I am still catching up. So I understand the Supercommittee failed to commit and the police brutality at Cal Davis was unusually brutal. Anything else going on?
19 thoughts on “Latest News”
Auntie Maha, some of our juvenile delinquent cousins wanted me to do some nasty things behind your back while you were gone.
But I was a good boy and I didn’t do them!
I think they need to be punished!
50 lashes with a wet noodle sounds appropriate to me! And while they’re being lashed with that limp noodle, they need to say “Gulag is great! He is the smartest, funniest, wisest, ‘kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life .’
It’s the least that you can do to them for tempting me!
Not that I’m a squealer or anything, mind you…
Hmm. Well, I’m taking names.
Nobody had to waterboard you.
No, no, there was no brutality at U C D at all. There’s a quote from some expert on policing saying that those are normal police tactics, so nothing to worry about. /sarcasm
Charles J. Kelly, a former Baltimore Police Department lieutenant who wrote the department’s use of force guidelines, said pepper spray is a “compliance tool” that can be used on subjects who do not resist, and is preferable to simply lifting protesters.
I believe you were predicting more of this kind of thing in the past week or so…
Hmmm. Well all the R Presidential candidates who aren’t Mormon got together in an evangelical church secret location to commiserate on how persecuted they are. How very brave of them.
I observed quietly from my undisclosed location this weekend, and can testify honestly that C. Gulag was totally well-behaved in spite of terrible provocation.
Welcome home, Maha. Plus ca change, plus ces le meme choses. Pardon my French.
Maha, thanks for mentioning what happened at UC Davis, I hadn’t been aware of it. Google quickly brought up a video:
Absolutely appalling. The ridiculous overreaction of the authorities is causing a whole generation of young people to learn to hate the police.
Our TV news is fairly dumbed down – America doesn’t have a monopoly on that – though we have no local equivalent of Fox News. We have our own local political news, followed by the requisite cutesy animal stories and what are probably “pay-for-play reports” on restaurants. But the beating/smashing last week during the USA’s national crackdown on OWS did get quite a bit of coverage. At least from where I’m sitting, the image of America is changing – people here are starting to see the USA as just another police state, not the shining beacon of democracy and freedom.
Right now though, when it comes to financial-disaster reporting, most of it is about Europe – there isn’t much said yet about America’s very dire finances. We haven’t seen much protest in Asia of the OWS nature. Then again, our own considerable real estate bubble has yet to pop. Derivatives aren’t legal here, so I don’t think our local banks have engaged in the type of massive fraud that Wall Street and EU banks have. However, several Asian governments are heavily invested in US Treasuries which, I think, someday will be next to worthless. Not to mention that foreign trade is a huge part of our economy. So yes, we have a stake in what happens in Europe and the USA – if it tanks, we tank too.
Congress could always just un-do the law that created the Supecommittee. Inasmuch as it’s packed with GOP trogs, doing nothing would be preferred to either the automatic cuts or whatever they (might!) propose.
Oh, and the Gov’t wants to censor the internet. No doubt to squash YouTube, about the only place to get actual news footage these days……
“However, several Asian governments are heavily invested in US Treasuries which, I think, someday will be next to worthless. ”
I doubt the US will ever default on treasuries. Greece gave their a 50% haircut–ouch. That said, I dropped my T-bills.
The failure of the supercommittee is good news. Great news would be if ONE GOP member had opted for tax increases on the top 1% combined with a dollar-for- dollar reduction in spending entirely outside of entitlements. But that won’t happen, so walking away from a really bad deal is the lesser of two evils. Will the media PLEASE report the truth- people at the bottom are being crushed by the sacrifices they must make. But the GOP won’t ask the top 1% to chip in a few percent in ‘shared’ sacrifice for the health of the nation. The issue is neither subtle nor nuanced.
Protesters at Davis were maced for a peaceful protest. Some are hospitalized because the cops sprayed it down the throats of sitting protesters who would not disperse. This is a classic ‘freedom of assembly’ issue. The victims were sitting (non threatening) peacefully expressing opinions on public property. I’m no lawyer, but this looks like a civil- rights test case. If Justice has any balls, they will pursue it on a criminal basis. Prison is a particularly unpleasant and dangerous place for an ex-cop. It might even give some knuckledragging goons something to think about. I’m not holding my breath. But it’s a delightful thought.
MAYBE the voters are bright enough to connect the two issues. Congress (both parties) has protected the interests of the 1% for decades. Fiscal issues can be ignored no longer and democrats are willing to return tax levels to previous levels AND cut spending. The GOP in Congress and presidential contenders are completely sold out to the 1% and are determined to balance the budget on the backs of the poor and the elderly, shifting the tax burden for essential services to the middle class. The supercommittee gridlock demonstrates the issue. The second issue. Police – working for local governments who are answering to the 1% are brutalizing Americans for exercising rights guaranteed in the Constitution. Both the supercommittee and the police thugs at Davis are about the 1% trying to make their power absolute.
“The GOP in Congress and presidential contenders are completely sold out to the 1% and are determined to balance the budget on the backs of the poor and the elderly,”
One meme that bugs me from some of the talking heads and SOME in OWS is that “both parties are criminal and have to go”. Yea, well in that case, the GOP are murderers and arsonists, and the democrats are jaywalkers and speeders.
Just saw a very inspirational video on Rawstory: a retired Philadelphia police captain who joined OWS and got arrested, and is still with the protesters (wearing his uniform):
It looks like the shit’s goin’ global.
“Remember, remember, the fifth of November……”
Lot’s of pissed off peasants,not so many cops in riot gear.
Some cops here in Florida can’t decide if they are to “serve and protect” or harass and annoy, they also can’t figure out if they’re cops or soldiers; both very bad things.
Here is a good comment from Senator Murray regarding the Supercommittee:
As Murray told Crowley, referring to Grover Norquist’s pledge against tax increases, “As long as we have some Republican lawmakers who feel more enthralled with a pledge they took to a Republican lobbyist than they do to a pledge to the country to solve the problems, this is going to be hard to do.â€
Via ThinkProgress. I think the issue the Dems should take is to pound the Repugs with their allegiance to Norquist over their allegiance to the country. Make them defend their actions to destroy the country.
This link is to a Digby story on use of pepper spray on peaceful demonstrators. It really resonates, especially the comments section. I have never been to a political demonstration, but I am getting ready now. OWS has a genius in its non-specific nature: it is hard to be sure anything is right any more in our government system.
Herman Cain says its more exciting knockin’ down the ho’s credibility than it it was harrassing them in the first place. Yeah, think twice before you tangle with the harrassinator!
I think the surprise would’ve been if the supercommittee had come up with anything.
Locally, our Occupiers are back in their tents on our state capitol mall. I don’t believe they were rousted on that coordinated Rousting Day; they’d decamped to Denver to join the protest there, temporarily.
Auntie Maha, some of our juvenile delinquent cousins wanted me to do some nasty things behind your back while you were gone.
But I was a good boy and I didn’t do them!
I think they need to be punished!
50 lashes with a wet noodle sounds appropriate to me! And while they’re being lashed with that limp noodle, they need to say “Gulag is great! He is the smartest, funniest, wisest, ‘kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life .’
It’s the least that you can do to them for tempting me!
Not that I’m a squealer or anything, mind you…
Hmm. Well, I’m taking names.
Nobody had to waterboard you.
No, no, there was no brutality at U C D at all. There’s a quote from some expert on policing saying that those are normal police tactics, so nothing to worry about. /sarcasm
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/outcry-calif-police-pepper-spray-students-14991549
I believe you were predicting more of this kind of thing in the past week or so…
Hmmm. Well all the R Presidential candidates who aren’t Mormon got together in an evangelical
churchsecret location to commiserate on how persecuted they are. How very brave of them.I observed quietly from my undisclosed location this weekend, and can testify honestly that C. Gulag was totally well-behaved in spite of terrible provocation.
Welcome home, Maha. Plus ca change, plus ces le meme choses. Pardon my French.
Maha, thanks for mentioning what happened at UC Davis, I hadn’t been aware of it. Google quickly brought up a video:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/19/uc-davis-police-pepper-spray-students_n_1102728.html
Absolutely appalling. The ridiculous overreaction of the authorities is causing a whole generation of young people to learn to hate the police.
Our TV news is fairly dumbed down – America doesn’t have a monopoly on that – though we have no local equivalent of Fox News. We have our own local political news, followed by the requisite cutesy animal stories and what are probably “pay-for-play reports” on restaurants. But the beating/smashing last week during the USA’s national crackdown on OWS did get quite a bit of coverage. At least from where I’m sitting, the image of America is changing – people here are starting to see the USA as just another police state, not the shining beacon of democracy and freedom.
Right now though, when it comes to financial-disaster reporting, most of it is about Europe – there isn’t much said yet about America’s very dire finances. We haven’t seen much protest in Asia of the OWS nature. Then again, our own considerable real estate bubble has yet to pop. Derivatives aren’t legal here, so I don’t think our local banks have engaged in the type of massive fraud that Wall Street and EU banks have. However, several Asian governments are heavily invested in US Treasuries which, I think, someday will be next to worthless. Not to mention that foreign trade is a huge part of our economy. So yes, we have a stake in what happens in Europe and the USA – if it tanks, we tank too.
Congress could always just un-do the law that created the Supecommittee. Inasmuch as it’s packed with GOP trogs, doing nothing would be preferred to either the automatic cuts or whatever they (might!) propose.
Oh, and the Gov’t wants to censor the internet. No doubt to squash YouTube, about the only place to get actual news footage these days……
“However, several Asian governments are heavily invested in US Treasuries which, I think, someday will be next to worthless. ”
I doubt the US will ever default on treasuries. Greece gave their a 50% haircut–ouch. That said, I dropped my T-bills.
The failure of the supercommittee is good news. Great news would be if ONE GOP member had opted for tax increases on the top 1% combined with a dollar-for- dollar reduction in spending entirely outside of entitlements. But that won’t happen, so walking away from a really bad deal is the lesser of two evils. Will the media PLEASE report the truth- people at the bottom are being crushed by the sacrifices they must make. But the GOP won’t ask the top 1% to chip in a few percent in ‘shared’ sacrifice for the health of the nation. The issue is neither subtle nor nuanced.
Protesters at Davis were maced for a peaceful protest. Some are hospitalized because the cops sprayed it down the throats of sitting protesters who would not disperse. This is a classic ‘freedom of assembly’ issue. The victims were sitting (non threatening) peacefully expressing opinions on public property. I’m no lawyer, but this looks like a civil- rights test case. If Justice has any balls, they will pursue it on a criminal basis. Prison is a particularly unpleasant and dangerous place for an ex-cop. It might even give some knuckledragging goons something to think about. I’m not holding my breath. But it’s a delightful thought.
MAYBE the voters are bright enough to connect the two issues. Congress (both parties) has protected the interests of the 1% for decades. Fiscal issues can be ignored no longer and democrats are willing to return tax levels to previous levels AND cut spending. The GOP in Congress and presidential contenders are completely sold out to the 1% and are determined to balance the budget on the backs of the poor and the elderly, shifting the tax burden for essential services to the middle class. The supercommittee gridlock demonstrates the issue. The second issue. Police – working for local governments who are answering to the 1% are brutalizing Americans for exercising rights guaranteed in the Constitution. Both the supercommittee and the police thugs at Davis are about the 1% trying to make their power absolute.
“The GOP in Congress and presidential contenders are completely sold out to the 1% and are determined to balance the budget on the backs of the poor and the elderly,”
One meme that bugs me from some of the talking heads and SOME in OWS is that “both parties are criminal and have to go”. Yea, well in that case, the GOP are murderers and arsonists, and the democrats are jaywalkers and speeders.
Just saw a very inspirational video on Rawstory: a retired Philadelphia police captain who joined OWS and got arrested, and is still with the protesters (wearing his uniform):
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/11/20/ret-police-captain-to-be-arrested-in-solidarity-was-the-proudest-moment-of-my-life/
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Police-Protesters-Keep-up-Clashes-in-Cairo-134200628.html
It looks like the shit’s goin’ global.
“Remember, remember, the fifth of November……”
Lot’s of pissed off peasants,not so many cops in riot gear.
Some cops here in Florida can’t decide if they are to “serve and protect” or harass and annoy, they also can’t figure out if they’re cops or soldiers; both very bad things.
Here is a good comment from Senator Murray regarding the Supercommittee:
As Murray told Crowley, referring to Grover Norquist’s pledge against tax increases, “As long as we have some Republican lawmakers who feel more enthralled with a pledge they took to a Republican lobbyist than they do to a pledge to the country to solve the problems, this is going to be hard to do.â€
Via ThinkProgress. I think the issue the Dems should take is to pound the Repugs with their allegiance to Norquist over their allegiance to the country. Make them defend their actions to destroy the country.
This link is to a Digby story on use of pepper spray on peaceful demonstrators. It really resonates, especially the comments section. I have never been to a political demonstration, but I am getting ready now. OWS has a genius in its non-specific nature: it is hard to be sure anything is right any more in our government system.
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/yes-of-course-pepper-spray-is-torture.html
That is the link I neglected to put in my previous comment. Guess that calls for a “Texas oops!” Or maybe a Romneyesque “I meant to link before I forgot to link and then later I linked for reals.”
Herman Cain says its more exciting knockin’ down the ho’s credibility than it it was harrassing them in the first place. Yeah, think twice before you tangle with the harrassinator!
I think the surprise would’ve been if the supercommittee had come up with anything.
Locally, our Occupiers are back in their tents on our state capitol mall. I don’t believe they were rousted on that coordinated Rousting Day; they’d decamped to Denver to join the protest there, temporarily.