Portland Police Chief Mike Reese calls himself a candidate at Urban League event: Portland City Hall roundup. Michael Lloyd/The OregonianPortland Police Chief Mike Reese, left, and Mayor Sam Adams. OPB's Think Out Loud hosted Portland Police Chief Mike Reese this morning for a discussion of Occupy Portland and protesters' clash with police Thursday. When asked the question that's on every Portland political junkie's mind -- will you run for Portland mayor -- Reese demurred. He said he was in his city of Portland office -- and in uniform. But last night at the Urban League fundraiser, Reese stood up when all the candidates for public office were asked to do so.
Reese was also wearing his uniform at the time, guests at the event said. Reese, who hasn't officially announced a run but formed a campaign fund last week, is clearly walking a fine line here. "Non-elected officials, acting in their public capacities, may not express political opinions and may not work for or against political parties, ballot measures, signatures on measures, or candidates," the city's rules on political activity state. Statement from Police Chief Mike Reese. Occupy Portland denied in Park Blocks.
PORTLAND - Around 50 people with Occupy Portland started setting up tarps, ropes and tents in the South Park Blocks near the museum at SW Jefferson St. and Park Avenue Saturday morning. Police arrived and took down tents and ropes, telling people they can’t set them up there. No one resisted and police said no one was arrested. Police said the group put up walls around the camp and would have security at limited entrances not allowing anyone who was drunk or associated with any criminal behavior. Campers said groups planned to camp in parks around the city all winter long. More: Police pepper spray video released Meanwhile, about 15 members of Occupy Portland attempted to occupy a vacant, foreclosed house on NE Roselawn, as part of an effort to continue the movement Occupy Portland is in midst of change two days after the city evicted the group from an encampment downtown in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Demonstrators said they were occupying a bank-owned house. Occupy Portland: Image of Portland police pepper spraying protester goes viral. View full sizeRandy Rasmussen/The OregonianA police officer deployed pepper spray at Southwest Yamhill Street, between the JP Morgan Chase bank and Pioneer Courthouse Square. The photo was taken from the southeast corner of the square, looking toward the intersection of 6th and Yamhill after a day of marching through downtown Portland, Ore., by Occupy Portland participants.
People gathered on the east side of the Steel bridge earlier in the morning to demonstrate in support of the Occupy movement, on the day known as N17. Several people were arrested and the march continued over the lower span of the bridge into downtown, where a rally was planned. Later in the day people were arrested in a Wells Fargo branch downtown. The web is flooded with images and news of tense moments between Portland police and N17 protesters on Thursday but perhaps none is getting more attention this morning than one of a Portland police officer firing pepper spray directly into one woman's face. "... Rumor: Portland experiencing "Blue Flue" today as officers call in sick - tired of opposing Occupy : Portland.
Occupy ‘bat-signal’ creator explains how he brought it off. By Muriel KaneFriday, November 18, 2011 18:51 EDT As Occupy Wall Street protesters were walking across the Brooklyn Bridge on Thursday evening, a mysterious series of images flashed across the facade of the Verizon building, located near the East River, starting with a circled “99%.”
Boing Boing tracked down the signal’s creator, Mark Read, to find out what had inspired the dramatic display and how he had brought it off. “Initial talks focused on having a thousand people taking the bridge in the afternoon, and continuing in a militant mode of activism,” Read told the interviewer. “But we started thinking about creating a more unifying moment. “I said, I think I can do that,” Read continued. Read explained that he has a background in working with “a community of friends who deploy spectacle and art in the service of radical politics.” “This is choosing hope over despair, Read says. This video was uploaded to YouTube by AnonOps1337 on November 17, 2011.
Muriel Kane. Exclusive: Lobbying Firm's Memo Spells Out Plan to Undermine Occupy Wall Street (VIDEO) ALEC Exposed: The Koch Connection. Untold sums of cash poured into ALEC by Charles and David Koch have been an effective investment in advancing their worldview. This article is part of a Nation series exposing the American Legislative Exchange Council, in collaboration with the Center For Media and Democracy. John Nichols introduces the series. Hundreds of ALEC’s model bills and resolutions bear traces of Koch DNA: raw ideas that were once at the fringes but that have been carved into “mainstream” policy through the wealth and will of Charles and David Koch.
Of all the Kochs’ investments in right-wing organizations, ALEC provides some of the best returns: it gives the Kochs a way to make their brand of free-market fundamentalism legally binding. About the Author Lisa Graves Lisa Graves, a former deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department, is the executive director of the... Also by the Author Take environmental protections. ALEC and the Kochs often pursue parallel tracks. Bank lobbying firm sends out memo to undermine ‘Occupy Wall Street’
By Andrew JonesSaturday, November 19, 2011 13:16 EDT In an exclusive from MSNBC’s Chris Hayes and the Huffington Post, a Washington D.C. lobbying firm has prepared a memo for its Wall Street bank clients informing them of ways to deal with “Occupy Wall Street” and the political fallout the movement may cause. The memo was written by the firm Clark, Lytle, Geduldig, and Cranford (CLGC), warning the the American Bankers Association (ABA) that Republicans could turn on them as a strategic move in next year’s elections due to Democratic pressure. CLGC proposed to the ABA an $800,000 price tag on receiving “opposite research” from the firm in order to create “negative narratives” about Occupy Wall Street and the politicians who support them.
Hayes notes in his show Saturday morning that two of the firm’s members, Sam Geduldig and Jay Cranford, were aides for House Speaker John Boehner (R-Oh). WATCH: Video from MSNBC, which was broadcast on November 19, 2011. Andrew Jones. The Raw Story | Archive | Occupy. Paying taxes today? Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and others got a refund last year Six of the most profitable companies in the U.S. were due a tax refund last year, according to a new analysis. WalletHub reported Tuesday that Abbott Laboratories, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, AIG, Bristol-Myers, and Verizon – all listed on the S&P 100 – paid an overall negative tax rate… Occupy Madison builds first house in planned eco-village for the homeless A homeless Wisconsin couple moved into a “tiny home” Christmas Eve they helped build with fellow Occupy Madison members. Study suggests Occupy Wall Street movement undone by liberals’ need to feel unique Liberals tend to underestimate their similarity to other liberals, according to a recent study, while conservatives overestimate their similarities — and those differences may account for the relative political success of the tea party in comparison to Occupy Wall Street.
Occupy protester to face trial over subpoenaed tweets.