DC Trawler

TheDC Morning: Occupy Wall Street? That’s mighty white of you

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1.) Wall Street occupiers not too clear on why Wall Street needs to be occupied — What do they want? TBA! When do they want it? Now! TheDC’s Caroline May reports: “With protesters impeding traffic, shouting slogans, holding signs and generally disrupting financial centers across the country, most notably Wall Street, the logical question is, why? The answer is less obvious than might be expected, as there is no ‘official’ list of demands or leader. Indeed, even big-name supporters of the movement have cited incoherent reasons when trying to spell out what has made these young people eschew their sofas, coffeehouses and showers to take to the streets… On the ‘unofficial, defacto online resource for the Occupy Wall Street protests,’ there is a proposed list of 13 demands, including immediate debt forgiveness for all, free college education, elimination of free trade, a $20 an hour minimum wage, guaranteed ‘living wage’ regardless of income, open borders, $1 trillion government spending on infrastructure, $1 trillion government spending on ecological restoration, a racial and gender equal rights amendment and easier unionization voting procedures… Business Insider has reported on what an n+1 magazine writer discovered during his foray into the protests: That outside of the aforementioned demands, the protesters also want full employment, negative income tax (in which the government actually pays people below a certain income bracket), repeal of the Citizen’s United campaign funding Supreme Court ruling, universal health care centers, a Tobin tax (short-term tax on currency conversions), reinstatement of Glass-Steagall banking regulation, paid sick leave and pay-as-you-go military intervention.” And a pony. And a unicorn. Why are you fascists trying to keep all the unicorns for yourselves? Um, free unicorns are, like, in the Constitution and stuff? Duh!

2.) Occupy Wall Street? That’s mighty white of you — Remember when Glenn Beck had that big rally in DC, and all the MSM could talk about was how pasty and pale the crowd was? Remember the jokes about how the only black people there were the ones onstage? Yeah, hold that thought. TheDC’s Matthew Boyle reports: “Though a few representatives of minority groups have appeared among the Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York City, photos and videos of the left-wing mini-throngs indicate they suffer from a serious lack of diversity. And the protesters themselves told The Daily Caller on Tuesday that they are conscious of the issue, if not the inconsistency it demonstrates. A 40-photo Washington Post slideshow showing hundreds of angry protesters in New York and other cities includes no more than 15 clearly identifiable minority protesters, and just six African-Americans. The rest of the protesters shown are white, and most are male… Even the ‘unofficial’ organizers of the protest events admit this is — or at least appears to be — problematic… One minority activist has appeared to speak to the Wall Street protesters: socialist and Princeton professor Cornel West.” Well, who cares? It’s not like they’re teabaggers. As long as they’re not calling for smaller government and more liberty, a lack of diversity doesn’t mean they’re a bunch of racists. Why, look, they let in a black guy.

3.) Yes We Cain? — Speaking of racists, how about those Republicans, huh? TheDC’s Alex Pappas and Jamie Weinstein report: “Though Herman Cain’s success is regularly dismissed as a passing fad, Republican campaign strategists tell The Daily Caller that a narrow but navigable path to the GOP nomination actually exists for the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO. The most likely scenario is for Texas Gov. Rick Perry to stumble and for Cain to firmly grasp the anti-Romney mantle within the party. ‘A path exists but it lies in the elimination of Governor Perry as a candidate,’ Republican strategist Chris LaCivita told The Daily Caller… Many Republicans, however, express skepticism about how far Cain will go once he faces the scrutiny contenders like Perry, Bachmann and other candidates have endured.” It remains to be seen whether Cain’s family ever leased any property decades ago that had a big rock with a bad word on it, which they painted over immediately. If he’s got a huge bombshell like that in his past…

4.) ‘Not so fast,’ cries furious White House — The Obama administration doesn’t think Fast and Furious is a news story, which is why they’re quite angry about a reporter asking them about it. TheDC’s Jeff Poor reports: “Did the White House try to strong-arm a journalist in the wake of the Justice Department’s Operation Fast and Furious scandal? CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson says government leaders took a very aggressive tack following her revelations earlier this year. On Tuesday’s Laura Ingraham Show, Attkisson said DOJ spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler and White House associate communications director Eric Schultz yelled and screamed at her over the story. ‘The DOJ woman was just yelling at me,’ Attkisson said. ‘The guy from the White House on Friday night literally screamed at me and cussed at me. Eric Schultz — oh, the person screaming was Tracy Schmaler. She was yelling, not screaming. And the person who screamed at me was Eric Schultz at the White House.'” It’s not a story, according to these fine public servants, because WaPo and the NYT don’t think it’s a story. As Ingraham pointed out, this administration isn’t used to being asked tough questions. Reporters are supposed to report what the people in power want them to report. How dare Sharyl Attkisson disrupt the narrative?

5.) Durbin covers his tracks — TheDC’s Neil Munro reports: “Bank of America’s troubled stock took another hit Tuesday as bank industry professionals complained about political grandstanding, following yesterday’s criticism of the bank by top Democrats. The criticism came after the bank levied debit-card users $5 per month to offset the financial losses caused by Congress’ decision to cap the debit-card fees levied on retailers… On Monday, President Barack Obama and Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-ranked Democrat in the Senate, slammed the bank for charging its customers… On Monday,  Durbin gave a speech from the Senate in which he urged, ‘Bank of America customers, vote with your feet. Get the heck out of that bank. Find yourself a bank or credit union that won’t gouge you for $5 a month and still will give you a debit card that you can use every single day,’ Durbin declared Monday. The bank levied the new monthly $5 charge after Durbin led a successful effort to enact legislation that curbed banks’ ability to levy debit-card charges on retailers. Once those curbs came into force, the financially strapped bank shifted the levy from retailers’ prices over to customers’ monthly accounts, prompting the political complaints.” Durbin’s message is clear: Down with the capitalist pigs! Death to the imperialist running dog– Ahem. Er, um, that is to say… God bless America!

6.) Today’s words of wisdom from Alec Baldwin’s Truther, er, Twitter feed — “Let’s face it. Some pro-death penalty types are more analytical, while others are just vengeful murderers themselves.”

VIDEO: Michael Moore slams capitalism some more, gets back in his limo

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