Thursday Open Thread [10.13.11]
I already cited the Time Magazine poll showing how President Obama is doing against the top three Republican contenders. We have also already see the PPP poll showing Cain talking the lead in the GOP race. Now we have a new NBC/WSJ poll released today also showing Cain as the new frontrunner also finds President Obama leading the field. He beats Cain by a 49%-38% margin, Romney by a 46%-44% margin, and Perry by a 51%-39% margin.
The PPP poll also shows that 63% of Republicans are PLEASED with their choices. I guess the GOP voter, after being spurned by Christie, Trump, Daniels, Harbour, Palin, Thune, Pataki, Giuliani, and some more I am forgetting now, is tired of being rejected and is putting up a brave and happy front. So they are happy the eight little dwarfs. Good for them. And good for us.
This is really great and deserves more attention — Henry Blodget has answered the Why Are Protesters Angry question by posting up charts detailing the serious and expanding inequality (and the slow killing of the middle class) over the past years.
This is not the soundbite answer that the media is clamoring for (because they can’t be bothered to take a good look on their own), but it is really useful for showing a pretty complete narrative of just how much working class and middle class people are taking it on the chin.
One more — Matt Taibbi offers some advice to the Occupy Wall St folks, who he thinks will need to declare some concrete demands shortly.
This is interesting — new NBC/WSJ poll shows that more Americans support OWS than the Teajadis by a 2 to 1 margin.
Those links are killer, Cassandra.
A brief update on “Occupy Delaware.”
The group held the 2nd General Assembly last night at the Newark UAW hall. The turnout was about 200 people, maybe more. The hall and the parking lot were packed!
The meeting was poorly facilitated, but we all muddled through very well and there was a lot of enthusiasm and energy. It went over 3 hours, with most people staying until the end. Lots of passion, lots of energy, and lots of people from other Occupy movements (Wall Street, Philadelphia) that shared experiences and advice.
The General Assembly voted to accept the Occupy Wall Street manifesto (as read aloud by yours truly) as a living document that will be shaped over time to fit the Delaware movement and enumerate the unique goals and demands of Occupy Delaware.
The GA broke into committees: Facilitation/Administration, Mission/Demands, Action, Media, Legal/Security, Human Services, and Arts/Education/Culture
The GA reconvened and got reports from each committee and decided on a plan of action:
On Saturday, 10/15, Occupy Delaware will act in unity with the United for Global Change movement and stage a rally at Rodney Square in Wilmington from 10am to 2pm. The rally will raise awareness of the issues enumerated in the OWS manifesto and will increase interest and participation in the Occupy Delaware movement.
Occupy Delaware will hold its 3rd General Assembly meeting on Wednesday, 10/19 at 7:00 PM at the UAW Hall in Newark, DE (same place, same time).
The committees will coordinate plans to make sure that a full-fledged occupation activity happens in the near future. We will be working feverishly to make sure that the action is safe, secure, and effective.
Thanks for the update, Zafo. Can you tell me if Occupy Delaware will stage the rally on Rodney Square with a permit or without?
I believe that our own intrepid reporter will also be doing a post about the meeting later today.
Tickets for the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner are now on sale – http://www.deldems.org/2011/10/tickets-now-available-for-the-2011-jefferson-jackson-dinner/
MJ, you applauded when Israeli soldiers put a bullet in the head of a peaceful American citizen for trying to bring aid to the Palestinians that the Israeli government has ghettoized. As long as you support the Israeli government’s continued stealing of Palestinian land and slow starvation of Palestinian men, women, and children, you have no moral high ground to stand on.
Your silly outrage about a satirical video while, at the same time, you support the Israeli government’s dehumanizing policies that are killing real people would be pretty funny if it wasn’t so sad.
Gainesville, Florida: Bo Diddley Jr. Arrested Occupying Bo Diddley Plaza
You’re an idiot, A1. The American in question was part of a protest that was throwing rocks and other missiles at Israeli troops at a border checkpoint. They were told to disperse and they did not. Tragically, she was hit in the face with a tear gas canister and she lost her eye. She would not have been injured if she had left as she and the others were ordered to do. I never applauded this, but I did defend it.
I support the Israeli government’s right to defend itself against terrorists and attack. Hamas, which usually leads these “peaceful” demonstrations is a terrorist group that has vowed to destroy Israel.
You’re a lie and your breath stinks, too. Go back to your hole in the wall and leave the adults alone to have a serious discussion.
BTW, if you cannot stay on topic in a thread, you’ll suffer the consequences. Since you never add anything to the discussion when your pointy little head drops in, your absence won’t be missed.
No, I am speaking of the American who was on the flotilla of boats attempting to deliver humanitarian aid, and was killed after being shot by an Israeli soldier at point blank range. That is the person you said “deserved it.”
The Palestinians are being treated by the Israeli government much they way the Nazi’s treated the Jews before to the holocaust. The Israeli government is stealing their land, forcing them out of their homes, and isolating and starving them in a ghetto. You don’t have to support Hamas in order to condemn the actions of the Israeli government. Both are wrong when they practice violence and innocent people get killed.
When you start to understand that the Palestinians are people, too, and stop supporting the murderous policies of the Israeli government, then maybe you’ll have some credibility about making judgements about who is crossing the line.
Celebrating the murder of an American citizen by Israeli soldiers was far more “crossing the line” than a stupid Hitler parody.
I always get a chuckle from the “stay on topic” warnings in an open thread.
Puck, MJ moved my comment from his “Crossing the Line” post. I didn’t think a comment pointing out MJ’s hypocritical moral grandstanding over a stupid parody video was off-topic on that thread, but I can understand why he would.
A1 – if you don’t like the rules around here, then don’t stop by. Your comment had nothing to do with the topic of the other post, which is why it was moved to the Open Thread.
And it says a lot about you when you and David Anderson agree that an offensive video denigrating the Holocaust is nothing more than a “silly parody.”
As Kathy Griffin would say, “Suck It”!
The response to having your comment moved to an open thread, is to continue the conversation in the open thread as if nothing had happened. I’m not a fan of this particular topic though.
MJ, didn’t I just say that I understood why you moved it?
I suppose you and your ADL buddies would condemn Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator” or Mel Brooks’ “The Producers,” too.
BTW, it didn’t denigrate the Holocaust – it was an attempt to denigrate Obama.