Pro-tax Occupation Protests Held Across U.S. (O.W.S. Thread)

[Pearl]

We are the 1 percent

[Inner El Guapo]

Thought I should add a little something about Article V Conventions.
This is from the FAQ found here:
FOAVC� Frequently� Asked� Questions� Page

Constitutional scholars agree that an Article V Convention is limited strictly and exclusively to proposing amendments to the Constitution, which must then be ratified by three-fourths of the states before taking effect. The Convention itself possesses no legislative or taxing authority; it can only debate, formulate and propose amendments.

An Article V Convention is simply an alternative method of amendment provided by the Framers of our Constitution enabling the citizens of the United States to advance proposals for amendments to the Constitution without national governmental approval or oversight and nothing more. Article V was never intended nor does it authorize the formation of a new Constitution; rather, it serves to modernize and clarify the existing document as do the existing 27 Amendments.

I believe you need 38 States to call for the convention itself.
If Congress feels that momentum is building for a certain amendment (such as an anti-lobbyist amendment) they would then likely just do it themselves and stop the convention before it took full form.

This could be a legit answer. Any thoughts?

[Steved1998]

Originally Posted by Headache in a Suitcase

again... please. anyone who wants to... go there. i've been there three times now.

let me just also state, for the record, that i'm not a republican... i believe in a lot of things that the logical side of this OWS thing have come out in support of. i'm in favor of tearing down both political parties, and that our financial system, and society as a whole, is in need of a radical change.

but just like tea party rallies inevitably get over-run by a bunch of clueless, racist, redneck trailer park trash who don't really know what they're supporting anyways... zuccotti park is filled with a bunch of 18-22 year old white kids who don't even have a clue as to why they're actually there. the place is the definition of freak show.

hey... the 60's were known for political activism and the civil rights movement... but we all know full well that the majority of the people at woodstock were there to get high and have freaky hippy sex.

so my problem with occupy wall street is that it is building up a huge DAILY cost in police protection to babysit a bunch of college kids, and that cost will eventually be passed on to the average taxpayer like myself.

i would be all in favor of this turning into an organized political movement that can actually achieve some sort of change. i am not in favor of wasting taxpayer money babysitting a group that's at least 75% there for the experience and nothing more.

18-22 year old college kids are there because it affects them. They want a chance at a better future. They want the opportunities their parents were given. They want a chance at their piece of the American dream. They're the ones who are going to be graduating into one of the worst job markets in generations, so keep trivializing this from your upper West Side apartment. It shows everyone where your sympathies lie.

[PhilsFan]

I'm 20 and I think you're both wrong.

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Originally Posted by Steved1998

18-22 year old college kids are there because it affects them. They want a chance at a better future. They want the opportunities their parents were given. They want a chance at their piece of the American dream. They're the ones who are going to be graduating into one of the worst job markets in generations, so keep trivializing this from your upper West Side apartment. It shows everyone where your sympathies lie.

Okay.. really? I commute 2 hours to and from work every day, where I am vastly underpaid, but can do nothing about it cause there aren't any jobs. I have three additional part time gigs that i need just to make ends meet. Got that? Three.

My finance and I, who live on the east side mind you, live in an incredibly small apartment. The person downstairs from us has the same apartment that is too small for us, only she's a single mom with three kids living with her.

Where my sympathies lie? I think it's you who have shown your true colors, not I.

I'm not trivializing 18-22 year olds. My finance and I are both still paying back our college loans, and will be for years to come, which is what will prevent us from owning a house any time soon.

I understand FULL well what is going on out there. I live in an apartment building that is full of the last of the dying middle class. Everyday I wake up at 5am to head to work, and pass by townhouses owned by Madonna and Mike Bloomberg on my way to the subway. I know a thing or two about the difference in wealth in this country. I see it from my porch. I live in a neighborhood where people who make 30,000-40,000 are a mere block or two away from those who make millions. My neighbor across the hall is a janitor. Al Roker lives down the street.

don't you dare lecture me with your bullshit about "trivializing" this movement. Have you been there? Have you gone?

The only thing that is trivializing this movement is the people who are down there abusing a legitimate protest and call for social change as an excuse to get fucking stoned.

Do yourself a favor... think before you post.

[maycocksean]

Originally Posted by Pearl

We are the 1 percent

Wow, that's beautiful. I wish there were more of that spirit in the world.

[Canadiens1131]

boom

[2861U2]

Originally Posted by Steved1998

18-22 year old college kids are there because it affects them. They want a chance at a better future. They want the opportunities their parents were given. They want a chance at their piece of the American dream. They're the ones who are going to be graduating into one of the worst job markets in generations, so keep trivializing this from your upper West Side apartment. It shows everyone where your sympathies lie.

Can you tell me why none of these kids are on campus protesting the insanely high cost of tuition, considering a college education is perhaps the largest factor in upward mobility and economic prosperity? I could relate to that a hell of a lot more than I can the myriad of unrelated demands coming from OWS, which range from "cut 80% of the military" to "get rid of capitalism and install communism" to "9/11 was an inside job."

[Canadiens1131]

Originally Posted by 2861U2

Can you tell me why none of these kids are on campus protesting the insanely high cost of tuition, considering a college education is perhaps the largest factor in upward mobility and economic prosperity? I could relate to that a hell of a lot more than I can the myriad of unrelated demands coming from OWS, which range from "cut 80% of the military" to "get rid of capitalism and install communism" to "9/11 was an inside job."

You pulled those two out of your ass.

[PhilsFan]

Originally Posted by 2861U2

Can you tell me why none of these kids are on campus protesting the insanely high cost of tuition, considering a college education is perhaps the largest factor in upward mobility and economic prosperity? I could relate to that a hell of a lot more than I can the myriad of unrelated demands coming from OWS, which range from "cut 80% of the military" to "get rid of capitalism and install communism" to "9/11 was an inside job."

Because my college has high tuition only because the government cut our funding. Penn State gets way less support from government than comparable Big Ten schools, and that is why our tuition is much higher than theirs. And they cut our funding in order to balance the budget while avoiding ANY taxation on natural gas drilling, because natural gas heavily donated to GOP campaigns in the state of Pennsylvania, so...

Yeah, Big Business is why my tuition is so high. Hence, Occupy Wall Street.

[PhilsFan]

Originally Posted by Canadiens1131

You pulled those two out of your ass.

And this.

[2861U2]

Originally Posted by Canadiens1131

You pulled those two out of your ass.

Watch On-Demand Video Highlights and Episodes | GBTV.com

1:46- "I'm against capitalism."
2:30 (same guy)- "I would replace it with communism."

And here's the truther:

9/11 Truther at Occupy Wall Street Protest Says Capitalism is a "Pathology" - YouTube

It's okay. I accept.

[Canadiens1131]

Eugh

Pass me a billy club

[Vlad n U 2]

Originally Posted by 2861U2

Watch On-Demand Video Highlights and Episodes | GBTV.com

1:46- "I'm against capitalism."
2:30 (same guy)- "I would replace it with communism."

And here's the truther:

It's okay. I accept.

Good on that guy.

[2861U2]

Originally Posted by PhilsFan

Yeah, Big Business is why my tuition is so high. Hence, Occupy Wall Street.

Tuitions are set by the university, end of story.

And you realize that "big business," which you blame, provides tens of millions of dollars in scholarships every year, right? How does that square with your charge?

[PhilsFan]

Originally Posted by 2861U2

Tuitions are set by the university, end of story.

I'm sorry, what is this supposed to mean? That the university should take a loss to keep tuition down because the state that it is associated with as a public university, that requires it to put millions of dollars into state-sponsored research every year has decided to cut back to help its buddies? Your view is stupidly simplistic.

And your scholarship point is completely irrelevant.

[Irvine511]

i can see being angry with the government, and i can see being angry with corporations. i can see a difference of degree in anger towards the two.

but i can't see being angry with one and worshipping the other.

[BVS]

Originally Posted by Irvine511

but i can't see being angry with one and worshipping the other.

Absolutely!

[BVS]

Originally Posted by 2861U2

Tuitions are set by the university, end of story.

Um, not exactly...

But good job pointing out two people and painting them as the voice of the movement Isn't that exactly what you accused everyone of doing to the Tea Party?

[2861U2]

Originally Posted by PhilsFan

Your view is stupidly simplistic.

I could say the same of someone who seems to be blaming the exponentially increasing cost of college for decades now on governors suddenly trying to balance their budgets. You're ignoring the internal failings of the system- increasing administrative costs, underworked and overpaid professors, multimillion-dollar salaries for presidents, the ridiculousness of tenure, the waste that is poured into attracting new students, etc.

Originally Posted by BVS

But good job pointing out two people and painting them as the voice of the movement

Unlike what some in here did to the Tea Party, nowhere in my post did I say they were representative.

Originally Posted by BVS

Isn't that exactly what you accused everyone of doing to the Tea Party?

Please. That's what everyone DID do to the Tea Party. So, in the name of fairness, I think I'm entitled to point out every one of these fleabaggers who advocates communism, claims 9/11 was our doing, spits on a Coast Guard officer, leaves trash behind, blocks traffic, pretends to get run over by an officer, admits to being paid to protest, gets arrested, displays blatant anti-Semitism, calls for violence...

Again, unlike what the left has done, I won't make a call one way or the other about how representative they are. But they're there, and they're damaging whatever half-way coherent message is supposedly being presented.