{"id":6018,"date":"2011-12-27T09:17:58","date_gmt":"2011-12-27T17:17:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=6018"},"modified":"2011-12-27T09:17:58","modified_gmt":"2011-12-27T17:17:58","slug":"2011-the-year-in-review-politics-protest-and-the-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=6018","title":{"rendered":"2011, The Year In Review: Politics, Protest, And The Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

A look back at 2011 reveals a year wherein notably consistent themes tied together a seemingly chaotic rabble of events that tested the American experiment in self-governance. The year began inundated in a cacophony of corporate-sponsored Tea Party caterwauling, but ended with a new and more robust voice of the people occupying public spaces in direct defiance to the authority of the financially and politically powerful.<\/p>\n

In an attempt to capsulize some of the broader subjects that defined 2011, I have selected three stories that have had a significant impact on our nation and world.<\/p>\n

POLITICS<\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Debt Wish XI: The GOP\/Tea Party Plan To Tax The Poor<\/a>
\nAmerica\u2019s Republican\/Tea Party contingent, who are defined by their dogmatic devotion to lower taxes as a panacea for everything, have finally found a sector of society that they can comfortably saddle with a higher tax burden: The Poor.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s right. These anti-tax zealots have concluded that fairness cannot be achieved in the country\u2019s tax code as long as there are disadvantaged freeloaders who are allegedly not paying into the system. While they fight tooth and nail to protect wealthy individuals and corporations from contributing even modest amounts to the nation\u2019s recovery, the rightist brigade is marching lock-step in favor of soaking the poor in order to heal the malaise on Wall Street and the misery of long-suffering bankers. Their battle cry goes something like this: \u201cHalf of the Country Doesn\u2019t Pay Any Taxes At All.\u201d<\/strong><\/em> Fox News has been pushing that theme for quite a while. For the past two years they headlined it on Fox Nation right at tax time.
\n

\"Fox<\/center>
\n<\/p>\n

Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

PROTEST<\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

CLASS WAR VICTORY! The Wealthy Have Surrendered, So Who\u2019s Still Fighting?<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cConservatives say if you don\u2019t give the rich more money, they will lose their incentive to invest. As for the poor, they tell us they\u2019ve lost all incentive because we\u2019ve given them too much money.\u201d ~ George Carlin<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The national debate triggered by the Occupy Wall Street protests has given the wealth gap a renewed focus in the public arena. And with good reason. That gap is wider today than it was just prior to the Great Depression; wider, in fact, than it has ever been. The brutality of that economic disparity has thrust our nation into a bitter and persistent recession. But it has also inspired millions of Americans to step forward and demand reforms that not only restore fairness, but readjust the balance of political power.<\/p>\n

Conservatives regard this new activism as a declaration of class war. But it\u2019s important to note that they only call it war when we fight back. The war was already in progress and, as Warren Buffett said, \u201cWe (the rich) are winning.\u201d<\/em> Now a new survey reveals that Buffett is not the only one-percenter that is fighting on our side. The Wall Street Journal<\/a> (ironically) is reporting that…<\/p>\n

\u201cA new survey from Spectrem Group found that 68% of millionaires (those with investments of $1 million or more) support raising taxes on those with $1 million or more in income. Fully 61% of those with net worths of $5 million or more support the tax on million-plus earners.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Shared<\/center>
\n<\/p>\n

Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

THE PRESS<\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Murdochalypse: Ruse Of The World<\/a>
\nIt\u2019s too bad that Rupert Murdoch shut down the News of the World. If there were ever a time that it was needed, it\u2019s now. The NotW\u2019s specialty was sordid, scandalous, misbehavior by important persons and institutions. The fall of the House of Murdoch fits neatly in that mold: A billionaire media baron brought down by flagrant violations of law and morality. Numerous arrests and resignations. Billions of dollars in asset value evaporated. Just imagine how the NotW would have covered this story:<\/p>\n

\"Murdochalypse\"\/<\/center>
\n<\/p>\n

Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

CONCLUSION<\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

This has been a tumultuous year during which many Americans suffered in ways not seen since the 1930’s. It has been a year that revealed the depths of the ethical depravity that a major international news enterprise would sink to in order to get a story and to tighten its grip on power. But most of all it was a year of hope demonstrated by committed Americans who brought the fight for fairness, equality, and an end to corruption, to the streets and parks and civic centers of cities across the nation.<\/p>\n

2012 will likely be dominated by election news. The Republican clown car will roll across the country with Bachmann, Perry, Santorum, Paul, Gingrich, and Romney, as its passengers (and occasional hitchhikers, Palin and Trump). And the media, led by Fox News, will invent scandals and crises with which to batter progressive advocates and values. They are already fomenting fabricated predictions that the President’s reelection campaign will be the nastiest in history. This is from the same folks who, for the past three years, have been bashing Obama as a Kenyan socialist bent on delivering America to its enemies. But the people will have the final say, and by this time next year we’ll know whether the nation has recovered from its temporary Tea Party insanity.<\/p>\n

Happy New Year Everybody!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A look back at 2011 reveals a year wherein notably consistent themes tied together a seemingly chaotic rabble of events that tested the American experiment in self-governance. The year began inundated in a cacophony of corporate-sponsored Tea Party caterwauling, but ended with a new and more robust voice of the people occupying public spaces in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-1z4","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1498,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1498","url_meta":{"origin":6018,"position":0},"title":"The Tea Party Delusion","author":"Mark NC","date":"12\/19\/2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Much has been made this past week about a poll (pdf) by NBC and the Wall Street Journal. It seems that virtually every newsroom in America saw fit to report the astonishing results that showed that the Tea Party movement was viewed more favorably than either the Democrats or Republicans.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1554,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1554","url_meta":{"origin":6018,"position":1},"title":"The G.O.P. Morphs Into The G.O.Tea","author":"Mark NC","date":"2\/7\/2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The National Tea Party Convention is over, but the battle for the soul of the so-called \"movement\" continues. Sarah Palin set the tone at her keynote speech to close the affair: \"The Republican Party would be really smart to start trying to absorb as much of the Tea Party movement\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11916,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=11916","url_meta":{"origin":6018,"position":2},"title":"Republican Party Officially Re-Christened Tea Party: Sarah Palin Named Chair","author":"Mark NC","date":"4\/1\/2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In the past five years since Rick Santelli, a correspondent for CNBC, led a bevy of options traders on an anti-government rant, the Tea Party has gained enormous influence over conservative politics and particularly the Republican Party. Despite their small numbers, Tea Party Republicans have dominated the GOP in Congress\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Graphix"","block_context":{"text":"Graphix","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"Republican Tea Party","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/gop-tea-party-signs.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/gop-tea-party-signs.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/gop-tea-party-signs.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5510,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=5510","url_meta":{"origin":6018,"position":3},"title":"The Difference Between #OccupyWallStreet And The #TeaParty","author":"Mark NC","date":"10\/10\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"As the \"Occupy\" movement continues to grow and expand across the country, some in the media have been trying to make comparisons between it and the Tea Party. In fairness, there are some similarities. Both are comprised of Americans who are angry about unfairness and corruption in politics and business.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3644,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=3644","url_meta":{"origin":6018,"position":4},"title":"CNN’s Tea Party Partner’s Corruption Deepens","author":"Mark NC","date":"1\/15\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Last month CNN announced that they had entered into a partnership with Tea Party Express, an activist organization and political action committee, to co-host a Republican presidential primary debate. 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