(NYC mayor) Bloomberg Says ‘Tent City’ Goes Beyond Free Speech

[alp227]

Source: NYT

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, speaking Monday as Occupy Wall Street protesters celebrated the passage of a month encamped in Zuccotti Park, said he was trying to strike a balance between protecting protesters’ right to free speech and the needs of Lower Manhattan residents.

“The Constitution doesn’t protect tents,” he said at a news conference in Queens. “It protects speech and assembly.”

The mayor expressed concern that those exercising a “right to be silent” might be getting drowned out amid the din of the protests.

“We can’t have a place where only one point of view is allowed,” he said. “There are places where I think it’s appropriate to express yourself, and there are other places that are appropriate to set up Tent City. They don’t necessarily have to be one and the same.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/nyregion/bloomberg-says-tent-city-at-wall-street-protest-exceeds-free-speech.html

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I'm glad that DU has a 4-paragraph limit in LBN excerpts. Brainless Bloomberg's stupidity is just too much.

[chollybocker]

1. “We can’t have a place where only one point of view is allowed,”

You mean like City Hall, Mr. Mayor?

[roguevalley]

17. he's asking to be the person who killed someone by being an

ass.

[RKP5637]

2. We've exhausted the sanctioned way to express opinions and nothing happens. I guess

I should write and call my R representatives again who don't even bother to acknowledge letters anymore and frankly don't give a F about citizens unless they come with wheelbarrows of money for them.

This country was not founded by the doings of meek lambs. People took bold steps. That is what OWS is doing in a peaceful manner.

[The Stranger]

25. The success of civil disobedience always depended upon press coverage and striking a moral chord in

society at large.

The press coverage has been co-opted and the moral chord perverted.

[Kennah]

3. We should be thankful ...

... Bloomie behaves so stupidly that it can be captured in 4 paragraphs or less.

[24601]

4. Duh! Housing ain't speech. n/t

[droidamus2]

5. Yeah

Housing isn't speech and neither is giving money to politicians and while we're at it corporations aren't people!!!!

[24601]

6. So you conclude corporations shouldn't be punished or put to death

like Arthur Anderson?

After all, if they ain't people, they must be immune, n'est pas?

BTW - my view it that contributions in any election should be limited to those that have a vote in that election. No corps, no associations, no unions, no churches, no out of district/out of state contributions.

Edited for last sentence.

[droidamus2]

21. Not quite

Corporations, as an entity, are should not be considered a 'person' when it comes to election contributions and their ability to use their money to exert pressure on the government. That doesn't mean that those that run corporations aren't or shouldn't be regulated and punished when they break the law. The difference is a 'corporation' is a legally created entity as separate from the people that run the corporation. The people in a corporation should be able to give politically under the same rules as everybody else. I think allowing the 'corporate entity' and its wealth to be used to further the political aims of a few top executives and thus generating what I think is undo influence over the selection of our leaders is a bad idea and that's what the 'corporations are people' decision by the Supreme Court allows.

[Billsmile]

7. The 1% Snob Doesn't Approve Of The 99% Trash.

Let's face it. That's his message.

[Demeter]

8. The Mayor is Impotent!

but there are drugs for that

[EFerrari]

18. Mayor Custer is in a pretty tough spot.

:)

[coalition_unwilling]

19. OT but reminds me of one of my all-time favorite jokes:

Q: What were Custer's last words?
A: "Where the fuck did all those Indians come from?"

:)

[Demeter]

20. ROFLMAO

:rofl:

[msongs]

9. corporate free speech is not restricted to just words and assembly nt

[thecrow]

10. Are they closig down the tents?

I certainly hope not!

[WingDinger]

11. I feel for the man. We must show compassion on those charged with dealing with us.

We must act in his interest to a degree. This is important to our cause. Even as we forge on. He has a job that doesnt include our disruption.

In fact, apologizing for carrying on, and then, carrying on, is badasss.

[RKP5637]

12. IF, we still had a country responsible to the needs of the majority of the

citizens than the 1%, this really wouldn't be necessary, would it Mayor Bloomberg.

[Fire Walk With Me]

13. Bullshit, Bloomberg! How far beyond BULLSHIT does our economic problem go? HUH!?

Be part of the solution or part of the problem. Your choice.

[XemaSab]

14. The quote unquote "right to be silent"

is the fifth amendment: "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

It's not about protest at all.

[customerserviceguy]

15. It's Bloomie's first crisis

He has no idea how to handle it, and is just winging it.

[Grassy Knoll]

16. After SNL Kicked his A** he changes his tone. N/T

[Remmah2]

22. Bloomburg has a monster ego.

His authority has been challenged. He'll be getting the philosophical ass kicking he deserves.

[wordpix]

24. and a monster net worth, estimated at over $18 billion, 13th richest in US

Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American business magnate, politician and philanthropist. Since 2002, he has been the Mayor of New York City and, with a net worth of $18.1 billion in 2011, he is also the 13th-richest person in the United States.<3> He is the founder and eighty-eight percent owner of Bloomberg L.P., a financial news and information services media company.<4><5><6>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bloomberg

Poor Bloomie, we shouldn't complain about the rich getting richer as we're camped out in tents :sarcasm:

[wordpix]

23. hmmmm---maybe City Hall is the more appropriate place to set up the tents