Friday, November 4, 2011
Republicans Hit Obama After Jobs Report
'Girl Panic'
More supermodels from Duran Duran.
Hypocritical Occupy Oakland Supporters Denounce Anarchy and Violence of Occupy Oakland Protesters
As longtime readers will recall, I've been following the Occupy Movement for a couple of years. The movement's ideological foundations are in anarcho-socialism and revolutionary violence. A guiding credo is common (socialist) property rights enforced by direct action. See this week's "Declaration of Solidarity with Neighborhood Reclamations," for example:
Occupy Oakland, in solidarity with the Occupy movement and with the local community, has established the principle of claiming for open use the open space that has been kept from us. We are committed to helping this practice continue and grow. Here in Oakland, thousands of buildings owned by city, banks, and corporations stand idle and abandoned. At the same time social services such as child and healthcare, education, libraries and community spaces are being defunded and eliminated.Underneath these demands is an ideological agenda of militant anti-capitalism, for example, yesterday's "Communique from the Crisis Center":
Occupy Oakland supports the efforts of people in all Oakland neighborhoods to reclaim abandoned properties for use to meet their own immediate needs...
Tonight we open the Crisis Center. In this abandoned building that once provided services to those in need, we open the Occupation Crisis Center. Capitalism cannot avoid crisis. Capitalism cannot resist crisis. But capitalism is not the crisis. We are the crisis. Capitalism is not hungry, homeless, jobless, excluded, exploited. We are. And across the globe, across the nation, across borders, across Oakland, we are moving to meet our immediate needs. We are reclaiming space that has been unused, used against us, left empty while we sleep outdoors, while we cook and organize and struggle outdoors. We open this building in this moment of crisis — in our moment — to continue our occupations, continue our struggles, to seize this crisis and make of it a new world in which everything belongs to everybody...And here's this on the downtown rioting and violence, "Statement on the Occupation of the former Traveler's Aid Society at 520 16th Street":
We are well aware that such an action is illegal, just as it is illegal to camp, cook, and live in Oscar Grant Plaza as we have done. We are aware that property law means that what we did last night counts as trespassing, if not burglary. Still, the ferocity of the police response surprised us. Once again, they mobilized hundreds of police officers, armed to the hilt with bean bag guns, tear gas and flashbang grenades, despite the fact that these so-called “less-than-lethal” weapons nearly killed someone last week. The city spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to protect one landlord's right to earn a few thousand every month. Why is this? Whereas the blockade of the port – an action which caused millions of dollars of losses – met with no resistance, the attempt to take one single building, a building that was unused, met with the most brutal and swift response.And even more, see "Open Letter From Anarchist Participant in Oakland Strike":
The answer: they fear this logical next step from the movement more than anything else. They fear it because they know how much appeal it will have. All across the US thousands upon thousands of commercial and residential spaces sit empty while more and more people are forced to sleep in the streets, or driven deep into poverty while trying to pay their rent despite unemployment or poverty wages. We understand that capitalism is a system that has no care for human needs. It is a system which produces hundreds of thousands of empty houses at the same time as it produces hundreds of thousands of homeless people. The police are the line between these people and these houses. They say: you can stay in your rat-infested park. You can camp out here as long as we want. But the moment that you threaten property rights, we will come at you with everything we have...
After the successful national day of action and general strike in Oakland, naturally, we see the topic of violence and non-violence growing within our movement and within the voices of corporate media networks. Obviously this is a result of certain actions that individuals and groups within the movement decided to partake in. Unfortunately we are hearing a great deal of slander, and nonsense at the forefront of this discussion. As someone who has been with the occupation as much as possible, I feel it's necessary to confront this.These are not new sentiments. When Adbusters began agitating for the occupation of Wall Street, the publishers there were familiar with the anarchist roots of the movement. This is what "occupation" means. The movement is about exploiting the current "contradictions of capitalism" (foreclosures, recession, unemployment) to propel the revolutionary moment. And so please disregard stupid editorials and blog posts like these linked below, for such lamebrains are trying to glom onto a movement they either don't understand or are willingly attempting to disguise: "Occupy Oakland Vandals are Nothing But Overgrown Overage Adolescents," and "Oakland Not On Fire, Fox News Lies Re: Occupy Oakland."
Isolating people based on their willingness to engage in self-defense by actively protecting the spaces we’ve all worked so hard to build together, and the symbolic defiance of exploitative property by making absurd claims of them being “Outside agitators” as if it they are some how separate from the many people who have been actively involved in building these spaces of 'direct-democracy' and communal living should not only be considered an attack on solidarity, but an attack on movements of the people. What divides movements of the people, weakens movements of the people.
Many of us out there today and tonight were Anarchists, but many were also not. We are the ones who were in the streets, ready to provide support & solidarity with all of our brothers and sisters. We were ready to brave against the violence of the state arm and arm with you, to protect one another, and provide medic support to anyone who fell victim to the police assaults. We are the ones whom also involved themselves with serving food to the commune, providing sanitation, organizing actions and broadening the movement. We are not separate from the movement. We are not outside agitators. We are a part of the movement, we are involved with the struggle. We stood with the occupation before day one, we stood with the occupation tonight and will continue to do the same in the future. Don’t let age old divide and conquer tactics convince you otherwise, please...
Mostly, though, I think there's just a mass stupidity on the left among those who've identified with a movement that's fundamentally about radical, violent change. It's a sign of how bankrupt is progressive politics in this country. From Michael Moore to Keith Olberman to President Obama, the left is scratching desperately for anything to take attention away from the Democrat failures of the last three years. The anarchists have long pushed for violence and bloodshed and the new order. They are having their day, and their enablers and useful idiots now decrying the very violence they ignorantly have signed on to support. It all proves, altogether, the ideological and intellectual hollow core of the movement.
Occupy Oakland
Communist Angela Davis Gives Opening Speech at Occupy Oakland 'General Strike'
Thursday, November 3, 2011
The Cain Bonfire
Lesson one of the Cain mess is that running a campaign for the Presidency of the United States is unlike anything else in politics, or anything else in American life for that matter. Mr. Cain's remarkable success so far, riding to the top of the GOP preference polls, is a testament to his skills at communicating and his willingness to offer bold policy proposals.I raised these points days ago, but continue reading the editorial.
Mr. Cain has proven there is a hunger in the public for roiling the political status quo. If he has disappointed his supporters, which remains to be seen, it is because he hasn't displayed sufficient self-awareness of the requirements of being a top-tier presidential candidate.
Anyone who makes it to the front of the candidate line is going to come under close—make that withering—scrutiny. If in one's past exist two sexual harassment suits formally settled by one's employer, that is going to become public. It is a certainty. Allowing oneself to drift through a campaign until the day the buried bombs go off is amateur hour. Republicans have a right to ask Mr. Cain what he would have said if he won the nomination and the news had broken after Labor Day next year. The Cain campaign would have been smarter to leak the story pre-emptively.
RELATED: At Saberpoint, "Raise the Black Flag: Take No Prisoners," and "Men's Rights Online: Reasons for False Charges of 'Sexual Harassment'."
'Under the Bridge'
2:30 - Radar Love by Golden EarringThanks to all of my awesome readers. More blogging tonight.
2:36 - 25 Or 6 To 4 by Chicago
2:41 - Changes by David Bowie
2:48 - Somebody To Love by Queen
2:53 - Clampdown by Clash
2:57 - Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf
3:01 - Feel Like Makin' Love by Bad Company
3:06 - Witchy Woman by Eagles
3:10 - Under The Bridge by Red Hot Chili Peppers
3:18 - Darkness Of The Edge Of Town by Bruce Springsteen
3:23 - Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd
3:32 - Knockin' On Heaven's Door by Bob Dylan
Beating Righthaven
Righthaven sued me for alleged copyright violation on March 8, 2011. The docket listing is here. The lawsuit claimed that I'd infringed the copyright held by the Denver Post for its picture of the invasive pat down at this article: "Controversy over pat-downs, body scans lands at DIA." Like dozens of other bloggers, I'd featured a full-size screencap of (the article and) the crotch-grab photograph in a post on TSA's "touching junk" backlash. I filed a motion to dismiss pro se. Attorney David Kerr provided legal advice pro bono.
Righthaven files "no warning" lawsuits. That is, it gives no advance notification to defendants, which violates the norm of providing "take down notices" to those suspected of copyright violations. By doing this, Righthaven --- which made a speciality out of suing small-time bloggers and "mom-and-pop" businesses --- was able to scare the bejesus out of its targets, who then would settle out of court generally in the three to five thousand dollar range. Defendants were threatened with the possibility of a $150,000 judgment and the forfeiture of their website's domain name (URL address). Let me tell you: It's frightening as hell opening up that letter of service and reading the lawsuit. You can't even believe you're being sued, but you can't ignore it or wish it away. A non-response would result in a default judgment, so there's no time to dilly-dally. No wonder so many defendants settled out of court rather than attempt a legal defense, especially since obtaining legal counsel and going to trial would probably run into the tens of thousands of dollars on average. I first found out about the lawsuit from Steven Green of the Las Vegas Sun, who left me message on Facebook and then the link to this article mentioning me as a defendant.
Righthaven's model is entirely predatory, and the company soon earned everlasting enmity by filing lawsuits against folks who were unemployed, on public assistance or disabled. Righthaven, for example, sued cat-blogger Allegra Wong of Boston, who was unemployed and receiving "financial support from a companion." Righthaven also sued Brian Hill of North Carolina. Hill is autistic and chronically ill and is supported by Social Security disability benefits. My attorney David Kerr successfully defended Hill, whose story was featured in the New York Times, "Enforcing Copyrights Online, for a Profit."
After the Hill case, Righthaven seemed to come under withering fire from defendants who refused to settle with what many considered a bloodsucking copyright troll. In a series of cases out of Federal District Court in Nevada, defendants were able to show that Righthaven in fact failed to own the copyrights for the materials over which it was suing. The company had entered into a "strategic alliance agreement" with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and in April, Roger Hunt, the Chief U.S. District Judge for Nevada, ordered the agreement unsealed in a case involving the Democratic Underground. In the following weeks and months Righthaven continued to suffer defeats at the hands of judges in Nevada, and then later in Denver as well, where soon enough Senior U.S. District Judge John Kane would start handing down a series of devastating defeats for Righthaven. Eventually the Denver court threw out 34 cases filed there alleging copyright violations (including mine), most likely all of them involving the TSA pat down photo. See: "Judge: Righthaven lacked standing, abused Copyright Act."
That was about five weeks ago. Since then Righthaven's been hit with judgments totaling several tens of thousands of dollars and it's been unable to make good on the payments, instead asking for leniency and extensions from the courts. But time's running out. The news out this week is that the District Court in Las Vegas has ordered U.S. Marshals to seize more than $63,000 in Righthaven assets. See: "Marshals ordered to seize Righthaven assets." And see this report from Nate Anderson, at Ars Technica, "US Marshals turned loose to collect $63,720.80 from Righthaven":
Looks like it's time to turn out the lights on Righthaven. The US Marshal for the District of Nevada has just been authorized by a federal court to use "reasonable force" to seize $63,720.80 in cash and/or assets from the Las Vegas copyright troll after Righthaven failed to pay a court judgment from August 15.There's still more at the link.
Righthaven made a national name for itself by suing mostly small-time bloggers and forum posters over the occasional copied newspaper article, initially going so far as to demand that targeted websites turn over their domain names to Righthaven. The several hundred cases went septic on Righthaven, however, once it became clear that Righthaven didn't own the copyrights over which it was suing. Righthaven, ailing, was soon buffeted by negative court decisions as a result.
In August, the case Righthaven v. Hoehn was tossed by a federal judge in Nevada, who went a step further and declared that defendant Wayne Hoehn's complete copy of a newspaper article in a sub-forum on the site "Madjack Sports" was fair use. On August 15, the judge awarded $34,045.50 to the Randazza Legal Group, which represented Hoehn. Righthaven, which had spent so much time thundering to defendants about just how badly the federal courts would make them pay... didn't pay.
Instead, it filed a flurry of appeals alleging (among other things) that having to pay the money would involve "the very real threat of being forced out of business or being forced to seek protection through bankruptcy." Righthaven contended that it could eventually win the case on appeal and thus should not be bankrupted before it had the chance to make its case.
But the increasingly disorganized organization couldn't even get its appellate filings in on time. Yesterday, Righthaven had to admit that it missed the October 31 deadline for its opening brief in the case. It blamed the problem on a "misunderstanding," then noted it would need a few more weeks to actually write the brief, since "Righthaven’s counsel is scheduled to undergo a surgical procedure for which it is estimated that he will be recovering outside of the office for approximately one week."
Randazza shot back that Righthaven was "prolonging the appellate process by deliberately creating a manufactured deadline crisis. It is nobody’s fault but Righthaven’s that it cannot file a single opening brief with this Court within the original briefing schedules Righthaven knew of, and could have reviewed at any time." All the while, Randazza Legal Group was ringing up more fees with every brief it wrote.
The appeals court has refused to act on Righthaven's request to delay its August judgment further, and the money was due last Friday. When it didn't show up, Randazza Legal Group went back to the Nevada District Court to request a Writ of Execution to use the court's enforcers, the US Marshals, to collect the money. The court clerk issued the writ today, and Righthaven's $34,045.50 judgment has now ballooned to $63,720.80 with all the additional costs and fees from the delay.
I can't say I haven't learned a lot through all of this, although involuntary education isn't my style.
And I want to again thank my attorney David Kerr for being a super stand-up guy and wise counsel. I reached out to a number of law offices in the beginning. It was going to be expensive and I didn't know if I'd be able to afford a defense. David took an interest in my case and my blog and ended up helping me file the defense. That was cool.
Nate Silver: 'Harassment Allegations Could Cut at Core of Cain's Appeal'
Ericka Anderson Runs 36th Marine Corps Marathon
See: "Marine Corps Marathon #3: So You Think You're a Rockstar..."
And see the news report at WaPo: "36th Marine Corps Marathon: Charles ‘Chad’ Ware wins men’s race; Tezata Dengersa wins women’s."
And more running at Ericka' blog: The Sweet Life. She's so energetic!
Ericka is Senior Digital Communications Associate at the Heritage Foundation.
BONUS: At New York Times, "The Once and Future Way to Run":
We were once the greatest endurance runners on earth. We didn’t have fangs, claws, strength or speed, but the springiness of our legs and our unrivaled ability to cool our bodies by sweating rather than panting enabled humans to chase prey until it dropped from heat exhaustion. Some speculate that collaboration on such hunts led to language, then shared technology. Running arguably made us the masters of the world.
Frank McCourt Agrees to Sell Dodgers
Plus, "Peter O'Malley wants to run Dodgers":
Peter O'Malley, whose family owned the Dodgers for nearly half a century, said Wednesday he would like to run the team once again.Let's hope so. I'd hate to see the Dodgers sold out of area, or go belly up altogether.
O'Malley said he hopes to lead an investment group that would buy the Dodgers, enabling him to return as the team's chief executive.
"I want to reconnect the team and the community," O'Malley said.
When he spoke out last fall, in urging owner Frank McCourt to sell the Dodgers, O'Malley said he had no interest in returning as owner or president of the team.
McCourt agreed to sell on Tuesday, in an abrupt end to his two-year court fight to retain ownership of the Dodgers.
"The health of the organization has deteriorated in the last 12 months," O'Malley said. "The standing of the organization in the community has deteriorated.
"I am confident I can restore it to respectability quicker, sooner and probably better than — or at least as well as — anyone else."
Jennifer Rubin: Cain's Race Politics 'Reprehensible'
This is reprehensible....
Cain and his defenders, like actors in a theatrical tragedy, are falling prey to the very evil they labored against: the propensity to assign political identity by race and to invoke race to shield one from personal responsibility. Cain is in trouble because he didn’t handle a past claim that even a political novice would know would come to light.
VIDEO: Texas Judge Beats Daughter
At ABC News, "Family Court Judge Caught Beating Ill Daughter on Videotape." And at London's Daily Mail, "'It had happened before and was escalating': Judge's disabled daughter reveals why she posted YouTube video of her father brutally beating her."Also, at KRIS-TV Corpus Christi, "Judge Videotaped Beating Daughter - Full Coverage."
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Herman Cain Chief of Staff Accuses Rick Perry Campaign of Leaking Sexual Harassment Bombshell
The Cain story just took another bizarre turn.That's for sure.
Check Memeorandum for all the links, and also Dan Collins, "What We Still Don’t Know About the Herman Cain Accusations." And at The Caucus, "Cain Faults Perry as More Allegations Emerge."
'Stay'
A Greek Lesson in Democracy
ATHENS — The government of Prime Minister George Papandreou teetered on the verge of collapse on Tuesday, threatening Greece’s adherence to the terms of a new deal with its foreign lenders and plunging Europe into a fresh bout of financial turmoil.And at Wall Street Journal, "A Greek default would provide a lesson in what happens to countries that can't live within their means":
Several lawmakers in the governing Socialist Party rejected Mr. Papandreou’s surprise plan for a popular referendum on the Greek bailout, raising the possibility that he will not survive a no-confidence vote scheduled for Friday that depends on his holding together a razor-thin parliamentary majority.
An emergency cabinet meeting convened by Mr. Papandreou ended at nearly 3 a.m. Wednesday, with the cabinet saying that it unanimously supported the prime minister’s call for a referendum, local news outlets reported. The opposition and some members of his own party, however, were calling for new elections immediately.
The impasse in Athens seemed likely to delay — and perhaps scuttle — the debt deal that European leaders reached after marathon negotiations in Brussels last week. Financial markets cratered on Tuesday for the second straight day, wiping out the gains since the Brussels deal was announced last week. Some analysts said that Greece was now coming closer to a messy default on its debt, and perhaps a departure from the zone of 17 countries that use the euro as their common currency.
George Papandreou became the most unpopular man in Europe on Monday by announcing that his government would put the terms of last week's EU-IMF bailout package to a referendum, so that Greeks can decide their economic future for themselves. The Prime Minister's announcement sent markets tumbling world-wide, took Italian government-bond yields to a near euro-era high, and had German officials privately denouncing his behavior as un-European.Yeah, who would have thought the Greeks would know something about democracy? They're living beyond their means, no doubt, but this news is like a breath of fresh air. What a crisis!
An alternative view is that Mr. Papandreou has done his own people, and all Europeans, a considerable favor. Who would have thought the Greeks had something to teach the world about democracy?
Also at WSJ, "Greek PM's Referendum Plan Stuns Europe, Rattles Markets."
Long Beach Defense Work Bulks Up Boeing's 3rd Quarter Profit
Boeing reported a $1.1 billion quarterly profit on Wednesday that beat expectations because of strong growth in its defense business.Photo: "Long Beach Boeing C-17 Tour."
The company's passenger jet profit grew more slowly and manufacturing problems have forced it to cut its forecast for deliveries of its two newest jets.
A large share of Boeing's defense work is done in Long Beach and surrounding communities, including production of the C-17 Globemaster cargo jet, satellite research and development in Seal Beach, and engineering and other work in Huntington Beach.
Boeing also maintains a large defense workforce in El Segundo, where crews operate the world's largest satellite manufacturing facility, said Paula Shawa, Boeing's regional spokesperson.
Heidi Klum Skinless Dead Body Costume
Manners Decline in the South
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Herman Cain Campaign Knew of Politico Hit Piece 10 Days in Advance
Many conservative activists were quick Monday to rally behind Cain. L. Brent Bozell III, a frequent media critic, called the allegations a "high-tech lynching," summoning the language Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas used when accused of harassment at his explosive 1991 confirmation hearings.The campaign had almost two weeks to prepare. Cain needed to have a press release ready to go, which would have also served as his crib sheet in responding to allegations. This is Campaigns and Elections 101. It's the basics of rapid response politics. Had Cain come out with a strong statement Sunday night he could have stayed on message all day yesterday, during his whirlwind network interview rounds. Instead, he dug a hole from which he needs to quickly extricate himself. EARLIER: "Herman Cain's Accuser Speaks Out."
"This will play to his advantage with the grass roots," predicted K.B. Forbes, a GOP strategist who has worked for previous insurgent candidates. "One of their favorite lines is, 'It's the liberal media.'"
But for insiders — donors, Republican strategists and others among the political establishment — the episode could raise further doubts about Cain as well as concerns about the wherewithal of his seat-of-its-pants campaign operation.
According to Politico, campaign operatives knew the article was coming for 10 days. And yet in its initial statement — which was widely circulated — the campaign did not deny the harassment allegations. That was left, many hours later, to Cain.
Herman Cain's Accuser Speaks Out
CNN has this, "Attorney for Cain accuser: Cain is lying."Also, at Los Angeles Times, "Herman Cain accuser wants to talk, her lawyer says":
One of Herman Cain’s accusers wants to be heard.At New York Times, "Cain Accuser Got a Year’s Salary in Severance Pay."
Her lawyer told the Washington Post on Tuesday that she is ready to tell her side of the ongoing saga involving allegations of sexual harassment while Cain was head of the National Restaurant Assn. in the late 1990s.
But, the lawyer, Joel Bennett, said the woman remains bound by the confidentiality agreement she signed as part of a settlement of her claim with the association.
“It is just frustrating that Herman Cain is going around bad-mouthing the two complainants, and my client is blocked by a confidentiality agreement,” Bennett told the Post. “The National Restaurant Assn. ought to release them and allow them to respond.”
In an appearance Tuesday evening on Fox News Channel, Cain demurred when asked whether the woman should be given a chance to provide her version of events.
“There are legal implications if the restaurant association waives that. I just found out about this today -- there are legal implications" he said, adding that "we can't answer that right now. It's too soon."
Cain was asked on Fox whether he had breached the agreement by discussing the allegations publicly, thus freeing the woman to talk. He said he hadn’t because he had never identified the name of the one woman who’s complaint Cain says he recalls.
'Diamond Dogs'
I laughed when I hopped in the van for the round trip back home. Stevie Ray Vaughan popped on the radio, at The Sound L.A. I had SRV posted this morning for my placeholder entry, so I'll pick it up for some evening blogging with the next in the queue, David Bowie in 2004. My wife and I caught this show at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheater:
4:22 - Crossfire by Stevie Ray Vaughan
4:26 - Diamond Dogs by David Bowie
4:32 - American Girl by Tom Petty
4:36 - Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix
4:39 - Bad Company by Bad Company
4:49 - Band On The Run by Paul Mccartney And Wings
4:55 - Boys Are Back In Town by Thin Lizzy
5:02 - You Might Think by Cars
5:05 - You Can't Always Get What You Want by Rolling Stones
5:18 - Black Friday by Steely Dan
5:21 - Rock And Roll Band by Boston
5:25 - You Really Got Me by Kinks
5:27 - Baby Hold On by Eddie Money
5:30 - Have A Cigar by Pink Floyd
'Couldn't Stand the Weather'
Passin' through this business of life
Raisin’ sand if I'm needed to
Ain't so funny when things ain't feelin' right
Daddy's hand helps to see me through
Sweet as sugar, love won't wash away
Rain or shine, it's always here to stay
All these years you and I've spent together
I guess, we just couldn't stand the weather
Like a train that stops at every station
We all deal with trials and tribulations
Fear hangs the fellow that ties up his years
Entangled in yellow and cries all his tears
Changes come before we can grow
Learn to see them before we're too old
Don't just take me for tryin' to be heavy
Understand, it's time to get ready for the storm
Herman Cain on PBS NewsHour
And stay with it all the way through. Cain starts to lay out some intriguing thoughts on foreign policy. I like what he says about China in particular.
RELATED: The big story at New York Times, "Cain Confronts Claim From '90s of Sexual Harassment."
Kevin Williamson on Herman Cain Allegations
It's a competence critique, focusing on the managerial side of things.
I'm more worried about the initial waffling, which is another word for indecision, which is not supposed to be characteristic of Herman Cain.
Ann Coulter: Politico's Herman Cain Smear 'Another High-Tech Lynching'
In Santa Ana, Mexicans Attack New Businesses for 'Ethnic Cleansing'
SANTA ANA, Calif. — Business has never been slower at Mina Bridal, which sells billowing taffeta ballroom dresses in colors like hot pink and electric blue for quinceañeras, the traditional 15th birthday celebration for Mexican girls.
Mina Madriles, who has run the downtown store for nearly three decades, said that a generation ago girls would have elaborate parties just as their parents had — where a $1,000 dress was just a fraction of the expense. Now, she is giving away her dresses to some families who hire her to coordinate the party at their homes to save money.
“Nobody has any money anymore; there’s nothing we can do,” Ms. Madriles said.
Fourth Street — also known as Calle Cuatro — has long been the center of Latino business in Orange County, the place where Mexican immigrants could find nearly anything they might have looked for in their homelands. Along some stretches, it is impossible to hear anything but Spanish. The signs beckon customers to travel to Guadalajara or buy a pair of snakeskin cowboy boots for a “super discuento,” and the sidewalk vendors shout, “Frutas, frutas,” as they call attention to their freshly cut coconuts and mangos.
But as the economy has soured, many of these stores have struggled to stay afloat. Some stores closed, others asked their landlords for a reduction in rent. At the same time, several property owners began pressing to create a group to improve downtown Santa Ana.
The owners, who were mostly white, were determined to make it more welcoming to English-speaking clients and bring in customers from more affluent parts of Orange County. What they really wanted to do, opponents said, was scrub away any suggestion that it is an immigrant hub, in a city that is 85 percent Latino. Fiesta Marketplace changed its name to “East End,” and the pink buildings that might evoke a Mexican plaza were repainted in muted hues. A few stores put up signs proclaiming, “Stop ethnic cleansing.”
RELATED: At Los Angeles Times, "Children of immigrants hit an economic ceiling."
PREVIOUSLY: "Santa Ana Enclave Tops Orange County In Proportion of Single-Parent Households."
U.S. Will Withhold Funds For U.N. Agency After Vote to Grant Membership to Palestinians
And at Pamela's, "It's Halloween! No Money for UNICEF Jihad," and "US Cancels Funding to UNESCO, "This was a failure of US power," said "Palestinian" official after UN Body Grants Full Membership to Jihad Terror State."
VIDEO: Man Beheaded in Saudi Arabia for 'Sorcery'
Occupy Oklahoma Protester Found Dead
And a WaPo, "Man found dead in tent during Occupy Okla. City protest; police say death not suspicious."
Verum Serum has video: "Man Found Dead at Occupy OKC (Video added)." And at Occupy OKC on Twitter.
Kim Kardashian Divorce: 'This was not an easy decision'
At London's Daily Mail, "'This was not an easy decision': Kim Kardashian files for divorce from Kris Humphries after just 72 days of marriage (that's $250,000 earned every 24 hours)."
Virginia GOP Says Halloween-Themed E-Mail Over the Top
See Los Angeles Times:
Virginia Republicans were in apology mode Monday over a Halloween-themed email that depicted a zombie-like President Obama with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head.Well, I'd say the Democrats' reaction was over the top.
The northern Virginia-based Too Conservative blog first flagged the mailer from the local Republicans in Loudon County promoting a local holiday parade. It also offers a ghoulish caricature of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi D-San Francisco).
"I am no fan of Barack Obama, but putting up a photo of him as a zombie with a bullet hole in his head?" the blog stated. "Someone should send this to the US Secret Service."
More at Bret Baier, "Grapevine: Halloween Trick for Virginia Republicans."
Justina Jensen and Walter James Casper III
The woman, Justina Jensen (pictured at top), was caught attempting to turn tricks with with a 16-year-old girl. According to the police prosecutor, Jensen "was convicted of a similar charge earlier this year in New York." I find that pretty amazing, because she sure looks ashamed at her mug shot, which is posted at the Union Leader's report. Maybe whatever self-recrimination she feels at the time of arrest dissipates upon release. In other words, a woman like this is a sociopath who has no firm underlying moral code. The numbers are too small, but my sense that's a pattern that's particulary prevalent on the left, considering the outbreak of criminal activity that's been taking over the occupy movement. See: "Not a political movement; a crime wave!" And the immediate comparison I had was to my deranged stalker Walter James Casper III (pictured at bottom above), who has now escalated his campaign of harassment to include personal e-mail stalking and threats. Like Jensen, there is no bright line of wrongdoing for Walter James Casper. He's perhaps even worse, for at his photo above, which is not Photoshopped, there's a bit of a diabolical smirking in evidence. And it turns out that when the Independent Realist blocked Walter James Casper from commenting at his blog, criminal Casper tracked him down on Facebook, and Independent Realist blocked him at that location as well. See Independent Realist's reply to me from last week:
Thank you Dr. Douglas for the kind words and links to the Realist. I am afraid that the longer Walter (Walter James Casper, III) continues with his delusional rantings, the further he will slip down into the depths of his paranoia. There is nothing that we can do other than to block him from our blogs and such (I've already had to block him from my blog and Facebook page), and simply allow him to rant on his own site. Eventually he will alienate himself from even his own followers as they begin to realize the depth of his illness.See the whole thing: "Repsac3, W. James Casper - The Final Word."
And as Walter is reading this blog, I would offer him this advice: seek professional help and seek it now. Do not wait.
WALTER JAMES CASPER III = RACIST REPSAC3! A sociopathic poster manchild for the progressive left. Dude, you're clinical. Get some freakin' help before you hurt someone!
PREVIOUSLY: "Continuing Lies by Cowardly Hate-Blogger W. James Casper in Left's Demonic Workplace Intimidation Campaign."
We Should Not be Surprised by the Left's Racist Hit Job on Herman Cain
This story appears to me to be a close relative of the hit job that the Washington Post is doing on Marco Rubio. It's not a news story. This is gutter partisan politics, and it's the politics of minority conservative personal destruction, is what you've got here. Rubio and Cain unfit to lead, don't you see. We cannot have a black Republican running for the office of president. We can't have one elected. We can't have an Hispanic. The left owns those two groups, and those two groups are gonna forever be minorities. Those groups cannot ever be seen to be self-sufficient or rising above, on their own. Those two groups are owned -- lock, stock, and barrel -- by the Democrat Party and anything good that happens to any black or Hispanic in American politics can only happen via the Democrat Party. "If it happens elsewhere, we're gonna destroy those people -- a la Clarence Thomas."
Monday, October 31, 2011
VIDEO: Herman Cain Interview with Greta Van Susteren
Would Jonathan Martin, Maggie Haberman, Anna Palmer and Kenneth Vogel have put their names on a similar piece, with no named sources, aimed at Barack Obama? Would Politico have run it? I think we know the answer.More links at the post.
Also, at Memeorandum and London's (salacious) Daily Mail, "'I don't even remember her name': Herman Cain denies sexual harassment claims as he admits he knew BOTH women."
PREVIOUSLY: "Herman Cain Sexual Harassment Scandal Upends GOP Presidential Race."
Herman Cain Sexual Harassment Scandal Upends GOP Presidential Race
Except, was it the truth? Maybe there's some shading going on and the story's basically the same. The update's at Hot Air, "Revealed: Cain describes hand gesture that led to harassment claim; Update: Small settlement, says Cain." Check that post. One of those interviewed in the original Politico report is no longer taking questions. I'm still learning on this, but The Other McCain has huge roundup, "Herman Cain at the National Press Club." And here's video of Cain's statement at the Press Club:Time has that, "Facing a Media Scrum, Cain Boisterously Denies Harassment Allegations":
Ever since he began topping presidential polls, the media has been drafting pieces of Cain’s political obituary: unpacking his campaign’s organizational woes, his tortured answers to questions on abortion and foreign policy, his puzzling scheduling strategy. Now they wanted to witness the last breaths. But the candidate showed up boisterous and smiling, and after skating through a stump speech laden with humor and light on policy, Cain mopped a patina of sweat from his brow and stepped to the lecturn to face his questioners. “I would be delighted to clear the air,” he said.And now back to Politico for the latest, "Cain acknowledges settlement details."
“Number one, in all of my over 40 years of business experience … I have never sexually harassed anyone,” Cain announced. “Number two, while at the restaurant association, I was accused of sexual harassment. Falsely accused, I might add. I was falsely accused of sexual harassment, and when the charges were brought, as the leader of the organization, I recused myself and allowed my general counsel and my human resource officer to deal with the situation. And it was concluded after a thorough investigation that it had no basis.
“As far as a settlement,” Cain continued, “I am unaware of any sort of settlement. I hope it wasn’t for much, because I didn’t do anything.” He declined to speculate whether the source of the Politico article cataloging the allegations was an opposition leak, called the kerfuffle “a witch hunt,” and suggested there was nothing further to pursue.
I don't expect too much damage to Cain's candidacy, barring any 11th hour revelations. What's troubling is the changing story line, which makes Cain looks amateurish if not inept. His demeanor is vigorous in responding, fortunately, but these late acknowledgements raise questions of veracity.
An upside is that Cain's getting a lot of "earned" media (which really unearned, in a sense) which may have the salutary effect of bolstering Cain's rise in the polls, especially if regular folks agree that these are specious allegations amounting to an opportunistic witch hunt, as Cain suggests.
Here's the latest Memeorandum link. I'll have more later.
Added: From Jennifer Rubin, "Cain gets tripped up on the facts: Will this kill the campaign?:
The error Cain made was in not getting the entire story out early, completely and truthfully. He left the day with voters and the media more confused than ever.He should be okay if that's the end of the allegations. But if more facts come out that Cain hedged or denies, well, it's not going to be pretty.
This may not be the end of the Cain campaign, but it will take a toll. The never-ending stories here suggest Cain hasn’t been honest with the public. That’s going to be harder to explain than the original allegations.
Legal Insurrection in the O.C.
It was great meeting William and his wife. We hit it off and had lots to talk about, but there wasn't enough time. I'll look forward to seeing them again, either in New York or perhaps next time they make it to California. It's a bummer the county's so big sometimes, although that's one of the great things about blogging: I've met more wonderful people over these last few years. It's been something to really cherish.
Head on over to see what's going on at the blog. He's just as big a blogging junkie as I am!
World Population Grows by 1 Billion in Only 12 Years
See Los Angeles Times, "World population hits 7 billion on Oct. 31, or thereabouts."
It took only a dozen years for humanity to add another billion people to the planet, reaching the milestone of 7 billion Monday — give or take a few months.That's so ominous sounding, "they" had to pick Halloween for the date, or something.
Demographers at the United Nations Population Division set Oct. 31, 2011, as the "symbolic" date for hitting 7 billion, while acknowledging that it's impossible to know for sure the specific time or day. Using slightly different calculations, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates the 7-billion threshold will not be reached until March.
Under any methodology, demographers agree that humanity remains on a steep growth curve, which is likely to keep climbing through the rest of this century. The U.N.'s best estimate is that population will march past 9.3 billion by 2050 and exceed 10.1 billion by the end of the century. It could be far more, if birthrates do not continue to drop as they have in the last half-century.
Nearly all the projected growth this century is expected to occur in developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, while the combined populations in Europe, North America and other wealthy industrialized nations will remain relatively flat. Some countries, such as Germany, Russia and Japan, are poised to edge downward, their loss made up mostly by ongoing growth in the United States, which is bolstered by waves of immigrants.
Of course, not mentioned is the fact that the earth can sustain billions more without any problems. See Power Line, "POPULATION BOMB EPIC FAIL."
This Was the Week That European Democracy Died
So this is where we are. The agreed EU “stability union” triumphantly paraded before the media in Brussels will have the power to approve or disapprove budgets of countries in the eurozone – that is, to vet and police them – before they are submitted to the elected parliaments of those countries. In other words, parliaments which are directly mandated by, and answerable to, their own populations will not control the most essential functions of government: decisions on taxation and spending. Even without the ultimate institutions of economic and political union, which still elude the EU, actual power over fiscal policy will be taken from the hands of national leaders. And if, as a voter, you cannot influence your prospective government’s tax and spending policies, what exactly are you voting for?
'Occupy' Protest at St. Paul's Cathedral in London Splits Anglican Church
LONDON — In a city where demonstrations of every kind are part of the daily syncopation, there has rarely been any with quite the same potential for amplifying the protesters’ cause as the one that has settled in recently on the historic forecourt of St. Paul’s Cathedral, setting off a painful crisis of conscience for the Church of England .Continue reading.
For the last 15 days, St. Paul’s has been the backdrop for London’s counterpart to the Occupy Wall Street tent city in Zuccotti Square in New York. Here, the protest has taken on aspects of a medieval carnival, a jumbled tent city with buskers and rappers and clothing stalls and a panoply of banners and a makeshift cafeteria. There have been pet dogs, and a man dressed as Jesus declaiming against the usurers in the temple.
Where Princess Diana appeared to pealing bells after her marriage to Prince Charles, where a nation grateful for deliverance in war watched the caissons arrive for the funerals of Lord Nelson and Winston Churchill, beneath Christopher Wren’s great dome that stood defiant amid the smoke and fire of the Luftwaffe’s blitz, Britain’s anticapitalist battalions have pitched camp.
Scores of similar encampments have sprung up in cities around the world, echoing the continuing protest in Wall Street’s heart against the bankers and corporate barons and complicit politicians the protesters hold responsible for global financial distress.
But few, if any, of the protests outside New York have had the resonance the St. Paul’s campers have achieved in Britain by choosing as their venue what many regard as the country’s most iconic religious landmark.
Occupy Ottawa
Following the links takes us the University of Ottawa Marxist Students Association, "Why We Left Occupy Ottawa."
That solidarity thing isn't working out as planned, as noted previously.
Arrests at Occupy Denver
On Saturday, for the third consecutive night, dozens of demonstrators defied the curfew and inhabited the site, chanting and waving signs and huddling for warmth in the 40-degree weather. The police made no new arrests overnight.More at American Glob, "Democrats Are Going To Regret Their Support For #Occupywallstreet," and Marooned in Marin, "#OWS Weekend Insanity In Denver, Orange County CA & Elsewhere."
In Denver, most of the arrests on Saturday were over a police rule prohibiting structures, including tents, from being erected in public parks. Some accounts said that tensions escalated when the protesters climbed the State Capitol’s steps during a march by as many as 2,000 people. No public demonstrations are allowed on the steps without a permit.
But a media liaison with Occupy Denver, Jeannie Hartley, said on Sunday that the protesters had never made it to the steps, which were blocked off.
Most of the 20 arrests, a police spokesman said, were made when officers moved to keep people from erecting tents across the street from the Capitol at Civic Center Park. Several videos showed the police using pepper spray. Two protesters were arrested and charged with felony assault on a police officer after officials said he was knocked off his motorcycle, and other officers were kicked, said the spokesman, Lt. Matt Murray.
Lieutenant Murray said that the police requested reinforcements after the officer was knocked off his motorcycle and that the enlarged force then moved into the park where most of the arrests were made.
One video posted on the Occupy Denver Facebook page also clearly showed tension and conflict within the protesters’ ranks. At one point, a man, shouting in anger, is seen being pushed from the crowd to confront the officers, who are lined up with shields and batons.
“I will fight back!” he screamed as other protesters pulled him back. One demonstrator, who had pushed to the front, confronted the man: “We are nonviolent — do not instigate that!”
“They hit me!” the first man shouted.
“Yeah, and they’re going to keep hitting you!” the other said.
“They don’t have a right!”
Occupy Wall Street and the Illusion of Solidarity
* "My Day at Occupy LA (Part 1)."
* "My Day at Occupy LA (Part 2)."
* "My Day at Occupy LA (part 3): Thoughts and Observations."
And here's some of John's observations at that last post:
The media has been reporting for weeks that the Occupiers don’t have demands or a clear message. That’s right but it’s also very wrong. It’s not that the occupiers don’t have a message, it’s that they have a hundred messages, not all of which are compatible with one another. As we saw just last week, even the folks at Occupy LA can’t agree with one another. They literally held something like a coup over the no weed policy. Solidarity is an something of an illusion.There's more at the link, but I'm interesting in that "no clear message" theme, which is something I discussed at my Saturday photo-essay: "Occupy Orange County: 'Get Money Out of Politics'." In Los Angeles there's clearly a bias toward Marxist-Leninist revolutionary agitation, with a bit of hippie-doper culture thrown in. There wasn't much of that in Irvine. The socialist agitation that was on hand in the O.C. was associated with the Obama-Democrat-Progressive-Socialists. These are the folks looking to expand the socialist welfare state from within, using stealthy Alinskyite union thuggery and conspiracy. Richard Trumka personifies these types, fat and well-fed at the public trough. But among establishment progressives there's a "no enemies on the left" program, and the MSM furthers it by positioning the occupy movement as an acceptable --- even wholesome --- rival to the tea parties. That's all pretty messed up, in any case. More on that at my earlier entry, "Communist-Progressive Coalition Lobbies Congressional 'Super-Committee' Against Proposed Cuts to Social Security."
There’s one exception to this, and that’s the near universal dislike for authority in general and the police in particular. Disliking the cops when they show up to roust a campsite is probably the only thing that can truly unify these folks. No wonder Occupy Oakland is now the emotional center of the movement.
Taylor Swift Nude Scandal!
With Weak Economy, Obama May Lose Key Demographic Groups
Actually, blacks are still enthusiastic about the president. See NYT, "Black Voters’ Support for Obama Is Steady and Strong." But check the graphic at LAT, "Key States for Obama's Reelection." White voters in Florida, Ohio and Nevada will be especially crucial, and Latinos as well, who aren't going to be as wedded to the Democrats as black voters. Colorado and New Mexico will be problematic as well, despite higher levels of college educated whites. Perhaps that's why Obama continues to ramp up the class warfare rhetoric. Polls show a lot of sympathy with the occupy movement. No doubt the White House hopes the protesters don't start turning on him, mentioning that he's in the pocket of these same big banks and Wall Street brokerages. See Weasel Zip, "Obama Uses Occupy Wall Street’s Language, Rails Against “The Top 1%”…"
Herman Cain Sexual Harassment Allegations
The full coverage is at Memeorandum, and see The Other McCain, "Cain Spokesman: ‘Smear Campaign Meant to Discredit a True Patriot’."
'Diaper Need Awareness Day'
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Occupy Orange County: 'Get Money Out of Politics'
I arrived around 11:45am, just in time for the group of over 100 protesters to begin their march at Harvard Avenue and Alton Parkway. Irvine City Councilman and former Democrat presidential candidate Larry Agran gave the movement his blessings. (See: "Occupy Orange County Morale Still High and Gaining Supporters.") And if there was one theme I noticed, it was the overall sense of conspiratorial one-world government and "End the Fed" ideology. Some folks are warning about "ideotic conspiracies." Perhaps ASFL progressives will take after their own "morans."
The procession gets under way at the corner of Alton and Harvard:
There were more "End the Fed" types than "End Israeli Apartheid" activists, but this guy was clearly of the latter variety:
At the information tents:
Now walking West on Alton toward Jamboree:
The Democrat-Socialists:
Lots of anti-Federal Reserve protesters:
Protesters were chanting: "You. Are. The 99 Percent! You. Are. The 99 Percent!"
I'm seeing more of this, anti-work ideologies: "Jobs Are Not the Answer." Seriously?
People before profits, ad nauseum:
Heading back over to Harvard, there's the encampment on the corner. You've got the suburban vibe:
Sitting on the corner is this old-timer with the "Remember Wisconsin" sign. He's holding forth on how Occupy Wall Street is the country's last chance to save democracy:
He's a dreamer:
Now moving over by the information table:
As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.
As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known...
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Rare Pre-Halloween Storm Blankets East Coast With Snow
And Dana Pico has pictures, at Common Sense Political Thought, "Afternoon Snow Pictures":
Progressive Race-Based Attacks on Herman Cain
See William Jacobson, "Saturday Night Card Game (Race-based attacks on Herman Cain expose left-wing hypocrisy, once again)."And lots more commentary at Maggie's Farm and Memeorandum. And see Allahpundt at Hot Air:
Cathy Young wrote an article for Reason a few days ago about the left’s endless race-baiting of Cain, but I don’t know what she was thinking in rushing that piece out now. There’s literally months of this to come, and it’ll be ten times as obnoxious if he pulls the upset in Iowa and suddenly looks poised to make a real run at the nomination.Okay, what the heck? Here's Young's piece: "The Left's Race-Baiting of Herman Cain."
Yeah, it's still early. Get ready for a vicious season of progressive racism.
17 Die as Suicide Blast Hits U.S. Bus in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan — At least five American soldiers, eight American contract workers and four Afghans were killed when a Taliban suicide car bomber attacked an armored shuttle bus in Kabul on Saturday, a military official said.
It was the single deadliest attack for Americans in the capital since the war began, military officials said, and follows brazen Taliban assaults on the American Embassy and NATO headquarters in the city last month.
A NATO official said all of the contract workers were Americans, but the coalition did not officially confirm that.
Such high-profile attacks have been seen as a shift in Taliban strategy as they struggle against a surge in American troops that has loosened the militants’ grip on the Taliban heartland in the South and compromised their ability to stage more conventional attacks on NATO forces. American officials see the latest assaults as the Taliban’s attempt to shake confidence in the Afghan government, which is taking over security from NATO in Kabul and other areas of the country.