The M$M are reporting that the Occupy movement has turned violent, but tend to gloss over who is committing the violence. Press releases from police departments are printed or broadcast as facts, without a mention of the hours of video from the action that clearly show who the aggressors are.

The Oakland Police say they have collected the contents of the camp and are storing them until the rightful owners claim them, despite the video evidence showing them destroying everything. They kept the media away from their assault on the encampment, so there is no ‘unbiased reporting’ of what happened. The police have also been sending requests to Google to have videos taken down from YouTube – videos that show the attacks for anyone to judge who was violent.

One of the more egregious videos is of an individual laying in the street right in front of a cluster of officers who made no effort to assist him, but when others went to help him, they tossed in another tear gas canister.

Now cities are using the excuse of violence to clear out Occupy encampments. I would tell the mayors that if they don’t want violence in the streets, don’t let their police departments attack people.

I hope everyone is aware that the ‘laws’ that the encampments are breaking were enacted to hide the homeless, not to maintain public safety. The sole purpose of these ordinances is to make the homeless as invisible as possible.

Update: From the Baltimore Sun blog: Unions, including police, ask mayor to “stand down” on Occupy protest. These people don’t want violence, they want negotiations. It is up to the mayor to decide if she wants all hell to break loose, like Oakland.

I have read that Governor ‘Goodhair’ of Texas wants an income tax form that fits on a post card.

Obviously, no one with more that two neurons wants to put their legal name, Social Security number, and annual income on a post card. Besides you need to include your W-2, so an envelop is required.

On the other hand, Mr. Perry is obviously unaware that for decades you could use the form 1040EZ if you only had wages to report and took the standard deduction. The information required certainly would fit on a post card and it only takes a W-2 form from your employer and a few minutes to work out.

If you are part of the 1%, like most politicians in Washington, you need an accountant and a tax lawyer to take advantage of all of the loopholes you had inserted into the tax code so you could avoid paying taxes.

It is easy to simplify the tax code – all income treated the same, the standard deduction and the individual per person deductions the only things allowed. The only problem with the tax code are all of the special deductions for the 1% that Congress keeps inserting.

Position: 18.5N 86.5W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: Northwest [320°] near 6 mph [ 9 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 85 mph [140 kph].
Wind Gusts: 105 mph [165 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 80 miles [130 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 15 miles [ 20 km].
Minimum central pressure: 979 mb.

Currently about 120 miles [ 190 km] East of Chetumal, Mexico.

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for the Northeast Coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from Punta Gruesa North to San Felipe.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the East Coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from Chetumal North to Punta Gruesa and the North Coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from San Felipe to Progreso.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for the coast of Belize from Belize City northward.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]