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Comments Posted By Emerald1943

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The Occupy Wall Street Thread

Adlib, excellent points! The 1% must be scared out of their wits. Otherwise, why would they be doing this? Those brave kids out there are not hurting anything!!

It’s kinda’ like the voter suppression thing…if the repubs thought they were winning, why would they go to the trouble?

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 1:13 pm

Thanks KT! I’m a little better today, but not really much better. This one wants to hang on and I can’t seem to break it. Lots of meds…

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 1:08 pm

Can anyone give me a link to find local protests? My cable news does not provide local programming. I know there was a link a couple of weeks ago, but I forget where it is.

Thanks in advance!

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 1:03 pm

Cher, I have to be in Winston Salem NC on Thursday. They have been holding intermittent OWS protests. I am going to check to see if there will be one there on Thursday. If so, count on me to be there!

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 1:01 pm

Bito, although I’ve missed a few minutes of their broadcasting today, there has been virtually nothing about it. They have been focused on Penn State all day.

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 12:59 pm

Cher, so help me God, if it wasn’t a five hour drive for me, and if I didn’t have this damned migraine, I’d be in my car headed east right now! I cannot believe that picture! What’s up with all the gung-ho riot gear??? Those people on the sidewalk sure don’t look like too much of a threat!!!

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 12:57 pm

KT, spot on!! I used to think it was bad during the Village Idiot’s term…it’s getting worse now!

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 12:54 pm

Cher, don’t feel like you’re the only one! I wouldn’t mind doing the same thing right now! I’m so damned mad!!!

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 12:52 pm

Cher, it’s almost like they are trying to rile up the protesters to actually turn to violence! I know that some of the cops would love nothing better!

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 12:50 pm

KT, I thought the same thing! I am so worried…I don’t want anyone to be hurt, and God only knows what these out-of-control police will do next.

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 12:49 pm

Cher, was that Chapel Hill, North Carolina??? I can’t believe this!!

Chapel Hill is one of the most beautiful and peaceful campuses in the US! UNC is the oldest public university in the country! I am completely outraged!!!!!

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 12:47 pm

Bito, do we have an attorney on PPOV? This should be grounds for a class action law suit IMO!

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 12:42 pm

Adlib, as this becomes common knowledge, I think we will see a HUGE push back! This is horrible! I am so angry right now!

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 12:14 pm

Bito, I read this morning that NYC had police helicopters closing off airspace above the park to news copters. They were determined to keep the press from seeing what they were doing!

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 11:56 am

Adlib, I’ve had MSNBC on all day and didn’t hear that, but I wondered if that was the case. Too many camps are being attacked all at the same time. It has to be coordinated!

Free speech????? Not anymore, apparently! Grrrrr!

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 11:53 am

Thanks, sweetie! You are so kind! I was really sick…yuck! Not able to move my head from the pillow!

I’m not out of the woods with this one yet. I hope it breaks up soon. Sometimes, mine last for several days.

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 11:24 am

Cher, I wonder how Think Progress got hold of it. They have just reported that the hearing is still underway. Maybe MSNBC is behind here…

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 11:21 am

Kes, I hope I have the details right. I love that “idea” line!

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 11:19 am

Kes, New York at Zuccotti Park. The police have surrounded it and are not letting people in.

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 11:18 am

Kes,….or shih tzus that bark with their high-pitched little voices! It’s like somebody sticking a knife in the side of my head when I’ve got one of those h/a’s.

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 11:16 am

Cher, I could not have stood it! I had a really bad one and was not even online much. You know when I’m not on PPOV, something is wrong! 🙂

Now I know what you were talking about. This is a new weapon developed by the military…aren’t they all??? It is supposed to be incredibly effective in stopping people right in their tracks with ear-splitting noise. Sounds awful! I saw a program about it on Discovery Channel or History or one of them not long ago. I didn’t know police depts. were using them.

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 11:14 am

Hey Cher, they have not reported this on the Tube yet, and I can’t read the fine print! 🙂 When did this come out?

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 11:10 am

WOW! Just saw a live shot of police actually throwing a protester over double barricades onto the concrete!! The guy just laid there! I can only imagine that he’s hurt! This is horrible!!!

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 11:07 am

Kes, according to what was reported on MSNBC, the corporation that actually owns the park supposedly requested that the city clear out the protesters so that the place could be cleaned up.

Mayor Bloomberg stated that the main reasons were health and safety, the same old song. From the pictures I’ve seen, they sure did a good job! Not a tent in sight! 🙁

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 11:05 am

Cher, was it that “flash-bang” device like they used in Oakland?

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 11:00 am

Cher, I agree! That could give so much credibility to the movement.

I believe, though, that the religious leaders may be hesitant much like some of the politicians to really embrace it. When the MSM only broadcasts negatives about problems, they don’t want to be connected to it. You know, that damned “librul” media!

The riots and other problems in Oakland really hurt the image IMO. While it might have been good to galvanize the protesters and swell their ranks, the MSM started their attacks on it and colored the perception by the public at large. The MSM just never mentioned that the problems were mostly caused by the police, not the protesters. This was so unfair!

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 10:57 am

Hi Kes!

Yes, as I understand it, there was a ruling by the court. The mayor has said that the protesters could no longer camp with tents and sleeping bags, but would be able to come back to the park to protest.

The judge ruled that the rules about no tents or camping in the park had been put in place during the protests and he put a stay on those ordinances for now. Those laws would have to have been in place prior to the protests. I hope I have it right but that’s basically what is being reported on TV today.

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 15, 2011 @ 9:47 am

Dearest Cher, of course it’s perfectly okay to agree to disagree! 🙂 I wouldn’t have it any other way! That, after all, is what makes PPOV so great!

I wish I could join you in LA! That would be fantastic! I envy you and any others who can participate directly.

The way I got into this discussion was Murph’s request for ideas for the movement as he was working with an online group to assist. I share some of his frustration with the apparent inability of the OWS to get it together. So far, he and I have pretty much been on the same page as to what we see that should be a focus for them. A little age and experience can sometimes be a good thing.

Your comment about the civil rights movement taking years is good. You are right about it. But the situation with OWS is different. To start with, public sentiment was not with the civil rights movement in the early years. In fact, there was great resistance, especially in the South. Now, however, the OWS has the wind at its back with the majority of people supporting them. I would think this would make it easier to expedite their agenda, that is, if they will ever get an agenda together. We, as a nation, cannot afford to wait ten years to bring changes. We need help now!

I will not be personally offended if no one listens to my ideas. I’m not that touchy. I don’t think Murph is either. But it is frustrating to see a need for action that no one in the movement seems to acknowledge. I would ask them if I could…just exactly what now??? The encampments are going to be shut down with cities quickly tiring of the problems they cause. We can expect to see more of this soon. So, what now?? Where do we go from here?

In a previous post, Murph suggested a limited presence for the winter in the major cities where possible, with a re-boot in the spring…thus my suggestion for a national march then. This would give the movement time to develop their plans and agenda for Congress. Without involvement by our lawmakers, we will see nothing out of all this except for a bunch of very tired and discouraged protesters who’ve have put it all on the line only to see it fizzle out. I sincerely hope that this will not be the case!

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 13, 2011 @ 10:59 am

Cher, you do make some good points, but I still must disagree. If it were physically possible for me to be sitting in a cold tent in Zuccotti Park, I would definitely be there!! I cannot do this due to physical limitations and distance. I would have to agree with Murph. I am just as much a part of OWS as anyone else in this country. All of us here are the 99%! All of us have been hurt by the corporate takeover of our government. All of us have been affected by the recession that was created by the banksters. All of us want to see the movement succeed in bringing about the changes that we need.

I cannot give them much except the benefit of my years and experience. That is my only way of supporting them at this point in my life. I would that it was otherwise. IMO, my physical proximity to an encampment is irrelevant. If I am able to give them even a small idea to help make the changes, then I have done something good to support them in the only way that I can.

Each of us must contribute to the movement in our own ways. My “pontificating” is my way of attempting to put some kind of foundation under what I see as a floundering movement. Murph’s point about accepting guidance from older and experienced protesters is a good one. Even in the civil rights movement, Gandhi was a big influence on how it was carried out. They were not isolated at all, and I believe that MLK and other leaders were greatly impacted by how Gandhi had organized his protests, as well as taking input from black leaders across the country.

My point about the media is clear this morning. As I watch the Sunday news, the only mention of OWS is about arrests in Portland and a few other places…nothing about the goals of the movement itself. The American people and the MSM are moving on.

In my humble opinion, this movement is our best chance of bringing change to this corrupt government. OWS is missing out on an incredible opportunity!

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 13, 2011 @ 9:27 am

Cher, with all due respect, I would have to disagree with you about how the movement is progressing. With a decided lack of coordinated leadership and absence of actionable goals, I can see the whole thing fizzling out over the winter months. Whether it resumes in the spring is still up in the air, apparently dependent on some consensus that is practically impossible to get.

When the protests first began, we saw people who expressed their frustration with everything including unemployment, student loans, foreclosures, income inequality, etc. There was no distinct message. The MSM wanted to know what the demands were for their own purposes, to fill in a segment and provide some drama. At that point in time, the disparate messages were appropriate for showing the level of discontent in the general population with the many issues facing us.

However, if change is to ever happen, the movement must work within the system for legislative action on these various issues. It seems that they are meeting and discussing the same things over and over. They never come to the point of making those necessary demands on our government. There seems to be a definite leadership vacuum overall. Consensus of 90% is a fine idea, but not if it hampers actually DOING something. Majority rule voting might be a better and more productive way to go.

I certainly would not try to tell them what they should demand, only that they have to demand something…and soon! Only by that will they be able to utilize the immense power of the movement. I simply do not want to see all their efforts go to waste.

My earlier point to Murph was that media interest is waning as is the public’s. Unless there is some incident like the violence in Oakland, the MSM is pretty much ignoring it now. You mentioned the OWS march to Washington. To my knowledge, there has been NO media coverage of it at all, at least not on cable news.

Last week, in response to Murph’s request to us for ideas, I suggested a national march on Washington, another “million man” march to be held in the Spring. My feeling is that this would garner MSM attention and re-boot the movement for the summer months. It would also get the attention of the Congress, being designed expressly for that purpose. I am aware of the Occupy DC group, but they have been strangely quiet. Perhaps local media covers them in the DC area, but I’ve seen nothing on the national front. In my opinion, media attention is going to be the life blood of the movement over time. Without it, and without demanding that our Congress fix the problems, nothing is going to happen. All that marching and slogan chanting will come to naught.

Please do not misunderstand my intentions here. I am an avid supporter of OWS and applaud every one of them for standing strong, even in the face of police brutality and bitter cold! However, I do think that they are spinning their wheels to a certain extent. As I said, I would hate to see them waste the power that they have due to a lack of goals, demands and capable leaders that I’m sure they have among them. It will take a national coordinated movement to bring about the changes that we so badly need. If all the OWS protests can be organized into one concerted movement, they will have a chance.

The social networking aspect of this movement is wonderful, just as it was during the uprisings in the Middle East. But I honestly doubt that anyone in Congress is reading Tweets or daily updates from the various sites. OCCUPY from every location needs to speak in one loud voice if the needs of the people are ever to be addressed by Washington. Otherwise, the politicians will just ignore it, along with the MSM, and eventually even the public at large. That would be a crying shame!

» Posted By Emerald1943 On November 12, 2011 @ 11:32 pm