They did not ask for this and were only teenagers eleven years ago and you sold them out stole their future and they don't like it - so pay up you were on the yes side for this scam now you pay not the kids

They don't want the Trillions wasted and squandered by Wall Street and the Giant Hedge Funds and the intermingled financial conglomerates around the world to pay for the balance of the Trillions run up for Bail Outs and the cost of two unfunded wars. They also don't go along with special interest purchasing the American Government, a bought congress which is evident to everyone. To them this picture seems to be as a fact and not a fiction, I think for the large part and i mean the very large part they are bought.

The run of up of the deficit they do not feel should be laid on their generation they never were asked to mortgage their future lives so America could produce in ten short years more BILLIONAIRES than in anytime in human history and the logical question they ask is how with the economy in the dumps for so long can millions upon millions be paid out in bonus money to those we bailed out? Remember these kids where only barely teenagers when you sold them out sold them down the river you stole their future with out asking permission but now ten years and counting they are now young adults and can see what you did to them......not very nice!

Why do the Giant Hedge Funds and the Big Wall Street Banks get to borrow up now to just above zero percent interest of taxpayer dollars to invest in off-shore and emerging markets with the taxpayers dollars? Plus lend back to the taxpayer at 15% to 29% how do they get away with that? The kids want to know they feel as if they are getting had again? The system is for the 1% and the 99% can just die.

Why did the and how did (the minutes) Billions and Billions get awarded via no bid contracts? to the pals of Dick Cheney and GWB? Where are the missing hundreds of millions in Iraq? Where did all those millions disappear too?

Why are the minutes to fix our national energy policy with the head of the group the then CEO of Enron (Ken Lay) why are those minutes still under government seal? Why? What is the big secret?

Why is the burden going to be payed by this generation across the world for the excesses of the "war profiteers from many countries of the willing? Yeah willing to become a Billionaires on the blood of the troops for this hoax of a war?

Why no reform of the national health plan? A real reform as a single payer system and instead the monopoly of the Health for Big Profit this monopoly allowed to stay in place? How stupid do you think these kids are? They know when they are getting screwed.

How long will the porous borders be open to lower the price of labor? The good paying construction jobs are now mostly South American workers at half of what the American construction worker used to be paid. The rampant crime that comes with all of this illegal and cold hearted ploy by American employers to keep labor as low as possible by keeping the borders wide open. Now gangs everywhere thanks Congress for making their lives a living hell. All the drugs and two million in jail so many for victimless crimes this is just another scam to rake in Billions and Billions you think these kids don't know of this?

Need we go on? If you were just starting out in life and the world and even the vaunted Democracy is so evidently a pay to play scam that leaves you out how would you feel in your own country.

The rigged trade agreements as China which we charge about 10 cents on the dollar for imports yet they charge us 25 cents on the dollar? How would you feel? Higher fees on everything under the sun even $5 dollars per debit card to access your own money, the big rise in fees just to register your car to get around in? Rising high fees for everything and how to pay with a minimum wage job or no job?Cutting Grandma's Social Security and hiking Grandma's and Grandpa's co-pay for the med's they need to live? Cutting their Medicare that they paid into all their lives?

Do you really want me to go on to higher education and much more? I guess when the real clamp down comes no more food stamps you are on your own the government cannot afford it and don't even dream of asking the top 1% that runs America to pay their fair share or to pay a little extra for the benefit of living in a safe and secure country no they feel they are entitled to all of this security - talk about entitlements?

Would you like to know of wanting real reform of the shadow derivatives and credit default swap unregulated markets? Trillions know one really know the best estimates are at seven TRILLION DOLLARS of unregulated and shadow markets with no risk assignments stretching all around the world. How do you think Iceland went and is broke? Ireland all but broke? Greece ready to topple? Italy beating back riots as I write this? Do you think something this big just gets organized by a couple of college kids? Is that what you think this is all about and just bash enough heads and smash faces and they all will just go home?

How much more do you need to know of why these kids and adults now are just starting to feel real hatred of their own country that turns its back on its own citizens the wealthiest country in the history of the world the richest country on earth......you say you have no idea what they are upset about?

I could go on???????? and on and on??????????????

sAyItLiKeItIs - Post #1

Do you live in a cave? Just what livable wage paying jobs are you in the hell talking about? The unemployment in my valley is near 22 % and if you are black or brown you are about 40% - what universe do you live in? There are no jobs - GEEZ

You look so good up on your pedestal. And just a reminder 99% is 99% and 1% is 1% you can't just simply change them around. 1 in 6 in the United States is now living in poverty, which is the highest in any industrialized country . Your arrogance and ignorance is part of the problem in the United States. Look down on the less fortunate while you pat yourself on the back.

Drareg,

The patent office is back logged with patents that would create new jobs and oppurtunities. I believe all of our problems stem from Washington DC. The anti-trust laws also need to be enforced so there would be more competiton in a free market.

Anyone here ever hear of the 80-20 rule? See, the problem with all these protests and everything is that if you look at the science behind why things are the way they are, things seem to settle down to the 80-20 rule no matter what. It is nature's equilibrium and occurs everywhere, from economics to earthquakes.

The 80-20 rule applied to wealth states (and according to the 1992 United Nations Development Program Report): the distribution of global income to be very uneven, with the richest 20% of the world's population controlling 82.7% of the world's income.

However, this is not by design more so than this is how the economics evolved. It is a very interesting rule and is everywhere and supported by a lot of science and mathematics. It's hard to protest against the science and something that evolved and could have been predicted to evolve.

Also, one can protest and not want it to be true but it takes a lot of effort to try to force things to stay out of equilibrium. The steady state is the 80-20 rule. Anyone interested should do themselves a favor and read about it. (At least look up the wiki entry linked below before responding and disagreeing.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle

Drareg,

The problem is not that people look down on the less fortunate and pat themselves on the back. We are far more simple creatures than that. The problem is, everybody is always looking up enviously at the guy who makes more. Doesn't matter if you make $20,000 or $20,000,000. You will always want more. (Personally, $20,000,000 once is enough to make all my dreams come true and let me retire at age 30. But I've learned how to live on the economic table scraps.)

Poster #1,

I'm very glad you're not the President, because taking away the right to vote because you have no money is just about the most horrible thing that could happen to democracy. There is no single sentiment that is more anti-American than advocating taking away the right to vote for any reason.

JRS, by your own standard, things are out of balance now... because the top 20% now own more than 80% of the wealth... as of 2007 they owned 85% of the wealth... and today they are pushing 90%...

http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html

It's not my standard. After all, the Pareto Principle and the 80-20 rule has been around as long as the universe existed (speaking figuratively if one talks about sizes of asteroids in asteroid belts or size of craters on the moon - they all follow power law scaling behavior) and was only discovered by an Italian economist in 1906.

I just bring it up because I wonder what people are looking for...are they trying to get back to 80-20 or are they trying to make it more 50-50? I hope they do not think 50-50 or they will be disappointed because that would also be way out of the natural balance.

Lastly, from a scientific point of view, if things are out of balance now, then we are witnessing the Pareto Principle in action which from a sociological point of view, is extremely interesting because the 80-20 rule is equilibrium. So, the protests are evidence that the system (the economy and people in it) are responding to being out of equilibrium and they are attempting to get back to the steady state of the 80-20 rule, rather than remain perturbed at 90-10.

If all this sounds scientific, it is and yes, I am a scientist. From an economic and ecological point of view, the protests make perfect sense to get back to equilibrium and we are witnessing that now.

One day you will have an original thought. Don't be frightened it is inevitable.

Say ....i hate to tell you there are people taking their personal days off of work to go protest....have you seen any interviews? There are elderly....Retired....poor.......middle class....students...and much more ! Our wages are on the down turn while companies are making record profits whats wrong with this picture. I believe in the free market but how much is too much ? Then it becomes highway Robbery!

People do not expect to get rich, they expect a decent days pay for a loyal employee which is no longer the standard in the world! A roof over our heads, food on the table education that we can afford, and a little nest egg and most people are happy, these are the things being taken away from the common man!

sayitlikitis hope you are including big biz "corporate welfare" in your statement.. No governments bailed out small businesses or home owners who lost their jobs and then their homes and their futures. People who paid taxes.

Disorganized/ how long should it take to. . . . . .

I posted this on Oct 1 (“This, WORK IN PROGRESS, has yet to be finalized as an official release but this is what they have so far.”)

LIST OF PROPOSED "DEMANDS FOR CONGRESS"

1. 1. CONGRESS PASS HR 1489 ("RETURN TO PRUDENT BANKING ACT”). THIS REINSTATES MANY PROVISIONS OF THE GLASS-STEAGALL ACT. --- Wiki entry summary: The repeal of provisions of the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933 by the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act in 1999 effectively removed the separation that previously existed between investment banking which issued securities and commercial banks which accepted deposits. The deregulation also removed conflict of interest prohibitions between investment bankers serving as officers of commercial banks. Most economists believe this repeal directly contributed to the severity of the financial crisis of 2007–2011 by allowing Wall Street investment banking firms to gamble with their depositors' money that was held in commercial banks owned or created by the investment firms. Here's detail on repeal in 1999 and how it happened: #Repeal.

2. 2. USE CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORITY AND OVERSIGHT TO ENSURE APPROPRIATE FEDERAL AGENCIES FULLY INVESTIGATE AND PROSECUTE THE WALL STREET CRIMINALS who clearly broke the law and helped cause the 2008 financial crisis in the following notable cases: (insert list of the most clear cut criminal actions). There is a pretty broad consensus that there is a clear group of people who got away with millions / billions illegally and haven't been brought to justice. Boy would this be long overdue and cathartic for millions of Americans. It would also be a shot across the bow for the financial industry. If you watch the solidly researched and award winning documentary film "Inside Job" that was narrated by Matt Damon (pretty brave Matt!) and do other research, it wouldn't take long to develop the list.

3. 3. CONGRESS ENACT LEGISLATION TO PROTECT OUR DEMOCRACY BY REVERSING THE EFFECTS OF THE CITIZENS UNITED SUPREME COURT DECISION which essentially said corporations can spend as much as they want on elections. The result is that corporations can pretty much buy elections. Corporations should be highly limited in ability to contribute to political campaigns no matter what the election and no matter what the form of media. This legislation should also RE-ESTABLISH THE PUBLIC AIRWAVES IN THE U.S. SO THAT POLITICAL CANDIDATES ARE GIVEN EQUAL TIME FOR FREE AT REASONABLE INTERVALS IN DAILY PROGRAMMING DURING CAMPAIGN SEASON. The same should extend to other media.

4. 4. CONGRESS PASS THE BUFFETT RULE ON FAIR TAXATION SO THE RICH AND CORPORATIONS PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE & CLOSE CORPORATE TAX LOOP HOLES AND ENACT A PROHIBITION ON HIDING FUNDS OFF SHORE. No more GE paying zero or negative taxes. Pass the Buffet Rule on fair taxation so the rich pay their fair share. (If we have a really had a good negotiating position and have the place surrounded, we could actually dial up taxes on millionaires, billionaires and corporations even higher...back to what they once were in the 50's and 60's.

5. CONGRESS COMPLETELY REVAMP THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION and staff it at all levels with proven professionals who get the job done protecting the integrity of the marketplace so citizens and investors are both protected. This agency needs a large staff and needs to be well-funded. It's currently has a joke of a budget and is run by Wall St. insiders who often leave for high ticket cushy jobs with the corporations they were just regulating.

CONTINUED. . . .

It is clear that the global intellectual soil is fertile ground for new ways of approaching the broken institutions we use to organize our world. It is also clear that bringing together a cohesive platform from so many equal voices is extremely difficult. So I guess the question is how long should this take?

How long did it take for the core concepts, that brought this country together, take to get from Boston to Philadelphia? Well it certainly didn’t happen in less than 30 days. The current Tea Party spent months as was little more than a bug bite on the rump of the Democratic agenda until it burst like a boil months later. It is shortsighted, at best, to assume that a movement of this type should burst forth in full bloom.

I stand behind those how call for more organization. But, let’s not forget that even though most of our world, (left and right), is a predigested sound bite that very few swallow whole. These people are there because of their willingness to take a chance on the democratic process and let the best idea’s come to the surface and prevail.

So yes by all means call them hippies, malcontents, socialists, dirty, disorganized, and influenced by a media in the hands of corporate idealists (again… left and right). But please, for the sake of us all, put your preconceived notions of how this is suppose to work on the back burner. Give it a chance to become what we all so desperately need. An opportunity to rethink and reorganize a system that has proven time and time again, that it is broken on a very fundamental level.

And if nothing else remember that you will not find the word capitalism in the constitution. Also, if politicians cannot be trusted because someone put too much money in their pockets; that someone is likely to be a corporate lackey doing what is best for their shareholders. So in effect, it not the FED or the MAN or the Government itself that are ruining our lives but the people they truly represent. the ones who pull their purse strings, Big Business, and they certainly are not the 99%.

It's about time that people are getting upset with the greedy corperations buying senators votes. Sometimes I wish we as americans can vote on a bill via the internet from home. We read it and make up our own minds on what we want. In this day and age, it should be easy to do. We already have electronic voting for Presidency.

The irony, at least for me, is that as we have watched nation after nation in the Middle East rise up against their oppressive governments, only to be met with police brutality and military intervention; our "free" governments have demanded the "inalienable right of the citizenry's voices be heard through peaceful protest."

However, as soon as the people of the "free world" start to take to the streets and demand that they get a greater say in government, they are met with police brutality, eviction, and arrest. Mayor Bloomberg insinuates that these protestors are little more than terrorists for threatening the companies that pay him bribes and kickbacks.

So, the people of a country have the right to protest, as long as their government is viewed as "oppressive." But once the government declares itself to be the "voice of a free nation," then the right to take to the streets is denied. Wouldn't any THINKING person realize that that is oppressive, thereby entitling the people to the right to take to the streets and demonstrate against the governmental practices?

America has reached its zenith, and is in decline. We are headed towards third world status, regardless of the fact that our economy is still the biggest in the world. That fact only goes to show just how far ahead of the pack we were before we let the government and bankers run us off of a cliff. But, as history teaches us, NO DEMOCRACY LASTS FOREVER. America is not a special circumstance, much to the dismay of most Americans.

The ONLY way that we can even salvage a portion of this country's heritage is to occupy Washington, DC, and force a popular revolution upon this country. Elections won't help us, because neither of the political parties are actually interested in challenging or changing the status quo; they are merely interested in keeping the other party out of power and weak.

"Wouldn't any THINKING person realize that that is oppressive, thereby entitling the people to the right to take to the streets and demonstrate against the governmental practices?" unfortunately 90% of the 99% do not think for themselves. To mesmerized by the Kardasian Wedding, Dancing with the Stars, American Idol.

Chase Manhattans new credit card "Freedom" what a JOKE. Be free to buy all the things you need and pay us 13% for that wonderful benefit! Guess if they named it DEBT SLAVERY no one would apply for it?

@ Not in the 1%:

Yeah, that is my point exactly. This country is analogous to the heady days of the Roman empire just before its collapse. The only difference is people tune in to watch "G" class "stars" dance instead of gladiatorial battles.

I think that i would prefer the colloseum to ABC. lmao

That's funny, 1 in 6 live below the poverty line...I guess you forgot to put in there when they did the census that a majority of those below the poverty line had at least one car, flat screen tv, cable, cell phones and all the other amenities that some countries would call luxuries.

Talk about high horses.

I have hoped for, and dreaded, this movement. It has not just risen in the past one, two, or three years. This movement has been fermenting for over 30 years. If it does not succeed peacefully and in a short amount of time, it will turn violent in a few years and the result will be world war and global economic turmoil. I have hoped for this demonstration against man's greed over his fellow man since 1980. I have dreaded this movement because it will lead to violent revolution in the United States. If you notice, on this posting board, people are choosing sides! NO government can survive when a large percent of its citizens live in some form of subjugation to the very few rich and powerful. How soon we forget history and the lessons history offers for future courses of social and economic action. It is foolish and dangerous that we will not listen and learn. Foolish because the lessons cost us no more than recognition. Dangerous because, like fire, these movements can spread uncontrolled to disrupt, divide, and destroy what was once one of the most generous and sharing people on Earth-- the United States of America!

Wow FormerSGT, its not bad enough that they are at poverty level now, but you also want them to give up the things they did save for as well? You must be a republican.

Like its predecessor the Roman Empire, the American Empire is destined to fail. What we are witnessing is the beginnings of the failing times. In my studies of popular revolts and revolutions I have noticed that nothing happens until people are good and pissed off. I think that point has now been reached, and popular anger can only grow now. Now it is spreading worldwide, inspired by the Occupy Wall Street protests, as popular anger against the American Empire has reached the tipping point. What will come of it? Only time will tell.

Brenda, they didn't save for them. They ran up the bills on the credit card. Being in poverty means you can't afford those things. These people willingly took on more debt than they could afford, buying "stuff" instead of necessities. Now they are all screaming that the debt should be forgiven. They got theirs. When you borrow and don't give back, that is called stealing, and that is criminal.

Thorndawg, that's a gross generalization. Many, many people are newly impoverished -- they bought the cars, TV's, cell phones, etc. when they were employed and had some money in the bank and a 401k they thought would be there for them. I bought my home with a 50% down payment -- hardly more debt than I could afford at the time. Problem now is there's no work and the equity and 401k are gone (and no, I never used my house as an ATM). And you'll never hear me "screaming that the debt should be forgiven". All most of us want is the chance to earn a living and pay back our debts. Incidentally, I'm a fiscal conservative -- so, frankly, you don't have a clue what you're talking about.

Thorndawg, you have no idea what you're talking about.

You know what will kill a wealthy person faster than anything?

Their own mouth.

Keep digging your graves, by hoarding wealth you didn't earn and acting like a-holes. Your mouths make great shovels, fat-fingered douchebaggers!

George Soros, the gazillionaire radical left wing media mogul who made is gazillions on shady hedge funds, should be proud of the movement he has funded and supported (but too cowardly to admit it publicly).

Keep digging your graves, by hoarding wealth you didn't earn and acting like a-holes.

Hey Derek: you are the epitome of the anti-American neo-Marxist liberal who hates success. I know that the majority of you and your ilk believe that the haves stole from the have nots (which to me is a paradox since the have NOTS don't HAVE anything to STEAL), but the majority of WEALTH in this nation - and around the globe for that matter - is not INHERITED or STOLEN. It is EARNED.

If you and your ilk are so smart, then start your own damned companies and give all the profits away. Better YET, just start your own business and let the customer decide how much he or she will pay for your product or service. That would make you feel SO much better over the evils of those nasty profit monger capitalists, wouldn't it?

Where in the hell do you people come from, and how did you learn what you think you know?

People are PO'd and rightly so. We've tried elections, working long, hard and honestly. We've played by the rules. Our efforts have been thwarted by greed and a completely dysfunctional and impotent government that was bought out and paid off by the same forces.

As Jeffrey D Parks states at #2, this is a catalyst, but only another ingredient in what has been boiling up for centuries. It has now begun to spill out of the pot and there will soon be blood on the streets.

Why are some people so suprised? You kick someone down day after day and act so suprised when something finally goes off inside them and they decide to rightfully take back what has been taken from them.

Boy we have some real "smart people here". Name one thing wall street did that government didn't allow them too...government is the issue not wall street. There are plenty of industrialized countries doing worse than us. The individual governments make up what poverty is in their countries. If that country says 35 dollars in pay a month is above poverty it is recorded as poverty.

Also since when is going broke a call to kids thinking they deserve free college, free cars, free health care and what ever else they demand? I paid for my things why shouldn't they?

sAyItLiKeItIs

I see you ignored my postings earlier to research the whole "47% don't pay taxes" myth and chose to remain an ignorant Reich-Wing Fox believer, facts clearly have no place in your pathetic little world.

FOR THOSE THAT HAVE NO CLUE -

You Sold your children out for some gold coins and were suckered by Cheney and Bush and friends for a "for profit war - Trillions in profit" now you pay up not the kids - these kids are as dumb as many posters that have no idea how we got to this place in our history and who made out in millins, billions and even Trillions.

They did not ask for this and were only teenagers eleven years ago and you sold them out stole their future and they don't like it - so pay up you were on the yes side for this scam now you pay not the kids

They don't want the Trillions wasted and squandered by Wall Street and the Giant Hedge Funds and the intermingled financial conglomerates around the world to pay for the balance of the Trillions run up for Bail Outs and the cost of two unfunded wars. They also don't go along with special interest purchasing the American Government, a bought congress which is evident to everyone. To them this picture seems to be as a fact and not a fiction, I think for the large part and i mean the very large part they are bought.

The run of up of the deficit they do not feel should be laid on their generation they never were asked to mortgage their future lives so America could produce in ten short years more BILLIONAIRES than in anytime in human history and the logical question they ask is how with the economy in the dumps for so long can millions upon millions be paid out in bonus money to those we bailed out? Remember these kids where only barely teenagers when you sold them out sold them down the river you stole their future with out asking permission but now ten years and counting they are now young adults and can see what you did to them......not very nice!

Why do the Giant Hedge Funds and the Big Wall Street Banks get to borrow up now to just above zero percent interest of taxpayer dollars to invest in off-shore and emerging markets with the taxpayers dollars? Plus lend back to the taxpayer at 15% to 29% how do they get away with that? The kids want to know they feel as if they are getting had again? The system is for the 1% and the 99% can just die.

Why did the and how did (the minutes) Billions and Billions get awarded via no bid contracts? to the pals of Dick Cheney and GWB? Where are the missing hundreds of millions in Iraq? Where did all those millions disappear too?

Why are the minutes to fix our national energy policy with the head of the group the then CEO of Enron (Ken Lay) why are those minutes still under government seal? Why? What is the big secret?

Why is the burden going to be payed by this generation across the world for the excesses of the "war profiteers from many countries of the willing? Yeah willing to become a Billionaires on the blood of the troops for this hoax of a war?

Why no reform of the national health plan? A real reform as a single payer system and instead the monopoly of the Health for Big Profit this monopoly allowed to stay in place? How stupid do you think these kids are? They know when they are getting screwed.

How long will the porous borders be open to lower the price of labor? The good paying construction jobs are now mostly South American workers at half of what the American construction worker used to be paid. The rampant crime that comes with all of this illegal and cold hearted ploy by American employers to keep labor as low as possible by keeping the borders wide open. Now gangs everywhere thanks Congress for making their lives a living hell. All the drugs and two million in jail so many for victimless crimes this is just another scam to rake in Billions and Billions you think these kids don't know of this?

Need we go on? If you were just starting out in life and the world and even the vaunted Democracy is so evidently a pay to play scam that leaves you out how would you feel in your own country.

The rigged trade agreements as China which we charge about 10 cents on the dollar for imports yet they charge us 25 cents on the dollar? How would you feel? Higher fees on everything under the sun even $5 dollars per debit card to access your own money, the big rise in fees just to register your car to get around in? Rising high fees for everything and how to pay with a minimum wage job or no job?Cutting Grandma's Social Security and hiking Grandma's and Grandpa's co-pay for the med's they need to live? Cutting their Medicare that they paid into all their lives?

Do you really want me to go on to higher education and much more? I guess when the real clamp down comes no more food stamps you are on your own the government cannot afford it and don't even dream of asking the top 1% that runs America to pay their fair share or to pay a little extra for the benefit of living in a safe and secure country no they feel they are entitled to all of this security - talk about entitlements?

Would you like to know of wanting real reform of the shadow derivatives and credit default swap unregulated markets? Trillions know one really know the best estimates are at seven TRILLION DOLLARS of unregulated and shadow markets with no risk assignments stretching all around the world. How do you think Iceland went and is broke? Ireland all but broke? Greece ready to topple? Italy beating back riots as I write this? Do you think something this big just gets organized by a couple of college kids? Is that what you think this is all about and just bash enough heads and smash faces and they all will just go home?

How much more do you need to know of why these kids and adults now are just starting to feel real hatred of their own country that turns its back on its own citizens the wealthiest country in the history of the world the richest country on earth......you say you have no idea what they are upset about?

I could go on???????? and on and on??????????????

PLEASE READ POST #1.14 FOR A PARTIAL LIST FOR THOSE THAT HAVE NO IDEA OF OR SAY THERE ARE NO REQUESTS THIS IS A HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT NOT TOP DOWN THE MOST DIFFICULT FOR THE THUGS TO BEAT DOWN THOUGH THE CLUBS AND HEAD BASHING GOES ON AND ON UNABATED IN AMERICA

Well, the protesters are right, it's all about greed. The problem is EVERYONE is greedy!! If the protesters spent half their efforts at finding a job or working they might be doing better. Instead they sit around and whine that some people have more than they do and they want it!! Well tough crap! When I got out of the service, I wanted to go to school too. The best I could afford was a community college. That was too expensive too, but I worked two full time jobs to pay for my books and education, put a roof over my head and all the goodies that go with a home. If I had sat around complaining, I would still be sitting there! There were times in my life that I lived out of a $300.00 VW and took baths in a river to get a job and build some saving so I could get an apt. I want to tell you, those rivers fed by melting snow are cold too! I learned to get a mail box through one of the mail delivery places and to cheat by putting the box number as an apt number. Hard to get a job without an address! Other times friends would let me use their phone number as a answering phone. Sure it's hard working two jobs to get the equivilent of one good job, but it can be done if you want to hard enough. I was paying child support also! There was no free health care for me as I was an able bodied white male. On a couple occaisions I did draw upon the commodity program and got some food packages., but I didn't expect it. BTW dandy lion greens are quite tasty.

Yes today greed is the problem, everybody wants something for nothing. These protesters are the same, gimmee, gimmee, gimmee!! now they got money to go to school and they don't want to pay it back! Greedy twits!!

they all think they are owed something. Well I have news for them, NO ONE OWES THEM DIDDLY SQUAT!! Nobody owes tham a house, tv, stereo or even the clothes on their backs! Not a single big company started as a big company. They all started as 1 person with an idea. That person maybe joined with another to implemnet their plans and with long hours and lots of work and a whole bunch of luck, they became successful. Now some lazy no accounts want all they have without putting in the time or work!. Time the learned they don't deserve anything excpet the right to work for what they want. So what you can't get that dream job right out of college, not many do! You have to start somewhenere. Start with a minimum wage job and show the next person you apply with that you have a work ethic! If civilization ended tomorrow most of them would die because they haven't a clue how to survive without someone's apron strings! Would they have enough brains to know to boil their water first? Would they know what plants are safe to eat and which aren't? Would they know how to build a shelter without hammer and nails? I doubt it. Maybe that's what we need is the end of civilization and a "culling" of the herd! Back to everyone providing for them selves. Then someone will decide that if they kill a deer they can trade some of the meat for graiin or veggies to someone else! OH CRAP!! they just reinvented capitalism!!!

The protesters are doing their best to provoke the police. They want violence.

Hey Persevere, what are you talking about, no jobs, my son just graduated from college, he got a job right away, full benefits, 401K (so he can invest in the Stock Market), my wife has a fantastic job (33yrs with some dreaded capitalist corporation, again full benefits, myself, a nurse for over 30years and working for a capitalist CORPORATION, but have a 401, IRA, annuity. We put our son through 4 years of college, no loans, no hand outs, just pure hard work on his (25 to 30hrs part time job) part while attending school full time. Oh by the way while he was attending college, working part time, guess what gee he bought one of those capitalist swine stock market working Audi S4's. You know what if you have the desire, focus, attitude you can achieve just about anything you want. Oh last thing, all of majors in college where science related. wife Biochemistry, myself Biology, Nursing and my son Chemical Engineering. Might I suggest that a lot of these people that graduate from college and can't find a job, maybe it is because of the major they chose, ie Arts, Humanities, Literature, PolySci, this list goes on. Try a major that you might have to fore go the instant gratification of party down in school. Maybe they should spend more time in the library, focus on their future and stop the bitching at people that made something of themselves. WORK, WORK and more WORK will get you where you want to go in life. By the way stop the moaning, complaining, whining and bitching about Bush, Cheney, now Barrack its the past, noting we can do about, move on, focus on tomorrow, focus on your future, do productive about, the bitching and whining is not going to help you advance in life.

10tacle,

RE: your post #1.28

First a question: Why do you rant? No FACTS or references, just bluster. ALL hat, no cattle!

Now, just so you can possibly understand, George Soros made his money in the investment banking business since graduating from the London School of Economics in 1952. His career is very transparent and can be validated and authenticated very easily with simle research and due dilligence on the internet. No suprises. The below is the official resource for information of George Soros. You WILL benefit by giving it even a cursory review. Perhaps, someday you will admit that this method is better than wild ranting and unsubstantiatied claims!

http://www.georgesoros.com/faqs/archive/category/finance/

I for one will admit that the rich did not "steal the money"! However, the large corporations and their SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS, peddle their influence in Washington D.C. to greedy and corrupt politicians who spend hundreds of millions on getting elected to a job that pays around $170,000 per year. Why do they spend these untold millions for a "peanut" of a salary in return? Answer: they can make the millions back with all the corrupt money from "special interest". That is not stealing just influence peddling. It is unethical and illegal and destroys competition and opportunity for all but those represented by the special interest groups. You know that is true, yet will rant against your own best interest. Why?

Percentage of the current U.S. debt that was accumulated during Republican Administrations:71, Portion of debt ceiling elevations signed into law by republican presidents:2/3, percentage of profits American corporations paid in taxes in 1961:40.6, today:10.5, portion of the increase in U.S. corporate profit margins since 2001 that has come from depressed wages:3/4, percentage change in the median household wealth of white families since 2005:-16, of Hispanics families:-66, percentage of Americans who say they did not have enough money to buy food at all times last year:18.2. So you ask yourself why are the 99% angry? Look at the numbers.

Persevere #1.2:

No jobs in your "valley". Well move to where the jobs are. There are plenty or states and/or areas that are hiring. Take a look in the Midwest - there are places with unemployment lower than 5%. If you are unemployed collecting the unemployment, welfare and food stamp checks, use the time to your advantage. Get need education and training.

There are always things people can do. A lot of people are just looking for an excuse and a handout. Yes, times are tough - but not impossible.

Jim Potter

Like its predecessor the Roman Empire, the American Empire is destined to fail. What we are witnessing is the beginnings of the failing times. In my studies of popular revolts and revolutions I have noticed that nothing happens until people are good and pissed off. I think that point has now been reached, and popular anger can only grow now. Now it is spreading worldwide, inspired by the Occupy Wall Street protests, as popular anger against the American Empire has reached the tipping point. What will come of it? Only time will tell.

And who's fault is it that someone without an education on how to use a credit card was able to get one to run up in the first place? Yea, Big companies and thier credit cards. All fall down to the big companies keeping the little man sucking on the corperate teet sorta speak to keep him down. Why doesn't the credit card company say, sorry, you don't have the income to afford a credit card?

I'm with you Brenda. Banks do offer credit cards to people who aren't financially or psychologically capable of managing them well.

Course, without the spending, there's fewer jobs ... oh well.

Leftists get violent due to envy? Who could have possibly seen that coming? I wonder how long until OWS goes that route...

I have Saint Obama statues for sale, please make your purchases now, while they last, one per customer please.

Oh I also have blame anyone but Obama T-shirts, these could be good for you on the go protesters.

I am hoping to generate enough money to be part of the 1% percent crowd, just like the political pun dents on cable news like Keith Olbermann, Bill Reilly, Chris Mathews, Rachael Maddow,Sean Hannity, Lawrence O'Donnell, you know who these guys are, they are the ones who keep telling you they are on your side, while they are very much part of the same 1% group they are pushing you to hate! Don't feel stupid, it's called help guide public opinion towards the political party they support!

Nelson-537300 - You can generate enough money to be part of the 1%, all you have to do is screw over everyone you know, familly and friends included. Takes that special kinda Republican to do it though.

jkm49 Post #1.35 -

Are you so out of touch? Thirty three years or 40 to fifty years ago a middle class family could afford to send their children to a four year college. I respectfully ask that you take your head from your comfortable pillow and look around half a century from the time periods you are referencing and I must say you are living in and worse your thought and profile of America is antiquated out of touch with today's reality so far from the facts that most Americans live under.

I was not going to reply but I read a fine post that applies to most Americans and even to a village farmer half way across the world under the thumb of whomever is in control of his families life - if they live or die.

You never will understand this Muslim farmer or plain ordinary man must go with the powers that control his destiny but harbours no real ill will to you or I.

Don't you see the joblessness? the meager wages? The importation of cheap labor? You certianly are no Christian please don't mock Jesus and say you are a devote Christian it could drve me to drink.

I cannot communicate with you as I believe you are so aloof, arrogant and smug. I fought so you could peacefully attend college and when released I worked my way everyday through a four year university and those times were easier than what these kids face today.

Your past fantasy is a relic dusty old relic of our past, I just have to reference your own stated time line. I happened to retie at 57 years live in Palm Springs with a branch office in Los Angeles with two business partners and they happen to be licensed CPA's.

Your smug arrogance when I and my friends secured your freedom and now you have a "let them eat cake" attitude. I should have feed you to the Cong and maybe a good decent man would be alive today.

Good Luck - I quote a decent mans post which mirrors my own philosophy I could care rather I could not care less for your good fortune it matters nothing to me I am pleased providence has blessed you.

Kim Heitz Post # 1.12 - sums up my feelings jkm ((why is not your son serving as my son in our Military? Here you have a clear idea of my feelings. Plain yet powerful statement of what life is about for most of us - what do I care of your wealth? May you enjoy more monetary success, gloat in it fancy yourself as a mega-success - here -

"People do not expect to get rich, they expect a decent days pay for a loyal employee which is no longer the standard in the world! A roof over our heads, food on the table education that we can afford, and a little nest egg and most people are happy, these are the things being taken away from the common man"

Thank you Kim Heitz for sane, rational and even true Christian morals - the best to you and yours - what most men and women the world around strive for not the riches of jkm only to live in peace and enjoy our family.

Are you so out of touch? Thirty three years or 40 to fifty years ago a middle class family could afford to send their children to a four year college.

We're a middle class family. Pell grants have paid my 20 year old son's tuition 100% so far. Even 33 or 40 years ago, it behooved most people to do their first year or two at a community college and transfer, which is exactly what I had to do in the '70s. You may also discover that it makes a lot more sense to get an in-demand two year technical degree, something my husband and I both ended up doing a few decades AFTER earning basically useless bachelors degrees. BTW, chemistry and biology are both useless majors unless you go on and get a PhD. There is a glut of people at the lab technician level and a bigger glut of high school science teachers in most areas. A two year degree in nursing or an allied health field is a much better bet, especially since the population is aging.

I found jkm91's post 1.35, irrational exhuberance's post 1.33, and hopefulamerican's post 1.39 to be dead on--pity people saw fit to collapse them. You can sit around and whine, or you can do your research and move to a place where there are jobs. Which is more productive?

BTW, yesterday I took my 14 year old to our local "Occupy" march and rally. No violence happened and isn't likely to, but it was quite amusing to say the least. One young lady speaker whined that her PARENTS were stuck paying $900 a month on her student loan, and it might interfere with their retirement. Having gone to a community college and then transferred to a local state university as I say, it was hard to have much sympathy, and I was amazed that she seemed to have no shame about publically admitting she was letting her parents pay for HER loan. She thought it was the government's responsibility to pay for an Ivy League education for everyone who wants one. Uh huh. At least she had a story to tell. Most of the "speakers" just led the crowd in chanting meaningless slogans.

It was especially hilarious after we marched (under police escort) to the campgrounds, which were in a park ironically owned by a large bank who graciously gave them permission to be there. A speaker pointed to the skyscraper that housed that bank, saying, "They think they are above us, but actually we are above them!" Oh well. I homeschool my youngest son, so at least I was able to count it as a "school day field trip" and get credit for civics and PE.

Hey Perserve for you;

1. Where did I say I was a devote Christian, and what does having to be a christian, non believer, occultist, you name it have to do with this post. PS Haven't been to church in long time fellow.

2. Soft pillow, get a life. Been working since I was in high school 1960's, first job freezing my ass off in a car wash in New England during the winter. 2nd Job welder for the US Government, repairing navy ships in dry docks, again outside in New England during winter. Soft pillow get a f--kn life.

3. Where does this mysterious MUSLIM FARMER come from, your dreams, where did I reference a MUSLIM Farmer. Stay on point.

4. Communicate to me, why would I want that in the first place.

5. You lecture me on being a christian, and you sit here blame it on imported cheap labor. Sounds kind of bigoted to me.

Your Quote below

"I fought so you could peacefully attend college and when released I worked my way everyday through a four year university and those times were easier than what these kids face today."

Don't lecture me on service A-hole, April 4, 1968 (MLK, day he was gunned down in Memphis) inducted into the USAF, served in the pacific, bum f--k Turkey, discharged 4years later. Went to a Massachusetts community, college, transferred to UMass Amherst, graduated with Bachelor degree. Worked in alternative High School teaching science and math to under privileged kids. Went back to school and graduated from UMass Boston with a BSN. While in college worked nites in nursing home, McDonald's as a midnight maintenance man. Working as a BSN as I type. So my fellow brother in arms, know the facts about someone before question their service to country or humanity. By the way the war was pretty much over by the time I went back to college.

What's you point again, you retired, you own 2 business, have to partners that are CPA's congratulation on your success, like you I have worked had, my wife has worked, my 2 sons are working hard. Suck it up, stop whining it is not going to do any good.

"Your smug arrogance when I and my friends secured your freedom and now you have a "let them eat cake" attitude. I should have feed you to the Cong and maybe a good decent man would be alive today."

What are you babbling about, feed me to the CONG, so maybe a good decent man would be alive today. You the devote christian feeding me to LIONS, like the Romans in years past. How dare you call me arrogant, aloof. Bull @!$%# on you and your so called friends securing whose freedom, from the Viet Cong, did they overtake your LA office during Tet.

Kim Heitz Post # 1.12 - sums up my feelings jkm ((why is not your son serving as my son in our Military? Here you have a clear idea of my feelings. Plain yet powerful statement of what life is about for most of us - what do I care of your wealth? May you enjoy more monetary success, gloat in it fancy yourself as a mega-success - here -

Kim your son chose to. Mine did not pure and simple. He is no less a person than your son. Last time I checked, military service is not part of being a US citizen. Plenty of of men and women my son's age chose to further their education. Lots chose the military. I chose the military, it was an eye opening, maturing experience, and it is not for everyone. BTW I will enjoy my hard earned wealth, I do not apologize to anyone. We earned, we didn't screw anyone, we deferred instant gratification, saved for retirement, my kids education. I owe no banks any type of loans. And you Kim, I feel pretty good about that. So you can degrade me, do what ever you like. I am honest, have been honest, haven't hurt anyone. I have been in fields that help the young, old, mentally ill and the dying for most of my entire life. I salute your son, hope he makes it home and has a successful life ahead of him

Perserve it is America, people want to succeed, become prosperous, nothing wrong with being wealthy.

The new world order started a long time before you thought this one up buddy.LOL

@ Jeffery D Parks:

I haven't read most of the words that you have written. Just the sheer number of posts and replies to you own posts, and other people's posts are alarming.

The frequency of your ramblings approach hysteria, and are probably paranoid, or delusional, possibly both.

You don't need to spam 50 comments to get your point across. In fact, by doing that, you drown out your own voice, assuring that very few people will actually receive your message.

JSwieny....This is the part of that mania of affluenza that begins to affect their brains. It's why it always ends in them cannibalizing each other. They can't tell the difference in right or wrong and long ago lost their humanity to the god Moolah.

One of the protesters that was interviewed on a cable news channel really hit the mark. I am not sure where the protest was located, but the police took their canopy away and the guy interviewed equated the confiscation with the mass foreclosures Americans have been facing for the past 3 years. It was just so blatantly ironic.

This could get ugly, just saytin..I will bunker down.

Companies and corporations have this ceaseless drive to reduce wages and benefits to increase profits.

Reducing wages for the working class means fewer and fewer goods and services being sold which results in more companies going bankrupt resulting in more unemployed workers.

Capitalism is doomed!

Well hell, lol, every generation or change of Presidents generates a new and better "World order."

Disorganized/ how long should it take to. . . . . .

I posted this on Oct 1 (“This, WORK IN PROGRESS, has yet to be finalized as an official release but this is what they have so far.”)

Received swallow

LIST OF PROPOSED "DEMANDS FOR CONGRESS"

1. CONGRESS PASS HR 1489 ("RETURN TO PRUDENT BANKING ACT”). THIS REINSTATES MANY PROVISIONS OF THE GLASS-STEAGALL ACT. --- Wiki entry summary: The repeal of provisions of the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933 by the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act in 1999 effectively removed the separation that previously existed between investment banking which issued securities and commercial banks which accepted deposits. The deregulation also removed conflict of interest prohibitions between investment bankers serving as officers of commercial banks. Most economists believe this repeal directly contributed to the severity of the financial crisis of 2007–2011 by allowing Wall Street investment banking firms to gamble with their depositors' money that was held in commercial banks owned or created by the investment firms. Here's detail on repeal in 1999 and how it happened: #Repeal.

2. USE CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORITY AND OVERSIGHT TO ENSURE APPROPRIATE FEDERAL AGENCIES FULLY INVESTIGATE AND PROSECUTE THE WALL STREET CRIMINALS who clearly broke the law and helped cause the 2008 financial crisis in the following notable cases: (insert list of the most clear cut criminal actions). There is a pretty broad consensus that there is a clear group of people who got away with millions / billions illegally and haven't been brought to justice. Boy would this be long overdue and cathartic for millions of Americans. It would also be a shot across the bow for the financial industry. If you watch the solidly researched and award winning documentary film "Inside Job" that was narrated by Matt Damon (pretty brave Matt!) and do other research, it wouldn't take long to develop the list.

3. CONGRESS ENACT LEGISLATION TO PROTECT OUR DEMOCRACY BY REVERSING THE EFFECTS OF THE CITIZENS UNITED SUPREME COURT DECISION which essentially said corporations can spend as much as they want on elections. The result is that corporations can pretty much buy elections. Corporations should be highly limited in ability to contribute to political campaigns no matter what the election and no matter what the form of media. This legislation should also RE-ESTABLISH THE PUBLIC AIRWAVES IN THE U.S. SO THAT POLITICAL CANDIDATES ARE GIVEN EQUAL TIME FOR FREE AT REASONABLE INTERVALS IN DAILY PROGRAMMING DURING CAMPAIGN SEASON. The same should extend to other media.

4. CONGRESS PASS THE BUFFETT RULE ON FAIR TAXATION SO THE RICH AND CORPORATIONS PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE & CLOSE CORPORATE TAX LOOP HOLES AND ENACT A PROHIBITION ON HIDING FUNDS OFF SHORE. No more GE paying zero or negative taxes. Pass the Buffet Rule on fair taxation so the rich pay their fair share. (If we have a really had a good negotiating position and have the place surrounded, we could actually dial up taxes on millionaires, billionaires and corporations even higher...back to what they once were in the 50's and 60's.

5. CONGRESS COMPLETELY REVAMP THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION and staff it at all levels with proven professionals who get the job done protecting the integrity of the marketplace so citizens and investors are both protected. This agency needs a large staff and needs to be well-funded. It's currently has a joke of a budget and is run by Wall St. insiders who often leave for high ticket cushy jobs with the corporations they were just regulating. Hmmm.

6. CONGRESS PASS SPECIFIC AND EFFECTIVE LAWS LIMITING THE INFLUENCE OF LOBBYISTS AND ELIMINATING THE PRACTICE OF LOBBYISTS WRITING LEGISLATION THAT ENDS UP ON THE FLOOR OF CONGRESS.

7. CONGRESS PASSING "Revolving Door Legislation" LEGISLATION ELIMINATING THE ABILITY OF FORMER GOVERNMENT REGULATORS GOING TO WORK FOR CORPORATIONS THAT THEY ONCE REGULATED. So, you don't get to work at the FDA for five years playing softball with Pfizer and then go to work for Pfizer making $195,000 a year. While they're at it, Congress should pass specific and effective laws to enforce strict judicial standards of conduct in matters concerning conflicts of interest. So long as judges are culled from the ranks of corporate attorneys the 1% will retain control.

8. ELIMINATE "PERSONHOOD" LEGAL STATUS FOR CORPORATIONS. The film "The Corporation" has a great section on how corporations won "personhood status". . Fast-forward to 2:20. It'll blow your mind. The 14th amendment was supposed to give equal rights to African Americans. It said you "can't deprive a person of life, liberty or property without due process of law". Corporation lawyers wanted corporations to have more power so they basically said "corporations are people." Amazingly, between 1890 and 1910 there were 307 cases brought before the court under the 14th amendment. 288 of these brought by corporations and only 19 by African Americans. 600,000 people were killed to get rights for people and then judges applied those rights to capital and property while stripping them from people. It's time to set this straight.

After I posted this on October 1, I got very favorable comments as to “if this is their platform I can see st

CONTINUED . . . .

I can see standing behind it”. For reasons that are unclear to me, this list has not resurfaced in any meaningful format. How long does it take for an organic idea to take root? It is clear that the global intellectual soil is fertile ground for new ways of approaching the broken institutions we use to organize our world. It is also clear that bringing together a cohesive platform from so many equal voices is extremely difficult. So I guess the question is how long should this take?

How long did it take for the core concepts, that brought this country together, take to get from Boston to Philadelphia? Well it certainly didn’t happen in less than 30 days. The current Tea Party spent months as was little more than a bug bite on the rump of the Democratic agenda until it burst like a boil months later. It is shortsighted, at best, to assume that a movement of this type should burst forth in full bloom.

I stand behind those how call for more organization, but let’s not forget that even though most of our world, (left and right), is a predigested sound bite, not everyone will be happy with the menu. These people are there because of their willingness to take a chance on the democratic process and let the best idea’s come to the surface and prevail.

So yes by all means call them malcontents, socialists, dirty, disorganized, and influenced by a media in the hands of corporate idealists (again… left and right). But please, for the sake of us all, put your preconceived notions of how this is supposed to work on the back burner. Give it a chance to become what we all so desperately need. An opportunity to rethink and reorganize a system that has proven time and time again, that it is broken on a very fundamental level. And if nothing else remember that you will not find the word capitalism in the constitution and that if politicians cannot be trusted because someone put too much money in their pocket that someone is likely to be a corporate lackey doing what is best for their shareholders; so in effect, it not the fed or the man or the government itself but the people that pull their strings Big Business, and they certainly are not the 99%.

Yeah, only a matter of time before they start breaking windows and looting stores. That's how these Flea Baggers intend to get "justice".

No, I think the plan is to come to your house and drag you out into the street and give you the Mussolini treatment. Better hunker down. How's that for paranoia? Sound ridiculous? Yes. About as dumb as your post, Dave. These protests have been going on for a couple of months. How much looting has gone on? I'll wait for your answer.

Let’s see here. These morons want to bring down every corporation but expect to get jobs. From who? Then there’s Jessie Jackson Jr. that says the government should provide a job to every unemployed at a salary of 40k per year and pay off the debt of all of the states. When such idiots are elected to public office, it’s no wonder the country is in such sad shape.

I think if these protesting morons actually effect a change, the end result not be to their liking, it will be something they’re too stupid to realize what they’re creating.

Perhaps Marx was right; "Capitalism creates it's own gravediggers".

the last global backlash against the evils of capitalism was socialism/communism, which turned out to be even more evil than capitalism and an economic failure as well. What we need is tax reform, effective financial regulation, and to break the death grip of partisanship over our political process.

To fight against corporate evil, we need to break the corporate veil. Make management liable for the misdeeds that occur under their authority. If a corporation commits medicare fraud, throw the CEO and the entire chain of command that approved the fraud into prison! Fining corporations only hurts the shareholders, who are mostly innocent investors in mutual funds. Punish the evil deeds committed by corporations by punishing the people who commit them.

nothing is Fail Safe, but GREED creates a whole LOT OF PROBLEMS..there is enough to go around, but Governments & the Wealthy WANT IT ALL..thus, the 99% are MANIPULATED TO NO END..these Protests are a POSITIVE direction for ALL OF MANKIND, Not Limited to the very Lucky few.......

That's all fine and good Joe...but the 99% do not have the power to do so. Our purchased political system is corrupted beyond repair. Your vote is worthless...it's a shell game. Can't you see? Which crony capitalist do want to vote for- a Koch Bros puppet or a Soros lapdog? Some choice we have.

Wet Willy....,Toooooooo damn BIG to FAIL? Tooooooo damn rich to change? Isn't that affluenza BS mantra just a little toooooo stupid for rich asses?

Bring down all of the US's too big corporations the easy way...not a damn dime more in taxpayer subsidies or tax breaks. When they get all those tax breaks, we fill in the gaps. Then, we are expected to pay our own taxes too and all while Mr. Moolah goes around dumping jobs right, left and center.

If CEOs can't live on half a million a year, too damn bad. Stagnate their salaries for a change and let's hear all the Biggie Piggies squeal.

Bodene, the 99% have all the power we need, we just waste it by handing our vote to one or the other corrupt political party. We do this voluntarily. We need to reform our political system by allowing open primaries in all 50 states, following California's lead. In the next election in Californa, voters will be able to vote for their favoriate (or least despised) candidate, no matter which party they belong to. The 2 top vote getters face off in the general election, even if they're both from the same party. This will break the power of the political parties by favoring moderates over the partisan extremists. Bye, bye Pelosi, bye bye Boehner!!!!

joe mota...I agree. Let's get rid of the party bosses. These are the real slimeballs in the ointment. They put out only those template candidates they know are backed by Big Moolah. How is that choice?

All anyone has to do these days is check the backgrounds on some of these candidates to know their filthy rich thanks to cheap foreign labor.

These morons want to bring down every corporation but expect to get jobs. From who?

These people expect to create their own jobs, and they expect their government to support them in doing so.

Maybe you remember when jobs were created and held by young entrepeneurs and self employed small businessman. Most things sold in the USA were Made In The USA. Laws used to be set up to support smaller local business. They were meant to protect us from immoral business practices as well as slave labor and cheap imports. Monopolies were illegal, and not the way of the world. These protesters expect their government to represent them, the people, not corporate interests.

ewent, please pay attention to how the open primary system works in California. I think it's a model that can break the power of the parties. Party bosses from both sides opposed it, which is a good indication that it's what's needed.

The incentive to become rich is what drives a lot of creativity in our economy. It would be foolish to attack wealth and also reduce the creativity. Things are out of balance now, but can be brought back with moderate tax and regulatory reform.We just need to elect people who will do it.

natelogg...And just where did all of those small business go? To venture capitalists on steroids like Romney. Romney's Bain Consulting was supposed to help small business become more profitable. So how is it tens of thousands of Midwest employees lost jobs in companies Bain "consulted"?

I don't buy in any big box store. I don't support foreign cheap labor if it means a fellow American ends up in a Bushville tent or his family has to scrounge around for another decade with a college degree yet to find work in the country of their birth.

Republicans right now are supporting more and more job creation that sends Americans to foreign countries. This is there big plan for job creation? Send Americans to work in foreign countries where the salaries are far below that of the US?

It isn't the fault of American workers that their salaries need to increase annually. It's the fault of Biggie Piggies who can't learn to live on their CEO salaries and then force the cost of living on other Americans to hideous levels.

The banks crashed the Real Estate market wiping out my home equity. I was just going to ride it out, but then they crippled the economy and I lost my income. I moved out of my home two years ago to find work, and the B of A still hasn’t processed my request for a deed-in-lieu or foreclosed. They did take possession of my house last May.

I am angry at the banks for wiping out my retirement and dragging out taking my home for two years. I am angry at the government for allowing it to happen through deregulation, and then not doing anything about it afterwards.

I’ve watched as congress bailed out the banks with our tax dollars. I’ve watched as the Republicans to a man protected the rich from tax increases while nearly putting the country into default.

I am happy to see that others have also had enough as well. We are tired of being ripped off by those we put our trust in to run things. I want my money back. I want my home back. I want to see the crooks that caused this go to jail.

My story is not unique. I believe that if things don’t change OWS is just the beginning. Millions of Americans were ripped off and are demanding justice. This could easily escalate as it did in Egypt if nothing is done.

After this Congress’s performance I plan to vote against all incumbents in the next election. If enough of us do so we might finally get their attention. It is time for another shellacking.

The People are saying what they need to say, say Nothing and you get a boot in the As— , So I am all for this, it may look bad now to most of you, but in the end, we will all win and have our Respect returned back to the People. Tom And Lyn

Remember what George Patton said to his soldiers "We are not asking to to give up your life for your Country, we asking you to TAKE the other Bastards life for their Country".

Real change always, always comes through violence. I am not advocating violence just stating Historical Facts!

The Europeans because of their customs are used to being addressed in a violent way by their police. Americas are to spoiled and soft.

Our Constituti­on pretends to protect our rights to "peacefull­y" redress grievances­, however they ALWAYS allow the police to beat and arrest a few people to instill fear in everyone else.....V­ERY SLICK on America's part.

joe mota...NO one is attacking wealth. A man can get rich but he doesn't have to do it by creating mass unemployment or deterioration of the quality of life for a single other American.

Today's rich get that way by price gouging consumers to death, dumping their business expenses in the laps of taxpayers with all manner of tax breaks and subsidies and then stiff their employees by dumping the cost of their employee benefits on stagnated employee salaries.

A greedy man doesn't care who he crushes the life out of so long as the money ends up in his pocket. If that's the only way to get rich, God Help the US.

Best example is Big Oil. Since 2009, obscene profits and still taxpayers get zapped for their tax subsidies. What kind of BS business is that?

If a man has to rely solely on taxpayers, consumers and his employees to make a profit, it's time to shut those business down.

Marlen 2.13

I believe he also said that democracy is simply a step on the path to Marxism. Now that’s depressing.

Love how peaceful protests always turn volent. There's always someone in the group who will destroy. Look to the London riots. Then ask, who suffers? The people they are railing at won't suffer but the small business owners, the shop keepers, the little guys will be suffering while the 'peaceful protesters' go on their rampage. Look at Rome, see the peaceful protesters in action.

If they could keep the destroyers out, then the truly peaceful protesters would really stand a chance, unless that happens this just degenerates into a mob.

nate has it right - small business, supported - or at least left alone, is the key to self created jobs. Mom and pop shops. The Chinamarts (I don't go there), Targets, Costcos (hate that place), etc. - plus the vast free parking and concentration of shops at malls - have killed the mom and pop. Are the days of the corner store gone? Maybe they could come back.

The sad thing for me is to know that while I agree 100% with the kids protesting... I also know that what they will likely suffer a lower standard of living than they realize - especially for the retirees to come. Less "stuff", more "work" - but maybe the trade off of less "corporate crumbs" to the populace will result in greater income equity all around.

I remember the salary study of Japan vs the US, where typically the highest Japanese manager only made 8 time the salary of a line worker.... a ghastly comparison to the "take" of the US counterpart. There has to be a middle ground.

Sorry MG, but given that the Tea Parties have assaulted PEOPLE as well as property, I'd say they've still gotten the OWS folks beat pretty significantly.

I've said many times--when the right stirs up the rednecks, they have a tea party. The only meaningful change comes from the left---here it comes! Look our greedy ass corporations and the politicians they own!

Hawaii2...Some facts rich asses don't like to hear:

1. The median gross, inflation-adjusted income of American males in 1968 was $32,137. In 2010? $32, 137 (U.S. Census, Sept. 2011 release)

2. From 1980 to 2005, more than 80% of the total increase in Americans' income went to the top 1% (Slate Sept. 2010).

3. In 2010, CEO at the nation's 299 large3st companies earned an average of $11.4 million in total pay. 343 times more than a typical American workers. In 1980, CEOs of these companies received 42 times the pay of their average worker (CNN Money April 2011)

4. Change in median household wealth of white families since 2005? Minus 16%. Hispanics? minus 66% (Pew Research Center Social and Demographic Trends project.)

5. The upper 1% of Americans account fornearly a quarter of the nation's income and control 40% of all US wealth. 25 years ago, it was 12% and 33%. (Joseph E. Stiglitz, May 2011 Vanity Fair)

6. The top 1% have seen their incomes rise 18% over the past decade. Those in the Middle have seen incomes fall. (Joseph E. Stiglitz, May 2011 Vanity Fair)

7. In 2010, median CEO pay jumped 27% while workers in private industry saw theirs grow by 2.1% (USA TODAY analysis, April 2011.)

8. Income inequality is more severe in the US than it is in nearly all of West Africa, Europe, North Africa and Asia. (The Atlantic, Sept. 2011)

9. The top 1/100th of 1% households according to 2008 data averaged $27 million per household, including capital gains. The average income for the bottom 90%? $31,244. (Cal-Berkeley, Professor Immanuel Saez).

10. From 2007 to 2009, Wall Street profits rose 720% while unemployment continued to climb and American home equity fell 35% (Mother Jones Magazine March and April 2011).

11. (In 2007, the bottom 60% of Americans had 65% of their net worth tied up in their homes compared to only 10% of net worth tied up in homes for the top 1%.

12. In 1961, the percentage of profits American corporaitons paid in taxes? 40.6% IN 2011? 10.5% (Institute for Policy Studies).

Any more denial fests rich asses?

Marlen101,,,,;

So,, whats the alternative? State run and controlled everything? Hasn't worked to well to this point. Look at your Euro hero's, they are scrambling to remain solvent. The UK is selling Rolls-Royce jet engines to China, not for passenger planes, no, these engines are for their JH-7 fighter jets. Perhaps, the UK is further along the Communist trail than we imagine. Check for yourself, the engines are the Shey Mk. 202 a huge step forward over any they produced previously. Hell, even China is making it's money via capitalism. The problem with state controlled everything, is you run out of other peoples money to steal to finance it. It happened to the Soviet Union, it will happen to the rest of the Nanny states soon enough. Look at California and Illinois, bankrupt from all the hand outs. So what do you propose as an alternative, wishful thinking? It's easy to point out the flaws, but, it's coming up with a solution that works that is difficult. Penalizing those who work hard and succeed, is not the answer. Paying their fair share is one thing, tearing it all down without a viable solution is madness. Perhaps, chaos and the complete collapse of our nation is precisely what some work for? How better to change to a leftist socialist, aka, communist, rule. Yes, Yes, on paper they are two very different systems, but, In the real world of practical application they look very similar, especially if you are one of the "citizens" who were supposed to gain under it and find you are now far worse off.

Violence broke out in Rome, where Italian police fired tear gas and water cannons at protesters after some smashed shop and bank windows, torched cars and hurled bottles.

Yeah, so much for the "peaceful protests" for the "Day of Rage on Wall Street" and other countries.

These thugs are nothing more than that.....THUGS.

And to assert "that the Tea Parties have assaulted PEOPLE as well as property" is nothing more than a......LIE. So, Mr. Toasty....your posts are nothing more than talking points from the Liberal Progressive (or is that regressive) Left.

And to say that the "1% elite keeps us in wars" must be directed directly at Mr. Obama since he was deeply involved in, and more than likely instigated, War #3 (Libya) and now has generated the beginning for War #4 (Uganda). So where is the RAGE against the White House and the "elite" on the beltway ? Nah, don't want to upset that Democratic "peaceful" platform.

There is NOTHING wrong with the idea of taking the protest to the doorsteps of the corrupt, self serving, treasonous bankers who crashed our economy in 2008.

______________________________________________________

THEY have already reached into the homes of the American Middle class, stolen their homes, destroyed their jobs and families, corrupted our system and Constitution. Absolutely destroyed lives.

I have NO pity for the fate of the corrupt rich tied to bailouts, the destruction of the economy, or board of the disgusting, evil, treasonous "Federal Reserve", nor our worthless politicians on their payroll.

Obama sure as hell as done NOTHING to prosecute the thieves who ruined our economy nor to protect the public in any way. In fact, he has kept the same wall street rats that infested the White House under George "W"(orst president in history) Bush!!!!!

___________________________________________________________

This protest will continue to grow and these protesters are actually doing more to fight for our country, our freedom , and our constitutional rights than all of our brave, honest soldiers being misused in two immoral, USELESS wars started by the same republican criminals who own (and are owned by ), our CORRUPT BANKING SYSTEM.

LONG LIVE THIS PROTEST & THANKS TO ALL OF THE PROTESTERS !!!!!!!

People say the system is broken. It's not broken. It's going according to plan. The Bilderberg Group is one main driver of global economics.

"Viscount Etienne Davignon, the president of Bilderberg Group will meet BNR governor Mugur Isarescu on Friday to discuss about EU and the debt crisis. Davignon is a Belgian politician of Hungarian origin who was also the vice-president of the European Commission. He was also the first chairman of the International Energy Agency, president of Societe Generale de Belgique and is now the vice- president of Suez-Tractebel subsidiary.

Bildergerg Group has been meeting every year since 1954 and is considered the most powerful structure of big world leaders. At the last Bilderberg meeting held in St. Moritz Switzerland, the president of Deutsche Bank, Josef Ackermann, the vice-president of the European Commission, Joaquin Almunia, the American magnate David Rockefeller and the president of the World Bank Robert Zoellick participated.

Bilderberg Group is managed by a committee of two people and brings to the same table 120 businessmen and politicians. The name of the group was given by the Dutch hotel where the first meeting was held."

http://www.actmedia.eu/2011/10/14/top+story/head+of+bilderberg+group+comes+to+bucharest/36165

This is a fun read,

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/16/bilderberg-2011-tipping-point

Anyways, the glass-steagall was put into place in order to create stable wealth and growth, and then it was dismantled in order to crash the system. Things have to be destroyed before the controllers can remold the world to their controlled warped utopia. Oh yes, I sound paranoid huh? Actually it's the opposite. I'm not afraid to look at what's really happening in the world today. I don't turn my head away and pretend it doesn't exist or try to convince myself it's not true by calling it conspiracy theories.

It's not hard to find out what the elites want to do. They talk about it in their memoirs. Try reading stuff by David Rockefeller, or Brzezinski, or Kissinger, or various European politicians and businessmen.

This is not the direction I was going to go on this post, but I guess I felt it needed to be said.

ClosetheFed...Clinton placed 2 Goldman Sachs foxes in the Fed henhouse...Bush added 5 more. Now you know why GS was at the top of the charity funded by taxpayers in TARP in 2008.

Funny isn't it? In 2008, they came running to the great unwashed masses for help bailing their asses out. That was an Oscar award winning performance. And total BS. They never needed that TARP anymore than they needed ARRA.

All it did was add to their wealth. Now, they are laughing up their sleeves at the fools they made of individual American taxpayers.

Education---not wars. Cut the defense budget!!

I'd appreciate an apology for calling me a liar, Ido:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbnEy_U9pYk

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/18/joe-stack-statement-alleg_n_467539.html?page=1

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/pittsburgh-shooter-poplawski-didnt-o

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/10/dc.museum.shooting.suspect/

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/21/MNMN1EHB37.DTL

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/40423.html

http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2010/03/to-all-modern-sons-of-liberty-this-is.html

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34907.html

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/03/21/the-secret-service-is-investigating-a-conservative-bloggers-oba/

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/05/right-wing_extremists_take_on_local_law_enforcemen.php?ref=mp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB7g3y597fs

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/04/AR2010110407609.html

http://www.youtube.com/user/Classitup10

http://www.newsminer.com/bookmark/12332315-%E2%80%98We%E2%80%99ve-got-%E2%80%99em-outmanned-and-outgunned-%E2%80%99-Cox-said-of-government

Close the Fed,

I was with you on most all you said until this line,

in two immoral, USELESS wars started by the same republican criminals who own (and are owned by ), our CORRUPT BANKING SYSTEM.

These useless wars were started by BOTH parties. BOTH parties are owned by the corrupt banking system. If you want to change the world, then you have to completely open your mind to see all evils, not just partisan understandings of half truths.

Ido...Sorry...The Tea Party thugs assaulted and disrupted one public meeting in NJ. I was there. I saw it with my own two eyes. Two burly, brawny beasts grabbing a microphone out of the the hand of the Congressman and two others like fellow henchmen. This wasn't in 2008.

Now that Bachmann, the most profitable US foster mom, Tea Party Twerps like Ryan and Cantor are busy doing Tea Party laundry, are we supposed to forget their living off Koch funding that comes from Iran?

"There is NOTHING wrong with the idea of taking the protest to the doorsteps of the corrupt, self serving, treasonous bankers who crashed our economy in 2008."

If that is the goal, then take the fight to Washington D.C.

Our Congress Sold Out the United States to the Federal Reserve, followed by 100 years of corruption. Our Congress looks more like the Roman Empire, not the Republic that this nation was founded on. How does if feel to be a "surf" to your King? The whole world finally woke up and realized we are just the ants working to the serve the higher purpose...the Kingdom.

You can't blame the banks or the corporations.....blame the politicians that served them the keys to our homes, security and future.....all while telling you that they "working for you". Cut the head off of the snake...not the tail.

Hi Kate Indigo, Thanks for your kind note.

The wars, one immoral based on lies, were started by "W", the "W"orst president in history.

Your comment : "BOTH parties are owned by the corrupt banking system." is absolutely correct. Thank you.

_____________________________________________________________

"The Federal Reserve banks are one of the most corrupt institutions the world has ever seen. There is not a man within the sound of my voice who does not know that this nation is run by the International bankers." -- Congressman Louis T. McFadden (Rep. Pa)

_________________________________________________________________

"A great industrial nation is controlled by it's system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated governments in the world-- no longer a government of free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and duress of small groups of dominant men." -- President Woodrow Wilson

@ Paul West Thank you for your note.

You are correct except for the fact that the bankers and the "Fed" bought and paid for all of the congress men and women who did their dirty bidding for them. Wall street , D.C. & across our nation are the correct places to protest!

_____________________________________________________________

HOW DID THE "FED" BECOME THE CANCEROUS PARASITE ON THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA THAT IT IS?

After previous attempts to push the Federal Reserve Act through Congress, a group of bankers funded and staffed Woodrow Wilson's campaign for President. He had committed to sign this act. In 1913, a Senator, Nelson Aldrich, maternal grandfather to the Rockefellers, pushed the Federal Reserve Act through Congress just before Christmas when much of Congress
was on vacation .

When elected, Wilson passed the FED.

Later, Wilson remorsefully replied (referring to the FED), "I have unwittingly ruined my country"

(Now, back to the discussion about obama please.)

I'd add the following demands:

1. Term limits for Congress and the Supreme Court officials who passed and upheld these heinous laws.

2. An addition/clarification in the constitution and Declaration of Independence closing loopholes that allow certain groups to target other groups for the purpose of limiting their freedoms. Too many establishments in the US use their personal belief systems as an excuse to limit and exploit the freedoms of other groups of people. That is not a right under the constitution or the DoI. People forgot that and allowed these individual issues to cloud their sight against the corruption and financial issues that truly did affect every US citizen and global citizens around the world.

And who elected the Corrupt? Was it us? Time for change...real change.

5 Demands Protesters Should Make:

1) A stock exchange that prohibits hedging, high frequency trading and short selling; encourages long-term wealth appreciation; and, provides corporations efficient access to capital.

2) Congressional oversight that mandates independent verification that the Federal Reserve, Department of the Treasury, Office of the Comptroller of Currency, FDIC, FHFA, FTC, NCUA, SEC and CFTC are ethical, effective and efficient banking and market regulators.

3) A public record system that discloses ethical breaches and conflicts of interest at all branches of the federal government, and includes, at a minimum, a) Ethics Code Certifications; b) Ethics Reporting; and, c) culture assessments on an ongoing basis.

4) FINRA and PCAOB subject to Freedom of Information Act, with absolutely NO exemptions.

5) Responsible fiscal and monetary policies

Paul West...As I recall, the Supreme Court elected Bush with its final decision in his own brother's state as the line of defense.

The protestors and most young people today are aware of how little the individual American vote can effect in terms of change. The young voted for President Obama in hopes of change. The Republican party has obstructed every change this administration tried to make.

I take exception to any party that seeks to undermine an elected administration or president in a way that harms all Americans.

I also take exception to the highest court of the land taking political sides. Law is NEVER to be judged if it is biased in any way. When the Supreme Court in 2003 danced a jig approving McCain-Ferguson to put a crimp in funding for the Democrats, it was to keep Bush in the White House. In January 2010, they repealed that same ban they approved 7 years earlier...to help Republicans in November 2010 win the House. Enough with that BS.

The links to your posts do not indicate any of the individuals discussed were Tea Party members but were folks who had "individual issues" with various government agencies. Nice try though.

The only apology provided is: I am so sorry you have been taken by the dark side.

The lack of a single message from the OWS protests is actually a stroke of genius. While the news media and politicians have been trying to identify what the protests are all about, they have had to actually think about what so many people are angry about. this is the best strategy as getting them to think will make them better understand what is wrong, rather than having certain points that they can refute and diminish. I have actually heard some politicians give their take on the protest and while they have all been different they all encompass a segment of what people want to change. Keep them guessing and they will hopefully begin to understand. It's the financial and corporate entities that remain unable to understand on iota of the protests. They're a little dense about subjects and causes that have nothing to do with making $.

Nice try, Ido, but the writing's on the wall.

FOR THOSE THAT HAVE NO CLUE -

You Sold your children out for some gold coins and were suckered by Cheney and Bush and friends for a "for profit war - Trillions in profit" now you pay up not the kids - these kids are as dumb as many posters that have no idea how we got to this place in our history and who made out in millins, billions and even Trillions.

They did not ask for this and were only teenagers eleven years ago and you sold them out stole their future and they don't like it - so pay up you were on the yes side for this scam now you pay not the kids

They don't want the Trillions wasted and squandered by Wall Street and the Giant Hedge Funds and the intermingled financial conglomerates around the world to pay for the balance of the Trillions run up for Bail Outs and the cost of two unfunded wars. They also don't go along with special interest purchasing the American Government, a bought congress which is evident to everyone. To them this picture seems to be as a fact and not a fiction, I think for the large part and i mean the very large part they are bought.

The run of up of the deficit they do not feel should be laid on their generation they never were asked to mortgage their future lives so America could produce in ten short years more BILLIONAIRES than in anytime in human history and the logical question they ask is how with the economy in the dumps for so long can millions upon millions be paid out in bonus money to those we bailed out? Remember these kids where only barely teenagers when you sold them out sold them down the river you stole their future with out asking permission but now ten years and counting they are now young adults and can see what you did to them......not very nice!

Why do the Giant Hedge Funds and the Big Wall Street Banks get to borrow up now to just above zero percent interest of taxpayer dollars to invest in off-shore and emerging markets with the taxpayers dollars? Plus lend back to the taxpayer at 15% to 29% how do they get away with that? The kids want to know they feel as if they are getting had again? The system is for the 1% and the 99% can just die.

Why did the and how did (the minutes) Billions and Billions get awarded via no bid contracts? to the pals of Dick Cheney and GWB? Where are the missing hundreds of millions in Iraq? Where did all those millions disappear too?

Why are the minutes to fix our national energy policy with the head of the group the then CEO of Enron (Ken Lay) why are those minutes still under government seal? Why? What is the big secret?

Why is the burden going to be payed by this generation across the world for the excesses of the "war profiteers from many countries of the willing? Yeah willing to become a Billionaires on the blood of the troops for this hoax of a war?

Why no reform of the national health plan? A real reform as a single payer system and instead the monopoly of the Health for Big Profit this monopoly allowed to stay in place? How stupid do you think these kids are? They know when they are getting screwed.

How long will the porous borders be open to lower the price of labor? The good paying construction jobs are now mostly South American workers at half of what the American construction worker used to be paid. The rampant crime that comes with all of this illegal and cold hearted ploy by American employers to keep labor as low as possible by keeping the borders wide open. Now gangs everywhere thanks Congress for making their lives a living hell. All the drugs and two million in jail so many for victimless crimes this is just another scam to rake in Billions and Billions you think these kids don't know of this?

Need we go on? If you were just starting out in life and the world and even the vaunted Democracy is so evidently a pay to play scam that leaves you out how would you feel in your own country.

The rigged trade agreements as China which we charge about 10 cents on the dollar for imports yet they charge us 25 cents on the dollar? How would you feel? Higher fees on everything under the sun even $5 dollars per debit card to access your own money, the big rise in fees just to register your car to get around in? Rising high fees for everything and how to pay with a minimum wage job or no job?Cutting Grandma's Social Security and hiking Grandma's and Grandpa's co-pay for the med's they need to live? Cutting their Medicare that they paid into all their lives?

Do you really want me to go on to higher education and much more? I guess when the real clamp down comes no more food stamps you are on your own the government cannot afford it and don't even dream of asking the top 1% that runs America to pay their fair share or to pay a little extra for the benefit of living in a safe and secure country no they feel they are entitled to all of this security - talk about entitlements?

Would you like to know of wanting real reform of the shadow derivatives and credit default swap unregulated markets? Trillions know one really know the best estimates are at seven TRILLION DOLLARS of unregulated and shadow markets with no risk assignments stretching all around the world. How do you think Iceland went and is broke? Ireland all but broke? Greece ready to topple? Italy beating back riots as I write this? Do you think something this big just gets organized by a couple of college kids? Is that what you think this is all about and just bash enough heads and smash faces and they all will just go home?

How much more do you need to know of why these kids and adults now are just starting to feel real hatred of their own country that turns its back on its own citizens the wealthiest country in the history of the world the richest country on earth......you say you have no idea what they are upset about?

I could go on???????? and on and on??????????????

Toasty...When I attended that Congressman's open public forum, the Tea Party Bullies announced publicly who they were and what they represented. That "My Way or the Highway" attitude disrupted the entire program and denied me my right to hear what the Congressman had to say. That's a detestable way of getting a message across if that was what those Tea Party thugs were attempting.

In the beginning of the article the writer stated that the the protest was, "protests against capitalism and austerity measures went global." Later, in the article the author mentioned that the other protests around the world were fighting against corporate greed. The columnist never mentioned what made the "protests against capitalism," in Rome any different from the other protests.... is it a form of bias on the part of the writer maybe, or because that is what we are supposed to think because a novice or lazy reader may not necessarily go beyond the first few paragraphs of an article?

Persevere, no, please, that's okay. You've gone on long enough.

Ewent...the mere idea that Democrats and Republicans exist separately is a delusion...no different than the two fleas arguing over which one owns the dog. Both parties answer to the same Master......they may publicly wear different masks...but they are one in the same. These Protests are proof that the World has finally realized that the Master has been outed. The politicians work for the Master...the "Central Bank"...not the people, and when the politicians were no longer able to feed the beast, the illusion became transparent. "Keep the little people fighting amongst themselves, Democrat v. Republican; Liberal v. Conservative; blah, blah, blah...keep there eyes off of the truth and we will continue to control perception and the almighty dollar". The one trait of all humans is that we are all suckers for the truth. Out all of the perpetrators...or should I say TRAITORS.....Start with "who" controls the money and follow that to those that carry out the orders. BTW, did you see you donated 500k to Barry's reelection fund...Goldman?....Bought and Sold. They cant function without us....time to sit down and let their ruse melt away.

ewent,

If the congressman was allowed to talk he would have spewed his typical banter...that is what got us here and if you want to hear the same ole Shat then you might should put your name on the ride of the rail out of town. These guys had the balls to show we are sick of their crap.

And yes...back in the day the "leader" and his "cronies" got tar and feathers. Makes sure you know what side you are on, Barrons or The People.

Paul West...I don't agree and I was a Republican BB (Before Bush). If you read the historical policies of Republicanism, you see how replete it is with bias toward Big Business to the detriment of American labor.

How does bashing or in any way reducing American jobs benefit this country? How does reliance on foreign cheap labor and unsafe goods and substandard services benefit anyone but the Have Mosts?

Truth isn't bought or sold. And truth can never be owned. Sorry. That too is a human fact of life.

Did you also see how Trump was one of the biggest contributors to both the Romney and Perry campaigns? All that sucking up to Trump Perry was doing, didn't help at all. Most CEOs wear two faces and use one or the other when it benefits their bank accounts most.

Toasty: answer me this....how many teaparty rallies ended in burning cars, trashed buildings, burning buildings, broken shop windows, etc? Don't you think that would have made the news? Sorry, can't follow your lack of logic. Interesting how often the radical revolutionaries end up controlling the protests. Interesting as well how many radical revolutionaries are involved in these current protests, note how many are calling for revolution rather than reform. Wonder why? Or do you think that far?

Ewent: substitute Obama for Trump and CEO in your last sentences and see if it sounds different. Wearing two faces? Guess who is getting lots of money from the very people the protesters are protesting. There's an article currently on MSNBC discussing Obama's bundlers. Seems they aren't the 'little people.'

Mygirl1 2.29

Actually, I believe violence is their intent. They claim all they want is a peaceful protest but they believe that peaceful protests can easily be ignored while violence always gets the attention they crave.

There may indeed be protesters that trend towards non-violence but they are always infiltrated by large numbers of anarchists determined to smash, burn, and loot, only to scream about police brutality as they're being dragged away.

BTW, they are always seen as being dragged away by the police because they're taught to be uncooperative when being arrested and to go limp. It's better for the cameras that way.

to Wet Willy and many others.

This has become a global movement. Yet you continue to dismiss it as a U.S. Democrats against Republican thing.

This movement is NOT about destroying all corporations! Being so stubborn and blind will be YOUR downfall. You have been so brainwashed it is not even funny.

It's obvious though, that you have no interest in learning anything about the movement. You are just willing to allow the Murdock and Wall Street owned media to feed you BS daily.

For the love of your country and it's people, at least please try to learn what is actually going on here without the "help" of Limbaugh and Company or Hannity the Murdock poodle in a tutu dancing for his dinner. These guys are a part of the problem.

Limbaugh is loosing listeners daily. His ratings have gone way down. This is music to my ears. I just want my Republican friends and family to be normal again. I just want them to be open minded again. I can't wait until they are able to enter a room without immediately beginning a conversation of hatred, their voices raised in anger..at what and who? I'm not their enemy. I love them. I want them back. Doesn't matter at all to me who they vote for or if they don't like the candidate I choose. It matters way too much to them, however . That's how I know they are brainwashed. The people I used to know have been "kidnapped" by this weird subliminal messaging, brainwashing media with their mutual goal. Wet Willy and so many others are among the "missing". Missing the point. Missing the truth. Missing everything.

Below is hope for the future of my Repbulican loved ones From May, 2011 Business Insider

The just-released Arbitron report reveals that a lot less people are listening to right-wing talk radio.

With a lull in ratings since November, Rush Limbaugh hada 3.0 share of listeners for his radio time slot, which is a 33% slide from October and from last April, reports Crain's Business.

Meanwhile, The Sean Hannity Show was reported to be down 28% from its peak numbers in the fall.

Wet Willy, lease follow the lead of those who have left the brainwashing lane.

I read this article and my heart sang.

We want REAL DEMOCRACY and not fraud, corruption, incestuous relationships between government and corporate America.

Stop corporate sponsored government.

No more representative government.

Direct vote on line-item legislation via Internet.

The Federal Reserve and Central Banks MUST disclose line item accounting.

Interest on OUR money MUST come back to us and reported by the GAO.

Stop all wars NOW!

Stop all foreign aid, except for hunger and medicine.

Freeze Pentagon investments for two years.

Ewent...you totally missed the point.....none of those people matter. Keep the masses tied up fighting about a system that doesn't exist, so they don't see the one that does. No matter who is in the White House or sits in Congress, they all work for and carry out the instructions of the Central Bank. You and every possession in your life belongs to the Central Bank Ewert. While you continue to fight the micro battle between the parties and the illusion of their control, the real Master is pulling all of the strings. We lost control of this country in 1913. We handed the keys to Central Bank. So did Europe. They are controlling every policy and politician in the Country. Every War, Every Program, All of it.....while you and most of the people argue with each over about "which candidate or party will best serve me".....you have been tricked my friend.

consider: We are all pawns being used in a power struggle. Look who is funding the protests. People scream about the Koch brothers, while ignoring Stephen Lerner, Move on, Code Pink, the AFL-CIO and SEIU, and other organizations of a Marxist bent. This is not about the banks per se. This is an ideological struggle. I could get behind the protests if the leaders and funders weren't so specifically agenda driven, I don't like manipulation of any stripe. Left or right.

mygirl1

I couldn't have said it any better!

Toasty, I looked up every single blog and news story you posted as a case to prove the Tea Party has damaged property and committed violence. I didn't watch the you-tube vids in order to keep my internet usage down.

Not one of those stories showed violence by the Tea Party. Quite a few lone nuts with prior records.

Lets start with the first one, Joe Stack. Nothing about him being a part of the Tea Party movement. Nothing about him being a conservative either.

http://www.infowars.com/news-that-joe-stack-was-not-a-tea-party-member-disappoints-obamanoids/

http://www.infowars.com/joe-stacks-intriguing-connections-with-defense-contractors-intelligence-agencies/

Second is Paplowski. Nothing about him being a member of the Tea Party. He was just some young kid thrown out of the Marines and probably on some SSRI.

"The Daily Kos writer himself states in his opening sentence:

“Some of us over the past few days have been working together “sleuthing” the internet for anything related to Richard Poplawski.”

What this translates as is that he and others slapped together whatever they could find from googling “Poplawski” in an effort to bolster their own preconceived notions and agendas. Unfortunately that does not constitute journalism and in sensitive cases like this one it very often leads to slander and libel."

http://www.infowars.com/daily-kos-issues-retraction-of-infowarspoplawski-smear/

Once again with Von Brunn there's nothing about him being a part of the Tea Party movement.

Then You have Byron Williams, a twice convicted bank robber, who was allegedly going to kill people at the SF ACLU. Nothing about him being involved with the Tea Party. Just another lone kook.

Then the whole immigration stuff going on in Arizona. Nothing about the Tea Party, only allegations of threats, which we have no idea if they came from Republicans, Democrats, or both.

Then you site a ridiculous blog, that has nothing to do with the Tea Party.

Then a story about the Health Care bill and people upset about it. The only thing by an actual Tea Party member was this,

A tea party participant published what he thought was Rep. Thomas Perriello’s home address and urged disgruntled voters to “drop by” for a “good face-to-face chat.” ...

“There are some folks that identified themselves as being members of the tea party [who] called, [and] my staff has gotten to know their names over time, and they have been very loud and very ugly,” Cardoza said.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34907.html

Ohhh scary. As for the broken glass doors or windows. No witnesses, nothing seen, so we have absolutely no clue who did what, there. Anything would just be speculation and you can't have that in a logical argument.

Then some story about a conservative blogger who twittered something very bad, and then retracted. Once again though, nothing about the Tea Party.

Then a story about some ex-military guy trying to make a citizens arrest, and subsequently being arrested himself for it. And then his friend going in to rescue him. Nothing came of it, and nothing in the story about the Tea Party being involved.

Then a story about a James Patock who was arrested for having firearms in a vehicle. Turns out that vehicle was his living residence, a trailer. LOL Nothing about violence or anything, just an old man from Arizona, the wild west, having guns in his possession. Also nothing about him being a member of the Tea Party.

Then finally a story about Schaeffer Cox a militia guy who likes to talk big. Nothing about the Tea party there, nor any acts of violence either.

I have to say, I'm not too impressed with your so called facts to back up your argument about the tea party. yes, there are crazy people out there, and yes some are more right leaning in their political ideology, but for the most part, all mentioned were lone nuts, that did not act as a part of any group effort, just their own contorted ideas of what they read, watched, and conceived.

This effort by the left to paint conservatives as some radical group is disingenuous and intellectually dishonest.

Toasty McGraph your links are terrible. I read the CNN, Washington Post and Huffington Post ones. The Huffington Post guy seems more in-line with the wall street protesters. Do you even try to understand politics? Think man think. It is ok to have opposing views and philosophies but to make things up is delusional. I personally admire the American Indian society pre-European invasion but I do not lie to support my thoughts.

There will be a violent reaction towards the OWS protesters and anyone else by the powers that be in this country before they will willingly allow their control of this country to be taken away!!! I would say that bull@!$%# criminal charges will be the first to come their way and then it will escalate from there if the corrupt criminal justice system isn't able to quench it with its underhanded tricks!!
I agree that change is needed in the worst way, from our political landscape to our judicial system and banking system all need revamped and revamped in a way in which it will benefit the country and its citizens, not the corrupt corporations and their on the take political insiders!!!

Sorry Pat, but the fact is that the events happened whether you like it or not. And I'd appreciate an apology from you for calling me a liar.

wow jrs you know nothing about the movement do you? that is their first advice to everyone move your money out of the big banks like bofa and into a credit union.

That's their advice to everyone. But, how many people have actually done it?

Don't assume I know nothing about the movement. I was just commenting on that advice which shows I do know they give that advice. I was just wondering if they are listening to their own advice (hence the walk the walk, not just talk the talk). Advice and what they say is just talk but how many are actually making a difference by moving their money? How many have hit the banks in the pocketbook? I just was looking for statistics.

And, in case you are wondering. I have had my money in Credit Unions for over 10 years. As for my friends, I have been telling them to move their money all the time to credit unions when they complain about $5 fees or huge NSF charges with their big banks but despite their complaints, few have taken the steps to do it because it is "too much of a hassle".

It's one thing to give advice. It's another thing to practice your advice.

i did practice , i practiced it along time ago credit union all the way!

So did I. I love Credit Unions. I mean, what really gets me with the protests is that the only reason a bank is so large is because people have their money there. If they took it out, the bank would not have power. So, their message really has to get to the people that have money still in the giant monster mega banks.

But, when they protest the bank...the bank can't really just shrink (when it still has all this money in it) unless the people take it out. And it does not help if even if the people take out their money, the government steps in and bails them out as too big to fail. The whole thing becomes a convoluted mess. And human nature being what it is...people complain about fees and big banks yet still keep their money there for years and years...so it comes down to if you want change, you have to reach the customers to vote with their pocketbooks.

As a side note, read my post above on the 80-20 rule. That is also something the world has to deal with...everything evolving towards the power law scaling behavior.

The problem is: if "the 99%" pulls every dime they have out of big banks, the big banks still have plenty to finance themselves. One major point of the protest is that the top 1% controls more than 90% of the wealth.

As a side note, yes it is a hassle to move your money out of big banks. My account had to get broken into by criminals (the real kind, not the metaphorical kind) before I was spurred to take action. But I will assure people that it is much easier than you think.

I wish I could take all the protesters into a class room and teach them about the Pareto Principle and the 80-20 rule.

The whole thing about 99% and all that is power law scaling behavior and how economics works and well founded within the scientific literature. The economic environment in which the 80-20 rule holds is very dynamic and keeps hovering right around 80-20...and if it gets out of equilibrium, like what one poster said here that it is now 90-10, then things like protests happen that eventually should snap it back to equilibrium of 80-20.

If they are protesting anything beyond returning to the 80-20 norm, they will be disappointed because from a mathematical and scientific perspective, the system should always evolve towards the 80-20 distribution unless for some reason something is keeping it from doing that.

Very interesting...

I have been watching the protester interviews on the national news, for many days. What struck me was the large number of protesters using iPODS for their music as they waited for their next activity. iPODS? yep - these come from a company that makes ALL their products outside the USA - and makes a fortune doing this.

So, where is the real heart of this protest?

They aren't necessarily protesting products made outside the USA. They are mostly protesting the disparity between "the people" and the banks and corporations, especially how the big corps get special consideration from the government at the expense of the working class.

terriels.. you are correct. I appreciate your comment.

"protesting the disparity between "the people" and the banks and corporations..."

People and Corporations - exactly my comment. I was noting an unfortunate picture created by the protesters - that they are selectively protesting. Apple is a very successful publically owned corporation. Successfull because they manufacture outside the USA where production costs are far lower than here is the USA. If the protesters are not against this fact, then they are selectively protesting, and will never be successful. I consider success if they accomplish something other than giving a platform to a small number of people who need to complain about their status.

What is missing from the minds of those protesting is the fact that most of the corporations they speak against - are owned by public individuals.

JRS...Americans with any sense of patriotism don't patronize the Rip Off Banks like BOA. They are rightfully protecting their hardearned money by patronizing only the small local banks and credit unions.

Instead of Cash, Baby, Cash...now it's Crash, Baby, Crash. Biggest mistake Americans made was to bail out the Too Big To Fail, Too Rich To Change. This is the "change" they never wanted. This is the "change" they never expected from the rest of us.

Suck it all up and call it the natural emanation of greed.

Occam's Razor

Very interesting...

I have been watching the protester interviews on the national news, for many days. What struck me was the large number of protesters using iPODS for their music as they waited for their next activity. iPODS? yep - these come from a company that makes ALL their products outside the USA - and makes a fortune doing this.

So, where is the real heart of this protest?

That's like saying that since the Civil Rights and Antiwar movements of the 60s used telephones made by large corporations, that this somehow invalidated their protest. Talk about grasping at straws! What would you have them use for communications, smoke signals? GIVE ME A BREAK!

I hope those advocating pulling out of the banks bones up on their history before doing so. Ever hear of the Great Depression? The market crash wasn't what made the depression. It was the run on the banks after the crash that made the depression. The banks have money invested all over. If everyone pulls their money back at the same time, the banks have to call back the money they lent out. The foreclosier problem we have now is due to individuals borrowing more than they could afford. If we see a bank run, responsible people will start to get for closed on and businesses will close up, and we will see another self imposed depression.

ThornDawg...My two Great Depression Age uncles could tell you what those Big Banks did....any innocent working class laborer who tried to place full faith and trust in any banks in the US at that time, ended up losing whatever those banks could get their syrupy mitts on. Theft is theft. The color of the collar shouldn't determine the punishment.

My two uncles saved for a decade to buy a home cash, no loan. Banks stole every dime they had in savings. Don't talk about what you don't know.

Banks today are nothing more than a bunch of thieving BS artists. How did the banks who helped themselves in 2008 to TARP and then again in 2009 to ARRA manage to come up with 26% in salary increases from 2009 to 2011?

Sorry, time to take the swillers fat piggy little mouths out of the trough before no Americans life savings is safe. Enron stole 33,000 employees 401Ks. Don't for a minute be fooled your 401K is safe. Right now, the Republican hotchas are hot to start taxing every dime that goes into them. If they get away with this, it proves that your paycheck is owned by them.

So Thorndawg only irresponsible people are getting forclosed on? You've said all you need to discredit your arrogant ass. Some of the most irresponsible people I've ever met are wealthy. They just lucked out by inheriting a bigger welfare check than the rest of us.

Bodene...Now ask him/her why Jeff Skilling ultra billionaire ended up in jail. Or Kozlowski, Milkin, Ebbers and the King of Rich Rip Offs, Madoff. Add to that those who are just under the radar: Blankfein and a host of others who skank away at the rest of us feeing us to death to pay more and get less while they get more and pay less. BS to that.

Blankfein had the gall to make sure loans failed and then he collected 3 times for every loan that failed. First by the foreclosure, second by the insurance on the loans that failed and now by owning property rights to foreclosed properties and selling them to the highest bidders to turn them into acres and acres of landports for all those foreign goods that need warehouses.

Why aren't Blankfein and his ilk in jail with Madoff? These slimeballs get away with huge theft that no other laborer in America ever could. The whiter the collar the lighter the sentence? BS

About moving money out of the banks. My parents, now in their retirement years, have moved completely to a credit union.

In fact all my family are with a credit union in my hometown. They didn't really do it off of any protest, it was just a smarter move. More interest on savings account (not much though LOL!) and no fees. Same services (Debit card works anywhere) checking account and credit card and line of credit for potential overdrafts (so no over draft fees as long as your credit qualifies you for that line of credit on your checking account) all theirs qualified. It made sense. They did this like 3 years ago or so.

I will say not all my money is in the credit union. Mostly because my current credit union is in my home town, and it could prove to be a big hassel. But will look locally for a credit union I can join.

Never forget: the bailout was initiated and completed under Bu@!$%#.

In other words: it makes no sense to blame those not responsible for it. I.e., it was not Obama who initiated and completed the bailout.

There's enough blame to go around (some belongs to the 99 per cent); but it makes no sense, and does more harm than good, to blame those not responsible the mess.

JNagarya - The Tea Party is supported by 2 billionaires who illegally are doing business in Iran against all US sanctions. Smells really bad. But, they still like to blame President Obama who isn't a Harvard MBA but a Constitutional Law Professor. Who should have seen the red flags heading their way first?

Others can lay blame to allay or salve their own guilt. If I don't make the chief decisons that result in failure, I don't accept blame either. And neither should President Obama.

Here's a good one: Advocate personal responsibility. When you consolidate so much power and wealth into the hands of so few, they ought to take responsibility for their mess up. All we've seen from the top since the start of the economic crisis is blaming everybody else. I'd like to take this time to remind everyone again that the financial sector does not create wealth, it merely interfaces with it. You have to actually make something to create wealth.

Pragmatic, I respectfully disagree. How did Madoff get away with being the head of the SEC under the first Bush and for 17 years stole $62 billion from his Wall Street investors retirement funds?

The financial sector as most of Corporate America knows relies heavily on high risk investments paid for by corporations who venture into various unrelated businesses and trade. The financial sector earns commisions whether from loans for mortgages, Wall Street trades or from the insurance that covers any losses on their businesses.

That's like saying that since the Civil Rights and Antiwar movements of the 60s used telephones made by large corporations, that this somehow invalidated their protest.

Illogical analogy. The Civil Rights Movement and the antiwar movement had nothing whatsoever to do with corportions.

Picking at what the protestors are wearing at this point is dumb. Still yammering on about how some are poking fun at them is dumb. Obviously enough people on a global scale agree with this movement that they are doing something. More would be doing so, if not for fear, work, kids etc...

If the movement were a little better organized as far as demands and goals and plans, there'd be more people in the streets. This is getting bigger and bigger. It won't stop until the corruption is ended, people are held accountable, and a balance is restored.

@ Thorndog

You bought the lie. The biggest crooks are the banks, they're the ones who can't afford what they borrow, and they're the ones who can't afford their businesses. They're the ones asking the public to bail them out of the messes they made. People received loans based on their incomes - what they could afford.

When people lost jobs during the market fall out, they could no longer afford their homes. They lost them.

When banks could no longer afford their bills, the government started bail outs, and BTW those bail outs started prior to Obama coming into office. Those were Bush era bail outs he continued.

Citizens that have been paying taxes are being told their irresponsible when they've lost their homes after job loss; yet banks are handed the largest welfare checks in history. It's criminal and it has to end.

@ Thorndog

You bought the lie. The biggest crooks are the banks, they're the ones who can't afford what they borrow, and they're the ones who can't afford their businesses. They're the ones asking the public to bail them out of the messes they made. People received loans based on their incomes - what they could afford.

When people lost jobs during the market fall out, they could no longer afford their homes. They lost them.

When banks could no longer afford their bills, the government started bail outs, and BTW those bail outs started prior to Obama coming into office. Those were Bush era bail outs he continued.

Citizens that have been paying taxes are being told their irresponsible when they've lost their homes after job loss; yet banks are handed the largest welfare checks in history. It's criminal and it has to end.

JNagarya

I applaud you for recognizing that some of the blame goes to the 99%.

However, to blame Bush completely for TARP is incorrect. TARP was outlined by Bush's Treasury Secretary Paulson. His outline focused more on the 'toxic assets' which if they had done it that way, I feel would have done more for the homeowners/taxpayers. But when the law was written by Congress, it changed. And please remember who was the speaker and who held the majority in Congress at the time.

In my opinon the blame for the whole mess goes 3 ways. 1.) to the '99%' 2.) to the government and 3) to Wall Street and the Banks.

As far as the banks go, it depends on what bank you are looking at. The bansk that gave out loans do hold some responsibilities. But they were doing ans they had to from the Government, according to the 'Fair Housing' They were giving out loans to enven those who did not necessarily qualify.

asuras: they're irresponsible

Your post is spot on. Thank you for the intelligent post. This is where our capitalism broke, the moment bailouts went into play for the chosen. They say..they had to pay them back, we dont care, where is ours to payback.

The sickening part is the bailout was nothing more than a loan to open call-centers in India. Look what IBM did with the money and admit to it. Our government PAID to get rid of jobs here at home. Now they stand around and scratch their labia and scrotum trying to pass off backdoor payouts as economic stimulus bills.

It has to end and the end is coming. As soon as people see it is ok to protest the numbers will grow. People are still afraid they will lose something...even if they have nothing to lose.

What a mess.

Credit unions can be great, folks, but don't go getting fooled into thinking they aren't out for blood either. Having a hubby that has worked for both banks and credit unions, I can tell you that credit unions are definitely the wolf in sheeps clothing. They are in it for growth and money, and around here, they have some of the WORST employee abuse situations of long hours (think 80 hours a week still not being "enough", screaming at employees, a constant threat of being fired for not meeting ridiculous goals which are increased every time you turn around, etc.) in the banking world. It is not a well kept secret that their plan is to get as much business from banks as possible, merging of smaller credit unions and guess what? It's not for the sake of their members. Talk about a great scheme they have going. Meanwhile, they'll keep their profits going into mass feel-good advertising to keep the pretenses up. So, go ahead and put your money in a credit union, that's fine and there's a lot of great ones out there, but don't be surprised when one day, their true colors come out. The day of the "We're here for you" credit union is rapidly coming to a close. Remember, money corrupts everything.

Violence broke out in Rome,

Go, you Guineas!!

There is NOTHING wrong with the idea of taking the protest to the doorsteps of the corrupt, self serving, treasonous bankers who crashed our economy in 2008.

______________________________________________________

THEY have already reached into the homes of the American Middle class, stolen their homes, destroyed their jobs and families, corrupted our system and Constitution. Absolutely destroyed lives.

I have NO pity for the fate of the corrupt rich tied to bailouts, the destruction of the economy, or board of the disgusting, evil, treasonous "Federal Reserve", nor our worthless politicians on their payroll.

Obama sure as hell as done NOTHING to prosecute the thieves who ruined our economy nor to protect the public in any way. In fact, he has kept the same wall street rats that infested the White House under George "W"(orst president in history) Bush!!!!!

___________________________________________________________

This protest will continue to grow and these protesters are actually doing more to fight for our country, our freedom , and our constitutional rights than all of our brave, honest soldiers being misused in two immoral, USELESS wars started by the same republican criminals who own (and are owned by ), our CORRUPT BANKING SYSTEM.

LONG LIVE THIS PROTEST & THANKS TO ALL OF THE PROTESTERS !!!!!!!

A website called 15october.net urged the people of the world to "rise up" and "claim their rights and demand a true democracy."

"Now it is time for all of us to join in a global non violent protest. The ruling powers work for the benefit of just a few, ignoring the will of the vast majority and the human and environmental price we all have to pay. This intolerable situation must end," the website says.

Yep, people of the World.....RISE UP.....and all that for Democracy.....yeah.....right.

15October.net is nothing more than a Communist website. Since when does a Communist country want a "True Democracy" ? Their Communist logos tell it all:

• http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-701&va=communist+fist+logo

Yeah, join those "peaceful" demonstrations.

For the "Day of Rage on Wall Street" protesters: Congratulations, YOU HAVE BEEN HAD, HOOK, LINE, and SINKER.

For those who APPLAUD THIS EFFORT: Vent your Communist "fists" directly at the White House and Congressional Halls.

Losers.

It's like a firestorm catching on, and there is no real purpose-- Get back to
whatever you were doing before; living off all Government programs, paid by your
taxpayers.

Bums. "Follow the Yellow Brick Road".

There could/ will be a violent reaction towards the OWS protesters (or anyone else) who threatens the system in place or the powers that be in the US before they will willingly allow their control of this country, its money and its (big business foreign asset protection service) military to be taken away!!! I would say that bull@!$%# criminal charges will be the first to come their way and then it will escalate from there if the corrupt criminal justice system isn't able to quench it with its underhanded tricks and threats of prison time!
Which BTW prison time has become a commodity, yes prison time is a commodity one created by seedy and parasitic outfits who have lobbyists in the right places that have paid off the right people and have now gotten on the teats of the states by developing private prisons (something totally recession proof and just oodles of money to be made forever and always) and something like this could drive the stock price of CCA or TMG up if there were to be massive arrests, convictions and prison sentences from this!!
I agree that change is needed in the worst way, from our political landscape to our judicial system and banking system all need revamped and revamped in a way in which it will benefit the country and its citizens, not the corrupt corporations and their on the take political insiders!!!

If we are unhappy with what is going on, we should protest in the way that businesses understand: we stop spending. PERIOD.

I am withdrawing my spending except for essentials. Everything else STOPS.

I am also returning anything and everything I have spent money on recently!

I encourage everyone else to do the same!

Buy used buy local or do without. Its easy.

Get it over with, shoot them all, and end their misreable lives. Problem solved.

Joey, buying used or better yet, Freecycling is easy. Buying local not so much, since even if something was made locally it tends to have components that are not local.

jkm49 Post #1.35 - my reponse to you

Are you so out of touch? Thirty three years or 40 to fifty years ago a middle class family could afford to send their children to a four year college. I respectfully ask that you take your head from your comfortable pillow and look around half a century from the time periods you are referencing and I must say you are living in and worse your thought and profile of America is antiquated out of touch with today's reality so far from the facts that most Americans live under today leaves most observers speechless.

I was not going to reply but I read a fine post that applies to most Americans and even to a village farmer half way across the world under the thumb of whomever is in control of his families life - if they live or die.

You never will understand this Muslim farmer or plain ordinary man must go with the powers that control his destiny but harbours no real ill will to you or I.

Don't you see the joblessness? the meager wages? The importation of cheap labor? You certainly are no Christian please don't mock Jesus and say you are a devote Christian it could drive me to drink. don't you read labor statistics? Cost of living statistics? Do you try to understand the world has changed?

I cannot communicate with you as I believe you are so aloof, arrogant and smug. I fought so you could peacefully attend college and when released I worked my way everyday through a four year university and those times were easier than what these kids face today.

Your past fantasy is a relic dusty old relic of our past, I just have to reference your own stated time line. I happened to retie at 57 years live in Palm Springs with a branch office in Los Angeles with two business partners and they happen to be licensed CPA's.

Your smug arrogance when I and my friends secured your freedom and now you have a "let them eat cake" attitude. I should have feed you to the Cong and maybe a good decent man would be alive today.

Good Luck - I quote a decent mans post which mirrors my own philosophy I could care rather I could not care less for your good fortune it matters nothing to me I am pleased providence has blessed you.

Kim Heitz Post # 1.12 - sums up my feelings jkm ((why is not your son serving as my son in our Military? Here you have a clear idea of my feelings. Plain yet powerful statement of what life is about for most of us - what do I care of your wealth? May you enjoy more monetary success, gloat in it fancy yourself as a mega-success - here -

"People do not expect to get rich, they expect a decent days pay for a loyal employee which is no longer the standard in the world! A roof over our heads, food on the table education that we can afford, and a little nest egg and most people are happy, these are the things being taken away from the common man"

Thank you Kim Heitz for sane, rational and even true Christian morals - the best to you and yours - what most men and women the world around strive for not the riches of jkm only to live in peace and enjoy our family.

Thank you as someone who can understand what is going on "today".

@teresa van remortel -

I was logging off and seen your kind words and this is very important I read what I have spoken or rather posted to young university students, only two or three but leaders in Europe.

I spoke of courageous, brave men and women which had one word which was as a rallying cry....a word of hope....their identity...a word of sacrifice...a word for success and even struggle the superlatives could continue I end it here for now.

But, the heavy hand of the Kremlin was removed from their collective necks and they were ready to face a non-violent death if the real powers wanted their blood than take it. The word heard around the world that these kids may borrow they have that right - this most powerful word I urged - a word mind you - one word -

SOLIDARITY - SOLIDARITY - SOLIDARITY - SOLIDARITY - SOLIDARITY - SOLIDARITY

I may not be so young now but I still can get around nicely I am with all of you - young - middle age - approaching retirement (keep hoping) - our Seniors -

SOLIDARITY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE WORLD OVER - SOLIDARITY

Thank You Best of Luck ............Good Night

irrationalexuberance
Excellant post but I fear the protestors are not intelligent enough to appreciate it. They seem too bound up in the lies and bull Obama has fed them. How did we raise such a generation of whiners and stupid kids? I think it started with Dr. Spock and those Spock raised kids just made it worse raising their kids. Give them everything, don't discipline them and don't aske them to earn anything and this is what you get when they have to face adversity put in place by their give away idols.

Persevere
Your world was one of SOCIALISM and your solidarity worked. However what you apparently do not understand is that these protestors are just the opposite. They have bought into Obama's blame against banks and Wall Street and the rich and want to do away with our free enterprise system of Capitalism and replace it with the very Socialism totalarism you were fighting against. So don't sympathize with them, tell them what fools they are being playing into the hands of Progresssives like that that formed you old Soviet Union.

ewent,
you obviously are just sitting there "volunteer" posting for Obama. Your rant makes no sense since it leaves out all the fault Obama and his like have in this whole thing, actually "everyone should own a home" is what caused this and Community Acitvists were at the start and Dems jumped right on board.
For all of you Obamanites who keep blaming Bush, tell me how many people around the world and in our country were protesting when he was President? And he was dealing with a Democrat controlled house and senate. It only took Obama and his czars along with bow tox babe and dirty harry to blow up the ecoomy totally and put our kids on the street protesting along with kids all over the world. NICE job. 2012 can't come soon enough.
sumatymrolls
I agree the politicians with corrupt corporate insiders should go. First GE's CEO can get out of the committee on jobs, what a joke after he moved the medical equipment operation to China and then in 2012 we can get his man Obama out of the Whitehouse. First thing we need to do when we take control of the House and Congress with either REpublicans but hopefully with a large number of new people Tea Party or otherwise, we can help the banks clean up all the mess of houses from the forced giving out loans that should not have been given, even if we have to tear down those empty houses and sell the land. Then we can get rid of Fannie and Freddie, Get rid of the FED and get control of our country back. Next comes outlawing lobbying period.
Then comes scraping the tax code and going to a simple flat income tax same percentage for all. No gimmics, no exclusions, no deductions, nothing and you will be amazed at how much the rich, and banks and corporatiolns pay and yet how well it all works because with everyone paying the same, everyone pays less and our jobs become more competitive but we still have plenty of money. That is exactly what the lying hiding politicians don't want you to know or be smart enough to figure out. No more free lunch for anyone.

And we won't have to break promises made to those who paid in for thier retirement and medical care without going broke as soon as we get illegals off our medicaid and school bills.

drewbot...Protestors have every right to protest peacefully and to assemble when their government has failed them. Read your Constitution. Or, have the righties created their own Constitution for Haves, Have Mores and Have Mosts?

Ewent, what on Earth does suggesting not to wear Guy Fawkes have to do with the right to protest? Drewbot did not say a thing that related to the right to protest. He just gave a suggestion that would actually help seeing that you support it.

And I have to agree with Drewbot. Guy Fawkes masks really make whatever you are protesting for, look bad. Even though I do not have an opinion either way on these protests.

2 guys were wearing those masks and I saw a guy in a lemon suit. So a total of 3 people in a crowd of thousands. And you call their protest aimless? You need to get some perspective. And when you do, then try to get a clue.

Boy, you guys really must have nothing to do! Who cares if they're wearing Guy Fawkes masks anyways? It's the message that's important, not their appearance.

You can go back to watching Dancing With The Stars now, since all you care about is appearances!

It's not aimless because of a lack of credibility. It's aimless so you can project your own needs and feelings onto the protest. Maybe this isn't about wall-street bail-outs, maybe it's about CEO compensations. Maybe it's not about that either, maybe it's about the lack of financial regulation. You're allowed to view the protest in whatever way you want. It's quiet ingenious.

I will give you this, though; those idiots from 4chan.org (Anonymous) and the Euro Anarchists are going to turn this violent in their respective countries.

:-\

lol @ 4chan being the root cause of the violence. You know so little...

Seems the caption under the photo of the guys in masks said they were in South Korea.

There is a very good reason to use a mask. Today, every phone user can take pictures of protesters that can be scanned by software to place a face at a protest, and then for the next 50 years tell potential employers that this person should not ever get a job. It is a kind of terrorism that was never faced by protesters of the 1960s: that your information will be stored FOREVER. Guy Fawkes here is not the violent person of history, but a reminder that our privacy has been invaded in every possible way, and instead of paying us for our information, our information is marketed to others, while we are billed monthly in so many ways that nobody was in the 1960s. New bills: extra "taxes" and "use fees" on phones; internet; cell phones; cable TV; much higher electricity bills; much higher heating bills; not to say rent/mortgage. And food. And medicine/doctors. etc. We pay and pay, but every purchase we make is cataloged and the marketing is focused and our phone numbers, computer e-mails, and addresses are sold to anybody. But now your face is also googled into every industry and police databank. So why not the mask?

so the OWS protesters wear Guy Fawkes masks and accuse corporations of being evil; tea partiers put on funny hats and accuse Obama of being (Hitler, Osama bin Laden, a monkey, ...) the thing is, both of these movements are rooted in disapproval of some government policies, and their complaints are not frivolous. The solutions offerred by the political leaders of these groups,who are motivated by their personal ambition, are wrong. The solution to an out of balance fiscal policy is not to dismantle our regulatory system and hand tax breaks to millionaires. That's stupid. The solution to out of balance income distribution is not to cripple our financial system. That's just as supid.

Really? Not wearing the masks will help, what about shorts or t shirts, is there a particular color that would be helpful or one that is harmful...I honestly don't think what they wear is the issue here, just my opinion...

lol @ 4chan being the root cause of the violence. You know so little...

Lulz... and you do?

Those masks are symbolisms of Greed. Guy Fawkes masks represent the same symbol. This is done all over the world. Only the guiltiest greedheads are nitpicking these protestors. It won't do a thing for their guilt.

This is why they want to get them out of Zucotti Park. They have to face their greed and like the stupid Aholes they are, they consider everyone who isn't in their class (NOCD - Not Our Class Dahling) unwashed masses.

Enough with that BS. They got wealth off the backs of everyone else. How much of a sweat did Madoff work up to steal $62 billion for 17 years? And he's just the tip of the iceberg.

Funny isn't it? For decades those who paid the most to make the rich richer, ignored what we shouldn't have and never once considered the thieves were helping themselves to more than they deserved.

Rules 1 and 2, c'mon guys!

The guy fawkes mask thing was abducted by 4chan, an internet pornography and special interest imageboard, which vaporizes any of its real world significance. Like a lot of of OWS protests around the world, this is another example of a fringe group trying to assimilate the protest to further its own agenda.

You can look at the history of 4chan's failed guy fawkes protests for several good reasons to keep the mask at home.

Support capitalism, buy a guy Fawkes mask. O' the irony!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/29/technology/masked-anonymous-protesters-aid-time-warners-profits.html

The 99'ers are protesting the ineffectiv­eness and the inequity of the Economy, because it is not working for 99% of the people Globally.

Before it use to be one country at a time, now thanks to Modern Communication it can be Global.....yeah to technology!

What- did those crying over the Guy Fawkes masks never see "V is for Vendetta"?

It was a movie about a huge backlash against totalitarianism- you know, the style of government so popular with the rich today- the puppeteers backstage of the Banana Republic that used to be the United States of America?

Not that blowing up the House of Parliament would actually accomplish much...but kicking over the rock underneath which corruption hides? Going to Wall Street instead of Washington- because everyone knows the latter is owned by the former? That's brilliant.

The masks are just a subtle reminder- a hint. If greed won't back down, if ethics can't be voluntarily refreshed by this morally bankrupt corporatocracy, a populist escalation isn't merely possible- it's inevitable.

FeO2...What a wonderful post! Best definition I've seen yet of the protest. Thank you sincerely.

I am not quite sure I understand this thing. Are they talking about the 99% of Americans that live better than 99% of the people of the world? I do feel guilty that we are afforded a better life over here but I am not sure I want to equalize the poverty of the world to become more like them. The world should see America as beacon to strive for not tear down to equalize. As you can see when people get together in socialist countries it turns to riots, no thanks.

We are going to use movies to represent our discontent over the government/rich? Movies make money, are designed to make money, and if they don't make money they are considered failures. I find the masks as credible as if Robin Hoods started parading down the street. Hiding your identity in a march which tries to give a face to economic disparity is unappealing to me. Other than the masks, I would support this protest though.

If people like DrewBot are unhappy with the Guy Fowlkes mask then that would seem all the more reason for wearing them. ;)

Now, if people who actually SUPPORT the Occupy protests had issues with the mask, you might take that a little more seriously.

@ Patrick Demarco

No, it's not about how Americans live in comparison to the rest of the world. It is about how corporations are given certain rights/power that citizens in America and the world are not afforded. It's about the relationship between governments and the powerful corporations/banks that seem to have those politicians in their pockets. More and more wealthy people and workers in the financial sectors have come out on blast against banks and politicians. They've blasted the corporations for the unfair treatment of citizens versus inhuman entities with more power, resources, and privilege. The whole world is in the grips of this problem to one extent or another, even here in the US.

Long overdue "Questionable Intentions".

Everyone does have the right to protest peaceably and respectfully. However, these people aren't being that peaceful, and they're certainly not respectful in the least. A few of their complaints may be legitimate, but instead of handling it like mature adults, they're acting like spoiled, entitled children, and yet they want people to take them seriously.

When they act as they do, their actions by far overshadow any message they may have. Ultimately, they're unhappy because they don't have jobs, and because rich people exist and they aren't one of them.

If they really wanted change, they should send out petitions, form a political group, work on laws and reforms getting passed, join the legislature, run for office, things like that.

When the tea party protested, yes they could get loud but for the most part they were civil. You didn't see them getting into clashes left and right, and yet people called them wackos. These people yell, scream, and disrespect everyone and everything but themselves, and people act like they're wonderful. Quite the double-standard.

Protesting is fine. Trying to get your voice heard is good. This, however, is not the way to go about doing it.

Ineptia,

Movies can also represent an idea. There are plenty of movie documentaries that are made just to voice one opinion or one fact. Not all movies are fiction and not all movies have no real world meaning.

V for Vendetta is probably one of the most symbolic movies of the decade because it was a movie about a man, screwed over by his government, that incited a protest against a Government that abused its populous and enforced its own agenda onto its people, suppressing their freedom.

Through V's actions he got nearly all of London to flood the streets in a protest against the very same Government that had been grinding them into the ground with their heels.

I still think the two single best quotes from that movie are:

"People should not be afraid of the Government, Government should be afraid of their people" and "Ideas are bulletproof".

They sum up this protest almost exactly. The OWS are not going to go away, the represent an ideal where morality actually exists in a corporate world where it is no longer dog eat dog. They believe in a Government where politicians can no longer get money for their votes, where Corporate interests no longer take precedent over American Citizens authority over the Government; in short a Government that is for the people and by the people only and where money is not a political chip to be played by some random, fat cat, faceless Banker/CEO/Lobbyist to try and sway the tides of law to their favor.

Change is inevitable, the only thing you can do is to prepare yourself for those changes. Wall Street is refusing to change, they refuse to lower their own wages so that people can keep their jobs, so that they can contribute to the betterment of the nation. Instead they are giving out bonuses to Execs who fire the most people to generate obscene profits when demand is way in the crapper or to CEO's that send off thousands of jobs to China under the scapegoat of anti-business regulations and laws.

Something has got to give and many American's no longer have anything to lose. What do you think will win out, an archaic system being pushed along by the top 1% or the bottom 99% who want the old system replaced by something fair, modern, and efficient?

FeO2

You do realize who Guy Fawkes was and why it is a "Guy Fawkes" mask?

This dude was tired of he @!$%# and tried to take down the system. He failed but the spirit of it was of the people.

I ask you all to realize these protests have not resulted in one looting. These protests..for whatever reason or group..are the American Spirit. I applaud you all.

I read this article and my heart sang.

We want REAL DEMOCRACY and not fraud, corruption, incestuous relationships between government and corporate America.

Stop corporate sponsored government.

No more representative government.

Direct vote on line-item legislation via Internet.

The Federal Reserve and Central Banks MUST disclose line item accounting.

Interest on OUR money MUST come back to us and reported by the GAO.

Stop all wars NOW!

Stop all foreign aid, except for hunger and medicine.

Freeze Pentagon investments for two years.

Are they against corporations like Coke, Boeing, Ford, General Mills? They seem to support fund managers like Buffett and Soros. Do they support Goldman Sachs? Why is Goldman Sachs one of President Obama's biggest supporters? Would they take a job with a Fortune 500 company? I am very curious. I wish there was better reporting on this. Personally I think the big investors and politicians that screwed Americans need to go to jail. I do not think the corporations are bad. It's the investment bankers and hedge fund managers.

Patrick, nobody can answer those questions because the majority if these people don't know why they are there. Regardless of where you get your news every protestor they ask this question to has a different answer yet somehow this is called organized. Here in Denver people finally woke up and started enforcing the rules and kicked the clowns out of the park. There were 23 people arrested and of those 7 had previous criminal records for things such as domestic violence, burglary, assault, drug dealing, etc. When you put that with the numerous reports of drug use, dealing, law breaking and incoherent message, it is easy to see why the OWS people are getting nowhere. Not to mention the New York Times survey that showed a majority of these people felt that the USA is as bad as the Taliban. Is it any wonder that nobody in America is listening to these clowns. I would say if things are so bad in this country where you are born free and live free, you are more than welcome to move somewhere else. I am sure that Iran, Libya, Syria, China, North Korea and the many other wonderful countries out there would accept these clowns with open arms.

Not to burst your bubble, but didn't the original depression bank failures occur over night because people panicked and withdrew all their money from the bank? I guess if you're putting it into a credit union though it's a different story..

Elizabeth, wearing a mask while committing a crime is a felony in most US jurisdictions even if the crime being committed is a not. Being part of a group engaged in criminal activity makes all the participants equally guilty in some jurisdictions and under federal law. Anyone who furthered or facilitated the crime(s), like your mother who gave you a ride to the scene, may also be equally criminal, whether or not she had knowledge of the events that were to occur. Taking a picture of a felony(s) in progress with your iphone instead of taking action to stop it, makes the photographer a criminal also...

Go ahead take off that mask mother bought you and use your iPhone. Make sure you have bail money in your pocket too.

Just Back -

@Fe02 Dreams - Yes I remember the movie now though I missed the connection to what is estimated to be occurring in 951 cities across the world. If this can grow to thousands and tens of millions possibly a few hundred million people (say 50 million plus a general over-all shut down) and a shut down of the system that grinds you and yours for what success you can carve out of this life. We change the world this generation a tipping point in our common world. The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step.

Let us look briefly at our national university system our national educational goals. After the dollar amount you and your entire, including extended family, family pay in taxes (property especially that is what it is here used for plus the Lotto profit in CA., plus affirmative action and Federal money) you are not getting some "free" ride yes a hand up (the complainers kids are too stupid) this tradition keeps us strong as one nation.

You will have to scrimp and scrape your way to some degree of success (graduation). But you never have to be made to feel as if you have received some Royal Grant allowing a special privilege. I have paid plenty in taxes (my family too) that the allotment was for you to go to a university, that (was the promise, for those without funds) you enter a four year university which you could not afford on your own and receive an education which in my hopes you would inspire others of less means that there is hope (I with your help, you become a role model). You may say that is my vision of a just society and I am willing and able to pay for my share.

These money vultures will point with unequaled grandiloquence at the greatness of America (even the founding fathers), they forget that a bunch of us simple property owners are charged plenty (propety taxes) for our California College University System.

The pay of the management is obscene, the pay of the teachers and professors must be at a level to attract the best, but we have low cost brilliance here waiting for their pink slips because they are not "tenured". A broken system rewarding mediocrity and no consideration of meritocracy they are not mutually exclusive this is not a zero sum game.

Has anyone bothered to see what it cost to attend a good university? The cost of everything? - come on - you know everything from a water bill to a text book everything costs (has anyone seen? have you seen what one text book costs in today's cost?). Now, lets not forget those costs are now (always have been) in easy reach of the 1% but for the 99% yes we find a way to do it as we mortgage our homes, take on two jobs and those of us that made it "the hard way", we all have our stories no silver spoons none expected.

I do not want these kids to have a "free lunch" but no lunch? Not in my America, in my America a stint in the peace corps is mandatory and or community work as in teaching there are so many great ideas out there but not for the greedy, uptight raciest the misogynist (not my fault girls reject you) the misanthropic uptight slime bathing in luxurious hedonism with of course the finest of Togas to wear: let them be just keep them away from our money and getting their greasy sticky little fingers on any of it, make them earn and sweat for their money.

THIS IS ONE - A MAJOR ONE - BUT ONE OF THE GRIVEVANCES OF THESE KIDS -

You wrecked the pride of the workd, if I may say so I seen kids from all ove the world attend my university - why come all the way across the world? The shinning example of an affordable university education for a middle class family. You have to wonder why don't these kids just go home but now there are people of all ages - NOW THERE ARE PEOPLE OF ALL AGES JOINING THE KIDS - SENIORS MARCHING WITH THEIR GRANDCHILDREN OR THOSE OF AN AGE TO BE THEIR GRANDCHILDREN -

MANY OF YOU JUST DON'T GET IT -

PS: Geowil Post #4.25 - yes you clarify what is intimated, I only seen it once I will see it again, what I can remember but you make much sense to me - Thank You.

EWENT - Yes I mentioned that if the real world around financial crash happens that the bank doors will be closed (the banks do not keep all of our deposits in the bank only a very, very small fraction). The ATM's will be out of cash by the time you get to one, your credit cards will not work they are tied to bank credit lines and will be reduced to a beast looking for that hand out you detest so much. I am reading anew the conditions of The Great Depression I find it difficult to think a populace could be reduced to a subistance level of existence. Yes there was a 1% then too but that figure was more of about 17% to 20% plus. To read of the total collpase and the consequences of the 2008 "just miss" crash and what will happen if this derivative and swaps market goes belly up I do not want to believe we could be reduced to chaos so quickly it is startling. I say this because of I read of your two Uncles and yes this matches up with what I am reading of the day to day life of Americans circa 1932. - Good Luck

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10+ ! MikeyD <(^J^)>

Gonna get much worse before it gets better.

@ewent - I'd like to point out that they are protesting corporations while generating revenue and providing free advertising to Warner Brothers by wearing the masks. It just seems kind of silly.

yea larry the politicians did all that by their little ole selfs. it could not have possibly been a byproduct of huge campaign donations and lobbyist bribes that the politicians received from the corporations. you know the ones that ended up with the most benefits from the deregulations and free trade agreements so they could outsource the work. hmm and dems didnt make the free trade agreement with china they shipped our work to mexico. the reps did the free trade with china. they are all corrupt both dems and reps.

Politicians didn't repackage toxic mortgages into worthless mortgage backed securities, politicians didn't pay ratings agencies to give those worthless mortgage backed securities undeserved AAA ratings so that they could be sold to investors to make obscene profits and crash the economy. The people responsible for that need to be held responsible for those crimes (and yes, that is absolutely a felony crime).

Larry...you're way off...

Z1P2 Notice how not one of the paid trolls have commented on your excellent post. Even when the truth is as plain as day, they either scratch their heads wondering what our young people are protesting about or they tell them to shut up and go home. I am an old grandma, and I am ashamed of what my generation has done to our young people.

Nope your not right ZIP, certain politicians like Barney Frank when he was in assisting with Freedie Mac and Fannie Mae, proposed and got passed deregulation laws because "every American should own a home". When you open the door to financing that is not sound then in walk the people who shouldn't be buying a home.

What you also have are people buying second homes in 2003-2006 down in Florida where I live making a turn of 20-30 grand on the flip. Eventually after the hurricanes everyone got scared because of all the devastation which was one of the causes of the collapse. Improper laws and regulation concerning the loans were another portion. Were there greedy people that made bad decisions in corporations, yes there were...but there was a large amount of Americans that were attempting to hold 3 mortgages hoping to run the flip so get the money on the back end.

With the drop of the construction needs, due to the lack of new purchases reduced a significant amount of hard goods demands which in turn made everything else fall like dominoes.

I love how you liberals or 99ers want to blame all the big corporations for the bad things that are happening. Yet a large majority of you will give Obama a pass, especially after he just appointed the GE CEO as his jobs czar. You know, the company that made billions in profits last year, but just closed a large plant in Wisconsin and sent those jobs to China, oh yeah AND DIDN'T PAY ANY TAXES LAST YEAR!!!

You want a solution, here is your solution:

Not be lazy a_— Americans that think they are to good for a menial labor job.

Close the borders and enforce immigration laws so American's can go back to work.

Understanding what living within your means actually is.

Deregulating new business laws so entrepreneurship can flourish and create jobs.

There are many more that I could go into, so momgam and Zip, there is a coherent answer to the post. It isn't so much that no one wants to respond...but that you do not want to listen to the response.

larry, It's politicians with no sense of honor and integrity who buy into that ton of moolah the Have Mosts wave in their faces. It shows the inherent weakness in men who can't make a solid commitment to the jobs they've been elected to. This is why President Obama will be re-elected.

When all is out there on the table, he is the only candidate who tried to make changes that were needed 30 years ago but were never intended to be addressed until all Americans were living in 3rd world conditions.

If you think people deserve to be in jail, that would need to come from the government. For the most part, that hasn't happened mainly because what they did was not illegal. It may have been risky and put everybody in jeopardy, but so far it does not appear to be illegal. It is my understanding that the government has spent a good deal of money trying to go after the guilty, but have come up with NADA.

3 years later we are still pointing fingers at the other guy, when we should be pointing the finger closer to home. Consumers ran up debt they knew they could not pay back. Banks lent money they knew they could not pay back. Rating agencies rated financial instruments incorrectly because they were paid by those they were rating. The system was flawed and everybody knew that including the government. The government wanting to buy votes urged banks to make flawed loans because Fannie and Freddie would scoop them up and take the hit if necessary.

Please....stop with the political nonsense. Both parties appeased donors, voters, and failed to do the right thing because they would not have kept their jobs. The public doesn't want to hear the truth. They still don't. It is like Obamacare. Who in the world really thinks that adding 35 million uninsured to the already broken system will not ultimately break it and cause even more economic turmoil. Those not insured are high risk. Obama lied to all of us that we could keep our present insurance. He knew better. He just wanted to sell another flawed program to get re-elected.

It is the short-term gains that always win. The future is never considered.

Ewent,

What change did he try to instill by infringing on individual state liberties with the Obama Health Care plan. That is the only change he has made in three years other than doubling the deficit more than Bush's in 1/3 of the time. The fact that individuals such as yourself cannot see past the "hope and change" for what it truly is, a larger unsustainable Government is where the problem lies.

I would truly like for you to tell me other than the Obama Health Care that he actually states he modeled after Romney's, What has this President taken ownership of?

larry-2037452

Funny none of them realize that the politicians have set
themselves up with a sweat deal.

Best healthcare at there expense. Immune from insider trading
crimes. Rarely work. Yet they are blaming the rich who have earned their wealth by creating business and jobs for them. It is in fact the politicians who have sold them out they should be blaming. It was the democrats AND REPUBLICANS who decided years ago that we would change to a service oriented society and ship our
manufacturing jobs to China.

There, fixed it for ya!

I hate to shatter your myth Larry. The uber wealthy inherit a good deal of their fortunes.

Z1P2

Politicians didn't repackage toxic mortgages into worthless mortgage backed securities, politicians didn't pay ratings agencies to give those worthless mortgage backed securities undeserved AAA ratings so that they could be sold to investors to make obscene profits and crash the economy. The people responsible for that need to be held responsible for those crimes (and yes, that is absolutely a felony crime).

momgam

Z1P2 Notice how not one of the paid trolls have commented on your excellent post. Even when the truth is as plain as day, they either scratch their heads wondering what our young people are protesting about or they tell them to shut up and go home. I am an old grandma, and I am ashamed of what my generation has done to our young people.

That's right, but they did gut the regulations that might have pevented it, starved the agencies that were supposed to do the oversight and when it came to investigation of the wrongs that were done, choose to turn a blind eye and reward with bailouts with your money and in fact there is a move in motion already to settle with all the big banks on the fraudulent forclosures and give immunity from further action by the people who were wronged. Then the giant forclosure machine, presently on hold, will fire up again at rates even bigger than before

Former...

The only other issue that I can remember Mr. Obama having "taken ownership" of besides his recent avalanche of "Pass My Plan" bleetings was the Osama Bin Laden takedown...he strode right up to the cameras and said things like "once I determined" and "I directed" to declare absolute ownership of the military's successful operation.

One simply has to wonder how much "ownership" the president would have "taken" had the operation not succeeded ?

Larry, you are an idiot toady of the corporate system as it has been for about the time of the '70's but much more so late 80's into the 90's in this century.

Don't mistake small businesses with large corporations. The larger corporations grew by exploiding labor. And they did so by paying poltiicians not to screw with them. To make globlization tought in every college and univeristy in the world. To make people in Asian, South American, and other areas with very poor feel like they were about to really benefit. It was exploitation pure and fact. And its showing its ugly head. You can only spin it for so long. And its over. We realize it. The world realizes it.

It has to change. One way or the other. Corporations will need severe limits. They should not participate with their own money in political campaings. And corporations should not grow to a size that sucks competition dry and forces remaining competition to exploit workers.

The corporate system has worked for a very few at the expense of everyone else. There are fixes. But we must gain control over our governments before we can even have a voice to make those changes.

I personally think in most countries, it will end up being violent. Because the greedy pigs at the top will never let go of power.

Former Sargent...I'm paying for your healthcare. Should you deserve more than someone who is working 3 jobs to keep a roof over their head and then have lousy healthcare?

Come off that BS routine. The HCA was long overdue. Only red staters who mostly get their healthcare from the federal which means the rest of us are against having to finally pay for their healthcare.

As a former military, I'm surprised you haven't credited him with one of the most sophisticated military and defense programs. But then of course that would mean having to admit this president has the courage of his convictions.

Just once I'd love to see all the cheap asses in this country who have the raisins to deny others the healthcare they get from us admit they are elistist American Aristocracy.

I don't deny military the privilege of having the rest of us pay for their healthcare. I cut off when they insist I have to be a hostage of Big Insurance HMOs and pay ten times what I pay for your healthcare. Sorry. Get another argument.

if you are really former military then you must know about the move afoot which a private advisory group( the pension board)recommends a change to the military retirement system from a fixed pay after serving and retirement to a 401(k) system managed by banks, insurance and wall street. So much for Support The Troops.

I am former military and had no idea.....

Jeremy...I heard about this about 2 weeks ago on one of the AARP blogs. I am appalled. First we send our military to fight in Iraq when it was, even by their own admission now, a useless hugely costly war in terms of human life and defense spending. Now they want to suck the life out of any military benefits?

And you should know that the 2 biggest twerps of the Tea Party are the chief sponsors of that bill. Neither of whom ever saw a day of action much less were ever military. Cantor and Ryan.

Question: What is the quickest way to have 90% of the active duty and retired US Servicemen at your doorstep?

Tell them the retirement pension they have been working for in sweat blood and tears has been a lie. Don't kid yourself, I fought for liberty but the retirement PROMISE is a PROMISE and I expect it delivered upon.

For sure our military personal deserve retirement. I would not put it past some congressmen to try such a deceit.

Amen, brutha.

Ewent is a troll for the Ultra left. I am personally tired of his BS. Everybody, every bank, every company has robbed everyone he knows. He has NO personal responsibilty for his own well being. He is a victim.

He is an expert on the Great Depression becuase he talked to his Uncles. Well my friend I talked to my grandfather who lived the Great Depression and he told me to be frugal and save your money for a rainy day because you can't depend on anyone else but yourself.

If Ewent wants to make a difference he needs to run for office or start a business.

MikeR...If you are tired, go to sleep. If you are unable to admit to the mess the right wing neocons made for 8 years, get a clue. If you are clueless, get a life.

You bet I'm an expert on the Great Depression. My parents were Great Depression people. Unlike the Daycare Generation of 30, 40 and 50 somethings who think the rest of us have to take their narcissism and stuff it.

I'm a woman. Not a man. I owned a business at age 17 in 1964 until 1980. If you have any math skills you can then figure out my age. I'm also a published author. I have 3 jobs.

I work my ass off and I am most of all, most of all, sick and tired of twerps of Daycare thinking my paycheck is their to play with. Grow up little man. Your generation thinks they can just sit on their asses in front of computers or text all day and then do 20 minutes worth of actual work and get a week's salary.

I know how much smarter I am than most neocons. They voted twice for a 3 time failure before he was ever president and then had the gall to allow a Halliburton CEO to run the country from his VP office.

MikeR is trying to impress the rest of the world how being part of the McMansioner generation is supposed to prove their success and their achievements. These are the junior geniuses who make shop till they drop an addiction. Then, they wonder why they are in debt and need McMommy and McDaddah's help.

Ewent..ma'am...I am almost your age with 10 years in the USAF. I have been out of the military for 30 years. Do the math yourself. You're respnse is rambling. You are a far left troll with nothing but bitterness. The problems in this country are both Democrat and Republican responsibilites. They both are at fault. Anarchy is not the solution. the banks aren't the problem. They LOANED the money to people who couldn't afford it. Congress directed it. Wall Street packaged and bundled it as though thely were sound loans. Investor beware. It's a mess.

Big business isn't moving one inch until Obama is out and they know if Obama care is going forward or not. As a former business person you must remember that you have to plan and budget.

How are ignorant I don't know why I'm here protestors occupying parks going to solve this?

Mike,

the protests will grow..it is our form of incramentalism.

A guy gets arrested

A guy gets arrested taking a mic from a congressman

A guy gets arrested for throwing a rock at a cop

A guy gets arrested for pouring water on the shoes of a cop

A cop tazers an innocent person

Then one day a gun a is fired and it is Kent State part 2

The cops bring out their guns but learn that the people are not college students but rather armed Americans.

It is the process to get the system to listen. In France it starts with bails of hay set on fire being drug and left in the hot tourist spots.

I believe you are proven totally and completely wrong.

If Solyndra is funding these protests, that is a phenomenal waste of money. As many other Fox News watching conservatives point out, the group has no message. The global movement doubly so.

What purpose does holding Occupy protests globally serve to influencing the US? The US doesn't care what the rest of the world thinks, never have.

I'm amazed that you think the Occupy movement is so large as to cause enough civil unrest to declare martial law. Most Fox News watching conservatives paint Occupy as a small group of filthy hippies doing drugs and littering.

Have you read the comments being made by the people in OWS? This is only the beginning.

Wake up America. How many times have you heard that in the past few years?

If you truely believe all that, you should check yourself into a mental ward... they can help you with that paranoia you claim to be suffering from.

You have to look at what lies beneath OWS. OWS is using the same thing Obama used to get elected. The protesters are being led down a path of fase hope for change.

Common sense is not so common. To figure out what is true add up the things that make sense and subtract the things that do not make sense.

correction

The protesters are being led down a path of false hope for change.

Protest as opposed to stuffing down the BS we've been handed by the rich, for the rich, of the rich since Reagan? Check GAO records. The stagnation of salaries began with his administration. Gingrich's "Contract For America" was really GOP double talk for a "Contract ON America".

Here is a fact for you ewent, Ben and Jerry's that is now supporting OWS had a CEO salary cap that couldn't be more than 6 times that of any employee. They finally figured out that intelligent people who require pay for their efforts would not come there unless they were going to be paid. So they eliminated the cap, brought in a new CEO who turned the company around.

Tell me, where is the double standard at? Everyone thinks that occupations such as McDonalds should pay for the health care of the employees, but if you tally up the amount it would cost them, they would have to raise the prices of their food...driving the customer to the competitor and putting McDonald's out of business. As well as putting a ton of employee's on the unemployment line.

The problem with the OWS folks is they have no business sense. They want to tax the rich in order to have them pay for their schooling so they don't have to take a loan.

This self entitlement BS is what is bringing this country down. No one owes you sh_t, you need to go out there and earn what you want. That is the problem with these hippie pinko's, running around with smart phones and I pads, or I touches...yea, there is no disconnect what so ever with what they are preaching vs what they are practicing.

Jeffrey, you really like the sound of your own typing, don't you? Really, how many times are you going to spam post everyone's comments, including your own!?

And FormerSGT, no one really thinks they're going to get some kind of cash handout from all this. Remember, people with jobs are supporting the Occupation too. It's not about people wanting handouts, it's about people wanting a FAIR chance to work toward their American Dream. The 99% want the 1% to quit buying the politicians who are supposed to be making things possible for us to succeed. We don't want handouts, we want financial fairness.

FormerSgt, you are so right. People just need to quit coveting what other people have, realise that everyone is not entitled to have internet connection, cable, or a cell phone. The government, which has been controlled by the democrats 70% of the time have created this entitlement mentality. It's because of higher taxes, the fear of cost of Obamacare and higher regulations that have caused much of the disparity going on right now. It didn't help that our country decided to bail out some of the some banks and car manufacturers. The people protesting now are the generation of EVERYBODY GETS A TROPHY and now they want there "trophy" without actually working for it.

Some of you guys are looking at things too narrowly. When you have huge corporations making huge amounts of money with executives receiving 7+ figure bonuses at a time when unemployment is at a record high and large portions of the population is underemployed, we have a serious societal problem. This isn't an issue about someone coveting someone's yacht or entitlement. This is about a growing income gap that only continues to grow larger because the system is skewed towards those people at the top tier. There are people in the protests who WANT to work, but aren't being allowed to because the jobs just aren't there.

I know some people don't know it, but a minimum wage job is not a "living wage" anymore. Just try to work a minimum wage job with no insurance and have to make an emergency trip to the hospital for anything. After doing this for a year and finding yourself in debt up to your elbows you will want to join these people. Especially when you look at the CEO of the company you work for and see that he makes millions before his bonus as he says you are the backbone of the company and gives you a gold star for pulling them through the "rough times where we all had to make sacrifices".

Former Sargent...You just happened to mention one company run by liberals who have the temerity to do the right thing. Now...YOu want to explain why Blankfein has a 26% increase in HIS salary since 2009 which is already in the hundred millions?

Go to the GAO website. There you will find the actuality of what these greedy SOBs have done. Their salaries in 1980 were 250% higher than their lowest paid employee. In 2011? It's 426% higher than their lowest paid employee.

Need more proof of greed than that? Come off the BS about poor lil billionaires.

How could a bankrupt company like Solyndra fund anything? Get real.

If you are working for minimum wage its because you have minimum skills, and whose fault is it that you have minimum skills, and you definitely arent the backbone of any company.

Ewent it is none of your business how much they are paid. What do propose going out and arresting people who make too much money.

You are bitter and pissed like the rest of them in the parks because you are not the performers necessary in market based business. Therefore not wanted and not paid much. Capitalism separates the wheat from the chaff.

MikeR...It IS MY business how much they are paid. They make it our business the minute THEIR business goes public. I propose forcing the CEO salaries down to earth. Can the American Aristocrat BS. Most Americans know they put their pants like we all do...one leg at a time.

I am not going to defend a need to feed guilt on the part of those who are the greatest offenders of greed. I had a very successful business. I made a great career change. It's called "life".

Capitalism doesn't steal $62 billion in retirement funding from investors does it? Capitalism doesn't steal 33,000 Enron 401Ks does it?

Stow that "Greed Is Good" BS. I am a stellar performer in my own right. I don't brag about it. I don't have to. Most truly professional people never do. You are too immature to understand what defines truly professional people.

Too bad greed and $$$$$$$$$$$$$ have blinded your sense of ethics. Your way and any fleabitten crook gets to rip off the entire country and never suffer a single pang of guilt. Sorry, get thee to a confessional if guilt be the driving force behind such defensive posts.

ivan - when Former Sgt mentioned health care, that's not the same as coveting frickin' cell phones and cable tv.

If McDonalds, for example, will not - cries poor that they can not - provide health care to their employees, due to becoming uncompetitive on product price with the likes of, say Wendy's, that doesn't cut it for me. ALL of these corps need to provide basic benefits, and charge more for their burgers and fries.

OR - have a gov't option National Healthcare, that these corporations can happily flip their employees into. You know they want to.

Why do I even care, you might ask? Because we insured folks are having to subsidize the UNinsured. Because HMOs shove the costs of the uninsured onto the taxpayer - and also the old/sick/injured, with gov't run programs. Medicare (not free, but they are not paying enough), Medicaid (indigent old folks/the poor), Tricare (military families and injured warriors) - the HMOs cherry pick the healthy and let the taxpayer pick up the rest.

Don't start that "it's not constitutional" bull, making people pay something for their health care. SOMETHING. For basic. Or, tell emergency rooms to bar patients with no insurance, and let people die on the sidewalk outside - that is NEVER going to happen - so set up a sort of "Medicare for all ages", a gov't option - NOT FREE. (The old, sick, indigent will still be free, like now, but the rest need to pay something.)

Mike,

Is that why Leo Apetheker got a $2+ million dollar performance bonus plus another $11 million in stocks/options for tanking HP's stock by 40% in his 7 month tenure? I know jack about running a multibillion dollar company, but I doubt I could have done worse!

You can be a CEO, make 100 times what the average Joe makes, and still take home a monster paycheck. What you don't pay the CEO and the board of directors can go a long way to providing health care, hiring more workers, doing R&D, growing the business, buying a startup, expanding, or one of a million other useful things than lining the pockets of already well off people.

Cass...You know the biggest reason for national healthcare insurance mandates in foreign countries? The fear of a epidemic brought into the country by people from other countries.

All it takes is one deadly contagion to put the healthcare reform bashers minds right. They'd no more inflict a deadly contagion upon their kids than they would themselves. This is the issue they like to ignore most when it comes to national healthcare.

Pragmatic...I agree. Most of the problems with corporations lies with what they term "profit". I've done accounting for my own small business as well as later on for a medium sized business.

I know that when a company ignores all the red flags and consolidates a budget so that 80% of incoming income is called "profit" and then tax breaks, credits, exemptions and subsidies go on the Profit and Loss sheet as "income", while high risk investments become "losses" that add even more profit to the business, this means the business operates on the basis of reliance upon tax breaks and high risk investments as part of annual profit.

The problem with that is the fluidity of government revenues and ability to reconceptualize incoming taxes from individual Americans and smaller businesses as a substitution for high percentages of loss revenue from too many tax breaks.

Add an unnecessary war or two and the bills to the government just flow like a river while the tax breaks do as well. It's an environment of "What Goes In, Goes Right Back Out".

FormerSGT - You just pointed out the biggest flaw in Capitalism. The problem is that corporations wouldn't exist but for the people that comprise them. The focus of almost any corporation is to make money. Therefore, they value the dollar more than what they are made of. They are self destructive entities. They don't make sense. They are all doomed to fail eventually. What is happening now is that the people who control the corporations are trying to preserve their own illusion of wealth over that of the people who support them, and the quality of the products that they manufacture. Both of choices kill the corporation. The system is broken and it is in its death throes. The only thing to be done is to give it back to the people and the people decide what the new system is.

Steve,

You saying minimum wage workers are not the backbone of a company tells me you haven't been in any situation that you get paid less than you are worth. This is the whole point. I know people that have masters degrees and have decades of experience and get paid minimum wage or very near minimum wage.

If you really don't think a minimum/ near minimum wage worker is the backbone of a company then just go to a grocery store and eliminate about 80% of the employees. Then see if that store can run. Believe me it WILL NOT.

You are also assuming more skills = higher pay, NEWS FLASH, they don't if the CEO is trying to make more money for the investors and himself. If I do the job of 2 people I should get twice the pay right? Well I don't and rarely does this happen in a corporation.

I was raised that you work your butt off and you will be rewarded. I have been, with more responsibilities and the same paycheck.

steve - You are so wrong. The lowest working class is the backbone of ANY and EVERY company. Try to do business with dirty floor, stinking restroom, sticky doorknobs, and overflowing trash cans. The upper executives sure aren't going to do it. They can only gripe when such things happen. Consuela comes in late at night and does it and Mr. Executive doesn't even know her name. She is the one keeping customers coming in the door and never gets thanked for it. Then she hears that for all her hard work and low pay, the powers that be make a rule that her family can't come to live with her even though she has saved for years to bring them into the U.S. so they too can work minimum wage jobs to keep the ball rolling. THIS is why there are protesters everywhere now.

Protesters are everywhere because the world economy is about to collapse. Socialist governments in Europe , are responsible of their failure, their governments spend more money in social programs than they can get in taxes. Japan is another example of government intervention with dire consequences. Most of the protesters demand more and don't want to share the failure of their socialist systems. They demand deeper changes , more taxes to the rich, more democracy, referendums , some of the extremist with Che Guevara hats call for revolution destroying private property and burning cars like is happening in Rome. However we can't stop rich get richer , but we can make change how the Government make business behind closed doors with lobbyist of Corporations and other groups of interest in disregard of the people that elect them. We must end with the government corruption that start with eliminating all kind of collective contributions, that require a lot of effort to get our demand and petitions thought the democratic channels, but not with this kind of protest that don't go anywhere.

You know what? I've been hearing about "U.S. Imperialism" for years.

If the US was actually Imperialists, Cuba would be a US state, we would own the oil fields in Iraq, Japan would be a US territory etc. The US does not "rule" other countries and distant rule over a society if a prerequisite of Imperialism.

In fact I wish the US was more like other countries. We wouldn't have spent billions of tax dollars helping rebuild countries after wars and would have taken more of the "spoils of war" in the form of natural resources etc from defeated foes.

If the world is going to hate us no matter what we do, we might as well have benefited.

Sounds good John, I've felt for years that since we were, and still are, the biggest and the baddest, we should have acted like it and moved on to establishing a new world order, lol, under the control of America. But, we did fight a world war to stop that sort of thing and where are we now? Trying to maintain a good quality of life here, with the barbarians coming over the wall.

John, I know of no developed countries who have defied the
dictates of the Geneva Convention by actually confiscating land and resources
with the exception of the criminal and rogue state of Israel.

I do believe the definition of “imperialism” has been
expanded to include the indirect control and influence of one country over
another. Of this the US is most definitely guilty as charged.

John, Its not about whether other countries are doing right or wrong. Nobody wants to be policed and US acts like the sheriff of the world. Leave them alone. Good for USA, good for them. If somebody invades america, fight them but what is the need to have bases all over the world and interfering in other countries internal affairs. Nobody wants a self declared savior of the world.

John...Cuba isn't a state because of rebels like Che Guevara and Fidel Castro. Cubans got fed up being taken by Big Businessmen. These guys were demonized as anti-American and Americans were fed lies to hide who really was at fault for the anti-American Cubans...Check out which 2 presidents owned 11 sugar plantations down in Cuba and used cheap foreign labor they couldn't get Americans to do in a heartbeat.

This addiction by Big Business to cheap labor is what this protest is all about. Right now there are Big Business Aholes buying up land rights with known water aquifers so they can then sell water to Americans at high, higher and highest profits.

First it was land rights to oil and minerals and now it's water. When does this stop? When does the US government own up to the kiss ass policies that allow all of the US's most precious natural resources to be sold off to the highest bidders with the deepest pockets?

Think it can't happen? Take a look at what's going on in countries in Africa. Mr. Moolah knows if he can own water aquifers, he's got all of us bagged in his back pocket.

Ewent...Cuba is a perfect example of why we want capitalism.

You want to live in Cuba? Do you? Everybody is equal. The Gov't owns you. No fat cats. Perfect right?

MikeR...Those sanctions against Cuba never would have occured if not for your brand of "capitalism". The US is at fault for the mess in Cuba and always will be. When you allow Big Business to invade a country like Cuba, turn it into a hot spot for casinos that make rich Americans richer and who can only get that way by underpaying native Cubans, you get a revolt.

It's why you now have the same kind of revolt coming from our young people. They and their parents got zapped by greedy colleges and universities with enormous loans that pulverized personal household incomes and now there are no jobs for those with degrees. How is that not dumbing down America?

We don't need "fat cats" in this country if they can't keep their syrupy mitts out of our paychecks. If they can't learn to live on their incomes without greedy, beady-eyed sniffing around for an annual salary increase they don't even deserve, why the hell should the rest of the country pay for their greed addictions?

Ewent, they had a revolution in 1959, they are communists, they installed missiles in 1962. That is why there are sanctions. Do you really think anybody who has ever read a history book is going to buy your version? Cuba was and is a 3rd world country. They have not advanced under the utopia you propose.

We all miss the cigars and wish they would get their act together.

Cuba is an example of the failure of the anti-capitalism and free market , a country where the repression , punishment and incarcerating political opponents is the way to maintain the power, Cuba got help from Russia another failure socialist country that end transferring the wealth from the rich to members of the socialist party now owner of big corporations.

oudog, let's just start with the last real empire shall we? The British! The Russians, Germans, Ottomans, etc. including all the countries in Europe all stripped resources and land as part of Imperialism. Britain even fought more than a few wars to keep the empire going! The US war of Independence is not part of that since the US was an example of colony not an imperial controlled country.

Sid, it's lose both ways. We don't do anything, we get slammed internationally, we do do something, more of the same. So don't give me that international policeman bit. We can't win either way. The fall of the USSR was the worst thing that happened to the US. At least with them still around we had a balance of power between Communism and Democracy. Ask Kissinger about why the US being the only superpower is a bad thing. He warned us about that over 30 years ago.

Ewent, you seem to forget that there was a war in the 18th century with Spain that we won and could have taken Cuba right then. That's what I am referring to! So go on with your little spiel about the big bad US and capitalism. The fact is what it is. If we were Imperialist in the late 18th century like the European powers were, Cuba would be a US state right now!

John - we did not want the darkies we only wanted to control them, take Gitmo, and plunder the resources as we did (until Castro) in league with the Oligarchic families a perfect arrangement but as usual the parasites and big farming interests that in that time used the "sharecropper" methodology to exploite the Cuban common man and his family but then as now insatiable greed brought the party to an end. History depicts a trumped up war via what was and is now referenced as "yellow press". The Hearst papers greatest expertise especially through the manipulation of public opinion by that wonderful example of Aristocratic debaucheries that lout and impotent fat ass Hearst the head of the Hearst propaganda empire machine with its tentacles everywhere, its rabid anti-unionism and the other unsavory actions of this lunatic (Hearst) a real model of virtue. Read of his personal values as lived not as preached his buying out true real truthful publicans to stifle free speech, oh yeah a real model of virtue.

Get your facts straight then post................

John, if you care to read the 1949 Geneva Convention and laws of war you will see that my statement is quite correct.

You 2 are a couple of clowns. The history of the Cuba and the US goes back further than than Castro and the Imperialism goes back a lot further than 1949. I know they only teach agenda based history anymore but really!

Darkies? Really? Persevere, the use of that word is despicable.

Jeffrey, martial law in America is implemented to secure freedom, not destroy it. To protect the citizen from rule by the gun, wielded by thugs in the streets. Is the freedom of the thug the freedom you want to protect?

I agree Jeffrey.

Mellow: Martial law WILL result in our freedoms being taken away. Regulation which infringes upon those rights will be enacted. All to say it's "for our own protection". I would like to point to a movie that is fictional but is a good example of what is possible, V for Vendetta. Watch it and ignore the vigilante justice side and look at the oppression of the people "for their own protection".

mellowfello - When they implement it for my own protection you will see me running with the thugs as you call them, locked and loaded.We the people own America not the politicians and police.

They would be very foolish to try that with so many fresh veterans in America not to mention the Vietnam vets that are still pissed and old enough to not have much to lose.

Vets know what the fight for freedom means and martial law is not a part of that.

They don't need to impose martial law to take away our freedoms. It has been going on for generations. Just recently some state senators from New York introduced a bill making free speech a government granted right, not an automatic right bestowed by the Creator for being born a human being. Their reasoning? To save children from "cyberbullying." Ladies and gentlemen, we are protesting the wrong things. While we squabble about how much trash is on the ground at these rallies or whether it is in poor taste to have Obama with a little hitler mustache, these politicians from both parties are gutting the Bill of Rights in the name of protecting us. I'll gladly pay higher taxes and let the corporations get away with economic violence against me if the politicians will just stop trying to take away my liberty! Money is just money. Freedom is worth so much more than money.

Mellow go watch V for Vendetta if you really think that. Martial law is ALWAYS the first step to Totalitarianism.

You must be too young to remember many of the real freedoms we had. We had laws and regulations (which OWS is trying to restore) that allowed Americans to trust that corporations were not going to steal them blind (Glass-Steagall) our media had to be honest in reporting and when giving commentary, state that fact and allow differing opinions "air-time" (THE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE), the courts have declared (in '04?) that "news" shows are not responsible to be factual. The wealthiest were taxed at a rate from 70-90% over a certain amount (and were able to live extravagant lives). Any wire-tapping, governmental invasions of our privacy..,had to approved by the courts and a warrant issued. Supreme Court Justices would have never lied on their taxes (with impunity) or had any contact with people associated with cases being decided by them. The list of "freedoms" that you are afraid you will lose are gone Jeffry and the few left are hemorrhaging.

I AM GLAD TO SEE THAT THERE ARE A FEW PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT KNOWS WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON IN THIS COUNTRY and how the poor and middle class are still suffering because of this Congress and the Senate. I also support the Protesters and what they are doing. This whole country should march and protest against this Congress and Senate and republican candidates who want to be president. We have enough in there now who are off on recess more than they are in where they belong and when they are in there they do nothing except lie, cheat, steal and decieve the people who they hAVE DEFRAUDED and swindeled out of Trillions of dollards. We need a Revelution to clear them out. Why be concerned about terrorists when we have plenty of them in our government, congress and senate who do that ..

Freeddon, Democracy,Justice for all and equality and Freedom and the right to pursue happiness, have all be taken away from We The People. Only the rich enjoy these things, lavished upon them by those in the Congress and Senate to whom the give huge contributations . Next comes the forced labor, consentration camps, ovens and gas chambers as history repeats it self only this time it will be right here in the USA run by the big corporations, the wealthy, and this government.

Oh hell no. He wants to do away with minimum wage. Plus he is nuts. His son too.

Them minimum wage only results in higher prices and job loss....same as higher taxes...which is then passed on to guess who...

Ron Paul was my Congressman for many years, most of the negative things you hear about his are things he said alright but taken out of context to mean things that he didn't intend.

If you want an honest President for the first time since I have been old enough to vote, vote for Congressman Paul. If you like how America has been going for the last twenty years or so vote for the other guys. It doesn't make any difference if they are Republican or Democrat.

Sorry Jeff, Keith, but given Ron Paul's opposition to the Civil Rights Act, he will NEVER get my vote.

Toasty that is an example of what I was talking about. His opposition is because of how the law was passed not the content.

No, he opposes the government mandate that private businesses accept non-whites into their stores. This isn't some big secret, Keith. Nobody's hiding this from you; the interviews are pretty easy to find. If you'd like I can post one for you, but you're not gonna like it.

Ivan,

The way to compete with China is not to lower our wages down to their level. Let's take an average CEO salary at a Fortune 500 company. $11 million/year. If you compensated a CEO at 100 times the earnings of an average worker, he'd be making $5 million/year. That's still a good paycheck. Suddenly the company has $6 million bucks more than it did! And that's enough to hire 120 average wage earning workers! Or invest in R&D. Or buy a startup with some great ideas. Or anything else! Multiply that savings across the board of directors and suddenly you have some serious cash to spur innovation and create jobs. Or you can just line the pockets of those who don't really need it.

What's with this Jeffrey D Parks? And there's this "Jenasus" he drops every so often. Have a look--"Jenasus is Jesus without the NA." Story about a cheap plastic pond and turtles...........

Are talking from the side of your neck yet again? Just stay off my beach - contagions you know I feel you are a one mass cancerous contagion (the communication of disease by direct or indirect contact).One of your maladies is sucking up to your over lords? "Plastic ponds and turtles" put the drugs down and make sense - no just go away to the beach just not my beach..................the contagions

No, he opposes the government mandate that private businesses accept non-whites into their stores

Which clearly isn't a problem anymore although it was a genuine problem in the 1960s. That sort of racism no longer exists even in the South. You may as well worry about his position on whalebone corsets--it's irrelevant to the modern world. In any case, the Civil Rights Act isn't going anywhere, even if Ron Paul were elected by some miracle.

Persevere, take your meds, sweetie. And have a good day :)

Protests are for when voting has become useless, like now

Keith,

Well put. That is exactly the position we're in now. I'm a well paid professional that will be heading down to the protest in my city later today. So for those of you ignorant people that think this is a protest by the poor, you're dead wrong. There are many successful people at these protests world wide. For me, this is a protest against the rampant corruption in our government and in the corporations, by virtue of the government corruption. Our politicians are bought and paid for.

Our Founding Fathers had intended for this to be a county By the People For the People, but it isn't that way any more and we need to get back to it. Step 1 is to get their attention, the definition of the specific demands will come later. And if the demands aren't met, its possible the whole system will get revamped, otherwise known as a revolution.

Be prepared. Beans and rice and potable water.

I don't think Europeans, Asians, or Africans are protesting for American jobs.

I protest your lack of spelling too.

jd75003

you cant tell people the truth unless it is what they want to hear.

Same tired rhetoric. Keep burying your head in the sand, they don't need your support. They prefer people who have a clue.

Bama, I think you should really read some stories about what the protestors stand for... they are not wanting a hand-out... they want decent jobs... and bye the bye; there are many wealthy who sit on their fat asses all day long and have never done a day's work in their life... getting handouts in the form of tax breaks and loopholes on the money they draw off daddy's fortune... if you wanna end welfare, end the elite and corporate welfare!

This willful ignorance isn't doing you any favors.

I've been to a few different news sites to see what they were saying about the protests, and lo and behold, Fox News spent about 2 sentences actually describing what the protesters were trying to accomplish, and 8-10 paragraphs detailing the various arrests that were made at each of the protests across the country. Judging by how little you seem to know about what the protesters want, I'm guessing that FN is where you get a lot of your info, isn't it?

You aren't smart enough to succeed in business so please save your money.

Bama...Civil War is over. Your bigotry is showing big time. Who the hell got Bush elected twice? Big Oil, Enron and let's not forget the all time contributor to Bush/Cheney Inc., Halliburton.

It's time to cut off all Big Businesses from our tax doles. Why the hell must we taxpayers foot the bill for Big Oil to find oil? Isn't that what the hell their business profits are for?

Sorry, if a business can't be operated without taxpayer bailouts, shut them down. Oh...How much of Madoff's ass was "worked off" before it ended up in jail?

It is ironic some posters on here that complain about hand-outs. In part, this protest is actually against hand-outs......corporate hand-outs. If a company cannot survive, it should fail.

No more corporate bail outs. No more corporate welfare!

Sorry, if a business can't be operated without taxpayer bailouts, shut them down.

I guess that means GM and Chrysler too, but that would mean Obama wouldnt get the union vote.

If I go to a casino and lose big, I don't bum money off a friend or my mom. I smack myself around for being so stupid and never do it again. What "too big to fail" firms learned is that they can go to the casino, lose big time, and bum more money off the American people. It removes the risk from risky investing. At least they should have been paying credit card interest rates on taxpayer money for being so stupid. I would have let their stupid organizations crash and burn. That's economic evolution.

NewStart2012

It is ironic some posters on here that complain about hand-outs. In part, this protest is actually against hand-outs......corporate hand-outs. If a company cannot survive, it should fail.

No more corporate bail outs. No more corporate welfare!

Yeah but they're all for personal handouts. If that masters degree in underwater basket weaving aint workin out for them, they can go to Taco bell for $9 an hour, maybe then they can reflect on their dumb ass decisions.

Are they? Are you sure? That's a blanket statement about something you don't understand. If you want me to prove you're lack of understanding, keep talking.

I understand their list of entitlements just fine. I also think it's hilarious that you think so much of your opinion that by just typing you can change peoples views on a subject, knock yourself out.



canonballer,

While I know a couple of people who went to school for worthless degrees and are having trouble finding work, I know plenty more with degrees in SME (science, math, engineering) who are also having trouble finding work. Meanwhile CEO's like HP's most recent CEO mess up royally, tank the company stock by 40%, and get a $2,000,000 performance bonus for a job well done. That performance bonus is 40 years income for the average American. Failure shouldn't be rewarded. Massive failure shouldn't be massively rewarded. I think we can agree on that.

Who the hell got Bush elected twice? Big Oil, Enron and let's not forget the all time contributor to Bush/Cheney Inc., Halliburton.

How about, the people, who couldn't stomach Gore and Kerry?

People are easily mis-led if they are mis-informed or un-informed.

You are all missing the point. Everyone has to buy things, and they should. That is usually what keeps the economy going. The problem is when the CEO's are making 500 times what the workers that make the "things" do while cutting their wages and benefits, increasing their hours and threatening to lay them off if they complain.

This movement has dwarfed the tea party!

Vote for Obama in 2012, and we need around twenty five seats to take back the congress, Obama is standing up for the middle class get out and vote and lets get this done!!!

terriels- you just made my point you twisted what I said to fit your needs, what I said was stop buying what you don't need , not stop buying all together. the CEO also do a lot more then you think they have to pay the bills that keep the plant running , but I guess you don't know what over head is do you. you know the raw materials , the lights , the tools , paper work, shipping cost, and so on.as the unions leach of the workers for a free ride.

dale-763548

Obama and the Democrats had full control of congress for the 1st two years and what did he get done? oh Obamacare which he now says parts of it cant not be done, after he push it down everyone's throat then bragging how he did it without the Republicans . then after the Republicans make a come back he cries like a little baby how they wont play fair with him.

the only Hope we have is a change in 2012 and we get this wantabe President out of office.

to all those who voted in 2008 for are current President to prove you were not a racist, in 2012 please vote for someone else to prove you are not an idiot.

thank you a concerned citizen of America .

@cherrytom

You obviously don't know what CEOs do. CEOs of these large corporations don't pay overhead out of pocket, and they don't concern themselves with the day to day minutea that you're describing. Their responsibility is to make the high level decisions that will make stockholders money and it's up to middle management to see that these high level decisions get converted to low level action. The sad part is, even if the CEO completely fails at his/her job, they're still likely going to see a paycheck 10-100 times more than the average worker.

What other job pays you so well even for failing miserably?

CXM

I never said is came out of the Ceo's pocket now did I

What other job pays you so well even for failing miserably? that is easy why dont you ask Obama on top of the $400,000.00 a year he get plus money for parties, and travel , free health care, and after his 4 years in office he gets $193,000.00 a year, a free office with $100,000.00 a year to staff it, $1 million in travel money per year,and the ex 1st lady gets $ 500,000.00 in travel money a year and free health care. not counting the body guards.

Cxm

"What other jobs pays you so well even for failing miserably"

one word for you

UNION jobs

cherrytom...Stop buying food? Clothing for your kids? College educations so they can get better jobs and maybe, just maybe become an asset to the US?

Stop buying on things we don't need. Fine. Stop buying on overpriced, unsafe, foreign imports that are the product of cheap foreign labor Americans can't keep up with? And just why can't we do that? Because the "Have Mosts" can't continue the Gravy Train unless they bleed consumers, taxpayers and what's left of their employees dry.

Sticking one's head in the sand and trying to come up with an equation that leaves out what the Have Mosts have done in a single decade to this country is ignorance beyond bliss.

@cherrytom

You may not have said they were paying out of pocket, explicitly, but by bringing up overhead in response to a CEO's pay package, you pretty clearly implied it. Do i think CEOs do an important job? Yes. Do I think they should be rewarded based on their performance? Sure. Do I think they deserve all the perks that they currently get at the expense of the average worker? Absolutely not.

As for for politicians, why are you implying I'm giving THEM a pass as well (pointing to Obama exclusively is really showing your colors, btw). Frankly, I wish politicians were more accountable for their actions through their paychecks (like having any politician who votes for a law that's obviously unconstitutional pay for the legal fees associated with fighting the stupid thing instead of wasting tax payer dollars on their political stunts), though with the way things are now, those types of changes aren't likely.

@nonparted

Okay. So what does that contribute to the conversation, again?

American labor now has to compete in a world market, and they cant do it.

Because the world markets externalize their costs: pay slave labor wages, no worker safety, trash the environment. Anybody can make cheap products under those conditions. US has chosen to be better than that (at home). So corporations go where they don't have to play by our values.

Cxm

Take it any way you want to the conversation.

You asked a question and I gave you one answer.

If you didn't want answers to your question then don't ask questions.

SSM

So why dont you start a corporation that plays by our values and see if you can compete in the world market. These OWS idiots want someone else to use their money to create high paying jobs for them, why dont they use their own money and create high paying jobs for themselves.

I don't necessarily plan on replacing Obama as much as I plan on replacing congress and senate.

unpayable debt? dude, have you read the news lately? The "unpayable debt" is the result of your socialist train wreck, where everybody deserves a handout. Cut social security, medicare, medicaid, and various subsidies by 30%, cut all the corporate tax breaks, BALANCE THE BUDGET, and your unpayable debt evaporates all by itself. Just like magic, which is what the progressive left believes in most....

very much true, Well said.....

Anyone who tries to use socialism to explain the level of our debt is a socialist him/herself. Why? Because most of the debt was generated by the Bush administration (two enormously expensive wars, unpaid government run programs, increase in defense spending, Wall Street bailouts etc.). So Bush, the GOP lawmakers who rubber-stamped everything (many of whom currently serve in Congress) and those who voted for them are the true socialists. This country will not move forward until Boehner, Cantor and the rest of their ilk who like to socialize risk and privatize capital are kicked out of Washington.

To be clear it is very much true Joe-3496279, very well said.....

and to the majority others you are nothing but a raciest republicans
who does not wana see a black man in the white house. I am white by the way..

It is not too late yet. We can reclaim the United States and help our country regain its former glory. I urge everyone to do a little homework, and make better choices at the ballot box. Don't just listen to the taglines and slogans. Find out what these people stand for, and discover their values and motives, and compare them with your own. Then, get some real responsible people in there that can't be bought. All this country needs is to root out the influence of money in our government. www.getmoneyout.com.

You have a clear and simple message. Thank you

Then, get some real responsible people in there that can't be bought.

Which ones are they? I can't tell from the information presented to be during the political campaign process. Or is that they're all bought?

#18.5 - Sat Oct 15, 2011 6:38 AM PDT

stevebisker

To be clear it is very much true Joe-3496279, very well said.....

and to the majority others you are nothing but a raciest republicans
who does not wana see a black man in the white house. I am white by the way..

I'll vote for Herman Cain, He's a true black man.

Social justice"; "economic justice". Code word "justice" in the context of the hard Left is making a emotional "moral judgment", not in context of the Law.

Here in the United States we are a nation of Laws. Not to be bullied by the fringe Left-wing wackos.

You cannot charge anyone based on your envy, jealousy and spite.

No Laws have been broken.

No crimes committed.

Look yourself in the mirror to improve yourself because that is where the problem really is.

Democracy is mob-rule. Isn't that what they (the Italians) are doing now? See how that is working. Theirs was an economy based government hand outs. (What 0bama is bringing...) Watch and see how that works out for them.

Having a Republic is probably what was meant by Joe--that is very different from a democracy. Republics only work when citizens--not politicians--run the republic. As long a privileged class exists there is no freedom, liberty or pursuit of happiness in a republic (or democracy). "Privileged" is not necessarily equal to "rich"; it is having different rights, obligations and access across the populous. (Think Czar and SS to grasp privileged class.) The US has more unprivileged now than ever before. (Just try and talk to your representatives face-to-face.)

Notice "public" is within the word "republic", not within the word "democracy"... Anyone who confuses the two never had/understood civics and doesn't know how the US government is supposed operate. They are a major reason our republican (as opposed to Republicans) government doesn't work.

What I object to more than anything is the hypocrisy of many in our government especially this president.

Bush was laughed out by Obama and the democrats for wanting to pass on democracy. I think he was naive as well. However, now we have Obama backed by the dems doing exactly the same thing with Libya and Egypt and now sending troops to Africa. All this money we send to other nations to aid a chance for a more free society could have been spent here in the US putting our population back to work. Instead we now have riots because we have spread ourselves too thin.

What is even more disgusting is that those dems that are embracing the protesters such as Nancy Pelosi, has seen their wealth increase substantially this past year. Pelsoi and husband saw their wealth increase by 67 percent. Who sees such an increase unless exploiting others?

Michael Moore that represents Hollywood is nothing but crony capitalism. If we are going to set pay limits on CEOS, why not entertainers and sport people. After all, who is paying their salaries? It is the everyday person that is buying a movie ticket or a ballgame ticket and most definitely being gouged. I bet I have not been to a movie in 10 years and I sure haven't been to a ballgame in probably 20 years. It is far too expensive. Who pays such crazy prices?

Aren't these protesters talking somewhat about our value system? Why did the Kardasians make 65 million last year? I mean I certainly don't begrudge them success doing what, but are we nuts? Meanwhile, a 1st year police officer in NYC dealing with these protesters is being paid 45,000.