Greek Eurozone Crisis Greece has been at a crossroad for months now. Their debt crisis has put the entire continued existence of the European Union and the Euro currency into doubt.This debt was built by the government and the mandatory austerity measures that go along with the very necessary bailout of Greece will affect predominantly the poor and working classes. Now, with it looking very unlikely that the Grecian people would vote for these austerity measures in a referendum, Greek politicians have decided to not put the measures up for referendum – instead deciding to agree to the proposals amongst themselves without the consent of the people. Pretty nice guys, finding a way to balance the budget on the backs of the poor without even have to pretend to get their consent.

Public Opinion Support End of Iraq War Republicans think that they have found a political victory in Obama’s announcement that all troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by early 2012. Looking beyond the fact that this date was set up by former President Bush in the Status of Forces Agreement that he entered into with the Iraqi government, the real reason that the GOP won’t make political hay on this subject is this – the American people are in favor of the withdrawal. 75% of the public is in favor of the move, as well as 77% believing that Obama made the right decision when it comes to Iraq. Now if we can only get him to withdraw from Afghanistan for political reasons…

Uprising in Oakland: Occupy Occupy Oakland has been a powder keg on the West Coast. After instances of police violence, support for the movement has expanded dramatically. A drastic measure was announced to occur on November 2nd, a General Strike supported by some of the local unions. As a result of these actions, the protesters apparently shut down the Port of Oakland (the 4th largest port in the US). There are many details to report on this story, and I haven’t found a better compilation on the subject than Allison Kilkenny’s story on her Uprising blog from In These Times.

The Real Story About Sexual Harassment in the Workplace The Right has been demonizing the accusers of Herman Cain of sexual harassment, even going back to the media’s reaction to the Dominique Strauss-Kahn alleged sexual assault, and their main thesis is this – allegations of sexual misconduct are overstated, unnecessary, and usually false. Think Progress has posted about a recent study that the University of Michigan just completed. The study found that nine in ten women have been subject to sexist language or have been told that they could not do their job properly because of their sex. Moreover, one in ten women will at some point be promised promotion or better treatment if they are ‘sexually cooperative’ with a co-worker or supervisor. This is appalling, and as long as these are the trends, I will always initially give female accusers the benefit of the doubt when it comes to sexual harassment.

WARNING: The Culture of Christian Child Abuse This was a very disturbing post from Amanda Marcotte. The video that goes along with the post is quite disturbing, and I should warn you before you watch. The video was posted by Hillary Adams, daughter of Judge William Adams from Texas. In it, he whips his daughter with a belt with an enthusiasm that should leave everyone disconcerted. Marcotte’s argument is one that ties fundamentalist Christianity’s love of whipping and ‘discipline’ to their desire to stifle the push for equality and progress.

Thanks for reading and staying informed. Keep reading The Progressive Playbook for wonderful progressive commentary and come back tomorrow for another Daily News Drop.

Sources: Washington Post, The Raw Story, In These Times, Think Progress, Pandagon

Why I hate Herman Cain

A Pair of Scandals for Herman Two scandals have arisen that might finally take down the former CEO of Godfather Pizza. First, documents have surfaced that prove that a dummy corporation, Prosperity USA, was created by Cain’s Chief of Staff Mark Block (the smoking guy from Cain’s latest campaign ad) and Deputy Chief of Staff Linda Hansen that funneled money into Cain’s campaign and acted in Cain’s interest. This would be a violation of campaign finance law (I know, I was shocked to hear that we still had any of those after the Supreme Court butchered it with the Citizens United decision). Second, allegations have been made by two women that Cain sexually harassed them while he was head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s. The women were given a financial settlement to leave the association and keep their mouths shut. The combination of these scandals, along with the fact that people are wising up to the fact that his 999 Plan makes no sense at all, might make Herman Cain the latest ‘Not Romney’ candidate to fall by the wayside.

BREAKING: Planned Parenthood’s Committing Genocide According to Herman Cain, anyway. This is the story that inspired my overarching title and hatred. On Face the Nation yesterday, Cain doubled down on his claim that Planned Parenthood’s agenda is one of genocide of the African Americans in this country. He pointed to Planned Parenthood’s history and founder Margaret Sanger as proof of this. Think Progress notes that only one out of ten Planned Parenthood centers are located in predominantly African American neighborhoods, which would mean that their plan isn’t being enacted very well at all… Or maybe Herman Cain doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about.

UPDATE: After looking at some of Margaret Sanger’s quotes, there was some evidence of racism and her involvement in the Eugenics movement. It’s important to note that these words were spoken at the turn of the 20th century, and that one person’s racist tendencies shouldn’t damn what their organization has become after a century. I stand by the fact that Cain is completely wrong in his account. I found a very rational analysis of the situation that you can read here

UNESCO admits Palestine as Full Member As it seems more and more likely that Palestine’s bid for UN Statehood is a non-starter (because of the inevitable US veto if it ever came to that), a shocking development has emerged. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization came out and admitted Palestine as a full member in its organization, in spite of threats by the United States of cutting tens of thousands of dollars in annual funding. Israel and the U.S. call this a tragic moment. Are you kidding me? What harm could be done by this except possibly raising the visibility of the fact that continued occupation and further Israeli settling of Palestinian land is an act of aggression in and of itself.

Bank of America Walks Back Monthly Debit Card Fee Bank of America is the latest big bank to start to back off their plans of charging nearly all customers a $5 monthly fee for the privilege of using a debit card. Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase have already backed off on the tactic. With antagonistic practices and the rise of Occupy Wall Street, perhaps more customers will realize that they don’t need these criminal institutions and will move their money to local credit unions and community banks. That’s what Bank of America is terrified of.

Libyan Rebels Reportedly find Ghaddafi’s Nuclear Weapons Libya’s Transitional Council has announced that they have discovered a cache of nuclear weapons that Ghaddafi had. The world community had been assured that no such weapons existed. In fact, Bush had us in a war with Iraq in 2006 that began under the demonstrably false claim that Saddam Hussein possessed nuclear weapons at the exact time he was welcoming Mummar Ghaddafi back into the fold as an example of a Middle Eastern leader who had willingly stopped trying to develop WMD. Way to go W. UN Inspectors will be in Libya this week to verify the existence of said weapons.

Occupy Wall Street Update A great piece from Allison Kilkenny at In These Times exposes the NYPD’s apparent system of sending addicts to Zuccotti Park and Occupy Wall Street. Harry Siegel, the former editor of the New York Sun, makes this claim in an op-ed in the New York Daily News today. After witnessing multiple instances of NYPD officers almost reciting a script to addicts and mentally ill individuals in other parks in the city. The phrase always used at the end was ‘take it to Zuccotti.’ On a lighter note, there was a very amusing op-ed on Truthout by Dr. Brian Moench, addressed to Rush Limbaugh from the ‘human debris’ (Limbaugh’s hilarious description of OWS protesters). Plus it’s festive because its thesis revolves around Halloween. Check it out!

Thanks for reading and staying informed! I want to wish all of the Occupy protesters the best and all the luck in the world. You are truly fighting the good fight. Keep reading The Progressive Playbook and come back soon for another Daily News Drop!

Sources: Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Think Progress, Feminists for Choice, Al Jazeera English, Firedoglake, The Raw Story, In These Times, Truthout

Police Massacre at Occupy Oakland As Allison Kilkenny reported, this morning at 4:40 the Oakland Police lined up around the Occupy Oakland protest in riot gear. They then assaulted the sleeping protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets, flash grenades and noise cannons. Video of the scene can be found at the post. This is disgusting example of what can happen to popular uprisings like these, but the fact that evidence of the wrongs committed can get out to everyone will be crucial in swaying public opinion and building support for the Occupy movement in general.

The GOP’s War on Reproductive Rights

‘Personhood’ Measures Threaten In Vitro Fertilization Anti abortion advocates have been able to get measures on the ballot that would criminalize a woman’s constitutionally mandated right to an abortion – by defining personhood at the fertilization of an embryo. This would not only outlaw abortion, but also the majority of women’s forms of contraception (including the pill). Also, as Think Progress notes, concerns have arisen that even the process of In Vitro fertilization would be subject to scrutiny due to the strict language of the measure. How is this a serious position? Passing these measures (that are still up for election in several states) would deal a huge blow to a woman’s ability to control her own body in this country.

Judge Blocks N. Carolina Anti-Abortion Law A federal judge has stopped the implementation of a North Carolina law that forced doctors to show women wanting an abortion an ultrasound within four hours of the procedure along with asking if the woman would like to hear the fetus’s heartbeat. These tactics are clear examples of legislating obstacles to scare women away from ever getting an abortion. I thank U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles for deciding this way, and even though this injunction is temporary while she hears arguments, I am optimistic that this law will be found unconstitutional.

Mitt Romney Doesn’t Hate Unions Enough Mitt Romney was in Ohio and gave some support to Ohio’s SB-5, the Ohio bill that stripped public unions of the right to collectively bargain and has been subsequently brought up on referendum because of voter signatures. Romney, being interested in staying electable in the general election, might not want to be seen as anti-worker. This was unacceptable to conservatives in Ohio. This is another example of the GOP being willing to eat their own rather than accept multiple views.

Wow, Herman Cain, Just Wow So, I saw this campaign ad for Herman Cain on Amanda Marcotte’s blog. The person in the ad is Cain’s Chief of Staff. It’s the perfect combination of anger, craziness, hilariously literal music. Watch the video and enjoy!

Thanks for reading and staying informed! I apologize for the infrequency of the posts for these News Drops, but until we get someone in to assist I will post as often as I can. I thank you for your patience. Keep reading The Progressive Playbook and come back for more Daily News Drops.

Sources: In These Times, Think Progress, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Pandagon

Muammar Gaddafi Killed The actual details on the killing is unclear at this point. Some footage has surfaced of Gaddafi being captured alive. More footage was found of Gaddafi’s lifeless body being dragged behind a truck. Regardless of how it happened, what we’re left with is another dead dictator in a Muslim country. Are we safer as a nation because of this? Can we finally leave the Middle East? No. I am glad that it was the Rebels that achieved the final victory in Libya and maybe this means they’ll have some sort of self-determination. But, if Libya’s ideology tilts too much against U.S. imperialism, you can be sure we’ll find new enemies within the country.

Democrats Rev up to Beat Romney A Super PAC that Democratic strategist Paul Begala is running has started their attack on the presumptive GOP nominee, Mitt Romney, and that attack is on Romney’s unwillingness to support the Buffett Rule (which would slightly raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans). They have branded Romney’s opposition a plan in and of itself – The Romney Rule. Refusing to raise taxes on the rich but more than willing to tax the middle class more. David Sirota had a really interesting post on Salon that delved into the phenomenon of politicians openly pitying billionaires while most of America is struggling to survive and feed themselves. My thoughts on the matter is simple; I’m not surprised that Republicans are bending over backwards to protect the wealthiest. I find it sad that Democrats need a Super PAC and their unlimited money to compete in elections. Until we get the money out of politics, our wishes will never fully be listened to in Washington.

Henry Rollins’ View on Occupy America Henry Rollins is one straightforward dude. As someone who’s followed his career since he began leaving music to become a world traveller, storyteller and social commentator, one thing he doesn’t do is mince words. When I saw that he put out a column stating his view on the Occupy movement, I knew that it would have conviction. Rollins sees Occupy as a boulder whose momentum cannot be stopped. Read the article and get the full force of the argument.

Sessions Trying to Cut Food Stamps Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama is attempting to cut the Food Stamp program and make it harder to qualify for it in the first place. Sessions stated that he believed that the program was out of control and much of the increases are because of fraud in applicants – specifically mentioning lottery winners who were still on food stamps (how many lottery winners does Senator Sessions know?). These claims are provably false. Cases of fraud in the program are at a record low, and with one in five Alabamans on food stamps… maybe Sen. Sessions should listen to his constituents in the matter. Another case of the GOP demonizing and punishing the poor while pitying the rich.

FBI Closes in on Expanding Definition of Rape An FBI Panel has given a recommendation for an update and expansion of the definition of rape. Where is the story in this? The current definition only refers to the forcible penetration by a man to a woman against her will. This assumes that if there isn’t any clear physical signs of a struggle (where the victim might be too scared or threatened so there isn’t any fight back), then a rape didn’t occur. Are you kidding me? Also, it assumes that a man cannot be raped and a woman cannot rape another woman. To say that this definition is archaic and antiquated is a bit of an understatement. The language changes will not be instituted until early 2012 at the earliest. Can’t come soon enough.

Thanks for reading and staying informed! Keep reading The Progressive Playbook and come back tomorrow for another Daily News Drop. Also, if you’re interested, I wrote a blog earlier today that made a connection between corporate actions today and Ayn Rand’s crackpot philosophy. I hope you check it out and let me know what you think!

Sources: Al Jazeera English, Talking Points Memo, Salon, LA Weekly, Think Progress, Raw Story

Gov. Cuomo Lines up Against the 99 Percent New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was in New York last night, accepting the Huffington Post/AOL Gamechanger Award. Cuomo, the Democratic governor, has drawn the ire of a powerful group – Occupy Wall Street. Cuomo has decided not to renew a Millionaire’s Tax, that has helped bridge New York’s budget gap. No matter how much the establishment Democratic Party might be on Cuomo’s side, if his policies continue to be in the interest of the top 1% he will be protested against. Author Naomi Wolf was arrested outside the Huffington Awards where she was protesting with 150 Occupy Wall Street-ers. Video of the event can be found at the link.

Hispanics Disapprove of GOP Rhetoric, and GOP Doesn’t Care As anti-illegal immigrant bills have spread throughout several states – notably Arizona and Alabama – through Republican legislatures, GOP strategists have seemingly decided that their electoral strategy for 2012 will include demonizing illegal immigrants. That kind of talk won’t endear Hispanic American voters to the Republican party. Hopefully, blatant racism won’t be an effective electoral strategy in 2012.

Demographics of OWS There was a really interesting academic paper by a Sociology Professor at CUNY that has attempted to show the demographics of the Occupy Wall Street protest. And, unsurprisingly, it isn’t the hippy commune that the media has made it out to be. 70 percent of the occupiers identify as independent, compared to only 27 percent democrat and 3 percent republican. One in three were over 35, along with one in five being over 45. This information, the first of its kind, is really telling about who is upset at the economic and political system – independent voters decide elections, and if more independents start becoming hostile to Wall Street then maybe we might have some true electoral change.

Who’s Hypocritical Now? President Obama denounced Iran for propping up Syria (who is killing their own people) while their economy is hurting. It was just announced that the U.S. has finalized a $53 million weapons deal with Bahrain (who is also killing their own people). Glenn Greenwald, along with myself, sees something a bit hypocritical about our rhetoric compared to our actions.

Cain’s Regressive 999 Plan Ron Paul did have one coherent point at last night’s debate – Herman Cain’s 999 Plan would be incredibly regressive. This means that the tax burden would be substantially placed on the middle class and the poor in America. Matt Yglesias has a couple shocking graphs that encapsulate this point perfectly. Look at them and share with everyone you know.

Thanks for reading and staying informed. Because of a new job, my time has become more limited. I am committed to putting out these News Drops as often as I can until such time that there is someone there to assist me. If anyone would be interested in sharing this responsibility with me, feel free to contact me at markbarry13@gmail.com. Until tomorrow, Keep reading The Progressive Playbook and keep watching for another Daily News Drop!

Sources: Alternet, Raw Story, The New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Salon, Think Progress

Why are the People at OWS so Angry? This seems to be the topic du jour of the mainstream media. What is their message and why are they so angry? As Think Progress notes, the government has seen it fit to arrest over 1,000 Americans for having the gall to protest Wall Street and the kleptocracy that our country has become. In that time, bankers continue to avoid any punishment. Raj Rajaratnam, a banking executive recently sentenced to eleven years in prison for insider trading that profited $3 Billion for his company, has been the lone example of any accountability. What’s shocking is that there aren’t more people in the street.

Occupy Wall Street Protesters are Really Conservative And then you have tone-deaf statements like this… The conservative think tank the American Enterprise Institute put out a statement claiming that the Occupy Wall Street protesters were all really conservative, they just don’t know it. Yes, the main tenants that have been espoused by the General Assembly are: true universal health care, punishing banks accordingly for their recklessness that has resulted in the 2008 economic crisis, and legislation that would turn the tide of climate change? If those are what conservatives want to accomplish, then hell… I think I’m a conservative!

Climate Change Poses Immediate Threat to Health Climate experts met in London to discuss upcoming crises that might be on the horizon in the wake of climate change, and released a chilling report. Without radical reductions in carbon emission, climate change will result in more extreme weather conditions. These will spread infectious diseases more quickly, destroy habitats and cause water and food shortages – which might spur mass migration and conflict. As these events become more and more apparent, it’s infuriating that our political system is both unable and unwilling to undertake the necessary changes to help delay or stop the impending calamity.

Lifting the Curtain on GOP’s War on Unions Mike Huckabee, in a speech in front of an anti-union crowd, dropped the subterfuge and explained the real reason that the GOP is viciously attacking unions. He referred to the union-stripping bills that exist in one form or another in several states as ‘deflating the tires’ of Democrats. He was stumping in Ohio to defeat a repeal of Ohio’s anti-union bill, agreeing with a suggestion to give the wrong election date to those who don’t agree with them, ‘whatever you have to do,’ Huckabee said. Sigh. Well, if you can’t win the debate on the merits… lying is all you can do.

Majority Support for Marijuana Legalization For the first time since polling on the subject began, a majority of Americans are in favor of the legalization of marijuana. 50 percent of Americans were in favor in Gallup’s poll, while 46 were opposed. In this post, a graph tracks previous percentages going back to the seventies. It’s really quite amazing how this issue has evolved. Especially with these huge budget gaps at both a federal and state level, marijuana looks more and more appealing as a new commodity to tax.

Alabama to Criminalize Abortion Yes, this headline seems wrong. Wouldn’t criminalizing abortion violate Roe v. Wade and thus be unconstitutional? Yes, yes it would. It doesn’t appear to be stopping them. Alabama has a ballot measure before voters that would define personhood as the moment of fertilization. This would make abortion and most forms of contraceptive (including the pill) murder. I would say that this has no chance of passing, but I will never underestimate the ability of the majority to vote to strip rights away from the minority. This measure is disgusting and completely illegal. Look at the picture in the post, the sign that the supporters are holding state that they want to stop both abortion and cloning. Yup, at least they’ve got their priorities in order.

Thanks for reading and staying informed! Keep reading The Progressive Playbook and come back tomorrow for another Daily News Drop.

Sources: Salon, Think Progress, The Washington Post, Raw Story, Mother Jones, Fire Dog Lake, MSNBC

The 99 Percent Movement Goes Global Today, planned demonstrations in 951 cities in 82 countries occurred in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street. Needless to say, this little protest that was mocked as dirty hippies has become a force to be reckoned with. Think Progress has a page that has been updating live as news becomes available. Notably, violence has erupted in Rome, as public opinion for the proposed draconian austerity measures has plummeted. While each of these protests will evolve based on the individual conditions, the broader movement is still a noble one – demanding a voice and equity for the 99 percent. For more information, head to 15october.net.

Occupy Wall Street Marches and Occupies Times Square Tonight, protesters gathered from Liberty Park, Washington Square Park and elsewhere and marched on their biggest venue yet – Times Square. Over 5,000 protesters crowded into the square, facing plenty of opposition from the NYPD. A great bunch of images of the protest can be found here. As this protest grows, it remains to be seen how much attention the movement much attain to measure up to the hundreds of millions of dollars that the wealthiest corporations and individuals are more than willing to pony up for political clout. All I know is that is giving them a hell of a scare.

America’s Real Death Panels During the debate for health care reform, the Right invented the concept of death panels – panels that would choose to either deliver care or allow individuals to die – out of whole cloth. There was never a death panel in any version of the health care bill. David Sirota uses this post to show many examples of times when the Government chooses to kill Americans. From the Death Penalty, to ending Food Stamps, to weakening smog regulations. No one can cut through the political rhetoric and make a clear case for rationality than David Sirota. Excellent article.

Thanks for reading and staying informed. I apologize for the brevity of the post… With a very busy schedule, it’s what I need to do to keep putting these out daily. Keep reading The Progressive Playbook and come back tomorrow for another Daily News Drop!

Sources: Think Progress, The New York Times, Global Grind, Salon

Bloomberg Backs Down on Evicting OWS After announcing that he would follow Brookfield Properties’ (the owners of Zuccotti Park) wishes, Mayor Mike Bloomberg backed down on forcibly evicting the protesters at Occupy Wall Street for ‘cleaning purposes.’ The announcement is that the cleaning was not cancelled but postponed… leaving matters unsettled. The real story is how the protesters prepared themselves for the potential conflict. Over 3,000 people showed up and planned to make a human chain. Josh Harkinson from Mother Jones was there all night and posted a story that provides insight on how the occupation spent the night before it all might have been over. Very interesting read. The first link is an article posted by Allison Kilkenny who, I dare say, has done the best job out there of reporting on Occupy Wall Street. She’s been there since the beginning. Also – it’s chart time! Digby posted a chart that’s one of the best visual representation of the wealth gap in this country that I’ve seen.

Occupy Denver Ended Forcibly by Police In a story that is garnering much less media attention, Colorado State Police entered the park that Occupy Denver was occupying and dispersed the crowd in riot gear. It isn’t known right now how many people were arrested, but the rest were physically removed from the encampment. After the crowd was removed, the police broke down about thirty tents and confiscated them, and closed the park indefinitely. This action was obviously done with more force than was necessary. An inquiry should be done, and any overreach should be punished. More importantly, hopefully Occupy Denver will find a new venue to continue their protest. For the latest updates, check Occupy Denver’s site.

Kansas City Bishop Indicted for Failure to Report Abuse Robert Finn, the Catholic Bishop for Kansas City, was just indicted for failure to disclose abuse that was done by a Priest under his supervision. The priest was taking lewd photographs of underage girls. This is the first time in 25 years that a Catholic Bishop has faced charges in an American court. This is a very positive development. There has been a distinct pattern of Catholic churches revolving priests that have allegedly abused children all while avoiding legal repercussions. This is the first time in a long time that the tide is turning. This should be the first of many arrests that shouldn’t stop until all of the pedophiles are purged from the ranks.

Court Temporarily Blocks Parts of Alabama Immigration Law The U.S. 11th Circuit Appeals Court temporarily blocked provisions of the Alabama Immigration Law that is particularly heinous. More specifically, public schools will no longer be mandated to determine the legal status of all students. They also blocked the portion that called for law enforcement officers to charge any immigrant who doesn’t carry their immigration status papers with them. These actions, that have weakened the strongest anti immigration law in the United States, are not permanent… a final decision will not be made for months. Still, these are positive signs that hopefully be the beginning of a trend. Enforcing immigration laws is a Federal responsibility, and all of these state laws that supposedly supersede that authority are unconstitutional.

Tea Party Founder Backs OWS Karl Denninger, one of the founders of the Tea Party Movement, has come out in support of Occupy Wall Street. When the Tea Party came into existence, its motivations were against the clear collusion of big business and big government. Since then, it has been co-opted by the religious right and the Republican Party and has lost that ideological purity. Denninger’s support is intriguing. It could be seen as the beginning of a possible alliance between the Right and the Left against a common enemy – corporate greed that has hurt 99% of America.

Thanks for reading and staying informed! Keep reading The Progressive Playbook and come back tomorrow for another Daily News Drop.

Sources: The Nation, Mother Jones, Digby’s Hullabaloo, Common Dreams, OccupyDenver.org, The New York Times, The Washington Post, RT: Russian Television

Occupy Wall Street 10/11 Taken by Author

Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Daily News Drop. I apologize for the absence of the past two days, I’ve been at Occupy Wall Street and I will blog about my experiences and thoughts on the movement tomorrow. Now that we’ve gotten by that, there is a ton of news to get to today! Including why this might be one of the last photos of the occupation… Let’s get to it.

Occupy Wall Street

Impending Possible Eviction of OWS Yesterday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg (the 13th richest individual in the US) went down to Zuccotti Park to survey the scene. After the visit, it seems his intentions were anything but understanding. He called for the temporary clearing of the park so it can be cleaned by the city. Protesters are legitimately wary because this has been the modus operandi of Bloomberg to end protests – call for clearing for cleaning purposes and never letting anyone back in. OWS made an offer to Bloomberg to voluntarily clean the area thoroughly, which they are doing all night tonight. Already banning the use of any structures (tents), occupiers have had to construct makeshift shelters with sleeping bags and tarps. Bloomberg then changed rules for parks in NYC in a way that now bans sleeping bags, tarps and laying down. Weird how that happens, huh? Now, it looks like there might be a standoff at midnight tonight where the NYPD will try to forcibly evict the occupiers. Click the link to read Sarah Jaffe’s wonderful piece that describes the amazing infrastructure and services that OWS has been able to provide for itself, and everything Bloomberg wants to tear down.

Why ‘They’ Are Intent on Crushing OWS The ‘They’ is of course the one percent super-rich who obviously have the ear of Bloomberg. Allison Kilkenny and David Atkins expose the clear reason for this sudden change from mocking to calls for a shutdown – it is WORKING. Yes, this little protest that drew the mockery of everyone in the mainstream media has perfectly sparked the discontent of the 99 percent of America who this economy has apparently forgotten about. This broad discontent has spread globally, as can be seen by the multitude of solidarity occupations that have sprouted up. Atkins hits the core fear of the rich, that both the OWS and the Tea Party both came into existence as a reaction of the financial sector and TARP – that the rich will gladly accept socialism if it benefits themselves while the try to starve everyone else. If that connection was ever made… then true revolution would be more than just a possibility.

Job Killing Trade Deals Passed with Bipartisan Support Three Free Trade Agreement passed both the House and Senate yesterday: with South Korea, Panama and Colombia. As the Beltway applauds these as good for our economy, it is very important to look at past free trade agreements and how those turned out for our countries. Each time, it is sold to Americans as opening new markets for America to sell its goods to… but each time, the real market opening up is a labor market. Corporations are able to hire workers in foreign countries for pennies and pocket the profits, thus offshoring American jobs. This will continue to happen. Oh, and Colombia holds the record for the most murders of Trade Union activists. Sounds like an awesome partner for companies who have no regard for anything but profit.

GOP Nominee Herman Cain?

Cain Leads New WSJ/NBC Poll This is the second national poll that has put the pizza mogul at the head of the pack. I have no real commentary on this… His economic plan was lifted from Sim City (Sid Meier should get a shout out from Cain), he openly claims that Sharia Law is infesting America… I see no reason why the GOP wouldn’t nominate Cain over Mitt Romney (who, other than possible being an Android, is by far the most electable Republican in the race).

Rush Limbaugh Hates Romney Oh. That’s why. Rush Limbaugh is the one man litmus test for any Republican. Piss him off and you’re persona non grata in the Republican Party. His latest claim? That Romney, while being a nice gentleman (which I also see as a slight insult), is ‘not a conservative.’ Ouch. In the primaries, where the base of the party has the most sway, being called out for a lack of conservatism is pretty much a death sentence. With New Hampshire possibly moving up their primary to December 6th, pushing Iowa’s Caucuses into November, voting might begin in a month. Cain’s lead shouldn’t be taken lightly.

One Last Story that Explains Occupy Wall Street

Hedge Fund Manager Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison Raj Rajaratnam, the head of the Galleon Group hedge fund, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for insider trading. He made off with between $70 and $75 million dollars by gaming the system. Galleon Group was ordered to pay $10 million in fines, but Rajaratnam’s case is the exception that proves the rule. Many, if not everyone, knew that the housing bubble was a house of cards that they gladly stacked higher for short term bonuses. Then, when it collapsed, they threatened to take down the global economy with them if we didn’t bail them out with taxpayer money. That was economic terrorism. If Rajaratnam can be jailed, then any banker could. This is why the top 1% is so intent on crushing the 99 Percent Movement.

Thanks for reading and staying informed! Keep reading The Progressive Playbook and come back tomorrow for another Daily News Drop.

Sources: Alternet, In These Times, Digby’s Hullabaloo, The New York Times, Talking Points Memo, The Huffington Post, Al Jazeera English

This is Why People are Occupying Wall Street Great piece by D-Day at Fire Dog Lake that accumulates several wonderful sources into an infuriating read. First, a video of Alan Grayson, former Congressman from Florida, who speaks rationally about the 99 Percent Movement when Bill Maher and his guests are more than happy to slam the whole group as unwashed hippies. Next, Paul Krugman provides clear insight into why those on Wall Street and the corporate media are so intent on discrediting OWS and the like – their (Wall Street’s) position is so obviously wrong that any discussion on the merits would find them in the wrong. They will do their damnedest to prevent that from ever happening. Finally there’s some economic analysis using a graph that tracks Wall Street Banks’ profits over the past decade. This piece is worth reading if only for that graph.

More Class War: Herman Cain and Domestic Violence Herman Cain, in his 999 Plan, would charge the same tax to everyone on the basis of consumption. Poor people, who have to spend all of their money on things like groceries and other necessities, would pay a tax on all of their income while rich people would not if only because they do not spend all of the money coming in (because they’re rich). Cain sees nothing wrong with taxing poor people more percentage-wise than rich people for food. Really? Also, in what I can only describe as the most disgusting thing that I have seen in quite a while, Topeka, Kansas is considering decriminalizing domestic violence because domestic violence cases are too expensive to prosecute. Are you fucking kidding me? I know that it’s sad that your husband beats the living shit out of you, ma’am… but it’s a recession and taking him to trial would be far too expensive. Good luck! I do not want to live in a country where a situation like this is possible. Do you?

Even Political Veterans are Discouraged by Congressional Gridlock This story falls under the theme of ‘unsurprising political gridlock news.’ Yes, we know that our two parties are far too contentious to get anything done… the point is this. It wasn’t always like this. Parties were able to put minor disagreements aside for the sake of the country to pass legislation that helped America. They didn’t consider what political capital would be achieved for the President if a bill was passed. The level of obstruction that the GOP has undertaken in the past three years is unparalleled. To the point that our government has almost had to default on its creditors. If the parties switch in 2012, do you really think that anything will be different with a President Romney? THAT is why movements like Occupy Wall Street that move beyond right-left political battles are our only chance to fix our country.

UN Finds Routine Abuse in Afghanistan It looks like our military and our private military contractors didn’t do a great job of training those Afghani Security Forces… or maybe they taught them too well. The United Nations has found examples of routine abuse throughout Afghanistan by Afghani soldiers. Even though there is a strict law making torture illegal, it looks like it still has widespread use on an unofficial basis. Does this sound like anyone we know? The examples of the abuse in the NYT article is upsetting, and it is up to the United States and NATO to ask themselves one question – is this country worth trillions of dollars and thousands more lives? It is not a quick fix and we have achieved very little progress in Ten Years of warfare. Perhaps we should pursue other options.

Really, FOX?

Tea Party/OWS Hypocrisy and the Poor Muppet First, Alan Colmes – who I really do like, but I rarely see him because I can’t stand the network he’s on – had a very cogent criticism for Fox News. Why is there a double standard for how the network is covering Occupy Wall Street in relation to how they covered the Tea Party? Aren’t both of them groups of Americans who are disillusioned by the current political and economic system and ‘want their country back?’ Of course he was told that he was dead wrong (That’s Alan Colmes’s role on Fox, the liberal whipping boy), but Media Matters delves into the situation and convinced me that there is really a double standard. Finally, Sesame Street has introduced a new character who is poor. She does go hungry. Some might applaud the addition as more thoroughly informing children of all of the citizens of our country. Some people are poor. Fox News doesn’t think so. I can’t tell if they didn’t want to upset children or that Obama should/already has helped every poor person in America? Watch the clip for yourself… be prepared for a lot of eyerolling.

Thanks for reading and staying informed! Keep reading The Progressive Playbook and coming back for more Daily News Drops.There will not be a post tomorrow because I will be in New York at Occupy Wall Street. Yup, I’m heading for the belly of democracy. Talib Kweli called it the ‘truest America he’s ever seen’ and I will be back to report on the validity of that statement!

Sources: Fire Dog Lake, Think Progress, Talking Points Memo, The New York Times, Media Matters, Crooks and Liars