Capitalism

Many make the mistake that the protesters on Wall Street are just kids with nothing else to do. If you believed FAUX NEWS, you'd think they are bearded unbathed leftists from the 60's who hate capitalism. The MSM isn't any more flattering in their portrayal. Everyone seems to be determined to discount them from the get go, and negate what ever it is they are trying to say. There seems to be this idea that since they haven't created a list of demands like kidnappers, they aren't serious and can be ignored. Other folks on the right, such as B-Daddy, do seem to get it.

The message is very simple. We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore. A pretty familiar message to Washington. So what are they mad about?

The middle class is hurting. Its been experiencing a downward slide for the last decade and the last few years its dropped off a cliff. They want this acknowledged. They want the kleptocracy in Washington to stop calling them whiners and start taking them seriously. They are tired of feeling like there are two Americas - the ones being screwed and the ones doing the screwing. They're tired of hearing how great things are just because the job hoarders are getting their bonuses and stock options are soaring.

Over all, they are tired of the rich and powerful, being the rich and powerful. They believe in the myth of the American dream, and that hope is being strangled right before their eyes. Many of the protesters don't oppose Capitalism. They just oppose the trend toward a second gilded age. They remember an America where the middle class used to be comfortable, not homeless. And they are tired that no one in Washington seems to be facing this new reality.

Note to the rich and powerful. People in large numbers can become rather dangerous when when hope is taken from them.

In honor of the occupiers

Oingo Boingo-"Grey Matter" live Halloween '87

For the Poobah!

Got this from here.


I think you were saying .....

What a Long Strange Trip It's Been

Not the party of Reagan any more.

So what does it mean for this country that Ronald Reagan would now be seen as a pinko commie socialist.

The Real Obama Death Panels

From Salon. The president and his cabinet order the execution of a US citizen without any due process. Where is the outrage over this sort of Star Chamber justice. If this had been Bush doing this, the outcry, rightly so, would have been deafening!

American militants like Anwar al-Awlaki are placed on a kill or capture list by a secretive panel of senior government officials, which then informs the president of its decisions . . . . There is no public record of the operations or decisions of the panel, which is a subset of the White House’s National Security Council . . . . Neither is there any law establishing its existence or setting out the rules by which it is supposed to operate. . . . The role of the president in ordering or ratifying a decision to target a citizen is fuzzy. White House spokesman Tommy Vietor declined to discuss anything about the process. . . .

Representative Dutch Ruppersberger, was asked by reporters about the killing. The process involves “going through the National Security Council, then it eventually goes to the president” . . . .Other officials said the role of the president in the process was murkier than what Ruppersberger described. They said targeting recommendations are drawn up by a committee of mid-level National Security Council and agency officials. Their recommendations are then sent to the panel of NSC “principals,” meaning Cabinet secretaries and intelligence unit chiefs, for approval . . . But one official said Obama would be notified of the principals’ decision. If he objected, the decision would be nullified, the official said.

Fall in the Colorado High Country

Just past sunset over Isabelle lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness of the Front Range of Colorado. Taken yesterday. Just a month ago there were still spring flowers around the lake. Last night everything had turned, and the temperature had dropped. Snow likely this weekend.

See more Fall color in the Colorado High country here.

Killng Americans Overseas in The War on Terror

Over at the Liberator Today is a great post about the consequences of sanctioning the assassination of Americans without due process. Go check it out. Our civil liberties are being eroding bit by bit, and as a country we're too afraid of terrorism to do anything about it.

Those who would give up Essential Liberty
to purchase a little Temporary Safety,
deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

Listen to the music

So are the Chinese trying to rub our noses in the fact that they have a maned space program and we don't?

Its not what you think!

Hilarious, and kind of sad at the same time. Getting old clearly sucks! Probably the best parody of the Cheech and and Chong movies anybody could come up with.