Man Shot Dead Near Occupy Oakland

I think we can officially say that the Occupy protests have devolved to a new and despicable low. There have been assaults, rapes, robberies, and even tuberculosis in Atlanta. It appears that we can now add murder to the sordid laundry list. None other than Occupy Oakland gets that distinction. Remember, Oakland has been the most out-of-control Occupy location to date. The mayor there - Jean Quan - has been handling it terribly badly. She seems to be more interested in presiding over clashes between protesters and police than in making sure her city is safe.

Though the shooting happened just outside the Oakland encampment, protesters insist it had nothing to do with their movement. No one has identified a shooter and a woman claiming to be a spokesperson for the Occupy Oakland - Barucha Peller - is actually going into all out damage control by saying the only thing Occupy Oakland had to do with the entire incident was being responsible for providing assistance to the victim.

Via CBS:

A man has died after being shot just outside the Oakland encampment that anti-Wall Street protesters have occupied for the last month.

Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan says the victim was pronounced dead at a local hospital Thursday evening, less than two hours after two groups of men got into a fight near the Occupy Oakland camp on a plaza near City Hall.

Jordan says no suspects have been identified. He asked members of the public participating in the protest who may have taken photographs or video that captured the shooting to contact authorities.

The chief says investigators do not yet know if the men in the fight were associated with Occupy Oakland. But protest organizers say they weren't.

The shooting happened just before 5 p.m. on the edge of the plaza outside Oakland City Hill. The Occupy Oakland encampment sits in the middle of the plaza.

Paramedics on the scene were tending the bleeding man, whose condition wasn't immediately known as it was earlier reported. Police were interviewing witnesses and trying to contain a crowd of protesters who had tried to prevent television cameramen from taking video.

A woman from the encampment, Barucha Peller, told CBS station KPIX San Francisco: "The only direct Occupy Oakland involvement was in order to provide emergency first-aid services."

Last week, millions of dollars of damage were done to the city. An Iraq war veteran suffered a critical head injury that's looking increasingly like it was sustained as a result of projectiles hurled by protesters. There have been countless arrests and we're to accept Peller's claim out of hand that these protests had NOTHING to do with this murder?!

The last sentence of the CBS report ends with this line:

Earlier Thursday, a man was shot and killed at the Occupy Burlington protest in Vermont. Fellow protesters indicated that the gunshot appeared to be self-inflicted.

One suicide and one homicide. There have also been people found dead in tents at various #Occupy protests.

h/t Hot Air

Darrell Issa Rips Assistant Attorney General for Lying

At essence here is a lie put forth by the US Justice Department on February 4, 2011 that it didn't correct until November 1, 2011 when Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer admitted as much in front of the Senate Judiciary committee. The man whose signature was on the February lie is Assistant Attorney General Ronal Weich. In response to a letter from Senator Charles Grassley, who wanted to know if the ATF was allowing guns to 'walk' into Mexico.

Here is the relevant portion of Weich's February 4th response:

...the allegation described in your January 27 letter - that the ATF "sanctioned" or otherwise knowingly allowed the sale of assault weapons to a straw purchaser who then transported them into Mexico - is false. ATF makes every effort to interdict weapons that have been purchased illegally an prevent their transportation to Mexico.

In response to these recent revelations, made even more damaging by Breuer's testimony, House Oversight committee Chairman Darrell Issa has sent a letter to Weich. In it, he all but accuses Weich of committing perjury.

Here is an excerpt from a press release from Issa's office that showed up in my inbox last night:

Evidence gathered during the course of the congressional investigation into Operation Fast and Furious has shown that this statement was untrue – ATF, in allowing guns to walk, did not make every effort to interdict them and prevent their transfer to Mexico. Evidence gathered in the investigation has also shown that senior Justice Department officials knew at the time Weich made his statement in February that it was untrue.

“Mr. Weich, as you are well aware, it is a crime to knowingly make false statements to Congress,” Chairman Issa writes in his letter to Weich. “As DOJ’s principal liaison to Congress, we rely on you to be straight with the facts. You have not been, and so your credibility on this issue has been seriously eroded. Whether it is the case that you were fed a lie and faithfully repeated it in a letter to Congress, or whether it is the case that you took the initiative to lie to Congress yourself, you are responsible for the contents of letters that bear your signature.”

Chairman Issa’s letter demands a complete list of individuals who helped prepare the February 4, 2011, letter to Senator Grassley as well as all documents relating to the preparation of that letter referring or relating to the development of DOJ’s response to Senator Grassley’s January 27, 2011 request for information.

HERE is a copy of the letter referenced in that press release.

Here is Issa grilling Weich on June 15, 2011:

Video: Congressman Rips Constituents at Town Hall in Restaurant

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) yelled at two constituents during a town hall meeting in a local bar & Grille on Sunday, November 6th and it was righteous indignation with an extra dose of passion and caffeine. It was also likely fueled by the insane Occupy Wall Street protests all across the country. The woman you can see in this video - and a man you can only hear - seem to be on the side of reigning in big banks and blaming them for the mortgage crisis. Walsh reaches a boiling point and blows up at both of them, very rightfully so.

Any person with the ability to reason can sympathize with Walsh and his outburst. The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) mandated that banks give loans / mortgages to people who would never pay them back. People like the two in this video only seem to be able to look at the banks' bad practices and completely - willingly or unwillingly - refuse to find fault with the government.

Also, take note of the woman who enters the background after Walsh starts yelling. You can see her giggling while she seems to be setting up her phone to do a little recording.

Must see:



h/t The Blaze