(h/t commentor Dee Lorelai)
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Now that it’s clear lousy weather and a drop-off in the number of tv-news cameras haven’t been enough to discourage #OWS and all its offshoots, more local authorities are attempting variations on Richard Daley’s maxim, “The police aren’t here to create disorder — the police are here to preserve disorder!” The NYTimes believes that that “OWS Protestors [are] Shifting to College Campuses“, including a certain Bay State university:
The Harvard encampment, much like the university itself, is highly exclusive. After protesters set up about 30 tents in Harvard Yard last week, university officials closed the gates to the yard, allowing only students with IDs to enter.
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“Securing access to the Yard is necessary for the safety of the freshmen and others who live and work there, for the students who will be sleeping outdoors as part of the protest, and for the overall campus,” the university’s provost, Alan M. Garber, said in a statement.
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Harvard protesters set up their tent city a week after a student walkout of Economics 10, an undergraduate course taught by N. Gregory Mankiw, a professor and former economic adviser to President George W. Bush.
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“We think that Harvard is complicit in propagating the ideology that made the current crisis possible,” said Amanda Haziz-Ginsburg, a camper who is a student at Harvard Divinity School.
(Oh, that Tom Lehrer were living still writing at this hour… )
Our Very Serious Media is still quite, quite uncertain as to the proper attitude towards this whole disorganized, non-hierarchal, unbranded movement. Noreen Malone at NYMag‘s Daily Intel points out that “Occupy Wall Street Is Making You Think About Income Inequality“: “Since the beginning of the Occupy Wall Street movement, published mentions of the term “income inequality” have increased more than fivefold… While lots of the coverage of the protests has been on the arrests, the scandals, and the branding, it seems as if the basic message organizers were hoping to get promote is very much a part of the conversation.”
The NYTimes Business Day thinks that the Occupy movement has “inspired unions to embrace bold tactics“. The Washington Post chooses to not-quite-celebrate the urban design specialists who tell them that “Occupy D.C. creates a vibrant brand of urbanism” in a previously underused space. And Jeffrey D. Sachs sidles over to proclaim “The New Progressive Age“:
OCCUPY WALL STREET and its allied movements around the country are more than a walk in the park. They are most likely the start of a new era in America. Historians have noted that American politics moves in long swings. We are at the end of the 30-year Reagan era, a period that has culminated in soaring income for the top 1 percent and crushing unemployment or income stagnation for much of the rest. The overarching challenge of the coming years is to restore prosperity and power for the 99 percent…
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The first age of inequality was the Gilded Age at the end of the 19th century, an era quite like today, when both political parties served the interests of the corporate robber barons. The progressive movement arose after the financial crisis of 1893. In the following decades Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson came to power, and the movement pushed through a remarkable era of reform: trust busting, federal income taxation, fair labor standards, the direct election of senators and women’s suffrage.
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The second gilded age was the Roaring Twenties. The pro-business administrations of Harding, Coolidge and Hoover once again opened up the floodgates of corruption and financial excess, this time culminating in the Great Depression. And once again the pendulum swung. F.D.R.’s New Deal marked the start of several decades of reduced income inequality, strong trade unions, steep top tax rates and strict financial regulation. After 1981, Reagan began to dismantle each of these core features of the New Deal.
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Following our recent financial calamity, a third progressive era is likely to be in the making. This one should aim for three things. The first is a revival of crucial public services, especially education, training, public investment and environmental protection. The second is the end of a climate of impunity that encouraged nearly every Wall Street firm to commit financial fraud. The third is to re-establish the supremacy of people votes over dollar votes in Washington.
Also not to be missed (thank you, Brian S): David Brin, “scientist, futurist & best-selling author” eviscerates a certain graphic artist’s blatant misinterpretations of ancient history and modern protest movements, in “Move over, Frank Miller: or why the Occupy Wall Street kids are better than #$%! Spartans“.
Ms.B
Makana performed that song under the APEC luau tent last night in Honolulu, with his “Occupy with Aloha” t-shirt on in front of all of the big guys, from Obama to Medvedev to Hu Jintao to dozens of CEO’s.
(At least Obama probably understood the lyrics.)
Karen
I think Tom Lehrer is still alive.
Also, when you mentioned they’re occupying college campuses, the sudden vision of Kent State flashed in front of me.
I hope it doesn’t have to come to that.
Bruuuuce
It’s clear that one significant tactic cities are taking is to preclude the Occupiers from setting up portapotties or other sanitary facilities, and then ruling them unsanitary as a reason for eviction (Portland did that tonight).
What I wonder is when the first brave soul in the media is going to make note of this (probably at the minimal cost of hir job and the expungement of hir report and possibly all of hir work).
Amir Khalid
@Karen:
Just checked Tom Lehrer’s Wikipedia article. As of November 12, its most recent update, he was not dead.
drunken hausfrau
Lehrer’s not dead… and maybe he will come out of retirement to pen a ditty or two for the cause. We can hope!
We need more protest music and art — some really good posters and Tshirts. Seriously.
Anne Laurie
@Karen: Okay, I changed the Lehrer reference… and I second your hope that Kent State will remain a purely historical reference!
Warren Terra
Tom Lehrer indeed is not dead, just retired from musical comedy; he claimed he retired because as a satirist he could never top the Peace Prize given to Kissinger. It’s kind of amazing he’s never been tempted out of retirement – even if only for the money.
For a modern musical satirist who can pull off a near-perfect Tom Lehrer (with his own, modern songs, of course, and British), see James Sherwood, for example his recent Silvio Berlusconi song.
Amir Khalid
@Warren Terra:
Per Wikipedia:
Wikipedia goes on to say, basically, that Lehrer quit doing musical comedy because he just didn’t feel like doing it anymore.
SiubhanDuinne
Wow. What a tongue-bath for Ayn Rand just now on NPR.
Up tomorrow: F. A. Hayek.
Holy shit.
SiubhanDuinne
Okay, NPR really is getting worse by the day. They just referred to “Canadian President Stephen Harper.” I know this is minor in the great scheme of things, but that’s just sloppy.
I’m turning off Morning Edition in favor of Morning Joe. Shows you how desperate I am.
sharl
Apparently it’s Wingnut Economists Week on NPR’s Morning Edition. This morning it was Ayn Rand; tomorrow it will be Friedrich Hayek.
In this morning’s piece, it was clips from a 1959 interview of this troubling (and likely troubled) person – conducted by Mike Wallace in the days before 60 Minutes – with approving quotes from current leaders of our Insane Clown GOPosse. Kinda disappointed to not hear opposing views, but perhaps that was not necessary, given the nature of this piece.* Woulda been fun to hear mention of the fact she went on the Social Security dole in her final years, though, just to annoy those in the 1% Fan Club [it certainly provided a lot of fodder for chatter in the Discussion section of her Wikipedia entry.]
*I hope NPR isn’t doing this in expectation of getting contributions from Ayntards during Pledge Week. Those folks won’t contribute to moochers, especially quasi-government moochers; they’re the worst.
Edit: I see I was beat to the punch…
Samara Morgan
niiice.
the upper tail is starting to get the signal.
@SiubhanDuinne: Coming soon. More desperate attempts to popularize Rand, Hayek, Burke, Oakeshott, (insert random Dead White Male and/or randian hermaphrodite here) in the face of the Epic Fail of “freed” market economics.
BruceFromOhio
@SiubhanDuinne: ABout a year ago, I had the misfortune to be subjected to Cokie Roberts political analysis on Monday morning, and Megan McArdle on Marketplace on Friday evening. This being emblematic of all that lay between these two events, I have ceased treating NPR as a reliable source of information.
Kobekid
musician friend here in Japan passed along this e mail…
Tyro
I have a certain personal dislike of David Brin for various reasons, but his takedown of Frank Miller was epic.
SiubhanDuinne
@sharl:
Yes, exactly. Apart from an obligatory mention that her “philosophy” was not well received at first, and was antithetical to the Eisenhower-era, Leave It to Beaver assumed values of the late 1950s, there wasn’t a single mention of the inherent flaws, internal contradictions, and fundamental immorality of Randism.
SiubhanDuinne
@BruceFromOhio:
I’ve known for a long time that NPR was a long way from perfect (Cokie and Marketplace definitely being two of the reasons), but I persuaded myself that they were still much better than any other mainstream news source. But even if that’s still true, it’s no longer good enough. So sad and unnecessary.
JPL
@Kobekid: When I clicked on Google News earlier, the headline was that Obama broke with tradition by not wearing a Hawaiian shirt. Clinton started the tradition and Obama chose stodgy Presidential wear.
Thanks for the information.
SiubhanDuinne
@JPL:
Our long international nightmare of the “silly shirt photo” is over.
JPL
@SiubhanDuinne: Since the rethugs didn’t get their photo-op, they will resort to criticizing him for not adhering to custom.
Joseph Nobles
I’ll confess: I thought 300 was meant ironically as a tongue-in-cheek presentation of propanganda, sort of like Starship Troopers. To realize Miller was serious – I’m just aghast.
WereBear
@JPL: What, after all, is “conservatism” if not the revering of what has been done in the past, no matter how stupid?
SiubhanDuinne
@JPL:
Surely they wouldn’t criticize the President of the United States for such a silly, petty reason. These are serious people, haven’t you heard?
JPL
GMA is now talking about Cain’s wife saying it doesn’t sound true because he respects women. Hahaha, I wonder what Princess Nancy thinks about that.
WereBear
Ya know, if the 1% really want to “take care” of the OWS protesters, they could…
Give them all good jobs!
I know, I know. I amuse myself.
Hawes
A student of mine wrote an interesting piece on OWS.
I offer the thoughts of a 17 year old:
http://zombieland-nowbrainfree.blogspot.com/2011/11/young-people-these-days.html
Samara Morgan
@JPL: did you see the CNN clip? Intelligent bespectacled black wife visually juxtaposed with two flashy blonde white women.
hahahah
wilfred
Anyone live blogging what’s happening right now in Oakland? Press TV says cops are massing.
Someone rhymed ‘gnaw’ with ‘withdraw’? Who says poetry is dead?
handsmile
@wilfred: (#28)
Here are two sources for reliable and comprehensive information, often live-streamed, about the “Occupy” movement. (At this moment, both are reporting on the Oakland situation.)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/nov/14/occupy-oakland-police-action-live
http://www.thenation.com/blog/164574/occupyusa-blog-monday-nov-14-frequent-updates
Greg Mitchell, now of The Nation, has been compiling daily updates on the Occupy protests nation-wide since shortly after they began in New York City. And of course, the Guardian is the only indispensable English-language news organization; its commitment to coverage of the Occupy movement both in the US and England has been exemplary.
With such sources readily available and with both providing much wider and better-sourced reporting, I am puzzled that the gossipy “Daily Intelligencer” column of the disreputable New York Magazine is so frequently cited on this blog for updates on the Occupy movement.
shano
Just as Neo conservatism failed, we have to admit that Neo Liberalism has failed. Spectacularly and thoroughly.
No Justice, no peace.
This musician also has an incredible cover of a Zepplin tune on his Utube account. He was voted the 3rd best guitarist in America.
Dee Loralei
Thanks for this Anne Laurie. I was really taken by the song and how he went about singing it at APEC. That took all sorts of balls.
You can d/l it for free at MakanaMusic.com
Karen
I’ve heard the term “Neo Liberalism” mentioned here several times. What exactly is that and can you give me examples of which people are Neo Liberals?
(another) Josh
Karen, afaik, neoliberalism has to do with global enforcement of “laissez-faire” economics: privatize everything, by force if need be, eliminate obstacles like unions and gov’t regulations, and the pretend you’re living in a great meritocracy. “Liberal” is used not in the sense of “center-left politics” but in the sense of classical liberalism from the 18th century. David Harvey’s book on the subject is awesome. Tom Friedman would be the major advocate of neoliberalism in the press. In gov’t, there’s been a lot of ’em, from Margaret Thatcher to (much of the time) Larry Summers.
shano
The Clintons first put Neo Liberalism to work with NAFTA, CAFTA etc. It means capital, (money) is free to cross any and all borders—while labor is held captive geographically. it is the source of most of our economic problems.
I hope everyone remembers the election debates between Hillary and Obama who both, emphatically, stated they would re-negotiate NAFTA to include living wages and environmental protections. When have they ever brought this up since? What we saw instead was three more ‘free trade’ deals with S. Korea, Columbia and Panama. This is one of the major factors of our terrible unemployment rates, which may end up being the ‘new normal’.
We keep asking for ‘Fair Trade’ and what we get is more corporate protections for them to shift jobs out of the country and legal exploitation of workers (slave labor, right on our borders, too!) and the degradation of the environment all over the world. It is disgusting.
Another way they privatize the profits and socialize the losses.
Nutella
@Karen:
Neo-liberalism is what Europeans call neo-conservatism. Or the Europeans would say that neo-conservatism is a funny American name for neo-liberalism.
Amir Khalid
@Karen:
Aren’t Neo liberals the kind that can dodge bullets?
(I’m sorry. That was my dumbjokitis acting up.)
AA+ Bonds
it’s a little LOL to me that Mankiw is a hardcore Keynesian and yet the facts are to the left of him, while his own party considers him a Communist just a couple years or so after Bush
AA+ Bonds
@(another) Josh:
This can be applied as a general rule.
El Cid
@(another) Josh: Thank you. One of the 3 great and common late 19th century uses of the terms “liberal” / “conservative” worldwide — governmental involvement in trade and industry; formalization of church power in government; and social mores regarding any changing of authoritarian cultural traditions.
That’s why you see so many “Liberal” parties throughout Latin America which are, in fact, quite conservative.