By The Beachwood Occupation Affairs Desk
This is what democracy looks like.
1. By kgosztola: “John Carlos, an Olympic athlete best known for his black power salute during the national anthem during the 1968 Olympics, and Dave Zirin, a sports writer for The Nation magazine, are touring America with their book The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World. They visited Occupy Chicago for a teach-in on Saturday.”
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2. “Dear Mr. Mayor: I respect you as a person. I respect your office. I also respect your Police Officers. And I love Chicago. Having laid that as groundwork, I do have to ask one question. What in the hell are you afraid of?
“Occupy Chicago is not communist. It is not Republican. It is not an anarchist group. They are Citizens who want to build community, and share their stories, and their lives with their fellow citizens of Chicago, Illinois. Why do you keep harassing them?
“The Chicago Park curfew is a remnant of the past that is so seldom enforced that is all but forgotten. You only use it when you need to bludgeon someone. So, why do you see these people, many young, many middle-aged, and a few of us gray-haired folks, as any kind of political threat?
“Mr. Mayor, as good a man as you are, you don’t get talked about save for your relationship to #OccupyChi and Congress Square. You have a petition with over 9,000 signatures about that. Can you, please, do something to allow the group to camp there? Is there something in your power you can do?
“Sincerely, Cliff Potts”
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3. Back to Grant Park.
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4. More Than 100 Arrested.
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5. Occupy Rahm.
“Mr. Emanuel – asked what his top priority is for the Illinois Legislature’s fall veto session — answered that it’s helping CME Group and CBOE Holdings Inc. cut their state income-tax load. The session begins next week.
“The firms now are treated ‘not exactly in a fair way, at least in their view,’ he said, and as a result are threatening to move some operations out of town. The big trading firms have made Chicago ‘a worldwide leader’ in the derivatives and options business, he said. ‘It’s important to us as a city and a state to maintain that leadership.’
“Mr. Emanuel served on the board of a predecessor firm to CME several years ago.”
vs.
Emanuel’s Biggest Cut: Services For The Poor.
6. Occupy Madiganville.
“Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady urged ‘Occupy Chicago’ protesters to march over to House Speaker Mike Madigan’s office to protest the many taxpayer-funded perks and privileges that he’s doled out to supporters, friends and family in his 40 years in state government.
“‘The 99% of Illinoisans that don’t get a double dip pension, a legislative scholarship, a county or city job, an interest-free loan from the government, or special treatment on their property tax appeals should be outraged,’ said Brady.
“Brady made the statement following the latest revelation about Madigan from a Better Government Association investigation that Kenneth E. Pannaralla – once a top precinct captain for Madigan – got a pension from the City of Chicago in addition to the three paychecks from his three current government jobs, including one as the executive director of the Southwest Home Equity Assurance Program, a government agency created under a law Madigan co-sponsored.
“Madigan, who is also chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party, also gave Pannaralla’s daughter, Jennifer Pannaralla, a one-year legislative scholarship in 2003 to the University of Illinois at Chicago. And Pannaralla’s son, Kenneth, is paid $24,000 a year as an aide to Madigan. Pannarella also received $25,000 in interest free loans from the government agency he oversees.
“‘Occupy Chicago should Occupy Madiganville,’ said Brady. ‘What’s a couple of bad years in the market compared to 40 years of getting it stuck to you by the Madigan Machine!'”
7. Occupy Mark Kirk.
“Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk criticized the Occupy Wall Street movement, including the Chicago branch.
“He said it seems like a political and pharmacological event.
“‘It feels like undisciplined, unfocused, unintellectual anger,’ Kirk told reporters at an unrelated news conference [last week].
“He added that their demands would make for terrible public policy.
“‘I think if the Congress actually followed their direction, we would have a deep depression and millions of American would be out of work,’ he said.”
8. Let The Pizza In!
“Police were preventing a a pizza delivery from coming through to the encampment surrounding the NNU (National Nurses United) first aid tent.”
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9. “Outraged by the arrest of two nurses and a union organizer volunteering at the Occupy Chicago protest over the weekend, National Nurses United is planning a protest at Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office today,” the Tribune reports.
“The group, the nation’s largest union of registered nurses, is calling on its membership in Chicago to picket City Hall this morning to demand that misdemeanor trespassing charges against the nurses and all of the protesters be dropped.”
10. Steve Bartman is Occupying Wall Street!
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Comments welcome.
Posted on October 24, 2011