Is The Occupy Wall Street Movement an Answer to The Tea Party Movement?

[Ed W]

[Vashta Nerada]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/higher-education/task-force-report-blasts-police-pepper-spraying-of-student-protesters-at-california-university/2012/04/11/gIQAx6qSBT_story.html

[heironymouspasparagus]

So do you think cutting taxes will solve the $15 trillion plus deficit?  That's what the guys other than the 'status quo' seem to think.  How did that work out from 2004-2008?

I'm going to borrow a term used by Gweed on here.  At some point, people have to get some 'skin in the game'.

Actually, 2001 - 2008.  And it didn't work all that well.

[Conan71]

Would have worked out great without two new war fronts, the creation of DHS, plus multiple unprecedented natural disasters which helped raid the treasury.

[patric]

Would have worked out great without two new war fronts, the creation of DHS, plus multiple unprecedented natural disasters which helped raid the treasury.

Historically, taxes are raised to pay for a war, but for some reason, borrowing the money sounded like a better idea to the party.

[nathanm]

Would have worked out great without two new war fronts, the creation of DHS, plus multiple unprecedented natural disasters which helped raid the treasury.

It's been a while since I've seen figures, but I don't believe that would have been enough to stop the red ink. That's not to say that the budget wouldn't have been much, much closer to being balanced, though.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Would have worked out great without two new war fronts, the creation of DHS, plus multiple unprecedented natural disasters which helped raid the treasury.

Wooda, cooda, shooda....

Wish in one hand, sh$t in the other - see which one gets full first!

We - as in the Bush regime - chose NOT to act responsibly and pay as we went.  Even Daddy and Reagan knew better than to go that far, even with the obscene deficits their irresponsibility created.  It all goes to the unbelievable narcissism and greed that has gripped the powered elite for decades now.  There is no consideration given to what is being done to future generations - our kids and grandkids - it's all about "Me".  Crock of carp!

[heironymouspasparagus]

It's been a while since I've seen figures, but I don't believe that would have been enough to stop the red ink. That's not to say that the budget wouldn't have been much, much closer to being balanced, though.

There were surpluses when Baby Bush took over. 

Now, that is not to say they would have continued, but given the true past history of so-called Dem "tax and spend", it is highly unlikely deficits would be anything like today.

[Gaspar]

"According to police, around 25 people tried smashing the windows of the cafe with eight-foot long steel pipes at around 8:45 p.m. after attending the Anarchist book fair earlier in the day. "Patrons fearing that they would be hit by flying glass hid under tables," the police said in a statement. "Several" officers were assaulted with pipes and bottles, the police added."
http://eastvillage.thelocal.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/two-officers-injured-during-anarchist-attack-on-starbucks/

[patric]

Why you think a bunch of anarchist punks would be interchangeable with the Occupy movement is almost as interesting as you trying to illustrate your point with a picture titled "copsblackbloc"

[Gaspar]

Because if you follow OWS antics on their own website, they promote the "Black Block" concept.
http://occupywallst.org/article/solidarity-sunday/

For those of you who don't know what "black block" protesting is:
A black bloc is a tactic for protests and marches, whereby individuals wear black clothing, scarves, ski masks, motorcycle helmets with padding, or other face-concealing items.[...] The clothing is used to avoid being identified, and to, theoretically, appear as one large mass, promoting solidarity.

Oh, and I probably just assumed it was an Occupy event because of who was leading it. http://www.facebook.com/LunchBox0341
Probably wrong.  Probably just a unorganized group of hooligans. 

[patric]

For those of you who don't know what "black block" protesting is:
A black bloc is a tactic for protests and marches, whereby individuals wear black clothing, scarves, ski masks, motorcycle helmets with padding, or other face-concealing items.[...] The clothing is used to avoid being identified, and to, theoretically, appear as one large mass, promoting solidarity.

I see your Wikipedia definition, and raise you one:

Since all members conceal their identities, it is harder to recognize infiltrators. Allegations first surfaced after several demonstrations. At the 2001 G8 summit in Genoa, amongst the many complaints about the police there was mention of video footage in which "men in black were seen getting out of police vans near protest marches." In August 2007, Quebec police admitted that "their officers disguised themselves as demonstrators." On these occasions, some were identified by genuine protesters because of their police-issue footwear. In 2003 the Oakland, CA Police Dept infiltrated a group of peaceful anti-war protestors at the port. Oakland police captain Howard Jordan said "You don't need to have some special skill to infiltrate these groups. Two of our officers were elected leaders within an hour of joining the group. So if you put people in there from the beginning, I think we'd be able to gather information and maybe even direct them to do something that we want them to do."  In Feb 2011 Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker considered inserting troublemakers into peaceful protests at his state Capitol during a prank phone call where he thought he was speaking to conservative billionaire David Koch.

[patric]

We usually see Israel as a heavy-handed militaristic government, so it's interesting to see how they handle an Occupy-like event (as well as what they see as their failures)

http://youtu.be/uL-GmYBNDqY

The deputy commander of the IDF's Jordan Valley brigade who was filmed hitting a left-wing activist with his rifle will be dismissed from his position.

The announcement on Sunday by the Israel Defense Forces stated that the army took a grave view of the incident involving Lt. Col. Shalom Eisner.  Eisner will be punished for excessive use of force, but also for his demonstrable stupidity.

The video clip depicting Eisner thrusting his M-16 into the face of a left-wing activist surfaced on the Internet with particularly embarrassing timing from Israel's standpoint. It appeared just as the so-called "flytilla" of pro-Palestinian activists from abroad - which was so dramatically overstated here by Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch - was dying, as expected, with a whimper.

The hundreds of police needlessly deployed at Ben-Gurion International Airport refrained from violent force, failing to provide the protest organizers with the snapshots that would have served their interests. But then along came Lt. Col. Eisner to save the day for the pro-Palestinian activists. In light of the fact that Israeli television stations on Sunday evening repeatedly ran footage of the video of Eisner hitting the activist, one can imagine how foreign broadcasters would relate to it - assuming of course that they manage to tear themselves away from the daily carnage in the Syrian city of Homs.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/the-quick-demise-of-a-perfect-pr-campaign-1.424478

[Gaspar]

So, where are you going with this now, or should I ask?

[patric]

So, where are you going with this now, or should I ask?

That these things might fade away if it weren't for the infusions of violence and heavy-handedness?