The People's Movement Comes to Roanoke

DEY TOOK AR JOBS!! (0.00 / 0)

I'm not understating how hate-filled Populist rage against the abstract "higher ups" with a lack of a clear message or idea really fits into the Progressive narrative. The message seems more akin to the Tea Party than intellectual or really any sort of legitimate discourse. Hell, even the diction seems Tea Party-ish. Let's "Occupy"! No, that does not sound like the 99% standing up for themselves. It breathes more comparison to the 1% of people who legitimately have time/effort to hijack the news cycle trying to speak for others.

On the issue of Outsourcing and Bailouts, obviously the Progressive movement speaks against these things. But preaching against Corporate Greed and becoming full-fledged enviers of Wealth and class warriors have a fine line between them, and I suppose the Occupy-X crowd are edging closer and closer to that line.  

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by: Venu @ Mon Oct 10, 2011 at 01:43:07 AM UTC

Uh, no. (0.00 / 0)

Read this.

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by: lowkell @ Mon Oct 10, 2011 at 01:46:21 AM UTC

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I also recommend that everyone read (0.00 / 0)

this ("American Spectator Editor Admits to Being Agent Provocateur at D.C. Museum").

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by: lowkell @ Mon Oct 10, 2011 at 02:09:09 AM UTC

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Understand??? (4.00 / 1)

Did you mean you were not "understating" or did you mean to say "understanding"?
By the way, class warfare has already been waged in this nation. The winners are the 400 families that control more of the nation's wealth than 150 million other Americans. Another way of looking at it is to say the  class war was won by the 1% of Americans who have cornered 50% of the nation's wealth. The losers? Everybody else.
Such disparity in income surely leads ultimately to an unstable society, one that is not amenable to business...or to democracy.

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by: Elaine in Roanoke @ Mon Oct 10, 2011 at 12:26:00 PM UTC

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Video: Why #OccupyWallStreet (0.00 / 0)

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by: lowkell @ Mon Oct 10, 2011 at 12:31:07 PM UTC

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Also see Paul Krugman's article (0.00 / 0)

Panic of the Plutocrats

It remains to be seen whether the Occupy Wall Street protests will change America's direction. Yet the protests have already elicited a remarkably hysterical reaction from Wall Street, the super-rich in general, and politicians and pundits who reliably serve the interests of the wealthiest hundredth of a percent.

And this reaction tells you something important - namely, that the extremists threatening American values are what F.D.R. called "economic royalists," not the people camping in Zuccotti Park.

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by: lowkell @ Mon Oct 10, 2011 at 12:52:12 PM UTC

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Demise of Glass-Steagall (0.00 / 0)

There was a slow bleeding of Glass-Steagall by the Federal Reserve during the 1980's and 1990's, especially under the chairmanship of Alan Greenspan. By the time a merger was announced between Citibank and Travelers Insurance, the Fed had already OK'd banks having 25% of their assets in Wall Street speculation. In order to keep all the subsidiaries and get fully into insurance, though, Citi had to get all of Glass-Steagall repealed. Hundreds of millions of dollars later and after personal visits by Sandy Weill, CEO, to President Clinton, then-Treasury Sec. Robert Rubin, and influential members of Congress like Phil Gramm (R-TX), Glass-Steagall was repealed. Robert Rubin immediately resigned as Treasury secretary to take a position as chief lieutenant to Sandy Weill. From there, things just continued downhill...

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by: Elaine in Roanoke @ Mon Oct 10, 2011 at 13:17:32 PM UTC

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Great Video (0.00 / 0)

Very well put together. I remember the original documentary that the Elizabeth Warren passages were lifted from and anyone watching this can easily see why the GOP is fighting so hard to keep her out of congress.

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by: glennbear @ Mon Oct 10, 2011 at 13:58:51 PM UTC

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Clear Argument? (4.00 / 1)

You say on the one hand that the "Occupiers" lack a clear message and then claim they are coming close to an invisible line of "preaching against Corporate Greed and becoming full-fledged enviers of Wealth." Which is it, you can't have it both ways?


Progressive86

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by: Progressive86 @ Mon Oct 10, 2011 at 16:27:14 PM UTC

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Um, more contempt from Big? (4.00 / 1)

You know, your unfaltering attacks on progressives and your derision for ordinary people is tiresome.  Hate-filled pupulist rage? spoken only by a one percenter OR an opportunist.  Enviers of wealth?  Hahahahah.  No one I know envies the wealthy.  But they sure as hell can see dripping contempt where it lies (look in the mirriror, Big).  And they sure as hell can get worked up re injustice, something you apparently know nothing about, but I am sure you will "try to break it down for us."

PS Lack of a clear message?  You give yourself away. Right-wing talking point.  Don't pretend to characterize Progressives because you know nothing about them.

PPS, Move over, Big...You are as irrelevant as Marie Antoinette.

There's nothing in the middle of the road except yellow stripes and dead armadillos (Jim Hightower). PS I'm on Twitter here.

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by: KathyinBlacksburg @ Mon Oct 10, 2011 at 22:02:54 PM UTC

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Ah, and there is the fun part of the Blogosphere! (0.00 / 1)

A Right-wing nutjob to the Left, a Socialist in sheep's skin to the Right. At least it's good for a fun discussion (er, complete assault of value-premise without much contention of fact with the sole point of the overwhelming pressure of the blog's readership being at your disposal; what the hell, it counts as discussion)

And on Marie Antoniette, are we making references to the French Revolution as an on-topic point?

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by: Venu @ Tue Oct 11, 2011 at 01:07:06 AM UTC

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As if you had a legitimate point (0.00 / 0)

when your sole purpose was to name-call, de-legitimize, defame citizens, who unlike the so-called Tea Party have not acted irresponsibly, did not tout weapons to rallies and make threats to those they disagree with.  They have engaged in Constitutional and peaceful protest.  But you, in your haughty arrogance, think that is deserving of ripping them apart and using a subject line like you did, which btw tells the reader everything they need to know about where your comment is coming from.  You join Herman Cain in acting as if whatever happens to citizens in the past few years of disaster capitalism  is their fault.  On the contrary, there are clear culprits who have brought us to this point.  And it takes real gall to blame-shift.

BTW, You previously (and implicitly here) so proudly plant yourself in the "middle" (or so you say), but everything out of your mouth puts you squarely in the plutocrat corner.

There's nothing in the middle of the road except yellow stripes and dead armadillos (Jim Hightower). PS I'm on Twitter here.

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by: KathyinBlacksburg @ Tue Oct 11, 2011 at 01:53:03 AM UTC

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You'll be happy to know that in our Blue Virginia poll (0.00 / 0)

essentially nobody agrees with the sentiments expressed above, by the individual whose apparently "sole purpose was to name-call, de-legitimize, defame citizens, who unlike the so-called Tea Party have not acted irresponsibly, did not tout weapons to rallies and make threats to those they disagree with." To the contrary, the vast majority of Blue Virginia readers who have responded to the poll on OWS indicate VERY positive feelings towards it. My guess is that these poll results would be found on just about any Democratic or progressive blog, website (e.g., the DCCC), etc. in America.  

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by: lowkell @ Tue Oct 11, 2011 at 12:35:35 PM UTC

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My Guess (0.00 / 0)

My guess is that if polling were to be done of the American population - with a fairly worded question and discounting the sheeple who don't follow anything that's going on - the vast majority of the American people would essentially agree with the people who responded to the BV poll by supporting action to take on the people whose misdeeds put us in this economic mess.

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by: Elaine in Roanoke @ Tue Oct 11, 2011 at 13:52:01 PM UTC

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