As the Navy Seals say: "Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock..."

I'm just not seeing what Occupy [insert location] achieved on any level. From a political standpoint its done way more harm to progressives than good. Epic fail.

The media is behaving like a group of highschoolers crowded around a pair of kids and chanting, "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

If there's violence tonight, they bear a large share of the blame.

Fail is right.

Obama, Pelosi, US Rep Bowtie, Adams, they all embraced the Occupadoes as if they would be some sort of Savior to their failed leadership. Confusion, crime, crap smeared on cop cars, ... None of that is helping lift their failures.

If you tie two rocks together, yeah, maybe that will make them both float better!

Fail!

Yeah, what did that Declaration of Independence actually acheive anyway? And that stupid Emancipation Proclamation, and that idiot Seneca Falls thing. All big fails.

Meanwhile, what I've always wondered is who are the other two kids holding the string with the five Portland Commissioners in that picture at the top of the blog?

Oh please please please make it a naked bicycle swarm.

OWS-P acquired a national following last evening when the divisive, alleged mayor appeared side-by-side with voice-for-but-not-Occupy-spokesperson Jim Oliver on PBS's Newshour. Both read from prepared scripts, the former less obviously than the latter:

"JIM OLIVER: Well, our encampment is firmly entrenched in Chapman and Lownsdale squares, and we intend to stay there.

We have called for an Occupation Fest 2011 that is starting on Saturday evening. Every citizen of Portland is invited to come down and join us for dancing, music, a pot luck, games. We expect thousands. And we will be holding the parks peacefully in solidarity with our movement all across the country. And we expect to remain indefinitely.

JEFFREY BROWN: And, Mayor, from you, very briefly, you said you are worried. Are you worried about the reputation of your city at this point if things do get violent?

SAM ADAMS: We're going to -- you know, from the very beginning, our goal has been to deal with this movement, this protest in a peaceful way.

I feel like we have, to a great degree, up to this point. And that is our goal moving forward to enforcing the notice of eviction. You know, those people that want to get arrested for civil disobedience purposes, we have facilitated that before.

But the location and the way that this camp is set up and just other events have conspired that this is an unsafe situation. And it's not just about the fact that it's on the doorstep of City Hall. We take these kinds of enforcement actions all over the city, you know, all the time as the need arises.

JEFFREY BROWN: OK. All right."
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/july-dec11/occupyportland_11-11.html

Michelle,

How did you come up with that?

I suppose this blog has share some of the blame? All the commenters on every news story?

What's you're saying is the occupiers has no self control or chices? They are at the mercy of observers and media?

Of course there will be some violence and arrests. And of course Creepy has made this a mess.

Occupiers think they are part of something cool and want to make it cooler with outageous behavior and mayhem.

Why not blame the police now for any outcome?

If they show up in riot gear to protect themselves will that a provocation?

George Anonymuncule Seldes

Are you really going to conflate the founding fathers (who wrote the Declaration of Independence you referenced) with the drunken and drugged homeless encampment that is Occupy Portland? REALLY?

They have more in common with the Whiskey Rebellion than any historical uprising made in the name of Freedom or Liberty.

Ben: I think Michelle's point is that the media have been doing more harm than good; egging the flea-partiers on.

George: Meanwhile, what I've always wondered is who are the other two kids holding the string with the five Portland Commissioners in that picture at the top of the blog?

Williams and Dane have their faces averted in that shot, unfortunately.

Tee, the founding fathers weren't the founding fathers when they ratified the Declaration either, they were terrorists who consciously chose to use killings and violence against lawful authority and property destruction to advance their political aims. Estimates are that they never had majority support and that many of the best people fled to Canada rather than submit to what they saw as mob rule by drunken and uneducated louts who, absent French intervention, would surely have hung together ... On gibbets.

I didn't intend to compare the OWS folks to anyone ... I merely pointed out that the insta-analysis that masquerades as thought and attempts to summarize a social movement that is not even six months old as "fail" is exceedingly premature. Most epochal changes in social direction are not recognized during the turn, only in hindsight. OWS may turn out to have been " a tale told by an idiot, much ado about nothing, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.". Or not. It is well too soon to say.

Meanwhile, http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/11/09-0

P.s. The Whiskey Rebellion, as the rich prefer to recall it, was very much about freedom and liberty. Shay and the farmers, much like people who feel duped by Obama's stirring rhetoric, were insisting on the real change and were not happy that the Revolution had only changed who they were indebted to.

Max,
Obviously, Michelle's point was simple to get.
I'm calling BS on it.

Suppose you or her provide an example of "egging on" by the media with a suggestion of the alternative of how they should be conduting themselves?

"the media have been doing more harm than good; egging the flea-partiers on."

Great - A group that takes it's next move from The O. These guys are geniuses.

CoP will probably take a look at midnight, then back down and come back at 400AM when the partiers are dozing off.

If anything, Occupy Portland has clearly illustrated the plight of the homeless, the drug addicted, and the mentally ill. The 10%, not the 99%. No one likes seeing it out in the open, but their efforts have brought much needed awareness to unattended problems in this city.

The police have shown amazing restraint and professionalism so far, but at some point they will need to enforce the law. The media is there 24/7 hoping to catch anything that will sell air time. Even if not egging things on, their presence will incite some to provoke the authorities.

Here's to hoping for a somewhat peaceful resolution, that we can do a little more for the 10%, and that nobody in blue gets hurt or ill wading into that mess.

HMLA, will you be providing air support?:)

"their efforts have brought much needed awareness to unattended problems in this city."

In terms of real actions and TV having to fill up minutes with something else, what exactly have they accomplished?

Unless you just found out we don't want their type in the Pearl around the libs.

George...We can the breakaway colonists were guilty of treason and sedition before winning their freedom; I'm not sure the founding fathers were personally culpable of terrorism. At least not until they were violently provoked.

One man's struggle for freedom is always going to appear seditious to the establishment authority.

That said, we live in a functioning democracy that offers the possibility of Change (and Hope!) at the ballot box.

If the OWS-Portlanders want to effect change, violence will not achieve their goals.

As Jefferson said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure." I agree with him.

I'm simply saying the current cast of OWS'ers aren't equipped for revolution or violent resistance, mainly because they lack cohesion and capable leadership. This is also the wrong time for an insurrection: the 99% are too lazy and docile to actively participate in their own government; how could they foment revolution?

Georgte -

Shay's rebellion and the Whiskey rebellion two very different events, though sharing similar underlying economic roots.

Shay's rebellion, central Mass. 1780s http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiskey_Rebellion

Whisky rebellion - 1790s western Pennsylvania, Ohio
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiskey_Rebellion

Least now we know who they are and what they are made of.

The Whiskey Rebellion (disclaimer: started on my ancestor's farm) isn't a bad comparison to Occupy; it was opposition to monied interests in the east who taxed farmers in the west (who had only one good way of getting grain to market: in whiskey form). The tax applied unevenly to large vs. small businesses and the small guy got shafted. As usual.

Of course, they had a specific message and were still obliterated, but well. The take away message is that after the Revolution, popular uprisings really didn't work very well.

SAM ADAMS...."We take these kinds of enforcement actions all over the city, you know, all the time as the need arises."

Well, yeah -- because most of the time you make it necessary, Sam, with your crazy mixed-messaging. You delusional narcissistic clown puppet. Will someone please get a hook and get him off the stage?

"In terms of real actions and TV having to fill up minutes with something else, what exactly have they accomplished?"

Steve, to be out there on display. Not in an alley, or shelter, or drug treatment center, or jail, but all gathered together in one smelly ulgy mess so the whole city can see what mis-spent dollars can accomplish.

As for the American Revolution (and the Rye (Whiskey) Tax Rebellion), same as it ever was today:

The rich colonial elites who benefitted most by revolting against Britain, never paid their fair share for their War -- remember Valley Forge!* -- and never even repaid one of their brave domestic financiers, Robert Morris -- but instead, threw him to the creditor wolves who imprisoned him in debtor's prison for not being able to meet his own obligations when the colonial rebel businessmen refused to honor their war debts to him.

Some basic background:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Morris_(financier)

* without the Oneida Nation of the Iroquois Confederation sneaking supplies to the starving and freezing Continental Army, Valley Forge would've been the end of it all.

See #3 here for a glimpse:
http://www.oneidanation.org/culture/page.aspx?id=2446

Not fun when you throw a great get together and then the crashers show up... and then the cops show up and trash the place while kicking the drug dealers out. The dead hooker in the bathroom and the used needles in your carpet are just added treats for your efforts. Beauty mark becomes a mole becomes a melanoma; Re-assess the reality of any situation frequently and critically.

The MSM is saying that a hundred "anarchists" are planing to be there for the closing ceremonies.

Even if it is a propaganda ploy by cops or tighty-righties or whoever, this would be an excellent time to declare victory and GTFO!

Just so there's at least one bet on double-zero, '... while the wheel still it spins' I bet Mayor Maynot gets sensible and flip-flops before the witching hour, turns into a pumpkin and cancels the clearout, postpones the deadline.

Portland Police and all the Peace Officers cum wannabe robopukes: Pedal yourselves home. Ain't gonna be no bloodlust sportkilling there then. Take your hopped-up steroid-crazed black badges away and go wantonly murder an innocent civilian somewhere else, or abuse an 'enabling' spouse or something.

Step away from your stupid.

Anybody who's still down there tonight and gets hurt isn't going to get too much sympathy.

Who's Behind the Mayhem....?
http://www.alternet.org/story/153053/who%27s_behind_the_mayhem_at_the_oakland_protests

Notable excerpt:

“Who are these people?” asked one protester who would only identify himself as Dave. “They're not staying here with us, they're not participating in the GAs [general assemblies] and as far as I'm concerned, they're not a part of this movement.”

Another protester spoke of how the broken windows and spray-painted graffitti had overshadowed the “beautiful thing” they'd accomplished during the day. “We shut down the fucking Port of Oakland,” she said, “and all the news is talking about today is this bullshit that went down last night.”

Another activist spoke of the sense of vulnerability she felt, as police have come to rely on a handy group of “black bloc anarchists” to justify their violent responses.

Indeed, on November 10, I spoke with an Oakland police officer about the department's crowd control strategy that night. “My feeling is that if you want to protest or whatever, that's fine by me. But when things get out of control, then public safety has to step in.” He said the police had learned that “things were getting ugly” that night, with “this small group of troublemakers breaking windows and spray-painting buildings.”

I asked him to clarify at what point the decision had been made to intervene with a large number of riot police, and he responded, “I can't tell you all the details.”

Learn from history or suffer its ends: Being past and over.

wikipedia /Bonus_Army deadly riot

The Bonus Army was the popular name of an assemblage of some 43,000 marchers — 17,000 World War I veterans, their families, and affiliated groups—who gathered in Washington, D.C., in the spring and summer of 1932 to demand immediate cash-payment redemption of their service certificates. It was led by ... a former Army sergeant.

Many of the war veterans had been out of work since the beginning of the Great Depression.

Retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler, one of the most popular military figures of the time, visited their camp to back the effort and encourage them.
On July 28 ... Washington police met with resistance, shots were fired and two veterans were wounded and later died.
President Herbert Hoover then ordered ... Bonus Army marchers with their wives and children were driven out, and their shelters and belongings burned.

Gibby. Thankfully no, my kit is now a decoration for my office, having long since passed my EOS. This sort of thing is best left to the 25-35 year old set. And, at this advanced age, riot gear annoys my arthritis...

I just got back from there.

Cops are in groups of 4- 6 on every corner and others nearby.

Portland Water Bureau dump trucks are down there at one corner being loaded with garbage form occupy and it looked like a break down of tents has begun at the one corner.

The two dump trucks were full and not a dent was made. At this rate is will many loads and a huge cost to clean up.

I suspect this whole despicbale farce will cost the city taxpayers in excess of $2 million by the time it's all wrapped up.

Tensky suggests he has some higher intellect, understanding and historical perspective but he can't quite find enough or the right words to adequately share his brilliance.

And I am so ready to learn.

Buggers, some NoP
o thugs and homeys are on their way to defend the police... Can this thing get any stranger

Ben: Suppose you or her provide an example of "egging on" by the media with a suggestion of the alternative of how they should be conduting themselves?

I don't know how the media should be conduting themselves, but I think they spend way too much time on the flea party, and especially in the last couple of days have been heavy on the "ooh, there could be violence" angle. Of course the media wants violence: it fills air-time and column-inches. God forbid that they actually have to work on complicated stuff like the connections between developers and local politicians.

Heck, if I recall correctly, The Zero even editorialized in favor of the Clackamas County Cabal caper; so much easier than actually looking into the issues.

"Reverend Chuck Currie was down there today, in his Roman collar even, picking up some free TV time for his next political campaign."

He'll be back at midnight, along with twenty other "faith leaders". It's just like the civil rights movement, you see...

"so the whole city can see what mis-spent dollars can accomplish."

Funny, taht's not my takeaway and I thought the message was about 1% something and 99% nothing.

I don;t think the idea is to get more money for drug abuse or homelessness.

we were down there about 6 pm, things were looking like the pull up of a rainbow gathering, pretty cleared out tents, dumpsters, bags, etc. I did manage to feel guilty and unworthy, for a few instants, as I contemplated what it would take to get me to camp in the rain, and then realized that the various situations and cravings of the folks involved probably made camping in the rain a decent alternative to whatever they have.

Sad. The bottom line is, no one knew what a derivative even was. Rocket scientists, heart surgeons, experts of all the domains of knowledge, except banking, had no clue what a derivative was.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-hren/occupy-bankruptcy_b_1089940.html