An Occupy Wall Street / Occupy Together / Occupy Portland Grab-bag

I am not sure if an entirely valid comparison is made in this first video, comparing the Occupy Movement to the Arab Spring, the Civil Rights Movement, and Tienanmen Square, but it does provide some food for thought...

This does not mean that I agree with the actions of the NYPD highlighted in this video.  As a first hand witness to N30 in Seattle, I understand the police getting out of hand and turning these things ugly.

Portland police remove Occupy Portland protesters from downtown street | OregonLive.com:

But police and Mayor Sam Adams reassured protesters that the encampments that have taken over a pair of public squares will be allowed to remain indefinitely.

Portland police cleared Occupy Portland protesters from Southwest Third Avenue and Main Street shortly before 6 a.m., making eight, uneventful arrests.

Good Morning, Arrests: Police Clear Main Street, But Leave Camps Alone | Blogtown, PDX: 

Mayor Sam Adams wasn't exaggerating yesterday afternoon when he said he was running out of patience with a handful of Occupy Portlanders' occupation of SW Main Street. Before the morning commute, before 6AM, the O reports, officers emerged from the Justice Center, made some arrests and reopened the street.

The arrests came after the mayor's office and police bureau said yesterday they would wait for the Occupy Portland campers to try to settle the issue themselves at last night's general assembly meeting. But the group could only decide to leave one lane open—an offer Adams previously rejected.

Next, a video that discusses something I think could be a real possibility with the Occupy Movement, something that would be very good for democracy in America: bridging the anger from the left and the right to form a sane movement, with the numbers behind it, the true 99%, to really inspire some positive change in the system.

 Both sides are upset about many of the same issues, in general. They just have different ideas about who is to blame for the problem and how to fix them. It wouldn't be easy, and it would require the right setting aside the social issues and both sides accepting the will of a true democratic majority when it comes to federal practices and policies, but I think it would be an interesting step in a positive direction.

Uploaded by UpTakeVideo on Oct 6, 2011Harvard Professor Lawrence Lessig offers his thoughts on the Occupy Wall Street movement. He compares it to the citizen uprising in Wisconsin and says that the occupy Wall Street movement might unify left and right against the corrupt influence of corporate money on politics.

Finally, this one, nominally, because it fits with the theme touched on above, but really because I like the hell out of it and it is spending more time stuck in my head than any other song right now...  Plus, some levity is a good thing after the first video.