim Miller,
I hope you're correct about Washington State.
Today we had an Occupy Anchorage event. (Only the 1st photo).
I can only read a couple signs:
1) "Raise Taxes on Millionaires"
2) "The other 99%
Murkowski!
Begich!
Parnell!
Young!
Do The Right Thing. Maria Cantwell Did. No Pebble MIne."
Interesting thing is that the Alaskan guy responsible for all the funding to shut down the Pebble Mine Project is Alaska's richest man, a multi-millionaire, and Maria Cantwell is richer than Murkowski, Begich, Parnell and Young combined. So up here the Alaskan protesters are against Millionaires, except for the Millionaires who are doing everything they can to prevent ordinary Alaskan citizens from having jobs.
Posted by: daddy | October 05, 2011 at 11:24 PM
From an Insty link about the demands of the OWS goofballs:
"The tea party movement’s uninformed populism is embarrassing to many on the right. No wonder Brendan O’Neill, seeing the same phenomenon on the left, wrote in The Telegraph that 'The teenage moralism of the Occupy Wall Street hipsters almost makes me ashamed to be Left-wing.'"
Can't link, but the whole thing is worth reading. It recites the 13 demands, and provides some awfully funny analysis.
Posted by: Danube of Thought | October 05, 2011 at 11:25 PM
We need some leadership down there.
Let's see we got Michael Moore...Susan Sarandon stopped by....good start.
Can we get Alec Baldwin?
Barney?
How about the Weiner?
Posted by: Army of Davids | October 05, 2011 at 11:28 PM
Don't forget the Justice Brothers.
And Sean Penn is sure to drop by when he returns from Tripoli. Where has Cindy Sheehan been?
Posted by: Danube of Thought | October 05, 2011 at 11:40 PM
"The tea party movement’s uninformed populism..."
Huh? Where do people get these (mis)conceptions from? Uninformed like Ezra Klein's "The Constitution is, like, more than 100 years old"?
Posted by: jimmyk | October 06, 2011 at 12:06 AM
What does OWS want? A single term provides the answer: rent. These people are, every last one of them, rent-seekers. They seek nothing other than to be provided with the fruits of other people's labor, innovation, entrepreneurship and risk-taking.
They do not seek greater liberty to innovate or take risks, nor do they want greater freedom to succeed in enterprise. They do appear to want jobs (some of them), but they seem to believe that jobs are existing, free-floating things that someone can and should be required to give them.
They are whining parasites, and historically Americans do not view their kind favorably at all.
Posted by: Danube of Thought | October 06, 2011 at 12:25 AM
Univision tries it's hand at extortion
Last July, representatives of the Florida-based Hispanic national television network contacted the Florida Republican to urge him to appear on "Al Punto," a Spanish-language talk show whose host, Jorge Ramos, is a loud proponent of amnesty for illegal aliens. Like most Americans, Rubio is no amnesty proponent and said no to an appearance on the show.
But Univision wouldn't take no for an answer. Instead, the ambitious television network that reaches 10 million Spanish-language viewers in the U.S. set a new low in journalism, with extortion worse than tabloids.
According to the Miami Herald, a 45-minute conference call was then arranged July 7 and Univision's president of news, Isaac Lee, made Rubio's staff an offer he couldn't refuse: Lee's investigative team had dug up some dirt on Rubio's brother-in-law — a 1987 drug arrest — and offered to spike it if Rubio would appear on "Al Punto."
Posted by: Neo | October 06, 2011 at 12:46 AM
In praise of the late Steve Jobs, oft times accused of not being a sufficient enough philanthropist:
Once you figure out why your cell phone gets better and cheaper every year but your public schools get more expensive and less effective, you can apply that model to answer a great many questions about public policy.
Posted by: daddy | October 06, 2011 at 01:06 AM
Does anybody at this protest know how to spell "Millionaires"?
Posted by: daddy | October 06, 2011 at 01:38 AM
Jim, I'm glad you post here because at least once a week I click on your name to read your blog, which I enjoy quite a bit.
Ditto. Here is the first post over at Jim's blog - Beethoven In Bonn, Germany: Played by the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq.
Posted by: Janet | October 06, 2011 at 05:54 AM
from pagar's 10:06 link (Occupy DC event)-
Throughout the afternoon there were about ten to twenty protestors, waving signs on K Street. They are mostly young students and a few jobless people.
Why not cover my church's youth group where hundreds of kids come every week? or a Boy Scout group meeting where there are usually at least 20 or so boys learning about honesty, integrity, hard work? or even a soccer team practice...there are around 18 kids on each team?
10 to 20 people gather & call themselves protesters & they get news coverage.
Posted by: Janet | October 06, 2011 at 06:17 AM
OWS picture -
Posted by: Janet | October 06, 2011 at 06:43 AM
Daddy,
Yours at 1:38 says it all, well that and Herman Cain telling OWS its their fault if they aren't rich.
Posted by: Jane | October 06, 2011 at 07:11 AM
Janet,
Remember they didn't cover 2 million people at a tea party rally either.
Posted by: Jane | October 06, 2011 at 07:12 AM
Well, all you commenters made me write it--
Woebegone Woodstock Wannabe Willies Wishing for a Woolie--
Posted by: Willy Wonka | October 06, 2011 at 07:13 AM
In a sane world, parasites like this would simply be excised from the body, to prevent further damage or death to the host.
Posted by: fdcol63 | October 06, 2011 at 07:41 AM
Our hit and run is at the tippy top at Instapundit now re President Goldman Sachs.
Posted by: DebinNC | October 06, 2011 at 08:07 AM
What OWS is really all about is that these kids racked up tens of thousends of dollars in debt getting a degree in a social science or the humanities from a "name brand" school, and they felt they had been promised a job at the end of it.
Posted by: Ranger | October 06, 2011 at 08:22 AM
I knew teh Sarah wasnt' going to run. It must be horrible at C4P; I can't bear to look.
Become a Herm Donor today!
Posted by: Jim Ryan | October 06, 2011 at 08:27 AM
BTW, Hot Air has a good roundup of the situation as of last night:
Obama’s chief of staff: I’m not sure these Wall Street protests are helpful to us
Posted by: Ranger | October 06, 2011 at 08:27 AM
Rush was pointing out yesterday, that the far left wing and deeply antisemitic Canadian publication, AdBusters, was behind the OWS
website, which is just as well,
Posted by: narciso | October 06, 2011 at 08:31 AM
Steyn is particularly sour in the current NRDT:
It's a profoundly anti-Kurzweilian article.Posted by: Jim Ryan | October 06, 2011 at 08:34 AM
OMG!!!-- Tom M coming out full out anti-Bam/Dems (Just saw the post this morning-- fighting the flu last night). For all the gratuitous economic carnage they caused, we owe one bit of gratitude to Bam, Nancy and Harry -- they RUINED the "progressive" politics brand for a generation. Compare these issues to 2008: AGW/Carbon Tax -- DEAD-- 'Green Energy' -- DEAD-- Single Payer Health -- DEAD -- Due Process for Terroroists -- DEAD -- Open Borders -- DEAD -- Confiscatory Taxes -- DEAD. In just 3 years they killed those issues for a generation. The Koch brothers are useless conservatives compared to the results Bam and the Dems have achieved for conservatives. Sweet Irony!
Posted by: NK | October 06, 2011 at 08:35 AM