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Special Report

Live From Wall Street

By on 10.7.11 @ 6:08AM

One clean-cut journalist goes undercover with the protesters.

What exactly does one wear to a “leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions… [made up of] the 99 percent that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1 percent”? This was my pressing question as I prepared to document the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protest currently besieging downtown New York. Honestly, my greatest fear was looking like a total Narc. My personal style is best described as Bing Crosby updated for the present day. Surely the guy in retro glasses with a closely cropped hairstyle would stand out amongst the throngs of leftist marchers. Ultimately, I settled on a Johnny Cash t-shirt and ratty sneakers. My fandom of the Man in Black is about as close as I come to counterculture.

I also recruited a liberal minded friend to accompany me so I would stand out less and wouldn’t be alone if I ran into trouble. I had at least some fear of being arrested. This past weekend, 700 people were jailed as protesters flooded the Brooklyn Bridge.  Surely some of them were just observers who got caught up in the mass arrest. I wondered how my modern day crooner shtick would go over as I cooled my heels while eating bologna in the Tombs, New York’s downtown detention center.

What brought me out into the streets with the rabble? My first contact with these protesters was on the Internet. Initially, I took to Twitter and zinged them on a superficial level. I made all the obvious quips. They have the time to occupy Wall Street because they lack occupations. They are bringing down corporate greed one blog post at a time from their Apple iPhones using free wifi at McDonald’s and Starbucks. If the powerful labor unions they recruited to their cause went on a “general strike,” no one would notice because unionists hardly work anyhow.

In a particularly nasty Twitter exchange, an OWS sympathizer called me some unprintable words in retaliation for my unkindness towards the movement. When I remarked that he would not win my heart or mind that way, he retorted that he does not need to win me over. I am an enemy of the revolution because I write for The American Spectator. Touché.

But whether I like their message or not — and believe me, I despise it — OWS is a sizeable group of people exercising their rights to free speech. There are perhaps several hundred people who have established an encampment in Zuccotti Park, just off of Wall Street, for the past nineteen days. On days when marches are scheduled, their numbers swell into the thousands.  Perhaps I had been overly judgmental of their movement. Perhaps not. Either way, this was a spectacle worth checking out.

As it happens, I decided to venture downtown on the day that the ostensibly leaderless OWS movement received a massive influx of support from organized labor. The Transit Workers Union, the United Auto Workers, SEIU, the United Federation of Teachers and other powerful union interests staged a massive march in solidarity with the “occupiers.” The irony is inescapable. The TWU, which constantly imperils the finances of New York City through its ridiculous wage and benefit demands, and the UAW, which put the last nail in the coffin of the American auto industry through its contract inflexibility, want to have their say in a protest about the economy. This is like Michael Moore applying to be night watchman at the Hostess Cupcake factory.

As I emerged from the subway, I was immediately treated to the din of wind instruments provided by the Musicians Local 802, who from time to time provide the music for Broadway shows when they are not on strike. A man holding a smartphone approached me out of nowhere to ask if I had heard the bad news. He showed me the Apple website with notice of Steve Jobs’ untimely death.  A protester at a march against corporations celebrating the life of one of the greatest corporate visionaries without a trace of irony? It was going to be a long night.

Before visiting OWS, I had already formed an initial impression based on media reports, web videos, and my own interactions with supporters. At best, I thought, they have arguably reasonable demands that I disagree with (reinstate the provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act preventing commercial banks from owning investment banks), or vague but laudable goals absent any prescriptions (corporations have too much power, the people need to take back control). At worst they insidiously call for socialist revolution, the downfall of capitalism, or even anarchism, or just make ignorant demands to abdicate all personal responsibility, such as the abolishment of all student and home debt.

Within minutes of my arrival downtown, not only were my preconceptions confirmed, I also observed a dizzying array of  grievances being aired that have nothing to do with the economic straits of this country. As a patriotic American, the first thing I noticed was that many of the thousands of protesters held signs that were either printed by socialist organizations, or called for socialist revolution. “Smash Imperialism Through International Socialist Revolution,” breathlessly exhorted one. Ask any peasant farmer how that works out in the end. “Fight for Socialism,” said another. Funny, I thought that as a free country many of our collective efforts have been devoted to fighting against socialism. “Marx was Right.  Resource Based Economy!”  Hmm… who would have invented that protester’s iPhone in whatever the hell a resource based economy is? Even a fairly innocuous sign protesting cuts to the City University of New York said at the bottom that it was printed by a group called the “Party for Socialism and Liberation” — an organization with two strikingly antithetical philosophies in their name.

The last straw was when I was handed a copy of the socialist: Magazine of the Socialist Party USA. At that point, I had a strong urge to either report myself to HUAC or take a long shower. A man near me mumbled to no one in particular that “this is what democracy looks like.” Apparently democracy masquerades as a ragtag bunch of would-be Stalinists.

My second observation was that the protesters have a distinct spirit of defeatism and unwillingness to do anything for themselves. “Jail Sallie Mae. End all Student Debt,” said one sign. “F*ck your unpaid internship,” said another. “You want demands? We want a future,” was scrawled on a piece of cardboard playing off of the public perception that the protesters have no organized slate of goals. “Where is OUR bailout?” “Shelters are not family friendly!” “Tax the Rich!” The hits kept on coming.

Not surprisingly, the march also played host to a laundry list of unrelated lefty causes. One woman wore a button that proclaimed “I am Troy Davis.” She was bearing tribute to a convicted cop killer who recently met his reward at the hand of the State of Georgia. Contrary to her claim, she looked suspiciously like a middle aged white lady in a dashiki. Many held signs protesting hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as “fracking.” Fracking is a miracle technology that enables the release of massive quantities of petroleum and natural gas from beneath rock formations. Those in the know consider it safe, but the protesters (usually the first to bemoan our dependence on “foreign oil”) think they have a better understanding.  And of course the 9/11 “truthers” showed up. Some just held signs calling for an “investigation”, but two men shouted loudly into the night at anyone who would listen. My liberal friend bemoaned the fact that the two loudest people were the ones who were the greatest discredit to the march.

But the award for most ridiculous sign of the night goes to one I found on the ground just after wandering into the Zuccotti Park encampment, which read “Sex Workers Against Capitalism.” I am reasonably certain this was not tongue in cheek; sex workers are a regular fixture on the radical left protest scene. But the sign is sublimely silly. “Sex work” is the oldest capitalist profession. What would the person who wrote the sign suggest as a replacement system? Should prospective clients barter for his or her wares? A bushel of corn in exchange for a roll in the hay?

Not far from this sign, a man begged his fellow occupiers to help him build puppets. He could not stress enough how crucial these were to the occupation. As I surveyed the piles of garbage, camping gear, and personal effects strewn across the park, I heard one man brag to another that he had helped bum rush several cops. Despite this, most of the occupiers seemed misguided but peaceful.

Interestingly, there was not much love for Obama in the crowd. Of the hundreds of signs I surveyed only two made direct reference to the president. One, held by a member of the CUNY Internationalist Club, said “Obama, Democrats: War-Makers, Union-Busters. For a Workers Party to Fight for a Workers Government.” The second said, cryptically, “Osama Bin Obama Sucks.” I also saw a sign that said “Democrats and Republicans: Two Parties of Racism, War, and Layoffs!” While the OWS movement claims to transcend the left-right dichotomy, I only saw one Gadsden Flag, the Revolutionary War era banner that has been adopted by the Tea Party of late. But that guy was with a group holding flags for Veterans for Peace, a generally left-leaning organization, and not far from him were people holding signs that said “Republicans are Greedy” and “Americans fed up with Tea Party Bullsh*t.” Although most of the protesters clearly ranged from left to radical left, they all seemed generally suspicious of political parties.

Genuinely troubling, however, is the involvement of Anonymous, a group of geeks emboldened by their proficiency in computer crime. The hackers of Anonymous indiscriminately commit cyber attacks against groups they disagree with. They claim to be a leaderless collective, a theme which they have carried over to OWS. Their chief contribution to the occupation is a prevalence of Guy Fawkes masks. Fawkes, the engineer of the failed 1604 Gunpowder Plot to blow up the British Parliament, is a sort of mascot for the group. They also stress the notion that the occupation is for the 99 percent, essentially anyone not part of the 1 percent of Americans who supposedly hold the vast bulk of wealth. Political science 101: always be suspicious of someone who claims to speak for you, but whose appointment you had no hand in. Incidentally, a corporate Hollywood movie is responsible for the recent resurgence of Guy Fawkes as a folk hero. These anti-corporatists sure borrow freely from corporations.

OWS supporters will surely accuse me of being unfairly dismissive of their movement. They are shooting the messenger — I can’t help it if their cause is intellectually bankrupt. They are no more than a discontented mob carrying a jumble of disparate, even odious messages. The few among them who call for specific policy changes lack the good sense not to lie with socialist dogs. I will say to their credit that I was genuinely inspired to see thousands of energetic, passionate people fighting for a cause — even though it’s unclear what the exact nature of that cause might be. But ultimately, I found no common ground with them as I walked the downtown streets of Manhattan. I guess I am the enemy after all.

About the Author

Bill Zeiser is a communications consultant living in New York City and a 2012 Publius Fellow of the Claremont Institute. Follow him on Twitter @BillZeiser.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (177) |

Tenn Slim| 10.7.11 @ 6:49AM

Lovely on site review.
Consider the Saul Alynskin methodology. Inspire, incite, direct and provoke. In the Case of Van Jones, a lot more radical, the movement is designed to create chaos. Seems the grunts are being sheparded right along.
Once again, Glenn B. was and is spot on, in connecting his analyitical dots of the Left.
We are reaping exactly what we are sowing.
Semper Fi
end

Patrick| 10.7.11 @ 10:11AM

I'm just glad these cretins are no longer "occupying" Madison. All you have to do is not give in, and just like tantrum prone children, they give up.

Quartermaster| 10.7.11 @ 6:55PM

OWS is Astro-Turf. Only the moonbats would disagree.

miguel| 10.10.11 @ 2:49AM

The French Aristocracy said much the same thing. I can show their monuments in Paris if you wish. Ignoring a problem does nothing to solve it. People do not by nature form large, ubiquitous protests for no apparent reason other than to complain. There are real quantitative problems that are measurable. Maybe too many which is apparent from the author's own admissions.

Any mass movement in its infancy lacks organization. This is no different. What is different is the complexity and the number of issues in play. It is, as the author reports, about anti-war, about jobs, Troy Davis or taxing the rich. These issues need to be translated into concrete, specific demands in order to gain credibility.

If these OWS protests were so unimportant, there would be no need for them to be hijacked, co-opted by the left wing of the Democratic party. The power vacuum is being filled by the Soros-funded foundations and from what I read, the movement is wise to this and getting more intelligent about how to become a viable political movement.

A good list would be: privatize the Fed, amnesty for all student loans; moratorium on foreclosures and 1% tax on all Wall Street transactions for domestic infrastructure rebuilding. How does that sound for starters?

Hoppy| 10.10.11 @ 6:54AM

It sounds like a bad start!
The Fed is already in the hands of private banks which is unconstitutional. If the notes were called in right now, America would have to auctioned off, and not like our politicians do it.
Amnesty for student loans? No one forced those people to pursue a college degree. Higher education is a choice not a government paid perogative. If loans are forgiven, then all course credits associated with those loans should be vacated.
How about amnesty for any taxpayer who owes a credit company that received bailout funds and still bonused the idiots that brought the company to the brink of ruin? Or a moratorium on late fees, over limit fees, and interest rates applied to those fees?
If you want to tax someone, tax the unions, corporations that currently enjoy a tax free status. 10% flat tax across the board for every citizen with an income and for every business in the land, no deductions or loop holes.
This sounds like a better, wiser start!

Patricia| 10.11.11 @ 11:35PM

That sounds great, Miguel.

Alan Brooks| 10.7.11 @ 11:29AM

And they have SO much to look forward to next year when you elect another Cheney administration.

Thanks for NOTHING.

Al Adab| 10.7.11 @ 11:58AM

Brooks
I think even you would prefer that (although understand it's not my first choice) to Bonaparte or Ceasar.

Alan Brooks| 10.7.11 @ 12:32PM

Bonaparte did less damage to Europe than Cheney did to the world.

Skippy| 10.7.11 @ 1:47PM

I would thank God if Cheney were elected POTUS.
If only because of all the heads that would explode if he did.

Buck Ofama| 10.7.11 @ 6:34PM

snivel, sniff, whimper, whine, moan. go fawn over a picture of oblowme. or piss over it, i don't care which you do.

Jones | 10.7.11 @ 11:36PM

The Napoleonic Wars killed 1,800,000 French and allies (mostly Germans and Poles) dead in action, disease and missing

and that's just on one side- add to that

289,000 Russian dead or missing
134,000 Prussian dead or missing
376,000 Austrian dead or missing
300,000 Spanish dead or missing
311,806 British dead or missing

yeah- Napoleon was a piker compared to Cheney

fool

TRowL| 10.8.11 @ 1:11AM

Skippy, Buck, Jones: +10

Cynthia Pestka| 10.10.11 @ 4:29AM

Thank you Jones! Just reading Alan's comment made me stop and stare at the amazing stupidity.

markenoff| 10.8.11 @ 1:11AM

This statement demonstrates your absolute historical ignorance. You have absolutely discredited yourself in the eyes of anyone with more than a passing knowledge of history.

Hoppy| 10.10.11 @ 6:55AM

There hasn't been a 1st Cheney administration!

Teaghan| 10.7.11 @ 7:01AM

Bill, you're a brave soul to go down into the pits for this article. Can you do some investigative reporting to show exactly is behind this "movement"? Proof that Soros is funding it and that Van Jones is keeping this going? Did you see any signs of it winding down? I bet they start to get tired soon and the numbers will dwindle. But as nasty Nancy Pelosi said, "God Bless them" in all their ignorant filth.
Didn't Mayor Bloomberg say a few months ago that this was going to happen? How did he know that? Was and is he a part of it? I want answers to questions that aren't being asked.

David James| 10.7.11 @ 7:18AM

how can you talk about these people like this? They're are fighting for everyone against greed. The worst thing about this is that greed is contagious. One act of it and it touches everyone. A lot of people have suffered because of this and because of the actions of a few, many have to work harder and given up things that we shouldn't have to! Seriously how many cars and houses do these greedy people need? I am so unbelievably disappointed in humanity because these pigs are getting away with playing with peoples lives like they are worthless.

Nancy in NC| 10.7.11 @ 8:09AM

If they're paying for them, they can have as many cars and houses as they want. The more the better. Whenever a wealthy person builds a house, many others work and earn money. Same with cars.

David James| 10.8.11 @ 3:47AM

yeah but what happens when that person building that house has something fall on him and breaks his back and is unable to continue work? Who takes care of him then? Things aren't as simple as the way you put them! Theres a reason why the capitalist USA is no longer the best country to live in and socialist countrys like Norway are leading the world with best overall living conditions! Because of selfish greedy people are unwilling to see how their actions( or don't care how)affect others while they play with stock like they're in a casino! Try and be a little more open minded, the world isn't black and white and you can't treat people like capital! Imagine being in their position!

Ronald Sather| 10.9.11 @ 3:53PM

The only reason Norway can afford "socialism" (really just a welfare state, which is not quite the same thing, yet) is that their government is making big money from North Sea oil well leases and because they have a low population relative to that income.

Stene| 10.9.11 @ 11:26PM

Actually, that´s not true. A fairly miniscule portion of Norwegian oil revenue goes into the domestic economy every year. Most of it goes into the "oil fund" aka the Government Pension Fund - Global, currently the largest pension fund in the world and the largest stock owner in Europe. The purpose of the fund is, as the name implies, to cover Norwegian pension obligations in the future.

Money in the bank, in other words.

The Norwegian society is built on frugality, austerity, a healthy mixed economy (with a flat corporate tax of 28%) where it´s perfectly alright to make money - even lots of it, and some basic ideas of solidarity and social democracy which tend to be misread as "socialism" in America.

The country has an unemployment rate around 3,5-4%, free and excellent healthcare for everyone, five weeks paid vacation, paid maternal and paternal leave, and so on and so forth.

Norway scores at or near the top on every positive statistic, and appears to do pretty well at what is supposed to be the primary objective of a nation state: to promote the general welfare of its citizens.

Could it possibly be that Norway has just the right amount of Gruesome Government?

David James| 10.11.11 @ 9:02AM

no thats not true do some research before you open your mouth little boy.

race_to_the_bottom| 10.10.11 @ 12:39PM

Exactly right, Nancy. We should encourage the wealthy among us to hire more butlers, maids, footmen, nannies, chauffeurs , etc. Most of the OWS people are young. The young men would, with a bath and a bit of polish, make excellent butlers and footmen, and the many of the young women are pretty enough to grace any respectable house as maids or nannies or just as eye candy for gentlemen of leisure.

That could encourage entrepreneurs to open trade schools so that young people could develop the relevant skills. This could be the beginning of a true POST post-industrial economy. It certainly worked in 19th century England. There is no reason it could not work here.

loulou| 10.7.11 @ 10:12AM

You're kidding, right?
You sound like something out of "The Onion."

Racer99| 10.7.11 @ 10:48AM

David my friend, greed is a natural human emotion that colors much of what the species does. Only a change in heart by the individual ( a spiritual catharsis) has ever shown to devalue excessive self interest in the human. Marching around like petulant teenagers accomplishes what?

W Krebs| 10.7.11 @ 11:11AM

They are fighting against greed by sharpening their envy. I say envy is a more dangerous sentiment than greed.

Al Adab| 10.7.11 @ 12:01PM

Krebs:
What was that old rule against coveting your neighbors property? Whatever happened to that?

irish19| 10.9.11 @ 3:17PM

Actually, both are counted as being deadly sins by the Catholic Church.

A. Smith| 10.7.11 @ 2:43PM

The "greed" most recognizable is that of the protesters. They absolutely want more but are completely unwilling to work for it.

Dan| 10.9.11 @ 3:14PM

This is a pretty unsubstantiated claim, that has been repeated with impunity on internet message boards over the last few weeks. Sure, there are some who would prefer a socialist system, but there are a lot who I've talked to who are basically vying for a well regulated capitalism. They've done everything they've been told to, worked hard in school, gotten good grades, and have been looking for jobs for months or years, or have been working 60hrs a week at minimum wage jobs to raise a family and pay medical bills. At the same time, the top 1% has increased their wealth hundred fold, using their wealth to influence the political process. Is what the OWS are upset about really that hard to sympathize with?

Martin| 10.10.11 @ 12:01AM

And they did all these things for what, a month? Long enough to earn a Verizon payment, so they could #whine over free wi-fi? Life is hard, unfair and evens sucks at times. Envying who you are not is worse.

This nation was BUILT by people who got by on the sweat of their brow, with no promises, guarantees, or handouts, and couldn't imagine it if any existed.

If the rich get richer while the poor get poorer, perhaps it's because each continues doing the things that got them there. It baffles the mind to comprehend how it is that the rich got that way by taking from the poor, who ostensibly have nothing (to take).

SpiralArchitect| 10.7.11 @ 2:54PM

Absolutely. People should have to take care of people that do not work no matter the reason.

People should all be compensated (with goods / services) equally no matter what or how much work one does. Effort, productivity, quality nor outcome should be considered as compensation should be a constant for all.

People should receive health benefits that should be free. They would be free because everyone gets equal compensation.

The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few, obviously.

Yes, Lennin is the man for you, he shares your ideology. Pursue a continually proven failed path to despairity.

No need to strive for self improvement as there is no proportionant compensation for added achivement nor success...

Only the lazy & ignorant or the savvy & exploitive people relish a Communistic ( - the end result of socialism) life.

Mazzuchelli| 10.7.11 @ 4:39PM

It took 40 years of making it happen for my industry to acquire cars and other unnecessary but fabulous accoutrements that bring a little style to life. If the squalid unwashed don't wish to invest their time progressing American industry, their lifestyle expectations should be and will be adjusted accordingly. In the meantime, I'll give you my car keys when you pry them from my cold, dead hand.

RCV| 10.7.11 @ 6:10PM

The vast majority of people who have such cars and houses that you decree did not get them by taking them from someone else. They got them by CREATING wealth, and in the process, providing numerous benefits for others in society, including jobs. Bill Gates, David Neelman (jet Blue), Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, Richard Branson and Steve Jobs are but a few examples of men and women who have accumulated great wealth and in the process created great wealth for many others, and employment for thousands more.

The natural ambition of man to provide for himself and his family -- ambition, greed, call it what you will -- properly harnassed by the constraints of morals and ethics, is a great good for all of us.

Jones | 10.7.11 @ 11:41PM

Yes, the best way to protest 'greed' is to demand free stuff.

markenoff| 10.8.11 @ 1:16AM

The left is all about projection. Because what they have they have acquired by cheating others, gaming the system and corruption they assume everyone else acquired their possessions the same way as opposed to accumulating wealth by providing goods or service that other people willingly pay for. Like all those who appreciated Apple products making Steve Jobs rich.

Patricia| 10.11.11 @ 11:39PM

I want to clarify that Steve Jobs is a celebrated designer, who not only changed the face of technology, but raised the bar of it. That is what he is known for, that is what his interference is about.

mike| 10.8.11 @ 2:48PM

amen,,well said..i smell a rep with this report

Alec| 10.9.11 @ 8:57PM

There are many lazy people in the world, and they may not deserve handouts, but if you let them too many get too poor, they will fight back.

The question is, do you want to live in a country where we are constantly fighting to keep the poor at bay or pay more a bit more in taxes, and put them on a level where they are comfortable.

Remember what the bible says. "There will always be poor people in the land."

Deal with it.

Hoppy| 10.10.11 @ 7:09AM

Oh for a minute, I thought you were speaking of the election of the present administration ("A lot of people have suffered because of this and because of the actions of a few").
These people aren't fighting for me against anything. They're really not fighting greed. The are exercising it and demanding it. Forgivin legitimate student loans? A college degree off the sweat of tax paying minority? That's greedy! Free food plenty of drugs? That's greedy? Free wi-fi...clean restrooms...etc. That sounds greedy to me.
How come these people aren't protesting down at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave? The WH and Congress are the real culprits! They take from that minority of working citizens and force us to support the rest of the country and they want to add illegal immigrants to that burden, The politicians have stolen power and authority that is not theirs and are holding the nation hostage. If these 'occupiers' understood the Constitution and the great country in which we thrive, they would occupy the government which is their's to occupy!

David James| 10.7.11 @ 7:14AM

Mate, do you think your snide comments and wannabe witty words are really helpful to anyone? A little empathy has never hurt anyone. I'm guessing you're aware of the countless families who have lost their homes because of some people who decided to gamble away their money with mortgages on peoples houses? Trying to use big words doesn't make you look smart or sophisticated to anyone and they do NOT impress anyone. People NOT JUST in America are suffering because of the actions of a few GREEDY people. Open your eyes! Those who have forced people out of business and out of their HOMES MUST be held accountable. Observation of irony in a sign doesn't set you apart from anyone and it doesn't make you better than those people who are aware of how their lives are getting progressively worse and are choosing to stand up. I am grateful to them and disgusted by your words. I usually do not let my emotions get the better of me but I am ashamed of myself while reading words that aren't my own because you are so blinded by your opinion that you won't see the truth. Even if you have not been affected think about those who have damn it!

Appleby| 10.7.11 @ 7:25AM

So you think Wall Street forced people to spend money they didnt have, on things they didnt need, until they discovered they had to pay even though they no longer wanted or even had those things? Was it Wall Street that forced them to download crapola on their $500 binkie at $100 per minute, and Wall Street who ought to pay their bill?

This is not what democracy looks like: this is what daycare graduation looks like. Fun to watch with the other adults here in Galts Gulch.

Andrew B| 10.7.11 @ 7:30AM

Many of the signs these people brandish demand free stuff--free education, free healthcare, freedom from their own indebtedness. That is called greed--wanting someone else to pay for you and your choices. These people want my money to pay for their freedoms.

I work damned hard for my money and, since I have chosen to work for a non-profit, I don't have very much of it. I pay my own way. Please don't tell me that is greedy. The layabouts, malcontents and parasites on display in lower Manhattan are the greedy ones.

miguel| 10.10.11 @ 2:56AM

Since you are so upset with your money being misused, report back to the group on how much money was given to banks to prop them up by the taxpayers. Include the foreign banks too while you're at it. If you won't or can't, I will gladly do this exercise for you (cuz you're too damn lazy to do it yourself?).

I think you will see how foolish your post really is once you see the facts, instead of the hollow talking points borrowed from Fox-n-friends, the tools of Wall Street zombie bankers

miguel| 10.10.11 @ 2:56AM

Since you are so upset with your money being misused, report back to the group on how much money was given to banks to prop them up by the taxpayers. Include the foreign banks too while you're at it. If you won't or can't, I will gladly do this exercise for you (cuz you're too damn lazy to do it yourself?).

I think you will see how foolish your post really is once you see the facts, instead of the hollow talking points borrowed from Fox-n-friends, the tools of Wall Street zombie bankers

Nancy in NC| 10.7.11 @ 8:17AM

How many people lost their homes because they purchased a house they could not afford? How many people hate those big banks while using that banks' credit card to buy a bunch of crap they neither need or can afford?

There's plenty of blame to go around, mate.

We all have a part in this mess, and while it's easy to crucify the wealthy, it solves none of the problems.

You are grateful to those that choose to stand up...stand up to what? How are these morons making a difference in the world with all their whining? Most of them are as self centered and pathetic as the next biggest loser.

And pray tell, what is the difference between these self absorbed than the richest billionaire?

I suggest that if people want to make changes, they begin my changing themselves.

Mriordon| 10.7.11 @ 9:42AM

I can't stop laughing, what a great article- even funnier with the angry comments by some of your readers!

Mazzuchelli| 10.7.11 @ 4:42PM

Mr. James, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in simple terms. You and yours elected the politicians that encoded those monstrosities and then later loosened mortgage requirements. You're at the right web site but probably for the wrong reason.

Buck Ofama| 10.7.11 @ 6:36PM

>I'm guessing you're aware of the countless families who have lost their homes because of some people who decided to gamble away their money with mortgages on peoples houses?

And the ones that bought what they really could not afford gambled away their credit. Tough sh|t.

Timothy L. Pennell| 10.7.11 @ 7:20AM

"The first thing I noticed was that many of the thousands of protesters held signs that were either printed by Socialist organizations, or called for Socialist Revolution."
Interesting.
And, the UNIONS were there.
Interesting.
I wonder if they, too, were holding signs that were either printed by some Socialist Organization (THEMSELVES) or calling for Socialist Revolution? (James Hoffa Jr. Richard Trumpka) I wonder if they were holding the same signs as they did in Wisconsin. The ones with the CLENCHED FIST. The very same Clenched Fist, of the ISO - International Socialist Organization.
Hmmmm. What do these people all have in common? There has to be a Leader. If you're gonna ORGANIZE something this big, you need someone to ORGANIZE it. Someone good, at ORGANIZING, that connects with these Groups.
Who do we know, like that?
I understand that George Soros' Money is funding all of this. The man who considers the days, when he helped the NAZIS to "Sort out the belongings of his fellow Jews", as they headed, in BOXCARS, to their Extermination, as the "Best time of my life".
Hmmmm. Who do we know, that can ORGANIZE these groups? Is "TIGHT" with the Unions, and the Radical Youth? AND, has George Soros' Money, at his beck and call?
"Mr. President. What do you know about the protests on Wall Street, and what do you think of them?"
"I've seen them on Television."
He's seen them on T.V.
This man, this COMMUNITY ORGANIZER, who's only previous "JOB" was to organize these same protests, against Banks and Lending Organizations, doesn't know anything about this, except what he's seen on T.V.? He doesn't know how HIS POLITICAL BASE, is all coming together to protest Wall Street FAT CATS and Bankers? And, with the financial backing of HIS biggest Financial Backer?
"We are the one's We've been waiting for."
WE, is on Wall Street. WE, will soon be in other Cities. WE is coming.
These protests are a warning. They are Probing their enemy. Us.
The Community Organizer can read polls. He can read the writing on the wall. And, like any good Leftist Dictator, he will not go quietly. He will lash out, like the wounded, cornered, ANIMAL, that he is.
To the Great SECRET SERVICE. May I, once again, remind you of your OATH?
Your 'Job' is to Protect the President.
You're OATH is to Protect and Defend, the Constitution of the United States of America, from ALL ENEMIES, both Foreign and DOMESTIC.
In Ancient times, the Roman Emperor was guarded by an Elite Guard. The Praetorian Guard. Their JOB was to protect the Emperor. Their OATH was to Rome. To the Empire. And, on more than one occasion, it was the PRAETORIANS who removed an Emperor, for the good of the Empire. And ROME, continued.
Remember this, next summer, when the Streets of our Cities are filled with Obama's foot soldiers. Smashing, and Looting, and Rioting, and BURNING these Cities to the ground.
All of this, on the orders of their Emperor.

Alice Moore| 10.7.11 @ 8:30AM

Timothy, this brings to mind Mao's Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution.

Timothy L. Pennell| 10.7.11 @ 8:56AM

Good point. I was thinking: Kristallnacht.

Al Adab| 10.7.11 @ 11:50AM

This bunch thinks they are "storming the Bastille" but all of us would be wise to remember how well that worked out. The mythical 60's were anything but.

Racer99| 10.7.11 @ 10:56AM

Red Guard, Brown Shirts, OWS, SEIU, there's a difference in any of these? Teat suckers are always looking for a womb to crawl into.

Al Adab| 10.7.11 @ 11:55AM

The street riots you prophesy may be the excuse needed to avoid those annoying elections and just govern the country for the "good of the people" like all nice totalitarian regimes do.

What our military may do if say martial law is declared remains a huge question. What the citizens will do is an even bigger one. The dangers here for our way of life and for our Liberties is a clear and present danger. Ceasar and Bonaparte can't be far behind.

miguel| 10.10.11 @ 2:59AM

How did you get to Obama's foot soldiers from your first sentence? My direct experience is the vast majority of people with OWS are not pro-Obama. Are you repeating conclusions others have drawn for you? Your post is a rambling illogical piece of psuedo-rhetorical hyperbole

Mimi| 10.7.11 @ 7:23AM

The population does control the corporations....By what they BUY ! It's called the FREE MARKET !
As the cold weather follows early fall the LEFT'S attempt to "PLAY" Tea Party will end!
This weak crowd is OBAMA'S last hope....Take a LOOK at them....observe the behavior....nothing AMERICA can be proud of!

POST American| 10.7.11 @ 7:32AM

---NO mention of the ILLEGAL, foreign owned,
USURY mongering, historically traitorous FED
(check out the FEDs background with Boshevismand Nazism BOTH)

----NO mention of that 1.5 QUADRILLION
in FAKE USURY derivatives debt

----NO mention of the 4 decades underway
CFR-RIIA/ RED China sellout and TREASON OP

-----NO call for the TAX FREE status of the
ever sinister, culture and sovereignty subverting
foundations and 'bennie violent' NGOs be
looked into and prosecuted for capital crimes

-----Nothing whatever about weaponized
injections made in RED China, most carrying live
viruses, sourced in the tissue of aborted infants,
and now, undeniably, linked to the AUTISM
epidemic in our young

-----Not a word about the stealth intro of
organ and fertility destroying GM foods
throughout our now monooly controlled
rocessed food chain

-------Nothing about Globalist collapsed
Mexico, or the 40,ooo dead on our southern
border, or the deadly, utterly treasonous NAFTA/ GATT etc.

-------No mention of the uncannily HAARP-esque FUKISHIMA world nuclear disaster that's saturating North America with fallout ---along with the usual HAARP enabling CHEM-trails

----Not a single poster or mention of TAX FREE
Jeff I-Melt-downs symboic compicity in
the above

--------NO suggestion that the UN ain't
what it seems ( charitable and democratic)
but is in fact ae elite private corporate body dedicated to world domination and a EUGENICS agenda that would make MAO TSE TUNG blush

REALLY, someone tell the boys in the capstone,
their Tavistock designed and provocateured
CON-trolled oppositions need some serious
work.

Surely, this very journal has Tavistock
connections galore ----they might
speed up the process frst hand.

Tim the Enchanter| 10.7.11 @ 11:44AM

Huh?

irish19| 10.7.11 @ 1:58PM

You forgot the Freemasons.

Douglas Fletcher | 10.7.11 @ 5:37PM

You don't understand. The Freemasons and The Jews have moved to China, and they're involved in keeping Wayne Newton financially solvent until the revolution comes and the national song is declared to be "Danke Shoen." I think.

irish19| 10.8.11 @ 8:00PM

Sorry. My bad. Are you sure the national anthem won't be "Edelweiss?" Saccharine song, horrible beer.

Timothy L. Pennell| 10.8.11 @ 6:59AM

I actually got that one.
And he's right.

tsd| 10.7.11 @ 7:40AM

If these people want to be against Corporate America they need to go home and never use or spend one cent on anything that has anything to do with a corporation. Until then they are just a small group of hypocrites and morons. By the way did not Wall Street big wigs help to elect their leader Obama?? I have a dog with more sense than these people!!

Alice Moore| 10.7.11 @ 8:33AM

An Obama supporter looking out of his/her Wall St. office window at an Obama supporter protesting against him/her. This is a cosmic joke.

Pecos Pete| 10.7.11 @ 7:43AM

Community organizing at its best.

Anthony| 10.7.11 @ 7:57AM

The handy work of the Community-Organizer-in-Chief, at his best. Job well done by the great uniter!!!
This is what hope and change finally unmasked looks like. These dupes have bought into the Muslim Marxist's class warfare civil unrest bullcrap, meanwhile, Obozo is still planning on raising 1$Billion for his campaign, and it ain't coming from these stooges!!!
At least some of these stooges are protesting the scam of higher education, with the enormous salaries college administrators and their professors are making off these kids $40,000 per year tuition.
So kids, mimic your '60s parents, take over the administration buildings, tar and feather your school president, and run some of your global warming alarmist professors to an iceberg near you, along with a drowning polar bear.
Do your part!!!!

Trebuchet| 10.7.11 @ 8:21AM

I’ve seen no signs railing against George Soros, who started the economic crash through the strategy of shorting Mortgage Bonds and going long the Credit Default Swap he collapsed the Mortgage Industry and the housing market along with it. George Soros along with John Paulson and Goldman Sachs stole up to $100 billion in equity from the home owner and are now using these little morons to collapse Wall Street and steal the Boomers retirement.

David James| 10.8.11 @ 3:56AM

exactly! i wish half of these fuckwits commenting watched the move capitalism:a love story. michael moore IS a controversial figure but damn it he sheds the light on some of these thieves

Indy| 10.7.11 @ 8:39AM

The Blaze is doing homework other journalists should do the same and dig deeper, Stephen Lerner /SEIU have played a large part in this "spontaneous" movement.
http://www.theblaze.com/storie.....f-america/

I wish I had time to go down to visit with the occupiers, I would take along large trash bags for them to dispose of all the evil capitalism, they would have to throw away, phones, laptops, ipads, Star Bucks, tents, you get the idea. If these protests continue, I will find a way to go down with my camera and flip.

TrueBlue| 10.7.11 @ 12:04PM

The fact they don't seem to have any problems with the unions joining them is all the proof you need that they're in league (whether they realize it or not) with the lefties. Useful idiots all of them.

Solo| 10.7.11 @ 8:59AM

Make no mistake...these are Obama's foot-soldiers.
The left is in a mild panic over the Tea Party after having seen what happened in the Mid-Term elections.

Their gearing up for violence in the streets should the Tea party make their presence known next summer.
The democrats have to do anything and everything to keep the Tea Party movement tamped down lest it take hold and remove democrat's hands from the reins of power permanently.

There's a lot at stake in this next election. This is for all the marbles and the dems/leftists are taking it deadly serious.
Mark my words....as Obama's poll numbers drop, and it becomes increasingly evident that he won't win re-election, the level and frequency of mob violence will escalate.

TrueBlue| 10.7.11 @ 12:31PM

You have a President that has mused on multiple occasions to La Raza that he wished he could go around Congress to get things done. You have a Senator that has suggested that Congress suspend the 2012 elections to supposedly focus on fixing problems and not worrying about reelection. You have Eric Holder who is obviously responsible for both "Fast and Furious" no matter how much he tries to deny involvement and who also dismissed an obvious voter intimidation case by the "New" Black Panthers. You have protestors across the country supposedly rallying against corporations and yelling for their debt to be forgiven without having to pay for it, and a President you is constantly giving speeches on the same thing, getting help from various Unions who are the real cause of job loss in this country.

Expect riots after the 2012 election, assuming the elections are even held, followed by martial law and the removal of anyone in the government who doesn't jump on Obama's bandwagon. My suggestion, buy a few guns and lots of ammo. You're going to need to protect your homes.

Al Adab| 10.7.11 @ 1:54PM

Solo, Blue:
Yes, this is a practice session for the attacksd on the Conventions next summer. Urban riots aided and abetted by the DEM party and the unions (who are handing out water and food to these people) play into the hands of the totalitarian Left who will find the excuse they need to "govern in the peoples' interest" and yes, Ceasar or Bonaparte will emerge. Count on it. We may already have him.

miguel| 10.10.11 @ 3:03AM

Make no mistake? Why? Because you said so? You make this absolute exclusionary statement without so much as offering any proof. I say your wrong....make no mistake about it. These people are at risk of being co-opted by the re-elect Obama minions. I saw no pro Obama anything in any of the protest settings I witnessed. Did you?

martin j smith| 10.7.11 @ 9:02AM

The real power behind these kids are extremely powerful and wealthy grown ups--many overseas. It might have been interesting to do an anthropological study of the mind set of the "protesters", but a more interesting story would be to be the fly on the Wall of BIG UNIONS and further up the food chain the White House itself.

sirbourbon| 10.8.11 @ 3:08PM

I agree and well put!
http://thenewamerican.com/usne.....all-street

miguel| 10.10.11 @ 3:04AM

maybe do the study then make your conclusions. But you do just the opposite. Why is that?

POST American| 10.7.11 @ 9:06AM

----And isn't it amazing
-culture
---genuine FREE enterprise
---sovereignty
------religion
----------self respect
------------one's very own posterity

here and worldwide, subverted, sacrificed,
and hurled into the mud at the feet of sordid,
capstone USURY-think.

AND STILL ------'Left' 'Right' and in between,
utterly clueless. Going after the stock exchange
-----while the FED sits ignored just down the
street.

-----------------------AMAZING--------------------------

DaveS| 10.7.11 @ 9:26AM

The protesters are no-load dopes.

Sugartown Super| 10.7.11 @ 10:09AM

And of course, anyone with even a passing knowledge of English History finds the use of Guido [Guy] Fawkes as an anti-establishment folk hero gut-bustingly funny too.

VonMisesJr| 10.7.11 @ 10:19AM

The irony of the youth with their iPhones and iPods expressing sympathy for the death of Steve Jobs is that in their socialist Utopia, these will be the first to go.
In the USSR there was a 7 year re-eduction for possession of "Road to Serfdom" and 12 years in Siberia for distributiing the book. In Iran, the "Green Revolution" was greeted with a shut down of cell phones, Facebook and Twitter.
But perhaps it would not really be a big loss for the little commies since they get their news from the MSM and are already entering the "Dark Ages."

Oldefarte| 10.7.11 @ 10:20AM

These street excrements are the source of the 11/4/08 election and the reason why this country is now failing. These animals have always existed and sadly allowed to disrupt the working/producing peoples of society. They're worthless, and that's complementary. If they want socialism or Marxism, then fine, ship them en masse via a one-way trip to Russia, China, Cuba, etc [with each $1000 of final government assistance money] with the final wish for the rest of us to simply GO TO HADES AND STAY THERE!!!!!!!!

TrueBlue| 10.7.11 @ 12:34PM

Seriously, if they hate the way this country works so much, leave! There are a ton of places they can go that are already exactly the way they want to live, stop trying to change this one!!

sirbourbon| 10.8.11 @ 3:07PM

You are missing the point to all this street theater; the idea is to make America exactly like those other socialists countries.

Somebody is paying these clowns to be there demonstrating and a few actually believe they can do some good! But I don't see fliers bringing down anything and surely not a rich evil banker. The bankers may very well be evil but a show that is this well funded by Soros money and US government money won't topple one single evil banker from his throne.

The rabble just makes the bankers look like the good guys. Even though they were the recipients of illegal and immoral bailouts courtesy of the taxpayer. Benn Bernanke is promoting another huge TARP bailout and this may be the reason for the OWS show- to give the bankers another promo.

miguel| 10.10.11 @ 3:06AM

What you just said is an admission for a dictatorship. Do you really understand what you say in public? No change = dictatorship. But i suppose you didn't notice that one. No wonder the country is going the drain.......pffffffffffffffffffff

Patricia| 10.11.11 @ 11:44PM

How much would you want to bet that in 1776 you would be slitting Patriot's throats with a red coat on your back, saying something along the same lines... except replace socialism/marxism with democracy... and tweak a couple references to countries

Bill Diebold| 10.7.11 @ 10:21AM

...this obamaclown has done as much uniting the country as he has ending racism...he even seems to be a piss poor community organizer...if it were'nt for soros funding his crime spree he'd be in a homeless shelter somewhere...another democrat shining star.

Oldefarte| 10.7.11 @ 10:22AM

FROM, not 'for'. Sorry!

Dagny Taggert| 10.7.11 @ 10:44AM

This is the product of the "trophies for all" mentality these children have grown up with for the last 20 or so years. The pointy-headed intellectuals slowly decided that self-esteem was important. Instead of thinking about where self-esteem came from--taking risks, working hard, learning from mistakes, gaining confidence--they thought they could short-cut the tough stuff and get right to the accolades. With an entire generation told how great they were no matter the level of their effort or more importantly, the level of their results--how could we possibly expect them to survive once forced to go out on their own?

They are protesting the fact that life is tougher than they thought it would be. And liberalism has given them a welcome embrace to join the big tent with nebulous concepts like "living wage," "social justice," and "fairness" forming the thoughtlessly flimsy foundation on which to build their protests.

Al Adab| 10.7.11 @ 11:46AM

You are right Dagny on the mentality. Visit the Occupy Wall Street.org website to read the thirteen point manifesto of demands.

They think that the Bastille is in front of them, but if so they, and we, would be wise to remember how well that worked out.

Bill| 10.7.11 @ 10:45AM

All left-wing movements that begin as leaderless eventually generate a strong leader, often a single leader, a kind of leftist Fuhrer, like Stalin or Pol Pot.

We probably can't expect to see a totalitarian emerge (at least not one who will have time enough to show his real face), but one will emerge, depend on it.

sirbourbon| 10.8.11 @ 2:58PM

The leftwing is well represented by the unions, Planned Parenthood and the more violent communist organizations. But what makes you think that the conservative-looking bankers that run the Federal Reserve, Goldman Sachs, etc.; those big wigs that operate the government-favored lending institutions won't benefit from this street show?

TruthSpeaker| 10.8.11 @ 11:39PM

a totalitarian will emerge, perhaps with the name,
Antichrist.

Truth to Power| 10.7.11 @ 10:50AM

OWS is clearly a conservative plot to expose the utter stupidity of the left.

Indy| 10.7.11 @ 10:58AM

Oh my, thanks for the Friday chuckle...

sirbourbon| 10.8.11 @ 2:51PM

You may have something there with your theory.The left is easily led by the nose by the well-funded and professional pied pipers. Take the "Battle in Seattle show that was a put on show to give the conservatives at World Trade Organization a good image. It worked the freaks in the street with their anti- society message was used quite well by the more "conservative-looking WTOs in their three piece suits.

The WTO probably has an account set aside to hire these rag tag rent a mobs to protest their meetings. Anytime the public begins to tire of their secretive meetings and snobbish attitudes toward real free trade they put on a pretty good show topromote more of their managed trade schemes.

Citizen Jerry| 10.7.11 @ 10:58AM

Yes, they have freedom of speech -- and that includes accepting the consequences.

Perpetual children who do nothing but throw temper tantrums should only expect a good old-fashioned spanking.

sirbourbon| 10.8.11 @ 2:44PM

"Spanking?" Were it only true! The "perpetual children" get rewarded by the US government with huge taxpayer monies to fill their big ol' stockings. Planned Parenthood is at this event and so are the government workers' unions.

scotchieguy| 10.7.11 @ 11:17AM

As much as I disagree with Obama's policies, I am stunned there are actually people out there who make him seem somewhat moderate. Am I going crazy? Maybe the world is coming to an end. These people make Obama seem almost mainstream. I guess it is all relative. Two things that just don't work in my mind. One, they think Steve Jobs is some kind of a hero for inventing all of this neat stuff that could only be manufactured and distributed at such cheap prices by evil corporations. The irony! Second, their leader--I guess he is the leader, or maybe just the rabble-rouser, is none other than Michael Moore, perhaps the single biggest fraud of our times. You just can't make this stuff up!

irish19| 10.7.11 @ 2:04PM

Evil corporations who do most of their manufacturing overseas no less. I doubt many of the circuit boards in their gadgets were made in the USA.

sirbourbon| 10.8.11 @ 2:41PM

"These people make Obama seem almost mainstream"--- scotchguy

Well, dud, isn't that the point of this street theater!

Lots of left wing characters and even some that have the official seal of approval from the US government are at this fake OWS protest. Planned Parenthood gets government funds on a regular basis and they are at this Soros/US government Wall Street production. http://thenewamerican.com/usne.....all-street

Petronius| 10.7.11 @ 11:22AM

Where's Charlton Heston and the scoop operators when we need them?
These flea wits believe the world is a sand box. They'll never learn it's an arena. No merchant in the area should do business with them or permit their use of any facilities; no wi fi, no restrooms, no nothing. They want a world without Capitalism? The Capitalists should give it to them.

Pete| 10.7.11 @ 11:29AM

99%? More like the 40-50% who don't pay taxes. Someone ought to start passing around signs that say "Give us our free shit" - they could all rally around that.

k962| 10.7.11 @ 11:39AM

I have never had any doubts who these dimwits were. They babble all the same rhetoric socialists/communist useful idiots have spewed for years. I watch their web sites and it's all the same Marxist Stalinist bilge only being spewed by a new bunch of non thinkers! The repeat and chant and sing but it all a rehash of the same ole $@It.

tmac| 10.7.11 @ 12:07PM

"This is like Michael Moore applying to be night watchman at the Hostess Cupcake factory." Made me spit up my cheerios... beautiful!

glenn diehl| 10.7.11 @ 12:49PM

Just the standard left wing grievance caterwalling except for "no blood for oil". Missing in action due to a lib dem in the white house, which makes blood for oil free and fair trade.

Franco| 10.7.11 @ 1:04PM

All this makes me think that it would be really, really cool to be one of those "greedy" people they hate so much.

Bob| 10.7.11 @ 1:09PM

Socialists and communists, shocking!!! After all, Obama and Biden are socialists and communists and they hold some sort of position of authority in the U.S. No wonder the national news organizations are in full and breathless support while they don't report who these people are and what they stand for....they hate "yankee capitalist running dog." The networks are "Yankee capitalist running dog" organizations, ipso facto they support those who want them destroyed. Makes perfect sense to me. Fruitcakes reporting on nutbars. I wonder when the "Death To America" signs will emerge and if those signs will be shown on TV.

Peggy| 10.7.11 @ 10:53PM

NAME ONE THING OBAMA AND HIS ADMINISTRATION HAS DONE THAT ALIGNS WITH A SOCIALIST REGIME. NOT TALKING POINTS BUT REAL FACTS. DO YOUR RESEARCH AND TRY TO MAKE AN INFORMED ARGUMENT

markenoff| 10.8.11 @ 1:54AM

You're right Peggy it's not socialism, that's just the rhetoric. If you look at his actions it's just pure corruption....ignoring settled bankruptcy law to give priority to unsecured creditors, the UAW who just happened to be major BO contributors , over secured creditors in the automobile bankruptcies, allowing Pelosi to craft a $1,000,000,000,000 "stimulus" bill to reward an array of Dem party contributors, using the credit of the US to guarantee $500,000,000 worth of debt in a failing solar panel manufacturer that happens to be a major investment of a Dam contributor who will now recover their bad investment at the expense of the taxpayer. No wait, let me rephrase that. Not pure corruption. There's also a lot of incompetence involve especially in the areas of foreign policy, economic policy and energy policy. Just a rhetorical socialist but an incompentent corruptocrat through and through.

irish19| 10.8.11 @ 8:04PM

The Chicago Way on a national scale?

Ron| 10.7.11 @ 2:04PM

To David James:

I will spend MY hard earned money, in any way I see fit. Once my bills are paid (which always come first), then if I want 20 books, 4 cars, 12 rifles, 50 t-shirts, so be it....That is the beauty of capitalism. I can consume whatever I want, whenever I want. I do not owe anyone a G-D thing, especially those whinny crybabies protesting.

Do not like it, go try working for a living...Allegedly cannot find a job? Seems like alot of those protesters are union, lifetime students, etc. real people are out working a job (sometimes 2 or 3) to take care of their family, save and afford what they want.

Nowhere does anyone get promised free anything! you work and sacrifice for what you want, you do not go into debt over your head for it.

Do not like the stock market? Do not invest in it. Do not like a bank? Keep your money in a credit union, or stuff it in a mattress or in jars in the yard. You control what you do.

David James| 10.8.11 @ 12:39PM

you fucking greedy pig.

irish19| 10.8.11 @ 8:08PM

The really troubling thing about this, Dave (I may call you Dave, yes?) is that you actually seem to believe this drivel.
Other people are NOT entitled to my stuff. Should I choose to give them some through a charitable donation is a choice I get to make. The government doesn't get to make it for me.
For the government to force me to give up some of MY stuff so others can have it is no better than armed robbery. In fact, that's exactly what it amounts to.

David James| 10.11.11 @ 9:09AM

no the troubling thing is that even though i don't know you I can tell you are young. Young and impressionable. Soon you'll understand that there is more to life than trying to prove a point and being reasonable is as close to ideal as we will get. I am not saying that you should give up everything or anything you have but when some people manipulate their power and gamble with the lives of others it is NOT right and no amount of technicalities can justify the way people are suffering because of the actions of some people.

Melvin| 10.7.11 @ 2:55PM

These street urchins are the epitome of the group-think, "Misery Loves Company." The Democrat Party Apparatchiks have been making their customary rounds of handing out free stuff, that was bound to make the little protesting porcines squeal with absolute childish abandonment.
LA Democrat Mayor Villaraigosa who is being groomed by the California Communist Party for something bigger, was seen handing out ponchos to the protesters.
Some of the protesters who never spent anytime outside before sans going from the car to the video game store were at odds in whether to urinate in the poncho or wear it. Some suggested both, because it would be the socialist thing to do.
I suppose the only thing left is the protesters to strip naked and conduct they're rendition of the, "Running of the Fools," through Wall Street, with a free shower offered by one of the supporting Unions with fire hoses.

Jerry Esposito| 10.7.11 @ 4:50PM

I've been a subscriber and avid reader of the American Spectator since '92, but only read the Spectator.org occasionally. Recently though I've been online more since I found out about Bill Zeiser. He's got a great writing style which fits in perfectly with the American Spectator. I'd love to see his work print.

Peter| 10.7.11 @ 5:13PM

Obviously you are very ignorant about the movement and politics. Perhaps you should become informed and open your heart instead of blindly following idiotic right wing bureaucrats and pundits that feed you all your info.

markenoff| 10.8.11 @ 1:58AM

Yes don't open your mind, open your heart. It's not about thinking it's about feeling. Because feelings are what produce the food, clothing, shelter, clean water, electricity etc that we enjoy. No thinking involved just think it into existence.

markenoff| 10.8.11 @ 2:09AM

....just feel it into existence.

Liberty| 10.7.11 @ 6:15PM

How did you get the stench off?

carnot| 10.7.11 @ 10:25PM

watch. OWS is eventually going to become violent.

POST American| 10.7.11 @ 11:37PM

The NON-Soros awakened will skip
this Tavistock CON-trolled opposition op,
and, instead, be joining ALEX JONES'S
call for a nationwide 'Occupy the FED'
movement this weekend.

ROT-child front man Soros, to say nothing
of Rockefellow-eyed mega millionaire
Michael Moore -----are hardly the figures
to be determing issues and raising platforms
in this, the 11th hour, of the Globalist-RED
China sellout, TREASON and EUGENICS OP.

And remember!

-----------HUAC meets NUREMBERG 2012---------

Jones | 10.7.11 @ 11:38PM

The OWS punks have been smacked in the face by Reality, and they can't handle it

sirbourbon| 10.7.11 @ 11:46PM

"The last straw was when I was handed a copy of the socialist: Magazine of the Socialist Party USA. At that point, I had a strong urge to either report myself to HUAC"
Mr. Zeiser, the House Committee on Un American Activites was abolished long ago by Congress. May we count on you to help restore it to full committee status?

D Roamer | 10.8.11 @ 1:47AM

It is time to turn on the park lawn sprinklers periodically starting about 12 a.m.

sirbourbon| 10.8.11 @ 2:35PM

Don't get soaked you might catch cold.

natural selection| 10.8.11 @ 3:15AM

The "99ers" - heck, I see it is the 99% of folks who are not multi-millionaires. I thought it was those who were collecting 99 weeks of unemployment $$. That, too, maybe.

What, specifically, do these people want? For the occupants of Wall Street offices to open windows and drop money down to them every day at noon? That seems to be what one protester suggested yesterday when an elderly man asked why he didn't get a job. Protester said he wasn't taking a $7 an hour job flipping hamburgers. Well, he would have to clean up a bit to even qualify for that! $7 an hour is almost $300 a week. Besides, I thought minimum was $8 now... And at the end of the year he would get one of those reward checks from IRS - a "refund" for not having made enough money for a refund. And he could probably still qualify for food stamps for being underemployed. And all the French fries he could munch as he contaminated food all day.

How does Wall Street look compared to where Tea Party folks congregate?

b bayliss| 10.9.11 @ 6:52PM

What's all the confusion about "what these people want"? The top 1% now control 34.5% of our nations wealth (up from 8% in 1970). George W. Bush gave wall street banks 70 billion dollars. I'll give it to you in a bumper sticker...Economic Inequality is bad for all of us. Reinstate Glass-Steagall.

Mark30339| 10.8.11 @ 7:41AM

Enjoyed the report. I wonder if it could have had more observations and fewer opinionated judgments. Something like, the reporter reports, and I decide.

Dave | 10.8.11 @ 8:16AM

None of this surprises me. It really is history repeating itself....the Left mobilizes, just as it did in Imperial Russia in 1905 and 1917, Germany in 1919, and Chicago in 1968.

play nice| 10.8.11 @ 1:42PM

except for their hypocracy they would strip off their corporate made clothes

natural selection| 10.8.11 @ 8:18PM

DAVID JAMES:
Regarding your assessment of the United States vs. Norway. You already know it is Paradise. The thing for you to do is check out the immigration policy of Norway and (if you work) what the corresponding salary for what you do is in Norway. Then, you renounce your U. S. citizenship and quit your job and cancel your subscription to the newspaper. And pack your bags.

I will buy you a one way ticket to Norway - but you have to pay your own way back. But first you have to get in line behind any Norwegians who might be waiting to leave the Utopia for the hell hole that is the United States.

David James| 10.11.11 @ 9:11AM

Will you really buy me a one way ticket..really.

natural selection| 10.8.11 @ 8:50PM

DAVID JAMES! Wait, I may have steered you wrong. Googled immigration/Norway. Found this:

Sept 26,2011 - Refugees who've been denied asylum in Norway are opting to leave voluntarily, in record numbers, while other foreigners who've been granted permanent residence are leaving as well: Many are moving on after having trouble finding jobs or running into racism.

August 8, 2011 "Issues of racism and discrimination continue to be hotly debated in Norway. .

June 14, 2011 - A government commission studying integration in Norway has concluded that most immigrants are well-integrated, but around 125,000 are stuck in low-income jobs or dependent on state aid.

June 8, 2011 - City officials in Oslo who ordered a report on racism and anti-Semitism in Oslo schools say they been shocked by its findings: Jewish children report the most harassment, while religious racism appears widespread. . .

Another article referred to Norway's history of "fremmedfrykt" (fear of foreigners). So, unless you are tall, fair, blue-eyed and blonde, you may want to reconsider.

Gee, why didn't we think of that - fremmedfrykt - - instead of our Statue of Liberty?

Bunni | 10.8.11 @ 9:12PM

Excellent lst person account, Bill! I have linked you in my blog post about this sickening subject.

I'm happy you survived intact. I'm sure you took a long hot shower, and burned your clothes when you got home, incase any stray lice or bedbugs hitched a ride home. You are very brave to go among that rabble. You couldn't pay me enough. Esp. now with the astroturfing union goons getting in on the act. I'll follow this from YouTube, thank you very much!

Stay safe everyone, and Pray for America.

beebop2| 10.8.11 @ 10:04PM

"Surely some of them were just observers who got caught up in the mass arrest ...."

dude? You are one generation too late. Everything is intentional.

RND| 10.9.11 @ 12:48AM

Hm....might this event in NYC and the copycat ones in Philadelphia and Boston also serve another, ancillary purpose?

Casting for 2012 SIEU/Acorn "organizer" jobs.

Soros funded talent scouts now scouring the OWS gang for those with the "right stuff" for the big battles ahead starting about February and March of 2012?

Just maybe.

natural selection| 10.9.11 @ 1:02AM

Statute of Liberty was intentional - - to get David to correct my spelling - but darn, he didn't notice, perhaps even read, the wonderfulness of Norway. Leading the world, huh? Oh, well.

David James| 10.11.11 @ 9:14AM

Yes they are leading the world. What are you saying ?there isn't any racism in America? Get real mate you're blind

Jay Freewheelin'| 10.9.11 @ 1:45PM

"Political science 101: always be suspicious of someone who claims to speak for you, but whose appointment you had no hand in."

And yet it seems that you do understand "the exact nature" of the cause, and our "common ground".

Doug| 10.9.11 @ 2:59PM

Clearly the violence at the protests are being caused by conservatives trying to start fights with the police, as evidenced by so-called reporters at the American Spectator.

nohussein| 10.9.11 @ 5:15PM

The dregs have been back doored hussein style, hehehehe.......

nohussein| 10.9.11 @ 5:17PM

AS- Why did you pull the the DC column, good stuff.

e pluribus unum| 10.9.11 @ 6:34PM

SEIU's Stephen Lerner is on tape planning this months ago. As is Frances Fox-Piven in March of 2011. They are on video planning this.Unions didn't "join" the protesters, they orchestrated this and the kids out there are johnny-come-latelies. It is astro-turf all the way and the kids are being used just as they were used to go elect Obama.

b bayliss| 10.9.11 @ 6:36PM

Where is the Patrick Howley story? First it was rewritten now it has disappeared. What does this mean ? Is the American Spectator unwilling to support its own assistant editor?

garhighway| 10.9.11 @ 8:00PM

It means they aren't done editing/sanitizing the article.

ejhunt| 10.10.11 @ 1:23AM

do you mean this one bbaliss ?https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pzvJbtN4UfNaRnpjO08sjfJkTZGMZHtgP2kKDs-Ry_8/edit?hl=en_US&pli=1#

nohussein| 10.9.11 @ 7:26PM

Howley rulws, what gives!

nohussein| 10.9.11 @ 7:26PM

rules.....

nohussein| 10.9.11 @ 7:27PM

Howley showed how scummy the progs are.

bluecollarbytes| 10.9.11 @ 7:49PM

Traditional youthful rebellion plays a big part in gatherings like the Occupy/UpYours movements.

Count on some of these yoots growing up one day and getting 'rich' off their efforts.
------------
I think Obama is still experimenting with how he can use occupiers to offset the tea partiers. But the occupiers look no different than a legalize-pot protest or a teachers statehouse takeover.

nohussein| 10.9.11 @ 8:23PM

AS- Pulling the howley thread is catering to the progs.

dean smith| 10.9.11 @ 8:51PM

All you did was post a bunch of ad hominem attacks; do you know how childish it is to act this petty and the accuse the movement of being intellectually bankrupt?It would be nice for you to compensate with your lack of balls with some sensitivity. This shrill corporate screed unreels 24/7 on Fox. The only honest thing in your piece was admitting you were too cowardly to honestly represent yourself--I am definitely wary of your type: yuppie/ sociopath...

nohussein| 10.9.11 @ 9:04PM

Another commie you are , disgusting.

nohussein| 10.9.11 @ 9:06PM

God Bless America's corporations.

nohussein| 10.9.11 @ 9:07PM

The people made America wealthy, not government!

Andrew| 10.9.11 @ 10:13PM

The only thing intellectually bankrupt is this piece of "journalism".

fliteking| 10.9.11 @ 11:08PM

How come the liberals aren't using this group to establish 'a teaching moment' ?

Curious in NJ

dan| 10.10.11 @ 12:51AM

it's not their job to draft policy, it's the job of our government. The government is not doing that job well and it's about d/mn time people started acting pissed off. you should be pissed off too. if anything, it is the people who are protesting who are on the intelligent side of things here. they have diverse opinions about what should or should not happen BECAUSE they are thinking, unlike those in the tea party, who all accept simplistic, damaging, ideas that are unsustainable, and ill-conceived.

kate| 10.10.11 @ 4:05PM

the tea party people i know are hardworking, loving people. they love freedom.
have you ever read a book? studied history?
I doubt it.
there is no way you would support socialism if you had.
you are the totalitarian. you are the bad guy (politically).

Osamas Pajamas| 10.10.11 @ 2:29AM

OHBUMMER'S "WALL STREET OCCUPIERS" AND OTHER OHBUMMER STREET GANGS

Oh, the corporations! Oh, the banks! Oh, BOO HOO! Most of these demonstaters and rioters have a wind-up key sticking out of the middle of their backs with OhBummer's fingerprints all over it. He shat upon their brains and they LOVED it, crying, "Oh! Oh! More poo, please! More poo!"

These are the ideological blackshirts, brownshirts, redshirts and no-shirts thugs tasked and directed in their riots by OhBummer allies Michael Moore, David Astroturf Axelrod, and Van Jones, by MoveOn.org, the SEIU, the Huffington Post, and OhBummer's former employer, ACORN --- and, naturally --- by Barak Hussein Hushpuppy Hoover OhBummer, himself. Oh, and with a cameo appearnce by Roseanne Barr-The-Beheader, that scabrous dopehead rugmuncher.

This so-called "spontaneous, leaderless civil unrest" is a White House operation, conceived in the bowels of Barak Hushpuppy OhBummer's fetid little mind, in the bowels of the White House, and enacted by OhBummer's chosen proxies, surrogates, cronies, and confederates.

OhBummer and the OhBummer Wrecking Crew have been promoting envy [mental illness] and trying to shift blame to "Greedy Wall Street" and away from themselves --- they who are what novelist Ayn Rand called "greedy for the unearned."

I advocate that the police shoot and kill every one of OhBummer's rioting troops who obstructs traffic or trespasses on private property or in any way threatens or attempts to intimidate any of their critics or victims.

These are the lying, arrogant, greedy-for-the-unearned, bloodsxcking, tax-eating Democrat hoods, thugs, and gangsters. I advocate and I seek their destruction.

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Oh. By the way. In 2008, the top 1% of earners paid more than 38% of all Federal income taxes.

http://ntu.org/tax-basics/who-.....taxes.html

And so to the President of the United States of America and to the so -called "99-percenters" in OhBummer's street gangs who claim victimhood --- go blow smoke up your own ass.

Jack S.| 10.10.11 @ 9:48AM

Mr. Zeiser:

If you spent one tenth as much time actually talking to people down there (and not just the Daily Worker guys but also veterans, Christian groups, people who have never protested before in their lives who are sleeping in the street in New York City) as you do plumping for your awesome Bing Crosby style, you might have had a better understanding of the basic common impulse that brought people there: wall street has too much political influence.

If you just want to walk around making snarky comments at signs on the ground, seems like you could have just stayed at home tweeting about how using a telephone, in 2011, means you can never be concerned about income inequality, corporate irresponsibility, or a political system that favors big donors.

Banksy| 10.10.11 @ 10:32AM

The one thing people who disagree with this movement consistently leave out is what actually happened on Wall Street. The author of this article makes fun of those down there, calls them hypocrites, but hasn't mentioned a thing of understanding what actually happened on Wall Street that culminated in 2008. Even those on this discussion board, American Taxpayers, left and right, fail to recognize that only a little while ago, Wall Street firms took American taxpayer money to allow them to continue doing business, only to shell out big payments to the higher ups. If you try to tell me they paid back their debts, I don't care, the point is, they continue to thrive because we bailed them out (and Citigroup took our money without thinking twice without owing a dime).

Why Occupy Wall Street? Why bring up Napoleonic Wars? What does Cheney have to do with this? Left or Right, there was no regulation at all on the Mortgage Bond market, and every Wall Street bank that bet American people's money on a bunk market is now better for it - while thousands of middle and lower class citizens paid the price for being loaned amounts they should never have been loaned.

You people only focus on Left and Right, Cheney and Obama, but you leave out what actually happened - including the author of this article. The rut we're in, and the world is in, is mainly caused by the de-regulation of Wall Street firms who created their own markets, did what they wanted, and lost enough money to put the "99%", or just plain old 'layperson' into the hole we're in now. You can be anti-abortion, pro-Christian values, pro-Dick Cheney worst policies in US history, but if you're in the 'middle class' and aren't raking in a million a year, you are just as much a part of what needs to be changed on Wall Street as anyone else. This has nothing to do with the Bible, nothing to do with 'people who work hard deserve what they get.' It has to do with the fact that the biggest banks with the most money are affecting POLITICAL policy the most, instead of the people.

And for those who do try to turn to Biblical passages to justify their rationale for why these protesters should fend for themselves instead of being 'selfish' and 'greedy,' take this passage under consideration and consider what Jesus, one of the earliest 'protesters' of them all would do:

Deuteronomy 15:11:

The poor will never cease from the land, which is why I command you: open your hand to the poor and needy kinsman in your land.

Matt| 10.10.11 @ 11:35AM

Guy Goes To Protest With His Mind Made Up; Is Not Persuaded, Obviously; Writes 2,000 Words On Signage.

Paul| 10.10.11 @ 12:14PM

Kind of undercuts all the comments from the right blaming "left wing agitators" for negative activities by the Tea Party. (e.g. the Tea Party leader who blamed racist signs on left wing infiltators, until a picture of him holding a sign with the "N" word). Why haven't you been fired yet for violating journalistic and human ethics?

Paul| 10.10.11 @ 12:24PM

Sorry I was reacting to another story Please accept my apology.

Gary A Anderson | 10.10.11 @ 2:46PM

The 99 % Solution: http://thepoliticalsandbox.blo.....ution.html
Listen Well, all, as it is not a Union thing, a Political animal but a bipartisan movement of "The People" speaking out. It may have started as a left movement? but it has spiraled into a National Movement of People just tired of NOT being listened too and that 1 % is deaf; until now...

kate| 10.10.11 @ 3:53PM

It ALL comes down to education. I am sure that some of these "kids" are suffering.
A lot of us are.
We need a new rigorous curriculum and insist our children get an education in history and socialism vs capitalism.
I wouldn't mind advocates from both sides being allowed to debate in our schools.
We need to start such a program in kindergarten and test them every year.
At this time they are only influenced by the far left and it is hurting our country.
The truth will set us free.

Vinnie From Indy| 10.10.11 @ 5:00PM

Gee, America wonders what the American Spectator has planned next in regard to the Occupy Movements. Will Patrick Howley be dispatched again to incite violence and get people injured? Will this columnist don a new disguise and go to the protests with the purpose of inciting violence or to commit an act of vandalism or some other criminal act in order to have something to write about?

I ask all fair minded readers to ponder whether the American Spectator can ever be viewed as anything but an ongoing dirty tricks operation for the extremist right wing as long as Howell remains on their payroll.

terence| 10.10.11 @ 8:44PM

What's a gay, conservative journalist know about protest movements?

Tony in Central PA| 10.11.11 @ 9:33PM

Perhaps we can take up a collection to send a delegation of OWC socialists to North Korea to see how the better half lives.

POST American| 10.12.11 @ 12:47AM

USURY begets 'SO--shall-ALLL-ism'
which brings on 'YOU-genics' and utter
police state CON-troll.

The BOTTOM LINE being YOU--genocide.

--------------STOP FLINCHING----------------

----------------THIS IS REAL--------------------

swan song| 10.12.11 @ 1:45AM

When I look at the motley crew congregating, happily wallowing in their own filth, I think back to the young Howard Dean followers who were going to rock the vote in their little orange beanies.

I knew it was over for Dean before he let out that primal scream. I knew it the night Bruce Springsteen was rallying the youth vote and a roving reporter approached one of the mob, asking him what kind of president he thought Dean would make. The guy said, "I'm just here for the music. . ."

That is typical of the deep thinking of our perpetual adolescents.

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