The visit to Occupy Madison is the last stop on my Midwest tour. Many of the occupations I have visited are in locations of the country that citizens might think do not have cultures of dissent. At every camp, I meet at least ten or more people, who are ensuring their city continues to have an occupation that can act as a launch pad for actions aimed at calling attention to economic and social justice issues in not only the country but also their local community.

The deadline for the Super Committee to complete its recommendations for deficit reduction is Wednesday, November 23. Realistically, they’ve already passed that deadline, because any agreement must go to the Congressional Budget Office for scoring. I guess Monday is the real deadline for that scoring process. So they plan to work through the weekend to try and salvage something. Considering how things have gone in the previous several weeks, I don’t think the last few days will amount to much.

This idea that Occupy was about “disrupting traffic” or, in the case of New York, shutting down Wall Street likely originated from a spokesperson with the New York Police Department. Most of the movement wants to march. It does not want to stop in one location and hold up traffic. It is the police who are unable or unwilling to keep moving the crowd, who create situations where protesters disrupt traffic.

The balance sheet recession – collapsing wealth, underwater homes, student loans – is creating a major part of the crappy economy. Everyone’s waiting for things to get better, and by extension ensuring that nothing will. In this instance, only repairing balance sheets – such as through debt forgiveness – can get the economy on a better path. And then the kids move out of their parent’s house and housing construction starts jumping and we get some relief.

• Why Wall Street doesn’t get it.
• Krugman: failure is good.
• More “historian” fees?
• Raise our taxes, please.
• Caption contest.

Human Yosemite Sam/Elmer Fudd hybrid Glenn Beck still exists in the realm of literal viral videos, and in his ever stupid proclamations of history he has burped up a real doozie.

The Decemberists with Gillian Welch — Down By The Water.

Jonathan Gruber, the economist who was a paid top adviser to the Obama administration on health care reform but didn’t disclosed the fact in media interviews at the time, continues his tradition of defending the Affordable Care Act with his special brand of half truths, distortions, extreme hyperbole and logically incoherent statements.

Amazingly enough, allowing the Occupiers some space to make their point, and not ordering up cop-inflicted violence against them, results in not only peaceful coexistence, but far less overtime for law enforcement personnel — which results in saving money!

“Black Monday,” September 19, 1977, was the day 34 years ago when the shuttering of the Youngstown Sheet and Tube steel mill threw 5,000 steelworkers onto the streets of their decaying Midwestern hometown. No local, state or federal programs offered significant help. Steelworkers called training programs “funeral insurance”: they led nowhere since there were no other jobs available. Inspired by a young steelworker, an ecumenical religious coalition put forward a plan for community-worker ownership of the giant mill. The plan captured widespread media attention, the support of numerous Democrats and Republicans (including the conservative governor of the state at the time), and an initial $200 million in loan guarantees from the Carter administration.