More Occupy, More Crime
The Washington Times has a revealing editorial on the crime wave that has been taking place in D.C. since the Occupy movement took over D.C.’s McPherson Square – inconveniently located across the street from my office at Hudson Institute. According to the piece, violent crime in DC is up 13% since the October takeover, compared to the same period the previous year. The protests have cost D.C. $1.6 million already, and police resources that can better be used elsewhere have been deployed to deal with the protesters. In addition, the police have admitted that they are overlooking crimes committed by the Occupiers that would get ordinary residents arrested. D.C. police union chief Kristopher Baumann told the Times’ Anneke Green that "The frustration for me and my officers is these guys are drinking on the streets and doing things that we would lock residents up for and they're getting away with it and that isn't right." I sympathize with the officers’ frustration, and am not happy about the crime spike, either.
- Comment (12)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (3)
Comments :
Jun '10
Re: More Occupy, More Crime
Thieves are among the advocates for more thievery? Who would've guessed?
Jun '10
Re: More Occupy, More Crime
I posted this a few days ago on the Member feed, but felt it was appropriate in light of Tevy's post. Dave Barry's summary of the Occupy movement from his annual year in review column:
And they increased crime and placed large demands on city budgets. Other than that, the Occupiers have placed the country on the right path somewhere.
Edited on Jan 4 at 1:26pmDec '10
Re: More Occupy, More Crime
My eye is on Occupy Charlotte. Recently, a splinter group called the -- I am not making this up -- "People's Coalition of the Carolinas" took issue with them burning the American flag.
Clearly the Democrat party apparatus and the unions have been trying to co-opt this thing and Van Jones recently made a pro-Obama speech to the occupiers. The question is, do they really think they are fighting against Wall Street's cozy relationship with government or did they know from the start they would be Obama's army.
We'll see what they do at the DNC in Charlotte. Personally, I think the few who get disillusioned won't matter. Democrats need this "grassroots movement" to give them some credibility.
Re: More Occupy, More Crime
I no longer live in DC, having moved to Virginia, but what really rankles my old neighbors is that the DC taxpayers have to pay for all this but it's Obama and his administration who have oversight over the occupiers. Because they're in a National Park area. In other words, the mayor can't do what all the other mayors have done -- kick the guys out -- but the citizens still have to pay the bill. Kind of frustrating.
Sep '10
Re: More Occupy, More Crime
Police logs indicate a rise in crime but the police have also been ordered not to arrest the protestors?
Dec '10
Re: More Occupy, More Crime
Somewhat related: I recently saw a documentary called "Beer Wars" from 2009 on Netflix. The basic thesis was that the huge beermakers (mostly Anheuser-Busch) was crowding out small craft beermakers.
There was an interesting discussion about shelf-space, packaging proliferation, sameness of taste, etc. It was produced by a former CEO of Mike's Hard Lemonade, who happens to be a woman.
She then gets to politics. There's a discussion of a three-tiered system which has effectively given the big brewers a monopoly on distribution and how the beer industry lobbies to keep in place. I think she really wanted to make a partisan deal about it but didn't follow through.
She mocks the idea of "neo-prohibitionists" and goes to the head of Center for Science in the Public Interest and asks him if he's a neo-prohibitionist. He actually doesn't look very convincing as he denies it, but the scoffing tone stays.
In addition, one of her heroines is a woman trying to sell a beer with caffeine in it called "Moonshot".
Dec '10
Re: More Occupy, More Crime
So I decide to look up Moonshot beer and -- lo and behold -- Beer Advocate says that it ceased production due to a government ban.
What?
So I checked it out. It turns out there was a push by Obama's FDA and one particular Senator to get caffeine out of alcoholic drinks. For the children.
Yeah, I know. The over-21 children.
The Senator? Chuck Schumer.
Jack and Coke, Rum and Coke, Irish Coffee, Red Bull and vodka -- as long as it's not packaged, I guess.
And who did a major study on this "problem"? That's right the very same Center for Science in the Public Interest. They called it "alcospeed".
Now the point is that this isn't a big deal, but it shows who the moral busybodys are. You'd think, of all things, that moralistic conservatives would be the ones pushing for alcohol restrictions, but that isn't the case.
And you'd think that the ones who want Wall Street in bed with government would be Republicans.
But Ricocheteers know that that's completely wrong.
Aug '10
Re: More Occupy, More Crime
We had a similar situation in Ottawa, with the occupiers in a federal park so the city government couldn't do anything about it.
The difference here was that the commission in charge of federal parks eventually found the political will to kick the occupiers out because that particular park is needed for Ottawa's annual winter festival, which is incredibly popular.
In short, the public's patience with the occupiers ran out when they threatened to kill an event that is popular with the public.
Re: More Occupy, More Crime
Somebody told me of a study they saw (didn't catch the name of it) that compared incomes from all over the earth, and found that nearly all Americans are in the top 1%.
Imagine what the Occupy movement looks like to folks in impoverished countries.
I recall seeing one of the arrests on the front page of a newspaper and thinking to myself, "That guy is wearing a $300 leather coat."
I'm not short of money, but my coat is cloth.
Edited on Jan 4 at 2:01pmOct '10
Re: More Occupy, More Crime
Occupy Everything is ramping up the Fox-Piven timeline to coincide with the 2012 election. The dress rehearsal will be the GOP convention, but the real deal, go for broke, win one for the O will be November 6.
Saul Alinski would be proud.
Aug '10
Re: More Occupy, More Crime
I posted an article that made the same argument over here.
Mar '11
Re: More Occupy, More Crime
OMG! Occupying is so 2011.