Remember when Fox News and other conservative pundits were all over “Climategate”, claiming that scientists had fudged data? Well, a new study done by a scientist who was a climate change skeptic, and funded by none other than the Koch Brothers says that Climategate was a false tempest in a tea party pot and that Global warming is real.
Shouldn’t that be big news?
Herman Cain releases a campaign ad showing his chief of staff taking a drag on a cigarette. Stephen Colbert takes it to the next level:
UPDATE: Colbert wasn’t the only person making fun of Cain’s ad. CNN rates the various parodies and shows their favorites.
UPDATE 2: Cain defends the ad.
You know it had to happen eventually. Fox News is now blaming ACORN for the Wall Street protests.
Well, except that ACORN doesn’t exist anymore. Conservatives made sure of that, even fabricating evidence against them.
But some of the same people who used to work for ACORN are now protesting.
Well, duh.
“Our badass ninja black president did it again. Don’t fuck with this guy. So far this year he killed Somali pirates, he killed bin Laden, he killed al-Awlaki, now he’s killed Gaddafi. The only threat to our way now is from Bank of America.” – Bill Maher
“Today Obama was seen leaving the White House in a nurse’s uniform on a flight to Cuba to smother Castro with a pillow.” – Bill Maher
“And you know what, if he did smother Castro with a pillow in a nurse’s uniform, Rush Limbaugh would say, ‘See, socialized medicine.'” – Bill Maher
“They found Gaddafi in a hole with a gun and luggage, or as it’s known here, the middle class.” – Bill Maher
“They say now that Gaddafi is dead and Michael Jackson is gone, we have enough over-the-top military uniforms to outfit an entire gay army.” – Bill Maher
“The end of the war in Libya is good news for Obama and good news for Michele Bachmann. Now she doesn’t have to find out where it is.” – Bill Maher
“These Republicans, they will not give credit. They gave credit to the rebels, to the British, and to the French. But they would not mention the president. It was like they were on a game show and the password was ‘Obama.’ They’re like the banks; they will not give a black man credit.” – Bill Maher
“In their world, Gaddafi died of natural causes, Bin Laden was shot in the face by the free market. You should’ve heard them, we went in too strong, everything they could’ve said that he did wrong. It’s like there’s some kind of hidden Republican clitoris, that they won’t let Obama find, and whenever he tries, they’re like ‘that’s not it!'” – Bill Maher
“I’m guessing our soldiers are happy to be leaving Iraq. It is no fun being in a country where there’s crumbling infrastructure and an ignorant population, but they said they’re happy to come home anyway.” – Bill Maher
Sometimes I wonder if Matt Taibbi is the only political pundit not just with any brains, but with any common sense.
First, go read his blog post “OWS’s Beef: Wall Street Isn’t Winning – It’s Cheating“. Go ahead. It’s short and should be required reading. I’ll wait for you here…
OK, you’re back.
How blind do you have to be to not realize that the game has been severely tilted in the direction of our new monied aristocracy, the banks? Is it the insane bonuses paid to bankers while everyone else suffers in the bad economy? Is it “too big to fail” and huge bailouts done with little or no oversight? Or is it politicians (in both parties) falling over themselves to genuflect to the banks?
And these banks are so incompetent that even with all the free money they are being given by the government, the bailouts, and other benefits and bonuses, they still can’t manage to keep our economy on an even keel, or even their own banks from failing (or needing huge bailouts to remain afloat). So we are rewarding incompetence!
The problem isn’t capitalism, the problem is that we don’t have enough capitalism. We have (national) socialism for the banks. This isn’t class warfare or envy directed at people who made money, this is justice: the desire to punish people who stole money — billions of dollars — from you and me. If this is warfare against a class, it is against the class of crooks and swindlers, living high off their ill-gotten gains.
As Taibbi says “People aren’t jealous and they don’t want privileges. They just want a level playing field, and they want Wall Street to give up its cheat codes.” America became a great country because it was the land of opportunity, where anyone with a little talent and a willingness to take risks and work hard could make it. People immigrated here (often at great effort and risk) in order to leave their decadent and corrupt homelands, where they did not have that opportunity. And now it is our country that has become corrupt.
Once people realize that success is no longer determined by good ideas and hard work, then all hell will (and should) break out. OWS is just the beginning.
UPDATE: Another must-read article about this.
I know I’ve said it before, but Jon Stewart is brilliant. And he’s on a roll with this one, pointing out the utter hypocrisy of the chicken hawks.
I’m not sure I buy the argument that people would pay more attention to the Occupy Wall Street protestors if they dressed up in business suits. After all, we seemed to pay plenty of attention to the Teabaggers. And a majority of Americans already agree with the Wall Street protests.
I’m not sure why this is a comic — it sound just like things I’m actually hearing on the news.
Adbusters, the group that is largely responsible for the Occupy Wall Street protests, has come out with their own idea for a simple demand:
On October 29, on the eve of the G20 Leaders Summit in France, let’s the people of the world rise up and demand that our G20 leaders immediately impose a 1% #ROBINHOOD tax on all financial transactions and currency trades. Let’s send them a clear message: We want you to slow down some of that $1.3-trillion easy money that’s sloshing around the global casino each day – enough cash to fund every social program and environmental initiative in the world.
Personally, I don’t think the Wall Street protests need to have a single demand, undiluted by anything else. The requirement for a single, simple demand is a red herring created by the corporate-owned media in order to frame the debate. If you change the current list of demands to a single demand, they will just find some other thing to complain about.
But I think the protest movement has already succeeded in doing something that was vitally important to our country, which was steering public discourse away from endless rhetoric about the need for smaller government, and back towards real discussions on how we can repair our economy.
But watch this brilliant video promoting a Robin Hood tax in Britain (starring the incredible Bill Nighy):
UPDATE: The more I think about this, the more I believe that while this should not be the only demand, it is a very good demand to focus on before the upcoming G20 talks.
Right wing commentators have been trashing the Wall Street Occupiers. “What is it they stand for?” they’re demanding. And, frankly, it is about time they took one simple stand. My suggestion is that the protestors demand the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall act. That is the piece of legislation from 1933 which separated investment banking from commercial banking.
It was overturned in 1999 by Republicans Jim Leach and Phil Gramm. It passed in the senate on a party line vote. I don’t understand why Clinton did not veto it, but he didn’t.
The aspiration of the Republican Party over the past thirty years have been to destroy the U.S. Government by simply having corporations take its functions over. And it has entirely succeeded. But it can still be dismantled. The momentum of the Occupy Wall Street movement is a good indicator of that.
I would like to see signs begin popping up in the crowds calling for the reinstatement of Glass-Steagall. It is time. It’s a big enough fight in itself that it doesn’t need to be diluted by other demands. But yes, there should be one simple demand now.
As Slate Magazine points out, voter fraud is statistically extremely rare. Heck, it’s hard enough to get legal registered voters to just go vote. So why are Republicans suddenly passing all kinds of laws that put roadblocks in front of voters to prevent voter fraud? One guess.
“Earlier this week, a protester at Occupy Wall Street proposed to his girlfriend. His exact words were, ‘Will you occupy my parents’ basement with me until I get a job?'” – Conan O’Brien
“Herman Cain is out there, he says a lot of provocative things. He said America should build its own Great Wall of China. Cain says it’s a great idea because if there’s one thing you don’t see in China, it’s Mexicans.” – Conan O’Brien
”Today, the Colbert Super PAC officially endorses Hermain Cain for president — unless you’re not into him, in which case, I’m just joking.” – Stephen Colbert
”Herman Cain is ahead with 27%, as opposed to Newt Gingrich, who is 27% head.” – Stephen Colbert
”Almost all of Rick Perry’s support appears to have gone to Herman Cain because, again, and I cannot stress this enough, nobody likes Mitt Romney.” – Jon Stewart
“Yesterday, President Obama’s teleprompter was stolen. Police are on the lookout for a thief that’s eloquent and spreading a message of hope.” – Conan O’Brien
“Michelle Obama said her daughters watch ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ but that President Obama doesn’t approve. Obama said, ‘If I want to see a giant butt who doesn’t do anything, I’ll have lunch with Joe Biden.'” – Conan O’Brien
“It was on this day in 1867 that the United States bought Alaska from the Russians. And about six months from now, we’ll probably be selling it to China.” – Craig Ferguson
Jon Stewart on the end of the Libyan war and the Republican reaction to it. The best part is the second half.
“Big news in the Republican ranks, there is a new front-runner: Herman Cain. The Republican establishment is freaking out because their token black guy is in the lead now. It’s like an episode of Star Trek where the black guy beams down to the planet and lives.” – Bill Maher
“Herman Cain’s plan to save the economy is ‘9-9-9.’ He keeps saying it every day like the Count on Sesame Street. Well, this week we finally found out where he got it from. Not from an economist. He got it up from the guy who works at his local Wells Fargo branch. Literally, it’s like he went down to deposit checks, and the teller said, ‘Can I help with anything else?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, can you re-write the tax code?'” – Bill Maher
“Herman Cain said, starting today, if you buy into his 9-9-9 plan, he’ll throw in a free 32-ounce soda.” – David Letterman
“Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain has come out of nowhere to become the new front-runner. And believe me, Mitt Romney is worried. He’s sweating like Rick Perry.” – Jay Leno
“The Republican candidates are still looking for ways to stop Romney. See, it’s hard to disagree with his positions — because as you know, he’s taken every position.” – Jay Leno
“You got to feel bad for poor Mitt Romney. He’s in their plugging every week, and every week somebody gets ahead of him. The people who have led Mitt so far: Donald Trump, then Michele Bachmann, then Rick Perry, now Herman Cain. He’s been led by a reality show star, a crazy lady, a stuttering cowboy, and the guy who brings the pizza. That’s gotta hurt a little.” – Bill Maher
“Rick Perry has dropped 20 points in the polls in one week. They say he is so depressed about this, he hardly has the energy to execute anybody.” – Bill Maher
“Bronco Rick Perry is the first candidate I’ve ever heard say he’s not doing well because he’s sleepy. You know, we criticized George W. Bush a lot, but there was one thing he was very disciplined about, and that was getting his full eight years of sleep.” – David Letterman
“Rick Perry got the date of the American revolution wrong by two centuries. What is it with the right wing? Michele Bachmann doesn’t know where the ‘Shot Heard ‘Round the World’ took place, Sarah Palin doesn’t know why Paul Revere went on his ride, Rick Perry doesn’t know that 1776 happened in the 1700’s. These aren’t gotcha questions. I know this sounds mean about Rick Perry, but if he was a child, you’d leave him behind.” – Bill Maher
“This Occupy Wall Street movement is now in 1,500 places all around the world. I was at the Occupy Beverly Hills today. It’s two Jews at Starbucks complaining that the scones aren’t fresh. But still it’s a start.” – Bill Maher
“Critics of the Wall Street protesters claim that they have old ideas, nothing new, and they’re never going to work. Wait a minute., that sounds like this show.” – David Letterman
“Now there’s a pushback movement (against Occupy Wall Street). There’s a group called the 53%. These are the people who say 47% don’t pay any federal taxes (yeah, because they’re fucking broke). The 53% say they barely get by, but they don’t blame the banks. Their slogan is, ‘Let’s bend over and take it, America!'” – Bill Maher
“The Occupy Wall Street protests continue to grow. They’ve started to attract a very unsavory element – celebrities.” – Craig Ferguson
“Bill O’Reilly calls them drug traffickers and crackheads, he says they’re out here having sex outside at night. Bill O’Reilly – the only man in America who makes Andy Rooney seem hip. He also said they’re practicing free love, as opposed to the kind Bill tried to practice and cost him a fortune in legal fees.” – Bill Maher
“Warren Buffett’s company reportedly owes the IRS a billion dollars in back taxes. When he said he wasn’t paying enough taxes, he wasn’t kidding.” – Jay Leno
“Joe Biden once again denied stories that he will be replaced on the ticket in 2012. He says he will continue to embarrass President Obama for another four years.” – Jay Leno
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