False Narratives
By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com If you listen to the narrative coming from the right, you would think the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protesters were social deviants. Sean Hannity said on his show last week, “What have we seen here, violence, rape, arson, destruction of property, sex in public, masturbation in public, naked people, drugs, drug paraphernalia, anti-Americanism, anti-Semitism, anti-capitalism.” I am sure that this stuff happened in the dozens of cities around the country where protests were held, but these are isolated incidents. The front page of the USA Today, last week, said the protests around the country were “largely peaceful legal marches.” If you want to know what the protests are about, ask one of the protesters. Jesse LaGreca, an unofficial spokesman for the movement, said last week, “What we are doing is engaging in civil disobedience in non-violent manner throughout the country.” LaGreca says the bigger issues are things like “crimes that took place on Wall Street” and “corporations bribing our politicians with campaign funding.” No big Wall Street bankers have been jailed for causing the biggest financial meltdown in history (in 2008), and I think everyone can agree both parties are bought and paid for. What the Republicans are trying to do to the OWS protesters is the same thing the Democrats are still trying to do to the Tea Party–make OWS look crazy and unworthy of respect. Nothing could be further from the truth. OWS is all about the First Amendment at its core. People have the Constitutional right to petition government for redress of grievances. Anyone who supports the Constitution should support the rights of the Tea Party and OWS protesters. The Tea Party and OWS did the exact same thing, and I think the Republicans are making a big mistake for bringing out the attack dogs. When you think of it, the Tea Party and OWS are really only separated by a few degrees. Yes, I know the Communist Party, Nazi Party and the unions are latching on to OWS, but their issues are not what OWS is about. Republicans should realize this is turning into one of the best issues the Democrats could have ever dreamed up. Democrats are pouncing on OWS and hijacking it for their own political gain. Suddenly, OWS has a clear message. Left-wing activist Van Jones summed it up on MSNBC, last week, when he said, “. . .this is not a movement that hates rich people just for being rich. If it were that kind of movement we`d call it Occupy Silicon Valley. No. It`s not about hating the economic winners. It`s about hating the economic cheaters. We`re tired of the cheaters. We`re tired of people rigging the game so that they can get ahead and the rest of us can`t get anywhere.” (Click here to see and read the entire interview.) Wall Street did cheat and bribe politicians of both parties to weaken the laws that protected the public. Meanwhile, the regulators continue to turn a blind eye to the rip-offs that are still going on. MF Global and more than $600 million in lost “segregated funds” of clients is just the latest debauchery. There are some other false narratives going on about the financial meltdown of 2008. They are basically that “Wall Street is a victim” and “the government forced banks to loan money to poor people who couldn’t pay it back.” Of course, these narratives are patently false, and in a recent Op-Ed piece in the Washington Post earlier this month, money manager Barry Ritholtz eloquently makes this case. He said, “Indeed, the arguments these folks make fail to withstand even casual scrutiny. But that has not stopped people who should know better from repeating them. The Big Lie made a surprise appearance Tuesday when New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, responding to a question about Occupy Wall Street, stunned observers by exonerating Wall Street: “It was not the banks that created the mortgage crisis. It was plain and simple, Congress who forced everybody to go and give mortgages to people who were on the cusp.” (Click here to read the complete Ritholtz article–it’s great!!) Of course, some of the real factors that caused the meltdown were reckless lending, extreme leverage, almost zero regulation and outright fraud on multiple levels. Not a single Wall Street elite banker has been prosecuted for crime. (1,000 financial elites were successfully prosecuted in the wake of the S&L crisis. The 2008 meltdown is at least 50 times bigger.) The OWS movement is only going to grow stronger as the economy weakens. Please disregard the other false narrative that the economy is in “recovery.” The latest report from Shadowstats.com says just the opposite. Economist John Williams said, “With no relief in sight for the structural income and credit problems facing consumers, there is no near-term prospect for broad economic recovery in the United States. An ongoing economic downturn has severely negative implications for the projected U.S. federal budget deficit, for projected U.S. Treasury funding needs and for banking-system stress tests and systemic stability. It also promises a volatile political environment coming into the 2012 election. . .” (Click here to go to the Shadowstats.com home page.) I have long said both parties share equally in creating the financial mess in America. But it looks like only the Democrats are going to exploit OWS, much the same as the Republicans did with the Tea Party. The Democrats know the economy is tanking and that it cannot be fixed by election time. I think their campaign pitch is going to go something like “How do you want the economy fixed?–The Republican way (1%) or the Democrat way? (99%)” False narratives are not going to exonerate Wall Street cheaters. They are not going to revive the economy, and they will not derail Occupy Wall Street. The Democrats tried to minimize the Tea Party during the last election and lost the House. It looks like the Republicans are making the exact same mistake with OWS. If you are not convinced the OWS protest is for real, watch the slickly produced music video below. The movement has its own song, and that should scare the false narrative out of the Party of Lincoln.
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About the Author
Greg Hunter
Greg is the producer and creator of USAWatchdog.com. The site’s slogan is “analyzing the news to give you a clear picture of what’s really going on.” The site will keep an eye on the government, your financial interests and cut through the media spin. USAWatchdog.com is neither Democrat nor Republican, Liberal or Conservative. Before creating and producing the site, Greg spent nearly 9 years as a network and investigative correspondent. He worked for ABC News and Good Morning America for nearly 6 years. Most recently, Greg worked for CNN for shows such as Paula Zahn Now, American Morning and various CNN business shows.
The truth is everyone in America messed up. So we need compromise. There should have been some sort of debt forgiveness to people who got screwed and couldn’t afford something. Basically like greg said they should have been bailed out and not the banks. Then they would still be able to pay off the banks. The stupidist thing we ever did was bail out banks.
and when I say “they” I mean the homeowners.
Rather than debt forgiveness I would propose instead INTEREST forgiveness for any debt which has fallen into the government’s hands or which has received a government or central bank bailouts.
This has precedent in English Common Law dating back to the Magna Carta and would provide considerable relief.
It might even be practical to extend Interest Forgiveness to loans on companies which have habitually violated the Statute of Frauds (ie using MERS etc).
Awesome Article Greg, I’ll have to link to it on http://www.occupynews.net
As for fixing the economy, all it would take is Justifiable Debt Restructure. I’ve written about it here.
http://occupynews.blogspot.com/2011/11/justifiable-debt-restructure-would.html
It should be noted that there is a delay from when a comment is made to when it appears. So MasterLuke’s comment and my own comment are completely independent of each other, and coincidentally, make the exact same point.
My idea, Justifiable Debt Restructure, JDR, does not forgive debt, it renegotiates the profit margin on the debt, also known as the interest rate, lower, much lower. In exchange for that reduction, debtors agree not to run up more and more debt.
No narrative. Just think thieves and counterfeiters.
…ikb
Well put…and well sung! Many thanks, Greg.
The big banks and investment houses understand well the potential for further PR damage, due to the message that is eeking out of OWS. They have hired public relations firms to advise them and work with press partners cover the message of the occupiers.
This tells me the banks know the real message behind OWS and are afraid.
It is a shame OWS has so many hangers -on. Remember the same thing happened to the Tea Party, when the left wing picked up on the occasional Nazi or Rebel flat at a Tea Party event.
I see OWS as the Tea Party of Gen x ( or whatever the under 35’s are called now)
They aren’t afraid. As far as I’m concerned we are playing into their hands. Order out of chaos. That’s why there are all the preparations for martial law going on right now. They want a rebellion.
The under 25’s I call the D generation (degeneration). Yes it’s generalizing. I know there are some good eggs. The lives of the rest revolve around their cell phones.
The Democrats know the economy is tanking and that it cannot be fixed by election time.
I don’t think they know this. I’ve seen numerous articles talking about how wealthy Washington DC is. All that government money is pouring into DC i.e. I think they all live in a bubble and don’t really understand how bad things are.
Heck….I live in Massachusetts, which isn’t doing too poorly economically and most people can’t see the problems. Mass Health (Romney’s free health care bill is going to bankrupt the state eventually, but most can’t see it coming)
Greg,
It is downright ridiculous that there have been zero prosecutions thus far and it’s equally outrageous that top executives of the insolvent companies walked away with their personal fortunes intact. These of course are executives that had hand-picked their boards of directors, which handed out billions in bonuses after the government bailout. That isn’t capitalism…its theft!
The banking elite have all kinds of lobbyists, organizations and institutions that they use to promote their interests. If working class tax payers need similar tools to level the playing field, it would suffice to say that we’re in deep trouble.
Greg, your so right, the OWS movement has many sides, points of view, and objectives, but labeling them a bunch of nut and criminals will backfire on the Republicans. I quit watching Hannity because of his bias of the OWS, fair and balanced is a crock. Failure to understand and try and make some amends to the OWS will be done at the the Republican’s peril. Frankly, both parties are pretty much equal in supporting the elite, its just a matter of better marketing by the Democrats that they are somewhat sympathetic. I suspect as the economy further declines and I believe it will, OWS will be around for a long time. When you can’t get a living wage job there is not much to do except walk downtown and see what’s going on, and, frankly, protest is in our blood. The many older supportive Americans may not be in the street, but are protesting with their checking accounts, changing to credit unions, etc. This movement is worrisome to both parties and the elite because if the majority of the population of America ever wake up and understand that our country has been hijacked by the elite they know they are out-numbered 99 to 1. Your article was timely. Failure to understand this movement or to label it as criminal will be done at the peril of both parties. The growing discontent of a society who has known better is a society who will not tolerate economic injustice for ever.
Greg, thanks for some intellectual honesty. It’s hard to find nowadays.
The bottom line is that Occupy Wall Street is about getting Wall Street out of Washington and out of the White House. Please keep up the great work.
Thank you Sean.
Greg
WE are all the hope that we have left… politicians, presidents, prime ministers, clerics, popes, priests, lawyers, scholars, economists, etc… are all corruptible by power/money. One cannot… many can. WE must collectively lead, and avoid corruption of ourselves by some through disinformation.
Good song , Heads Up, Mayor Bloomberg charges man with wanting to blow up post office. The mayor said he would face state court. Wouldn’t this be a Federal crime case if the post office was a target. I think Bloomberg is making a case to use against OWS people down the road.
Wow… there were a lot of mistakes in this story… but to say that the 99% are democrats you are wrong… to say that 99% of the people want more government, more hand-outs and more debt to pass onto our children… that is a lie. Most people are honest hard working people who want to reform the system that made our country prosperous that provide our “poor” cell phones, cable tv, ac that no communist system has provided. When I see the Occupy kids out working for a living instead of trying to stop others from getting to their jobs, then I could respect what they say.
Honest working American,
First of all, I said this is what I think the Democrats will run on. I didn’t say it was fact. I guess the bankers ripping off the country for trillions of dollars is no big deal to you? I see the First Amendment that is alive and well. Thank you for weighing in.
Greg
It’s been reported, of course not by the MSM, that the NYPD is sending drunks caught from other parks and recently released criminals down to Zuccotti Park in an attempt to undermine and destroy the Occupy Wall Street movement. This is also been reported around the country, like Oakland for example.
John,
Thank you for the info man.
Greg
Greg – what an amazing post you have today…….
Thank you Big Tom!!
Greg
Greg I’ve always known you’re a democrat apologist. I like most of your article pertaining to economy but with the OWS I have to disagree with you. Yes, they have the right to march and voice their grievances with the government who makes the laws but I can’t see any relevance to Wall Street these are private businesses. If a private business do wrong they should be prosecuted according to law. The blame on corruption is with the government and not Wall Street so the OWS is in the wrong place.
chowthen,
Wall Street (the private business you speak of) lobbied the government furiously to do away with regulation, and they got their way. When it blew up, this private business lobbied for bailouts and got them by the trillions of dollars. Think taxpayer and inflation for everyone because of Fed money printing to bailout their buddies. Crimes were committed on multiple levels, and there is still not a single prosecution of a Wall Street elite. If you want zero regulation then fine, but when it blows up (as it clearly has and will continue to do so) then bankruptcy is the clear choice. Wall Street’s hands are dirty and they have bought and paid for our elected officials. That is a provable fact. Thank you for weighing in.
Greg
It amazes me that you maintain the narrative of the “guilt” of private business that asked for consideration from Congress and the president and it was granted. Nobody has gone to jail because no laws were broken. All of this has the full blessing of Congress and the Administration. And your narrative seems to imply that lobbying is new to Washington, when it has been going on for generations. Lobbying is not a crime either.
The real criminals are elected politicians who grant favors and pass laws that encourage people to make mistakes, or repeal laws (Glass-Steagal) that restricted banks from making mistakes with our money.
Finally, comparing current events to the S&L crisis is a false narrative. The S&L folks who went to jail broke the laws.
The problem is in DC, not on Wall Street.
JimGA,
Please stop. This is total horse hooey, “Nobody has gone to jail because no laws were broken.” There is fraud on many levels and I have listed them on this site. Former bank regulator and professor of law and economics William Black is one of the many who has documented this. I’ll repeat what I said to another commenter here, “I guess you right wingers can’;t say, “Yeah crimes were committed and yes the trillion dollar bailouts are going to continue because these are our campaign donors!” (Democrats are just as bought and paid for as the Republicans.) That would not be the narrative you would want to put forth. Instead of really fixing the country, you are going to continue the phony Left/Right narrative, while America burns. I guess it is not really about fixing the country–it’s all about your kleptocrat cronies taking their turn to cashing in. As I have said before, If you guys really want to fix the country then you have to fix the insolvent banks, stop the phony accounting and bailouts. The country will not survive with the financial system shrouded in FRAUD, and I have been saying this LOOOOOOOONG before the OWS protesters.” By the way, there would be no OWS protests if the Republicans wouldn’t have weakened regulation and let the bankers run wild under the Bush Administration. Instead of stumbling all over themselves to come up with the bait and switch TARP (no troubled assets were bought) you should have let the banks go into receivership. It would have been trillions of dollars cheaper! But by all means let’s not let the facts get in the way of a false narrative.
Greg
Thanks Greg…I’ll take your advice and stop. But someday, for the benefit of of the readers that choose to keep reading your narratives on the newly moral world you seek, I hope you will define which laws were broken. Happy Thanksgiving.
JiminGA,,
I think the evidence is clear there was mortgage application fraud, securities fraud, ratings fraud, tax fraud, and ongoing foreclosure fraud. I have discussed this in length on other posts I have written. And remember, in the aftermath of the S and L crisis of the 80,s and early 90’s 10,000 indictments were handed out. There was 1,000 convictions of the financial elite. The 2008 Global meltdown is at least 50 times bigger and there has not been on financial elite who has been prosecuted. We have a criminal/ government enterprise in this country and the nation will not recover under an environment of fraud and mistrust. We cannot even begin to fix the problems the country faces if we do not properly define them. Peace Brother!!!!
Greg
The occupy crowd is a collection of goofballs who have no idea what they are protesting. Just look at them and listen to them. I believe they started out as useful tools for the Democrats as people like Pelosi and Frank were quick to praise them, hoping they might be a source of energy akin to the Tea Party. But as time went on they have become an embarassment to the Dems. I figured the party was over when Colbert started mocking them. In any event, if they truly are upset with the corruption in this country, they should vent their anger at the politicians, not the bankers. Big banks can’t bribe politicians if the politicians don’t accept the bribe. Call the politicians out on their insider trading. Ask how someone can go to Congress as as the son of a “blue collar” father and leave a multi-millionaire.
Tom,
“A collection of goofballs” That’s all you got? Yes, the false narrative continues. So you have no worries about the trillions of dollars ripped off by Wall Street banks and zero prosecutions? Plenty of corruption on both sides of the aisle my friend. You surely do not think the Republicans are without sin do you? We are headed for a life altering crash in the economic system. You are reducing whats going on to a fight over the deck chairs.
Greg
I’m not saying there isn’t a problem. But the OWS crowd hasn’t a clue. The banks can’t buy our leaders unless they are for sale. We need wholesale changes in this country and our leaders will not allow that to happen. It’s over for America.
You’re the one who hasn’t got a clue. “The banks can’t buy our leaders unless they are for sale.” Really?? Let me clue you in on something. They’re all bought and paid for. Sometime in the last year I remember reading a quote from no less than Sen. Dick “I’m a dirtbag for sale” Durbin from Illinois wherein he stated “frankly, they (the bankers) own this place”. Do a Google search for “they own this place”.
Yeah, right. It’s all big business’s fault. The poor Congressmen just can’t say no. Good God. And we wonder why this country is in the tank. Don’t forget to vote next year and send the incumbents back to DC.
Thank you for writing this article.
One of the things that bothers me about OWS commentary is that the “liberty people” find so many ways to rant and rave about how it’s comprised of “socialists” and “unionists” and “anti-capitalists,” but they’ve never actually visited one of these occupations and spoken to the people.
There are all sorts of people with all sorts of beliefs at these protests.
I see this superficial criticism as nothing more than whining that facilitates a self-fulfilling prophecy, which they will then point to and say, “see! I told you so!”
The same thing happened to the Tea Party. It became a muddled mass of conflicting impotence. This was largely because of the media, but it was assisted by the little drones that fell into the party line and allowed it to be pigeonholed. A lot of people stayed home because they were afraid to be cast as” Racist and Greedy Tea Baggers.”
Something similar is trying to be cultivated at these Occupations, and anyone who criticizes them without actually going to one and discussing the issues with those who are there, is a tool. Their willing adaptation to media messages accommodates the needs/desires of those they claim to be resisting. They’re also being lazy. It’s much easier to sit at your desk staring at the computer while pointing fingers than it is to go out into the world and communicate with those who may not always understand or appreciate your views.
The good news is that no matter what gets co-opted and/or to what degree, the mood is still there on both “sides.” Common ground is being found by those who have previously been unable to look beyond their differences.
This mass irritation isn’t going away, and these movements will only get larger and stronger.
Thank you JohnE.
Greg
Greg,
At what point do the “people” revolt from the Democrats and the Republicans and start a 3rd party. The only difference between Dems and Repubs is who they bestow favors on and neither party EVER does anything for the little guy.
George,
That is the million dollar question!!
Greg
Congress just approved pizza as a vegetable for kids lunches under pressure from the large pizza companies.
This proves the government is controlled by corporations. There is no democracy anymore. It’s a dictatorship, dictated by the large corporations. This proves congress cannot solve any problems.
Greg,
When I read the comment section of the articles on OWS most of the comments are anti free market and anti capitalism. Most of those people want the government to take from the producers and give more to the ones at the bottom of the economic ladder. There is alot of class warfare and envy. Yes, the politicians and bankers that got us into this mess should be in jail but class warfare is not the solution and will only result in less freedom.
Stan,
If you think we have capitalism right now in America you are dreaming a spiel of Republican talking points. I am a capitalist and in true capitalism you have capital formation not phony accounting that props up insolvent big banks. (See FASB April 2009) In true capitalism you risk capital and if you chose wrong you go bankrupt. Do you see any of that happening here or do you see gonzo bailouts by taxpayers and the Fed? So it’s OK for bank and corporate bailouts in the trillions of dollars and someone says something its“a lot of class warfare and envy?” If it were not for government bailouts Warren Buffett would have been crushed by his stupid investments. Just a few of the companies where hi profited from include Goldman Sachs, Am-Ex, Well Fargo, GE and those are just a few. So if Buffett get a bailout he is a brilliant investor? This is about a very uneven playing field. You can not have a thriving economy driven by bailouts, fraud, zero regulation and the upper class getting away with obvious crime. Wait until the next (even bigger) meltdown.
Greg
Bravo Greg…BRAVO,
Furthermore, There is a tremendous effort by fringe groups trying to co-opt the young people. If the media (including Fox) would poll these kids, they may get down to some real facts. As I can sense it, most are angry over bailouts, lack of prosecutions, lobbying favors, and big bonuses to board members that are so talented that they destroyed their companies. Does it make it more just to pay these board members and not bail out a family losing their home, or a student with a debt they can’t pay because the fed government and WS blew the economy? I urge readers to rent the DVD “Inside Job” then tell me what is just. As for the fed, it’s leveraged 50-1 if it didn’t hold the key to the presses.
The Belgian bank (TBTF) failed today. 600 trillion in derivatives in Europe and no one’s worried? If 10% fail, whats going to happen? I may be ahead of myself when I thought mid November would be the start, but it’s coming soon.
Oldguy
The belgian bank is Dexia. (My error and omission). Also, I’m not saying that we should bail out the homeowners or pay off the student loans. I’m saying no bailouts period, and no bonuses to failing company CEO’s. Another thing that bothers the OWS people is the millions of dollars raised in political contributions and its use in the equation to get elected.
Oldguy
OG,
I agree. If these kids borrowed the money they should pay it back. This is what you get when the bankers got bailed out instead of bankrupted.
Greg
Thank you OG for the support. I need it on this post.
Greg
This demonization, dishonest reporting of OWS from the Right (and to leser extent) corporate media is classic COINTELRPO. The establishment is terrified of grass roots movements they can’t subvert or don’t control from the beginning. You saw the same thing from the ‘Left’ media when the Tea Party got going. The TPP later got hijacked by the Neocons aka today’s conservative/republicans.
As far as there (allegedly) being rapes, drug use, lewd behavior etc at some OWS venues, if these allegations are true they are not exactly out of the ordinary or particularly scandalous. You are bound to have bad apples and ugly incidents with every large number of people esp one gathered together over time.
And it is the height of dishonesty to use a few ugly incidents and bad apples to characterize an entire group of people and their views
Although some in the OWS movement might do some objectionable things, I believe for the most part, they have a right to protest when thieves like Scum Bag John Corzine are allowed to get away with wholesale theft.
hipshotpercusion,
Amen brother,
Greg
Then why don’t they protest scumbags like Corzine?
It’s not about being right or wrong. It’s about thesis, antithesis and synthesis. First a problem is created. Then those who would take liberty create a solution to that problem which will give power to take away more liberty. In the final stages it is about a world of people who are homeless, hungry and out of work, so they take to the streets in protest. The solution is martial law for the sake of saving the government as it exists in centralized form of course. At this stage all freedom is taken in the name of security.
I think their plan has worked pretty well, but the citizens went right along with their plan when they forgot God and His plan. When one refuses to do things Gods way, one forfeits his own freedom and that of his own children.
MAYBE YOU SHOULD TELL OAKLAND THAT WAS A PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY AND THEN OFFER TO DONATE MONEY TO HELP CLEAN UP THAT HUGE MESS LEFT TO THE TAXPAYERS AND PROERTY OWNERS…..OAKLAND IS NOT THE ONLY CITY THIS HAPPENED IN……You must live in La la Land, this is costing all the citizens money they don’t have..
ONTIME,
Sure but , why don’t we get the cash from the trillions of dollars in bailout money from the bankers. You got to be kidding, you are worried about some rowdy protesters and trash when the country is being robbed???
Greg
This is all great, but where was the outcry decades ago?
Are people really willing to shoulder the burden of their own liberty, that is to take ownership of the consequences of thier own shortcomings and actions, or do they simply want the government to roll up its sleeves and take care of us the way they coddle these corporations?
I wish I heard more cries for liberty rather than complaints that we are screwed.
Well, my friend, you are a light in the darkness and do a great service with your website, but I have a different take on OWS. From what I have seen, most of the demonstrators are lazy losers .. they cannot be compared with the Tea Party. I didn’t see any reports of rape, defecating, masturbation and other lewd acts at any Tea Party activities. If the OWS crowd wants to make a difference, have them get a job …. and vote.
David,
Just how many rapes have been reported? How many masturbating? One of each, maybe? Do you see how this is a false narrative? I cannot understand how people who call themselves conservative ignore the trillions of dollars that have been ripped off from America while zero elite bankers have gone to jail. Thank you for your participation and support!!
Greg
It seems that everyone is focused on a bunch of kids, spoiled brats, that have never earned a real living or paid their own bills. I would like to hear some real solutions, 1. laws to control congress. 2. laws to enforce banking regulations. 3. Jail sentences to all regardless of position who break the laws. The very idea that congress can exempt itself from obeying laws which everyother citizen must obey is TREASON! Fast and Furious was TREASON! Sending troops to war without congressional approval is TREASON. I am not a Republican or a Democrat. I am a Disabled American Veteran. (Gunshot wound right thigh)
Very good article Greg. Imagine people in the OWS and people in the Tea Party sitting down to discuss their issues and finding common ground. All are against bank bailouts and want corporate & union money out of politics. It would scare the dickens out of the elite!
Tough subject, but you handled it with class. That weasel John Edwards said it best in that there are two America’s. The tea party cleans up after themselves and uses the ballot box. OWS tactics are a bit more radical forcing democratic politicians into the role of acting politically correct. For me, OWS is a freak show that could not hold a candle to the Woodstock era. Both movements define the narrative of the USA in 2011.
Radical change is needed and our political leaders are not equipped. Meanwhile, greed continues to rule the day.
Greg,
I’m still not certain that the OWS movement has a clear purpose other than to promote class envy. It is no mistake that various socialist parties are supporting OWS. I read some of the comments on the website http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/ and the stories on there read like a who’s who of personal bad choices coupled with a sense of entitlement. Nothing in life is guaranteed. Everything contains an element of risk and life is sometimes not fair. Yes, what has happened during and since the financial meltdown was and is not fair. Many people have suffered greatly because of it. Greed and corruption were rampant and were exposed when everything fell apart. None of it is anything new. FDR’s famous 1933 inaugural address contains many points that could apply to what is now happening http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/froos1.asp. I agree that greed and corruption have to be fought. The Tea Party movement was organized in response to some of these very injustices and successfully supported candidates in the hopes of making a difference. They are certainly within their rights to protest, but if the OWS movement is advocating redistribution of wealth because they feel entitled to it then I cannot support that. I am not rich, but I do work hard for what I have and will continue to do so regardless of what happens with the government, Wall Street, the economy or the Fed.
Good information Greg. Keep up the good work.
Bryan,
The only thing new is that nobody has gone bankrupt (yet) and no financial elite have been jailed. This amounts to the rip-off of trillions of dollars and the false narrative is being changed to crap such as “class envy.” This is about cheating. rigging the system to always win (for the bankers) bailouts and ongoing crime that goes unchecked and unpunished. We are headed for a systemic collapse in the Western world and we are all fighting over the deck chairs. Thank you for weighing in. You do make some valid points here.
Greg
greed has no class , but cash is king, and all the world will submit to its grasp.
the tea party did not accomplish there mission,the ows are at least trying. now as to wanting a handout…as i said greed has no class.those wanting a freebe are the same as the banksters. greedy!
however you cant blame one that has lost it all..they lose it.
Reently protesters were pepper sprayed by the robotic actions of the education system selling the states propaganda.
The security for the university shows a complete lack of apathy for citizens.
No red flags for these police people.. just follow orders to silence these them. These people who stand behind riot gear are no different than those who wore brown shirts and followed orders from Nazi leaders.
America should be ferrating out these follower types who have no disgust with policy such as groping kids at airports and macing peaceful youth who show zero cause to threaten or harm anyone.
If we as a nation do not police the police very soon we will be in concentration camps for speaking out. Freedom is just one word that does nothing for people until the day those who design to take it away are brought forth for crimes against citizens. The we can say we have freedoms.
yes, and meanwhile the OWS movement completely ignores the federal reserve, the ones who actually control wall street. It’s sad when I have to agree with the people who say OWS has no focus.
steve says:
“yes, and meanwhile the OWS movement completely ignores the federal reserve, the ones who actually control wall street. It’s sad when I have to agree with the people who say OWS has no focus.”
Really? Every picture I’ve seen of OWS groups shows people holding signs that say “End the Fed”.
It’s really hard to get above the rhetoric on the left and the right in an election season (when isn’t it an election season)? The so-called super commitee just failed to reach agrement on budget cuts. They should all be fired next November.
MF Global apparently stole money from its investors and then declared bankrupcy. The trustee freezed the accounts of the clients of MF Global. They say the clients may get 60% of their money back. Do these wall street criminals comprehend how they are dirtying their own nest?
I have investments with a reputable trading company. I plan to wait until the Christmas rally and then close my positions and account because I can’t trust the regulators to keep the criminals under control.
Martin,
I wouldn’t wait until Christmas and you make the scariest point today about closing your account. You are not going to be the only one.
Greg
i took mine out.
greg this must be the most responces iv ever seen. iv been reading for these for over 1 hr now..great artical
Thank you Jay.
Greg
Greg, I want to thank you for another excellent and informative article. I enjoyed reading it. I am now determined in making myself more prepared for the hard times coming ahead.
Like I did once in the past, this time, I want to congratulate the cartoonist par excellence, Mike Lukovich, for his excellent rendition of the Wall street banksters and the poor OWS people. What a genius of a man! Wow!
Miro,
Thank you for your kind words.
Greg
Greg, thanks for keeping the OWS issue going, I think it needs to be front and center.
I wonder if Sean Hannity has been to NYC and to OWS? Has he talked to any of them, listened to any of them. Would he spend a night in a tent with them?
When anyone wants to criticize something, I always wonder, have they been in “their” shoes before they speak? To me, Sean Hannity hasn’t experienced anything the folks that are in the OWS group because he is probably a part of the 1%. He just wants them to go away.
The false narratives are pervasive in the US media. We are told that unemployment is going down while many of the uncounted have exhausted their full 99 weeks of benefits. We are told that inflation is very small except when you count the actual foods one eats and energy costs. We are told that we will be bringing the troops home and while some will come home from Iraq some troops will go to Australia now. The word recovery has no business being in the same sentence with the US economy.
I believe that the mainstream media is unable or unwilling to tell the citizenry the truth. Maybe they believe the truth will scare us into acting “irrationally,” maybe taking our money out of an inherently corrupt financial system. Or perhaps we will vote differently if we accept that Congress cannot possibly go on a fiscal diet and keep hitting up the cookie jar at all hours of the night. Maybe the people will realize that their president cannot take any responsibility and speaks out of both sides of his mouth. Instead lets talk about Kardashian or the Michael Jackson trial or Casey Anthony or…
gotta take issue with the “false narrative”. Yes, Banks handed out bad loans.yes they knew there was risk. BUT, it was the democrats that said, “everyone deserves a house”. Wall street didn’t create fannie and freddie, that was all uncle sam.
Now uncle sam and the bankters are in bed after this las crash. Its them on one side and us on the other. I wonder how many more MF globals it will take before there is a real run on the banks. After that we will all see the true character of our country men and women….
Brian,
You comment shows how doomed we really are. I would like to say that false narratives stop us from fixing the problem and that is what the powers want. Thank you for your support.
Greg
Oh boy Greg
You know I love you man and 99 percent of the time agree with you but right now is a 1% moment. To compare the Occupy Wall Street crowd with the Tea Party is like saying Dolphins and Sharks are the same. Yes, they are both grey and white and swim in the ocean and just want to live their lives, but their reputations are where they split. I tend to judge a group by their efforts and While watching the past two months of OWS I am not impressed. Yes they have valid points to many degrees but their approach to spread their message and support of our future is in question. Yes, their is a communist, socialist, Nazi and a half dozen other groups vying for position in this movement and that is the difference. The MSM tried, and continue to imply, that black people were spit on at Tea Party rallies and called names without being able to provide one piece of evidence to show for it. If anyone with negative signs did show up they were removed for misrepresenting the core values of the group. The tea party was orderly and cleaned up after themselves and made it a point to leave any area better than they left it. The OWS was as stated, an OCCUPATION. Segments of them were rude, violent, nasty, angry, dangerous and crude. Yes it matters that members of their group were defecating on streets, sidewalks and police cars. It matters that they have no concept of the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. They have no direction other than self-serving accumulation at others expense.I understand that they want what the one percent have. Maybe not as much, but none the less, what they have. How much would be enough of other peoples stuff would make them happy. Greg, I know your heart is in the right place but trying to give these groups, for they are many, any credence is a stretch. If they clean up their group and unite as citizens of the united states and not some conglomerated vision of 50 different vissions, then maybe they would be able to be understood. You do them a dis-service pretending they are anything other than Anarchist bent on causing mayhem and trouble. Yes, some came with a purpose we all can relate to and support. If they can get it together then they may make a change or at least a positive impact on the discussion. All they have added is discussion. I’ll allow you to decide who are the dolphins and who represent the sharks. OWS looked like a feeding frenzy to me.
norcar survivor,
I’ll only say one thing. I gave the Tea Party credence and people disagreed with me on that. Like it or not the Democrats (I am of neither party) are going to use this issue in the 2012 election. When the economy really crashes (and time is getting close) People are going to want to know Why Wall Street was allowed to rig the system and why no one was brought to justice. The Republicans are going to have a hard time defending their position when the system implodes. I hope I am wrong. I think OWS has a “concept of the Constitution or the Bill of Rights” They’re protesting aren’t they. By the way, you are repeating a Republican talking point and false narrative when you bring up “defecating on streets, sidewalks and police cars.” Really? How many reports? How many times did this happen in a worldwide protest carried out by thousands of people? That my friend is a false narrative and you bought it. It is brought up by FOX to make this protest look inhuman, less than. In your entire comment you did not mention once the trillions of dollars ripped off by Wall Street. Why? I don’t get it? “Good men can disagree” and I think you are a very good guy! Thank you for you well thought out rebuttal.
Greg
We don’t disagree nearly as much as you read into it. I too want to see changes in the system as well as bad people brought to justice. There are sources besides Fox that show the actions of these groups. Point is there is no place in our battle for any of this kind of childishness. Neither group was shown for who they are from a fairness standpoint from any news source. We agree that the OWS has some valid points, but the Tea Party made it possible to bring your family out to hear their message and you have to do that to get any respect from the citizens. OWS looked like a circus. It was like watching someone that you know has potential continue to fall on their face. I was hoping this movement would bring the ugly questions out in the open and possibly bring some awareness to the real problems in our countries financial system as well as political world, but it became a woodstock revival and it quickly became a sideshow to the real message that needs to get out. You do a great service to the country by pulling no punches and there is no political clutter to cut through with you. That’s why we read your post, But we have to keep each other focused. If OWS is to have any affect they have to clean up their act and get their people involved in the effort to make changes like the TEA Party did across the country when the House of Congress was taken back. That my friend was change we can believe in. No,Republicans are not the answer and Congress has not gotten in gear yet but I think maybe stopping the Obama wrecking machine may be the first step in redirecting all that momentum and changing the course of our country. I don’t think minimizing defecating, drugs, rape, or any of that crap in the streets helps their cause. Once is once too many no matter who reported it. We need no distractions in our fight for justice. You’re my hero man. You’re doing great things.
norcar survivor,
I didn’t think you would cut and run. You are a true Tar-heel!! Yes, you make good points. I feel very uncomfortable that the Communists and Nazi’s and Unions are involved with OWS. I have no use for Communists and Nazi’s and public unions should be banned because there are no profits to divide only taxpayers. That said, I think Democrats have found the only issue out there to stand on. If Republicans want to win in November they should pay attention. I think things will be so bad by November 2012 we will not be Republicans or Democrats, just Americans needing to pull together to ward off the Greatest Depression. Thank you for your support and thank you for sticking around like your heel is stuck to ground with tar!!!!
Greg
The Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protesters (aka Flea Party) may not all be social deviants, but many are anarchists, Marxists, hard-core leftists, and morons. Obama and the Democrats embrace and exploit the OWS because they want don’t want any protestors marching on the White House and the Congress where the real blame belongs. Who allowed the Wall Street corruption to occur in the first place? It was the politicians who were bought off! Obama and the Democrats received billions from Wall Street bankers in 2008 and then Wall Street was rewarded with further bailouts. Wall Street bankers continue to shovel money at the same politicians for future elections. Only a stooge in the liberal mainstream news media would try to tell you otherwise. The OWS has has its own song, and it’s an ugly leftist rant and wail.
Simone,
You depreciate you argument by making a bad joke with the “(aka Flea Party)” Second you say ” many are anarchists, Marxists, hard-core leftists, and morons.” What is your source? How do you know this to be fact? Yes government is to blame but Wall Street bought and paid for them. That is indisputable. You also say, “Obama and the Democrats received billions from Wall Street bankers in 2008 and then Wall Street was rewarded with further bailouts.” You’re kidding, right? TARP started under the Bush Administration. Likewise for the government take over of Fannie and Freddie–the bankers favorite bailout vehicle of sour MBS debt. You’re saying the Republicans didn’t get Wall Street donations?” Please, stop. You are making a fool of yourself. Finally you say, “The OWS has has its own song, and it’s an ugly leftist rant and wail.” Really? You did not listen to it did you?
Greg
Obama continued and implemented the TARP plan that was announced at the end of Bush’s term. The Obama administration called its various bailout efforts the Financial Stability Plan. Here’s an MSN Money article from March of 2009:
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/obamas-bailout-game-plan.aspx
Obama received billions during the 2008 presidential campaign from Wall Street banks like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase through their PACS, individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals’ immediate families. You can see who contributed to Obama’s 2008 campaign by looking at sites like opensecrets.org:
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cid=N00009638
Anyone who has been to any of the occupy protests has seen the usual government SEIU union thugs, leftist community agitators, leftist college professors, tired old hippy protesters from the 1960’s, and clueless college students who have been brainwashed by the leftist indoctrination in schools and the media.
Please Greg, your CNN leftist bias is showing. Makes one wonder if someone is paying you off to ignore the Democrats involvement in this financial mess and just blame the Republicans? Maybe the Democrat National Committee? Maybe Media Matters? Maybe SEIU union thugs? Maybe ACORN?
Simone,
Thank you for your research, because on that same site Obama’s Presidential opponent from the Republican side listed many of the same financial donors who gave to the McCain campaign. You have proven my point that both parties are bought and paid for. Here’s the link:http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cid=N00006424 Yes, I agree that unions an communists and Nazi’s are all trying to hijack the OWS movement but the biggest problem for the Republicans are the Democrats. This is the point i made near the end of the story. This is the analysis I provide and you start the false narrative on me. The body of work here on this site proves you wrong. I wonder if you are being paid by the far right wing? Maybe the GOP? Koch Brothers? FOX? Bankers? I find it strange that you ignore the trillions of dollars spent bailing out the banks and massive crimes that have gone unpunished. Instead your all upset about these protesters. I guess you right wingers can’;t say, “Yeah crimes were committed and yes the trillion dollar bailouts are going to continue because these are our campaign donors!” (Democrats are just as bought and paid for as the Republicans.) That would not be the narrative you would want to put forth. Instead of really fixing the country, you are going to continue the phony Left/Right narrative, while America burns. I guess it is not really about fixing the country–it’s all about your kleptocrat cronies taking their turn to cashing in. As I have said before, If you guys really want to fix the country then you have to fix the insolvent banks, stop the phony accounting and bailouts. The country will not survive with the financial system shrouded in FRAUD, and I have been saying this LOOOOOOOONG before the OWS protesters.” By the way, there would be no OWS protests if the Republicans wouldn’t have weakened regulation and let the bankers run wild under the Bush Administration. Instead of stumbling all over themselves to come up with the bait and switch TARP (no troubled assets were bought) you should have let the banks go into receivership. It would have been trillions of dollars cheaper! But by all means let’s not let the facts get in the way of a false narrative.
Greg
Greg
I don’t agree with your premise that the Tea Party and OWS are “only separated by a few degrees”. The number of police arrests of Tea Party supporters vs. OWS supporters is just one major difference between the two groups.
The OWS isn’t “all about the First Amendment at its core” anymore than the Tea Party was a First Amendment issue. Nobody is impeding the OWS’s free exercise of religion, abridging its freedom of speech, infringing on its freedom of the press, interfering with its right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting its petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It’s the “peaceable” assemblies that the OWS seems to have problems with. Another difference with the Tea Party movement.
The two spokespersons you cite express outrage about Wall Street cheaters and crimes. These quotes seem cherry-picked to bolster your point that crimes have been committed and nobody’s gone to jail – a position I agree with. I would say the OWS movement though is broader in scope and more concerned with class warfare (the 1% vs. the 99%) than with criminal activity.
The Tea Party movement has a narrower focus – smaller government, less taxes. They moved from staged rallies starting on tax day, Apr 15 2009 which led into participation in the political system with summer townhall meetings, putting forth candidates in primaries, and endorsing/electing candidates in the 2010 general elections.
Unlike the Tea Party, the OWS movement has shown no inclination to work within the political system to achieve their goals. I’ve seen no reports of OWS members at town hall or city council meetings, or reports of OWS members participating in candidate selection for the 2012 primaries and general elections.
The OWS movement seems to expect to achieve its goals by working outside the political system. The Tea Party movement works within the political system to achieve its goals. This I think is the greatest difference between the two groups.
Otter,
Fair enough. Yes, they are different. Here’s what you left out. The Tea Party did not even mention the crimes on Wall Street. The Tea party did not mention the continued back door bailouts give to the bankers through Fannie and Freddie. B of A got $200 billion in forgiveness and debt buy backs from taxpayers THIS YEAR.–The Tea Party is silent. The Tea Party did not mention that Wall Street rigged the game so bankers always win. What do you think “flash trading is?” The Tea Party has not even brought up the issue of the phony accounting at the banks to make them look solvent when indeed they are not. They want to run the country, they don’t know about this? Of course the quotes I picked were to bolster my point. So what? It’s true. What goals have the Tea Party accomplished? Smaller government? I guess getting behind a $2.4 trillion increase in spending is all part of getting to that “smaller government?” The OWS movement started September 17th 2011. Can you give them a little time? The Tea Party and OWS are trying to right wrongs in a broad sense, so to me, they are closer together that further apart. Frankly, I like the Tea Party and hope they have a positive effect on the political process. I think the Tea Party has been partially hijacked and it looks like the Democrats are trying to do the same thing to OWS. The country is broken and there is no way in hell we are going to create jobs while the banks are propped up with bailouts, phony accounting and is full of crooks that need prosecution. Economies do not thrive in an atmosphere of mistrust and fraud. The financial system must be cleaned up or the country we know and love will die. Thank you for your comment.
Greg
Decide for yourself.
http://napoleonlive.info/did-you-know/facts-about-the-one-percent/
The false narrative is coming from you Greg, I’m sorry to say [but more sorry to read!].
Here’s your false narrative:
This is about free speech.
No. It isn’t about free speech. People support OWS’s right to protest, i.e., “free speech.”
They don’t support what OWS is actually DOING–exploiting the “free speech” narrative to do it–which is criminal trespass on private property, impeding commerce, vandalism, private property destruction, and harrassment of others’ freedom of movement in and around areas where they have decided to violate the freedom of OTHERS, and impede police investigations into criminal sexual assault, create public health hazards.
These are crimes. That you think it’s about “free speech” is both nauseating and shocking. I know for a fact it isn’t about “free speech” because I engaged in my right to free speech several times on the streets of Washington DC during 2002 and 2003, marching with thousands of others to protest G.W. Bush’s illegitimate invasion of Iraq. The organizations which organized these marches got permits, no property was destroyed or vandalized, and no business or commerce was destroyed, vandalized or impeded, no public health hazards endangered anyone, and everyone engaged in their right to petition the government for redress of grievances.
Unfortunately, you have revealed your lack of information about OWS with this sad commentary. As a libertarian, I don’t fear people engaging in free speech, wholeheartedly support it, wherever and whenever possible. But “free speech” doesn’t include trampling on the rights of others to live, work or travel–which of course is what OWS has done repeatedly wherever they gather.
Sign me highly disappointed in your skewed and clueless perspective on OWS, Greg.
Mountainaires,
Ah the false narrative continues, “criminal trespass on private property, impeding commerce, vandalism, private property destruction, and harassment of others’ freedom of movement in and around areas where they have decided to violate the freedom of OTHERS, and impede police investigations into criminal sexual assault, create public health hazards.” I too am disappointed that you are so upset about this narrative but not a word about the crimes (no many levels) committed by bankers and the multi-trillion dollar bailouts do not even get a mention? Please let that sink in, ” crimes (on many levels) committed by bankers and the multi-trillion dollar bailouts.” Your kidding right? You are more worried about these protesters than another systemic breakdown (that is on its way) cause by the unholy banker/government alliance. We are headed for another crash and your Democratic opponents are in the process of exploiting this fact. This is what I am pointing out. If you guys really want to fix the country then you have to fix the insolvent banks ans stop the phony accounting and bailouts. The country will not survive with the financial system shrouded in FRAUD, and I have been saying this LOOOOOOOONG before the OWS protesters. Thank you for your comment and I as I always say, “Good men can disagree.”
i can only wish the banksters would have done all the bad things the ows are being accused of. then id still have my life saveings in my hand. ill take the ows over banksters anyday. i lost 1/2 of my stocks,and now the countrys sinking into a depresion…when will we stop and realize its time for a revolt!
a past president said a country should revolt from time to time in order to keep control of its elected members. if this is not the time…then what is? a revolt will not be as clean and neet as an election. but in its time more productive.
The money for the bank bailouts was transfered overseas into failing foreign banks. Some of the bailout money was used to pay for bunkers and retreats for the super rich, some of that money was used for the re-location centers built to empty our cities. Some of that money was used to buy off our sworn enemies whose capabilities now are greater to attack us. Some of that bailout money went to the politicians who voted for it. They want to cut defense when we are not allowed to defend ourselves and our borders and they will continue to render all of US defenseless. Soon this country will be repopulated by hostile armed outsiders. This is the master plan of the new world disorder. Mafia is just the fundraising arm and the enforcement arm of the newly revised Roman empire married to the devil himself. All current wars are really wars against humanity in desguise directed by the nephilim and their offspring. Dosent matter if you are Christian, Jew, Muslim, buddist, Hindu or non-believer we have all been targeted for destruction. Minor diferences will be used to create massive collective suicide. The world materially, spiritually and physically is at a tipping point. Man left to his own devices and intellectual self deception pushed along by the satanic will end the race of man, unless; People wake up and seek divine guidance in their lives and light up the dark areas and expose the decievers. The wealth of the world has always come from the natrual resources found on or in the earth and the ability of men to wisely use those resources given to them by the creator of all things.
Get off your high horses and humble yourselves to the true teacher if you want to learn the proper way of living and treating your neighbor. There is plenty of blame to go around and most need to look in the mirror first. If you keep re-electing the same people you will continue to get the same results. The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expecting to get different results. Politicians need to be limited to size of staff, consecutive terms of office, end automatic pay raises for themselves, and not be ble to make law by executive order by time default. Corporations are not people and corporate personhood should be ended by constitutional amendment. Courts need to be reigned in by ending their ability to make law, especialy by unelected judges. You need to be able to hire and fire the guys that mak your laws and spend YOUR money. Return God and traditional moral values to the class room. Be aware that the Nazification of scince began with Operation Paperclip and has polluted the education system and the scientific industries with deviant Darwinian philosophy that had changed the American Culture.
Well, you just lost me Greg. When you start quoting Van Jones as a voice of reason it is all over. Good bye and good luck. I will be removing your site from my bookmarks.
Mungo,
That’s the way to remain open minded in your quest for knowledge!! I quoted Johnson because he’s on target and Republicans should take notice. Let me get this straight, you are more offended I used a quote from someone you don’t agree with than focusing on the $trillions ripped off by the banks? It doesn’t bother you that massive crimes were committed and continue to be committed and gone unpunished? If you guys really want to fix the country then you have to fix the insolvent banks ans stop the phony accounting and bailouts. The country will not survive with the financial system shrouded in FRAUD, and I have been saying this LOOOOOOOONG before the OWS protesters. Thank you for your comment and I as I always say, “Good men can disagree.”
Hey Greg, pay that guy no mind. He is obviously one of those types that still think in the left/right paradigm. He still believes in the fairytale world of Republicans and Democrats. With the small exception of a handful of good men/women on both sides; both party’s are bought and paid for by corporations of all sectors. As you have said a million times Greg, people need to stop watching the MSM. And if you are, you are being mind controlled!
Funny thing is all the NYPD taking the orders of scumberg, sorry I meant Bloomberg have had their pension funds reduced to nothing by these scumbags on wall street too. go figure.
Thank you John and Bob.
Greg
What I see in the criticisms of Greg’s article is that they’re missing the forest by focusing on the trees. Just wait till the critics’ income sources dry up or don’t buy diddly squat, then they’ll be out in the streets too. I dread my Thanksgiving dinner with all my ,for now, financially comfortable relatives whose heated political discussions consist of parroting the talking points on Fox News. But they must sniff something spooky in the wind cause they’re not making fun of my veggie gardens and gold anymore. Thanks Greg, for your important work.
Thank you MePie.
greg.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/211450.html
students eurged not to pay there student loans.
Jay,
These people borrowed the money and should pay it back. End of story on this one.
Greg
I see a lot of discussion about Left/Right, Tea Party/ Socialist, co-option of the movement, and which one of the criminal (banking or government) frauds were committed are to blame, they are NOT mutually exclusive and never were. Both go together because they work together, under the auspices of the fascia of a technocratic oligarchy for total control. People seem to think this is a kind of joke, a comic book theory of a mad elite who wish to bring the world and it’s resources under it’s control for it’s own gain while keeping all who are unaware of it in confusion and fear. Their viewpoint is: To eliminate the individual and his goofy ideas of life would make things so much easier for us if he would just accept his fate under our control. This is real life and death stuff and don’t kid yourselves that it’s not. Read some Z. Brzezinski, Kissinger, or even some various quotes from the Rothschilds just to name a very few. Knowing a little more obscure history is a really good way of peeking into the future and the future is now. Who agrees?
Oh, that’s impossible! Nobody wants to own the whole world! It’s just greed! Well, yes, greed along with ideology, is a very useful tool to foster confusion, isn’t it? The System itself is being called into scrutiny now which is what we need. Keeping focused on the big picture is going to be essential to ignoring and dispelling silly ideas about which establishment crony to elect (since we can’t count on an honest election anyway) or what new laws need to be imposed (since no one seems to follow them anyway). In the beginning, contract and agreement between individuals was the law. Now, contracts have been written for us, which we had no part in creating and we have been told to obey them and that is not law, just statutes. More confusion.
This movement, whether begun by shadowy think tanks, or some smart organizers who really were fed up with the condition of things (I tend to think by the former with the help of the latter) was bound to chart it’s course regardless of who was behind it, and the forces it unleashed show no obvious outcome because of the confusion of the individual vs. the collective. The collective being the one imposed upon us by the secretive and overarching technocratic, (social scientific) elite who’d just as soon be in charge of a lot fewer of us and who have no real authority other than their own perception of it to impose upon the individuals who have no lawful contract with it.
Greg
Great article though apparently risky to holding some Readers. I’ve been (still am) in and working with the US forces all over the world for the last 37 years. I remember being a die hard Conservative, quoting all the FOX talking points for much of my life. Lately I’ve been pretty regularly attending Occupy Dallas marches and meetings. The sign I carry reads”America, Born of freedom, died of greed”. I sit and talk to the Occupier’s enjoying their savy way of thinking. The minute anyone left or right tries to be their spokesman or leader, they just laugh and say, (more or less) NOPE! As of now the idea seems to be to grow and educate. The main idea so far seems to be stop bailing out criminals and get money out of politics. We deserve a voice. Your article reads as if written by someone who actually talked with Occupier’s rather than someone who chirps the vomit FOX or CNN provides. I am amazed by the number of commenter’s who believed Wallstreet and Congress when in what seemed like 5 minutes yelled “we must have trillions or we perish”. The mindset though irritating brings memories of my clueless path. I hope what is happening is the beginning of critical mass in our world, where a fog is lifted and we see the truth.
I’m just an old Dude who wants one extra lane on my road I travel to work.
Let’s see, we have the technology, people and resources but something is missing. That’s right it’s money. Wonder how many times that one word stands in the way of our good in so many ways.
That I’m afraid may be a topic for my next life if there be one.
Thanks Greg.
Thank you Jim,
There is another life because energy cannot come from nowhere and does not go to nowhere. There is a God.
Greg
Agreed.
Hard to see God as Separatist so I try not to be.
Enjoy & Happy Thanksgiving!
Jim and Family
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours as well!!!
Greg
The comments have gotten hot. I guess people are waking up and trying to find someone to blame. The trouble in DC is the people who believe in the rule of law are out gun by killers. If a person don’t understand this, you must believe in the two party thing still. The way I look at it, anyone who voted for the worthless wars can’t be trusted. It’s so crazy most people can’t get there head around it. I know you understand this Greg, that’s why I always like to hear what you got to say. PEACE
Bill Black hit the nail right on the head when he stated…
“Well, the way that you do it [large corporate failures and scandals] is to make really bad loans, because they pay better. Then you grow extremely rapidly, in other words, you’re a Ponzi-like scheme. And the third thing you do is we call it leverage. That just means borrowing a lot of money, and the combination creates a situation where you have guaranteed record profits in the early years. That makes you rich, through the bonuses that modern executive compensation has produced. It also makes it inevitable that there’s going to be a disaster down the road.”
This is what happens with deregulation and no oversight!
Greg keeps repeating the rant about the trillions given to the banks on the backs of taxpayers and the phoney accounting they are allowed to keep running their banks even though they are insolvent.
This is why I read you everday Greg.
This focus you have may be a old tune to some but like you say this really is the crux of Americas’s woes. Until this is fixed the economy cannot restore itself
Thank you thank you for keeping at it.
Nice article Greg,
Now that I have read through nearly all of the proceeding comments, may we all agree that a majority of the American populace is ‘pissed off’ with the state of affairs in our Nation and desires significant action and change in direction immediately?
Emotional dissent is rarely pretty, diplomatic, or calm. Perhaps it is the fringes that are first to react to the irritation of unbridled avarace; not unlike your skin getting sunburned before heatstroke. Does not mean that the ‘core’ doesn’t recognize the danger; just slower and more measured in its reaction.
As Americans, we need to rise above the dogma, sound bites, and partisanship of all organizations and once again begin to think for ourselves; and then act and behave accordingly to our own best intention for the good of our fellow AmerICAN and our Union.
It is not too late for us, but the hour grows perilously close.
Though I sure want the bankers and those that so robbed Americans of trillions I have a hard time supporting the ows protesters.
I keep hearing it said here that it’s just a few malcontents causing trouble and that’s just ridiculous. I have to look very hard to find anything but a little bad behavior among millions of tea party people over 3 years. In just two months I can find hundreds of videos and reports on how lacking in civility the ows movement is. Sorry that is fact no matter how others here would have you believe it otherwise. It takes a lot of people to shut down a port but some here would have you believe that it’s not that many when my eyes tell me otherwise.
I as a tea party supporter I would never go a ship like the Yorktown and offend veterans and disgrace their event like ows did. That’s the real difference between the ows and the tea party.
What will it be like in 3 years with (if) millions of ows are protesting? So Greg please don’t say the ows is not that far from the tea party. You are writing your own false history. It’s an insult. The tea party was largely peaceful and respective of others and their rights, the history supports that.
The tea party wants small representative government. Ows wants big government and will use that government to take what others have worked hard for like dems and socialists so often do with big government. Last I checked it’s not going so good in socialist Europe. So whats the difference between wallstreet and the ows? I still end up having my hard earned money taken from me at least in a somewhat free market I have some freedom, with the ows and their big government I will have very little freedom.
If ows would protest without raising their free speech rights over the free speech of others like they did on the Yorktown and the businesses they have forced to close maybe I would have some respect for them. They act entitled and selfish. Is this how the founding fathers would protest? The consciousness then was so different than it is today and I surely miss it to this anarchist atmosphere.
I had to read all the comments before sticking my nose into this one.
You reap what you soe.
Although OWS, has many undesireables and its voice somewhat askewed, they still exercise first amendment right of free speech.
They have united behind a cause against government and Wall St. I have listened to the words in the song and they remind me of Bob Dylan’s, “The Times They Are A Changing”.
Have the years of feeding our children drugs ( Ritalin) and endless propaganda finally become the Frankenstein to reap havoc on the countryside?
Like an Army, they need bodies to fill the ranks and as time goes on they melt into one and become a force to be reckoned with.
These ranks will increase as things get worse in the economy.
You know TPTB are thinking about the end game and what to do about the masses. Talk about a false narrative? How about a false flag. An incident to corral the people. Make them scared. If they were willing to take it this far, I would not put it past them to do it. As OWS morphs into something more cohesive, the Tea Party and OWS may embace each other. I believe that both will become so large that the insitements of the smaller factions in each organization will disappear. Could OWS and Tea Party merge?
There are still many sitting on the sidelines. Waiting and Watching closely.
Greg, I hope you and yours had a Happy Thanksgiving. And, yes, “good men can disagree”; I do disagree with you on OWS. I replied to your reply to my original comment, which did not show up in the comment thread. So, I’ll reply as follows to your sarcasm, presumptions about me, and continued false assertions regarding the merit of your original argument:
It defies credulity that you would assert an argument about OWS being about “free speech” [not in the least; it is about anarchy and socialism] and then reply to criticisms about your assertion with the argument that critics aren’t criticizing the BANKSTERS enough for the crimes they have committed. Surely even you can see that your sarcasm doesn’t rise to the level of intellectual honesty. YOU made the false narrative argument about OWS in the original; if you wanted to debate the crimes of the BANKSTERS, you ought to have made THAT argument don’t you think? Following on the sarcasm you invoke to destroy the straw men you set up in the original, you then make presumptions about me and others that are wholly without merit: That because we are incredulous that you assert OWS is about “free speech,” that we somehow aren’t disgusted by BANKSTERS’ own crimes. I challenge you to point out ANYWHERE in my first reply to you that proves I excuse the BANKSTERS! I never have done so, and couldn’t possibly do so, since I know precisely what happened, being quite well read on the events that have occurred during the 90s and in the past decade. I am a libertarian, and not a credulous idiot who follows “party” ideologies. I take good arguments where I find them, however, and don’t just throw out the baby with the bath water. So, please DO take the time to read this very well constructed argument [which puts yours to shame, I’m sorry to say, because I was previously most definitely NOT a fan of Matthew Continetti] from a publication I don’t often put forward as an example of well constructed arguments, The Weekly Standard. I hope you’ll put aside your contempt for your critics–at least this one–in the spirit of informed debate, and read it in its entirety. Muravchik at least has provided some reputable research for Continetti’s assertions, and it is precisely why I think this argument bears considering:
THIS is what OWS is about–not “free speech,” which is a false narrative:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/anarchy-usa_609222.html?nopager=1
Mountainaires,
First of all, I do not know where your comment went. Sometimes they go out of order in the string. I am putting this comment up. I read the article you sent and please let me point out one big flaw. The writer said, “An intellectual, financial, technological, and social infrastructure to undermine global capitalism has been developing for more than two decades, and we are in the middle of its latest manifestation.” We do not have “global capitalism.” If we did, then banks would have been allowed to go bankrupt and we would not prop them up (on both sides of the Atlantic) with government sanctioned accounting fraud. Also, Continetti (the writer) basically came to the same conclusion I did when he said, “But the utopians and anarchists will reappear—next year’s party conventions will no doubt be a flashpoint—and it is wrong to coddle, appropriate, or dismiss them. They must be confronted, not only by law but by ideas. The occupation will persist as long as individuals believe that inequalities of property are unjust and that the brotherhood of man can be established on the earth.” This is going to be an issue for the Democrats in 2012 and the Republicans better get it together and confront the real issues. They can’t say it’s all the governments fault for making bankers loan money to poor people. You should read Barry Ritholtz article in the “False Narrative” story. He says false narratives keep us from fixing the problem. Yes, this is about the First Amendment. You just do not like what these people are saying. I do not agree with everything these folks say or do, but I do believe they have the Constitutional right to redress the government, no matter how repulsive or clumsy they are. I appreciate your spirit and analysis, even if I do not agree. Good men can disagree.
Greg
The protestors in the Occupy Wall street movement who hate capitalism need to visit a country like Cuba to see firsthand how Communism really works. Would the Occupy Auburn movement prefer a corrupt Communist dictator and Communist party elite who live like kings while exploiting a vast poor underclass that subsists on meager handouts from the Communist elite? Shouldn’t the Occupy Wall street protestors instead be protesting the corrupt politicians in Washington, D.C. who allowed this financial mess to occur and who have been paid off by lobbyists so that crony capitalism could flourish? When are the Occupy Wall Street protestors going to protest the current administration’s use of taxpayer bailouts and guarantees to phony green businesses like Solyndra in exchange for votes?
Justsaying,
You think what we have now is capitalism? Trillions of dollars in bank bailouts and zero prosecutions for massive crimes. So you are worried about Solyndra’s $500 million in waste and fraud and no worries about the $20 billion flushed THIS QUARTER at Fannie and Freddie?
Greg
Greg,
I am afraid that while you are far out in front of the intellect and comprehension of the vast majority, you are lamenting the result of an inversion of power and ethics that has already been accomplished.
The gradual corruption of Congress over the last 30 years is evident as is that of the Federal Court system over the last 100.
How could Glass-Steagal have been repealed without the battle already being lost?
It is over and has been over for quite some time now. All that remains to contemplate is the manner in which totalitarian fascism is actualized.
In quiet rooms, the powerful find private amusement in the futile protestations and efforts to revert what cannot be undone.
Best,
tw