Comments about ‘Occupiers are canaries in the mine’

Another insightful column by Florez.

Seeking the American Dream has been the motivational engine for our economy and society as a whole, for generations and generations.

For a large swath of our society the American Dream is under severe economic assault. 60% of Americans saw their income decline over the past 10 years (and I'm not talking about millionaires who my have had to sell that third Porsche.)

If the American Dream becomes a cynical euphemism for America's past greatness, fasten your seat belts.

What would most hard working people do if faced with hardship and obstacles? Would they "camp out" in a citypark and do nothing or would they roll up their sleeves and help others?

If America has come to the point that people simply give up and "camp out" in a city park, then maybe we've reached a point of no return.

No farmer's field was ever plowed when the farmer camped out in a public park.

No buildings were ever built when the workers camped out in a public park.

No bills were ever paid when those owing money turned their backs on their responsibilities and camped out in public parks.

Are we to feel sorry for those who sulk and pout and complain that life is not fair to them?

Just what "Utah Ideals" do those "campers" portray?

If the pioneers had "camped out" in Nauvoo's public park, they would still be "camped" and they would still be waiting to be "rescued".

Heaven helps those who help themselves. "Campers" need not apply.

I agree.

Those who want to stop the protest demand a specific statement or cause, they want something they can have their spin doctors denounce. The reality is there are many, many failures now and a major cause is that our Congress people no longer fear us. If millions can be given to them during a campaign then they can drown out the individual voices. Both parties are in it. How do we break up this monopoly and find honest people to take positions of responsibility?

Thank you for your words of warning.

I hope that we can "awake to our awful situation" before it is too late!

This letter hits the nail right on the head.

If OWS is the canary in the coal mine; the Tea Party must be OSHA

It is a sign of hard times when you see Obamavilles springing up in the public parks of every major city, filled with tent-dwellers who are so destitute they can no longer afford tuition. If these people represent 99% of us, as they claim, then we must conclude that Obama's economic policies are failing for the vast majority of Americans. In fact, it's almost unanimous. This is what our canaries in the coal mine tell us.

Of course, with a combined family income of over $5 million a year, Obama sits squarely within the 1%. He could write out a check today to the U.S. Treasury, but he will not. Probably because of greed.

What I cannot understand it why so many people are angry at Wall street and banks? Who gave them the taxpayers money to bail them out? We should all be angry at the occupant of the White House and congress and protest them! Protesting against Wall Street and bankers (corrupt or not) is like blaming a pencil for spelling errors or a match for arson! A perfect case for misplaced anger!

The real Canary in the Mine are Tea Party members, and they do not want to tear down the country. The Tea Party folks want to respect law and order, work within the system (2010 elections & town hall meetings) decrease government, reduce spending, and most of all restore the Constitution and its values that made America great. Few media folks spoke well of the Tea Party demonstrations, and to this day, do not describe us as sounding a warning voice but rather not as canaries but as dodo birds.

Florez must be given credit where credit is due. He is absolutely relentless in his effort to destroy the capitalist system which made this Country the greatest on Earth. In its place, he would impose the same socialist system that has destroyed the economy of most of Europe.

Florez must be unaware of the fact that drug and alcohol abuse are running rampant in these occupation camps. Worse still,, the occupiers have even begun to sexually assault and cause the death of their own members. Does anyone really think that these sort of people are the ones the public should listen to?

Florez is right about one thing--historic American values are under attack. Whereas Americans once believed in working hard to provide for their own needs, many now believe that the mere fact that they exist entitles them to have everything they want provided by the government, with no effort of their own.

Mountainman:

Protesting Washington has become meaningless. Every politician for as far back as we can look has vilified Wasington vowed to go back and fight to "re-take our country", only to become part of the fabric. The latest examples are Jason Chaffetz securing a "non-earmark" earmark for the Provo airport and getting the "ride of his lifetime" in a F-16. Mike Lee has applied to get a SuperPac that can accept unlimited donations so he can become a kingmaker in DC from the safe fiefdom he comfortable "represents", Utah.

Why would anyone protest Washington and get lost in an enormous sea of meaningless platitudes, empty vows for reform. Be smart and point the finger at the economic root of America's middle class decline - unbounded greed - point out how dramatically the spread between the elite and normal Americans is widening.

I suspect conservatives are upset that the attention is not on Washington, where they assiduously work to eliminate the role of government, and have identified the core culprits, who own Washington.

Counter Intelligence:

The Tea Party is OSHA? Wow, bad analogy, considering how the right is working hard to gut regulations that benefit the public, and workers.

Think about it - using the same logic we hear in defending the "job givers" and protecting them from higher taxes, and the need to slash the EPA, doesn't it make sense to eliminate OSHA, too? If employers didn't have to spend money complying with workplace safety regulations, they could hire more workers...right?

Isnt that essentially the message we're already hearing?

@Counter intelligence and informed voter

the tea party is the lets make sure corporate America and the wealthiest among us can act with absolute impunity towards their fellow man.

@mountainman

As has been pointed out to you before the reason people are going after wall street is it does no good to attack the puppet if you want the horse and pony show to stop you have to stop the puppet masters.

"No farmer's field was ever plowed when the farmer camped out in a public park.

No buildings were ever built when the workers camped out in a public park." etc. etc

But threatned reprisals against bankers foreclosing farmers' property in the midwest during the 1930's got results. The civil rights demonstrations of the 1960's got results. Mike needs to quit looking at the world through a conservative prism.

@ 10CC. I think we will see alot of protests against the White House and congress in the most effective way possible: Nov 2012 elections! Vote the bums out! That will do more good to bring real hope and change than all the OWS protesters ever will!

John Charity Spring:

Do you use the same broad castigation of youth values to explain the elevated unemployment rate of our Veterans? Yeah, those folks don't value hard work and sacrifice either, right?

Just as we have the tragic phenomenon of Veterans who come back from war - but haven't come all the way back - there are many other Americans struggling with the effects of persistent economic decline, which they didn't initiate through any kind of entititlement mentality.

Then we hear that asking the wealthy to contribute more - because their incomes have increased 400% - that the "job givers" may punish everyone by further withholding jobs.

Capitalism in America is under pressure, but the remedy is in the hands of the leaders of capitalism, if they can look beyond their own bottom lines and consider America's interest, too.. John Florez is just a messenger. He's really not very powerful.

That's just the point, Mountainman, you CAN'T vote them out - the corporate money buys out both party's candidates

They can't lose

From my fact checking and research , only two candidates have not taken millions from corporate interests and PACs.
They are Ron Paul and Huntsman.

It is understandable why both of these candidates get very little media coverage.

While I support the wall street protesters I thought there would of been more organization by now and a clear consensus on what they want to happen and how to do it.

Camping out in parks isn't going to do anything to change on what is going on.

@Deborah
Buddy Roemer (Gov-LA) is running for president and takes no PAC money.

@shaun_
A lack of organization was present in the tea party. Then it got hijacked by groups and people like the Koch brothers, that gave them organization... and eliminated much of the grassroots aspect of it. OWS is still fairly free from special interest hijacking which is why it's disorganized. I imagine that it too will be taken over by special interests and will be more organized... but less grassroots, at that point.

@mountainman

"vote the bums out" has worked so well in the past right? maybe you need to stop worrying about the puppets.