The End of the Cain Campaign?

Herman Cain was accused once more of having an affair with a woman, Ginger White, who claimed they had a relationship which lasted 13 years. He, of course, denied these accusations as he has with every previous one. Despite his denial, these accusations have taken a toll on his campaign and the numbers of people who are still loyal to him. Fellow Republican Jon Huntsman voiced his opinion saying that he thinks Cain should drop out of the race while Michele Bauchmann said it raises "urgent questions about his republican convictions". In a speech he delivered at Hillsdale College, he attempted to focus on his foreign policies and other issues without mentioning at all about the allegations or taking questions. This disappointed his audience and is disappointing his audiences all across the country. It seems fairly clear that it would be best for him to drop out, but his campaign manager Mark Block says that there's "no way he's dropping out." Many of his supporters, however, are beginning to turn to New Gingrich in expectations of Cain's drop out of the race. Cain continues to deny the allegations made by Ginger White by saying that it was merely a friendship relationship, nothing more. It is still unclear what will be the outcome of Cain's campaign.

The End for Herman Cain

Well, there it is again--another accusation against Herman Cain, but this time it seems to be much more far-reaching, much more convincing. A Georgia woman named Ginger White went on a local Fox affiliate and spoke openly about having a 13 year affair with Herman Cain. According to White, Cain would fly her to places where he was speaking and lavish her with gifts. Cain, yet again, has flatly denied these claims, stating that he knew White but had no inappropriate relationship with her. Cain's resilience, however, seems to be wearing thin. Speaking to supporters today, Cain stated that he is 'reassessing' his 2012 bid for the Presidency. Although I'm still clueless as to who to believe in all the accusations against Cain, I do find it hard to believe that a woman would be willing to go on television and so blatantly lie about something this far-reaching and serious. However, Cain's constant claims that he is innocent seem sincere to me, and I'm having trouble believing that he is lying about all of this as well. Regardless of who's telling the truth, Cain's ability to weather this storm seems to be running on empty, and he seems to be getting a bit worn down by all of the defending he's having to do. The end certainly seems to be near for Herman Cain, that much is true, and if he has been telling the truth the whole time, it is a great tragedy that any one would go to the lengths which they may have gone to deface Herman Cain, or any other man for that matter.

Herman Cain reassessing presidential candidacy

Businessman Herman Cain told senior members of his campaign on a conference call this morning that he is reassessing whether or not to remain in the Republican presidential race. On the conference call Cain denies the allegations of an affair with an Atlanta woman named Ginger White, which came to light on Monday, but acknowledged that the “firestorm” had caused a rethinking. “We have to do an assessment as to whether or not this is going to create too much of a cloud, in some people’s minds, as to whether or not they would be able to support us going forth,” Cain said. He suggested on the call that a decision will be made over the next few days and told supporters that “if a decision is made, different than to plow ahead, you all will be the first to know.”

Source: CNN

What Demographics could help the GOP.

This past week Presidential candidate Mitt Romney campaigned in Florida and tried to gain much needed support of the larger base of Latino population. Romney targeted the Latino sect in Southern Florida in order to get more support. The GOP has little support in key demographics like the African-American population and younger voters. Romney and other candidates will try to gain support from other key demographics as their campaigns hit the road this week. In the 2008 election President Obama targeted young voters and the African American community. Demographics can clearly make or break a campaign for candidates.

Censorship Becomes Real

The PIPA (PROTECT IP Act) and SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) legislation is coming to a vote soon in in the House and Senate. These are proposals before Congress that give incredibly aggressive censorship controls to our government (acting on behalf of rights holders). The way copyright is currently protected on the web in the U.S.A. was established by the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act). The DMCA created the principle of ‘safe harbor’ for ‘service providers’ (like Google, Facebook, and Twitter). What ‘safe harbor’ means is that a site with content from its users doesn’t have to censor everything that is posted, so long as it acts in good faith to remove infringing content and links as they’re alerted to them. The PIPA and SOPA proposals turn that model on its head, restricting openness and imposing preemptive censorship. So if a users post links with copyrighted material on a site like Facebook, Google, or Twitter, the government could shut them down. Protecting copyright is a fantastic goal, but this legislation is a huge step in the wrong direction.

The Obama Campaign Has Begun

Today the Obama campaign made its first foray into paid advertising. An ad on tv appeared with Barack Obama asking viewers to pledge their support by viewing his website or calling the number that appeared on the bottom of the screen. In this ad Obama says the 2012 campaign is already underway. This ad is meant to recruit volunteers for his campaign. Another commercial that will be aired soon will be imploring viewers to become involved in his campaign. The Democratic National Committee has been purchasing air time backing the incumbent president. Recently they ran an ad slamming Romney for changing his views on issues like abortion and health insurance. This ad was released yesterday. This ad is the latest in a string of attempts by the Democratic National Committee at trying to portray Romney as inconsistent. By releasing this anti-Romney ad the Democrats reveal how they believe Romney to be the likely opponent to Obama in the 2012 election. The ad is 30 seconds long and is titled "Trapped". It's an ad saying that Mitt is two different men in one body. The ad gives examples of how he supports pro-choice and anti-choice, pro-health reform and anti-health reform. The ad is made in the style of an action movie trailer. Yesterdays ad wasn't the first time the DNC paid for advertising space to criticize Romney. Instead of focusing on the economy and creating jobs, president Obama and democrats are focusing on tearing down Romney.

Another Cain Accuser

A businesswoman accused GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain of having had an affair with her that lasted 13 years. Cain upstaged his accuser's announcement, telling CNN a few minutes beforehand that her assertion was coming and was false. "This individual is going to accuse me of an affair for an extended period of time," Cain said. Cain said his wife's immediate reaction upon hearing of the accusation was, "Here we go again." This is the third women to come forward and accuse Cain for sexual harassment. However, this is not an accusation of harassment in the workplace -- this is not an accusation of an assault -- which are subject matters of legitimate inquiry to a political candidate. "Rather, this appears to be an accusation of private, alleged consensual conduct between adults -- a subject matter which is not a proper subject of inquiry by the media or the public. He said he had no plans to drop out of the race. Either this is a huge campaign smear, or Cain is lying.

Source: CNN

Gingrich Surges Ahead

It has been very exciting to watch the GOP candidates race for the position to duke it out against Obama in the upcoming election. This is partially due to the fluctuating polls for the candidates, and the highs and lows of their campaigns. Although it seemed like Romney was the head honcho among the republican candidates for a while, Gingrich has made a surprising surge to the front of the pack and is continuing to gain popularity all over the nation.

This proved legitimate when New Hampshire began to support Gingrich. And as a a newspaper reported this subject, one such New Hampshirian discussed Gingrich and the role that the president should play. "We don't have to agree with them on every issue," the newspaper wrote in an editorial that ran across the width of the front page. "We would rather back someone with whom we may sometimes disagree than one who tells us what he thinks we want to hear." This idea that a president should never be a people-pleaser but a real person with their own opinion has continued to rise in the state of New Hampshire at least, and may prove to be Gingrich's key to the presidency. "

"Newt Gingrich is by no means the perfect candidate," McQuaid wrote. "But Republican primary voters too often make the mistake of preferring an unattainable ideal to the best candidate who is actually running."

Source: NPR

Occupy Movement: More Trouble Than Change?

The Occupy Wall Street Movement has gathered very much attention and momentum, evidenced in one way by the frequent mentioning or references to the movement in the GOP Presidential Debates--that much is clear. However, the movement is becoming more and more of an issue. The Washington Post mentioned today that "there are sanitation hazards and drug overdoses, even occasional deaths and sexual assaults." The Post article asks the question "Is this an occupation or an infestation?" The trouble is that breaking up the protests is a very sticky issue. While local police forces certainly have an obligation to protect their people, they also have an obligation to follow the Constitution and give people their Civil Rights, in this case the right to Free Speech. Finding middle ground on this issue is certainly a tough problem for local officials, and already three civil rights groups have filed lawsuits on behalf of the protesters. How forces deal with these protesters, who say they'll go on through the winter despite the cold, will be crucial and could result in either an outrage over what many would claim to be unconstitutional control if they forcibly made the protests stop, or it could result in a rising death toll as protesters subject themselves to freezing and dangerous conditions. Obviously neither alternative is acceptable, but it seems that it will take a miracle at this point for any other result to happen.

Time running out for the "super-committee"

With time running out, senior Democrats and Republicans remained unclear Tuesday about the prospects of success for the so-called congressional "super committee". The 12-member panel has not yet found a deal to cut $1.2 trillion from the nation’s borrowing over the next decade, the minimum requirement outlined in the August debt deal that resulted in the creation of the powerful super committee. California Rep. Xavier Becerra, a Democratic member of the panel, told reporters this could be a "magical week" for the committee. "I think it can be done, but the clock is ticking," Becerra said. It simply "has to be a balanced deal." House Speaker John Boehner said there was no deal, but predicted that if "there is an agreement ... it can, in fact, pass." And as the committee members grope to find a way to fulfill at least their legal mandate without leaving their political bases feeling betrayed, a bipartisan group of senators and representatives will renew a call Wednesday for the group to agree to a much larger deal, a bargain to reduce the debt by as much as $4 trillion that would virtually require major entitlement program and tax changes painful to both parties.

Fluctuation in GOP Polls

According to a new poll in Des Moines, Iowa, views on four GOP candidates have shifted rather dramatically in as short as a month. Stats show that 20% of Republicans are in favor of Cain, 19% support Ron Paul, Mitt Romney is at 18%, and Newt Gingrich at 17%. The closeness of these percentages reveal the fine line that the Republican candidates are walking on in Iowa. It's going to be interesting to see who Iowa chooses once and for all.

On the other hand, Rick Perry and Herman Cain's overall campaigns are not doing as well due to the accusations made on Cain for sexual harassment, and the 'oops' moments for Perry. The percentage of people who are supporting Cain has dropped to 50%, as some people are calling his campaign more of a SHAMpaign. The closeness of these percentages reveal the fine line that the Republican candidates are walking on in Iowa. It's going to be interesting to see who Iowa chooses once and for all.

It seems like the ratings are fluctuating every minute for the GOP candidates… It seems like the only candidate who is consistent and solid is Mitt Romney. And if his competitors keep tripping over their own campaigns, he may be our next president.

Health Care Mandate: No Going Back

The Supreme Court is working on making it a requirement as a federal mandate for all Americans to buy health insurance. Where the money will come from to fund this, no one is quite sure. The government intends to cover more than 30 million Americans who cannot cover themselves. Most hospitals and clinics have high expectations for the reforms. They are expecting higher influx of government funds as well as more clients. With these expectations in mind, they are in need of a larger staff. "We are looking for new clinicians on a constant basis," said Jay Wolvovsky, the system’s chief executive, who said that hiring would stop if the law were overturned and federal funding were in doubt. The bill is widely unpopular, however, and many people think that it will be overturned. Even if it is overturned, people like Patricia Brown, president of Johns Hopkins HealthCare, feel that there should still be major changes. “If the law is struck down, health care reform will have to continue one way or another,” she says. For all the changes taking place, there are many areas where political opposition and economic constraints will play a critical role in determining just how much the marketplace will change over the next several years.

Gingrich's Jump in the Polls

Surprisingly, Newt Gingrich has surged and is now almost tied with Mitt Romney in the race for Republican Presidential nomination. According to a CNN International Poll released yesterday, 24% of republicans and independents say that they are most likely to vote for Romney while 22% say that they are most likely to vote for Gingrich. Gingrich is now only 2% below Romney. Gingrich's support has jumped 14 points since October. Romney's has stayed about the same. Cain is at 14% because of his 11 point drop from last month most likely linked to the sexual allegations against him. Romney, who started out in the lead, is at 12%. According to the poll, Romney and Gingrich are the two republican candidates with favorable ratings above 50%. The key difference between these two is electability. Gingrich is not as electable as Romney. But how has Gingrich jumped in the polls so much? One of the main reasons is his well-received performances in the presidential debates. The drop in support for Cain and Perry is going to Newt. A lot of what it has come down to is people don't want to support Romney so they support Newt instead.

Ruling on Obamacare

As anticipated, the U. S. Supreme Court will join 300 million fellow Americans in rendering judgment on Obamacare. But with this difference: The high court's judgment, expected next June, will be the judgment that sticks.The rest of us -- members of Congress and lower court federal judges included -- merely spout off with force and vehemence. We love the health care law. We hate it. It makes us sick, except when it excites rejoicings. The sole reaction we withhold from the law is indifference. The basic question set for judgement is whether the federal government may compel Americans to purchase health insurance. Opinions at the lower court level are divided on this urgent question. Some say yes, others no, which of course is why our highest court has to advise us who is right. Most observers expect the court to divide over the question, possibly five votes to four.

Republicans: A dangerous game

Compared with John McCain's campaign three years ago, the Grand Old Party has moved even farther to the right. Herman Cain, now leading some polls in the race for the nomination, had to clarify that he was joking when he said he wanted to build a lethal electrified fence along the entire border with Mexico. As for global warming, most Republicans say that there is no such thing, or that if the Earth really is warming it has nothing to do with human activity. Another candidate, Governor Rick Perry of Texas, has called global warming a “contrived phoney mess that is falling apart under its own weight”. The party’s shift on economics is no less striking. The big-government conservatism of George Bush’s presidency is seen not only as a mistake but as a betrayal. George Bush senior is remembered no more fondly. Didn’t his decision to break a promise and raise taxes lose the Republicans the White House in 1992?

On the face of it, this shift to the right has already paid dividends. In the presidential election three years ago Barack Obama romped to victory with 365 electoral-college votes, 192 more than Mr McCain, and almost 53% of the popular vote. Since then, however, the Republicans have experienced an almost miraculous resurrection.

In the mid-terms of November 2010 they won control of the House of Representatives, an extra six seats in the Senate and six more state governorships, bringing the total number of state houses under Republican management to 29 out of 50. They have an excellent chance in November next year of capturing the Senate, and a fair chance of grabbing the White House, turning Mr Obama into the first one-term president since George Bush senior. An average of polls maintained by RealClearPolitics, a website, suggests that 44.8% of voters intend to vote for a Republican in 2012 and 41.8% for Mr Obama. To a degree, they owe this turnaround to luck—Mr Obama’s bad luck.

Allegations Against Cain

In the past week or so, Herman Cain has been accused of harassing several women sexually. He claims they are not true, however, the presence of these allegations has taken a negative toll on his campaign. People are not very comfortable with the idea that he could have this skeleton in his closet even though he denies it every time it is brought up. He knows that he needs to win back credibility which he began to address in his press conference. There is some tough evidence that is working against Cain: he has been a party to two settlements of women in the past. The lawyer of one of the women told New York Times that it was similar to the story of the Chicago woman who spoke out this week about Cain sexually harassing her. She said, "I respected him, I looked up to him. And it was shocking to me that he would use that power in such a way." His story has changed several times about details of the situations, but he is not giving in to the allegations.

"Cain Rejects Latest Allegations." New York Times. Nov. 8 2011.

Who's Lying?

With all the allegations against Herman Cain of Sexual Harassment, this is my one question. Although four women have come out and made claims against Herman Cain, with one explicitly telling her story of how Cain harassed her, Cain remains adamant that he is innocent of these claims, stating today that the accusations against him "simply didn't happen," and that the claims against him are "part of a coordinated effort to attack his character and derail his campaign." Although it is a bit hard to believe that a coordinated attack on his campaign of this magnitude with lies this strong and convincing could be pulled off, it's also extremely hard to believe that a candidate of Herman Cain's magnitude, with the place he is in right now, would directly lie about claims of this nature; if he did, it would certainly come back to bite him. Maybe it will, but to me it seems that, either this is a cover-up which Cain is trying to orchestrate essentially by himself without even letting his staff in on the truth, or Cain is innocent of the claims. Either way, this is a story which I can't see turning out in any way but a loss of support for Cain, if for no other reason than this is all people have heard of Cain for the past few weeks, and all people will hear of him for then next few weeks. It's not the change Herman Cain will bring to America; it's the (supposed) sexual harassment Herman Cain has committed. At a time when so many are still trying to form their opinions of him, this could seriously affect his chances of being nominated, regardless of whether the claims against him are true or false. Unfortunately for Cain, his slate is tarnished in the minds of many voters, and if he theoretically was awarded the nomination, many choosing between Obama and Cain would choose Obama merely because of the perception they have of Cain in their minds. Regardless of the truth or falsehood to the claims, I don't see any scenario at this point where Cain can completely recover from this and go on to become the next President of the United States.

Source: Washington Post.

Accusing Cain

Herman Cain on Tuesday vigorously denied new claims of sexual harassment, calling a press conference in Arizona to declare the latest alleged incident "simply did not happen." The Republican presidential candidate said he didn't even recognize the woman, Sharon Bialek, who a day earlier claimed he made unwanted sexual advances toward her 14 years ago.

"The charges and the accusations, I absolutely reject. They simply didn't happen. They simply did not happen," Cain said. Cain, reading slowly and deliberately from notes for 10 minutes before taking questions from the media, said he has "never acted inappropriately with anyone -- period." Declaring that he will stay in the 2012 race, Cain specifically addressed the charges leveled most recently by Bialek. Though Bialek said Cain sexually harassed her when she came to him about a job while he was heading the National Restaurant Association, Cain said that he was seeing her "for the very first time" when he watched her press conference on Monday.

On Tuesday, Cain at first blamed the "Democrat machine" for bringing forward Bialek, a woman whom he described as "troubled" -- she has a history of financial problems, though she says she hasn't been offered money for coming forward. Pressed by Fox News to elaborate, Cain conceded he doesn't know who might be behind the allegations.

"We can only infer that someone is basically trying to wreck my character," Cain said.

Obama's Health Care Law upheld again

A federal court in Washington has held that President Obama's health care law is constitutional. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia dismissed a claim from a Christian legal group that a provision in the law requiring almost all Americans to get health insurance, known as the individual mandate, violates the Constitution. The opinion was written by Judge Laurence Silberman who is known as a conservative. The suit was just one of several that have sought to have the law brought down. Of four appellate court rulings on the health care law so far, this is the third to deal with the law on the merits, and the second that upholds it a tally compiled by Kaiser Health News. It's almost certain that the issue will be resolved by the Supreme Court, perhaps as early as June 2012.

Charlotte Elections

In local news, the Charlotte Municipal Elections where held today. The UNofficial results where recently released with the Democratic party winning CITY OF CHARLOTTE STRAIGHT PARTY category.This is fitting for the Democratic National Convention which is in 2012. The Democratic party of Charlotte will try to gain more support as the Convention nears. However the Municipal Elections held had a 2.1% voter turnout this year one of the lowest it has been in several years. The Democratic Party's is hoping that their big 70 to 30% win will help them gain more support in the coming year.
Source: Charlotte Observer Online

Municipal:of or pertaining to a town or city or its local government: municipal elections.

p.s. The lady who I helped with her campaign for town board was elected and had the most votes in Davidson

Will Romney's "Smart" Campaigning Win Over Iowa?

"If Romney doesn't try very hard and somehow ends up winning Iowa, the race is pretty much over." This quote from Davide Peterson of Iowa State University as GOP candidates Mitt Romney and Herman Cain fight for their name in Iowa. However, Romney has a very different approach to the campaigning process this year compared to his other competitors. As his GOP competitors run all over the country campaigning, Romney would rather make fewer trips (only four so far) as he tries to secure his seat in the presidential election. This strategy is working for him so far, as a poll from the Washington Post shows his high chance of electability. Peterson says that Romney's campaign has "been smart to watch all of these candidates get their moment in the sun and he states where he is." This "smart" approach may or may not lead Romney to the presidency, but it definitely makes him stand out at least for now, and will hopefully continue to win him votes.

Obama's Approval Ratings - Still Under 50%

Sunday was the beginning of the one-year countdown to the 2012 presidential election. A CNN "Poll of Polls" released yesterday reveals that Obama's approval rating is still under 50%. According to this Poll, 45% of Americans approve of the way Obama has done his job and 51% disapprove. Though these ratings do not predict next year's election, they are useful in determining Obama's chances in next year's election. Just because 51% of Americans don't approve of Obama, that doesn't mean that those 51% of Americans are going to vote for the Republican candidate next year. They are more likely to either stay at home on election day or vote for a third-party candidate. This "Poll of Polls" is an average of three national polls taken from Gallup, ABC/Washington Post, and Reuters/Ipsos. Some reasons his approval rating might be so low are the slow-to-recover economy and the repeated standoffs with Congress. Having a Republican-led House of Representatives is not helping Obama. Will Obama be able to bring his approval ratings up before next year's election or will they remain below 50%?

Perry & Palin

Texas Governor and Republican candidate Rick Perry has had a rough time in recent debates which has led to a drop in the polls and in popularity. In order to save his campaign, Perry is teaming up with Sarah Palin who has agreed help Perry make a come back. Sarah Palin's endorsements would give Perry more street cred (Commanding a level of respect in an urban environment due to experience in or knowledge of issues affecting those environments) among tea party constituents, generate large crowds and fill his campaign coffers till overflowing. In return for her help, Perry must be willing to meet Palin's demands. Palin believes this will give her new found relevance - more photo ops, more speeches, more television interviews and more chances to flex her muscles - since she's not in the race herself. Perry's Texas charm coupled with Palin's rock-star status would get everyone talking about the Texan as a viable candidate again. With front-runner Herman Cain sidetracked by the recent revelation of sexual harassment allegations leveled at him while he ran the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, the timing for a Perry-Palin alliance could not be better.

Sexual Harassment Claims Against Herman Cain

To many, it seemed inevitable--eventually something would come up that would potentially slow the surge of Republican Presidential nominee seeker Herman Cain. As he is relatively unknown even now in the political world, many expected that there would be skeletons in the closet so to speak which would emerge as Cain's life became more and more of a public matter. Those skeletons right now are accusations against Cain of sexual harassment which actually occurred in the 1990s, but the issue right now is that the woman who claimed this is under a binding no disclosure agreement which she signed upon leaving the National Restaurant Association, of which Cain was President from 1996-1999. Because of this, she is barred from relating her side of the story, which she now wants to release to the media after Cain said last week that the allegations against him were "false and baseless." Joel P. Bennett, the lawyer representing one of the two women who made claims against Cain, is "calling on the association to waive the agreement so the woman, a federal worker living in suburban Maryland, can rebut Cain’s statements." This is certainly a story to follow as it plays out as it could potentially play a major role in the campaign of Herman Cain, and has the potential to slow the momentum Cain currently has.

Accusation vs. Cain

As Herman Cain rose in the polls this week for the GOP nomination...accusations have come out that he had been accused of sexual harassment. Although Cain denies that he had ever been involved in sexual relations or made any advances with any women. However will this destroy Cains reputation? Many of Cains supporters are questioning his morals. However why did this accusation come out this late in his candidacy?

Justice Department Sues South Carolina

On Monday the federal government filed a lawsuit looking to stop enactment of South Carolina's tough new immigration law, arguing that the legislation that requires law officers to check suspects' immigration status is unconstitutional. The government wants a judge to stop enforcement of the legislation, which would require the police to check the immigration status of every person they detain. In a written statement, Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday his department will not hesitate to challenge laws that interfere with the federal government's enforcement of immigration. A spokesman for Gov. Nikki Haley said the state would continue with plans to implement the law. "It is understandable that communities remain frustrated with the broken immigration system, but a patchwork of state laws is not the solution and will only create problems," Holder said.

Sources: New York Times and Fox news

Cain's Campaign Down the Drain?

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain was accused Monday of sexual harassment during the time he led a restaurant-industry trade association in the late 1990's. Despite these claims, however, Cain states that they are "totally baseless and totally false". Unfortunately for him though, there are varying theories about what "actually" happened. Some claim that he made inappropriate advances and even went as far as inviting the woman to his room. However, others state that he did no such thing, and their conversation was nothing but innocent, and there was nothing inappropriate involved. This piece of information was uncovered at a not-so-opportune-time, due to Cain's recent lead in several polls for the GOP contest. Even though this seems like bad advertising for a presidential candidate, Cain claims confidently that it will not affect his campaign. I guess we'll see.

BofA & Occupy Wall Street

In September, Bank Of America announced that it would begin charging customers a monthly $5 fee early next year. However, after widespread customer revolt and announcements by several Bofa rivals that they won't charge similar debit-card fees, Bank of America rethought its plan. The debit card fees these institutions originally planned to charge sparked pledges by thousands of consumers to move their money out of big banks.

Occupy Wall Street had been calling for consumers to celebrate "Dump Your Bank Day" next week. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee said it got more than 51,000 people to pledge to take their money out of major financial institutions, with 21,500 consumers planning to remove their money from Bank of America specifically. While these groups say the decision by banks to scrap the debit-card fee is a step in the right direction, it doesn't mean consumers are going to be running back to their banks in droves. "This shows that when the public fights back together against Wall Street, we can make progress -- but the fight is nowhere close to over," said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. "Bank of America and other Wall Street banks broke the law, ruined our economy, and cost people their jobs, their homes, and their life savings ... By moving our money, we will make these irresponsible banks less 'too big to fail.'"

Occupy Iowa Caucus

Occupy Wall Street activists are planning to amass in Iowa one week before the Iowa caucuses. They plan to occupy every presidential candidates office and shut them down until they start talking about the real issues that are going on in America. This idea was presented by a group of Occupy Des Moines activists. Between December 27 and January 3 are the supposed dates for this plan. In response to these activists, the Iowa Democratic Party said that Obama was "working hard to strengthen middle class while the Republicans want to let Wall Street write their own rules and return to the same failed economic policies". The Iowa Republican Party didn't respond. According to Ivers, this plan is a fruitless effort. All it will do is create more hours for the Des Moines police department. It really is a futile plan. Though their frustrations are understandable, their methods are not.

Cain Smoking

Herman Cain insisted Sunday that his now-viral campaign video featuring chief of staff Mark Block dragging on a cigarette was not meant to send a message that smoking is cool. "One of the themes within this campaign is let Herman be Herman," Cain said. "Mark Block is a smoker and we say let Mark be Mark. Let people be people." "Young people of America, all people, do not smoke. It is hazardous and it's dangerous to your health. Don't smoke," Cain said. At Schieffer's behest he added: "It is not a cool thing to do." Cain said he won't take down the video from his campaign's YouTube channel, noting that even if he did it would still be available elsewhere on the InternetThe candidate estimated "about 30%" of the reaction to the ad was similar to Schieffer's (the guy questioning him on it) objections.

The Homeless Occupy Wall Street

Among protesters camping out in the Occupy movements, a growing number of homeless people have been occupying the campgrounds with them. Many suffer from mental illness as well as physical needs. They know that if they come and join the movement, they will be provided the same amenities as non-homeless protesters. That means food, shelter, protection, and company with others. Non-homeless protesters who have been camping out have felt that the homeless have created more harm than good. Yes, they add a voice because there are so many homeless people wanting to join, approximately 30% of the protesters lately have consisted of them. However, mental illness has constituted a problem with disruptiveness, and a lot of people don't feel safe at night with so many homeless people around. Disruptive demonstrators were thrown out of the campground and sent to the Peachtree-Pine homeless shelter. The act gave the demonstration more of a political focus, and not incidentally expanded its size. It has been found that many homeless people believe in the same goals as the Occupy protesters while others are merely trying to find provisions any way they can. Michele Watson, one of the managers of the food tent, said in reference to the homeless people, "If you are hungry and are in need of a meal, we will serve you as long as you do not disrupt the occupiers. We don’t turn anyone away. I don’t care what your address is."