While we slept, the 1% were working:
Following similar raids in St. Louis and Oakland, hordes of NYPD officials this morning forcibly cleared Zuccotti Park in Manhattan of all protesters; New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg took “credit” for this decision. That led to this description of today’s events from an Occupy Wall Street media spokesman, as reported by Salon‘s Justin Elliott:
A military style raid on peaceful protesters camped out in the shadow of Wall Street, ordered by a cold ruthless billionaire who bought his way into the mayor’s office.
If you think about it, that short sentence is a perfect description of both the essence of America’s political culture and the fuel that gave rise to the #OWS movement in the first place.
Protesters are moving to Foley Square after Zuccotti Park is cleared using tear gas and sonic cannons.
New York Times coverage here and here.
Greg Sargent on the very real success of Occupy Wall Street.
UPDATE: A judge has ruled #ows allowed back into Zuccotti Park until hearing later this morning.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan a Democrat is by definition a Fascist. (As is Bloomberg.) FASCIST n., a person who believes in or sympathizes with Fascism. FASCISM n., a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, etc. Any mayor, Democrat, Republican or Independent, who orders his/her riot police or SWAT team to restrict the free speech and Peacable assembly of patriotic Americans is a Fascist unlawfully violating the First Amendment to the Constitution. The First Amendment sets no limit on how much time a group of citizens may “Peaceably assemble” before their elected representatives has the right to beat , arrest, and disperse them while destroying their private property. Ain’t Capitalism grand!
Imhotep – read this:
Clark v. Community for Creative Nonviolence 468 U.S. 288 (1984)
myiq2xu, it would seem that this case was argued on a “free speech” basis. Neither the arguments presented nor the ruling given ever mentions “Peaceful assembly.” Do you know of any ruling on what constitutes a “resonable time limit” on the First Amendment right to “Peaceably assemble?” As with the latest Supreme Court rulings on the Second Amendment about what is meant by the pharse “the right of the people to keep and bear arms” very little in those rulings clarifies how one should interpret the meaning of “A well regulated militia.” Or whether that is a mandatory circumstance and if not present makes individual gun ownership illegal? In 1784 the population was opposed to a standing army so the framers stuck the Second Amendment in as a self-defense mechanism. So neither the First Amendment nor the Second Amendment is settled law at this time regardless of what the ruling class (1%) says.