We're Here. We Sneer. Get Used to It.

So most people have heard of the Occupy Wall Street protest which is comprised of about 500 core protesters that have taken over Liberty Plaza in downtown Manhattan to protest....everything it seems.  The main issue seems to be the anger with fat cat bankers.  But overall, I think Wall Street is just a geographic place that the protestors can go to vent their anger about income inequality, their lack of a voice in politics, our position in the war and so on.

The group has copied the organizational structure of the Arab Spring uprisings.  It's a headless group that is like a collective and makes decisions using committees and strict representational democracy.  There's also an Occupy the Fed movement which is more of a libertarian thing happening concurrently and sort of related.  You can see live footage of the Occupy Wall Street peeps here. 

The big question is: What do they want?  And the group says it's not about that, but that's exactly what it's about.  If this is the lefty version of the Tea Party, then they need to push for things.  They need to prove that they vote.  For as much as they want this to be like V is for Vendetta, it can't be.  We'll need to make the process change either through legislation or capitalism.  Legislation means that this collective needs to find candidates that speak for them and get them elected.  I'm not a huge fan of this, because this will make Congress, and this sounds crazy, but even more divided than it is now.

Of course, if they want to try through capitalism and either boycott certain companies or work to educate others about writing to their Congressman.  See, this is really an image problem.  The Occupy Wall Street people are for income equality, and for consumer protection and for lowering the debt and for letting their kids have the same opportunities they did.  So why can't we all get along?   Well probably because it's hard for middle America to connect with these people who aren't showering and protesting against the cops and using IPhones to tweet instantly.  Not that I'm judging any of this, but this isn't going to make people feel closer.  Nor are the Free Mumia signs.  That's not what we're talking about.  And besides, he's a killer.  Rest in Peace, Danny Faulkner. 

Also, there's a lot of press about the NYPD's handling of these protestors.  Some seem to be outraged by these strong arm tactics, like locking up the protestors from the Brooklyn Bridge.  In the video, it's clear that the supervisor is telling them they could be arrested.  The crowd is so loud, it's hard to hear the guy, but whose fault is that?  Should they be required to get louder speakers if the crowd is large?  I don't think so.  I'd just like to say that when the cops move on the protestors, that decision is made by guys much higher up than those in blue shirts. 

We Had to Defrost this Revenge on Setting 2

Good Evening.  I'm sitting in my hotel in Burlington, VT listening to Styx streaming on my computer and I have promised to be better at blogging, so I thought I'd knock out a post before I turned in.

As everyone knows, Osama Bin Laden was killed last night.  And I, like many Americans, was happy to hear that he's not on this earth anymore.  I think being a born and raised New Yorker and working for the NYPD on September 11th, his death was extra sweet.  I harbor no illusions that this means we've turned the corner on the war on terror.  I think we are still very much at risk and have spent huge amounts of money on security theater to prevent what really is unpreventable.  We should have been spending more time planning for what happens after something does happen, but that's not as sexy as toys.  I mean, look at this thing.  It's called a Bear.  It's fricken cool looking.  Who wouldn't want that over a paper plan?  I get it.

So I am glad he is dead.  It was odd how many students gathered in front of the White House last night to chant U-S-A.  Given that they were probably 8 when the Towers fell, it's been most of their lives that we've been looking for this guy.  So maybe this feels to them like how it felt for me when the Berlin Wall fell.  But even I understood in 89 (I was 13) that this was a game changer and things like communism don't end every day.

I lost some colleagues in the Towers.  None from my precinct, thank God, but a couple of guys from ESU Truck 2, which was located about 6 blocks from us.  So I used to see them around for jobs a fair amount.  I have however lost 2 men I worked closely with in the almost 10 years following the attack due to illnesses sustained while down there.  There were 23 MOS (Members of the Service) from the NYPD killed on 9/11/01.  There have been 29 killed since due to illness or disease.  Their badges are displayed at the top of the post.  Breathing the air we all breathed down there.  And the Republicans didn't want to fund the health fund.  And now, they have to make sure that you're not on the terrorist watch list before they give you benefits?  Seriously?   I get madder than Anthony Weiner about this stuff.  I personally think that only members of the NY/NJ/CT delegations should be able to vote on any 9/11 related bills.  What does Cliff Stearns know about what those men and women did?  Nada.