Occupy Wall Street: Disappointed in the Self-Identified "Progressives" I Work With

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Thursday October 06, 2011 · 2:39 PM PDT

2011/10/06 · 14:39

It's been a long time since I have written a diary here, and there's a chance that some of the people I'm calling out here will read this & know who wrote it. I don't care.

Occupy Wall Street has come to Portland.

First, let me say that everyone here - literally everyone - in this small office of 15 people self-identifies as progressive, liberal, or a forward-thinking individual of some kind. This is why their attitudes - the ones who have spoken up - are abhorrent to me, more so than similar observations that might be made by the middle-class conservatives lost in the backlash as it's been defined by Susan Faludi, Thomas Frank and many others.

I thought I'd share these to see if anyone else has heard such remarks by progressives.

AmericanFactotum

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Wednesday January 21, 2009 · 5:47 PM PST

2009/01/21 · 17:47

At least according to the NY Post:

Caroline Kennedy tonight withdrew her name from consideration to replace Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate after learning that Gov. David Paterson wasn't going to choose her....

Very interesting...

AmericanFactotum

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Tuesday July 01, 2008 · 5:43 PM PDT

2008/07/01 · 17:43

If you're looking for (further) proof that Americans are keeping a tighter grip on discretionary income, coffee behemoth Starbucks is shutting down a staggering 600 stores in the United States alone.

The future doesn't look too bright, either:

The Seattle-based premium coffee company also announced Tuesday it expects to open fewer than 200 new company-operated stores in the United States in fiscal 2009.

The company says it will try to place workers from closed stores in remaining Starbucks.

AmericanFactotum

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Monday June 30, 2008 · 11:02 AM PDT

2008/06/30 · 11:02

Call this one a misadventure in framing.

If you're like me, a little piece of you dies every time a Republican or even a self-styled Independent Democrat engages in a framing device such as substituting "Democrat Congress" for the correct "Democratic Congress." The goal of this wordplay is to both emphasize the "rat" in Democrat in the hopes of tarnishing a political party as untrustworthy and, more sinisterly, to try to lessen the usage of the word "democratic" in political discourse.

But sometimes framing has some unexpected results.

AmericanFactotum

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Monday May 19, 2008 · 11:06 AM PDT

2008/05/19 · 11:06

My office is in downtown Portland, a few blocks west and north of the Willamette River waterfront, site of yesterday's massive Obama rally. From walking these streets on a daily basis for several years now, I encounter all variety of working folks and young activists, but mostly the homeless, and sadly, the same homeless people who never seem to find a way out.

For the past few weeks (especially the last week), and also from the vantage point of my office near Powell's City of Books, I've encountered/seen many supporters/volunteers of both Senator Obama and Clinton walking up and down SW 10th Avenue.

I just got back from getting coffee at the Peet's at SW Broadway and Washington, where I had a less-than-pleasant encounter with a Hillary Clinton supporter.

AmericanFactotum

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Friday May 09, 2008 · 3:25 PM PDT

2008/05/09 · 15:25

Now the race for the Democratic nomination is presumably over, assuming that Lanny Davis was just blowing smoke about fighting all the way to Denver, I want to take a deep breath and think a bit philosophically about the fight for the nomination.

Hillary Clinton faces a realization that must sting like no other: she will never realize her greatest ambition. In her mind, the last sixteen years (at least) of her life—enduring her husband's presidency and its most embarrassing moments, two successful Senate campaigns—have been building to this moment, to a long-awaited rendezvous with history as the first woman president.

It was all for naught. She lost. She failed on a huge stage, with an entire nation watching.

And no matter what you think of her, you can't say that Hillary Clinton didn't try her damndest to land the job of Most Powerful Person on Earth.

AmericanFactotum

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Thursday May 08, 2008 · 8:59 AM PDT

2008/05/08 · 08:59

Four Reasons to Doubt the Existence of God or any Benevolent Supreme Being, starring:

Hackers who deliberately tried to cause epileptic seizures and migraine headaches
Mitt Romney
Lisa Mayne, who stole from her Alzheimer's-stricken father
Pro-Mugabe thugs and killers terrorizing Zimbabwe

and one small reason to feel hopeful:

An end to inhumane gassing in Illinois animal shelters

Prepare to test your faith below.

AmericanFactotum

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Wednesday May 07, 2008 · 10:24 AM PDT

2008/05/07 · 10:24

I realize there will be hundreds of diaries written about this subject up until the time that our party's nominee, Barack Obama, selects his running mate for the general election. (Speaking of that, have I mentioned red state governor and Obama supporter Kathleen Sebelius lately?)

I digress. Other than the myriad reasons why Hillary should not win the Veepstakes—high negatives, Clinton-era baggage, the enmity of African-American voters, etc.—my argument against the "dream ticket" can be summed up thusly:

Bill Clinton could be the next Dick Cheney.

AmericanFactotum

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Tuesday May 06, 2008 · 8:25 AM PDT

2008/05/06 · 08:25

Five Reasons to Doubt the Existence of God or any Benevolent Supreme Being, starring:

Our new insect overlords
Painful sores and skin rashes
Hillary Clinton
The Chicago White Sox, and
Mike Erickson, GOP candidate for Congress in OR-05, caught stealing

Prepare to test your faith below.

AmericanFactotum

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Thursday May 01, 2008 · 9:51 AM PDT

2008/05/01 · 09:51

How disgusting is this?

Nobel Peace Prize winner and international symbol of freedom Nelson Mandela is flagged on U.S. terrorist watch lists and needs special permission to visit the USA. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calls the situation "embarrassing," and some members of Congress vow to fix it.

Does anyone really believe this is an accident? It's not just Mandela who's on the list, but all members of the African National Congress (ANC). You know, those wicked terrorists who wanted to end Apartheid.

What have we become? As FairyTale commented, "what we have always been."

AmericanFactotum

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Friday April 25, 2008 · 9:59 AM PDT

2008/04/25 · 09:59

What the hell? Is war coming early?

http://rawstory.com/...

More coming... just posted on Jamie McIntyre's CNN blog a few minutes ago...

Now there's a CBS story about it:

A civilian ship working for the U.S. military fired warning shots at two small boats that approached it in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Navy said Friday.... The Western Venture was in international waters in the central Gulf on Thursday morning when it was approached by two small boats of unknown origin, said Cmdr. Lydia Robertson, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.

AmericanFactotum

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Wednesday April 23, 2008 · 12:58 PM PDT

2008/04/23 · 12:58

From the title you might think I'm writing about Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. If you're one of her supporters, you deserve to feel good about your candidate today, and perhaps you'll even be inclined to throw a few bucks at her to help erase that $10 million in debt.

Actually, though, this is a very serious diary that goes out to the good Democrats of the Tar Heel State. Please heed my words, dear friends. I'm very concerned about you, and what you might do to yourselves on May 6, the day of your state's Democratic primary.

It might not be safe to write about it in a public forum, but consequences be damned! This is a grave issue. Should you to vote a certain way, you might unwittingly terminate your own existence in the eyes of one candidate's campaign.

No, it's even worse. You won't just be dead, you will be... irrelevant.

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Occupy Wall Street: Disappointed in the Self-Identified "Progressives" I Work With

NY-SEN: Kennedy Withdraws to Save Face?

Burned Out on Coffee: Starbucks to Close 600 Stores

The World's Fastest Man is Not Gay, He's Homosexual!

Bitter in Oregon: My Encounter with a Clinton Supporter

The Most Painful Realization of Your Life

Four Reasons: Mitt, Mugabe, Hillaryis44 & More!

Another Argument Against Obama/Clinton

Five Reasons: Blow-Up Dolls, Hillary Clinton and Our Insect Overlords!

Homeland Security: Nelson Mandela is a Terrorist

U.S. Contractors Fire on Iranian Ship: Reports

Irrevelancy is on the March, North Carolina!