It’s should not come as a surprise that many of the participants in what has been labeled the “Occupy Wall Street” protest in New York City are out of work. While it’s true that unemployment rates are discouragingly and worryingly high, it’s also true that one can’t protest and apply for jobs simultaneously. Simply put: unless the wall street throngs are using their mass media technology to advertise themselves on LinkedIn and other job hunting websites while also promoting their still-undefined and unexplained protest, their luck isn’t going to change anytime soon. Perhaps it’s the innate cynic in me that has my eyebrows raised so skeptically, but it seems that a protest that lacks definition, goals, demands and cohesion -in other words, the very elements that have traditionally formed the foundation of all protests- is not really a protest at all: it’s a mob.

Now, throngs of people coming together to share a joint message could be and has been in many cases, a good thing. A mob of disorganized and leaderless people whose only real similarity seems to be that they are all upset at SOMETHING, however, resembles anarchy more than it does progress, and as such cannot earn my respect. The use of mass media as a way to advertise their “Cause” (or shared emotions, as it is) is similar to what we have seen overseas in Egypt and Syria. It’s not a new phenomenon at this point and it’s effectiveness is not to be questioned. What ought to be questioned, however, is at what point this mob (which has now spread to several cities outside of NYC) has the potential to move from annoying and troublesome to physically and politically dangerous.

In the 1960s anti-war protests were often accompanied by chaos: looting, theft, even death. Stores were ransacked, public areas became unsafe for families and their children, and crime rates soared. What is to stop these new, equally angry protesters from becoming out of control? Even the most well-meaning of individuals can be consumed by the overall emotion and activity of a large mass of people, and if one confrontation was to occur, who is to say that the consequences might not be deadly? In Manhattan the security numbers around wall street have already increased, and the pedestrian traffic caused by the protesters forced officials to close the Brooklyn Bridge for a period of time last week. While neither of these equate to destruction of property, they do signal that this mass of people has the ability to distract, slow down and potentially even shut down parts of major cities in the U.S.

In the event that these unpleasant scenarios do occur, the protesters will hurt both our economy and themselves in the process. Even now, while they camp out in streets and spend their days rallying “support” (of what?, I ask once again) they could be using their time more wisely and more productively. While is their right to put their lives on hold and spend their days sharing their anger with the world -this is America, after all- it is also the right of other sensible people who may be looking for work to swoop in and get the jobs that are surely passing these protesters by. Perhaps the few job openings that are sure to pop up as longer-term protesters continue to skip work in favor of emoting outdoors will be the silver lining to what otherwise appears to be a disorganized and unsettling situation.

Just 14 months before another United States Presidential election, Republican candidates find themselves in a heated competition, battling both on and off camera and fueling a growing distaste of one another with petty accusations and backhanded comments about their opponents as they fight for the 2012 Presidential nomination. In a country with a debt crisis, rising rates of unemployment, unstable bank security, and dwindling levels of hope amongst it’s citizens, the United States is desperately in need of a qualified nominee. The issue, however, is that there just don’t seem to be any.

For the past several decades there have been a de facto set of issues that seem to form the backbones of our nation’s presidential races: taxes, gay marriage, abortion, border control, and job creation. While finances, national security and unemployment ought to be the focus, this year’s batch of G.O.P. candidates seem to be as low on sustainable solutions and creative problem solving ideas as they are in IQ levels.This may be the reason many have built their candidacy platforms around their own appearances instead of credentials. A quick look at the candidates shows that none are qualified to hold political positions, let alone be in the White House: Cain is a fast food chain mogul trying to pass as a political pundit. Governor Perry, meanwhile, is a homophobic religious extremist who has effectively run the Texas Public school system into the ground. Bachmann is known by hopefuls as one who will ‘bring Christian values’ back into the White House, while less supportive individuals have been able to find nothing more substantial about her than her wardrobe. Case in point: Perez Hilton’s “Snap a pic of Michelle Bachmann in Cargo pants and win $$$!!!” competition. (Click here to see his post.)

While those three descriptions alone are enough to scare the open-mindedness out of even the most welcoming Unitarian, it’s important to remember that those are only three of the 11 G.O.P. candidates. Yes, that’s right: there are eight more candidates ready to run this country into the ground. If anything, the baffling levels of vainglory and ineptitude demonstrated by the 2012 G.O.P. candidates seem to be topped only by former Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s beehive hairdo and delusional self-importance of 2008. Which, given that Palin moved on to form her own soon-failed reality television show, speaks to how low the Republican party’s standards have become. Unfortunately for United States citizens (and politically minded individuals world wide), the reality of the current G.O.P. situation is more of a Tim Burton-esque nightmare than a fluffy show about the Palins. After all, at least when it came to “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” there was always space to hope for a hunting mishap and the out-backer’s accents to chuckle at. When it comes to the G.O.P. candidacies, however, all we can do is hope that none of them end up in the oval office… and apply for work visa’s abroad just in case they do.