Holy shit, Jesse LaGreca was on a Bobblehead show this weekend (via via):
I just found this out and haven’t watched it all the way through yet. You might all be Rickrolled partway through.
Apologies if someone already blogged about this here. I can’t find it if so.
Glenda
I was keeping up with GOS over the weekend, and so was able to catch part of his appearance as it aired.
I like that he said he is probably the last working class representative that will be on the show. They really didn’t quite know what to make of him, as he didn’t fit the mold they were using for OccupyWallStreet.
Brian R.
@Glenda:
Yep. For all the talk about the biases in the media, the class bias is the most pronounced. CEOs get airtime all the time, but union leaders? Pfft.
harlana
crappity crap, can’t watch right now cuz i’m at work
But comparisons to Joe the Non-taxpayer? Oh, that is so sad and also insulting. I hope Peggy Noonan didn’t say that, but I bet she did. That’d be just like her.
jethro
I wish that I had Jesse’s URL.
Carnacki
My plan is to go up Oct. 24-26 to Occupy Wall Street. I’m hoping to find a crash to couch on. At my age, sleeping outside bothers my banged up body and my snoring might break noise ordinances and disturb other occupiers.
Southern Beale
I love this guy. He called them all out for failing to cover the working class’ issues. As Glenda said, his quote was, “the reality is, I’m the only working class person you’re going to see on Sunday political news, maybe ever. And that’s indicative of the failures of our media to report on the news that matters most to working class people….”
The guy has balls. And good for Christiane Amanpour for putting him on. George Stuffinenvelopes probably would not have done this.
Zifnab
Lulz. I loved the “Protests Good for GOP?” tag line under Donna Brazil. You damn liberal medias just can’t help yourselves, can you?
slag
“Our government is a function of our democracy. By attacking our government, we are attacking democracy.”
Go Jesse the Greca!
mistermix
I don’t think anyone else posted on this. But I do remember watching it, with my eyes.
Carnacki
@jethro: Sweet. I’d send to top comments if this was Daily Kos.
beltane
The reactions of Peggy Noonan and George Will are priceless. “Jeeves, who let the commoner in through the front door? Please do not allow this to happen again.”
burnspbesq
Interesting to watch a company die in real time.
abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2011/10/blackberry-outage-spreads-to-u-s/
Ash Can
@Southern Beale:
OK, I lol’d.
singfoom
Jesse was great. His response to George Will’s BS was awesome. Get his man his own TV show!
Slightly OT but within the OWS vein: Attended my second Occupy Chicago occupration/GA last night. We marched, chanting all the way, from LaSalle and Jackson to Union Station where some mortgage bankers were having a shindig, milled around the entrances that were secured for about 15 minutes, then marched back past the occupation to the GA spot at Michigan and Congress.
I haven’t had time to attend a GA fully (until the end) but I have been impressed by the energy of the group. Obviously, Chicago has less people and organization than NY which is to be expected.
The group recognizes their message is less coherent than needed, and they’re working towards Chicago specific grievances.
I was disappointed by what I saw Monday as hipster posturing and anarchist BS and complaints about the human microphone, but these complaints are directed more at individuals and not the totality of the group. I continue to be hopeful that it gains more steam and more people as the occupation continues.
beltane
@singfoom: A friend of mine went to the Journal Square satellite protest in NYC and was pissed to see some loudmouthed 9/11 Truthers there. I imagine these people are going to be a permanent fixture at all kinds of protest for the foreseeable future but it is still annoying to have them around.
Three-nineteen
Rick Springfield and I share a birthday. Just thought you’d like to know.
Jamey: Bike Commuter of the Gods
Re: Jesse:
He’s watching her with his eyes.
slag
@beltane:
LaRouchies also too. It’s hard to believe that guy is still alive let alone that there are people who still idolize him and can manage to dress themselves in the morning.
jayjaybear
CurrentTV really ought to think about adding Jesse to their lineup…
eemom
You know I feel so dirty when they start talkin’ cute
Wanna tell her that I love her but the point is probly moot.
love that line.
Lex
On the basis of his courtesy in the face of George Fucking Will’s — to be polite — disingenuousness, I would have to conclude that Jesse LaGreca is a far better human being than I will ever be, because I would’ve had to reach through the camera lens and slap a bitch.
singfoom
@beltane: Monday night, there was a drunk stupid asshole screaming obscenities and making it hard to hear the GA speakers….it got to the point where someone complained to the police and the cops came and talked to the guy, which then got the crowd riled up, since the cops were on the periphery of the GA.
Also, the people behind me were snarking on everything every single thing every speaker said, which really pissed me off until I moved somewhere else where I could hear more clearly…
Like I said, these are small individual complaints, but people like the drunk guy aren’t doing the movement any favors…
Gin & Tonic
@burnspbesq: Fascinating to read what they say: “we had a core switch failure”. That’s what the fuck redundancy is for. If I had a core switch failure and was down for 3 hours, let alone 3 days, I’d be updating my resume, and I’m not in the business of providing communication services to outside customers. This isn’t the first face-palmingly stupid thing they’ve done, either.
beltane
@singfoom: This is why libertarianism will never work. The world is full of drunk stupid assholes most of whom don’t even drink.
jwest
I’ve been thinking about joining the OWS group myself, however I simply haven’t been inspired enough to jump in.
Perhaps if we had a Maya Angelou poem or a really good interpretive dance that would show how happy the birds and trees would be if more people joined.
Someone get on that and let me know.
gaz
@jethro: Jesse blogs as MinistryOfTruth over at dailykos.
=)
Southern Beale
As you know I hate surveys but I thought this was interesting, from the WaPo/Bloomberg News poll conducted October 6-9 of 1,000 adults:
1. If a Republican were president right now, do you think the economy would be better, worse, or about the same as it is now?
Better Worse The same No opinion
All adults 23 25 45 7
Fascinating. Includes Republicans and Independents. So slightly more people think the economy would be worse if a Republican were president, and most think it would be the same.
And this:
2. Thinking beyond the 2012 presidential election, do you think your own family’s financial situation would be better if (President Obama wins a second term) OR if (a Republican wins the election) or wouldn’t it make much difference either way?
President Obama Republican wins Not make much (Vol.) No
wins a second term the election much difference Depends opinion
All adults 24 24 44 * 7
Again, I find that interesting. Click on the link, they ask which Republicans running for president would help the economy the most and which would do the most damage. It’s pretty much the top 3 (Romney, Perry, Cain) for the help the most but the one they think would do the most damage? Michele Bachmann! LOL.
Mnemosyne
@beltane:
Hell, we can’t even get the Troofers to leave Balloon Juice alone.
Southern Beale
Sorry I couldn’t get the formatting right in that poll comment I made. I don’t have time to mess with it. Click on the fucking link.
slag
@harlana:
The point of that comparison isn’t that the two are equal in quality. The point is that Jesse the Greek can perform the function of spokesman for the liberal working class (as he kind of does in this clip) in the same way that Samuel the Plutocrat does for the conservatives. And the qualitative differences between the two individuals mirror the qualitative differences between the two groups (ie, ours is way more articulate, knowledgeable, and genuine).
Southern Beale
@slag:
Every time I’m in NYC I’m accosted by LaRouchies trying to get me to sign a petition.
gaz
@jwest: Hey, I call bullshite!
singfoom saw you there.
Next time, try to sober up for an hour or so before you arrive.
dan
What kind of cans?????
harlana
@slag:
Indeed! But it does sound Noonanesque b/c she likes her simple analogies, they’re like gelcaps, so easy to swallow.
jwest
@gaz:
You’re right.
After seeing this article, I think I’ll pass.
observer.com/2011/10/the-hottest-people-at-occupy-wall-street/#slide11
Roger Moore
@burnspbesq:
It seems to me that this displays a major drawback of the Blackberry model: that they depend on centralized services to make the system work. Their phones are really tightly tied in to RIM infrastructure, which adds an extra point of failure for the system. The consequences of Google or Apple going silent for a while are much less for Android or iPhone users. Yes, it would be annoying not to be able to sync accounts or buy apps, but at least I can talk directly to my company’s email server.
gaz
@jwest: Thanks!, we don’t need a bunch of drunk assholes derailing the message.
Besides, if you showed up you’d miss Fox & Friends, and your reruns of Magnum PI and 24
Certified Mutant Enemy
@Southern Beale:
Years ago, SNL did a bit call “LaRouche Theater”…
Roger Moore
@jwest:
So grannies in scooters are more your thing?
piratedan
cleek, tyvm for the pie filter, its really helping my blood pressure. :-)
jwest
@gaz:
Ah, “24”. (wipes a tear from his eye)
I do so miss watching Jack Bauer executing his law enforcement duties so effectively.
Villago Delenda Est
@Southern Beale:
Bah. She’s some Islamofascist slut.
/wingtard (see “Reality Check” or “jwest” for examples of the vile natural serf type)
Yutsano
@jwest: Spoof fail. You’re not supposed to be this easy to spot.
Certified Mutant Enemy
@Certified Mutant Enemy:
Lyndon LaRouche Theater:
video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7786609813647356541
slag
@Southern Beale: A petition? Does their pitch start out with: “Do you have just a minute for the stupid and pathetic today?”
Three-nineteen
And I’m looking in the mirror all the time
Wonderin’ what the voters don’t see in me
I’ve been funny, I’ve been cool with the lines
Ain’t that the way politics is supposed to be?
DLew On Roids
Hey, as a frequently drunk asshole I take offense to some of these comments. We are people too, you know.
artem1s
full of awesome! also.too. has george fucking will ever held down a real job in his whole privileged life?
Villago Delenda Est
@Gin & Tonic:
Um, redundant equipment costs money that MUST go into the CEO’s yacht party fund.
El Cid
I like Will’s suggestion that because government was too yielding to the powerful (i.e., corruption) economic interests, it would be a contradiction to demand it not be so, that we would all be better off if instead of standing up more for the ordinary and comparatively powerless citizenry, it get even more out of way of the corrupt interests condemned in the first place.
Hey, the government is too controlled by the rich, and doesn’t do enough for us!
Well, obviously we should demand the government do even less!
Yay!
gaz
@DLew On Roids: just sober up before u show up to protest, and we’re cool =) hell, I’ll buy you a shot =P
TooManyJens
@El Cid: Will thought he had a real zinger there, too. Smug idiot.
The libertarian argument in a nutshell.
Jesse LaGreca is almost — almost — tempting me to start reading the GOS again.
beltane
@artem1s: No. George Will has enjoyed a life similar to the young Siddhartha, carefully shielded from any form of suffering, poverty, and disease.
NonyNony
@beltane:
Somehow I doubt that Will’s reaction to seeing a dying man would be the same as the young Siddhartha’s though.
Will would probably insist that if only the government had cut his taxes, he might have had more of a will to live and wouldn’t have died.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@gaz: Make sure to sing his comment.
slag
@El Cid: But you’re missing the point. It’s not that corporate oligarchs will fill in the holes left by a smaller government. Those holes will be filled in by Freedom Dust. Which is like pixie dust for straight white dudes.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
BTW, according to someone here at work, Bloomberg played gotcha politics by pulling up a video from one of Reagan’s speeches and asked them what they thought of Reagan’s stating that you sometimes have to compromise to get what you want.
NonyNony
@Belafon (formerly anonevent):
Did you ask your “friend” at work what his answer to that question would be?
I’ll bet the answer would be a lot of sputtering followed by some name calling, but I’m probably projecting from d-bags I used to work with…
cleek
@piratedan:
my pleasure
eyelessgame
He gave a nice echo of GK Chesterton: “The poor object to being governed badly, while the rich object to being governed at all.” George Will tried to derail him into “but if you don’t like what Washington is doing, shouldn’t it do less?” when really what we want is for it to be doing better.
artem1s
Interesting piece in The Stranger
thestranger.com/seattle/fuck-you-big-banks/Content?oid=10316458
Chyron HR
@jwest:
Ha ha, I get it. It’s funny because libertarians like jwest would never sing songs about The Trees.
Certified Mutant Enemy
@Belafon (formerly anonevent):
For conservatives: Gotcha politics == asking a question
Jesse Ewiak
It’s not a shock that among the big 3 Sunday talkfests, only Amanpour would have someone like him on TV. She’s actually interacted with people making less than $100,000 year in the past twenty-five years.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@NonyNony: No, I didn’t, but he probably would do exactly as you said. The quickest way for me to get him to shut up about politics is for me to start stating facts, so you can tell what I have here.
gbear
@beltane:
Not true. People cannot look at a bow tie without betraying some sense of suffering.
handsmile
Here is a link to another interview with Jesse LaGreca that the redoubtable Digby posted at Hullabaloo last Saturday:
digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/run-damn-tape.html
As it’s a sympathetic interview, LaGreca does not need to display his masterful ability to reframe and confute sententious questions by Fox interviewers or the contemptible George Will. His final remarks in this interview, however, are a precise distillation of the relationship between the corporate media and the “99%”:
“To the media at large, when you ask why these people are here [at the OWS protests]: We’re getting screwed and you’re not helping. Maybe changing that would be a little better for your ratings.”
SiubhanDuinne
@Villago Delenda Est:
I think this particular CEO would rather have an NHL team than a yacht.
BillyGibbonsBeard
George Will: “Mr. Legreca, I hear a certain dissonance in your message. And your message is “Washington is corrupt, Washington is the handmaiden of the powerful.” A lot of conservatives agree with that, but then you say that this corrupt Washington that is the handmaiden of the powerful should be much more powerful in regulating our lives. Why do you want a corrupt government bigger in our lives?”
How many fallacies are on display here? The correct way to fight this kind of thing is to dissect it with logic (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies) and to avoid anger-based knee jerk reactions.
CaptainFwiffo
This is a GOOD appearance? Can’t he at least cite some sort of policy ideas? Like “I can’t speak for anyone else, but for starters, let’s implement the Buffet rule, repeal tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, and reinstate Glass–Steagall or implement the Volker rule”.
I mean, you don’t have to go into vast detail, or have a bill in hand or anything. Just demonstrate that there ARE policy prescriptions for our current problems. I mean, can you at least say “Well, I think Paul Krugman has some good ideas.”
The knock against OWS is that they are just angry and don’t have any solutions or ideas. Why prove them right by not sharing any ideas? We’ve got forceful speakers, lets give them some stuff to speak about.
ed drone
For the OWS crowd:
Socialized/Privatized
Come, all you union members
And workers in your shop;
And all the laid-off folks who dread
The day the checks will stop;
Employers paying three folks,
Who used to employ ten;
We are the angry Ninety-nine,
Marching once again.
Refrain:
From Wall Street home to Main Street, shout loud the clear refrain:
“They’ve socialized the losses, and privatized the gains!” (2X)
The One-Percenters at the top,
With greed their only aim,
Have done their best to hide the way
They’ve played their selfish game.
So secretly they’ve tweaked the rules,
To keep us in the dark;
But now we’re waking from our sleep,
And gathering in the park.
Refrain
When profits rise so high, you see,
And wages stay so low,
It’s obvious the powers that be
Just don’t want us to know.
As Joseph Stiglitz put it,
In words so clear and plain,
They socialize the losses,
But privatize the gain.
Last Refrain:
From Wall Street home to Main Street, shout loud the clear refrain:
“The people take the losses, the bosses take the gains!” (2X)
©2011 Annie Storr, Bob Clayton & Ed Drone
slag
@handsmile:
That was brilliant. And very appropriate. But when you watch CNN ratings improve as they further abandon their supposed raison d’etre by following Faux into the abyss, it’s hard to envision a world in which poverty of purpose isn’t richly rewarded.
Simonee
They have Joe the Plumber. We have Jesse LaGreca.
Enough said.
slag
@CaptainFwiffo:
He’s very smart not to do as you suggest. As soon as he does, he ends up in a policy debate rather than an ideological one. And then would begin the trip down the rabbit hole.
That said, I do think there’s a place for OWS to eventually evolve into having some demands. But after reading and thinking about this question, I’ve become convinced that now is not the time.
bjacques
Pretty good, but a minor quibble. He’s doing more speechifying than answering questions. What he says do need to be said, and it’s a golden opportunity to say them on National TV. But it comes off like what the other guys do–getting the talking points out there regardless of the actual topic.
Most of the questions are bullshit “gotcha” questions, but they need to be answered unless they’re obvious attempts to run out the clock. Sometimes they need to be answered precisely to show that they’re bullshit questions.
Like George Fwill’s “clever” one: “If you say government is corrupt [Jesse didn’t say that, and neither do the protesters, in the main], why do you want to give it more control?”
How about wanting a government where corruption doesn’t get in the way of, say, cleaning up after hurricanes? No-bid contractors sure did a bang-up job after Katrina.
“What do they want?”
From where I’m sitting, wanting a government not captured by Wall Street is concrete enough; it puts everyone on the same page. Just about everything flows from that–recalling crooked governors, reversing sleazy laws that funnel tax money into the usual private hands, stopping vote caging and stopping the government from rewarding corporate failure. For starters. The details will keep us busy long after the rallies are over, but we’re using the time now to meet each other, exchange tips, discover our talents for persuasion and organization, and just show dissatisfied people out there they’re not alone.
And we’re doing it without corporate godfathers.
Disclaimer: Yep, the above is pure esprit de l’escalier. I doubt I could do half as well Jesse in the same situation.
Brian R.
@gbear:
In David Sedaris’s latest book, he has a line that’s apt here: “A bow tie announces to the world that you can no longer get an erection.”
CaptainFwiffo
Somebody’s gotta be out there talking policy. A movement completely devoid of ideas just looks sad and stupid. I was turned off by that segment, and I’m actually on his side. Doesn’t the left have some intellectuals out there with policy proposals they can trot out?
Villago Delenda Est
@SiubhanDuinne:
Bottom line: the CEO’s hobby is more important than expensive, frivolous redundancy that insures longer-than-the-end-of-the-current-fiscal-quarter-and-what’s-the-stock-price-today prosperity.
Jenny
The panel: 3 republicans and 1 democrat.
How fair and balanced.
jayackroyd
More from Jesse, with Susie Madrak last night bit.ly/nLiZzQ .
b-psycho
@artem1s: Of course that line completely contradicts what he said earlier. But since George Will is a douche I guess that just slides.
rikryah
The reactions of Peggy Noonan and George Will are priceless. “Jeeves, who let the commoner in through the front door? Please do not allow this to happen again.”
BWA HW HA HA HA HA HA AH
so true. I actually tuned in TO WATCH him…I loved it.
jayackroyd
@CaptainFwiffo:
No, he can’t cite policy ideas. He would not be representing the movement if he did.
Last week, I spent an hour watching the OWSer who was dealing with the media at liberty park. He said, over and over again, that picking out one or two or three issues is missing the point. The point is that the issues that are considered, discussed, passed, evaluated by the corp, govt and media institutions are all in the interest of the one percent.
les
@Villago Delenda Est:
I don’t get the “enunciate policy” complaint. The “policy” is obvious and upfront–the government should benefit and protect all of us, not just the oligarchy. Anybody paying attention knows what the problems are–fuck, we were better of as little as 10 years ago. If you think a broad based movement like this should be drafting specific statutes, I think that’s the worst thing they could do–demanding specific tax rates, or writing regulations, or similar proposals would just derail things into pointless bickering. The policy is clear, the message is “politicians, do your fucking jobs.”
jayackroyd
@les:
I’d add, “and that’s why we’ve been voting you out of office.” Your job is to represent. Do so.
Bruce S
I’ve been – probably foolishly – disappointed that Amanpour hasn’t done anything substantive to break the mold of those horrid shows. She DID have Jared Bernstein AND Paul Krugman on the same talk segment one time, which is unprecedented. And she gave Jesse some airtime – and the opportunity to make George Will look like an ass (okay – that’s a low bar.) And she used to have…uh…foreigners on the show regularly, but I haven’t seen any recently. Pretty much just the same old crap.
BUT Chris Hayes Saturday and Sunday morning shows are great – you’ve gotta DVR them, they’re on at such an ungodly hour. But Chris is without a doubt the smartest kid in 7th Grade (sorry…but that’s really who he looks like) and makes the rest of the Weekend Talkers look like total morons. Terrific show – and I predict that John McCain, Lindsay Graham nor Joe Lieberman will NEVER be offered chairs at the table. Finally somebody offers an intelligent alternative if you want a Sunday morning political fix…
slightly-peeved
I think anyone more intelligent and less disingenuous than George Will can draw the line between the general complaints of the 99% and the kind of policies described in the American Jobs Act.
Since some Democrats have openly endorsed the protests, and many who haven’t have sympathised with the general goals of the protest, the people who should be proposing policies, and then trying to get them through, are the Democrats.