Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for October 27, 2011

Threat or fact, I agree with it.

Okay, how about, “Both the Dems and the GOP have been patsys for the Illuminati?”Yeah, I know. Sounds like another one of Those Conspiracy Theories, but Both parties seem to be more about staying in power than about taking care of the country.

Individuals may be truly trying to do the right thing, but the Parties are about Power.

We demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty! And free Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters!

What he said!!!!

While the cool jerks giggle, the real issues remain: people are losing their homes, jobs, and health care; their Constitutional rights are being ignored by a fascist police state that protects corporations as if they were people; and tonight an Iraq war veteran is laying near death because he was shot in the head with a tear gas canister for having the temerity to practice some of the freedoms he fought to preserve for all of us, including the very cop who shot him in the face.

In some ways, the bag-head in this strip makes sense. He sounds pragmatic, in a way. “You folks are the ‘masters of the universe’ — you have built this system — you operate it and know how to operate it if anyone does. You want to be left alone and enjoy your position in peace? Fine! When we see people employed, when we see people secure, when we see the nation becoming more equal rather than less equal, when we see social mobility increasing rather than declining, when at least we know that we are moving in the right direction, we will then leave you alone. We will not be satisfied with policies or positions that sound good and accomplish nothing. We’re not going to argue with you about how to reverse the present destructive trends or exactly what degree of equality, opportunity, and economic security is enough. We don’t want rhetoric, we want results.” When you go to the doctor, or the mechanic, you are not interested in his theory of medicine or auto mechanics, and long-winded technical disquisitions. You are interested in results. It probably won’t accomplish a thing, but I am glad that someone is at least trying. The Tea Party, on the other hand, has only policies and proposals, mostly to hogtie government, deprive it of revenue, and eliminate laws and their enforcement, with only their blind faith that if these things are done, good will somehow magically result. Of course, in a sense they are right, too. As crimes are violations of the law, all you have to do to reduce the crime rate to zero is to repeal all laws. You can’t violate what doesn’t exist.

Just what exactly can OWS do to carry out this threat?

Oh, and it doesn’t help that Cain had to throw in his own little “let them eat cake” comment.

What lost Gore the election was the fact that he couldn’t win his home state for crying out loud. That had nothing to do with Nader. Had he won TN, FL wouldn’t have mattered.

I wonder what the OWSer’s will say after the first snowfall. BTW, there will always be a 1%. One would hope that that fraction would not control so much of the weatlh in the US, but there will allways be a top1% in terms of money, just as there will always be a top 1% in terms of height, weight, or years of schooling. I’m not mentioning IQ because it’s hardly a measurable statistic.

I spent an afternoon talking to people who are ‘Occupying Chicago’. It felt like one large, calm conglomeration of informal debate and discussion groups. Everyone was passionate about the power of big corporations, banks, and government. Everyone wanted equity and change—usually for the benefit of others. No one had the same desired solutions, or even way of identifying the details of the problem. Opinions ranged from well thought out to wackily idealistic. I posted a report of some of the conversations and opinions I heard on a blog my family uses to keep up with each other. http://glassthefamily.blogspot.com/2011/10/v-behaviorurldefaultvml-o.html

http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23generalstrike

The self-righteous ‘haves’ of the tighty-righties ALWAYS think that the problems and evil come from BELOW them socially…“how about that welfare queen…” “kick out the homeless” or “send them back to where they escaped from…”

Always crush the little people, the ones Jesus said he loved, and the anti-Christian wrongwingers protect the well-off…and screw your arguments about it always having been that way, and your bs about whether ‘rights’ or ‘order’ is being violated…I KNOW which side I’m on.

Just keep watching those recycled children’s fables in movies and tv…your OWNERS won’t be remaking any of the thirties’ movies about the evil ba$trd$ of corporation$…the period of strife that led us out of the BIG Depression thru WW2 and into prosperity…no, they’ll allow themes of all-powerful cop shows and silly comedies.

Doesn’t matter: the People of America have begun to wake up, and the tyrants of the tyrant-supporting T Party are beginning to sh*t and get. Koch already moved one household to Switzerland, I heard.

Guillotines, sharp and shiny in the Park next year! Mirrored blades bringing justice to Wall Street and ‘K’ Street…my, oh my, how I want to live to see it. America the beautiful, purifying in the blood of the parasitic criminal class which has oppressed this great country’s poor so long…let justice roll, this land is OUR land!

GOTP delenda est…

Hear freakin’ hear!!!!

January 17, 2001 | ISSUE 43•01 ISSUE 37•01

WASHINGTON, DC–Mere days from assuming the presidency and closing the door on eight years of Bill Clinton, president-elect George W. Bush assured the nation in a televised address Tuesday that “our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over.”

“My fellow Americans,” Bush said, “at long last, we have reached the end of the dark period in American history that will come to be known as the Clinton Era, eight long years characterized by unprecedented economic expansion, a sharp decrease in crime, and sustained peace overseas. The time has come to put all of that behind us.”

The rest is at:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/bush-our-long-national-nightmare-of-peace-and-pros,464/#enlarge

Are you equating “leadership” and “messiah figure”?  No.

The way to keep Obama from being a “patsy” for the left wing is to give him a congress that will work with him. He wants to do what’s right for the American people. The Republicans want to protect the 1%ers. Give him people who also want to do what’s right for Americans ( that requires actually knowing the record of the person you vote for) and the job will get done.

BACK TO THE STRIP ITSELF  Mark sets aside (for purposes of discussion) “the lack of leaders” issue, and raises the issue of “demands”.  Citizen X rejects “demands”. That is to say, he claims that the OWS movement makes no “demands”, because (1) “you demand change”, (2) “your adversary agrees to it”, (3) “but then nothing changes”. This is possibly a reference to the Obama campaign (against Clinton in the DEM primaries) for “change we can believe in”. It didn’t happen, deeply disappointing and distressing Obama’s base, “the left”. Then Citizen X drops the “T-bomb” (T = threat, i.e., an “if, then” ultimatum): “We’re saying to Wall Street and Washington, YOU created this massively rigged economic system, YOU dismantle it! And if you don’t, WE’LL dismantle your legitimacy!” The smart-as-a-crack-whip Mark immediately spots the “if, then” ultimatum and reposts: “So a threat’s okay?” The smarter-than-the-average-bear-but-nowhere-near-as-astute-as-Mark, Citizen X then drops the football with the near-nonsense response: “No, that’s just a fact.” And a truly meaningless scold: “Let’s be careful with words, dude.” (He’s the one who’s not being careful with words, not Mark.) Trudeau’s having fun, of course (that’s how he puts beans on his table). But he points us to history. Chaotic leaderless socio-political situations generate leaders. Leaders emerge.  On the negative side we find: • Julius Caesar emerged and changed the Roman empire from a republic into an autocracy (dictatorship). • Mussolini emerged from an anarchic Italy. • Hitler emerged from a prostrate Germany, the victim of unfair treatment by France and England at the end of WWI. On the positive side we find: • Lincoln emerged from a North-South standoff over slavery (expansion of slaver westward was the burning issue). • FDR emerged from a nation prostrate due to the Great Depression. Bottom line: SOMEBODY is going to emerge. We-on-the-left though it was going to be Obama. But he has turned out to be a straw-man President. So we’re looking elsewhere. John Edwards took himself out with his stupid affaire. Hillary looks worn and without exciting ideas.  Potential leaders from the GOP side are only going to make matters worse and worse and worse — leading to a “job slavery” state that will make Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “company store” economy look like heaven on earth. Question: Who’s going to emerge? A Lincoln / FDR type? Or a Mussolini / Hitler type?

Wait until the national conventions.

DTpi, I look on Citizen X’s scenario the same way I use this formulation from time to time:

“If redistribution of wealth does not occur in a peaceful and controlled fashion, it will occur in a violent and uncontrolled fashion.” When I say that, I don’t say it as a threat but as a prediction. (In MY Revolution, NOBODY goes against the wall.)

I ain’t all THAT mild-mannered. I just try to “keep my head when all around are losing theirs.” I dare do all that may become a man. Who dares more, is none. :-)

My prediction (at least my hope) for the emergent leader (at least on the positive side) is: ELIZABETH WARREN

I’ll be glad when this election is over.

That’s not why they don’t have demands. This series isn’t making much sense.

I always thought fritzoid was Nancy Pelosi’s neighbor. I can visualize them chatting around the sidewalk bins on re-cycling day.

Must be nice having the Secret Service remind you when the street sweeper’s coming.

The best way for OWS to remain relevant is to avoid being co-opted and becoming a tool like the Tea Party and keep the focus on class warfare and let someone politicize it at their own peril.

“To blame Nader is to miss the point of it.” The election results are multi-factorial. Nader is one factor, not the whole 9 yards. Therefore, the point is not missed: Nader DID have an effect.

DanD, Could you rephrase the above, please…maybe expound a llittle on another day. I am even puzzled about the time-line(s).