The news seems to get more and more depressing by the hour, so I choose to start off my morning with a smile. Associated Press (emphasis mine):
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A tent city that’s among the longest-lived Occupy protest encampments is coming down as part of a new wave of eviction orders against demonstrators aligned with the movement in communities including Miami, Washington and Pittsburgh.
Occupy Maine demonstrators removed several large tents over the weekend, and the city on Monday gave them additional time to remove the rest…
The encampments that were the heart of the movement are becoming scarcer. On Monday, a judge issued what appeared to be the final notice for Occupy Pittsburgh to leave. Over the past week, police began removing demonstrators in Miami; Austin, Texas; and Washington, DC…
Like in many other cities, Portland officials cited concerns about disturbances, public safety and sanitation at the park, which is supposed to close between 10 p.m. and 6:30 a.m.
In Portland, the demonstrators were largely peaceful. But some of the city’s homeless moved in, along with associated problems of substance abuse and mental illness. Police said the number of calls to the park jumped after the demonstrators set up camp.
It’s now federal law that any news story about the Occupy movement must contain some variation of the phrase “largely peaceful,” to remind the reader that all the crime and violence that mysteriously breaks out at these encampments has nothing to do with anything. We shouldn’t blame an entire movement for the actions of a significant percentage of them.
And just look what they did to McPherson Square. It was a lovely green park, and now, one Occupation later, it’s a disgusting, barren mud pit:
As the mighty Iowahawk puts it: “For a ‘grassroots movement’ they certainly aren’t good for grass roots.” If anybody figures out what they are good for, please let me know.
P.S. Occupy DC might not have a free place to sleep anymore, but that just means they have to find other laws to break: “Speakers [at CPAC] will be physically assaulted, not just verbally confronted.” (Largely peacefully, of course!)