Tag Archives: Protest

Is Free Speech The Same As Destruction Of Property?

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Is destruction of property a part of free speech? Evidently in Baltimore it is. Baltimore has recently been hit with protests as a result of the death of Freddie Gray, who died in police custody,

The Blaze reported yesterday:

Protests over the death of Freddie Gray, who died in police custody, took a violent turn on Saturday, resulting in dozens of arrests and widespread property damage. During a recent press conference, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake confirmed that the protesters were being given “space” to “destroy.”

“While we tried to make sure that they were protected from the cars and the other things that were going on,” the mayor said of the protesters. “We also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well. And we work very hard to keep that balance and to put ourselves in the best position to deescalate, and that’s what you saw.”

Someone needs to explain to me how destroying someone else’s property in any way accomplishes anything. Protesting is a right of every American; however, violence and property destruction are not a right–they are a criminal offense. Those who sought to destroy should have been promptly taken into custody–not given space to do so. The message sent to the people of Baltimore is that the police will not defend their businesses. This is not a good message to send. I suspect we will see many businesses move out of Baltimore in the near future because it is not safe to stay there. Also, what impact will the statement of the Mayor have on the cost of insurance for businesses in the affected area.

It Always Amazes Me When Spontaneous Protesters Carry Pre-Printed Signs

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We have seen a lot of protests this year. Many of the spontaneous protestors carried pre-printed signs. That has always amazed me because in my protest days I always had to make my own signs. No one ever came forward to hand me a pre-printed sign. So who is printing the signs?

Gateway Pundit posted an article today that answers that question.

The article reports:

Many of the signs being carried by the protesters of the “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” and “I Can’t Breathe” thugs are printed by RevCom (seen printed at the bottom of many of their signs). A quick investigation reveals that “RevCom” is shorthand for “Revolution Communists” with connections to Weather Underground.

The Independent Sentinel reported on Sunday:

If you were watching the news broadcasts about the protests in New York City, you undoubtedly saw many people carrying signs reflecting their beliefs. But wait. The people holding those signs don’t look even barely capable of having printed the signs themselves, so you might wonder who the sponsor of the rally could be.  Who furnished the signs?

Well, on the bottom of the signs is the name of the sponsor: revcom.us

So, if you’re at all curious, just click right here on revcom.us and see who provided those spiffy signs those idiots are holding up.  It’ll only take a second.

Americans are being played. It is up to us whether or not we choose to be part of something that is designed to destroy the country we love.

Jobs For The Unemployed

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Today’s Washington Examiner is reporting that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has approved the practice of unions paying protesters to protest. The case involved union members being paid to protest against WalMart.

The article reports:

In a Nov. 15 memorandum from the NLRB’s general counsel office regarding the so-called “Black Friday” protests staged by United Food and Commercial Workers against the nonunion retailer last year, the NLRB lawyers determined that the UFCW’s offer of $50 gift cards to anyone who showed up to protest “was a non-excessive strike benefit.”

The lawyers said there was “no evidence to indicate that the gift card was meant to buy support for OUR Walmart” since the card was available not just to the retailer’s employees but to anyone who showed up at the unions’ protests.

CORRECTION:

The article incorrectly stated that OUR Walmart’s $50 gift cards were available to “to anyone who showed up to protest” implying that non-Walmart employees could get them. The NLRB document only states that the cards were available to “anyone who struck, not just members of OUR Walmart” indicating they were limited to Walmart employees.

The article also points out that very few of the people protesting WalMart actually work for WalMart. There is another interesting aspect of this story. Most people who shop at WalMart shop there because of the low prices. One of the reasons for those low prices is the fact that it is a non-union shop and the company does not have to negotiate with unions, cater to unions, and sometimes sacrifice  good business practices to appease union leaders. Many union members are not particularly wealthy, and by unionizing WalMart, they will lose a good source of inexpensive food and other goods. If the union members support the unionization of WalMart, they are also supporting something that will make their own lives more difficult.

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The Loss Of Civility In The Public Debate

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Today’s Daily Caller posted a story yesterday about the attack on Fox News contributor Steven Crowder yesterday in Michigan. Pro-union thugs came out in force to protest the singing of a right-to-work law in the state. The pro-union protesters were attempting to tear down a tent put up by Americans for Prosperity when the scuffle began.

The regular media outlets have chosen to ignore this story. The article reports:

Media Matters isn’t talking about Steven Crowder.

The liberal media watchdog organization has gone deafeningly silent in the wake of Tuesday’s union violence in Lansing, Michigan. That’s where protesters opposed to the state’s now-passed “right to work” law destroyed a tea party group’s occupied tent and punched Fox News contributor Steven Crowder in the face.

Those two incidents — both captured in crystal-clear video — have received wall-to-wall coverage on the Fox News Channel since they occurred. Meanwhile, an analysis by the conservative Media Research Center released Wednesday showed that Tuesday’s ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts all ignored the attacks, only referring to the protests as “boisterous.”

Why should this be covered in the media? Because Americans need to know what is going on around them. Violence in never an acceptable form of protest–regardless of the cause.
According to Fox News, before the vote on right-to-work was taken, state Democratic Rep. Douglas Geiss, speaking on the House floor on Tuesday, warned,

“There will be blood, there will be repercussions.” This is not the route to a constructive debate of the issue.

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I Am Glad That The Unions Are Helping People Find Work

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Yesterday’s Daily Caller posted an article and a video about the Occupy Protesters at the Conservative Political Action Convention (CPAC). Occupy Wall Street had said last week that they would be protesting CPAC, so the protesters were not unexpected.

However, the video is a bit of a surprise. One protester is asked whet he is protesting–he has no idea. Another protester explains that the local union offered him $60 to protest and since he has been out of work for a long time, he accepted the offer. He also has no idea what he is protesting–he simply needs the work!

There is nothing illegal about what the union is doing–protesters can be paid or unpaid. However, I have been to a few tax day protests by the Tea Party, and I can assure you that no one there was getting paid. I think it says something that the left has to pay its protesters (and that they have no idea what they are protesting) and the right protests for free and can articulate their cause (less government, lower taxes, and a return to the U.S. Constitution).

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I Realize That I Am Probably In The Minority Here, But…

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CNN reported today that University of California officials said Tuesday they will pay the medical expenses of students who were pepper sprayed during an Occupy Davis protest last week. Accuracy In Media posted a story on Monday about the media distortion of the event. I tend to fall more on the side of Accuracy in Media than CNN.

There is an extended video of the pepper spraying incident which shows the police asking the seated protesters numerous times to move. The protesters ignored the police. At that point, the protesters were breaking the law. As someone who has been at the scene of right-to-life protests, I can tell you that the police were very patient with the University protesters. Protest is a right under our constitution; blocking a road or pathway is not.

If the police have no way of moving protesters, where is the enforcement of law? The police are asked to keep order in our communities, do we really want to take the ability to do that away from them?

I am sorry that the students were pepper sprayed, but had they moved as they were asked to do when they were asked, they would not have been. Was this entire incident a set-up to try to gain support for the Occupiers? Are we being manipulated by the press? Those are the questions we need to ask.

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It Wasn’t Like They Were Consuming Transfats Or Smoking

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Rudy Giuliani

Image via Wikipedia

Today’s New York Post posted a commentary on why Mayor Bloomberg in New York City finally decided to evict the Occupy Wall Street protesters who had taken over Zuccotti Park. Things had truly gotten out of hand–some of the occupiers had contracted scabies, lice and various lung ailments. It was not a healthy place. It kind of makes you appreciate the luxuries of civilization.

The article reports:

An administration source insisted that Bloomberg gave the go-ahead to roust the protesters because of “an accumulation of things” — including concerns that the park became a firetrap and that protesters were planning to build wooden structures to prepare for winter.

But sources familiar with Bloomberg’s decision said he also was concerned with public health.

The article further reports:

And Hizzoner didn’t like being called out by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani for his inactivity.

A couple of weeks ago, Giuliani said that he would never have tolerated people sleeping in the park and that the city should kick the protesters out.

I suspect a lot of New York City residents and people who work in the city miss Mayor Giuliani.
Occupy Wall Street had one valid point–the economy is in bad shape and people are having a hard time being upwardly mobile. Unfortunately, they were protesting the wrong people–they should have camped out outside the White House and Congress–that is where the regulations and tax policy that is crippling our economy is coming from. At any rate, it’s time for the protesters to go home and become productive members of society. If they don’t like the way things are, they need to find a constructive way to get involved and change things–but they should get their facts straight first.
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Letting A Situation Get Out Of Hand

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Wash convention center

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Today’s Daily Caller posted a story on some of the events surrounding an Americans For Prosperity’s “Defending the American Dream Summit” at the Washington Convention Center on Friday night.

Videos from various news sources and people at the event are posted at The Blaze. A video posted by the Media Research Council at The Blaze showed a group of protesters fighting with convention center security guards and placing two children in the center of the scuffle. There is a lot of yelling and the children can be heard crying.

The people inside the Convention Center called 911 and asked for more police at the site. The 911 operators hung up on them four times.

The article reports:

“Last evening when we were in our dinner session, we actually noticed that there were protesters outside, and lined up on each corner,” (AFP’s director of Human Resources, Heather) de la Riva
said. “We were getting ready to dismiss activists and let out for the evening. So, I did place a call to 911 just giving them a heads-up that we were going to be leaving the convention area and that there were protesters outside. I did understand that there was already a police presence, but I was hoping that they would be able to calm the situation so that we didn’t run into any altercations. And, they [911] hung up.”

AFP volunteer Melissa Ortiz, who is wheelchair-bound, said she also called 911 to ask for help leaving the convention center. “I personally called 911,” Ortiz told TheDC. “They said, ‘are the police there?’ I said, ‘yes they are.’ Then, click.” They hung up on her too, she said.

This series of events does not reflect well on the District police department.

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An Interesting Series Of Events

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Yesterday’s New York Post posted a story about the problem of robberies at Occupy Wall Street in New York City.  The article reports:

Occupy Wall Street protesters said yesterday that packs of brazen crooks within their ranks have been robbing their fellow demonstrators blind, making off with pricey cameras, phones and laptops — and even a hefty bundle of donated cash and food.

“Stealing is our biggest problem at the moment,” said Nan Terrie, 18, a kitchen and legal-team volunteer from Fort Lauderdale.

“I had my Mac stolen — that was like $5,500. Every night, something else is gone. Last night, our entire [kitchen] budget for the day was stolen, so the first thing I had to do was . . . get the message out to our supporters that we needed food!”

What is a supposedly unemployed protester doing with a $5,500 computer? If the protester is so oppressed and down and out, where did the money come from to buy the computer? Likewise for all of the other pricey electronics gear? These guys have more ‘stuff’ than the rich they are protesting!
The article further reports:

Meanwhile, the Rev. Jesse Jackson was at Zuccotti late last night as he and about 50 protesters formed a human chain in front of a medical tent after police officers came over to ask about the tent, cops and protesters said.

“Jesse dropped in like a ninja,” said Stephanie Perricone, 21. “He came out of nowhere and helped us all out.”

The officers were asking about the size of the tent when the crowd of demonstrators — including Jackson — stood en masse in front of it.

The cops said didn’t ask for it to be taken down and the issue was quickly resolved.

It makes you wonder what was going on in the medical tent!

What About Protester Greed ?

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Fox News reported yesterday that one of the organizers of the Occupy Wall Street demonstration in Washington, D. C., paid the protesters.

The article reports:

But he also says the demonstrators wanted to be there, and he was merely compensating them for their time. 

“If you think I’m going to ask impoverished Latinos out of work, and out of luck, to parade for four hours under a broiling sun … think again,” Jim McGrath, chairman of the D.C. Tenants Advocacy Coalition, told FoxNews.com. 

Wow. My first question is where does the D.C. Tenants Advocacy Coalition get its money? Mr. McGrath explained that he paid them out of his own pocket. Let’s see–there were approximately 10 protesters that the article reports that he paid (there may be others paid by someone else, but we don’t know).  The minimum wage in the District of Columbia is $8.25 an hour, so that is $82.50 an hour for ten people.  Assuming they protested for one eight-hour day (with appropriate breaks and lunch hour), that is $660. Were taxes taken out of their paychecks? Were the proper forms filled out to show that they were legally here and eligible to be employed? Were their social security numbers checked with e-verify? Did they fill out the appropriate paperwork to receive wages? Which federal laws is Mr. McGrath in violation of by not filling out and returning the proper paperwork for hiring people? Was Workman’s Compensation taken out of their checks in case an angry passerby hit them over the head with their protest sign? In addition, why does the chairman of the D. C. Tenants Advocacy Coalition have that kind of money to throw around? Is he being paid the way a corporate fat cat is being paid? Are any of the major news outlets looking into that?

Some Random Thoughts On ‘Occupy Wall Street’

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There are some interesting facts behind the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protest. Bill Ayers (a man not known for his love of America or his patriotism) has a blog on Word Press (I’m sorry to hear that, but I believe in free speech). Bill is an aging 60’s radical who admits to being responsible for killing people. There is a long statement on his blog explaining what the protest is about.

The first line of that statement:

They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.

Think about this for a minute. When a homeowner takes out a mortgage, he signs a contract that requires him to pay back that mortgage. It is understood that if he cannot pay the mortgage, he will lose the house. The subprime mortgage market was the result of government pressure to issue mortgages to people who could not pay them back. The banks then had to find a way to share the risk of these mortgages. The problem was partially the banks, but the root of the problem was the government. Why are the protesters protesting the banks and not the government?

While we are on the subject. The handbook used by Bill Ayers and Barack Obama during their organizing days in Chicago was Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals. As you watch the demonstrations on Wall Street, you need to keep the principles of this book in mind.

11.  Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, polarize it.  Don’t try to attack abstract corporations or bureaucracies.  Identify a responsible individual.  Ignore attempts to shift or spread the blame.

They have not yet picked a person to demonize, they are simply demonizing banks and big corporations. Another thing to remember is that union leaders are supporting this protest. What is the difference between the union leaders who get rich off the dues of their members and the so-called corporate ‘fat cats’ who are actually responsible for producing a product?

Listening to the comments of the protesters, I am convinced that what they want is to get everyone else’s money without actually having to work for it. Many of the protesters are spoiled children who do not want to pay back their school loans or accept the responsibilities of adulthood. I suspect they will be gone as soon as the weather gets cold–they are not thinking for themselves–they simply are buying a story someone is selling them. Until they find their own purpose, they will lack the direction to accomplish anything meaningful.

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