Tag: occupy

#rsrh #ows This is what incompetence looks like.

Oh, this is entertaining: remember that video showing the Occupy Colorado Springs people being made to look even more like fools by Gov. Hickenlooper (D, darn it)?  Well, it turned out that the guy who shot the original footage that Verum Serum grabbed-and-edited is an Occupier, and he was not happy that we were all laughing at the superior intellect.  So, he went for a copyright take-down*.

Unfortunately for Mr. Occupier, one of the first things that the VRWC learned when we started up with this activism thing was this: Get a camera.  Get lots of cameras.  Film everything.  And lo! – somebody else was filming this event.

 

I believe that the technical term here is ‘pwn3d.’

Moe Lane

*Suuuuure.  Now they care about private property.  Doesn’t information want to be free, Michael Clifton?

Shame?  Me?  It is to laugh.

#rsrh Republican political activists, please watch this video…

…and take notes.  As Jonah Goldberg notes, this is what democracy looks like:

For those without video: Governor Hickenlooper of Colorado (Democrat, alas) shut up local Occupiers by letting them whine for enough time to annoy the crowd… then put the question of whether the Occupiers should be allowed to continue to a vote.  The crowd, of course, then promptly voted for the Occupiers to shut up, with shouts of “We are the 99%!” made to speed them on their way.

It’s a shame that a Democrat came up with this technique first, but I certainly hope that nobody reading this is so foolish as to disdain a clever technical coup simply because somebody from the Other Side came up with it.

Whither Occupy? (Probably not the ballot box.)

What a shame.

This New York magazine article on the Occupy movement is interesting, and that’s not a euphemism: author John Heilemann is not only aware that the supposedly leaderless movement has plenty of self-appointed (and I’d add, ‘imposed’) leaders to it, but he’s even willing to admit to it in writing.  Heilemann also has some pretty good insights on the Occupy movement, and the Democratic establishment, and how the two are, ah, ‘interacting.’ All in all, it’s about as fair-minded an article as you could hope to get from somebody who is sympathetic to a movement that thinks that the act of defecating on police cars is a valuable addition to public discourse.

And yet: the following bit of advice on what the Occupiers’ long-term goals should be is, well, poor. Continue reading Whither Occupy? (Probably not the ballot box.)

#rsrh City of Richmond responds to Tea Party fairness request with …AUDIT?

If this story is true:

…as reported on the front page of the Richmond Times Dispatch, the Richmond Tea Party delivered an invoice for charges incurred in our previous three Tax Day rallies at Kanawha Plaza because Mayor Jones chose to allow Occupy Richmond protesters to convene in the same park for two weeks.

[snip]

On November 14th, representatives of our Tea Party attended the City Council meeting to speak to the Mayor and Council during the citizen forum. Mayor Jones, apparently too busy to listen to his constituents, got up and left before we spoke. He had no problem inviting members of the Occupy group to his office for a closed door meeting days later, at the same time refusing to meet with us.

His administration, however, found the time to send us an audit letter…

(Via PJ Tatler) Continue reading #rsrh City of Richmond responds to Tea Party fairness request with …AUDIT?

#rsrh QotD, The Occupiers’ 15 Minutes Are Up edition.

Ed Morrisey’s gotten  tired of them too – even as free entertainment – as his sardonic reaction to the Occupy LA people finally getting the Gucci loafer* suggests:

Even the most casual observer will notice that the general assemblies tend to be indiscreet forums (THE GENERAL ASSEMBLIES TEND TO BE INDISCREET FORUMS), and the constant, loud repetition (AND THE CONSTANT, LOUD REPETITION) makes secrecy an unattainable status (MAKESH SREBRECY FAN UNNTRETATTINO FLATULENCE).

That last word was probably warped with malice aforethought.  Not to mention: malice richly, richly deserved.

Moe Lane

*Or does Gucci make boots?  I’m not exactly checked out on high fashion.

#rsrh A whiff of pepper: Occupy OC-Davis retreats. #ows

So, let’s discuss the Occupy UC Davis thing in a relatively objective matter, shall we?

  • There was an Occupy UC Davis presence on… the UC-Davis campus.
  • It included tents and overnight encampments.
  • The cops were sent in to break up the tents.
  • Then this happened:


(Essentially, there were a bunch of protesters who had linked arms and refused to move; the cops hosed them down with pepper spray – in a fashion reminiscent of a housewife using a insecticide spray can – and then arrested them.) Continue reading #rsrh A whiff of pepper: Occupy OC-Davis retreats. #ows

Stuck in traffic on November 17th? Look for the union label!

The n-dimensional geniuses over at SEIU (Michigan) have decided to link up with the Occupy Ringworm people in declaring November 17th to be Bridge Action Day – which should, of course, be more accurately characterized as Bridge Inaction Day.  The idea is that all these public sector union folks will take an unofficial day off from their jobs – which are probably a lot more secure than the average private sector person’s – and use their paid-for leisure to block some Michigan bridges, which will of course keep ordinary Michigan workers from getting to work on time.  This is apparently to show… solidarity… with the people whose day SEIU is ruining.  No, don’t think about it too hard: you’ll just get a migraine from the resulting irony fumes.

Trust me on this.

Anyway, couple that with the inevitable copycat ‘direct actions’ – and, of course, this charming promise to firebomb Macy’s – and it becomes increasingly obvious that tomorrow might be an excellent time to telecommute to work.  Assuming, of course, that you still have a job that will let you do that, thanks to this marvelous economy that the Democrats have given unto us…

Moe Lane (crosspost)

Links via here and here.

#rsrh The Liberations. #ows

A guy I know refers to the recent restoration of state and local authority in St Louis*, Oakland, Portland (that’s the one with the mortars), and Atlanta (that’s the one with the tuberculosis)  – I’ll add Denver and, at this rate, Philadelphia to the list – as ‘Liberations.’

‘Liberations.’

(pause)

I like it.  Good, solid, American word.  Liberation is what my country does in response to the specter of occupiers.  Or ‘Occupiers,’ I guess.  Hey, you can’t throw a rock into a crowd of Occupiers… well, you can’t throw a rock into a crowd of Occupiers because they’re already grabbed all the loose ones handy.  But if you could, it’d probably hit a Commie.  If only because the trust fund kids would be on the ground, protecting their precious Cult of Jobs artifacts**.

Moe Lane

Continue reading #rsrh The Liberations. #ows

#rsrh Where Moe does a fisk.

And you know that I never fisk things.  But I am going to fisk this one. Or at least translate it.

Dear Business Leader, 

[Dear company fiscally affected by our screw-up,]

This morning at approximately 4:30 a.m., the Oakland Police Department enforced the “Notice of Violations and Demand to Cease Violations” issued on Friday, November 11, to persons lodging at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza related to the Occupy Oakland demonstration.

[We finally sent out the cops to get rid of Occupy Oakland squatters, after they’ve spent over a month defecating all over our city.]

From the outset of the demonstration, which began a month ago on Monday, October 10, the City of Oakland has focused on three clear goals: 1) facilitating the protesters’ right to free speech and peaceful expression, 2) maintaining public health and safety, and 3) crowd control.

[We’ve been messing around with these people for a month now, despite the fact that they’re such a menace to society that we’ve had to treat them as a public health issue.  But, hey, free speech! – We’re kind of hazy on what that means, but it’s important, right?]

City staff has been trying to communicate with the protesters from the outset of the demonstration, which began as a peaceful demonstration that was supported by many of the City’s elected officials, was funded by labor and enjoyed widespread support by many progressive groups and individuals as an outgrowth of the national and international “Occupy Wall Street” movement.

[oh god oh god oh god we didn’t realize that they really were going to try to smash oakland please don’t blame all us democrats who signed on because we were too young for summer of love oh please oh don’t close your checkbooks everybody else was doing it too wait do it to julia do it to julia not me julia i don’t care what you do to her tear her face off strip her to the bones not me julia not me]

Our goal has been to facilitate individuals to remove their tents, cooking facilities, and belongings, and to leave cooperatively. We partnered with community allies to help facilitate communication with the protesters regarding their departure, and we partnered with Alameda County to provide services to assist those with housing and behavioral health needs. It was only until this week, with the help of community dialogue, that we were able to obtain communication and facilitate partial voluntary removal in the Plaza.

[Yeah.  We took seriously these people’s claim that they had the ‘right’ to squat on public property.  And then we couldn’t get rid of them!  Who would have guessed?  Oh, yeah, not-Democrats.]

However, as of Sunday evening, a majority of protesters were still lodging in Frank H. Ogawa Plaza and given unfortunate occurrence of Thursday evening’s homicide, the City could not assure adequate public health and safety in the plaza. The complexity of securing an adequate level of mutual aid has been a challenge, and has impacted timing of the City’s response. We are fortunate that law enforcement agencies have made themselves available to provide this service, which has been coordinated by the County Sheriff’s Office.

[Let’s not mention that riot last month, shall we?  Or that the city let the squatters come back.  Or that we let these people shut down the port last week.  And, yeah, there was that murder.  Guess it’s not a good idea to ‘off the pigs’ after all, am I right?  Right?]

We have instructed City staff working around Frank Ogawa Plaza this morning to delay their arrival at to 10 am. We are sharing this information with Downtown Businesses so that you can use discretion on whether to delay your work day based on your assessment of the situation. I greatly respect the commitment and support that the business community has shown during these events and appreciate your patience this past month.  The City of Oakland is fortunate to have such a dedicated, resilient, and engaged business community.  We know that these have been trying times for your business and for Oakland’s economy in general.  We are committed to working with you now and into the future to strengthen Oakland’s business climate, create jobs, and grow the economy.

[Hide.]

We will continue to provide updates as they become available; news releases will be posted to www.oaklandnet.com throughout the day for additional information to assist with your decision-making process.

[No, really.  Hide.]

Sincerely,

Deanna J. Santana
City Administrator

[For now.]