Best Fox Clip You Never Saw

Lawrence O'Donnell on Police Brutality at Occupy Wall Street

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5zmzV5IxpQ

No Small Matter

The One Demand

One demand announced.

Chicago to be Occupied

I ran out of funds and am driving back to the Chicago area.  The coverage will continue, though; the Occupy Wall Street movement is spreading to Chicago!


We need every able body in the city at Sears Tower Friday, 9 a.m.  Remember, this fight belongs to everyone.


Official Occupy Chicago Website
Facebook Page
Official Twitter


More content from New York to come, including several new pages of resources, quotes, and video.  Sorry for the delay in content!  Nose to the grindstone all weekend!

Occupants Arrested Today

Earlier today, protesters in the Occupy Wall Street movement were arrested after putting up tarps to protect themselves from the rain - an act that violated the "no structure" ordinance.  While the violation may have occurred, observers are now questioning the severity of the police reaction to the "crime":

Protester Footage

There have now been an estimated 18 arrests since Occupy Wall Street began.  The reasons for the arrests? Sidewalk chalk, mask wearing, tarp usage, and "barricade jumping".  When events like this occur, always find the rawest footage available and draw your own conclusions.  The best coverage I have found of earlier arrests is here.

I fully support the protest remaining peaceful and its original attempts to coexist with the police in the city.  I question, however, the city's approach in handling the Occupiers and their "crimes".  There are questions that still need answered.  On day one, barricades were placed blocking complete access to some sections of the financial district.  The law allows for protesters to be on a sidewalk as long as half remains open for public access.  In the first YouTube video, a protester repeatedly begs for his inhaler while being held down by the police.  He is clearly in a position too awkward to give up his other hand.  If you turn the sound up around 3:34, you can hear him clearly say, "Get off me and I'll give you my hand!" to which there are continual utterances of "he's resisting".  Another protester shows signs of his FlexiCuffs being tight enough to cut off all circulation to his hand.  The "barricade jumper" reports he was really arrested for not moving when there wasn't enough room to move.  

While perspective on the protests vary, it is imperative for EVERY citizen - regardless of their viewpoints on Occupy Wall Street or the ideals held by the people there - to ensure that the protesters are treated fairly, coverage of the event is accurate, and power in the city is not abused.  If some in the city find the protesters a nuisance and try to get rid of them outside the context of their rights as citizens, they are essentially declaring "I find my democratic rights inconvenient".  As Voltaire said, "I disagree with what you have to say but will fight to the death to protect your right to say it." 

If you aren't willing to stand up for the rights of those around you, don't expect there to be a fair system in place if YOU are ever treated unjustly.  

This is what Democracy Looks Like

The date: September 17^th. Representatives from every corner of the States gather and give voice to “the People” in a historic attempt to revolutionize the role of their government. The current institution governs inefficiently, tries citizens unfairly, and fails to take care of the soldiers sent out in military campaigns. Trade falters and current taxation is inadequate to pay the bills. There seems to be division everywhere in a time when the country is in the most need of uniting. So, on September 17^th, souls from different political and social backgrounds - most seeming hell-bent on change - had set themselves up for a long occupation of a symbolic American institution. And when they came, they intended to stay until it was done. They encouraged speaking freely amongst themselves, uniting the nation, and radicalizing the tax code; every few days their numbers grew. Some saw them as a threat to the status quo. Some saw them as heroes. They were revolutionaries. On September 17, 1787, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and 51 other delegates put pen to paper and signed one of the longest-living documents of all time, the Constitution of the United States.

Regardless of their current sentiment toward our country, few could deny the impact the United States Constitution has had on the shaping of world history. On May 24, 2005, the U.S. Department of Education issued a nationwide notice declaring September 17^th "Constitution Day and Citizenship Day" in honor of the Constitution's signing. It seems fitting, then, that on September 17, 2011 – over two centuries after its inception – another group of would-be revolutionaries set their sights on radical change for the People, and settled in for the long-haul. They descended in a “Day of Rage” and set their sights upon one of America's most notable institutions: Wall Street.

To some, the day probably resembled that of any other mid-day weekend in New York. A local couple stops for falaffel wraps from a nearby food cart, pan flute music reverberating nearby; double-decker buses hold tourists eagerly snap-shotting their way through the weekend. But to an estimated 1000-3000 attendants, it was time to shed light that the future “ ... should be influenced in a way where the people want the country to go .... Most of us can't afford a lobbyist to do that.” A Brooklyn native stated the reality: “We're going to get demonized, we're going to get demonized by everyone. Everyone's going to say we're radicals … or we don't care about anything; we just want chaos and destruction. But, it's so the opposite of the truth!” He pointed to the visible charity around him through donations of food and supplies, to the movement's peaceful and democratic progression. It seems even in the face of harsh criticism, Occupants are ready to wear a thick skin. Their reaction is perhaps best expressed by a quote from Wael Ghonim, a key player in the recent Egyptian protests.  There was speculation of the revolutionary impact he expected his Facebook page's online presence to have, but his response was: “I don't know and I don't give a shit. I'm doing what it takes to make my country better.”

Long before the crowd grew, the day started with a playful atmosphere including an impromptu conga line and enough cowbell to make even Christopher Walkin smile. Perhaps most fittingly, it started with a chant, “Tell me what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like.” Talented members of a Larouche Pac vocal ensemble filled the street with a rendition of some of America's patriotic classics while citizens from around the U.S. - and in a few cases the world – toted cardboard signs, instruments, and sleeping bags. Barred off in the corner, the Charging Bull - known the world-over as the Bull of Wall Street - sat surrounded by police, a seeming symbol of the untouchable power of the financial world. Last night, protesters were continually moved by police trying to find a place for them to sleep, while the Bull remained in his pen. But the Bull has his own history of displacement in New York. He was originally placed two blocks away in an act by artist Arturo Di Modica, as proof of “the strength and power of the American people”. This was after Wall Street caused financial ruin in 1989. The powers of the financial district wanted the Bull ousted. The people of New York demanded that he stay. It's clear to see who won out when the People made their voices heard. So while the unpredictability and aggressiveness of his stature may reflect the nature of Wall Street, his true spirit is kindred with those who now occupy his city.

“This is what democracy looks like.” Truer words have seldom been spoken. Our own Constitution was drafted as a republic, where elected officials carry out the will of the People. The Occupy Wall Street movement did not merely spout the philosophy of an ideal, but practiced the principles of an actual democracy through General Assemblies held throughout the day, oftentimes simultaneously. In this system, everyone who wants to be heard, can be; every proposal is brought before the whole Assembly, a vote given with a thumbs up or down. These proceedings go back to ancient Athens, when citizens had direct vote over the state of affairs and the body of 500 who made the agenda was temporary and selected by lot. The body, or Boule, was comprised evenly of the ten tribes of the day and its chairman held his position for only one day, a service that could never be repeated. Those who served on the Boule lived, ate, and worked side by side for the duration of their service. They earned a low-earner's wage. In today's society, people cannot even fathom this kind of direct democracy. A tweet from AnonOps read: “The police ask to speak to the leader. We told them that there is no leader. They didnt understand.”

Today's political system is broken. Our politicians and their arguments are as practicle as third graders on a playground. Most people remember a time in school when they were on a different gym or recess team from a good friend. Instead of maintaining the comradery built over years of harassing siblings together and a mutual love of fruit snacks, they became Enemy Number One and the objective was to destroy at all cost. The polarizing of political parties seems to have done the same in America, a country long divided by walls that we don't even remember constructing, by party lines that are more talking point and political maneuver than actual implementation through policy. But there is hope. These men and women from varying backgrounds have come together to show that we can find our way out of present suffering through mutual respect and solidarity. The struggles of today belong to all of us, regardless of political creed or background. The fixing must belong to all of us as well. By the end of the day, it was clear that the voice heard by the Wall Street Occupants was not one merely representing a few fringe ideas, but the reflection of a whole People united by circumstance. Throughout the day, even those picture-snapping tourists shouted their solidarity from the buses.

You want to know why they're here?  If you want a reality check into the state of the American Dream, it's this: our young generation is going to be the first generation worse off than its parents: academically, financially, and civically.  In their own words: 

"All the things I think are wrong with this country, these people think are wrong with the country."

"Right now, I feel as I hear - ya know - people talk, a lot of us feel we're in the minority, but we really aren't.  We're, we're the majority in this country.  Only 15% of the population agrees with the - uh - policies of the United States Congress.  Under 40% agrees with Obama.  You know, it's ... we have a system that no one approves of, and yet we're not entertaining any actual discussion about how we should fix it ... And that's what this is here.  We have a real understanding of what is wrong with our country, what is wrong with our system and ... we want to fix it .... We live in a society of hate and everyone here just really doesn't want that anymore.  And we tried the democratic thing; we elected Obama, who ran on change.  And then, what did we get?  We got more wars.  We got more violence.  We got more destruction and it's, it's unacceptable.  It's unacceptable and we're here to say that."

"It's already starting to crumble; they just keep putting band-aids on it."

"It's a peaceful protest that is just trying to make a point where the people still have power ... to make awareness to certain corruption/greed in the government and in the banking institutions.  That's the overall jist of it.  In this case, without being violent, we need to step up."

A Queens business student - originally a student of finance - found "the whole business behind derivatives and stock market hedge funds was really shady for (him)" and caused him to change not only his major, but his entire global outlook.  A Long Island-born veteran skipped his Vets for Peace vigil in Forest Park when he heard about the event; he was "particularly pissed" at the funding of "wars that provide profit."

Why are they here?  They are here to change the country, empower the citizens, "stop putting a band-aid on it", start a movement, and have a voice.  They are our modern-day heroes, fighting for democratic principles through the very democracy they champion.  They are here as the People, the Constitutionally-gifted government that governs "for the People", and they won't be silenced until their American Dream is restored.

As one occupant asked yesterday, "Why isn't everybody here?"

*Any quotes not cited are directly from Occupants who at this time remain anonymous.

Further Reading:

• The Constitution of the United States
• “SoHo Gift to Wall St.: A 3 1/2-Ton Bronze Bull” by Robert D. McFadden, originally published in The New  York Times December 16, 1989
• Notice of Implementation of Constitution Day
• The Ancient Guide to Modern Life by Natalie Haynes