Think Progress: Texas Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), a libertarian hero, last year said that allowing Social Security to exist is akin to permitting slavery. But during an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe today, Paul admitted to the Huffington Post’s Sam Stein that he collects Social Security checks anyway:
STEIN: A bit of a personal question then, are you on Social Security? Do you get Social Security checks?
PAUL: I do.
STEIN: Well, I mean, is there — you just told younger generations that they should ween themselves off this social contract.
PAUL: That is true.
STEIN: But you haven’t done it yourself…Don’t you think you chould have set a good example for the future generations. You’re not the wealthiest man in congress, I know that, but you have enough means to take care of yourself in retirement…Couldn’t you have set an example?
PAUL: No. I think the programs are so designed, just as I use the post office too, I use government highways, I do that too, I use the banks, the federal reserve system, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t work to remove this in the same way on Social Security.
It’s ‘the system,’ man. So while Paul got his, he’s working to cancel yours.
(via diegueno)
“I for one am increasingly concerned about the growing mobs occupying Wall Street and the other cities across the country… Believe it or not, some in this town have actually condoned the pitting of Americans against Americans.” — Eric Cantor, Teaparty House Leader, Oct. 7, 2011
Because the Teaparty has never, never — no, never evah pitted Americans against Americans! *clutching pearls*
Images from Buzzfeed: What teabaggers signs say vs. what they mean:
Message to Cantor and the Teaparty: There is nothing comparable to the Teaparty’s “pitting of Americans against Americans” in the #OccupyWallStreet movement. Not only do both sides NOT do it, but #99percent actually INCLUDES the dipshits with the signs above.
(via kileyrae)
Occupy Wall Street is getting a shot in the arm, as some of America’s largest unions have announced that they’re now supporting the movement. The gain in momentum comes as off-shoots of the original Manhattan group plan marches and protests around the nation.
…
The group has attracted some mockery, largely for its members’ proclivity for dressing up like zombies. But a new Rasmussen poll finds that the group enjoys a higher approval rating (33 percent) than does Congress (14 percent).Perhaps sensing a groundswell of opinion, several key Democrats have endorsed the group, including former Sen. Russ Feingold and Rep. John Larson, who called it a sign of a coming “American autumn” — a reference to the Arab Spring protests that have reshaped parts of the Middle East.
I’ve seen this quote from Gandhi used in reference to Occupy Wall Street:
“First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.”
However, I think this summary of social change from César Chávez, founder of the United Farm Workers of America, is also apropos to the movement:
“Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours.”
The Chicago Board of Trade Responds to Occupy Chicago
Welcome to a full-blown class war folks.
-Joe
They’re not even pretending anymore. They know that they have the advantage and what’s been given to them for decades.
Why is it easier for you to believe that 150 million people are lazy and stupid than 400 people are greedy and malicious?
(via joetheblogger)
