Have you wondered what the end game of the “protests” on Wall Street might be? To gain a little insight into the answer to that question, watch these two videos:


It would be MOST interesting to find out who the attractive young woman in the first video is and what ties she might have with the Democrat National Committee (DNC). Is it not peculiar that her “message” is precisely the same one as the Obama Administration has been repeating for the past 3 years?
The fellow in the second video is no stranger. He’s none other than Van Jones, a past member of both the Communist Party and the Obama Administration. There’s no mention of that on his official bio on the OccupyTheFuture.org website. Instead he’s just described as “an American environmental advocate, civil rights activist, and attorney”.
The aforementioned website is most interesting, all on its own. It’s pretty slick for something created just from a grassroots initiative. A check of its owner reveals nothing as the information is hidden from public scrutiny. Intrepid journalists might want to be asking the folks at OccupyTheFuture.org what their day jobs are! But they won’t, because that might reveal some uncomfortable facts that would get in the way of reelecting Barack Obama.
This is indeed an indication of the Class Warfare promised by Van Jones last month.

With a strict nausea warning in place, take a gander at this diatribe from a Female White Socialist who will be attending the October 15th “Occupy Vancouver” protest … and possible riot. Ms. MacArthur, an SFU political science teacher, is a typical Left Coast urban hypocrite who enjoys all the direct & indirect benefits of electricity, oil, natural gas, and other resources that provide her with a very pampered life but chooses to besmirch everything she benefits from. Not a big surprise, considering she is a disciple and propagandist of the David Suzuki school of “Green is Good, Capitalism is Bad”.
Her totalitarian tendencies are clearly visible through her dripping antipathy towards Canada’s democratic electoral process. Translation: The Conservatives won, which is unacceptable to her narrow little world view.
Open Questions: Should a riot break out at the protest that Ms. MacArthur so vehemently supports, and millions of dollars of damage are once again effected on buildings and businesses, what amount of said damage is she going to pay for? What amount of money should Ms. MacArthur pay to the Downtown Vancouver Business Association to cover the security costs that her & her ilk are forcing upon them?
In a related post, a grammatically challenged “colleague” of MacArthur makes a plea to “all my fellow anarchists, lefties and anti-authoritarians”. In the world of 2011, when ALL of these protesters are demanding the same thing, namely more of everything for nothing, isn’t his list redundant?!
The problem with mindless twits like these two is that they accept only one half of the Benefits / Responsibility equation. The fact that their ilk will never recognize this as long as they live is at the heart of what’s destroying Vancouver very quickly and Canada in a somewhat slower manner.

Mark Steyn analyzes what’s going on with the “Occupy Wall Street” crowd. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Here’s a snippet:

In the old days, the tribunes of the masses demanded an honest wage for honest work. Today, the tribunes of America’s leisured varsity class demand a world that puts “people before profits.” If the specifics of their “program” are somewhat contradictory, the general vibe is consistent: They wish to enjoy an advanced Western lifestyle without earning an advanced Western living. The pampered, elderly children of a fin de civilisation overdeveloped world, they appear to regard life as an unending vacation whose bill never comes due.

Here’s how Russian TV covered the protest yesterday:

Do you think anyone back in Moscow is scratching their head and wondering how America ever won the Cold War?!
Related: If you still think that this protest is just a spontaneous, grassroots event, pull your head out of the sand. It’s very much being coordinated and propelled forward by Obama’s footsoldiers, the leaders of which frequently visit the White House.
Update: The protesters have a huge new supporter! Ooops … reality bites, eh?

Interesting commentary coming out of the National Post, now that Dalton McGuinty has won a third term:

• Rex Murphy
• David Frum
• The NP Editorial Board

What are your macro & micro predictions about what’s going to happen to the Ontario economy in the next few years?

More here

Monsieur Provocateur vs. an Elderly Jewish Man – h/t EBD
Ann Coulter discusses the “protests” – h/t Lucky Lori
Perhaps most enlightening of all is this interview with Lloyd Hart, author of the Occupy Wall Street Demands post. I have little doubt that Mr. Hart deeply believes what he’s saying. The fact that he has NO CLUE into human character provides a valuable teaching moment into what precisely is wrong with the Leftist mindset … and why Leftist public policies almost always end up in abject failure.
Update: The comment from Atlantic Jim is priceless: “Everything you need to know about the Wall Street protests in just one picture. Who takes out $87,000 in student loans to learn how to repair printers that cost $150?”

EBD’s absolutely hilarious post last night was priceless. There’s a whole lot more going on with the so-called grassroots movement than meets the eye.
As might have been suspected, George Soros, SEIU, and Acorn have their dirty hands all over these events. One must feel some empathy for those volunteer protesters who are truly struggling. They’ve been sucked in to a cause that is going nowhere, unless Barack Obama declares America a Marxist state prior to next November’s election.
In Boston, Michael Graham was all over this story. In St. Louis, Dana Loesch was too. Both podcasts are worth a listen, only if to better understand the mindset of those who will be voting for Obama next year. Joseph Stalin called them “useful idiots”. Mark Levin calls them “drones”. They are absolutely impervious to facts and … simple math.

And that’s why I’ve got an old tobacco tin with cash and a ticket to Singapore buried in my backyard;

…Cecilia Reynolds, the dean of education at the University of Saskatchewan, said the college is currently considering making the math education course an elective.

Related, from the Frontier Centre.
h/t LC Bennett

Why S&P Downgraded the US:
U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000
Federal budget: $3,820,000,000,000
New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000
National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
Recent [April] budget cut: $ 38,500,000,000
Let’s remove 8 zeros and pretend it’s a household budget:
Annual family income: $21,700
Money the family spent: $38,200
New debt on the credit card: $16,500
Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710
Budget cuts: $385

A tech entrepreneur named Jason Calacanis has written an interesting piece directed at today’s 20-something hyper-entitlement generation. Well worth a read!
Here’s a snippet:

Many millennials not only don’t want jobs, they simply don’t deserve them. They can’t take even a tiny amount of criticism and they need constant adulation for amazing efforts like, ummmm, showing up for work.
A frequent refrain I hear from these folks is, “I’ve been working here for almost six months and you haven’t recognized the work I’ve put in!” Of course my reaction to this is “Oh, I’m sorry, please tell me what you’ve accomplished.”
That is usually a short conversation which includes that the person came in and worked for the hours in which they were paid to work. In other words, they want the participation trophy. They want credit for coming to work for the hours they’ve been paid. That’s not how it works in my mind, but I decided to relent.

Related: Speaking of the entitlement generation, it turns out that Kai Nagata hasn’t yet found an employer who appreciates him. Reading through his latest blog posting, it’s revealed that he still hates conservatives and is actively doing his part to destroy the Alberta oil industry. But he’s looking for you to pay for his lifestyle. Perhaps he can get the Alberta government to support him?!

Margaret Wente has written a stinging column about Dalton McGuinty and his shameless plan to get reelected. Here’s a sampling:

But never mind the real world. The Liberals are convinced that micro-pandering to crucial market segments is their key to re-election. And so we have, in no particular order, pledges to bring back doctors’ house calls for the elderly, a “healthy snack” program for schoolchildren, a home renovation tax credit to help your dear old mom install a walk-in shower, a whopping postsecondary tuition cut for the middle class, and a vow to reduce childhood obesity rates by 20 per cent. (Good luck with that.) The Premier will even refund your money if the trains don’t run on time.
I haven’t felt so warm and fuzzy since the Easter Bunny came to town. Vote for the Liberals, and there’ll be chocolate eggs for all! Just make sure you don’t overdose on all the saccharine.
What really bothers me isn’t the cynical opportunism of this approach. It’s not even the silly attempts at social engineering. It’s the sheer fatuousness of it all. The Liberals’ only aim is to reassure the public that, if they’re re-elected, nothing bad will happen and nothing much will change.
But it will.

Related: As part of the plan to reelect McGuinty, Warren Kinsella pulls the racist card on Tim Hudak.

And that’s why I’m sharpening my driving skills.
h/t martywd

This comment from SDA regular Stan was too important not to repost. It’s technically about the Vancouver Riot but really is about so much more:
We are endlessly blathered at by the Left about real and imaginary rights, but the concept of responsibilities is never mentioned, especially the basic responsibility for a citizen to not be an asshole.
And while some rights seem terribly important to them the right to not have your store looted and burned down doesn’t get a whole lot of air time. The right to not get beaten by drunken thugs who are destroying your livelihood isn’t big on their song sheet either.
As much as the cops dropped the ball [in Vancouver], if you have to have a cop standing beside you to keep you from beating a shopkeeper, something is wrong.
That said, the way to stop the next riot is to quickly throw a bunch of these rioters in jail for extended stays.
Send a message to those who can’t figure out how to act like human beings.

Tom Sawyer is a mere amateur when compared to the whitewashing abilities of the political elites in British Columbia. At every level in the hierarchical chain, the refrain is the same: “Couldn’t have been stopped. We did nothing wrong.”
There’s a strong sense out here on the Kumbaya Left Coast that few are buying into this nonsense. The Vancouver Sun’s Jeff Lee certainly isn’t.   Neither is Alex Tsakumis. Daniel Fontaine, of City Caucus, isn’t buying any of the spin either.
What’s even more appalling is that it looks to many that few to no one will be prosecuted for what happened on June 15th. Roy Green was all over this during his show on Saturday. You can listen to it here. First you’ll hear him interview BC’s Solicitor General and Interim Attorney General Shirley Bond. She used the phrase “we need to go through the process” so many times that I now anoint her BC’s 2011 Queen of Obfuscation.
Later you’ll hear yours truly and two other Metro Vancouver citizens explain how angry and ashamed we are about what has [not] happened. Finally, you’ll hear some callers phone in, two of which insist that we must have patience.
There are two important dates to look out for later this year:
Nov 19 – If the dreadful Gregor Robertson gets reelected mayor, likely with at least 65% of eligible voters not even bothering to show up at the polls, then we will officially know that Vancouverites just don’t care about their city.
Dec 15 – This will be 6 months since the day of the riots. Things get a whole lot more complicated to prosecute anyone after this date.

I’ve often been critical of David Frum in the past (and rightfully so) but his latest column is absolutely brilliant! He places himself in the role of media consultant for the beleaguered Toronto Municipal Employees and then proceeds to mock them incessantly. It’s beautiful! Here’s a snippet:

Some radicals might even suggest that public money be spent to support the creation of a universal downloadable digital library — by, for example, buying copyrights of out-of-print books and making them available to all for free over the Internet on any computer, tablet, or smart phone.
But those 21st-century approaches do not sustain unionized public-sector jobs! And sustaining unionized public-sector jobs must be priority number one, ahead of all other considerations. If we delivered a service a certain way in 1961, that’s the way it must be delivered in 2011 — only, of course, by a larger workforce, earning higher pay, with superior benefits.

Probably not what our friends in the Poverty Industry have lead you to believe:

To help you combat the insanity that is American politics these days, Mark Steyn comes to the rescue with his priceless wit:

1. King Barack of Decadence sure seems to have problems with optics of late. If memory serves, isn’t Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad an optometrist? Maybe he could help.
2. WGN’s Milt Rosenberg has an extended length interview with Steyn and even gets him to read a few passages from his new book. A most telling quip by Steyn: “What does 24/7 mean to public sector employees in Greece? They work 24 hours per week, 7 months per year.”

A friend of mine in Texas republished some recent financial numbers:
    U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000
    Federal budget: $3,820,000,000,000
    New debt: $1,650,000,000,000
    National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
    Recent budget cut: $38,500,000,000
Most people glaze over such numbers so he then equated it in simpler terms:
    Annual family income: $21,700
    Money the family spent: $38,200
    New debt on the credit card: $16,500
    Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710
    Total budget cuts: $385
Finally, he wrote: “This is an impossible way for a family to survive. Bankruptcy is the only way out. This family is headed for complete failure.”
P.S. Keep in mind that anyone who “dares” suggest that much more should be done to get America’s fiscal house in order: is mentally unstable, wants to destroy their country, is a terrorist, and/or is a right-wing extremist. So says Obama’s foot soldiers in government and in the MSM.

One hopes Publius is right:

The End is Not Nigh
…
A falling off in educational, political and social standards is certainly evident. The Leviathan of the British state is a grave threat to the future of the country. But we’ve been here before too, in the 1930s and 1970s. In those times were was still a British Establishment worthy of the name. Politicians could quote Virgil while making public speeches and be understood [I’m not sure by how many, actually]. Britain emerged once from Hogarthian squalor, it can do so again. There has always been a great deal of ruin in the country, even in the good old days.