Occupy Orange County: 'Get Money Out of Politics'

My initial reaction to Occupy Orange County was that it was almost like a tea party. But after turning out for the protest march at the Irvine Civic Center yesterday, I'm going walk back that analogy just a bit. The Orange County protests definitely have a suburban feel to them, but activists have established an encampment similar to New York and other major occupations. (See: "Irvine council lets Occupy group stay overnight.") And along with the tents comes a wider diversity of kooks and hippies, bolstered by a lot of Democrat-Socialist and communist-conspiracy-mongers. These are hardly limited government types.

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."

Here's the scene at parking lot at the Irvine Civic Center. I'm reminded of William Jacobson's bumper sticker coverage. This guy's car is classic. Notice the "Obama 2012" sticker in the window, right next to "UNIONS = JOBS." And not to mention the obligatory "Bush Lied People Died." And a couple of recent ones as well, like "America's 99% Solution":

If you're sporting "Millions of Dead Cops" bumpers stickers, I'm not sure if pulling up in front of the Irvine Police Station (at the Civic Center) is a good idea. It's a free country, I guess:

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:

Is this idealism, or fearmongering? I guess if Martin Luther King, Jr., said it, that's cool:

Now moving over by the information table:

That's Kyle on the right, the spokesman in charge yesterday morning. Interesting guy. He said two weeks ago, he'd never been involved in politics. He's talking to the woman who had a lot of questions. She was sympathetic to Occupy Wall Street but had seen the less savory coverage. She still had some reservations. Kyle responds with, "Well, there's a lot of different opinions out there." As I listened it didn't seem like he was articulating any real coherent agenda. So I asked him, "Can you summarize the movement down to one or two specific demands?" And he responded with, "Get money out of politics." And I said: "What would that do?" He says, "We'd have government by the people." It wasn't particularly edifying.

There wasn't a whole lot of literature set out at the table.

Maybe the dude should spend some time looking at the Occupy Orange County website. I asked Kyle if he supported revolutionary change, overthrowing capitalism in the United States. He said no. And with the exception of the anarchists with the "Millions of Dead Cops" bumper sticker, and the group hanging out with that pro-jihad dude, the Orange County protesters evinced more of a reformist agenda than some of the more radical occupy protests that have been in the news. That said, the information table had laid out a copy of the Declaration of the Occupation of New York City. And it's available at the Occupy Orange County website. And it's a fairly revolutionary manifesto. So I'm taking this as more the official position, which is Marxist and internationalist:

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...

Rare Pre-Halloween Storm Blankets East Coast With Snow

A report at Fox News, "Early Storm Pelts East Coast With Wet, Heavy Snow." And at New York Times, "Nearly Two Million Lose Power as Snow Coats Region."

And Dana Pico has pictures, at Common Sense Political Thought, "Afternoon Snow Pictures":

Progressive Race-Based Attacks on Herman Cain

Herman Cain's race shouldn't be an issue in this campaign. We already have a black president. And as we've seen for almost four years now, the substantial racism we've seen in politics has been an exclusive domain of the left. This clip with Karen Finney is a perfect demonstration of leftist racism. The woman even admits "it's harsh" to talk the way she does. What a perverse investment. Radical progressives invent a racist Republican base at the same time that national public opinion polls see Herman Cain as the GOP frontrunner. No wonder the Democrats are in the death throes going into 2012. They can't relate to average Americans without insulting them as racists.

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

At New York Times, "17 Are Killed as Suicide Bomb Hits a 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.

Communist-Progressive Coalition Lobbies Congressional 'Super-Committee' Against Proposed Cuts to Social Security

The far left is launching an inside lobbying effort against the congressional super-committee charged with finding $1.5 trillion in cuts from the federal budget.

At the video, chief union-thug Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO --- the guy who's had more access to the Obama White House than any other interest group representative in the country --- channels the Occupy Wall Street movement and attacks corporations for purportedly ripping off the middle class.

And here's more #OWS-style class warfare, from Nancy Altman and Eric Kingson, at PuffHo, "Message to the 99%: Help Stop the 1% From Using the Super Committee to Rob the American People." (Via the communist Digby at Hullabaloo and Memeorandum.)

Well, it turns out that Nancy Altman is the co-director of Social Security Works and co-chair of the coalition to Strengthen Social Security. Here's the roster of the coalition's partners, which is a who's who of America's far-left Alynskyite unions and revolutionary communist organizations: "Strengthen Social Security: Campaign Members." One of the groups cited there is the Soros-back Campaign for America's future, which has joined the lobbying effort as well: "Don’t Let Dems Cut Medicare, Social Security for the 99%." The Campaign for America's future is a key Democrat-Socialist front group that led the drive to elect Barack Obama as the first socialist president of the United States. According to Discover the Networks:

In the 2004 presidential election, CAF partnered with both the Democratic Party and a number of far-left special interest groups in a campaign to oppose tax cuts. The Democratic National Committee stated, “The Democratic Party is partnering with MoveOn.org, People for the American Way, Campaign for America's Future, and dozens of other groups representing millions of Americans to organize a massive public mobilization … [J]oin us by calling and emailing your representatives in Congress to let them know that the majority of Americans oppose more irresponsible tax cuts ...”

CAF also endorsed “Invest in America,” an anti-tax-cut statement supported by: ACORN; Alliance For Justice; the American Friends Service Committee; the Center for Community Change; the Center For Women's Policy Studies; the Children’s Defense Fund; the Democratic Socialists of America; the Environmental Working Group; the League of United Latin American Citizens; the League of Women Voters; the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund; the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy; the National Council of La Raza; the National Lawyers Guild; the National Organization for Women; the National Women's Law Center; the Older Women's League; Peace Action; Physicians for Social Responsibility; Planned Parenthood; Public Citizen; the Service Employees International Union; the United States Student Association; Veterans For Peace; and Women’s Action for New Directions.

So now this exact same coalition is mobilizing an end-run around the GOP-majority in the House, whose resistance to tax increases in last summer's budget stalemate led to the formation of the congressional super-committee. And now with the Occupy Wall Street movement in full swing, the institutional left is shoehorning in on popular frustration at the Obama Depression to oppose any meaningful economic rationalization required to get this country back on track. Even the Communist Party USA is on board. See Trevor Loudon, "Senior Communist Lobbies “Super Committee” for Defense Cuts."

Behold the stealth campaign for the communist-progressive future. This is how institutional left-wing politics in America works, and we know that top officials in the Democrat Party are working right there behind the scenes to further this radical agenda.

Get the truth out about these thugs.

Added: The Other McCain links, "Did Anybody Think The Super Committee Was Anything Other Than An Exercise In Pluckin’ That Chicken?" Also, at Lonely Conservative, "Unions and Commies Lobby Deficit Super Committee."

'Because the Night'

Some music until later, Patti Smith:

NASA Launches Latest NPP Earth-Observing Satellite from Vandenberg

It's the National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System, NPP.

At LAT, "NASA launches satellite from Vandenberg at night." And PC Magazine, "NASA Weather, Climate Satellite Launches Successfully."

The Hate Speech Bugaboo

This is an unbelievably ridiculous piece, from Erna Paris, at Toronto's Globe and Mail, "There *are* limits to free expression."

And from the comments:

Hate speech is less prevalent in Canada today because Canadians don't like it and don't want it, not because of any law. Canada is not a more fragile place than in 1990; it's a much, much stronger and more tolerant place. The bizarre fear-mongering in this opinion piece is not only logically incoherent, it's completely unjustifiable.

Via Scaramouche.

Bill Whittle's Afterburner: 'How to Steal Power'

Via Instapundit:

Bill Whittle: 'One Thing About Being a Conservative is You Don't Have to Lie'

Funny, but that's exactly the opposite of progressives: They lie about everything.

See: "WFP Interviews Bill Whittle." Talking about how he frames arguments and creates his video productions, Whittle says that "the great thing about being a conservative is you don't have to lie and you don't have to invent stuff..."

Yeah, that is a great thing, at about 3:00 minutes:

Europe Needs Economic Growth

At Los Angeles Times, "Europe debt crisis plan hinges on economic growth":

Reporting from London — The latest plan to save Europe from its debt crisis was greeted with a burst of self-congratulation from the bleary-eyed leaders who negotiated it and a respite from the months of pounding by the continent's financial markets.

But the politicians who struck an early-morning deal in Brussels to avert financial collapse still face another ominous threat: a slide back into recession for their economies that could undermine the debt agreement as well as bring even greater social disorder to their streets.

The realization appears to be taking hold in some capitals that any "grand plan" to restore confidence in the Eurozone will fail without accompanying economic growth. Cuts in government spending that have been prescribed to get budget deficits under control also lead to job losses, along with the hardship and fear that foment social unrest.

Evidence is already coming in. From riots in Britain to peaceful protests by thousands of youths in Spain, from the angry unions marching through tear gas in Greece's streets to the far-right populist parties surging in popularity in the Netherlands and Scandinavia, the consequences of a hard economic squeeze are creating a backlash on the streets and making governments nervous.

More at that top link.

Britney's Femme Fatale Tour, London

Lots of pics, at Daily Mail: "Britney bares a whole lot of skin in risqué stage outfits as the Femme Fatale tour hits London."

How Taxes Destroy Liberty

It's not just taxes per se, but the increasing scope of government power to redistibute income for economic and social engineering.

Read this essay, from Myron Magnet, at City Journal, "On Tyranny and Liberty."

Benefits Run Out for Spain's Jobless

The report's at Wall Street Journal, but click through at Google:

Spain's jobless rate, hovering above 20% since early 2010, reached its highest rate in 15 years in the third quarter, the government reported Friday, at 21.5%—driven up in part by public-sector cuts. The number of households without any income also hit record levels, rising to 559,900, or 3.2% of Spain's families, the government said.

One reason: Three years into the economic crisis, more and more jobless Spaniards are seeing their unemployment benefits expire. The Spanish social safety net for the long-term unemployed runs out more quickly than in many Western European countries, and its unemployment rate is the highest in the European Union.

Most wage-replacement benefits in Spain—which top out at about €1,400 ($2,000) monthly for workers with two children—run out or significantly decline by 24 months, compared with three to five years in some countries, including Belgium and Denmark. Mr. Tuesta's benefits expired late last year.

The government on Friday announced plans to spend an additional €24 billion ($34 billion) on job development from 2012 through 2014. Those expenses could require cuts elsewhere. The euro zone, trying to contain a debt crisis, wants Madrid to slash its budget deficit to 3% of gross domestic product by 2013, from more than 9% last year.

Even as it has frozen pensions and cut public-sector salaries, Spain's government has been loath to trim assistance for the jobless. Still, in August, 71% of Spain's jobless collected unemployment benefits, compared with more than 79% in the summer of 2010, according to the Spanish Labor Ministry.

That's the crisis of the European welfare-state model right there, and right here at home protesters at Occupy Wall Street are campaigning for the exact same fiscal bankruptcy and welfare state nightmare.

It's an upside down world.

RELATED: At Reuters, "Spain's Bankia, Popular 'can meet new capital rules'."

'Truth is the New Hate Speech' — Pamela Geller Speaks at Sugar Land Tea Party

Pamela's got lots of updates on her recent free-speech episode in Texas.

See, "Video: Pamela Geller in Sugar Land, Texas — The Speech That Was Banned by Hyatt Place."

Plus, "Liberty Counsel Demand Letter to Hutton Hotel," and "'Hyatt Place Regrets Decison'."

Brown Risks Backlash on Pensions

This is one case where fiscal reality trumps destructive progressive ideology. Pigs will fly if he actually gets this through the legislature.

At Los Angeles Times, "Gov. Jerry Brown risks backlash on pension plan":

Reporting from Sacramento -- Gov. Jerry Brown proposed a sweeping overhaul of California pensions that would require public employees to pay more for their retirement and cut benefits for those hired in the future, setting the stage for a fierce battle with fellow Democrats and some of his main political supporters: unions representing government workers.

Brown's 12-point plan, announced Thursday, would require that all public workers have at least half the cost of their pensions deducted from their paychecks. Most state employees already make that contribution, but many in cities, counties and school districts across the state pitch in far less.

The governor also wants future employees to receive up to a third of their retirement income from a 401(k)-style plan rather than a traditional guaranteed pension. And he urged that the retirement age for most new public workers be raised from 55 to 67.

"I try to protect working people whenever I can," said Brown, 73, "but I'm also responsible to the taxpayer and making sure we have a solvent state government."

California's public pension system has been strained by ballooning obligations to current and future retirees. Brown, who says he does not draw a pension, has called the system unaffordable and unsustainable. He wants to cut the state's long-term pension needs in half.

His plan would have to pass the Legislature, which is dominated by Democrats whose close political allies include labor unions. Brown would need the approval of two-thirds of state lawmakers to place key parts of it on the November 2012 ballot for voters to consider.

Michele Bachmann Slams 'Stealth Attack' by Rick Perry Supporters

She really unloads at the interview. I was watching this afternoon. Bachmann is especially riled by folks trashing her tea party creds.

At CNN, "TRENDING: Bachmann accuses Perry camp of 'stealth' political attack" (via ioic).

Four Reasons Keynesians Keep Getting It Wrong

From Allan Meltzer, at Wall Street Journal:

Those who heaped high praise on Keynesian policies have grown silent as government spending has failed to bring an economic recovery. Except for a few diehards who want still more government spending, and those who make the unverifiable claim that the economy would have collapsed without it, most now recognize that more than a trillion dollars of spending by the Bush and Obama administrations has left the economy in a slump and unemployment hovering above 9%.

Why is the economic response to increased government spending so different from the response predicted by Keynesian models? What is missing from the models that makes their forecasts so inaccurate? Those should be the questions asked by both proponents and opponents of more government spending. Allow me to suggest four major omissions from Keynesian models...

RTWT.

Occupy Phoenix: 'When Should You Shoot a Cop?'

At Hot Air, "Flier at Occupy Phoenix asks, 'When should you shoot a cop?'"

And at Verum Serum, "The Man Behind the 'When Should You Shoot a Cop' Pamphlet."

Continuing Lies by Cowardly Hate-Blogger W. James Casper in Left's Demonic Workplace Intimidation Campaign

W. James Casper continues to lie about his involvement in the long campaign of workplace attacks that have been repudiated by the army of righteous conservatives in recent weeks. (See: "Online Disagreements and the Offline World We Live In...")

Typically, the epic coward at American Nihilist ignored the universal moral approbation directed against all of those making the attacks. Further, he's now justifying the attacks by saying that both sides do it and that it's not just a progressive thing, or something. Casper keeps claiming that "right-of-center" bloggers are also among those who've launched demonic campaigns. And that's just more lies. Specifically, Casper is lying about E.D. Kain's ideological attacks of workplace harassment. I blogged about E.D. Kain because he betrayed me and a number of other bloggers who he burned by pulling the plug on Neo-Constant without even so much as a thank you or acknowledgment of their contributions. Kain did that because he embarrassed himself by selling out the right to join up with the likes of communist Freddie deBoer. I didn't like it. I blogged about it. I make no apologies. That's life. And Erik Kain's a cowardly little prick and Andrew Sullivan wannabe. I don't like him. But I never lied about him. I never contacted him personally. I simply wrote about my disagreements online. I wrote the truth. And for that E.D. Kain contacted my employer not once but twice. As many have pointed out, including law professor William Jacobson at the time, it's extremely bad form to contact someone's work, especially if you're unhappy that someone posted things about you that are entirely true, no matter how inconvenient. That is, you don't have a right to harass someone for speaking their mind, but that's what E.D. Kain did and that's what W. James Casper has endorsed. Indeed, that's who James Casper is.

W. James Casper, who, folks will recall, endorsed racist attacks against me by The Pale Scot, praises the workplace campaigns as not only deserved but effective:

Donald barely mentions any of the people who contacted LBCC, anymore...

That's another malicious falsehood. There's only one person I've stopped mentioning, one of the asshats at Lawyers, Guns and Money, and that's because there's a legal arrangement in place that prevents me from making references to this asshole at the blog. As for the others, they haven't been worth my time, but it's not because their attacks have been effective, as racist W. James Casper claims. In fact, that's just more lies from Comrade Racist Repsac3. I called out E.D Kain in June, for example: "Erik Kain of Forbes: Wishy Washy Pussy." And I'll continue to call him out when I see fit. Kain's a weasel. He'd prefer the world not know about his cheap ass ideological opportunism, so he attempted to get someone fired rather than just debate the issues like a man. And for the record: E.D. Kain long ago came out as a progressive. Despite this, W. James Casper, for over a year, has been spreading a disinformation campaign about how Kain's allegedly right-of-center. He's not, and he said so himself at the hardline progressive blog Balloon Juice: "Why I am Not a Conservative."

And that's yet another example of the kind of routine lies spread by Racist Repsac3.

Now I probably wouldn't be commenting on this again, but some of Racist Repsac3's lies are particularly egregious. For example, there is no moral equivalence between the left's campaign to get me fired and the right's response to whatever happened years ago to Jeff Goldstein. The fact is that a deranged progressive troll named Deborah Frisch threatened Goldstein's family. See: "Blog blunder fells UA teacher." And at Black Five, "Dr. Frisch (did I mention she's a psych[o] professor at the University of Arizona?) has repeatedly and quite disturbing levied DEATH THREATS against Jeff's 2 year old child."

When someone makes death threats it's damned right for people to be concerned. But I don't endorse workplace attacks for any reason. And I take exception to W. James Casper's sick moral relativism. In Casper's nihilist hate world, speaking my mind on my blog is tantamount to making death threats like those of Deb Frisch against Jeff Goldstein's 2 year-old child. And let's be clear about this, THAT IS EVIL. W. James Casper is consumed by hatred of difference. My conservative posse stood up because they saw evil directed against me, by Carl Salonon, E.D. Kain, Alex Knepper, the atheists, and now Captain Fogg. Am I forgetting anybody? Because that's a progressive thing. IT'S THE LEFT THAT DOES THIS.

[Added: I did forget somebody, Captain Fogg's sleaze-blogging ally, (O)CT(O)PUS) of The Swash Zone: "Libel Blogger David Hillman (Swash Zone) Workplace Harassment Fail."]

And to top it off, Repsac3 alleges that I had it coming. No, asshole W. James Casper. It's never okay to campaign against someone's work because someone legally spoke their mind on a blog. Hey asshole W. James Casper, there's no justification for it, and everyone can see through the bullshit and lies that you're spewing. You are a hate-blogger and stalker. I close the comments to my posts (like this one) not for ideological reasons, but because you are banned. YOU ARE BANNED, GET IT, STUPID FUCK? You are not to comment here because I said so. But you have no values, no morals, so you continue your hate campaign, attempting to harass and intimidate at my comment threads. You are a stalker. You long ago crossed the line, and that's what my conservative posse called out, and that's what your own commenter has ridiculed. It's not funny anymore: YOU HAVE CROSSED THE LINE.

Stop the hate. Stop the intimidation. Stop the threats against me. Stop endorsing, promoting, supporting, republishing, distributing, and football spiking the workplace attacks against me. These are designed for one thing and one thing only: to do me harm because progressives can't stand the light of truth being flashed on their ideological hatred. And that's why you continue to back the attacks. And that's why you have escalated to a personal campaign against me and my family.

Stop contacting me, W. James Casper. Stop attempting to intimidate me. And for God's sake, stop lying about your involvement in all of these attacks. American Nihilist has been the one-stop shop for the workplace attacks against me from day one. You are a sick, sick asshole. Quit e-mailing me. And get some help: