In My Humble Opinion #2

     The occupy movement has stirred up much debate. Critics of the “occupy movement” have criticized the protesters of the being misinformed. Although the movement extends beyond party lines, most of the criticism seems to be coming from conservatives. Conservatives have accused the protesters of being ingrates who are envious of the rich.

     I strongly disagree with the conservative mainstream media. The conservative mainstream media, largely comprised of Tea Party activists, has unfairly targeted the occupy protesters since the movement started.

     I think that the Tea Party activists are being very hypocritical. Just last year Tea Party activists were publicly protesting against big government and the increasing national debt. Tea Party activists organized protest all around the country and even occupied the Wisconsin State Capitol building with over 600 protesters for

     Now conservatives are criticizing the occupy movement for disrupting government and local businesses. Like the occupy movement, the Tea Party movement had no central leadership. The two movements have a lot of similarities, yet the conservative media continue criticizing the occupy movement protesters for the same things that they themselves did.

     The Occupy movement protesters are protesting against corporate greed and corruption. The wealthiest people in America have great influence over politics and financial policies. For example in 2010, multinational conglomerate General Electric Company paid no taxes despite making $14.2 billion in worldwide profits, $5 billion in the Unites States alone.

     Federal taxation has become less progressive. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the top one percent of income earners have more than doubled their income over the past thirty years. Since 1979 the average pre-tax income of the top one percent grew by an average of 275 percent, while the bottom 90 percent grew by only 60 percent. Since 1992, the top 400 income earners in the United States have increased their income by an average of 392 percent, while their average tax rate has decreased by thirty-seven percent. This is why the occupy movement protesters, labeling themselves as “the 99%,” are protesting.

     The right to protest is a fundamental right that we as Americans cherish. Freedom of speech and the right to assemble is what makes America great. I do not understand why politicians and the media have so much discontent with the occupy movement. I agree that the occupy movement protesters are misguided and disrupt businesses, but as long as they are protesting peacefully they should have the right to do so.

Word Count 407

Word #10

bungle: verb [ trans. ] – carry out (a task) clumsily or incompetently, leading to failure or an unsatisfactory outcome: Unlike Ron Paul, Rick Perry bungled his response to the correspondents debate question.


Sentence: The Republicans vying to challenge President Obama in next year's election slammed his administration's foreign policy, suggesting he's bungled efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and played politics with a troop drawdown in Afghanistan.


By Holly Bailey 


Word Count 70

Fish Out of Water

           I glance at my watch and realize that the “Listening Hour” performance starts in three minutes. After dodging my way through a narrow passage full of students I arrive at the music building with one minute to spare. As I stride through the music building I finally find the concert hall, but then realize that I am at the performers entrance. I run around the hall and finally find the main entrance. As I try to open the door a young women glares at me through the small window and with her index finger pressed to her lips, signals me to be quiet. Apparently two minutes late, is too late for a performance.

            After some brief applause, five minutes later the woman finally opens the door. I quickly find a seat and try to absorb the performance. A women steps on stage and begins playing some big wooden instrument. At first I thought it was strange that she was playing with what appeared to be four drumsticks, but then I found myself entranced in the melody. The music was actually quite tranquil. It was very relaxing and even made me consider taking a nap. I glanced over to my left and realized I was not the only one that had this thought. I looked around the audience and saw four people sleeping.

            Although I tried to focus on the performance, the interesting architecture of the room kept grabbing my attention. Behind the performers was a strange zigzag pattern going up through the center of the ceiling. Every performance was played on a marimba, which I found out is a big xylophone with resonators. The performances were titled, Eruption of Sakurajima, Marimba Solo, Nocturnal Dance, Azalea and Echo Rhythm.

            I felt a little out of place at the performance. Other people in the audience seemed to be taking notes on the performance, which I assumed was for a music class. I was not familiar with the artistic culture. Before this event I never even knew we had a music concert hall on campus. I really enjoyed the event however. I feel like I now have a greater appreciation for music. I do plan to download the music I heard for the next time I want to relax.

Word Count 376

Word #9

obscured: verb [ trans. ] - keep from being seen; conceal.
• make unclear and difficult to understand: The corrupt politicians obscured the true agenda of the public policy.


Sentence: Witnesses differ with Perry as to when a rock bearing this name was obscured.


By Colleen Kane

Word Count 43

In My Humble Opinion #1

            The Federal Reserve is a corrupt and unconstitutional institution. Contrary to popular belief, the Federal Reserve is not part of the United States Government. The Federal Reserve is not even held accountable by the United States Government. The Federal Reserve is no more part of the United States Government than Federal Express.

            A recent article, “Despite fiery base, Paul’s spark yet to spread,” talks about the Federal Reserve and Ron Paul. 

What the Federal Reserve Is

            The Federal Reserve is an oligopoly of 12 independent and privately owned banks. These banks provide the government with a source of loans, and act as a safe depository of federal monies. The Federal Reserve also greatly affects/ manipulates monetary policy.

            These banks print money out of thin air and spend it at will. The Federal Reserve literally prints money, lends it to the Unites States Government, and then charges a huge amount of interest for the money that it lent out.

Why the Federal Reserve is Ruining Our Country

            As explained by Congressman and 2012 GOP Presidential Candidate Ron Paul, “The Federal Reserve is the chief culprit behind the economic crisis. Its unchecked power to create endless amounts of money out of thin air brought us the boom and bust cycle and causes one financial bubble after another.”

            Since the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913, the dollar has lost more than 96% of its value. The Federal Reserve continuously and intentionally inflates the money supply to maliciously manipulate interest rates and weaken the value of the dollar.

            What hurts the economy the most is that the Unites States Government has to pay back the interest on the huge loans. The government pays these loans with the taxpayers money.

Why the Federal Reserve is Unconstitutional

            According Article 1, Section 10, of United States Constitution, “No State shall make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.” To go off of the gold and silver standard, the Constitution would have had to be amended, pursuant the provisions in Article 5 of the United States Constitution.

The Solution - HR 1207

            The ultimate solution is simply to END THE FED (Federal Reserve). A more probable solution, and a first step however, is to first Audit the Federal Reserve.

            HR 1207 is the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, which calls for an audit of the Federal Reserve. The audit would require to the Federal Reserve to report its spending policies and history, and make them available to Congress.

Works Cited

1. Ron Paul on the Federal Reserve

2. Federal Reserve Commentary

3. HR 1207 Information

4. History of U.S. Central Banks

Word Count 416