Time Magazine: #Occupy Wall Street #1 Story Of 2011

The editors of Time Magazine have selected the Occupy Wall Street movement as the top news story of 2011. This was a year that featured a contentious primary race for the Republican nomination for president, a bitter congressional battle over the debt ceiling, and a trial of staggering importance to the nation that found Michael Jackson’s doctor guilty of manslaughter.

Nevertheless, Time managed to make the right choice. The Occupy movement is an unprecedented expression of the First Amendment rights of free speech and the redressing of grievances. This country has never before seen a protest that planted itself in a public square and remained there long after most other rallies would have dissipated and gone home. And this phenomenon replicated itself in hundreds of cities across the nation.

As a result, the public debate over policy and governance flipped 180 degrees from the phony discourse over debt and the size of government, to the far more relevant subject of economic fairness and the abuse of power by the wealthy, the well-connected, and the giant multinational corporations who have no allegiance to America or its citizenry. It shoved the AstroTurf Tea Party out of the headlines and caused the Republican establishment to admit that they are “frightened to death” of Occupy and the 99%.

While Time got the top spot right, there were a couple of glaring omissions in the remainder of their top 10. Somehow they left out the killing of Osama Bin Laden which, after a decade of consuming a major portion of the national consciousness, ought to have earned a spot on this list. It is likewise curious that the News Corp phone hacking scandal was overlooked. That affair resulted in the closure of Britain’s largest circulation newsweekly, 17 arrests (and counting), numerous resignations of top management, Parliamentary hearings that compelled the appearance of Rupert Murdoch and his son James. This was not only a huge news story, it was the biggest news story about the news in decades.

These omissions might have been excusable if the crush of major events simply pushed the stories further down the list. But Time saw fit to include the “Penn State Sex Abuse Scandal,” and “Freak Weather” in the list. Do they really believe that those stories rank higher than the downfalls of the world’s top terrorist and top media propagandist?

[I’ll leave it you to decide which is which]
Rupert MurdochOsama Bin Laden

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14 thoughts on “Time Magazine: #Occupy Wall Street #1 Story Of 2011

  1. “As a result, the public debate over policy and governance flipped 180 degrees from the phony discourse over debt and the size of government” – hey, I’m starting to feel you may be right on these issues – I say let this progressive government keep spending like it is and let’s not worry about those phony issues like debt and size of government – the more it keeps spending, the sooner investestors and other countries will stop buying our bonds and the sooner it all comes crashing down – no need to wait since it’s a phony issue anyway. Let the good times roll – and the biggest laugher from your “phony” issues comment is that no matter how much you take from the rich, it still won’t stop the whole thing from crashing down eventually – I just can’t wait. Thank God for Occupy Wall Street.

    • You are an amnesiac. Who gave us this debt? Who inherited this debt? Who gave us these deficits? Who inherited these defecits? Would we have had to spend so much if ’08 never happened? What SHOULD we have done to stave off the biggest economic disaster in 80 years, if not spend? Is it not obvious that this economy, still being under ideal, WAS INHERITED?? THE SHITTY ECONOMY WAS PASSED DOWN. Would any of the issues you champion be at the top of your list if your party didn’t totally betray your (apparent) core principals? Why are you still republican? Are you still republican? Or will you dodge that and say you’re a libertarian (I call em anarchists)? Do you love this country Steve? Doesn’t sound like it. You get closer and closer to sounding like an apocalypse nut. You’re also gonna have to elaborate on you’re super simplified economic predictions, cause I have no idea what you’re talking about. Merry X-Mas, Sweet cheeks!!!!

      • Here is my “super-simplified” economic predictions as you request – the government budget is what – $3.4 trillion. Our tax revenue is somewhere in the $2 trillion area and could be more if the economy was better. Well – how do we end up spending the full budget – borrow from whoever will lend us the money or raise taxes to make up the diffeerence – which appears to be your solution. If you took EVERY penny from the “rich”, you still could not close the deficit so you borrow the rest. What happens if/when other countries and investors stop buying our treasuries, which may or may not happen – I certainly can’t predict the future – we can’t fund the government in whole. So we’re left with choices – reduce the size of the government so the deficit is more manageable in size (somewhere around 3% of GDP) or reduce it to zero so we don’t need to borrow.
        IF you think depending on borrowing the current deficit amount is ok, then ok – but it won’t and can’t last.
        I know exactly who ran up the debt – republican party presidents and congresses who chose NOT to fund the progressive government as it exists vs. cutting programs as they should have cut or changing them them because they are cowards and are more interested in getting re-elected than doing the right thing or what they believe – there is no revelation there – they are pathetic. Now, we come to the limits of that policy, which is eventual bankruptcy and pain for all. It is only a matter of time – enjoy the ride.
        You make the mistaken assumption that I’m some kind of loyal republican type – they left me a long time ago – like the democrat party has left you and all the other blind leftist followers, they represent only themselves and whatever gives them power. You and i don’t figure in except our votes. I suggest you find better ways to support yourself and stop looking to the government for help all the time.

      • I have a question for you based on one of you comments – “Do you love this country Steve? Doesn’t sound like it.” – do you equate government to country – are they the same to you? Based on most of what I read here – government is the most important thing going here, which is why I ask the question. I’m not suggesting it’s unimportant, but where it falls in importance in my life and in yours is probably very different – no surprise. If I can make an observation – you need government to survive or to get what you need, which is maybe why you and I differ so much on government. You choose to be a dependent on the system.
        By the way – libertarian is very different than the current republican party, so to compare them isn’t really correct. You do know the definition of an anarchist – right? I’ve read the libertarian “party” websites and i don’t think it suggests anything remotely close to supporting “anarchy”. Yes – less government intrusion into everyday life, but government exists in that world too.

  2. Actually, despite the flip description “Freak Weather” I think Time got that one right. They even put the words “climate change” in the first sentence, although they didn’t do a great job describing exactly why this is deserving of being on the top ten list. Joe Romm does better:

    http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/12/07/384524/noaa-us-sets-record-with-a-dozen-billion-dollar-weather-disasters-in-one-year/

    If you happened to be one of those people who lost a home or a loved one to one of the many tornados, or floods, this year, or if you happen to be a farmer who is faced with no water for crops in one of the many drought-stricken areas, this would be the number 1 story. When the grocery store shelves are empty because of food shortages due to climate change, it will be everyone’s #1 story.

    Sad to say.

  3. So, did Time talk about all the rapes at these illegal encampments? What about the fatal heroin overdoses? The vandalism and thefts of area businesses? Overflowing porta-potties? People crapping in the streets? Or all the money that labor unions and Soros front groups poured into this Astro-turf movement? Just wondering.

    • No, Time didn’t talk about that because they didn’t believe that load of lies that ignorant douchebags fall for. Plus, they recognized that the importance of the bigger issues far outweighed that bullshit.

      • Every one of those incidents have taken place.They have all been documented several times in several places. Every one. You’re the one who is spewing lies. Again.

        • So Says an Anonymous poster called Scott.

      • “…importance of the bigger issues far outweigh that bullshit…”

        Go up to the rape victims and try to tell them that what they went through was bullshit. Go ahead. I dare you.

    • Unlike the Tea Party, which literally was an astro-turf Koch-sponsored tiny minority (initially, although I have to say, the useful idiots appear to have gotten out of control) the OWS movement is a genuine grass-roots awakening. People are demonstrating out of their comfort zones for the simple reason that, more and more, they recognize they have nothing left to lose, the corporations control the government, the judiciary, and the media. The unions are supporting the occupiers because they can see the power of the movement, not the other way around. Keep your eye on the west coast today!

      • “…the useful idiots have gotten out of control…”

        Nope. That describes the Occupy protestors.

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