[aparneioninny]

What in the world do these people think they're doing? I so don't understand this. Perhaps someone can explain it to me?

Okay, they're pissed off at THE MAN because he's "ZOMG!! BOUGHT OFF GOVERNMENT WITH CRONY MONAY!!!! OMG!"

And I agree with that assessment in large part.

Okay, so we have a gigantic government that operates high above their heads.. They can't effectively change or reform it, because it's so big and powerful and corrupted with greed and shitty, shitty Wall Street/Corprate green that it doesn't listen to them (the little people) anymore..

I can see an argument there sorta..

Alright, so NOW what they want is an even bigger, more powerful federal government to ride to the rescue and defend their rights against the Wall street greedmasters?

Does anyone else see a problem with this plan?

Further, many leftists want a GLOBAL GOVERNMENT.. With ALL SORTS OF COERCIVE POWER!!! TO MAKE THINGS BETTAR FOR THE LITTLE PEEPS ON MAIN STREET!!!

But, that is problematic too.. Because if you think government is unaccountable and corrupt now.. What do you think will happen when it pulls up stakes and moves to Brussels, eh? Bet they'll listen to you then, right? Uh-huh..

I don't understand these people at all.. Their "solutions" make my head hurt.

[Poll Pitt]

I guess they think that when they bring all of "the rich" to their knees and make them poor that all the money after that is either going to shoot out their asses or come out of the blue.
Your head is spinning because they have no plan!

[RagonaCon]

I guess they think that when they bring all of "the rich" to their knees and make them poor that all the money after that is either going to shoot out their asses or come out of the blue.
Your head is spinning because they have no plan!

But if the government is as corrupt as they claim.. Why would they ever do that?

Further, why did they permit this situation to reach the epidemic levels it has?

What makes them think government is their pal in this fight, if they're mad because it's so corrupted and useless? If government is bought off and fucking over the little guy now, why give it even MORE power to fuck the little guy over?

WHAT IN THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?

[IssuessBratte]

If you were in jail, and a corrupt guard beat you with a billy club every day just because he could..

Why would you hand him a lead pipe?

What does a reasonable person suppose will be the outcome in a situation like this?

[raskrutkaseo]

The pitfalls of Groupthink.
Have you noticed how they repeat en-mass everything the speaker says before the group at the protest?
Of course, you could say that by repeating what is being said that the crowd has created an ingenious and effective broadcast system; quite clever, but the sight of a large group chanting in unison is disturbing.
This group is easily led.

[TZids16I]

Yeah, I guess I don't understand that at all..

I'm fine with holding a minority opinion.. I've done it a lot.

Been right a lot too.

I get much more satisfaction out of being right, and especially when predicting future events.. Than simply saying "Well, I went with the crowd! Damn, I'm so mainstream!! Go-go mediocre me!!!"

[StizePypemype]

Guaranteed that the 'marshalls' leading the crowd are just building street activist 'cred' for themselves. Next they go into the bureaucracy and then into congress.
As for their 'friends' who helped them at street level...well who gives a fuck
Useful idiots

[FelixQY]

But if the government is as corrupt as they claim.. Why would they ever do that?

Further, why did they permit this situation to reach the epidemic levels it has?

What makes them think government is their pal in this fight, if they're mad because it's so corrupted and useless? If government is bought off and fucking over the little guy now, why give it even MORE power to fuck the little guy over?

WHAT IN THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?

They're exactly where every American should have been 3 years ago. There plan is hazy at best, ergo, it's a popular movement.

[Nikitka]

Guaranteed that the 'marshalls' leading the crowd are just building street activist 'cred' for themselves. Next they go into the bureaucracy and then into congress.
As for their 'friends' who helped them at street level...well who gives a fuck
Useful idiots

Really? (that's not a question in defense of the afforementioned parties, but Congress?)

[Appeselve]

The pitfalls of Groupthink.
Have you noticed how they repeat en-mass everything the speaker says before the group at the protest?
Of course, you could say that by repeating what is being said that the crowd has created an ingenious and effective broadcast system; quite clever, but the sight of a large group chanting in unison is disturbing.
This group is easily led.

Ironist.

[ruforumczspam]

If you were in jail, and a corrupt guard beat you with a billy club every day just because he could..

Why would you hand him a lead pipe?

What does a reasonable person suppose will be the outcome in a situation like this?

What the fuck are you talking about? Don't explain to me the ideas of protesters. Who the fuck cares what they think? Get a little more dialectically stupid while you're at it, dramarama.

[Bemapayople]

As it turns out...........this protest has not been the typical 'flash-in-the-pan' civil disobedience-type flash mob for a couple days thang.

Collectively, they are mad. They're mad at the economy, layoffs, lack of jobs, jobs going overseas, screwed up bailout which did no good, banks raising fees but not loaning $$$. They're mad at the way money is used in this country, how the government spends it, where they spend it, and how in the heck they don't have a plan to balance the budget; 101 stuff that the gov. can't seem to fix. They're mad at the politicians (all), the elected leaders, the appointed leaders, those that can't lead.

They've lost hope. They don't see any light at the end of the tunnel, and they can't even see where the tunnel ends.

Now I can surmise that many on this whole board feel about the same........I've been reading your posts and THAT'S what you're posting about for months. So......the protesters went out and exercised their 1st Amendment Right to protest and air their displeasure. You air yours here, they went to the Financial Districts in-person. The displeasure with all of the above is nationwide, it's not only in NYC. Protests have grown in other cities across the nation. Which means?........................................The general public is MAD.

This protest movement is quite similar to the VietNam protests in the 60's & 70's.......Everyone is ticked off and wants a change in a positive direction. WHAT HAPPENED, WHAT WERE THE RESULTS OF THE 1960s protests....? Change came. Big change. Across the board. In government, in the social scene, everywhere. The 1950s mindset blew away....and the we entered some of the most productive, prosperous times in history. It's happening again.

CHANGE IS COMING, AND BIG CHANGE IT WILL BE. LISTEN TO THE PROTESTERS THE PAST FEW DAYS NOW......THEY ARE NOT ONLY THE COUPLE BUMBLING AIRHEADS THAT STARTED THIS THING. THIS IS SOCIAL CHANGE IN ACTION PEOPLE, AND WE ALL KNOW IT.

[xanaxnewtrader]

What the fuck are you talking about? Don't explain to me the ideas of protesters. Who the fuck cares what they think? Get a little more dialectically stupid while you're at it, dramarama.

It's an analogy and it is theirs. They claim they've been pwned and pwned again by the evil nexus of wall Street/Corporations and Government.

And if that's the case, why would you give the the tools to pwn you worse than you've ever been pwned.

It just doesn't make any sense to do that.. At least not to me.

[Prosocorneliay]

As it turns out...........this protest has not been the typical 'flash-in-the-pan' civil disobedience-type flash mob for a couple days thang.

Collectively, they are mad. They're mad at the economy, layoffs, lack of jobs, jobs going overseas, screwed up bailout which did no good, banks raising fees but not loaning $$$. They're mad at the way money is used in this country, how the government spends it, where they spend it, and how in the heck they don't have a plan to balance the budget; 101 stuff that the gov. can't seem to fix. They're mad at the politicians (all), the elected leaders, the appointed leaders, those that can't lead.

They've lost hope. They don't see any light at the end of the tunnel, and they can't even see where the tunnel ends.

Now I can surmise that many on this whole board feel about the same........I've been reading your posts and THAT'S what you're posting about for months. So......the protesters went out and exercised their 1st Amendment Right to protest and air their displeasure. You air yours here, they went to the Financial Districts in-person. The displeasure with all of the above is nationwide, it's not only in NYC. Protests have grown in other cities across the nation. Which means?........................................The general public is MAD.

This protest movement is quite similar to the VietNam protests in the 60's & 70's.......Everyone is ticked off and wants a change in a positive direction. WHAT HAPPENED, WHAT WERE THE RESULTS OF THE 1960s protests....? Change came. Big change. Across the board. In government, in the social scene, everywhere. The 1950s mindset blew away....and the we entered some of the most productive, prosperous times in history. It's happening again.

CHANGE IS COMING, AND BIG CHANGE IT WILL BE. LISTEN TO THE PROTESTERS THE PAST FEW DAYS NOW......THEY ARE NOT ONLY THE COUPLE BUMBLING AIRHEADS THAT STARTED THIS THING. THIS IS SOCIAL CHANGE IN ACTION PEOPLE, AND WE ALL KNOW IT.

They're a bunch of hippies who don't know what they want, except more of the same thing they're protesting.

[BUMbaronos]

They're a bunch of hippies who don't know what they want, except more of the same thing they're protesting.

Good thread, Hoff. You posted 2 yesterday about the protests, so you want other replies, other ideas. .....I think you feel displeasure yourself about alot of this stuff.

Sure, some are the deer-in-the-headlights airheads we've been discussion for weeks - sure. But look who has joined up with them, lending support to the displeasure of the above I described. It's gotten way bigger, Hoff. It's taken on substance, it has teeth. It's growing and the populace sees it as a way to VOICE its displeasure. America wants to be heard, well before the elections. I really think we're seeing SOCIAL CHANGE HERE IN ACTION.

[ugosanchezo]

It's gotten way bigger, Hoff. It's taken on substance, it has teeth. It's growing and the populace sees it as a way to VOICE its displeasure. America wants to be heard, well before the elections. I really think we're seeing SOCIAL CHANGE HERE IN ACTION.

Well, in my estimation, they had better not be expecting the same gigantic, corrupt, federal colostomy bag that caused all this to ride to the rescue..

Because they're the same ones who caused all this shit to begin with. I just put very little faith in government to reform itself.

I put more faith in firing them come November.

[inchaaruutaa]

You may not like him, but he read the statement coming from those in the movement. I think that you probably missed it because I doubt that you watch his show. There is some substance and there is some idealists fluff in it too:

[smazibummigue]

What do you think they're going to accomplish exactly?

[jurnalkduo]

I'm hoping for campaign finance reform to begin with.

Real campaign finance reform where lobbyists with any kind of money have no influence on our elected officials.
That would be a good start. Corporations are NOT people and should not have first amendment rights.

There's nothing that can be done about the Supreme Court, but as it stands there are more justices that are politically motivated than interested in impartial examination of the constitutionality of issues brought before them. The way that justices are chosen has to be refined to prevent that in the future.

Incentives for businesses to stay in the USA and eventually an import tax to "even the field."

Getting ready for work now.

[sykanaxer]

I'm hoping for campaign finance reform to begin with. Well, that's interesting.. Because I am too.

However, what you're going to find is that there are infinite ways to corrupt politics and politicians. Simply disallowing corporate donations won't do it. You can hire their relatives.. You can promise to take care of them when they leave office. You can give them proprietary information on the 8th hole of a golf course when nobody is listening. You can buy a million copies of their book.. You can dump money into an account in the Caymans.. You can, quite literally, do anything you want.

I think the best CFR is just breaking up the power monopoly in DC and returning it to the states.. If DC didn't have the power to reward cronies in the first place, nobody would send them a dime in bribe money.

Government should be a boring job.. Constitutional first principles would return the humm-drum aspect to Congress that it do desperately needs.

Further, the terms are too long for them to wield this much power. 4 years is far, far too long for a President who is unchecked by the Constitution.. 2 years is an eternity to cause mischief without the Constitution to hold them back..

imvho..