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John Makely / NBC News
Occupy Wall Street protesters leave Washington Square Park at the start of their Saturday march to Zuccotti Park, the first planned march as part of three days of events to mark the one-year anniversary of the movement.
Occupy Wall Street took center stage last fall, galvanizing thousands of people across the country to protest against the abuses of what they called the “one percent.”
But one year after the movement began, it has been reduced to a shadow of its former self: Occupy’s makeshift camps have been shuttered, its membership has dwindled amid internal squabbling and what critics called a lack of direction and goals, and its hopes for social change so far have been unrealized.
Amid this backdrop, Occupy protesters have organized a sit-down protest around the New York Stock Exchange in Wall Street on Monday, their one-year anniversary, hoping to regain some momentum.
Photoblog: Occupy Wall Street protesters attempt to reignite their movement in New York
“Why are we going back to Wall Street? Because the one percent wants it all and they’re not giving anything up without a struggle. Economic conditions are roughly as bad as they were a year ago and for many, many people they’re precarious,” said Bill Dobbs, of the Occupy Wall Street public relations team.
As Occupy struggled to find its footing after being booted out of its camps, the New York flagship, in particular, wrangled with internal conflicts over financial transparency, leadership and tactics.
Jon Reiner, a laid-off New York marketing executive who traveled to many Occupy camps last fall, is disheartened the movement didn't engage in electoral politics.
“I think there’s an opportunity that it has missed,” said the 50-year-old husband and father of two. “I’m still meeting people my own age who are still being laid off. … so the issue has the same prominence in terms of its, you know, impact on people’s lives, and I think that the movement shouldn’t be quiet about any of this, and one way not to be quiet in an election cycle is to get yourself in the face of the … candidates."
“I still identify myself with the movement,” he added, “but I don’t feel like I have necessarily an outlet for my activism.”
Another point of contention was whether the movement should embrace violent tactics.
“These big arguments took up a lot of time and energy for months over whether the tactics should remain strictly nonviolent,” said Todd Gitlin, a professor of journalism at Columbia University who wrote a book on Occupy. “ … the turning inward of energy was not constructive.”
New York couple Betty and Dennis Carbone, former anti-war and anti-nuclear activists, still come once or twice a week to Zuccotti Park to maintain a presence at the birthplace of the movement. They are disappointed others haven't done the same.
“We were down here for the winter,” said Dennis Carbone, 69, as some protesters chanted, blew whistles and held up the familiar yellow-and-black banner reading, “Occupy Wall Street.” The barricade-lined park protesters once called home had security officers at entry points on Friday many months after the encampment came down.
John Makely / NBC News
Dennis and Elizabeth Carbone still come to Zuccotti Park a couple times a week.
“Everybody was all pumped up: ‘Wait till spring, wait till, wait till spring.’ Guess what? We’re in fall. No spring, no summer. What did we Occupy?” Carbone said. “That was probably the most disappointing … . And now, here we are what, one year, and what’s happened?”
Disillusion over the perception that things weren’t getting done led some protesters to create spinoff groups, such as OccuEvolve, which is focused on bringing more people into the movement and collaborating with the seven Occupy branches in New York city.
“I saw the stagnancy in the movement,” said Sumumba Sobukwe, 44, who started the group in February. Though he had previously been working with others on Occupy outreach and movement building, “even then, I didn’t see enough outreach into the community that represents the 99 percent."
Unlike other Occupy demonstrators who plan to join the sit-down protest on Monday, those with OccuEvolve will be in the subways, hoping to attract newcomers.
“I think a lot of people kind of naively thought … that things would automatically change and it takes work, it takes organization,” Sobukwe said.
Other social movements have taken years to achieve results, such as the Civil Rights struggle, so Occupy should not be counted out, said Dorian Warren, an assistant professor of political science at Columbia University.
“The underlying social conditions that created the movement are far from over,” he said, citing money in politics, poverty and income disparity. “ … which means the potential for the movement to still exist is there.”
Sue VanDerzee, a 66-year-old retired newspaper editor from Durham, Conn., participated in Occupy Wall Street a few times and in a few Connecticut chapters, but she has turned her efforts to groups focusing more on local issues. She last visited an Occupy camp in March.
“I think that there’s other groups which sort of seek to reach people where they are and not so much out of a sense of anger but out of a sense of possibility,” she said.
When asked if she thought Occupy could carry on, she said: “As a movement, I’m not sure. As an idea, definitely. It’s embedded in our culture.”
John Makely / NBC News
Veteran James Hegler, center, was arrested Friday by NYPD officers at Zuccotti Park for trespassing after he refused to move his backpack for the private security firm that overseas the park on Friday Sept. 14.
Related:
'Battle for the soul of Occupy': Activists fear becoming Democratic 'pet'
'Tea and Occupy' -- a discussion/debate between members of the two movements
Occupy Congress: Could it be politics as unusual?
To demand or not to demand? That is the 'Occupy' question
Chicago braces for major protests as NATO summit looms
Old guard back in the trenches at 'Occupy' protests
Leave a Comment:
My guess is that the 0bama economy has hit them so hard that they are afraid to leave their parent's basements.
Then again maybe they are just sitting in their childhood rooms, staring up at fading 0bama posters.
All the occupy people should be out there getting as many people as possible registered to vote. Then Vote for their own personal interests rather than being swayed by some emotional hot button issue.
Occupy is a classic example of pointing out a problem and being unable or unprepared to offer a good solution.
I suspect most of the Occupy supporters calmed down, thought rationally about what they were doing, and realized that there were things they could do that were more constructive toward achieving their purpose. It is self-defeating to clamor for absolute economic justice when there are others who are making headway furthering their cause of greater economic injustice. Most Occupy supporters realize that we need to beat-back the regressive forces first, and that that won't be quick or easy, especially after Citizens United.
When a patient comes into a hospital emergency room, everyone knows that the first step is to stabilize the patient and then you can begin working on less critical concerns. Confronting and turning back to overt greed and power-grab being executed through the offices of the GOP is Job 1.
Ed,
Any individual American's vote has to compete with "the dollar votes" of the lobbyists. In other words, we elect our representatives, who were already bought and paid for by "corporate persons" big campaign contributions. This dilution of our vote is the main issue OCCUPY was protesting.
I am bemused and saddened by the gullible who denigrate what they are trying to accomplish. Seems very patriotic to me.....
"One year later, what ever happened to Occupy Wall Street?"
Walmart increased the price of toilet paper, they got tired of walking around smelly after taking dumps on street corners and dark alleys...
Active suppression of protest is alive and well in the U.S.
Maybe they realized the futility of their protest, and returned to their minimum-wage jobs....
Occupy had no goals beyond saying some people had too much political influence, and no plan beyond costing municipalities and local businesses money.
You may not like the Tea Party, but they focused their energy into electing candidates who did what they wanted and were very effective as a voting block. Occupy should have done the same, but they wasted their movement in protest instead of action.
Occupy was simply the "in" thing to do for a bunch of kooks with dreds. Faded into the sunset...as the Tea Party continues to grow!
What Happened? They are busy organizing and trying to find answer to the reason for their existence. It may take another year or two to determine what they are about but they are well versed in meeting in mass as they learned so well in many of the lines formed outside phone stores, video game stores, and concerts. So, watch for them to try again to find a cause and an answer for themselves in the near future. When they run out of their parent's money and have to work to afford these luxuries, perhaps they will figure out what a waste of resources spent on policing the perimeter of their meeting boundaries. At that point, they may be too busy to waste such valuable energy and time on embracing derelict values.
Suggest you try and think for yourself, as opposed to blindly following what either party tells you.
Every time a President takes office, job one of the opposition is to make him a one-termer.
The Tea Party got all sorts of "liberal media" support. It is, also. not growing. It is such a shame that the Tea Party supporters continue to make it an "us or them" issue. Have you ever seen a grown woman wearing an outfit covered with tea bags and holding a mis-spelled sign that demands that the socialists lay off of her Medicaid? That is about as kooky as you can get.
Unlike the Tea Party the Occupy movement didn't have Corporate sponsors to fund a professional management team. When the Tea Party comes to town they walk into a local business and rent the use of their restrooms for the day. When the Tea Party comes to town the State and local Republicans all come down and show their support and the cops know to kiss ass. With Occupy there were a few Dem's who paid lip service but no real support and the cops were let of their leashes and allowed to bust heads for fun. The fact is both party's are in the pocket of Corporate America. No matter what the Republicans say Obama has been right of center 90% of the time during his presidency.
Unfortunately, America is now more divided than ever before
The Occupy Wall St Movement fell apart because the fringers and the unions took it over - the DSA,the IVAW, the SEIU, UAW, etc. It no longer was a grass roots movement instead it turned itself over to the far left. No one in this country really cares if somebody is wealthy, in fact, God bless you for it, but when you're making $25 million a year off of the backs of someone making $7.25 an hour, whose car has been repossessed and his home is in foreclosure it seems more than unfair. All I wanted, when I was a supporter of it, was just a rise in wages, nothing else. I just wanted an opportunity to succeed like they did. I don't want someone's property, I don't want socialism or communism. Che Guevarra doesn't represent me. Unions do not represent me. Nor do slogans straight out of the history of Communist Russia. The 1960s are 50 years dead. If you missed it, that's your problem. Stop trying to relive it. Americans actually like capitalism, we just want our fair share of the wealth we helped others achieve. How is raising wages socialism?
mrwarmth: That's hardly surprising when you look at the typical post on this website. Take the TP as an example. It sprang from a grassroots concern for overspending, something most people could agree on, but no one remembers that now. They denigrate TP members as being uncompromising political nazis without taking into consideration the legitimate concerns of that group.
Same with Occupy. We condemn them as kids living in their parents' basement or homeless people too lazy to get a job without seeing the underlying protest. Occupy thinks too few people are using govt to funnel money to themselves at the expense of everyone else. Some people are, I think we can all agree on that too, and that there is much in govt that needs changing to make for a more level playing field.
But so long as you get intellectual heavyweights using words like Republicants or TeaTurds or Democraps or Libtards and other grade-school epithets, you get the division you're talking about. We need to acknowledge everyone's concerns at the bargaining table, not seek to suppress them in favor of our own, something both parties forgot a long time ago.
Vote third party!
Just the other day I was walking down wall-street and came across the occupiers. I felt like I was in california of the 70s.
If this movement has gone astray - then folks - average americans should blame their own apathy for the same. The US and the world was and possibly is on the verge of a economic apocalypse. The root of which lies in unrestrained monetary policy coupled with unrestrained financial system.
It is very easy to laugh at occupiers. But the question is - what are YOU doing?
AG99: Well said.
Basically the same as the tea bagger movement except without the dreds.
Far out radicals are always doom to failure, be they from the right or left.
The human spirit will not allow eternal suffering. Greed Kills. If seeing people arrested while standing up for human rights no longer bothers you. That's a problem.
Suffering happens when clowns like these make lots of noise and offer NO solutions. Its great to point out a problem but its useless if you offer no options just noise!
Top 10 Reasons there is no more Occupy Movement:
10. Drummers got carpal tunnel.
9. Had to leave for a kegger, then forgot about it.
8. Parents threatened to kick them out of their basement if they didn't get a job.
7. Found all the homeless people "icky".
6. Discovered that touchy-feely leaderless movements with unrealistic goals don't work.
5. Had to study for finals, then went home.
4. Had to get a job to buy an iPhone 5.
3. Got bored.
2. Too much weed.
And the number one reason there is no more Occupy Movement...
1, Realized nobody cared what they were doing and they faded into total irrelevance.
If that is what you believe to be true and you are a Tea Partier, then yes, you are crazy. Why would Obama's base protest against his administration?
One thing they did is change the terms of the debate: before Occupy, we were cowed into keeping quiet about the rich and powerful exploiting the rest of us b/c it's some taboo "class warfare" talk, like passing wind in church then furiously masturbating in the pews.
Now, talk about the 1% vs 99% is in the national conversation, and we're openly and freely discussing the problem, even, sometimes, in the mainstream media. That's the necessary first step. Probably be a while for change to result from that - real life isn't a Hollywood flick where everything gets fixed in two hours, and the 1% and their lickspittle asz lickers will put up a hell of a fight. But all the big reforms in this country took years, sometimes decades, after public opinion was first galvanized into focusing on the problem, so...
@PJ "But the question is - what are YOU doing?"
Good question! I always find it humorous when people denigrate this movement, and I think someday these same people will look back and wish the movement had gained traction and saved them from the economic disaster that waits us all. The human race is no different than a human body. If you starve parts of the body in order to pass nutrition to other parts, you will eventually kill the whole body. Our economic future is bleak and those cells in the body that are eager to ensure that the cancer cells continue to get more are merely ensuring their own existence, and that of their kids, will eventually go away. The old "Bell Curve" that had most of the country's wealth in the middle has given way to the new "Elevator to the Stars" curve that starts at zero on the left, goes mainly flat until you hit the upper 1%, then shoots off to the stars. Folks, that aint healthy!!! This sick body is going to die in the not too distant future.
I always thought that Occupy targeted Wall Street because they felt that they were the root of the great economic divide. I wonder why they would target the GOP since the markets are at an all time high and the government is dumping more money into the market to keep it high at least through the election.
Sounds like Occupy has been bought by the left and they turned in their protesting signs for Obama t-shirts and bumper stickers. They've drank the Kool Aid.
Where is Occupy Wall Street? Answer they moved to Cairo and the Middle East. lol
Same place these whiney fools were before: back at home, sitting on their lazy asses, sucking their parents dry.
I think it's more likely the Obama economy is not a healthy venue for Occupy right now with the elections so close. Don't emphasise the fact that Obama's economy plan has been a failure, and while 4.5 jobs may have been created under his reign they have mostly been low paying/part time positions, while the jobs LOST have been full time jobs that paid a living wage.
If not the Whitehouse, then at least the Obama campaign leadership has asked them to tone it down for now. WIth Illegals and Unions supporting (?) Obama, he doesn't need any more bad press.
Occupy WS Is a perfect example of the electorate... all excited in 08 but will be a "no show" in 2012.... Sorry Dems.
They had no choice. Making assumptions about someones political leanings because they disagree with your statement, typical ignoramus.
The OWS crowd is just like obumbo, alot of hot air and no results.
Adam Carolla was correct in his assessment of the OWS movement. This explains it all.
Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers.
Look what happened in 2008, they elected a half term Jr Senator with no real world experience.
America has been paying dearly for ever since.
OWS and the 99% are waiting to go to the voting booths in November. Last Spring they organized, joined forces and made their plight visible. Now they'll do something about it. It's a foolish politician or corporation that thinks it has gone away.
@AG99.
I would bet that a potential candidate could use your post as a campaign speech and get a H-LL of alot of votes :) Thanks Really Great Job!
The comments are very sad. I'm not a liberal or a conservative. I am progressive, --and what concerns me is the regression of the American worker, and American patriotism being sold out to the bottom-liners. There will always be a country with cheaper labor, and lower standards, and our CEOs are catering to that.
They lower the costs of their bottom line, and make the companies more profitable,..which in turn enhances their compensation packages which are based on profits. In the end the standard of living is lowered in this country because workers are reminded that they have to expect less, and if they don't like it they can go to another country.
I am also concerned about the BS rhetoric regarding our healthcare crisis. Other "civilized" and "industrialized" democracies like Canada, Germany, UK, Australia, etc have healthcare for their citizens. Their costs are lower than ours, and they don't allow big corporate healthcare interests like United Health to make the CEO the number 1 highest paid executive in this country. THAT IS NOT CAPITALIZISM! At least now healthcare premiums will be rebated, if healthcare costs are lower than the premiums paid out. There will be a cap on out much these companies can take if they do not provide the healthcare.
I am also concerned that our tax "resources" continue to expended on military might, draining the money we do have on ways to control "our interests". Our budget for military is 20%, and 20% is what we spend on Social Security. The politicians would like to decrease that, and increase the military spending. This "I got mine, and Forget about You" mentality is what got Occupy pissed off. We should all support the American worker, who is the foundation of our "Capitalist" economy. Pay and Benefits mean better quality of life for our workers... JUST LIKE IT DOES FOR THE CEOs who walk away with great parachutes when THEY screw up. We may be the most "capitalistic" country in the world,..but we are probably the "greediest" too.
With the advent of today's electronics, it's possible they've learned you can accomplish much more through the anonymity of your computer keyboard rather than trying to exercise your right to protest and harassed by police.
@wxwriter
At some point in their lives most people want that same thing. When they reach that point most people simply look for a better job. Duh! Hate to break it to you genius but some jobs are only worth so much, what typically happens when you raise the min wage beyond what that job is worth is that those jobs just go away. There is reason the unemployment rate amougst young people is as high as it it and that reason is people like you who think they deserve to be paid more than they're worth.
@TheEndIsAnError "JW.................................................YAWN..............................Get a job."
I have had a job my entire adult life. Now I am watching everything I worked for being jerked away by huge money interests and their huge government lackeys, while brainless minions like yourself support them. The whole process of watching the most advanced country in the world transformed into the next Mexico would be interesteing to watch if I werent one of the milions that will be crushed by it. You totally represent the group I was talking about...the ones that will look back on the OWS movement and wish they had supported their cause. Thank you so much for being one of the brainless minions, ErrorBoy!!!
Liz M-1103237
WTF are you talking about?? The standard of living in this country has only fallen slightly and it is ENTIRELY due to the recession. Corporations are doing what they've always done and the standard of living has steadily increased in this country.
What is it with the CEO hate? CEO's don't make any more money than pro athelete or actors. The difference is that a CEO supports the jobs of thousands while an athelete supports the jobs of hundreds and an actors supports the jobs of dozens. Sems the CEO should be on the bottom of the "greedy SOB" list and yet somehow you progressives have elevated them to the top while completely ignoring the rest.
Where are they?
1. Out of spending money and holed up in their parents basement.
2. Waiting in line for the new Nikes to come out.
3. Waiting for the new I phone to come out.
4. All of the above.
So, BackCountryImposter, you claim our standard of living is going up and that CEO's are benevolent benefactors to us all??? My question to you is, "Do you actually believe that? Or, are you just one of the sheep that buys that crap being fed to us?" Having worked for banks and manufacturing corporations all my life, I really have to disagree with your assessment. I have watched my standard of living decline over the past 15 years as wage increases have steadily been less than inflation. This has caused a continual decline in the services and products I have been able to purchase. I have watched CEO, and other executive pay, increase by incredible amounts in comparison to the general workers pay. CEO's that used to make 10 times more than their workers now make 100, or more, times that of the worker. I have countlessly watched jobs being shipped offshore to lower costs, and quality, to up the bonuses of execs. I have watched banking execs purchase smaller banks, then rape and pillage their assets, so that their bonus programs would jump dramatically during the short run, but leaving the purchased bank in long term difficulty as a result of these self-serving decisions. So, please, dont drop a bunch of crap about standards of living and CEO benefactors on people that have actually lived thru this mess. CEO's are in business for one reason, and one reason only--to make as much money as they possibly can in as short a timeframe as possible. Ethics mean nothing...money means everything!
Question: "... Whatever Happened to Occupy Wall Street?" -- Is this a trick question, NBC?
Answers:
So now, "Occupy" is trying to figure out what went wrong the first time around. With no mission statement, goals, leadership, and cohesion this "movement" was and will always be as effective as that empty Hopey Changey feel-good thing they voted for in 2008. No surprise.
The Tea Party isn't a radical change from the norm, they just took the basic principles of one party and tweaked it toward the far right. I'd say George Bush played more to the Tea Party mentality than say McCain did - McCain tried to be reasonable and didn't use God in every other sentence. Romney isn't even thumping the Bible like Bush did. I guess GW's old cheerleader skills were good for something after all - too bad cheerleaders make lousy Class Presidents. I go as far as to say Obama out cheerleader-ed McCain. It doesn't take much to sway voters. I just hope OWS doesn't stoop to such levels...I'd rather lose with dignity than win with a sugar cube on the end of a stick.
The Tea Party plays on emotions - OWS tried to use logic and reasoning...poor bastards actually thought they could converse with the 1%. Like the article said; they remained for the vast majority of the time - a peaceful protest. I hope they remain peaceful, and safe. Wooden and rubber bullets are hard to endure for very long - concentrate on a third party - eventually it will come to be.
To those who did act up - we don't want you in the OWS movement anyway...there will always be those who join movements for all the wrong reasons, if you think the OWS movement didn't take notice, well, you were wrong. Stepping back got rid of the unwanted - the mentality of the movement is alive and well.
The odds are pretty good that Wall Street will self destruct just by being left alone - the Left and Right are just as tired of bailing them out.
The bashers of OWS must not have much contact with our youth - even our professional youth don't think the status quo has a future. Hold tightly old school - your rope gets shorter every year.
JW-1532016
This was as far as I got before realizing you're full of @!$%# so I didn't bother with the rest of your post. "Benevolent benefactors"???? I said their jobs support thousands of other jobs and my question was why are they the only ones being attacked for making millions.
Why do you bother addressing your comment to anyone if you're just going to make @!$%# up and then go off on a preconceived rant?
Really what they should have been doing from the beginning is Occupying The Constitution.
1. They should have a set number of Petition signature gatherers circulating to collect signatures.
a. Top of page should list the current President of the United States and the 9 Justices of the Supreme Court (because these are duly sworn to UPHOLD the Constitution of the United States of America, for ALL, already)
b. Petittions should allow for "printed name" then "signature" then enough room for each Individual to "register" (by printed names) their Representatives to the House and Senate. These People are also already supposedly duly sworn, by OATH, to UPHOLD the Constitution of the United States of America.
2. Have a Roll Call at 3:00 calling off the names of ALL Representatives and Senators collected, with the option for others not present today to go to a website and "Register" their Representatives and Senators, as being "officially" Occupied.
3. Whoever wants to should hold a sign with the full text of either the 1st, 4th, 5th and 9th Amendments.
4. Have a Public reading of each Amendment throughout the day.
5. Have copies of The Constitution to be handed out to Anyone that wants one.
6. Take note and write down the name of ANY Security Person who approaches you, to even say one word to you.
7. Take note and write down the name and badge number of ANY Policeman that approaches to speak with you, (whether or not they fully identify themselves to you before even speaking with you, the reason they give for them speaking to you, (while you are minding your own business).
8. Circulate and read the 4th with "informed intent" (Assertion of your RIGHT) of letting it be known that the 4th Amendment is specifically a Protective-of-Individual Constitutional Directive to Law Enforcement and Prosecution and that IT IS BEING ASSERTED HERE, NOW, TODAY. (And, it doesn't get any more COHESIVE than that)
9. Be prepared to gather enmasse at the Courthouse (the next day, if it has to be) to file "Individual" (without a Lawyer) Motions to the Court (as Judicial Branch of Government) to seek redress of the grievance of Violation of 1st Amendment RIGHT to Free Speech and Assembly and 4th Amendment Violation of ILLEGAL SEARCH AND SEIZURE (if either or both occur)
10. AND HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!! HAVE A GREAT DEMONSTRATION!!!!!!!
@J_P_PatchesPal_1
Logic and reason??? Forgive all debt, Free college education for all, One TRILLION dollars in infrastructure spending immediately, Open all borders, Ending free trade in order to promote a "living wage". These were some of their official demands, some of the loons on the street wanted FAR more ridiculous things like an end to all currency.
Sorry but "logic and reason" were FAR FROM a strong point of the OWS movement.
Their problem is that they do not have a workable plan. They were a burst of sentiment only. I agree with the sentiment, but to get something done, you need a plan. It is complicated because they have to go beyond electoral politics. Electoral politics is completely controlled by big money. They do not know how to create revolution, and they have no historical example since the U.S. has not had a revolution since 1776. One can look to examples in other countries' histories, but someone has to learn from those examples and come up with a unique formula for this country. It is no easy task. No one has accomplished such since it involves more than just copying an old formula (which is what the Tea Party does).
Clyde Kloepper--- The tea party is funded by the Koch brothers and Rupert Murdoch through the Americans for Prosperity Foundation. They have been involved in and worked closely with the Tea party since it's inception.
Empress-409341, #1.53- I can hear a lot of what you're saying AND, before I wrote my post and from reading the article and thinking back, (and that's why I wrote the post that I did), I came to realize that they were never really given a chance. NEVER treated with any kind of Due Respect that would have maybe enabled them to GET COHESIVE. For the most part, they'd never moved past SEVERE Rights Violations to them, in their even being able to exist, UNVIOLATED in their RIGHTS, before trying to take on and put out ANYTHING as a viable or relevant issue. And now they have a "Public Relation's Firm"? OH MY! Wow! GMAFB. They WILL NEVER BE VIABLE, in my eyes and opinion, until they return to step one and OVERCOME, from step one. From being UNconstitutionally and ILLEGALLY VIOLATED and shutdown by Police and Municipal and State Governments all across this Country.
I just love them to death for the dynamic of what they were trying to do and am OUTRAGED at how and what happened to them. To Direct Democracy. But they have to come back to SQUARE ONE and finish the job they started. Not from 6 paces down the road in PR-Square-6! I believe.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE?.........Whomever is operating this discussion board is responsible and accountable for creating a system and allowing it to be available for People to VIOLATE the Free Speech RIGHTS of others with this collapsing of whole threads and individual comments, etc, NOT SUPPOSEDLY "THE COMMUNITY". (Just as much with any actions from Private Security Guards at THAT Park). Wait and see!
Not to denigrate any of the people involved in OWS, it's just that after the initial excitement passed, it felt like it was portrayed as more of a love fest than anything else (my opinion). I've never been part of a protest, but folk songs, drum circles and dancing are probably not the medium I would personally use to express my concerns about something (again, my opinion). On a side note, the couple who were married during the protest - if you haven't already had a child, but plan on doing so, please don't consider naming him/her "Tweet."
First OWS, now Big Ol' Sugary Drinks! (along with those Folk Songs and Drumming):
QUICK! I hope Somebody plays Sinatra........New York-New York!!! on Monday.
PEACE Y
Occupy was not a movement it was a mob.
It was basically a collection of dysfunctional, irrational and illiterate people who had no idea what they wanted. They certainly did NOT represent the 99% as they tried to make you believe. They represented their own 1% of miscreants who just expanded the mindless meme of "social and economic justice", "fairness and a level playing field" and "from each according to his ability, to each according to his
needswants".From that first list of ridiculous demands that none of them had any solutions for, the Occupiers were doomed. As the article states, this was a mix of old Liberal "war protesters" who still have their Abbie Hoffman haircuts and are still "tuning in to tune out". Too many hits of blotter acid and bong hits of Acapulco Gold have left a lasting impression unfortunately. The rest were a cabal of unfortunate homeless dregs and a spattering of various angry supporters of anything as long as they had a hot and a cot.
As their message was as convoluted as it was unachievable they resorted to the typical violence driven riots that highlighted the 6 o'clock News. As more and more Americans realized how unrealistic their demands were they disassociated from them and eventually forgot about them. A few frantic attempts at reorganization resulted in more arrests and public outrage. The movement was finally done.
Today the Occupy web-site is a loose association of misinformation with a "Declaration of the Occupation" which is simply a litany of 23 complaints against corporatism. No ideas, no thought and no solutions. When the original Occupiers started demanding free school, all debt be forgiven and the usual undefinable "living wage" anyone who actually worked for a living realized there was no hope that the movement would do more than collapse under its own ignorance.
With the subsequent invasion of Occupy by the bobble heads from the Left, especially all the celebrities that simply wanted their sacrosanct photo-op and public esposure, and the unions goonions most real Americans realized this was a cluster f**k.
Compare this to the simple message that the TEA Party offers:
1. Constitutionally limited government
2. Fiscal Responsibility
3. Free-market principles
Any rational American can understand and grasp the movements purpose.
The sad part is there is a place for Occupy but not with their dysfunctional platform. Americans realize the problems we are facing today. Obviously the most critical is a lack of leadership. This originates from our criminal government.
As the corporations are complicit with the some of the problems we face today the biggest usurpers are the government. Corporations cannot create legislation but they can certainly influence it. When government allows itself to be manipulated the fault lies there. All the singing, protesting and rioting should have been directed at Washington and State Capitals.
A clandestine central bank with its tentacled fractional reserve system, faulty trade agreements, a criminal tax code, commerce stagnating regulations, irresponsible unions, foreign currency manipulations, lack of a comprehensive energy policy and others are what need to be addressed. This can only be affected in Washington.
Occupy will have its sit-ins and love-ins tomorrow, to celebrate their anniversary, and the usual violence will erupt. They'll get their 30 seconds of news time and the movement will finally realizes its insignificance.
ROMNEY/RYAN 2012 for real Americans
JimSpence, I agree 110% with your post. I am an independent and neither Democrat nor Republican. I will be voting for Romney because we need REAL LEADERSHIP and not someone whose only experience in life is being a college professor and a community organizer. REALLY? This is who the fools chose in 2008?
I am sure, at this point, with all the Middle East violence and issues with Israel, Barry doesn't know whether to @!$%# or go blind. Scary. He is an empty suit and he needs to go. And by the way libs, my parents are a part of the 1% because my father put himself through college and built his own company from the ground up. One that is still going strong. HE DID BUILD THAT!!!
It's called self reliance, being your own man/woman and planning for your financial future. I am proud of my parents for raising us, not to be titty babies, but independent, hard workers who can make it on our own.
JimSpence, #1.58- That's quite a synopsis! Cluster Fuuck of real HUMAN BEINGS beats a Sandusky, INC Repeatedly Rammed "Bend over and TAKE IT!" ANYDAY, ANYTIME!!!!!!!!!!!!
Define:
1. Constitutionally limited government. (What would it look like?)
2. Fiscal responsibility
3. Free Market principles and where "Consumers" fit into that equation (and whose Market and who and what is FREE about it?)
And yet you voted for Sarah Palin in 2008? BTW How many businesses did Saint Reagan run?
We have a real leader. Just because you have ideological differences with him doesn't change that fact and doesn't make any of us who disagree with you less of a real American.
What would Romney/Ryan do differently than the Obama administration? There's the crux of the problem, nobody knows what those two clowns would do differently. It's easy to criticize from the arm chair but a whole different ballgame when you're calling the shots.
Olivia Dunham
This simple principle may unfortunately be the ultimate undoing of our great Republic.
Most Americans have been so dumbed-down by our criminal Public Education system that they have been stripped of their self reliance and independence. Once this happens a cascade begins of anger, frustration, ambivalence, apathy and loss of ambition. The final step is the oft-propagated envy. Envy of the successful and especially the rich.
This is the most astonishing thing that is happening in our great nation. I don't know of anyone who grows up wanting to be poor or even middle class for that matter. Everyone wants to be rich. I have never seen a "Get Poor Quick" or "Get Middle-Class Quick" book. But I've seen hundreds of "Get Rich Quick" books. Now, most of them are scams but they address the common passion and desire we have to excel. Hell, humankind didn't get here by wanting to be mediocre or average. We advanced our civilizations, cultures and societies by leaders who were the alpha male or female. Someone is always bigger, faster, smarter and more ambitious. These qualities make the rest want to compete, to become better themselves.
It's sad to see our president encourage this division based on success in the most successful nation in history. His irrational "fairness" meme is pathetic to watch. Fairness is politically correct driven wishful thinking. It's a concept that is unable to be defined. What you think is fair, I may not. Then what? Who is the ultimate arbiter of fairness? Who or what can decide what is fair? Obama? Government? Me? You? The Pope? It's impossible to define, let alone decide, who can determine it. We've seen this in its simplest deception with not keeping score for pee-wee sports so it's fair and the kids don't feel bad. Guess what? The kids ARE keeping score.
You should be proud of your parents for their success. WE ALL SHOULD! They are the American Dream. I look upto them rather than demonize them. The American Dream is success, independence and freedom. Freedom from a monolithic bureaucracy that deems itself superior because they went to an Ivy League University and sat around the faculty lounge world-building. Of course their Utopian ideologies are not based on any experience, no, they're based on reading a book. Now, if you just so happen to write a book, then your "cred" (credibility) skyrockets. You have become an authority because the book was published. If building a business were that simple every human on earth would own a business. Then what? Who's gonna drive the school bus. Who's gonna collect the garbage?
Yes Olivia, your parents DID build it. They built it with their dream, their endless worrying, their ambition, their sleepless nights, their drive for excellence and their passion. NOBODY else can do that for you. Yes, they benefitted from their education, but they paid for it. Yes, they benefitted from the infrastructure, but they paid for it.
I laugh when Barrack Hussein and Elizabeth "Pocahontas" Warren opine about the roads we all built. I want to know what part of the road my tax dollars went to. What if Barrack's and Warren's tax dollars went to roads built 200 miles away? I don't use them. Now what? I know that's a convoluted way of looking at it, but it's no more convoluted than saying "you didn't build that"!
We need leadership that is fearless. Leadership that is not afraid of failure. Leadership that doesn't blame everything and everybody for their incompetence. Our nation was built on guts and the fearlessness of failing. If we failed we got back up and tried again. Not everyone can be wealthy but everyone can be ambitious enough to at least try.
America offers us equal opportunity, not equal outcomes. As long as we embrace this beautiful principle we can be a successful nation again.
Anyway, give mom and dad a hug and a handshake for me. Tell them even though I've never met them I am proud to share the same beliefs that they have instilled in you and your siblings. It's what Americans do.
ROMNEY/RYAN 2012 for real Americans
JimSpence, if you can prove you've always stayed within 200 miles of your house, where the roads 'you built' apparently are, I'll buy your argument. Nice paean to neoliberal ideology you've written, too bad it is a fantasy - "ROMNEY/RYAN 2012 for real Americans?" Just sad.
spellchecker2
That's the point. Maybe we should have the government make up a bunch of signs with our names on them and have them next to our "share" of the road we paid for.
Only a fantasy to you neoliberals. Real Americans understand the logic.
ROMNEY/RYAN 2012 for real Americans
Thank you JimSpence. You may be one of the few sane ones on this board who still believes in the American Dream. My dad told me, the entire time I was growing up, when I would say, "But it's not fair!","Life's not fair kid."
My parents raised us to be free thinkers, they were able to put four kids through college and now have four grown kids who actually contribute to society and try to make a REAL DIFFERENCE! Thank you for your kind words.
And you don't have to be college educated to make a difference and be a self-reliant, self-sufficient person. But you need some kind of trade. My husband hated school but is now a very successful person, working as a machinist and he loves it. We can take care of ourselves. I agree. ROMNEY/RYAN 2012. Those who would vote for that shameless self-promoter, Barry Obama, are not well. JMO.
BackCountry? I wish we could take "back" our "country" but, unfortunately, there are too many idiots out there...like yourself. Enjoy the ride down the toilet that clowns like you have allowed to happen. You are such a complete disappointment !!
JimSpence, #1.62- I recognize the name "Spence". It's Scottish.....and, respectfully, "you, Sir, are no Braveheart". (I also recognize that I have no way of knowing, before speaking, if "Spence" is a real name of yours, or not, as to be applicable to my previous statement); continuing now, also, in recognition of an admirable aptitude for writing that you obviously possess; unless, of course, you're actually not, yourself, writing what you're speaking, which I would also have no way of knowing, but only say here that I have great respect for People with the ability to communicate using a written mode. And I've seen some of your other posts on other threads and relating to other subjects, too; and I take offense at your obvious snubbing of the answering of my questions to you and obvious refusal to "qualify" statements that are not just "simply" of opinion. (But, Happy Occupy Day to you, anyway!)
Unfortunately, even while momentarily enthralled by your apptitude for writing, almost evry single time I've read, and as here, I've had to disappointingly leave the subject matter, suppositions and premise unable to retain what you've spoken due to a constant, continuius and actually resultant "overriding" self-contradiction to your very own "premise" and "suppositions". Non-factually based contradictions to and of yourself DO NOT and WILL NEVER lead to circumspection. (And I hope to find the time, sometime today, to come back and give more specific examples of what I'm talking about). But, I do have a "Life" I'm trying to live, that requires me to do things, also, other than posting comments and replies here.
circumspect: Heedful of circumstances or consequences; prudent. (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language)
Only quickly noting here that "The Constitution of the United States of America IS a living document, if only it it being undeniably "circumspect" in application AND in the only possible way for it to be read, to interpretation before application". period
Backcountry; I see you have never had to bargain in your life, you start with as many demands as you can and hope to reach a middle ground. In your private business - do you just pay what your suppliers want?
But thanks for the "emotional" reply - I love when you prove my points for me.
Harley Chick; tell me how you personally were affected by Obama being elected? My life remains constant regardless of who gets elected - I guess you are not very good at insulating your self from things that could hurt you...not much on basic human instincts???
The Occupy mob returns.
Fresh from hibernation, obviously healed from the battering their egos took when the American people realized how insignificant they really are. Now they come back for more.
Can anyone tell me what their platform is? What is their goal?
Their Occupy "site" just has a "Declaration of the Occupation of New York City". It’s a litany of 23 complaints. No solutions. No ideas. No direction. Hyperbole is simple, policy is difficult. We have seen this exposed for almost 4 years under the Barrack Hussein administration.
These OWS protests are nothing more than an extension of the ideology permeating their inner circle that dates back to the 60's and 70's during the era of disestablishmentarianism. The counter revolution didn't work then and it won't work now. Not in the direction the Occupy cabal is trying to take it.
They protest the banks and corporatism, yet they all sit hunched over their laptops, iPods and Raspberry phones. This is the convoluted premise of the Leftists and the miscreants of the OWS. They demonize the corporations and banks and then in the same breath demand that they support all their failed ideologies of entitlements and social/economic justice.
They have all the worlds problems figured out but they have no ideas or solutions to fix them. This is not uncommon as they have been infiltrated by the Liberal/Progressive dysfunction of Barrack Hussein and the unions goonions. Their only solution is the "Robin Hood Syndrome" so pervasive through the Liberal elite. Take from the rich and give to the poor, via the government of course, because YOU don't know how to use your hard earned dollars the "fair" way. Only the monolithic bureaucracy known as government can be truly fair.
The Ivy League elitists have read many books. Many of them have even WRITTEN a book or two. Obviously in the unwashed masses mind this makes them an authority. Barrack Husseins only real accomplishments before being elected president were writing a couple books, ABOUT HIMSELF! This is obviously all it takes to become leader of the free world. I suppose that hard-earned Nobel Peace Prize must have added to his credentials. Especially as we see the Middle East melting down in chaos and violence.
As this disjointed OWS "movement” struggles to be relevant the average American struggles to make ends meet. Of course the administration and the Occupiers demonize the likes of Mitt Romney for his outsourcing but they embrace Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE, as they have sent 75,000 jobs overseas since 2000. I seriously doubt Romney can compete against those numbers. If you think he can perhaps you need to look at Apple who has a total overseas presence, including contractors, of over 700,000 jobs.
The problems we face are multifactorial. The solutions should have been shaped in 2009. Unfair Free Trade agreements need to be totally reformed. Our criminal progressive tax system is outdated for the 21st century and needs to be eliminated and replaced with a simple Flat Tax or Fair Tax that will allow for true fairness and not allow our government its incessant manipulation of it. Job stagnating regulations need to be reviewed, reformed and in many cases eliminated. We don't need more regulations we need better regulations, and when they are violated we need real enforcement and harsher penalties. Bailing out criminal banks, disorganized companies and malinvested GSE's is not a solution, it's a reward for incompetence. Unions need to become industry supportive rather than divisive. Currency by our competitors must be engaged not ignored. Education needs to be totally reformed and privatized. Finally a true "all-the-above" energy policy must be finally created and implemented.
Occupy will go through its typical violence and vandalism today in the hopes that they can revive their short celebrity of last year. In the meantime none of the real issues will be addressed. The media will give them their 15 minutes of fame and they will wither away once again. It's a shame they don’t understand why no one in their right mind takes them seriously. They could be constructive, instead they will just destroy themselves.
ROMNEY/RYAN 2012 for real Americans
JimSpence, #1.70- Me thinks you "protest", too much! By the same token, as your above post, you're one side of the same coin, trying to be the whole coin. Answer, in support of and to establish substaniality of the very propositions you put forth in an earlier post..........
Define:
1. A Constitutionally limited Government (What does it look like?)
2. Fiscal Responsibility
3. Free Market Principles (and where and how do "Consumers" fit into the equation and whose Market is it and who and what is FREE about it?)
1,2,3- Spell it out.
Your smothering, cascading web of redundancy has holes in it, too, btw. Unfortunately, it's still smothering. 1. A flat tax is UNconstitutional, I believe; and 2. I don't see how you can even grasp a concept of a "fair" tax when you apparently can't even grasp the concept of a "fair"-share of Democracy; and even in just at the very starting point of "allowing it to exist", for exactly what it is! (But you do have many good points that you make, I think, but you're contradicting yourself in calling for a "Rightness" to things while at the same time "TRASHING" the priciples of DEMOCRACY!) "Convoluted" is one of my very favorite words! But you're killing the legitimacy of your premise with your "cheap-shotting" of Democracy and using "Hussein", etc. There can be nothing GOOD about the Republic, as an existence of Dynamic, without its foundational DEMOCRATIC underpinnings intact. period
alas poor Occutardz; we knew them well!
Occupy went the same way as the Tea Party...manipulated into obscurity by the "powers that be".
Hate to inform you...the Tea Party is live and well, thank you. We're growing! Liberals should be afraid...very afraid! LOL
What happened to Occupy Wall Street?
The MSM Killed it via by assisting the Police State in illegal raids against them Etc Etc Etc. The MSM Does not want things to change so they allied themselves with big banks, the Police States and Wall Street and did all they could to make sure the group did not get any air time at 6pm. Then the MSM made people believe that OWS was very bad and turned opinions against them.
And thats my opinion.
Yea how about that "Tea Party Downgrade" to our nation's credit rating!
They own that and this new budget with the biggest cuts just now kicking in!
You know, the cuts that Lyin' Ryan and the rest of the teapubilcans voted for!
The obstructionist tea party has done more harm to our economy than it has good. Where's the JOBS at tea party??
I'm glad that the tea party is all but dead in America!
The tea party people have given us all some good laughs though!
How about Akin and his "women can shut down pregnancy if the rape is legitimate" show he did?
How about paul Lyin Ryan claiming to have run near record marathon times!
Where the hell is Mittens tax returns? How about the fact that he put Americans out of work when he shipped jobs overseas during his time at bain capital?
Yep, tea party is all but gone and thank God it is!
MSM is owned by the 1%!
Occupy was damned in every story!
Remember, in Oakland when the police shot Scott Olsen in the head, the media didn't call for investigations, in fact they made it appear that Scott was somehow wrong for being there!
sammy...
Liberals are very delusional...the Tea Party is directly responsible for getting a number of conservative candidates elected to various government (state and national) positions. Name one election...just one that the OWS people directly affected...
The Tea Party continues to invest time, effort, and money to candidates who espouse our values...while OWS just fades away! I know it hurts...but it is the truth!
BTW, even the leftest MSM know when they are beat and fighting a losing proposition...
sammy sezso
In line with looking for a cause and effect of Occupy's growth and demise, Occam's Razor does apply. The mainstream media, aka Cable News stopped covering virtually all of the demonstrations and new pertaining to Occupy. Yes one can assume the media ignored it which hastened it's demise.
At least from 2001 to 2008, C-Span did excellent coverage of many antiwar demonstrations. C-Span didn't live up to it's recent past, and they blacked out Occupy coverage over the past year.
One thing they did manage to do so well is change the terms of the debate: before, talking about wealth disparity and the rich and powerful exploiting the rest of us was demonized as some taboo and no-no "class warfare", akin to farting in church then giving the preacher a BJ.
Now, talk about the 1% vs 99% is in the national conversation. At least now we're finally openly discussing the problem, which the first step towards change. Probably take years for the change coming from that to bear fruit - all the big reforms in this country took years, sometimes decades, after public opinion was first galvanized into focusing on the problem.
Hate to inform you but real conservatives have largely given up on people who align themselves with the Tea Party noise since they've been co-opted with the Republican party. There may be many of you fine people with the right intentions but the Republican party has little to offer at this point. So little that I agree with the Democrats about as much as I do the Republicans. It's not that the Democrats have advanced but the Republicans have degraded.
Romney? Is that the best the Republicans could do? The Tea Party might not support him but they will help him get elected, if he does. Either way I see our rights and our economy going on a downward trend when either one of the two big party idiots get elected.
ok..now exactly what are they wanting out of this or from the one percent? everyone i heard answer didn't know exactly what they were protesting. one said free college, free housing, free food.
maybe the majority decided to get a job {from the 1% possibly} and grow up like the rest of us.
They figured out that camping out and squatting isn't gonna get 'em a job and that life isn't like a TV sitcom. And for the ones who didn't figure it out, they were finally ordered to leave for trashing and stinking up the place and costing the cities money for their mess.
east coast...
look who's in the white house. a disgrace...pathetic. we're stuck on spin going nowhere.
nobama 2012
tired of the new broke
What Tea Party members wouldn't have been voted in if they had just stayed strictly on the Republican ticket?
If only the Tea supporters could see how Jesse Kelly (he lost to Gaby Giffords) ran his campaign against Gaby and how he ran against other candidates when it came time to replace Gaby. He dropped all of his Tea Party rhetoric that he used the first time - it was flip flop city.
Massive repression on the part of the authorities and lack of organization are what happened to Occupy.
But the economic and political conditions that created Occupy Wall Street are still here and probably going to get worse after the election so Occupy, or maybe something even more militant will probably rise up.
After the election, no matter who wins the presidency I think you will see an intensification of the attack by both corporate funded parties, Republicans and Democrats, on the living standards of the middle class and poor (the 99%) using the "deficit" as a club to confuse and beat them.
Obama hasn't made too much of a secret that he is basically a center Right-wing politician and if he is elected he won't have to worry about his base and getting elected again so he can let his inner Republican come out even more.
Romney and Ryan are practically drooling to cut taxes on the rich and slash Medicare and SS and privatize whatever they can.
Most americans still have a good heart though I think and common sense so hopefully they will stop being confused and wake up get organized and fight back.
If they don't it will be ugly for the next generations and for the natural systems in the U.S., too.
Tea bags are supported by very rich backers...they're sellouts.
the occupy movement did not except backers and you cant expect thoudands of people to live homeless in a city forever especially after being brutalized by the police who were ordered by a network of city and state officials across the country to do so
yeah look who be in there 4 more years you idiot - go somewhere and die creep and with Romney you going to be even broker fool remember youre not rich he dont care about your broke butt and mine either, grow up he will not help the poor, what station have you been listen to, he's a dummy and liar, no personality to be President, thief, where is his tax forms by the way and that would solve it all!
OWS IS the people! so by your way of thinking, every election that didn't end in the Tea Bagger winning are the elections Occupy effected!
Tea party is also responsible for handing America the TEA PARTY DOWNGRADE to our nations credit rating!
Tea party is responsible for the budget that America has right now AND the "sequestration" plan that will soon kick and and slash the budget of our military and funding for the medicaid for seniors!
The tea party is built on LIES!
Occupy appeared finally to be finding a message: Vote for Democrats. Unfortunately that's already being used already by a large part of the 1%.... and it ain't working for the 99%. I guess they don't see a way out either, at least not a non-violent one..... and that probably won't work either. Bigger guns, will to use use them, that sort of thing. Sigh.
My only answer, which I have been putting into practice, is to insulate yourself from the worst effects of govt, taxes, and such and live your own life as free from these crooks, lackeys, and idiots as you possibly can. Get mobile, be flexible, focus on what matters to you. (I personally don't bother voting or reading polls or what Sphincter A had to say about Sphincter B's comments on Sphincter C.) I've had a lot of success with it. It can be done. I'm not apathetic. If I ever get a clean shot at the IRS, or other semi-Auschwitz, figuratively-speaking, 'natch, I will take it.
Being generically angry at the system doesn't get one very far. Occupy's fatal flaw was that there was never any discernible goal that everyone could get behind.
Did they want a politician or appointee out of office? (Bush and his crew were already gone)
Did they want a war to end? (Iraq was already over and Afghanistan is winding down)
Did they want to alter a certain law regarding social or fiscal policy? (Demanding that "everything" be changed at once is childishly stupid to most of us)
No? Ok then. Enjoy the great outdoors in that case. Most of us don't care or understand what you want.
Well..... when you hear some of the demands some of these wallstreet occupiers, it's very hard to take them seriously. Basically wanting everything handed to them without any effort, it does come across as spoiled kids still living in basement while their parents still paying their bills. It changed from 99% working class down to "me me me".
If they are stupid to take out 100k in student loans for a liberal arts degree, then they deserve to pay the consequences of stupid mistakes. Making the taxpayers pay for their mistakes is just plain wrong.
Arch:
I completely disagree that Occupy failed because of 'repression' or 'organization'. They failed because they established no goals or leaders, fielded no candidates, and refused alliance with like-minded Americans across the country. They failed because they were naive enough to think that pure cynicism was enough to effect anything.
You know who are trying to legislatively overturn 'Citizens United'? Democrats. You know who are trying to regulate Wall Street, who want desperately to undo the corporate damage to the middle class? Democrats. Blithely saying that Democrats are just another corporate party demonstrates nothing but a directionless elitism, and accomplishes nothing but pissing off millions of people who would have liked to support Occupy. Brilliant strategy. Must be nice to be above it all.
Where'd it go? Same place the Tea Party would have gone if it didn't have billionaires backing. the fact that police raided and shut down all the Occupy demonstrations made things a bit difficult too.
I don't get it. Occupy wanted indefinite, long-term 'occupations' - why? The occupations succeeded in garnering attention and support; what else did they want? To camp out in public parks forever? The police didn't 'raid' the demonstrations until after the usefulness of those demonstrations had long since passed.
I can tell you for a fact that Occupy was strongly supported by the unions, and just that one alliance would have meant a seat at the political table, alongside an organization that has fought for the '99%' for over 100 years. Occupy didn't lack opportunity, they squandered it. There are few more disappointed at that than I.
@ Nemesis of Teta
When you have 300 million sheep going in one direction not even 1 million will get them to turn and go in a different direction.
1 million? Occupy had the support of 10s of millions. Calling us 'sheep' does nothing but put you on the level of the tea party elitists. Don't blame us for your failures.
Milton Friedman was a crank ivy league academic who changed the world with his 'trickle-down' theories. How? Political alliances. Ditto Grover Norquist. How about the neo-cons? Probably less than 100 of them, but they also changed the world, one Arab murder at a time. Time to get off the high horse, admit your political naivety, and try to harness support instead of pissing on it.
So What Happened To Occupy Wall Street Movement? Alive And Well Except The Wall Street MEGA Corporate Dinosaur Media Still Has A News Black Out (accept For Their Endless Belittlement Stories Anyway) In Place.
So Tell Me How Do You Know What Is Happening Outside Of Your Home Town If "They" Refuse To Publish A Story? You Don't! Here Allow Me To Provide Some Examples.....
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/occupy-wall-street-protesters-gather-washington-square-park-prepare-monday-morning-march-manhattan-article-1.1160598
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/15/occupy-wall-street-anniversary-arrests-ows_n_1887421.html?utm_hp_ref=occupy-wall-street
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/occupy-wall-street
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-05-01/news/31523723_1_protesters-demonstrators-social-justice-movement
Well That And The Federal Prosecutions For Freedom Of Speech & Assembly Anyway......That They ALWAYS PUBLISH!
Otherwise It Sounds Like Occupy Is Alive & Well And Only The Wall Street Owned Main Stain Media Still Won't Report The Truth!
Duh Tell US something We Didn't Know.....OK.....Brand New & Straight From PBS About What These Wall Street Sponsored Terrorists Have Done To America!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l-8PFk8j5I
Once Again America....None Of These Wall Street Incumbents Liars Work For US So Refuse To Re-Elect ANY OF THEM No Matter How Much These Wall Street Monsters Offer US Cow Patty Candy!
Then Let US Send Obama Bush & Cheney To The Hague For Not War Crimes / Crimes Against Humanity In 2013 And Start Working On Undoing The Damage Wall Streets Terrorists Have Done To US By Beginning Their Prosecutions!
We are afraid. We're afraid that the stupidity, bigotry and ignorance that is the bulk of the Tea Party will never go away.
...But once the conservative baby boomers start dying off, we'll have a shot at progressing this country more easily. I'm young enough to hopefully see this country shine and witness the shedding of the profound ignorance and bigotry that has hijacked the Republican party.
Rtypo...
Get used to us...very used! LOL
pssssttt...we're not going anywhere!
cantakenomore; you are soooo deep.
But thanks for using the radical King Crimson LP cover - you must really love songs like Bible Black...LMAO.
Most never had a job and their parents stopped funding little Johnny's modern hippie adventure. Hold a job for more than one month and pay taxes, then you can bitch like the rest of us.
Baaaaaa
This was not a movement by university kids - this was a movment of the underclass in America. The 'right' continues to paint it as "spoiled kids living in their parents basements". Take another look at the people in that movement - they are every age color and socio-economic background in the country, including some 1percenters. Authority and big-money killed it just like they are killing our country. Did you ever see riot police wade in to a demonstration by tea-baggers? no, they have big-money and important people behind them.
IXLR8-
"Most never had a job"--where are you getting your information?
From the Wall Street Journal:
“The vast majority of demonstrators are actually employed, and the proportion of protesters unemployed (15%) is within single digits of the national unemployment rate (9.1%).”
Another source shows similar findings (Héctor R. Cordero-Guzmán Ph.D, sociologist of the City University of New York):
"50.4% were employed full-time and an additional 20.4% were employed part-time."
Tea Party is all but dead! I saw they CANCELLED that romney trip to sheriff joes little birtherpolooza!
Why was it cancelled?? NO INTEREST!
But ye they're gaining speed alright, they're going faster and faster downhill and gaining momentum on the way down! When the bottom falls out from under America, American's will all be there holding on to their little tea bags!
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/09/13/a-conversation-with-a-teabagger-or-birther/
Damn those facts again! They just don't line up in favor of the tea baggers no matter how they squirm!
A vote for the tea bagger mittens romney and his cohort Lyin Paul Ryan is just the nail America needs to seal it's own coffin!
What happened to mitt's tax returns? *crickets*
How fast was that time in that marathon ryan ran in 3hrs and how many minutes? *crickets*
Tea baggers are nothing but a joke to America! What will they do or say next?? Every time that mittwit candidates opens his mouth he just changes feet! Nobody believes anything ryan says because he lies constantly!
He tried to say he didn't vote for this budget "sequestration" plan, but HE DID! Check the records.
Tea baggers are simply idiots and shills for the corporations! Grover Norquist is their president right now! They uphold their pledges to grover but forgot about their pledge to Americans.
And these are the same kids American Taxpayers should be bailing out by forgiving their student loans?!?!
So... if I decide to go to NYU or Harvard, rack up $$ in student loans while getting a liberal arts degree, graduate, then realize that I won't be selling 100k paintings........ can I get a student loan forgiveness too?
What about the college grads who got their degree in science and engineering yet still struggle to keep a roof over their head?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
BWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
It's going to be ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS watching regular Einsteins like boltonbill sell their wife and daughter for a loaf of bread!
* MORE YEARS!!! GOOOOBAMA! ...because when Americans are so retarded that they are unable to comprehend the effects of inflationary pressures due to printing money out of thin air they deserve to watch their children starve!
"What about the college grads who got their degree in science and engineering yet still struggle to keep a roof over their head?"
BWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I guess when you take all of that money away from those evil corporations they have nothing to scientificly research or engineer.
* MORE YEARS!!! GOOOOBAMA! ...because when Americans are THIS retarded... they deserve a fellow retard like obama to drive their bus.
Once Again WALL STREETS Corporate Robo-Collapsers Are Out Supporting Free Speech (But Only Their Kind) So Please Allow Me To Repeat Myself..........
So What Happened To Occupy Wall Street Movement? Alive And Well Except The Wall Street MEGA Corporate Dinosaur Media Still Has A News Black Out (accept For Their Endless Belittlement Stories Anyway) In Place.
So Tell Me How Do You Know What Is Happening Outside Of Your Home Town If "They" Refuse To Publish A Story? You Don't! Here Allow Me To Provide Some Examples.....
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/occupy-wall-street-protesters-gather-washington-square-park-prepare-monday-morning-march-manhattan-article-1.1160598
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/15/occupy-wall-street-anniversary-arrests-ows_n_1887421.html?utm_hp_ref=occupy-wall-street
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/occupy-wall-street
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-05-01/news/31523723_1_protesters-demonstrators-social-justice-movement
Well That And The Federal Prosecutions For Freedom Of Speech & Assembly Anyway......That They ALWAYS PUBLISH!
Otherwise It Sounds Like Occupy Is Alive & Well And Only The Wall Street Owned Main Stain Media Still Won't Report The Truth!
Duh Tell US something We Didn't Know.....OK.....Brand New & Straight From PBS About What These Wall Street Sponsored Terrorists Have Done To America!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l-8PFk8j5I
Once Again America....None Of These Wall Street Incumbents Liars Work For US So Refuse To Re-Elect ANY OF THEM No Matter How Much These Wall Street Monsters Offer US Cow Patty Candy!
Then Let US Send Obama Bush & Cheney To The Hague For Not War Crimes / Crimes Against Humanity In 2013 And Start Working On Undoing The Damage Wall Streets Terrorists Have Done To US By Beginning Their Prosecutions!
HI BOLTON BILL!!!
Here's some conservatism for you... If you want an abortion I'll drive you and even pay for it. What better way to suppress your vote than exterminating your offspring. Besides it would be cheaper if I took the 50 bucks out of my kid's savings account now instead of saddling him with another commie to have to pay for throughout an entire lifetime.
* MORE YEARS!!! GOOOOBAMA! ...because there aren't nearly enough liberal babies are being exterminated!
Boltonbill was never married because... well... look at him. He's an empty silhouette of a human.
Boltonbill was caught TWICE using his vote to take food off of your child's plate and give it to an illigal imigrant.
Boltonbill never went to the military like Romney's kids because there wasn't a draft... but some people are too retarded to comprehend what a year is and that there are multiples of them.
Boltonbill never gave his kids a penny, because he never had one to give... because he never learned how to go out there and get one on his own. Instead he votes for somebody to take your penny and give it to him... which he still wouldn't give to his kid because... well... he can get his own.
* MORE YEARS!!! GOOOOBAMA! ...because SOMEBODY has to pay for boltonbill's kids to eat food.
Civil Warrior - I've tried to hire some of those individuals who have degrees that just got out of college. It's amazing to see what salary they expect. I've had kids fresh out of college with no experience ask to be paid $250K a year. Let's see ... I don't think so since NO ONE in the company makes anywhere near that. These kids need to start at the bottom of the corporate ladder and work their way up. The sense of "ENTITLEMENT" needs to stop.
Protests in the USA..are real protests..and the out come always dies away!..But take a protest in the middle east with automatic weapons and RPG launchers..then you get answers! We speak easy..they act like they want a WAR in the middle east!
Occupy Wall Street is still in the hearts and minds of millions of Americnas. The terms "the 1 % and the 99 % " are now etched into political culture.
Beyond that ..... The big city police and were ordered to kill the Occupy Encampment Centers through intimidation and arrests. Freedom of Assembly is not really allowed in America when it is inconvenient.
Boltonbill Although I agree with you about romney and ryan . Inflation growing less than 2% is a farce. The government cheats when they figure inflation, We all know that. The economy is not as good as you and the government are painting it to be. We are being lied to.
Clyde Kloepper,
"Oh you didn't mention the 500 billion the inept liar in the white house cut, to fund insurance handouts"
Assuming that what you say is true, what do you propose to do about it? Put another inept liar in the White House?
Mickey-1983943,
I think there is a shortage of competent liars. Neither Bill Clinton nor Little Shrub can run again for the Office of President. They were about the most "ept" liars out there that I can name. Do you know of anyone?
I know Romney and Ryan are not competent liars. They are liars, but not competent ones. So who else do we have to choose from?
They all had to get to work on Obama's re-election.......
How right you are elliot- My guess is they aren't smart enough to figure things out on their own. They are "followers".
And you would think, gee a college educated kids would be smart enough to figure out on their own. I guess I'm wrong.
look at the college professors... enough said.
* MORE YEARS!!! GOOOOBAMA! ...because America needs MORE overpaid comminist/marxist hippies who never had a legitimate job in their lives to teach our children how to work.
I like your style civilwarrior....
telling them like it is... is well, like it is....
Hello folks, Occupy Wall Street has turned into Occupy the Planet. You will have to go to alternate media sites to see it as the corporate owned presstitutes aren't allowed to cover the watershed moment that has taken over the planet.
The movement has gone virtual in many countries like the United States and to street protests in many other countries where the internet isn't as widely available. The planet isn't going to hell in a hand basket it is to the contrary, the planet is awake and the veil has been lifted! The truth and history of our planet was leaking out in drips and drabs and now the dike has broken.
Make no mistake the movement is alive and well and will succeed to free the enslaved. We were asleep for awhile but we have woken up! Even the sheeple will benefit from the enlightenment of those who have awoken!
"The Veil has been lifted", and then who saw what under the Veil?? If those two 'Professional Occupiers', who now are beginning to look like 'Death Warmed Over', were the ones being 'Unveiled' then they would have been far better-off in my opinion, to have been left 'Veiled', & I wish not disguise my contempt for those two Aging DoDos with any sort of 'muslin' type 'Fabric', because they already look like the 'Emperor's New Clothes'!!!
Keep reinforcing that bubble TrustVerify. If you make it strong enough no one will be able to shake you back into reality, no matter how much evidence they present to you. How glorious it must be to be living in a pseudo world where everything will just get better one day because a bunch of mobsters crowded our public parks for a few months.
Maybe just trying to keep Mitt Robmey/Lyan Ryan out of the Presidency now as well as associated Tea Turds out of Congress. They're the ones that caused the Occupy Movement in the first place anyhow....
Gentleman Jim (0)
The OWS protestors were smart. They were acute enough to recognize by the 1%, that America is being robbed. About this country, they cared enough to try to effect fair and positive changes. You are correct...they are followers...they followed the money trial to the no-tax paying thieves and false patriots.
I don't think that word means what you think it means. You need an object for it to mean what you were trying to say.
Regardless, Occupy supporters were very late to the party in that regard. We've known that for decades. That's part of the problem with Occupy - they thought that their sudden realizations were unique and new, when they were just the same things that many of us have been working to reduce in society for as long as many of the Occupy campers were alive.
When time has past and you finally see what you lost, what your children and grand children will have lost, you will sit in further silence blaming somebody else just like you do today. The joys that humanity could have had are all replaced by lies of why we could not have had them.
The under educated of Syria have more guts then Americans. they will either have freedom or die trying. The only thing you will get is a bad back and fat @$$ from sitting around watching tv.
Hello george, you are right, America used to be Land of the Free and Home of the Brave now we've turned into the Land of the Detained and Home of the Cowards!
WaltUU,
Woefully, you are uneducated.
Inexcusably, you lack a serious command of the English language.
You are misguided and a self-positioned "teachers/professor."
A definition of the word acute:
"sensing or perceiving accurately, clearly, effectively, or sensitively"
http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/acute
"a·cute"
Keenly perceptive or discerning
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/acute
The word "acute" does not have to be applied to a tangible object.
Have you ever heard of the word, "abstract?"
Now, on to your lackluster post.
Regarding the Wall Street fraud, other than the OWS protestors, which other activists significantly raised the issues and fought for the economic changes that the OWS demonstrators battled for?
With respect to women, the recent Lilly Ledbetter act does address the issue of gender economic inequality. About the issue, what other actions have been taken to address the disparity and growing income inequality? Obama's political platform is focused on addressing this problem.
The problem is that the 1% is draining the U.S. treasury, burdening the middle class and economically saddling the poor.
Your perception is obtuse.
FDR's New Deal placed America on a progressive economic track.
LBJ's anti-poverty programs helped many of the downtrodden.
What have you done to improve our society?
WaltUU, you can type.
However, you have failed to make any positive point.
"Your mother wears Army boots."
What gave you the impression that posting a personal attack on someone who clearly repudiated your contention was going to make you look anything less than foolish? The M-W link you provided actually provided you an example of proper usage for the word, which is exactly what I told you it was. Catch a clue next time, and stick to the issues instead of engaging in such childishness.
Fraud caused the Great Depression in the 1930s, and much of the rebuilding of our economic system after the Great Depression was focused on putting systems in place to confront such fraud. The most notable measure taken was the establishment of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
As I said, people have been raising these issues continually for a century. It's a shame that they don't teach history in schools anymore.
I was in attendance at NOW rallies before most of the people posting here were even born. Lilly Ledbetter is good stuff, but it is just one in a long line of progress made with regard to gender economic inequality. And it won't be the last step either, I suspect.
No; that's "a" problem - not "the" problem we were talking about, but nice try attempting to evade responsibility for what you wrote. I was referring to the problem with Occupy, i.e., that they thought that their sudden realizations were unique and new, when they were just the same things that many of us have been working to reduce in society for as long as many of the Occupy campers were alive.
Wrong. I'm holding you to account for what you've written, and that embarasses you. Get over it. You won't get an unrebutted soap-box for deception here.
Lots. You don't know me. You don't know what efforts I've been involved in in the interests of those less fortunate and what sacrifices I've made for you. And I don't need to hold myself and my actions to account to you regardless, since my comments didn't claim that I was a hero, while your self-aggrandizing rhetoric did precisely that on Occupy's behalf. Defend your comments as well as I've defended mine. I've charged you with wasting time and energy that you could have spend doing the kinds of things I do to help the poor. Waste (what Occupy has done at least some of the time), versus help (what I've done, on my own behalf, as a citizen of the world).
I'm not here to live up to your corrupted grading. I'm here to hold you to account for what you posted, and hold it up to the crucible of truth and worth, where it has failed miserably, starting with the rude way you reacted to having your faulty grammar corrected politely.
Buddy, lay off the drugs and seek some professional help. Seriously.
The Phony "occu-poopers" realized they liked indoor toilets better than the streets. Toliet training went to their brains. Same location. Good-Riddance to them and their "supporter-in-chief" Hussein.
Once Again WALL STREETS Corporate Robo-Collapsers Are Out Supporting Free Speech (But Only Their Kind) So Please Allow Me To Repeat Myself..........
So What Happened To Occupy Wall Street Movement? Alive And Well Except The Wall Street MEGA Corporate Dinosaur Media Still Has A News Black Out (accept For Their Endless Belittlement Stories Anyway) In Place.
So Tell Me How Do You Know What Is Happening Outside Of Your Home Town If "Wall Street" Refuses To Publish A Story? You Don't! Here Allow Me To Provide Some Examples.....
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/occupy-wall-street-protesters-gather-washington-square-park-prepare-monday-morning-march-manhattan-article-1.1160598
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/15/occupy-wall-street-anniversary-arrests-ows_n_1887421.html?utm_hp_ref=occupy-wall-street
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/occupy-wall-street
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-05-01/news/31523723_1_protesters-demonstrators-social-justice-movement
Well That And The Federal Prosecutions For Freedom Of Speech & Assembly Anyway......That They ALWAYS PUBLISH!
Otherwise It Sounds Like Occupy Is Alive & Well And Only The Wall Street Owned Main Stain Media Still Won't Report The Truth!
Duh Tell US something We Didn't Know.....OK.....Brand New & Straight From PBS About What These Wall Street Sponsored Terrorists Have Done To America!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l-8PFk8j5I
Psst Ignore These One Line Wall Street Supporting Poopters....They're Just Getting Paid To Post Their Wall Street Masters Disinformation & Propaganda BS!
Here For Some REAL Wall Street Criminal News....
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/economy/the-true-cost-of-the-bank-bailout/3309/
http://world.hawaiinewsdaily.com/2012/09/qe3-helicopter-ben-bernanke-makes-it-rain-money/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation_in_the_Weimar_Republic
Once Again America....None Of These Wall Street Incumbents Liars Work For US So Refuse To Re-Elect ANY OF THEM No Matter How Much These Wall Street Monsters Offer You Cow Patty Candy!
Sorry Alan But You Appear To Be NOTHING But Another One Line Propagandist For The Obomination Out Spewing Disinformation And Malformed Opinions!
Folks....Here's Another Couple More PBS Links Showing Who The REAL Wall Street Supporting Thief Is......
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/economy/the-true-cost-of-the-bank-bailout/3309/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqpfVRq_wF4
As Liberal Humanitarians You'd Trust PBS Don't You? Or Are You All The Other Kind Of Obama Supporters?
And Once Again Ben Bernanke Robs US (3rd Time) Simply By Printing More Money To Give To The Banksters On Wall Street With Obumba's Blessings!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443524904577649952284412644.html
Once Again America....None Of These Wall Street Incumbents Liars Work For US So Refuse To Re-Elect ANY OF THEM No Matter How Much These Wall Street Monsters Offer US Cow Patty Candy!
Then Let US Send Obama Bush & Cheney To The Hague For Not War Crimes / Crimes Against Humanity In 2013 And Start Working On Undoing The Damage Wall Streets Terrorists Have Done To US By Beginning Their Prosecutions!
Psst Posters Post Content...One Line Computer Generated Sock Puppets......Post One Line Nasty Insults & Nonsense!
As a Jamaican, let me tell you one thing for certain, that the 'makers of that Stuff you smoking, should be definitely be 'Occupied', because that ain't NO GOO HERB!!
That's what we call 'John Crow Batty', what you smoking!!
......what????
MUW;
What happened?, the unemployment run out and the empty promises of the OWS crowd left you a bit jaded? Whether you like it or not, it is the private sector that creates ALL jobs in this country. The government only create overhead government jobs supported by tax payers, you know those of us with a JOB? Put down the indoctrination kool-aid, throw on a fresh pair of panties and get your "the world owes me something, hand out queen" ass out and find a job, after all your socialist hero Obama said the economy is Sooooooo much better now, should be no problem, right? We all know he IS the foremost authority on smoke and mirrors. unemployment will never exceed 8%, the housing market is just fine, GITMO will be closed down, he will stop all wars, yeah, he's just a wealth of ethical forthrightness. Hell, I'll bet you even bought that bridge to nowhere he has for sale too.
MUW;
This " Wall- Street MEGA corporate dinosaur media" which you say has a "news black out" is allowing you to create, free of charge, an account in which you can express your opinions and engage in discussion at your convenience, without penalties or repercussions, that the whole world can see. so you are being a bit of a hypocrite when you criticize them for only posting "disinformation and propoganda" while only supporting free speech "of their own kind"
in other words, the account you used to tell us this was provided by a media corporation, as was this forum you are freely discussing your opinions on along with countless others, and this was provided to you free of charge for your own personal uses. also, whatever device you posted your comment with was also created by a corporation. stop, take a deep breath, look around, and count all the things in your life you use that are designed and manufactured by corporations. you'll probably be surprised by how many things you come up with
OK jklol & Nicodemus Does Either Of Your Rants Actually Have a Point?
Nope Didn't Think So.............
Please Note No Examples Provided and The Only Reference Was My Comment Pertaining To Robo-Collapsers Of Other Peoples Post!
Psst ....I NEVER EVER COLLAPSE ANOTHERS POST!
Only Classless And Tasteless TROLLS Post Their Kind Of Nasty Crapola!
But Wow I Sure Got The Corporate Loving Psycho's Out On That One.......
Hmm And They Say Occupy Wall Street Isn't Still Having An Impact!
Alan, the 1% will never let you have a chance at true economic gain.
Your skewed and errant viewpoint prevents you from realizing the above fact.
The Romney/Ryan corporate puppets will never allow the majority of Americans to economically uplift themselves. Many are failing to recognize this obvious fact. The middle class and the poor that scamper behind the GOP are naive pawns.
Obama/Biden 2012!
Alan: What have you ever done for humanity?
THEY WERE CONSUMED BY REALITY.THEIR VOICES WERE HEARD AND IT TURNED OUT THEIR VOICES SAID:
wow ! I just got a job so good by to this leaderless movement. Afterall people want leaders.
I think the reality was a cold reality. Literally. Fall is the stupidest time to stage a prolonged outdoor protest. It's something I wondered aloud at the time, though I'm not sure if I ever commented on here.
It is unfortunate that the most important Occupy messages are downplayed by the sheeple, as they continue to reiterate, without end, the comments about homeless/lazy/poor/whatever people looking for a handout.
The most important message, to me anyway, was that we need to fight the rampant corruption and fraud in our government system. The sheeple either can't see the corruption, or maybe agree with it; either way I don't know which is worse.
How unfortunate this message was lost in the politics. Don't be a political sheeple. See things for what they are.
The reality is that that "most important message" you mentioned is something that regular folks have been saying for years, Democrat and Republican as a matter of fact. The difference is that they realize that such things don't go away by wishing them away or camping out for a summer, but rather need to be confronted over the long-haul from within the system. Occupy represented those folks who simply didn't want to play by anyone else's rules, and consequently got marginalized because of that conceit.
Occupy Wall Street has the same emotion as hope and change in the White House. Just another failed Obama program that cost taxpayers a bundle, impressed the liberal media and will be a small chapter in a failed presidency.
Drudge - you have proof they were a "Obama program" or are you just talking out of your hat?
Occupy was actually anti-Obama. I had a very long discussion here on Newsvine with an Occupy supporter about that last January. Check my history for a link.
Walt -
Then why did Obama and Pelosi come out supporting them in the early days? That newsviner may have been anti-Obama, but most weren't.
I can't speak for Pelosi, but Obama came out, and still, supports many of their goals in principle, even though they were anti-Obama (as part of being anti-practically-everything). Most Democrats do support many of Occupy's goals in principle, and simply oppose how extreme their perspectives are and what tactics they chose to use.
Hell yes Obama supports the Obama War on Success (OWS).
Well if success means continuing to hold workers wages stagnant while off-shoring jobs, If success means our tax dollars are used to prop up banks and failing companies, then it is Obama's movement. People are frustrated with the entire corrupt political process, that is the message I got out of talking to OWS protesters.
Because they can see what is happening and they agree with Occupy!
Occupy IS and always has been an APOLITICAL movement. Occupy has never, in the past, and never will, in the future, want or need any affiliation with any political party!
PJ, while I agree with your statement of many people being frustrated with the political process, the OWS movement focused in the wrong area. The protest should have been in DC. Wall Street is working with in the confines of the law, mostly, so what needed to happen was protesters putting pressure on the law makers to change the law. All the OWS did, whether they like it or not, was to support Obama's class warfare agenda of "take from the 1% and give to the 99%."
You mention off-shoring jobs. Once again, talk to the lawmakers. Companies move jobs to countries who are more corporate friendly and less regulated. The lawmakers are in charge of how many jobs stay in the US, and as more and more regulation is created more and more jobs will leave.
And finally, we, the American people, need to put the blame where it belongs, on us. Sure the gov't encouraged banks to give loans to people who couldn't afford them and yes credit card companies sent out applications to people who shouldn't have had them but the American people should have been smarter than that. Just because something is offered doesn't mean we needed to take it. People could have purchased what they wanted as long as it was kept within what their paychecks said they could afford and not what the lenders said they could afford. That's probably the biggest difference between a 1% and a 99%.
Sammy, OWS might not want political support but they need it to get laws changed because laws don't make or change themselves.
OWS is only a representation of the people. The people are smart enough to make a choice of who they want to run for president.
The whole purpose of OWS was not to solve all of the problems that we have.
OWS was merely an awakening of the people. OWS exposed many problems in our local,state and federal governments. It is not the intention of OWS to solve the problems, that is our government's job, to find solutions for the problems is what government should do.
The people now know the truth (if they have been paying attention) and they can make more informed decisions in their vote and in their lives. They now know who did what and when that lead us all to this man made financial disaster.
OCCUPY is far from being dead and it was only a small portion of a much bigger picture. Only those who actually pull their head out of the sand and open their eyes will see it.
The people are not happy and they want change to occur and are depending on their elected officials to get the job done. If governments refuse to change and keep up the status quo, the next protest may not be so peaceful and much larger! Could you imagine if this many people had a violent temper??
Having two candidates spoon fed to the voters isn't really a choice.
WOW, just WOW. God forbid everyone get their fair share! That is just SOCIALISM! Obama did not start this class warfare, Reagan did. Since then, every president has more or less supported it. What OWS did, was place those of us that do not agree with party politics on the map. Believe me, they did more damage to the current political system than you know.
I don't expect all of my fellow Americans to be that savy or smart. I had a self made multi-millionaire telling me I should buy UP during the housing bubble. Yup, that would have worked out well. I agree, if someone is offering something, we do not have to take it, but if it is a shady deal, then we should not be forced to pay for it. The dealer took a chance, too, didn't he?
It failed because the majority of American citizens could see right through them! Most were being paid to be there from big unions and community organizers such as George Soros! It worked in lock step with the current administration and was probably briefed everyday about what the administration wanted them to do next! Of course the left of main street media did their best to paint it differently but they also failed!
They fit Obummers profile for voters... Dumb, lazy, want something for nothing, think everyone owes them, kind of mentality...
They are not the only candidates! Please look for 3rd party candidates too! They are the people that aren't backed by those same huge corporations that back the dems and tp/repubs
The dems and tp/repubs are owned by the same corporations! Those same corporations are pushing ads faster than ever and nobody even realizes that they DO have other choices!
Realistically though I believe that we could elect a rock as president and it would at least not cost us anything! CONGRESS needs to start doing something besides stonewalling and filibustering! The tea party, (after providing us their tea party downgrade) now has us heading towards a fiscal cliff that sets mandatory cuts in motion to our seniors and military!
Don't vote for the dem or the tp/repubs! Show them that your vote cannot be bought! Make an informed and educated decision and vote for the person that YOU think will be the best person to be our next president! Don't be a sheeple and vote for the one that has the most or best ads!
what happened to it? who cares it's gone...I hope
Occupy is alive in many cities across the nation!
VH Navy:
From your avatar, it appears you're on the government dole, so of course, why would you care?
You've got "yours", to hell with everybody else.
Hey Sammy, Isn't that what Dr Frankenstein said when he created his monster? ( IT'S ALIVE, IT'S ALIVE)
Those who were getting paid by Soros decided the money wasn't enough. Also, since this was pretty much a DNC and their PR media machine invention, when it didn't really take hold and they, amazingly, started to get embarrassed by the whole thing (since it wasn't accomplishing what they thought it would), they shut it down. It's just some didn't get the memo. Also, all the posts above!
I'm sure lots of us would like to see the evidence for those claims: "Soros was paying OWS", and; the DNC created Occupy. Since both were disproven in the past if you have new actual facts then it would be real news.
Heck, if there are new facts and it is true, then I'm surprised it hasn't been published/advertised by the RNC!
McCarthyism lives on.
Dadoftim, do you know the difference between an opinion piece and factual reporting? Is that cut and paste job supposed to offer proof of something?
an OP ed. opinion piece from a right wing, nut job source proves nothing.
From their website one of their whack job list of "demands". Note that they say there is NO OFFICIAL list of demands. Bunch of whiners blaming everyone else for their stupid decisions.
http://occupywallst.org/forum/proposed-list-of-demands-for-occupy-wall-st-moveme/
Forum Post: Proposed List Of Demands For Occupy Wall St Movement!
Posted 11 months ago on Sept. 25, 2011, 3:46 p.m. EST by anonymous ()
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Admin note: This is not an official list of demands. This is a forum post submitted by a single user and hyped by irresponsible news/commentary agencies like Fox News and Mises.org. This content was not published by the OccupyWallSt.org collective, nor was it ever proposed or agreed to on a consensus basis with the NYC General Assembly. There is NO official list of demands.
Demand one: Restoration of the living wage. This demand can only be met by ending "Freetrade" by re-imposing trade tariffs on all imported goods entering the American market to level the playing field for domestic family farming and domestic manufacturing as most nations that are dumping cheap products onto the American market have radical wage and environmental regulation advantages. Another policy that must be instituted is raise the minimum wage to twenty dollars an hr.
Demand two: Institute a universal single payer healthcare system. To do this all private insurers must be banned from the healthcare market as their only effect on the health of patients is to take money away from doctors, nurses and hospitals preventing them from doing their jobs and hand that money to wall st. investors.
Demand three: Guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment.
Demand four: Free college education.
Demand five: Begin a fast track process to bring the fossil fuel economy to an end while at the same bringing the alternative energy economy up to energy demand.
Demand six: One trillion dollars in infrastructure (Water, Sewer, Rail, Roads and Bridges and Electrical Grid) spending now.
Demand seven: One trillion dollars in ecological restoration planting forests, reestablishing wetlands and the natural flow of river systems and decommissioning of all of America's nuclear power plants.
Demand eight: Racial and gender equal rights amendment.
Demand nine: Open borders migration. anyone can travel anywhere to work and live.
Demand ten: Bring American elections up to international standards of a paper ballot precinct counted and recounted in front of an independent and party observers system.
Demand eleven: Immediate across the board debt forgiveness for all. Debt forgiveness of sovereign debt, commercial loans, home mortgages, home equity loans, credit card debt, student loans and personal loans now! All debt must be stricken from the "Books." World Bank Loans to all Nations, Bank to Bank Debt and all Bonds and Margin Call Debt in the stock market including all Derivatives or Credit Default Swaps, all 65 trillion dollars of them must also be stricken from the "Books." And I don't mean debt that is in default, I mean all debt on the entire planet period.
Demand twelve: Outlaw all credit reporting agencies.
Demand thirteen: Allow all workers to sign a ballot at any time during a union organizing campaign or at any time that represents their yeah or nay to having a union represent them in collective bargaining or to form a union.
These demands will create so many jobs it will be completely impossible to fill them without an open borders policy.
Lloyd J Hart 508-687-9153
Mr. Vadum is employed by the Capital Research Center (the CRC was founded by the Heritage Foundation) and is opposed to anything even remotely associated with what he and the CRC define as taking power away from businesses or espousing a liberal cause. However, they are not opposed to receiving funds from the same types of sources (example - the Koch Brothers)
He draws conclusions based on opinion rather than fact. He is not unbiased and is constantly on the look out for anything that he can construe or "argue/imply" is a conspiracy against right wing people, policies, or bunsinesses. Being a right wing pundit and provocateur, he is not a valid single source.
cutting and pasting is fun! It makes me feel like a kid again. JC, I would suggest you read what it is you are cutting and pasting before you cut and paste.
Oh, and don't forget the media working to solidify their "message."
The one thing that is amusing and revealing is that there is no doubt that the dems embraced the occupy crowd as their own, basically proclaiming "this is us!" The crowds were small, yet there were numerous reports of vandalizing, rape, muggings, and of course the filth that collected. Compare that to the Tea Party where they gathered upwards of 2 million in one place, no illegal activities and they left the places cleaner than when they arrived. I know, the libs are there scratching their heads saying "and your point is?"
Pj-I did read it, in fact I called attention to that in my very first sentence. Why don't you follow your own advice before you start yapping like a little rat dog?
Matthew and PJ, while I support your the statement of "its an oped piece so it doesn't count," you know if the roles were reveresed and an oped piece was from the left attacking the right, many people, maybe or maybe not you, would be taking it for the gospel truth and spreading it as fast as they could. If you don't think so just look around at many of the posts in this and other OWS-related articles and see how people take both left and right leaning responses. Unfortunately, when something supports our opinion we fail to truly see if it is fact based or not.
I am neither left nor right. So the "if its good for the goose its good for the gander" mentality means nothing to me.
The OWS folks have had a busy summer! I was talking to a friend the other day and she agonized about how tough it had been. Just getting ready for the Burning Man festival in Nevada (Labor Day Weekend) this year was the worst because it was the most highly attended year yet and the dust storms and heat were stronger than ever. She and her partner were bringing their two grade school children and had start planning in August to get emotionally prepared for the 40K or so drunk and stoned people half clothed for a week in the desert listening to strange music. Then they needed to try to bring their home-schooled kids back up to speed.
Now they've got to turn around and get ready to head over to Washington to let those rich people have it. All without running water! You've got to admire the dedication
Information
Alliance for Global Justice is the fiscal sponsor for Occupy Wall Street. All donations made through this page are tax deductible. Thank you for supporting social justice and giving to Occupy Wall Street!
https://www.wepay.com/donations/41696
That is just some post in one of the occupy FORUMS! A Forum posting is your proof?? LOL
Can't you read? Do you know what a FORUM is? Anyone can post there! For all we know that is YOUR list of demands that you yourself wrote!
The OFFICIAL list of demands for Occupy wallstreet can be found here:
http://www.nycga.net/resources/documents/declaration/
That is the website for the New York General Assembly.
People like you are why Occupy got a bad name! You fail to look for the truth and watch too much FUX news entertainment.
Typical sheeple.
Sammy, you obviously don't even know what a list of demands are. That is nothing but a declaration of their so-called complaints. Pinhead. Get out of mommy's basement and get a job and don't borrow if you can't pay it back. And, like I told your partner in ignorance pj, I specified in my post that this was not an official list of their so-called demands, and it even had the guys name who posted it on their website at the bottom. Learn to read something completely before you start yapping also. Let me guess. When you take out a mortgage on a house, do you read enough to realize there are consequences if you default? When you run up a massive credit card bill, did you read enough to know the interest rate was going to be high? Always someone else's fault isn't it? Grow up and get some responsibility.
The declaration was the only official release of OWS.
What you posted has contributed nothing to this discussion.
Your name calling reflects on your level of intelligence!
Your lack of knowledge about Occupy is also duly noted!
Do you really hold the homeowners and creditors liable for this economic mess? Really???
You need to double check that one and get your so called facts straight!
Have a great day!
J.C.,
You cannot honestly tell me that some of those "demands" are exactly what the country needs. Restoration of a living wage, trade tariffs on China, infrastructure and ecology restoration projects, dealing with obscene health care cost increases generated from raises in Insurer salaries and not from increase care costs, and equal rights.
All of these ideas are spot on what need to happen. Some for the betterment of the country others to create jobs and get Americans back to work and back to spending. To dismiss every idea they have presented because some of them are ridiculous is short-sighted.
One of the problems with associating OWS with a political party, which it was not, is that the political sheeple will then draw conclusions about the movement based purely upon their political association, not on the merits of the movement or its message.
Making any issue/point political is detrimental to a healthy discussion, as you can see clearly when you read these threads on newsvine.
Don't be a sheeple. See things for what they are in spite of the politics.
Nobody wants to do that, yet. We can still hope for change. That is going to take people to stop voting for the lessor of two evils. Even then, we are likely to have to deal with the corruption of the electorate. We have already been complacent too long.
Another important thing to note, as with other protests, is that the OWS movement was never intended to fix the problems. It's job was to increase awareness of the issues that plague our society.
That's a cop-out - a rationalization for nothing changing as a result of all that wasted effort and municipal cost of policing and clean-up.
If you want to raise awareness, do it with your own money; don't incur cost that has to be paid for with public funds without approval from the legislature.
Bingo! We have a winner!
I spoke to a half dozen of them up here in Burlington, Vermont. I found them inarticulate, inane and totally ignorant of the basic workings of the economy. Also they smelled.
To be fair, you'd stink too if you spent a few days outside without a shower (as anyone would). But you're right; ask five different occupiers to give specifics about what they want and you're likely to get five different answers.
Nonsense Daniel Occupy Wall Street Has ALWAYS Been Against The Occupation Of Our Government By Wall Street.......The Rest Is merely An Opinion Of One Part Or The Other Of The 99% And Then Hyped As Smoke & Mirrors By Wall Streets Own Mega Propaganda & Disinformation Media Outlets!
Why Do You People Always Make Excuses Instead Of Facing The Truth That We Are Now Controlled By Criminals On Wall Street Through Their Political Minions In Washington DC?
Again Some Of US Post Content With Links.....Some Of Us Make Excuses For Wall Street.....Which Are You?
Never Mind...... That Is Obvious!
Educate Yourself And At Least Watch These DN / PBS Documentaries.......
Democracy Now Story .....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RC1Mepk_Sw&feature=g-all-f
New PBS Documentary....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l-8PFk8j5I
Obama = Bush And They Both Work For The Same Wall Street Terrorists!
America.... Refuse To Re-Elect Wall Streets Incumbent FAILURES Refuse Reward Their Crimes Against US in 2012!
Let US Send Obama Bush & Cheney To The Hague For Not War Crimes / Crimes Against Humanity In 2013 And Then We Can Start Working On Undoing The Damage These Wall Streets Terrorists Have Done To US!
I don't see your point about internal squabbling drawn out in your article. Did you just say that for effect? It seems like something the audience above would like to hear alright...
As the movement grew worldwide, these naive retards wanted to get a ride on the Arab spring; and like that, which started to breakdown of its own hypocrisy, so did Occupy.
Word of advice, young fools; in the REAL world, there is no logistic room to utopian ideals, only reality. It's kill or been killed, Survival of the fittest. Sad, but it's called the harsh truth.
watch the movie 2016 it's an eye opener@!
I did. In my opinion, it was a movie that was fascinating because of its faulty assumptions and the producer/director's ability to ignore facts that contradicted them. It was a heck of a propoganda peice designed to try to create a motivation for President Obama that would validate many of the right-wing conspiracy theories.
2016 Movie examples - It lied about his actions on Iran. It lied about the Churchill bust. It lied about the President being sypathetic towards Islamic extremists/terrorists.
For those that also the movie in an effort to gather information, please seriously consider fact checking the things it says.
i'm not sure what the movie says about it, but the Churchill bust was given back. There is another one still in the white house, but the one on loan was returned. After initailly denying the story, obama's handlers did admit it. Not many news outlets carried the full story.
I saw it and it was food for thought.
It was made for people who will drink whatever kool-ade is put in front of them and not bother to even ask if there is poison in it. These people are not going to do any fact checking.
I believe you're referring to the movie about the Koch brothers. I'd tell you to grow up but I know you won't.
Did someone piss in your kool-ade, MikeGoodfellow? Sorry. I have never seen the movie about the Koch brothers, so I can't comment on that one. I'd tell you to wise up, but I know you wont.
The 400 richest families have a net worth that exceeds the bottom 60% of the population or 185 million people. In the late 1800's and early 1900's in the days of the great robber barons the top 50 families could make the same statement. In those days millions lived in shanties surrounding our major cities and most jobs paid $1 a day. OWS will only be an occasional issue until the disparity grows to what it was in the past as it will.
All the occupy people should be out there getting as many people as possible registered to vote. Then Vote for their own personal interests rather than being swayed by some emotional hot button issue.
These retards couldn't get anyone registered to vote.. They were to busy sitting in there own poop!!!
Remember when America had a REAL President?
Yep, President Clinton.
Like who? G.W. Bush?
From an objective viewpoint, and one related to fiscal responsibility (which this article concerns through Occupy) you must be talking about Bill Clinton.
Yeah, Bill Clinton was great, shame there were all these nutjobs at the time running around trying to impeach him at the time.
Right;)?
Yeah.. I remember Eisenhower... and Kennedy... and FDR... *sigh*
and Pres. Andrew Jackson... quote to central banksters: "Gentlemen, I have had men watching you for a long time and I am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country. When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter, I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin! Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves."
And President Abraham Lincoln... "I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed." -- U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864
(letter to Col. William F. Elkins)
My grandmother wouldn't be able to remember that.
Thank you for the quotes from long ago StrengthInNumbers.
They still hold true today!
It is a tragedy what has happen to our government! The corporations have bought it and now it serves the highest bidder and not the people!
They don't just hold true, sammy - they have come to pass...
We could use another lincoln or jackson type of person to take control.
Sadly, now, anyone that has any integrity or ethics doesn't want anything to do with government! They don't want to ruin their good reputations in business!
Stay strong and keep voicing your opinion louder and louder until government starts listening and doing the will of the people, instead of the will of the corporate masters that paid for their campaigns. Our votes have power over their money! They are using their money to cloud the issues in an attempt to sway public opinion, but most are seeing right through their lies! NOW people are asking questions and no taking everything on face value, because they have been shown the truth.
Strength -- well said and so very true .
The problems facing our country all stem from one thing: Corruption. The worst of all corruption is coming from our elected officials. The Immunity granted them allows them to be corrupt. All citizens whether OWS supporters or not, should realize the corruption is the reason Congress doesn't work properly, and corporations run the country, not the people. Immunity is the reason and the real problem.
Clinton.... Our ejaculator in chief???? Lmao
The Occupy movement collapsed under it's own lack of foundation and framework. It's all well and good to say, "I want something different" but if you have no solid, constructive measures to put in place then you fail in the mid- and long-term.
Occupy collapsed under its own wieght and directionlessness. Anarchy fails.
They are still in their parent's basement and collecting government assistance.
Occupy showed common American frustration at the irresponsibility on Wall Street, and shined a light on the lack of accountability for the financial crisis that Wall St had great moral liability for.
They were pointing out something that wasn't fair, that wasn't American--I buy a house I can't afford, and I'm punished and I lose the house, and my credit score. You, the expert banker, sold the mortgage back security with the AAA rating behind paying for my house when it was your profession obligation to know better. You might just miss your bonus this year when I'm suffering to such a greater extent-it's difficult for me to put food on the table.
So Occupy was necessary and positive, and American in many ways. What Occupy didn't do, was offer good solutions to the problems they pointed out. In fact, after a time, the most diehard Occupy protesters became walking advertisements for voluntary unemployment-part of the problem, and not the solution-making.
I still think of Occupy as a positive movement, but failure to be pragmatic, and solution-oriented, reduced them to noise.
No one denies a lot of the questionable (read: sleazy) banking practices, but what was on display with OWS was an ever-growing sense of entitlement and lack of personal responsibility. People who bought houses signed a contract, as did people taking out student loans... knowing what the consequences were if they didn't live up to those contracts. The OWS stance on "no more foreclosures" and "forgive all student loans" exposed this very lack of personal responsibility.
I agree. I know a few college grads with upwards of 60k+ in student debts. Instead of being responsible and going to local community college first and working part time, they instead went to elite universities and used student loans to pay for their apartments or dorms. They didn't want to get a part time job during college because it deters them from the "college experience."
Now they want the taxpayers to forgive all of their student loans?!?! I guess screw the responsible ones..... um no.
The only thing they were ever good at was getting media attention: a photo and a headline in the newspaper. If you read 'the story', you saw that there was no story. With not-quite-clever manipulation, they tried to make a story out of 'confrontation' with anyone who might respond to their 'in your face' tactics.
I hope young people will put their wonderful energy into one of the many organizations that actually work! - to benefit the homeless, the poor, the hungry, uneducated and disenfranchised. And animals! The need is great. Don't squander your time on leaderless groups that have nothing to show for their misguided efforts.
Live and learn. It's part of growing up.
Can you honestly say that you don't support the list of goals that Occupy tackled? Or are you just quoting the things that corporate owned new services found to report about them?
The number one goal of Occupy was to end the practice of corporate money financing our campaign coffers for candidates and to stop big money lobbying from buying the laws they want for corporate personhood.
Really? You don't support this? Have you looked into it?
http://www.occupytogether.org/aboutoccupy/#issues
What list of goals?
The list varied from occupier to occupier and from day to day!
Look at the link.
http://www.occupytogether.org/aboutoccupy/#issues
The goals have always been there. Easy to google. They have been available since the beginning on multiple websites. But corporate owned news services have repeatedly made the CLAIM that they had no goals! That is why I read my news from multiple sources and do research. It is easy to be misled if you trust the 15 second snips on the pm news channels.
I mean no offense. But do try bbc, rueters, and read, read, and read. Many people are busy and accept slanted reporting while they try to make a living and care for family.
Uh, those aren't goals. They're target areas for objection, not goals. Goals are specific and measurable. Paul Ryan put forth a budget that addresses all of these issue (badly and wrongly, but still addresses them) with legitimate specificity: Occupy never did.
And incidentally, as vacuous as that page is still, today, in its lack of specificity, it was even less detailed last year. The links to other entities, that do provide a bit more specificity on specific aspects, were not there. They've been added since last year.
Henry, what Tammy is saying is that each Occupy group voted on and announced its own "goals". These lists varied from group to group. There was no centralized organization, no single list of objectves (as laid out in the website), no overwhelming direction with measurable goals and methods as to how to achieve them.
In order to succeed, an organization needs a plan that can be implemented. While the website lists things they don't like or want changed, it basically says "work together" when providing "guidance" as to how to make things happen.
Occupy depends on mob mentality (NOT using this phrase in violent context, using it as an "action descriptive"). While it has basic thoughts, it is directionless in how to achieve them. Anarchy fails.
Anarchy is (to wildly paraphrase) a desire for no government. I don't find that definition applicable to a nonviolent American protest calling for reforms.
If each region of protest had specific concerns, I think that is the nature of humanity. There were (and are) common goals inside the Occupy movement. There ARE multiple websites for the the regions of protest. All you have to do is look.
I'm using the word Anarchy as in: lack of a system or control, absence of a formal system; structureless. When you look at how and why I believe that the OWS has not lived up to its possibilities, you understand why I use it that way.
For that matter, there were members of the "Anarchy Group" (kind of a contradiction in terms actually) at many of the OWS locations.
And I do look. A few of my very dear friends still act in concert with the local OWS organization. However, the multiple websites still basically have the same planning and implementation issues.
I don't necessarily disagree with the "planning and implementation issues". But they DID get off their behinds and try to do something about it. They did define and expose areas of needed reform and identify injustice.
Perhaps the American public let them down due to exhausted apathy.
Keep trying.
Henry, this is where you and I will disagree until the sun rises in the west. It's not up to the American public (as a whole) to support any single group's agenda because of our varying perspectives and personal beliefs. Unchecked, that concept would create "mob rule". I have no interest in participating in what would boil down to a (even worse than it is now) bread and circuses situation where actions are taken simply to keep people distracted and happy.
It's up to the American public to get informed and elect Congressional representatives that will actually lead (instead of obstruct) and define compromises (where compromise is possible) that promote the best interests of ALL Americans. And then to watch them like hawks, stay informed, and bust their chops when they screw up.
So where does OWS fit in? Well, IF they actually get organized, then as a pratical example they can address things that are clearly screwy.
For instance Citizen's United was an anathema of a ruling. Businesses do not represent the interests of people, they represent the best interests of businesses. People represent people and as such, businesses should not have the ability to contribute unlimited funds to campaigns.
A practical example of how OWS could address this would be work as a group to standardize language for a Constitutional Amendment which would in effect overturn the SCOTUS decision and then push for that Amendment in every state. Create a social priority where, if a person wanted to be elected/re-elected they would have to support and push for this amendment.
It's not up to the American public as a whole to support OWS anymore that it's up to them to support the TEA Party.
http://www.occupytogether.org/aboutoccupy/#issues
Good point. A number of people have pondered the likelihood of those whom feared OWT having successfully hired THUGS to create mayhem in many OWS rallies as to dicredit OWS, and cause their rallies to be banned, and have many participants arrested.
I think they were hoping that this election would solve their problems, such as unemployment, income inequality, no healthcare, soft money, corporate lobbying, etc. But, neither major candidate will fix it. Both Obama and Romney are in the pockets of Wall Street CEOs. Obama might let the Bush tax cuts expire for the rich, but big deal, that's only about a 4.5% increase in taxes for the rich. Both Obama and Romney will continue with the Wall Street game plan of "trickle-down economics" that never has worked for the working-class.
Don't feed the trolls.
Seriously, some of these idiots don't have the capacity to think on their own.
They're all back in their parent's basements playing their computer games. When your parent's have always cleared the way for you, and when you've never stuck to anything in your life, why should this be different?
Yes, a lot of the occupiers were unemployed and/or college students. However, a large number of the occupiers I know were and are gainfully emploed and middle-aged to elderly.
It's no more correct to state that all occupiers are "basement dwellers" than it is to state that all members of the TEA Party are racist.
Yet, the TEA Party has been considered racist since day one with massive support by the left. Go figure.
Surprised???
Corporate America, along with those who fears upheaval, made moves which resulted in Occupy Wall Street being ignored by the corporate media.
Very clever and wealthy activists within the GOP, Karl Rove et al, purposefully and successfully divided the Tea Party, destroying it's alternative to the two parties.
That element of the Tea Party which pushed for accountability on Wall Street, died when the GOP lured into it's grasp, and absorbed what was left of the Tea Party.
Now the Tea Party is dubbed the party of Right Wing Social Engineering, which was never meant to be as it's main focus.
Mike - as I stated, not all TEA Party people are racist. However the small percentage that are get the press.
Examples: http :// mokellyreport.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/tea-party-and-racism-lovers-and-friends-part-ii/ (Note - I do NOT endorse this web site in any way shape or form, it's simply to provide pictures)
Add to that the constant screaming by birthers, of which a lot are TEA Party folsk or supporters, and you get a combined picture of a group that becomes defined by its craziest component.
http://mokellyreport.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/tea-party-and-racism-lovers-and-friends-part-ii/
That tea party sure is a bunch of RACISTS! WOW! Nothing left there but the birthers and racists, everyone else abandoned them!
UNBELIEVABLE! The obstructionist, racist, tea party!
...and these people in this discussion are proud of being associated with racists!!!
Hard not to consider that many on the right are racists as on these blogs alone they've referred to president Obama as a N*****, an eggplant, Muslim, socialist, communist and many others I can't remember right now. Though only 2 are specifically racist they've never been used before to describe a white democrat even those that are farther left than Obama like the Kennedys.
The "Fiscal Cliff" comes in January 2013 when Obama's taxes which are hidden in Obamacare hit anyone making over $50,000 as a couple. It isn't a little hit...it is over $4,000 a year. Can you afford that and all the other costs of inflation? The News is just now, finally reporting on this and there is information out there if you are willing to do the research. If you are a couple and make $50,000 a year or more, I suggest you do your research before this election.
That "fiscal cliff" was made by the tea party!
Lyin Paul Ryan and the rest of the tea party gang of obstructionists voted for and passed the budget!
This is OWNED by the tea party Made in the US of A. You can't push this one off on Obama!
Obama's budget wasn't even considered! I can still see the Tea Party all sitting there shaking their heads "NO" in unison every time Obama tries to get them to do something!
They refused his budget and then later they refused his jobs bill, now they argue that they didn't vote for the budget cuts when THEY DID VOTE FOR THESE CUTS! Lyin Ryan is now back peddling and trying to say that he does not support the budget that he voted for! What a bunch of lying, thieves!
The tea party obstructionist congress has to do something/ anything, or yes this nation will eventually fail! The do nothing congress should have been FIRED and sent home and new elections ordered!
Sammy -
Did you forget the Barry budget that went down 97 - 0 in the senate? That was the first time I realized that the Tea Party had completely captured the senate.
Hilarious.
captured or manipulated by forcing the vote?
So in doing this the tea party has created this "fiscal cliff" that they will push America off of!
Follow the bouncing dollar! See how the rich get richer by taking from the poor! It's the tea party way! It's robbedmehood.
"Trickle down" economics has has proven to be a failure once again, and Americans are stuck with the debt. How's that tea tasting right about now?? The worst is coming soon. Home foreclosures are on the rise again and banks won't lend because appraisals are too low! Banks are scrambling again to "socialize their losses" to America.
Maybe more people should pay attention to Occupy instead of blindly listening the MSM and taking it as truth! MSM is owned by the 1% and tells you what the 1% wants you to hear. Occupy is telling the truth behind what IS going on! Occupy is despised by corporations and MSM because of the spotlight it has brought to their corruption and greed. Occupy is only an awakening of the people!
I hope you people realise that no president would ever propose a budget that didn't have the support of his party. Votes that end up 97-0 do so because democrats refuse to vote on a budget they know won't pass. Republicans force a vote and democrats refuse to play. If a vote isn't cast it's recorded as a no. When democrats can't get enough votes to pass a budget they continue to negotiate untill they do. Republicans force a vote knowing the retards in their party will believe even the democrats voted no when in fact they just didn't vote.
Dumboma's folks aren't going to believe that... But you know I do...Lmao
It doesn't matter what the president submits! What the president submits is simply his "wishlist" and to try to set the direction of the nation. It is more symbolic than anything else that he even submit a budget.
The job of making the budget is clearly defined in our constitution. It is the constitutional duty of CONGRESS to set the budget for the nation. CONGRESS must come up with a budget that will pass both the house and senate and then be signed by the president.
Right now America is heading for a fiscal cliff and it is CONGRESS that has the blame for doing this to us all! The obstructionist, tea party congress!
Harry Reid (D-NV) is the majority leader of the Senate, and he controls what comes to a vote, when, and the rules for how a bill is handled. Furthermore, a non-vote isn't counted as a "No" vote, as evidenced by the "97-0" result (there are 100 Senators, not 97, so three didn't vote). The fact is that the Senate, led by Democrats, rejected Obama's budget proposal. Sorry you don't like that fact, but that doesn't change it.
Yes they did reject it, no doubt, because the supplanted deficit reduction plan had not been outlined to them yet! The TP/Repubs forced the vote knowing that the budget couldn't be passed without the deficit reduction plan being outlined first! That's just how politics are played right? No matter who gets hurt.
The one big problem with your argument is the simple fact that it is not the presidents job to pass a budget at all! That is the constitutional duty of CONGRESS to pass a budget! The president's budget is merely a wish list, and has no significance to it all! So who cares if his budget got voted down? Where is the budget from TEA PARTY CONGRESS that they are obligated by the constitution to pass? They have NOT been doing their jobs!
Go check the source of the article I have pasted above in #23.3 .
SO how is that tea party budget working out for everyone? Ready for the fiscal cliff? Get your seat belts tightened! It's right there AFTER the second tea party downgrade that is also coming up fast! The warnings have been sent to the government!
Democrats control the Senate. The Republicans cannot force a vote on anything--when or if a vote is taken is up to Harry Reid, who has refused to hold votes on numerous bills that have been sent to the Senate by the House.
I didn't say it was the President's job to pass a budget--Congress passes legislation (congratulations, you got something right!). However, it is his job to present the Executive Branch's budget proposal to Congress for consideration--Congress then goes ahead and does what it wants. But that wasn't even the topic of my post. My post focused on the vote in Congress.
Tea Party Congress? So it consists of all Tea Party members now? That's really funny, because the last I checked, Tea Party members constituted a fraction of the Congress. The Democrats still hold a majority in the Senate, and none of them are Tea Party members. It has been the Senate, led by Harry Reid, which has refused to pass a budget for several years. The House has submitted numerous budgets to the Senate--Reid has simply refused to hold votes on them. So if you're mad about Congress doing "nothing" on the budget, then be upset at Harry Reid.
There is no such thing as a Tea Party budget. Congress has not passed an actual budget since before the Tea Party started in 2009.
Likewise, there is no such thing as a Tea Party downgrade. I presume that you're talking about the downgrading of US credit rating, and pending second downgrade? You might want to go check the actual facts instead of your leftist blogger talking points. The credit rating agencies making the downgrade decision didn't blame the Tea Party...
The "Fiscal Cliff" comes in January 2013 when Obama's taxes which are hidden in Obamacare hit anyone making over $50,000 as a couple. It isn't a little hit...it is over $4,000 a year. Can you afford that and all the other costs of inflation? The News is just now, finally reporting on this and there is information out there if you are willing to do the research. If you are a couple and make $50,000 a year or more, I suggest you do your research before this election.
That "fiscal cliff" was made by the tea party!
Lyin Paul Ryan and the rest of the tea party gang of obstructionists voted for and passed the budget!
This is OWNED by the tea party Made in the US of A. You can't push this one off on Obama!
Obama's budget wasn't even considered! I can still see the Tea Party all sitting there shaking their heads "NO" in unison every time Obama tries to get them to do something!
They refused his budget and then later they refused his jobs bill, now they argue that they didn't vote for the budget cuts when THEY DID VOTE FOR THESE CUTS! Lyin Ryan is now back peddling and trying to say that he does not support the budget that he voted for! What a bunch of lying, thieves!
The tea party obstructionist congress has to do something/ anything, or yes this nation will eventually fail! The do nothing congress should have been FIRED and sent home and new elections ordered!
Sammy,
You need to get a life!
Congress sets the spending priorities and budgets. the Senate democrats have refused to discuss or vote on over 100 bills passed to them by the House. No one has approved any Ryan budget! Think if you listen and can read, you will find that Romney doesn't agree 100% with Ryan and will change many of the things suggested, but the House and Senate will eventually have to pass something. If the democrats keep stonewalling any house proposals and do not have any ideas themselves, then it is the democrats that are creating the problem, not the Republicans.
I'm not talking about the Lyin Ryan plan to ruin America, do you have any reading comprehension ability at all?
I'm talking about America's current budget, that we are operating under right now.
Ryan IS on the committee that was supposed to come up with $1.3TRILLION IN BUDGET CUTS or the "sequestration" plan kicks in and forces the cuts.
This committee did NOTHING all year! NOT ONE CUT TO ANYTHING! In other words, the tea party did as usual, and did nothing!
THIS IS THE TEA PARTY BUDGET THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW! Voted on and approved by paul ryan this spring.
This is the budget that has made a fiscal cliff for the tea party to push America off of!
Ryan says he didn't vote for this when in fact he DID vote for it AND is on the committee that could have prevented this "sequestration" plan to kick in. PAUL RYAN FAILED!
The lyin Ryan plan is much worse than this for the average citizens, but it is loved by the rich and wealthy Americans! It is merely a pipe dream for the tea party and completely unworkable and will NEVER get passed!
The corporations are behind the ryan plan too because it cuts funding to many government agencies that oversee regulations. Corporations can pollute all they want! and do what they want because nobody will be there to watch them.
What do you expect from a bunch of Grover's followers that held America hostage to get this budget passed and caused a tea party downgrade to our credit rating?
You cons sure are having a selective memory today, or no memory at all!
The truth is right there in your face and yet you refuse to see it!
How much a year more you think families will pay when Romney taxes employer health plans to pay for his tax cut for the rich? If you have an average 15K plan that's currently untaxed figure that taxed at 25%. Then if you have a home mortgage interest deduction count that gone. The bad news is you'll pay a lot more taxes. The good news is you'll be able to file short form. Even Romney might be able to as he plans eliminating taxes on capital gains so he'll pay nothing on 95% of his income.
Raw: Obama offered a budget plan that would accept 2 trillion in cuts with 2 trillion in additional taxes and elimination of some corporate subsidies. Republicans due to their Norquist pledge refused any tax increases or elimination of any subsidies. Republicans would only accept a budget that included all cuts to social programs and non military items. Hard to paint that as democrats being the obstructionists. With democrats everything was on the table, not so with republicans. Demoocrats will never accept plans that gut government spending and leave military and tax breaks for the rich intact. If that's all republicans have to offer than they're wasting their time.
You're simply lying. Few couples making over 50K don't have insurance and assuming they do most would pay nothing more under Obamacare. They would pay a lot more under Romney. When he eliminates the home mortgage deduction and taxes employer health plans to pay for his tax cut for the rich. Figure under Romney 2K to 5K more a year depending on value of health plan and interest deducted.
That is one serious case of denial that you have going on in your head. Please seek professional help, because your delusional alternate reality existence isn't healthy for you or those around you.
So where is your proof to refute my stated facts? Your asinine opinions and insipid insults are not needed or wanted.
Where did I not tell the truth? The link is from right here on NBC. So you are saying that NBC id delusional? Really?? Show the proof!
You might want to start by proving that you stated any facts. For starters, Congress hasn't actually passed a budget in years. Second, Tea Party members constitute a fraction of the members of Congress, so they do not have control of Congress. Minor details which you seem to have overlooked.
The rest of your post is vapid leftist blog talking points. Any other questions?