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Subscribe to RSSUpdated 7:35 p.m. ET: More than 100 police officers gave protesters at the Occupy encampment in San Francisco five minutes to gather belongings before authorities took down about 100 tents and arrested about 85 people as the camp was dismantled in an overnight raid.
A few officers remained at daybreak Wednesday as trash crews raked up paper and plastic bottles, removed chairs and other belongings that accumulated at the camp over the past two months and pressure-washed the sidewalks.
Dozens of police cars, fire engines and ambulances surrounded the campsite at Justin Herman Plaza and blocked off the area during the raid, which began shortly after 1 a.m.
Police did not immediately release how many people were in the plaza at the time, but campers put the estimate at 150.
Most of those arrested were cited and released after the raid.
Police spokesman Albie Esparza said late Wednesday that about 15 people, arrested on charges ranging from resisting arrest to assault with a deadly weapon, are still in custody.
"Most of the protesters went peacefully," but one officer received minor injuries when two people threw a chair that cracked his face shield, said officer Albie Esparza.
Richard Kriedler with Occupy S.F. said some protesters were also injured, but he didn't have the details.
"This is a very emotional town. We have anarchists, we have very emotional people that this is not going to go over well with, and this could have been handled a lot better," he said.
"A much more simple way to do it would have been direct contact with the mayor and city officials here with us, and even though they've been invited many times, they didn't come."
Jack Martin, of San Francisco, said he was trying to leave the plaza when he was zip-tied, taken to a police station, cited and released. Officers trashed his tent and personal belongings, he said.
"I lost everything I owned," Martin, 51, said as tears welled up in his eyes. "Everything I owned is gone. My medicine, my paper for my Social Security."
He yelled at officers: "I was trying to get out of your way!"
Asked what he planned to do next, Martin replied, "Occupy, occupy, occupy, occupy."
Kris Sullivan, 31, from Akron, Ohio, said many campers were sleeping and were taken by surprise. Sullivan, who said he had been at the camp for about two months, got his tent out but lost his pillow, mattress, blanket and another tent.
"They didn't even give much time for anyone to get out. They handled it really badly. They could have given us a warning or some sort of eviction notice," he said.
The tent city was set up in mid-October to protest bank bailouts and economic injustice.
Gene Doherty, 47, an Occupy protester who was not present during the raid but watched it on a live streaming website, said the Occupy protesters planned a noon rally at the site and still had several "mobile occupations" throughout the city.
"We will come back and reoccupy," Doherty said. "A large segment of our community has no other options. They don't have a home to go back to; this was their home."
Protesters will continue to "send a message that this is our right to protest, our right to assemble, and to talk about the economic injustices in the world," he said.
Anthony Kramer, 21, of St. Louis, said he had been in camp about five days. He vowed to return.
"We're not going to give up that easily," Kramer said as he stood on the sidewalk with his orange sleeping bag under his arm.
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Hey, my first top post!!!
And you waste it by bragging.
OWS has successfully changing the political conversations in this country from all the varied Republican smokescreens, like abortion, gay marriage, and demonizing the poor, to a focus on our wealth imbalance and income inequality that is destroying the American dream.
You know when I meet or hear/see anyone that makes more than me or is a millionaire I don't scream foul and demand equal wealth or say its not fair I'm making far less than he/she is. I try and find out their secrets or habits to being successful. That's the beauty of America folks everyone has the opportunity to be a millionaire - it just require some dedication, hard work and disciple.
More liberal compassion as yet another bastion of progressive life clears the camps....way to show how you support the OWS message....
and your first is gonna get collapsed!
When you compare the press coverage, and some of these posts, to the Tea Party protests and the OWS protests it just isn't the same. I'm not part of either movement, although I respect their opinions, but the TP protests were organized and had a message whereas the OWS is disorganized with "camps" that have elements taking advantage of the situation including crime yet the press is more sympathetic with their "cause". Just who is trying to blow smoke up whoms what?
OWS is serving it's purpose very well. The president is on message with the unfairness of our corrupt system. We the people have been heard and seem to have the support of a major political party. It is a win-win for Democrats if they don't cave in to Wall Street again. At least they did pass some banking reform. You know it's effective by how loud Republicans complain about it, much like the healthcare reform, OBAMACARES!
The failure of trickle-down, supply side economics is more evident than ever before. Republicans siding with greed will get their comeuppance.
Please let it be Newt! It will be fun watching him go down - again.
Just as corrupt as every other politician.
Oh yes, here we go. More of the same Republican smoke and mirrors: all government is broken, every politician is corrupt.
Well then bury your little head in your pillow and bawl.
Stay home the next election while the majority of us clean House!
You can't even demonstrate basic hygiene. You have no coherency. The average American sees a bunch of whining people, all with their hands out, wanting everything for themselves.
Haven't you noticed that every city is clearing out these vagrant camps?
Haven't you noticed that nobody is trying to stop that from happening?
The OWS is too busy talking at everyone instead of listening. You have two ears and one mouth for a reason.
Sheesh.
oh I am so sorry I voted your comment up, I ment to vote it down. sorry about that.
Government structure is fine.
The issue is the corrupt politicians from both sides. If you fail to see that, you aren't ready for prime time.
Open your eyes, don't be myopic.
Any one get the sense that OWS is loosing steam....
Seems like the media isn't reporting about this with the fervor it once was....
Seems like the media isn't reporting about this with the fervor it once was....
Thank God.
OWS RIP
SI
Very disappointing.
I think the media has NEVER worked so hard to keep a group alive like they have for the OWS. We sure didn't see ANY media support for the Tea Party, but then that group could only gather on the weekends because they had family and a job to go back to during the week. The media also hated the idea of less taxes, less government intrusion, rights etc which is the Tea Party mantra. What is equally hypocritical is that OWS is mostly made up white college kids and white hippies which the media doesn't seem to mind, but the fact that the Tea Party was mostly white people was a sure sign of some sort of racial hate. The media makes me sick. Hypocrisy allows distortion which has been happening for about a decade now. If a republican was in the WH the media would daily be banging on his/her door insisting that president needed to stop hiding, stop campaigning and get to work. We rarely hear any such disgust now. The media would be working full-time to oust a republican president for having done such a lousy job with the economy. Instead we have a president now that is campaigning full-time, hitting up the 1 percent for money to fund that campaign, and now announcing 17 days of fun and relaxation in Hawaii while frankly Rome is burning. Our gross debt is now above 15 trillion that this WH rarely speaks about nor does the media remind him about.
THE MEDIA STOPPED BEING OUR WATCHDOG AND REPORTING FACTS WITHOUT BIAS.
The tea party was NOT the same thing. The tea party was a corporate sponsored Koch Brothers/Karl Rove creation, complete with buses, prepackaged Neocon messaging, and all the uneducated Southern racists they could gather.
Occupy Wall Street is as grassroots as it gets and purposely unaffiliated with any political party.
The only "grassroots" of the OWS folks involves what they are smoking. Their "movement" is fading away as we pay attention to more important issues in the country.
What a crock corporate media covering OWS. The corporate media never covered OWS. Thousands arrested, police using military pepper spray illegally. firing tear gas canisters AT demonstrators. Any and all of this should have been front page news.
Why wasnt it font page news?
Its corporate media. OWS is about Corporate greed. The corporate media doesn't want to bite the hand that feeds it.
willie - They used pepper spray instead of bullets. They have to fire it into a crowd to disperse the crowd. If they shoot it outside the area, what good will it do? The other option is bullets...
Thank God we don't live in Syria or Libya where the gas was replaced with lead.
The group was told they had to leave DAYS in advance. They chose to ignore the law of the land. If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.
It's Christmas time.
Is this an example of liberal "tolerance, understanding and inclusion" I've heard so much about?
And the OWS is funded by Soros. So?
As long as the banks write their own rules the Tea party, OWS and the indifferent will all fall together.
it they wanted steam they should have boycotted the news media and the white house at the same time their problem was they went after a place that cleared out at 5:00..who cares if you demonstrate at an empty building.
Pointing out that the South is ground zero for racists is no secret, it's a fact. We all saw their signs at the Koch Brother sponsored tea parties.
I have no desire to include racists or homophobes in anything.
Please let it be Newt! Watching him fall again will be a joy.
theboys...
Absolutely right ! Connecticut's largest newspaper, the 'Hartford Courant' had their lead story and banner headline today about the OWS protesters being evicted by police from their encampment in downtown Hartford, the state's capitol city.
There were 6 protesters evicted...that's a headline story ???
For your enjoyment:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~simpson/Modern%20and%20Postmodern%20America/week%207%20materials/Busing%20protests.htm
Look and see for yourself that racism is not limited to geographical location. You see, I was there, shocked and dismayed.
cop numbers, overpowering people numbers..things will Change, when people are affected personally, like the Vast Majority being without a life; jobs, security etc........
We had the OWS protesters in South Bend, Indiana. They just recently closed up shop and claimed "Victory" in getting their message across to the mayor. Then, when the local news interviewed of them he said he would be happy to continue the protest from the warmth of his living room. I guess they will let a little cold weather discourage them from protesting in the open.
Hemi-man....
Glad to hear there is one with a living room....beginning to think they were by and large homeless given they were happy to live on the street.
tx....
No...only about a quarter of squatters at the OWS sites were actually 'homeless' people who showed up for the free coffee, food, I-Pads, and Kindles...although it did get tough at times to tell them apart from most of the protesters.
I'm shocked that the OWS crowd didn't set up voter registration booths at their little encampments...then tell those folks who to vote for.
Things must be really bad for OWS, they are even kicking them out of San Fran. Doesn't Pelosi live in San Francisco? I am sure she always has the welcome mat out for anarchists.
Yes being one herself!
The multinational corporations and banks have the final say everywhere in America because they pay for all the major office holders elections.
Left, right middle fall together!
OWS= Occupy Whitehouse Stupid!
No need to Obama stood up and echoed the statements of OWS in his speech.
In the last 20 years the top 1% has had a 250% increase in pay while the 99% lost 6% pay.
Those are hard FACTS. Anyone behind the RepukliCONS are stupid enough to want to give them even more and take home even less.
Nancy Pelosi "God Bless Them" The Occupoopers rap sheet. http://biggovernment.com/jjmnolte/2011/10/28/occupywallstreet-the-rap-sheet-so-far/
The media never had any "fervor" on this matter to begin with. Unfortunately.
The media never had any "fervor" on this matter to begin with.
You're right. I guess MSNBC doesn't count.
SI
Current covers OWS far more.
Occupy SF all day all week!
They're done, as is this pathetic, puerile attempt at subversion.
A mere footnote.
Consider: SF is one of the most liberal, tolerant cities in the country, and even they are tired of the squatters.
Bad for business, you know. I love the irony!!
It's not ironic, all of America belongs to the multinational banks now.
No matter what antiquated ideological beliefs one has, we all fail together.
Truly, where do people get these strange notions?
Banks don't own any part of me, because I am not beholden to them.
Another penniless teabagger voting against his own best interest.
Oh wait, you said all politicians are corrupt, so I guess you won't be voting.
I have observed how quickly you jump to your own conclusions. I try to make sure and view things from different perspectives.
Consider: I am not beholden to the banks because I have no debt; my home, cars and other assets are fully paid, and I never spend more than I take in. I have worked hard for quite a long time.
Now do you see why I am not beholden to the banks?
I have not debt too, and own my place outright, however we the taxpayers have to subsidize the banks directly (Bush's TARP Billions ) and indirectly (Obama's fed give away Trillions).
We the taxpayers also subsidize oil corporations (like British Petroleum) to the tune of billions each year.
Steven B. It's fortunate for you that you have your goods paid for. But not all Americans can say that. You have to be from the 1% that this is all against? We need to be smarter than our opponents!
Thank You
Danny Hinkle
Elect The Dude for President!
So, as a person who was smart enough not to out-spend their income, and stay debt free, he must be in the 1%?
Andy...
Maybe the oft mentioned "1%" could also apply to the percentage of Americans who actually handled their own income & expenses responsibly !
What's next for OWS?
Occupy car dealerships for the repossession of cars?
Occupy elementary schools that don't give trophies to every kid?
One thing they will not do is occupy a real job that actually requires work rather than a handout.
Jax A
I heard that they were occupying empty houses and vacant lots in neighborhoods. I also heard that they are finally moving on Washington DC. (thank god)
Why not just accept the status quo. What could go wrong?
Looks like a lot of people like to lick the boots and bow down to the Wall Street banksters and their help with investing in off- shoring of American jobs. Majority of people really are zombies!
roger why, did you, use, so many, unnecessary, commas?
And as much as Republicans love to dig at Obama...I never see a better or useful plan come from the opposers of his plans/policies. Know why that is? Both Democrats and Republicans are so locked in a useless ideological bull@!$%#-storm that they can't get their heads straight to compromise and realize it's about an entire country not a damned archaic political party getting everything its rigid way.
It is easier to deny the mess we are in by ripping each other apart. It provides an emotional release to temporarily feel better.
The problem of corporations funding our elections and the grotesque policies that result keep getting worse.
While there are antiquated ideological differences between the "two" parties, it's just a shell game to distract from the horrible reality that the people have lost control of what was supposed to be their government.
Take it back.
Conservatives, liberals and moderates are all being screwed by this.
Those few who benefit don't care about ideology. They have their eyes on the money ball.
Monkey...
A true "leader" brings opposing parties together in an effort of compromise...or at least makes an attempt to do so.
Mr. Obama seems to always be standing at a distance, criticising for his own political gain, when actual "leadership" is needed. His methods do not work and it seems he prefers giving speeches to his loyalists rather than doing the work that's truly needed.
Tony,
The Multinational banks and corporations pay for the campaigns of both parties, to prevent either from doing anything relevant.
Dan, what about YOU? Politicians need your vote, and they will do anything, promise anything to get it, if you don't see that the corruption is universal and includes voters putting personal wants over the needs of the country as a whole, and not limited to corporations and lobbyist you are simply looking through blinders.
Dan...
And if both parties are being run by corporations equally...is the recommendation simply to not actually vote for any candidate for elected office since you've deemed all candidates as 'corrupt' ?
People in the US can vote on cultural issues, just not serious financial reform.
A little tinkering on the edges, better than nothing.
ScoMata1964
If I had billions of dollars behind my preferences I could be a problem like the multinational corporations are.
In this system, it's the money that counts, votes count, but not like they do in functional democracies like New Zealand.
Dan, I dont think you get what I am saying.
Camping out and protesting watered down the power of their actions. They would have been better off having fewer larger rallys with a purpose. Too bad. The time has come for the rich to step down and let the people have their country back.
The Tea Party did that to no effect.
Dan .. do you remember the midterm elections?? The Teaparty had quite a huge effect of flipping the House. The largest margin of change in 62 years. Obama called it a shellacking and that was just the first coat of shellac..the second coat will be Nov. 2012!
marmee...
Please don't try to color dan's complaint with fact. That's a no-no.
What did flipping the house do?
Put one corporate funded party in charge after another corporate funded party.
Status quo.
Sure, the Tea party had some success in the last elections. From my veiwpoint however, nothing has changed. They are all cut from the same cloth, at least most of them. Obama's change, a joke. If anyone thinks Romney or Gingrich will fix anything, good luck with that. Romney flip/flops and Gingrich is the prince of gridlock. They all love that we, as a people are so divided. Divide and conquer, no majority will affect change.
The city of San Francisco finally had to clear the trash from the streets, nothing wrong with that. Afterall, no one wants a street full of filth aka the less than 1% Occupy WallStart. They just chant a bunch of garbage anyways
We're talking San Francisco here, glad their cleaning up the trash. Unfortunately they will leave a lot of trash lbehind.
The misguided, myopic squatters need to realize that they have lost their legitimacy.
The vast majority of Americans see right through these silly, rudderless people.
The teabaggers are what has lost legitimacy. They are the ones being discussed in the past tense!
Watch the House cleaning of 2012 if you need more proof of that!
We'll have to re-visit that next November. I predict a butt-kicking for Obama like the '72 Nixon/McGovern election.
Negativity isn't going to win elections. Obama is the whiniest POTUS I have ever seen.
As for the TEA party, they've moved so far beyond you, you simply can't see their taillights anymore:
http://www.teapartypatriots.org/
Oh yes, the tea party is just filled with intellectuals! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I see that you have been indoctrinated in neo-Socialist dogma. Perhaps you will outgrow it. I hope so. Such anger and acrimony, coupled with bias and prejudice is not healthy.
Oh here we go, I wondered how long it would be before big bad Socialism spews forth. Anybody who speaks out against the current Plutarchy is a commie Socialist.
Get a grip. The most successful and wealthy nations on this planet are mixed economies. The United States has been in decline for years now. We are no longer number one in much of anything anymore, except military spending, greed, and arrogance.
All ideologies have failed. Money is the only ideology that works.
As long as corporations and banks fund campaigns, America will continue its decline.
Multinational corporations and banks are the worlds power centers now, not nations.
Unless we stop this, we will all fall together.
Nonsense!
how so?
dan what about the funding of campaigns by Unions and Special interest lobbies? How else is Obama going to meet the heft benchmarks he is shooting for in 2012 if he is not relying on those groups in addition to the Motion Picture and entertainment money lobbies?
Mark VanGelder.....How is....
nonsense? You seem to be a proponent of OWS...their main goal if "money" and the equalization of wealth.....it is all about money for the progressives and groups like OWS and well the elite on the left who wish for society to pay off the low and no income so that they don't have to be bothered with them personally.
The most successful nation on the planet is the US, by far:
http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/infopays/rank/PNB2.html
You just keep telling yourself that, Steven
Arrogance counts for nothing.
The American people should fund our elections the way they do in New Zealand does, directly through the government.
If the people pay for their elections only the votes will count, instead of the money.
This would require a constitutional amendment banning all outside money going to campaigns.
Steven B, The past is not prolog.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-happiest-places-on-earth-are-heavily-taxed?siteid=rss
With a quirky contrariness as deeply etched in the national character as the fjords carved into its rugged landscape, Norway has thrived by going its own way. When others splurged, it saved. When others sought to limit the role of government, Norway strengthened its cradle-to-grave welfare state.
And in the midst of the worst global downturn since the Depression, Norway’s economy grew last year by just under 3 percent. The government enjoys a budget surplus of 11 percent and its ledger is entirely free of debt.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/business/global/14frugal.html?em=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1323277939-RY/IBC8tkMZDWp2fDXaIiw
Mark....I can't imagine that it is too difficult for a country of under 5 million people to accomplish really nice things.
Mark,
Norway ditched ideology and did something pragmatic.
We should do the same, but as long as the banks and corporations pay our representatives the bulk of the money for their elections, they will represent the banks and corporations not American citizens.
Oh really? Explain, in detail, how that makes any difference whatsoever.
Mark after reading your posts I can honestly say you aren't going to follow detail....
Consider the difference in the US economy and Norway's economy....Consider the difference in the US unemployment 8.6% of acknowledged population and Norway unemployment at 3.2%. They are two very different government systems...there is no short form to distinguish the two...
Don't get me wrong....I certainly like Norway and the people...But their system would not work in America.
Mark...
Since the you choose to bring your beloved 'teabaggers' into a conversation about the disintegration of the OWS camps....and need to sarcastically criticise the entire tea party as not being "filled with intellectuals"...are you telling us that the OWS protest sites WERE 'filled with intellectuals' ???
Just asking.
What do you mean, "just asking"?
Isn't that obvious?
Are you actually saying that it should be "obvious" to all that the OWS protest sites WERE 'filled with intellectuals' ???
I guess that means Mark is a bit like a young George Washington...he cannot tell a lie !
Tony...
I think this is what they call "Game Set and MATCH!!!"
another story about ows losers...want change ? try taking any job you can and contribute positively to society instead of whining ad bitching about how life isnt fair...little do they realize they do not represent 99 % of anything...what a waste of energy..
You mean all those millions of jobs just waiting to be taken?
What country?
What Occupy could really use is some social indignation in the form of a protest song....where is Bob Dylan or CSNY when you need them? Where are today's rockers? Maybe they are striving to be the 1%?
C - S + N - Y already have appeared and sang at OWS. They support the movement, naturally, as do most decent people who recognize inequality and unfairness when they see it.
I believe that only David Crosby and Graham Nash made an appearance. I remember them well from their activity in the 60's.
Did it ever occur to you that they are both very wealthy people? And, they'll make even more $$ from you now.
Steven B It's not about wealth, its about the unchecked power of multinational banks and corporations.
Unchecked begets more unchecked power, until the parasites kill their hosts.
We are a big and wealthy country for them to feed on, so we have some time before they drain us completely.
Lets stand together and prevent this, we can argue over the 60's anytime.
That's what I said. (C - S + N - Y)
Yeah funny that! How people can be wealthy and still be decent human beings. I realize that is a most foreign concept to Neocon Republicans, but many of us older Americans prefer to live as caring citizens who derive no enjoyment out of watching others suffer.
Mark and Steven, I get that you are sincere with your disagreements, but the focus shouldn't be on each other.
We have a common enemy that is sucking the blood from us all.
Oh yea, Dan, I've heard it before: The sky is falling. We're all doomed. There's no hope. All is despair.
Perhaps someday in an epiphany moment you will understand that the monster under the bed is self created.
As long as we stick together we can end the corporate funding (takeover) of our elections.
We are our best hope.
Our difficulties lie in the failure to realize that we are competing in a global economy. There are millions of people out there with very low standards of living who are willing to work very hard to improve their situations. They are willing to do that labor for less than we in the US are accustomed to.
Until we figure that out, we will sink while fighting amongst ourselves.
And here's yet another broken Neocon recording: Working class people make too much money in the United States. That's Neocon doublespeak for we need to bust up the unions.
As if corporations had no choice at all but to send our jobs overseas. The usual non-stop nonsense from the (anything but) right.
Woo hoo, Dan425 and VanGelder... pass that wine bottle will ya?
Steven B The multinational corporations have figured it out. Outsource Jobs to cheaper countries.
When enough people in the US are out of work for long enough, they will accept being paid less.
This works out great for the multinationals, cheap labor in poor countries will help to drive down labor costs in rich countries.
Technology also helps to reduce labor costs by making workers more productive, and eliminating the need for many positions.
There are some great new technologies that will help reduce the need for lawyers (See eDiscovery) and doctors (See Watson) .
As computers gradually develop the ability to learn (like Watson), labor costs will continue to be reduced.
The fly in the ointment for the Multinationals is that technology is a double edged sword.
Computer savvy citizens around the world can use technology to interfere with their wishes. (see Anonymous and Egypt/Facebook).
Reduced need for lawyers... (This is a problem??)
Besides, once the computers begin to learn, they take over and all of this is a moot point. (See T2:Judgement Day)
.099% LOL
why oh why? why didn't Nancy Pelosi build them a permanent free housing so they
could stay forever? she said she supported them and they were an organized movement
to be dealt with! she said they were grassroots! she said they were her kind of people!
once again we see the lies and how much of a hypocrite these demo liberals are!
Because the corporations and banks pay for the campaign Mayor of SF, just like they do in all major cities.
hey Mark put a tea bag where the monkey puts the nuts!
Have no idea why these idiots call them 99% cause they don't represent me or anyone I know, but then I don't associate with losers, druggies, gays, union azzholes and the likes. All my friends have jobs, went to college (and have a degrees that enhanced their 'in demand' hiring profile) and rely on their brain to make a better life..not like these clowns..speaking of which, why does the brown clown spend so much time campaigning..reguardless who runs against him, he can't hid from absolute failure. So when does SF and Calf go bankrupt?
They call themselves the 99% because they live in a dream world, and they are whiny, selfish crybabies.
They say it to convince themselves that they are actually something other than the fringe group that they really are.
If you have a master's in History, that's your own fault. Don't expect me to pay for your education.
My message to the OWS. Stop whining and do something besides squatting.
Dan...
Which messy encampment are you watching on the news...the one with all the "educated" and "clean" people ??? The Hartford, Connecticut encampment has had a drug bust, an armed protester, and an attempted rape within the last week. The police shut the camp down last night. There were six protesters there showing the world how 'eduacated' and 'clean' they were.
And with all the newpaper, magazine, internet, and television media coverage these protests have received, are you saying it it is impossible for anyone to form rational opinions about the whole mess without first "visiting" with the protesters ???
For you and your friends on this site now criticizing 'tea party' people to provide some misdirection away from the OWS mess...did these critics visit the tea party protests a couple years back. or are they being 'idiots' too ???
Van Gelder, you're obviously a commie plant on this site, here to stir up the rhetoric with your marxist BS... The OWS is nothing but a bunch of freeloaders, whining for the next handout, in accordance with the wealth distribution manifesto. Get a life, and a real job!
Oh yeah, here we go again.
A Commie Socialist, with a touch of Marxist BS?
Geez, when will the low information, right wing automatons concoct a new talking point.
Yawn.
As soon as you accept responsibility for your own situation.
Oh yeah, here we go with yet another right wing mantra: Everybody's on his own. The poor and elderly beg from relatives or charity, and the hungry do without.
I thought we got rid of Michelle Bachman this election cycle.
Mark...
As the 2012 election coverage will show, there's a fairly high number of "low information" left wing "automatons" in this nation also...including a good percentage of these OWS protesters we've been seeing and reading about in the news. Or do "low information" folks get a pass as long as they travel on the (D) side of the voting booth ?
Who cares about the occupiers? You ask them to leave, they tell you to ---off. They had their opportunity to voice their opinions, let everyone know what they objected to, and then decided to break the law! The country would probably be better off, just to shoot them! Well, maybe just ship them to another country.
PLEASE ship us to Finland, Denmark or The Netherlands! It would be great living in a country with a successful economy that works for all citizens and not just the top 1 percent..
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says people in Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands are the most content with their lives. The three ranked first, second and third, respectively, in the OECD's rankings of "life satisfaction," or happiness.
There are myriad reasons, of course, for happiness: health, welfare, prosperity, leisure time, strong family, social connections and so on. But there is another common denominator among this group of happy people: taxes.
Northern Europeans pay some of the highest taxes in the world. Danes pay about two-thirds of their income in taxes. Why be so happy about that? It all comes down to what you get in return.
The Encyclopedia of the Nations notes that Denmark was one of the first countries in the world to establish efficient social services with the introduction of relief for the sick, unemployed and aged.
It says social welfare programs include health insurance, health and hospital services, insurance for occupational injuries, unemployment insurance and employment exchange services. There's also old age and disability pensions, rehabilitation and nursing homes, family welfare subsidies, general public welfare and payments for military accidents. Moreover, maternity benefits are payable up to 52 weeks.
And the Neocons claim such programs cannot sustain!
They don't want deadbeats either.
Who said anything about deadbeats? Those countries would fall over backwards to accept those like me into their society. I have graduate degrees and an impressive résumé.
The deadbeats are the ones who exploit labor for their own personal wealth and greed. Or the derivatives trader leeches who never put in an honest day's work in their life.
You sure ignore the facts when they are presented to you.
To wit:
You just keep telling yourself that, Steven
If you simply ignore factual information, you're disingenuous...at best.
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You also stated that people like David Crosby are "decent human beings"
How many times was David Crosby arrested for possession of cocaine and having guns in his possession?
Steven...
I'd bet that Charles Manson and OJ Simpson would be called "decent human beings" too as long as they supported the OWS movement and showed up at a couple protests sites.
And that's no rap on David Crosby...best 'harmony' singer that ever lived with very impressive musical legacy. I simply could not care a whit less about a musician's political views or which events that musician chooses to attend.
OWS Please go for term limits. Believe me when I say, nothing else will work. If you really want change that is the only thing that will bring it. Of course the media and both parties wii not be with you though. Right now, you are being used as pawns in the game. You will never be able to change the banks or Wall Street the way you are going at it. You are only loosing ground one day at a time. Get real and have one purpose. TERM LIMITS!!!!!!
Good luck at getting ANY constitutional amendment through Congress, much less 3/4 of the state legislatures.
We can only get an amendment passed if a large majority agrees. It has happened before, but term limits are not compatible with the rules of the Senate, where seniority largely determines committee posts.
Also multinational banks and corporations would still be financing elections, so term limited politicians would still owe the Banks and not the people.
We should push for an amendment have the government be the sole financial provider for campaigns the way New Zealand does.
As Peter17 notes, it is rare to get an amendment of any kind passed.
Perhaps if more ambitious people find themselves out of work, things will change.
We have term limits--they are commonly called elections.
mike...
Thanks....I used to view elections that way too. It isn't always politicians that screw things up...often voters do their part too.
Simply look at election results in our state of Connecticut over the past decade. I now view 'term limits' not a something imposed on politicians...rather something that possibly needs to be imposed to protect us from voters.
mikehataway
Most congressional districts are gerrymandered, reelection rates are in the 90's.
I would vote for any candidate, democratic or republican that pushed for term limits.
Tired of hearing about the Tea Party. They are the ones who lost steam. Because they almost immediately began screaming at congressmen, calling people racist names, and showing how little they cared for anyone who was not a Christian or Right Wing Conservative. Their "party" was co-opted by the Koch Brothers and others in Big Govt. Big Corporation politics to become an extremist arm of the GOP. Then they went to work getting these racists and fascists elected, changing laws that have been fine for eighty years, like Union negotiations...this affected the poor and lower middleclass, teachers, nurses, policemen...which GENERATED protests all over the country. Until finally enough was enough and the TRUE 99% got together without the racial slurs and the right to bear arms nonsense and peacefully occupied Zucotti park. That's where it all started. A Tea Party rally where nearly forty percent of the people were on Hover-Rounds, electric wheel chairs, and on Social Security, screaming for an end to Social Security and other Socialist programs, like public libraries, was NOT going to get very far. Their focus was not on unfair taxes. or bail outs to banks. It was on "Take away THEIRS but leave me MINE!" and of course Grover Norquist's California Doctrine "No more taxes ever for anyone!" Yippee! What idiots! I don't mind paying my taxes. I just don't want them going to bail outs and banks that play games with our lives. The Tea Party? To hell with them. They were extremists. Calling for violent overthrow of the govt. etc. Occupy Wall Street demand fairness for everyone. If you can't see the difference, then turn off Fox news. Go talk to some Occupy people. And understand, they have a mission to help YOU. What will your mission be?
The TP is quietly working behind the scenes with currently lawmakers and future candidates. That is how things get done, not by camping out in a park or some office.
When a city has an extra 100 police officers sitting around doing nothing they are over staffed and the city could put this money to better use to balance their budgets rather than make 1%ers out of these useless cops. The cops in the US now being trained to inflict as much harm as possible to the citizens with use of billy clubs, pepper spray, tear gas, it reminds me of the eary days of Hilter. Makes be wonder how long before they start using deadly force to control the 99%ers. If this should happens the police will not find a place they can hid. Cops being part of the 1%ers make it easy for them to kill if necessary to retain their 1% status. Frisco with 100 extra officers that means they could reduce the butgt by at least 100 million with the elimination of their jobs. A good use of this extra 100 million dollars would be to hire a police department that protect the right of the 99%ers and that would not worry about banks and corportations they have enough federal and local police to protect them. This way when the 1%er cops went after the 99%ers we would have someone looking out for us and willing to die to protecting our constitutional rights, something the 1%ers ignore.
SF police are doing exactly what they are being paid for, protecting the citizens of their city from lawbreakers.
wow, Gary---another bad LSD trip?
mike...
As they said at Woodstock...'stay away from the brown acid'.
Some on this site might have saved some for a rainy day.
1 - OWS never was 99% of anything
2 - The media reports what it is paid to report - left or right
3 - Global financial equity would not help anyone in the US, maybe the Sudan, Somalia, Haiti, etc.
4 - Too many Americans like a soap opera instead of learning how things really work
Now, if San Francisco learns to apply this technique to the illegal aliens, i might take a vacation there..