Occupied?

We stopped off to see the Occupy KC crew on the way home. I'm frustrated with what I see on this front in many ways, but I'm glad to see them there.

I'm not convinced it qualifies as an occupation, it's more of a party from what I can see.* Which makes it a huge improvement over the Tea Party, another ideological mishmash of folks who mean well, get some things right, and offer almost nothing I can buy as a solution. The Tea Party, though, seems short on partying.

At least these folks know how to have fun camping in the park, and that's something. I know I anger my liberal friends with my cynicism about the 'occupation,' but as with all my Tea Party friends, the likeliest outcome I see is they'll be useful idiots for the powers that be. Your choice: be a tool of the Rupert Murdochs of the world, or carry water for George Soros and Warren Buffet.

Either way, 99% of us are going to get it up the tailpipe.

The labeling of fascism as 'capitalism' by this group is probably one of the biggest problems I have embracing it fully. Nothing resembling free market capitalism has existed in my lifetime, and they do get it right that business and government are in collusion and that this is a shitty way to do things, but calls to 'tax the rich' and 'end corporate greed' don't even show a grasp of the situation.

Which is to say this group reminds me a whole lot of me circa 1991. I'm still a Libertarian, but back then I thought the LP could actually save America. After being exposed to the inner workings of the local party, including running for Jackson County Legislature (I came in third place in a two person race after the Republican, who never campaigned, moved out of the district weeks before the election), I realized that with a few exceptions, Libertarians can't get elected and worse, once elected they can't really get the things they say done.

I still consistently vote Libertarian, there's no reason to cast a vote for the Republican and Democratic marketing machines of the ruling fascist establishment. But I don't kid myself about what that vote accomplishes. Less than Poujadism, and that didn't accomplish a whole lot.

Unlike OccupyKC, the Libertarian Party has a complete, more or less coherent platform, enjoys wide ballot access and still can't organize a one-float parade.

*I'm speaking of the Kansas City edition of this protest. This isn't Oakland.