August 15, 2011

"Tent cities are springing up all over Wisconsin."

"A social protest movement is gathering momentum. At some point in the near future, it may endanger the right-wing government."

Actually, I changed a word in that quote. It's not Wisconsin. It's Israel.

33 comments:

Tank said...

LOL.

Good one.

I think, in addition to the obvious problems, Israel also has the Socialism problem.

Irene said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
chickelit said...

Yes but Israel is a desert, so tents make sense.

Most of the Wisconsin civil rights reenactors would freeze their butts off in a tent. Except for Garage Mahal--he's tested his mettle in in ice fishing shanties. Garage is a natural leader for the "movement."

traditionalguy said...

Has Sukkot started early?

Today's Israelis are more observant than I thought.

But Wisconsin can do anything they can do. Bring out the booze, I mean Booths.

Scott M said...

What we consider modern left-wing social movements only exist with a buffer security (provided by others) and relative affluence. In the face actual danger and actual security threats, these "movements" aren't much more than the first two little pigs.

hoop said...

I assume that tenting in the rotunda is illegal. At least, for your sake, I hope so. I have no doubt that a few people think that a tent city protest is a great idea and are now trying to figure out how to do one.

Clyde said...

The rent is too meshuggeh high!

With all due respect, the people in the Israeli "peace movement" are idiots. They are surrounded by other countries whose sworn ambition is to drive them into the sea. When the lion and the lamb lay down together, it's just an easy meal for the lion.

And haven't the Israelis been watching what's been happening in Europe and the U.S. Among their slogans are "We want a welfare state!" Well, who is going to PAY for it? The economic catastrophe unfolding in slow motion across the Euro zone is because of too many slackers living in welfare states and retiring at 50 and thinking, "The Germans will pay for it!" Sooner or later, though, the government runs out of other people's money.

roesch-voltaire said...

I was wondering when you were going to point out what has been going on for weeks: the middle class is protesting the high cost of living and the huge wage gap between the very rich and the rest-- so yes this could be Wisconsin?

traditionalguy said...

Roeschie...The Very Rich are fair game. Lets kill them and take their stuff.

Opps, Not enough to pay a month's re-distribution bill.

So let's get the Rich along with the Very Rich.

Oops, still not enough.

So let's get the IRAs and savings that the Middle class really doesn't need since it has Obama to protect them.

Oops, still not enough.

But at least the envy party will have killed off the Capitalists and all private capital ownership.

Karl Marx will cheer from Hell as we all starve to death waiting on Obama's Christmas myth which never seems to come.

Scott M said...

Channeling Carol H this morning, Trad?

ricpic said...

The article appears in *Tikkun, so of course the writer hints that the Israeli government will divert attention from economic hardship by starting "a nice little war." Why read beyond that point?


*Tikkun's equivalent here would be The Nation or Dissent.

Lincolntf said...

We could take every penny that the "very rich" have earned and accumulated over theiir lifetimes, dump it straight into the Treasury, and that would pay for about a week of the grotesquely overfunded Federal government while not doing squat about the underlying debt catastrophe. Arithmetically illiterate, chump-ass class warfare rhetoric is so 2007, R-V. Save it for Kos.

holdfast said...

And unlike in Wisconsin, you can camp pretty much year-round in Israel.

holdfast said...

Ironically, as the US welfare state devours the US Federal Budget, there will be less money for defense and defense aid, and so Israel is going to have to devote an even larger portion of their national wealth to defense.

roesch-voltaire said...

Maybe Lincoln you should read more articles on the topic to discover that describing the economic reality is not class warfare. Here is a sample of what folks in Israel think:"There is a general feeling that 18 tycoons control everything, including the politicians. (Politicians who dared to show up in the tent cities were chased away.) They could have quoted an American saying: Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner."

chickelit said...

R-V. wrote: Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.

OK Roesch, I think you set that up, but the punchine is:

"Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."

traditionalguy said...

Scott M...Did it show?

Today's news evokes the make a joke and laugh, or cry, response.

I will try to be more serious.

Did you see the Progressive Krugman suggest what we need now is an alien invasion from outer space so that everyone would quit gripping and throw in all their money and labor to win the war.

What can you do but laugh about that? The long trek creating the "CO2 is dirty poison" hoax is ending poorly for them, so Krugman feels unappreciated.

The USA is being used as a pawn in a global cartoon that makes the take of The Onion News Network seem totally relevant on most issues.

Phil 314 said...

Tent cities as a method protest in the Middle East;

sure beats suicide bombings.

Lincolntf said...

"There is a general feeling that 18 tycoons control everything, including the politicians. (Politicians who dared to show up in the tent cities were chased away"

So a mythical economic cabal is believed to exist by people who refuse to even listen to the politicians who show up to talk to them, and that justifies the asinine "eat the rich" canard that is the fallback of every frustrated Socialist the world over? Boring.

chickelit said...

Did you see the Progressive Krugman suggest what we need now is an alien invasion from outer space so that everyone would quit gripping and throw in all their money and labor to win the war.

This would complete their whole Great Depression/WW II/FDR/New Deal reenactment fantasy.

chickelit said...

Did you see the Progressive Krugman suggest what we need now is an alien invasion from outer space so that everyone would quit gripping and throw in all their money and labor to win the war.

I'll bet Krugman and Bernanke fight over who gets to role play Keynes.

Aridog said...

ScottM ... has it right about the modern left, its relative affluence, and its dependence upon buffers provided by others. As true in Israel as anywhere else.

Another view: Israeli social protest and the politicization of same as seen by an Israeli of my acquaintance.

edutcher said...

You can tell these people aren't afraid of terrorists.

That nasty old defense budget.

I love this one from the article, "Justice, not charity!", Any time a Lefty talks about justice, he wants charity.

Joseph of FP said...

Economic growth is always a national security issue, but when surrounded by enemies that seek your complete annihilation, economy growth is vital for survival. I fear a return to more socialist policies will critically injure the Israeli economy at a time when their friends around the world will be hard pressed to provide aid if needed.

Unknown said...

The Homeless as Hero meme has invaded Israel? I thought they were tougher than that.

Anonymous said...

Inflation is a problem there.

Olive oil is more expensive in Israel then it is in Michigan.

I'd pull out a tent too.

roesch-voltaire said...

Airdog, thanks for the link to Anne's Opinion blog; I was fascinated by the dialog between Anne and Ari-Ben-Ami which lays out the two, or three different views on this issue with a respect and lack of name calling found on so many blogs.
And I admit I side more with Ari-Ben-Ami in my views, but will add Anne to my regular reads because of the links she provides and the dialog amongst her readers that follow.

Ben David said...

Here's a nice dose of sanity from The Rest of Us in Israel - the normal folks who've been trying to vote sane people in since Oslo first exploded in our faces:

http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2011/08/leftist-farce-plays-in-tel-aviv.html

jim said...

The crowds in Israel are terrified to touch the topic of settlements or a Two State Solution just like the ones in Wisconsin are unlikely to begin protesting Obama's horrendous assault on whistleblowers or his perpetually ignoring Guantanamo.

Only a fool or a lunatic would want to walk on their Achilles' Heel.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Aridog for linking my blog articles. I would say that ricpic is correct, that the articles in the post are from Tikkun magazine, about as extreme left as you are going to find on anything to do with Israel.

For a more accurate assessment of what is happening today regarding the protests, you might find it useful to read this opinion piece from the Jerusalem Post. Read other Israeli papers besides Haaretz, e.g. Ynet or Israel National News, for more balanced opinion.

It appears that Netanyahu, after initially panicking as he is wont to do, has steadied himself and told the protestors that while he is in favour of easing the tax burden on the middle class, he cannot allow Israel's thriving economy to break under the stress of turning back into a welfare state.

Anonymous said...

Oops. My JPost links didn't work. Here they are again:

Opinion piece

We must help middle class while protecting economy

Alex said...

The crowds in Israel are terrified to touch the topic of settlements or a Two State Solution just like the ones in Wisconsin are unlikely to begin protesting Obama's horrendous assault on whistleblowers or his perpetually ignoring Guantanamo.

Why would they broach a subject that is about committing national suicide? Why should Israel be ended as a Jewish state when there are already 22 Arab states.

Alex said...

R-V is in favor of killing the "tycoons" and taking their stuff. After all if they're dead, they won't need it anymore.