Randi Rhodes: Heroes & Zeros

It's Friday, ya bastids!

Here’s some good news: doctors say that Scott Olsen, who was seriously injured by police at the protests in Oakland, is responding and completely lucid. Of course, unlike people like the Tea Party protesters, Scott Olsen started out completely lucid.

Wall Street CEO Peter Schiff was down at the protests arguing with demonstrators. He claimed “I am giving the government half of what I earn.” Well then you must be an idiot, because most people in your income bracket are paying next to nothing. But note that Peter said “half of what I earn.” If he’s like most of the 1 percent, most of his income is unearned income anyway—and that barely gets taxed at all. Peter told the protesters “If you raise my taxes maybe I’ll just decide to sell my business and fire 150 people.” Um, Peter, if you sell your business, then those 150 people wouldn’t get fired, they would just be working for somebody else, unless you sell your business to Mitt Romney, in which case he would shut it down and sell the parts. I’ll give Peter Schiff this much—he was extraordinarily civil. But then you pretty much have to be when you’re trying to sell somebody a load of crap.

Pat Robertson is telling his listeners that true Christians should oppose the Occupy Wall Street movement. How does Pat Robertson’s Bible read—“Blessed are the hedge fund managers”? He must be reading parts of the Bible that I’m unfamiliar with, like St. Paul’s Letter to the Hamptons. Robertson warned that this upstart movement “could be used for radicals who want to destroy this nation.” Funny, I think that was exactly the phrase that must have been in the mind of Pontius Pilate when he decided to execute Jesus.

And the GOP-led House of Representatives has announced its calendar for next year, and they have more time off than ever. We have some very serious economic problems—are the Republicans even going to have enough time to make them worse? The House only has three working days scheduled for the entire month of August! I’m starting to see how John Boehner maintains that tan.

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US Marine Sgt. Jay C. Gentile reacts to the attack on his fellow Iraq vet Scott Olsen at Occupy Oakland...