From Washingtonsblog
Officials Increasingly Refusing Unlawful Orders to Arrest “Occupy” Protesters
Police and Other Officials Are Increasingly Refusing Unconstitutional Orders to Arrest Protesters
Last week, New York police defied governor Cuomo’s orders to arrest hundreds of “Occupy Albany” protesters.
A Baltimore police union and two firefighters unions have written to Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (who wants to shut down Occupy Baltimore) asking that the protests be allowed to continue.
And city employees from Irvine, California to Providence, Rhode Island have correctly said that –whether or not they agree with the protesters’ views – the protesters’ have the right of free speech and free assembly under the Constitution.
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Front-Page ABC News: “Occupy Veterans Movement Growing Across U.S.”
ABC News Front-Page Story: “Occupy Veterans Movement Growing Across U.S.”
ABC News is covering the growing Occupy Veterans movement in a front-page story today entitled “Occupy Veterans Movement Growing Across U.S.“:
Since Occupy Wall Street protests have broken out in cities across the U.S. and abroad, support has come from what might seem like an unlikely corner: war veterans.***“We are a collection of prior service Marines intent on protecting American citizens and their ability to exercise their First Amendment rights,” a spokesperson for the group said.“These riot squads deploy unlawful excessive force against Americans all service members swore to protect, and many veterans have sacrificed their lives in that honor. We at OMC will not stand idly by as these cowards continue to abuse the Constitution, hurting American citizens. We will use any nonviolent means to convince law enforcement agencies to understand that brutality will only strengthen our resolve,” the spokesperson said ….
Yes, the growing support by veterans is newsworthy, indeed.
Posted in Politics / World News 2 Comments
Unbelievable, Must-See Video: Heroic Navy Sailor Stands Tall In the Middle of Oakland Tear Gas Firestorm … Holding Up the Constitution
Amazing Video: Navy Sailor Stands Tall In the Middle of Oakland Tear Gas Attack Holding the Constitution and a Veterans for Peace Flag … Moments After Scott Olsen Was Hit In the Head
Here he is a couple of minutes before, standing with marine veteran Scott Olsen before Olsen was hit in the head and nearly killed by a projectile:
And even active service members are starting to come out to support them.
Note 1: Courage is contagious.
Note 2: By comparing the video above with prior videos of Scott Olsen’s shooting, I believe that video experts should be able to confirm the identity of the shooter and the guy who threw the tear gas canister in the middle of the group trying to rescue Scott Olsen.
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Active National Guardsman Supports Protesters … In His Uniform
First of Many Active Service Members to Support Protesters
Everyone knows that retired members from every branch of the military support the protesters.
Yesterday, the first report surfaced of an active service man supporting the protesters … in uniform:
An active-duty black National Guardsmen in uniform showed up in Liberty Plaza less than two days after Oakland police brutalizeda U.S. marine Iraq war veteran in the crackdown on Occupy Oakland. He allowed people to take his photo and quite a few people made it a point to personally thank him and shake his hand.***“I support this movement 100%,” he told me. He would have come down before today if he hadn’t been busy with National Guard training.***A thinking soldier, a soldier with a conscience, is the 1%’s worst nightmare. If the rank and file of the U.S. military become aware of the fact that they too are the 99%, they won’t have enough cops in the country to stop us
I predict that the National Guardsman will be the first of many active service members to to support the protests.
Posted in Politics / World News 8 Comments
Cities Doing It Right: Respecting Protesters’ Rights to Speech and Assembly
Many Peace Officers and Politicians Are Working to Uphold the Constitutional Rights of the American People
Given all of the police brutality in Oakland, Denver and New York City (here, here, here, here, here,here and here), it is important to give credit to the cities which are respecting the protesters’ rights to free speech and assembly.
As Occupy Orange County reported Wednesday:
Late last night after a 5 and-a-half hour marathon city council meeting [in Irvine, Orange County, in Southern California], in which 72 speakers took the floor to express the need for the Occupy OC Tent Village to be accepted as a form of free speech, the city council passed an emergency motion to add the needs of “The 99%” to their official agenda. This was a feat which, according to one more conservative Councilman, he had never seen in 7 years of service.The council members each spoke in turn to the civility, articulateness and peaceful process represented by the Irvine Occupation , at contrast with the several other Occupational Villages in California, which were, at that very moment being tear-gassed. The general sentiment of the officials being: “This is quite clearly the model. And the occupation most in tune with city needs.”One councilman stated clearly, “I disagree with most of what you’re
saying. But you’ve clearly shown that this is an issue of free speech. So
if you need to sleep on our lawn,… by all means,… sleep on our lawn.”Shortly after, a motion was brought to the council to grant license to the occupiers to occupy the public space overnight citing the unusual form of the movement. (Another first in council history.)It was then passed unanimously to the sound of thunderous applause.Shortly thereafter, the City Council was invited to attend the General Assembly of the People. (Which takes place each night in the Occupation Village at 7:00 PM.)On a personal note,… I myself was stopped by the Mayor on my way up the hall, when he said, “You know what concerns me?” “What’s that”, I asked. Expecting him to cite a civil code. “Do you have enough blankets? Or should I get you some?” He asked.
And while they might not be as respectful of the Constitution (even when they disagree with the protesters’ beliefs) as Irvine, other cities have at least handled the protests better than the cities who have sent in the riot police.
For example, AP notes, in a story entitled “Occupy Wall Street: Many Cities Leaving Protesters Alone“:
While more U.S. cities are resorting to force to break up the Wall Street protests, many others – Philadelphia, New York, Minneapolis and Portland, Ore., among them – are content to let the demonstrations go on for now.***Officials are watching the encampments for health and safety problems but say thatprotesters exercising their rights to free speech and assembly will be allowed to stay as long as they are peaceful and law-abiding.“We’re accommodating a free speech event as part of normal business and we’re going to continue to enforce city rules,” said Aaron Pickus, a spokesman for the mayor of Seattle, where about 40 protesters are camping at City Hall. “They have the right to peacefully assemble. Ultimately what the mayor is doing is strike a balance.”Authorities have similarly taken a largely hands-off approach in Portland, Ore., where about 300 demonstrators are occupying two parks downtown; Memphis, Tenn., where the number of protesters near City Hall has ranged from about a dozen to about 100; and in Salt Lake City, where activists actually held a vigil outside police headquarters this week to thank the department for not using force against them.In the nation’s capital, U.S. Park Police distributed fliers this week at two encampments totaling more than 150 tents near the White House. And while the fliers listed the park service regulations that protesters were violating, including a ban on camping, a park police spokesman said the notices should not be considered warnings.In Providence, R.I., Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare said the protesters will not be forcibly removed even after the Sunday afternoon deadline he set for them. He said he intends to seek their ouster by way of court action, something that could take several weeks.“When you see police having to quell disturbances with tear gas or other means, it’s not what the police want and it’s not what we want to see in our society,” Pare said.***In Minneapolis, where dozens have been sleeping overnight on a government plaza between a county building and City Hall, the three-week-old occupation has been far tamer than those in other cities, with only a few arrests.Sheriff Rich Stanek has made it a practice to meet with protesters daily to talk about their issues and the day ahead, and he has refused to engage what he called “the 1 percent” who want to cause trouble.“We decided that’s not the tactic we want to take. Doing that sometimes requires biting your tongue,” he said. He added: “Some people have said that’s `Minnesota nice.’ It’s a balance.”
Our heartfelt gratitude to the peace officers and politicians working to uphold the Constitutional rights of the American people to free speech and free assembly.
Posted in Politics / World News 1 Comment
