Kasim Reed on extending Occupy Atlanta’s stay: Two out of three will suffice — for now
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s statement on why he’ll allow Occupy Atlanta to linger in Woodruff Park – two out of three’s not bad, he says:
”Civil disobedience is an appropriate form of expression, provided that it is peaceful, non-violent and lawful. As of today, the Occupy Atlanta protesters continue to assemble in a peaceful, non-violent fashion in Robert W. Woodruff Park. Therefore, I have extended the Executive Order allowing Occupy Atlanta to remain in Woodruff Park after the park closes. This Executive Order is effective through the adjournment of the next Atlanta City Council meeting on November 7, 2011.
“I remain committed to ensuring public safety and enforcing the laws of the city. The Atlanta Police Department and other city officials continue to monitor the park and the protesters. The Executive Order does not preclude the city from responding at will to changing conditions in the park or to any public safety issues. The city is prepared to act swiftly should the situation in the park so warrant.
“I am also cognizant of the concerns of neighboring businesses and residents about the effect of the protesters’ activity on the park and the surrounding area. The protesters cooperated with the city’s request to clean the park on Saturday; city crews pressure-washed the park’s hard-surfaces and removed litter and debris. The city will continue to maintain the park during the demonstration. My administration also will work with Occupy Atlanta members to minimize noise levels after 9 p.m. as a courtesy to downtown residents.”
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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195 comments Add your comment
SAWB
October 18th, 2011
11:55 am
“were you really for the Wall Street bailout of 2008 and 2009? ”
No, not at all, so why would I vote for the guy behind it – Obama? We need more freedom in the markets and that means freedom to fail, but we do not need more goverment regulation.
OMG
October 18th, 2011
12:08 pm
You are setting a very bad and dangerous example Mayor Reed…very bad indeed.
You're all socialists!
October 18th, 2011
12:09 pm
Asking the government to force people to leave Wooduff Park sounds like socialism to me.
td
October 18th, 2011
12:14 pm
You’re all socialists!
October 18th, 2011
12:09 pm
Asking the government to force people to leave Wooduff Park sounds like socialism to me
So now enforcing the law is socialism. Lord help this country when people like you have the right to vote.
agreewithwilliam
October 18th, 2011
12:28 pm
I predict 1) Southern Defense League will soon sue on behalf of the homeless who are/were run out of the parks, 2) Freaknik will return and will sue if they cannot “occupy”, 3) some crazy group like the KKK will “occupy,” 3) the sovereign citizens will find a way to use this. You have to say something to have protected speech. So far I have heard nothing from this group that makes me think they have a point to make.
Donna P.
October 18th, 2011
12:30 pm
If I wanted to set up a protest down there, I would have to have a permit, etc. This is just a Democratic political move to gain support for President Obama. It will fail!
Corporate Greedy
October 18th, 2011
12:34 pm
The OA protesters are not ignorant. They know that the money that flows from corporations to politicians has corrupted our political and economic systems.
The real question here is, why don’t you care? Is it ok with you that Obama’s campaign fundraising goal is $1 billion? Do you really think that he’s not beholden to many of the same corporations that the Republicans are?
Someone'sGottaSayIt
October 18th, 2011
12:36 pm
RECALL KASIM REED
Hey Mr Mayor – what the hell happened to your oath of office to enforce the law of Atlanta?
justanopinion
October 18th, 2011
12:38 pm
REDSTATEIDIOT – Last I saw, the GOP front-runner was none other than Herman Cain. I don’t know of anyone who hates Obama for being black. We hate him because he’s a left-wing socialist ROOKIE who has NO CLUE what he is doing in office, and all he cares about is taking vacations, playing golf, and seeing just how good of a time he, and his hypocritical wife can have on our dime. His biggest worry right now is that that NBA season won’t take place.
Herman Cain for President!!!
mum
October 18th, 2011
12:39 pm
@td, sometimes it seems that you are either really mean spirited or you don’t get out much to see what’s happening in the real world. So, let me clue you in: The jobs that used to go to young people, are now going to many of their parents because they need to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads. Tuition has gone through the roof and HOPE has been paying less and less. Many people have had to dip into the money they saved for their children’s education to stay afloat. Corporations and municipalities routinely restructure loans to more favorable rates, so why is it wrong for consumers who keep these entities in existance allowed to get the same consideration?
Come down from your ivory tower and have James take you outside for a change, because you may learn something about live in 2011.
Atlien
October 18th, 2011
12:39 pm
What is funny is that the protesters aren’t smart enough to move to a place that would cause public attention. If the occupy people from NYC were running the show, they would have parked at 10th and Peachtree to lay siege to the fed. If the Atlanta protesters did that, they would have every TV station watching them instead of the zero that they have now. I have gone down to look at the protest twice, and didn’t see a single news crew both times.
I bet most of the people in Woodruff Park don’t even know what the fed is. No wonder they don’t have a job.
SAWB
October 18th, 2011
12:48 pm
“so why is it wrong for consumers who keep these entities in existance allowed to get the same consideration?”
They do. Simply go down to your local bank and they will help you refinance your loan to take advantage of the low interest rates. However, there is only one small catch – you have to actually make the payments.
Turn the Dogs Loose...
October 18th, 2011
12:50 pm
Turn the Storm Troopers Loose with the Guard Dogs…..throw in some military grade tear gas and make examples of some of these tramps and watch them crawl whinning and crying out of the park…..they are useless – just like the illegal aliens and that is what should be done to them as well…
JohnQPublic
October 18th, 2011
12:52 pm
I still say the solution is to go #occupyanametagandahairnet.
td
October 18th, 2011
1:24 pm
mum
October 18th, 2011
12:39 pm
@td, sometimes it seems that you are either really mean spirited or you don’t get out much to see what’s happening in the real world
You call it mean spirited and I call it tough love. It is those hard lessons in life that give a person character. If people do not go through the trails and tribulations of life then they will never become strong and will usually fail. Why is it mean spirited to not want someone to take personal responsibility for ones actions?
mum
October 18th, 2011
1:32 pm
@SAWB, the only people that use the park on any given day are the homeless. Been that way since after the Olympics. This is the most activity that areaa has seen after dark in years. As someone pointed out earlier, Bloomberg is jot pushing those people out so Atlanta is doing the same. Anyway, how would it look to the world when the town that symbolizes the civil rights movement, is seeh dragging it’s own people out of the park?
Taxpayer
October 18th, 2011
1:36 pm
If one red cent of my City of Atlanta tax money is going towards anything involving this annoying group of malcontents, I want them out NOW Mayor Reed.
What will it look like? Like we are a city, a state, a nation that respects and operates under a Rule of Law. Its the very idea that used to separate us from the barbaric hoardes of the world.
Walter Little, Jr.
October 18th, 2011
1:42 pm
You good folks are missing the point. Mayor Reed, as the City’s Chief Executive Officer, can temporarily amend any City Ordinance as needed. If you don’t believe me, go to the library and check out the Atlanta Code of Ordinances.
Corporate Greedy
October 18th, 2011
1:54 pm
The protesters are getting plenty of press coverage.
@mum
you are correct.
everyone else. Forget for a moment that many of these protesters are young men and women. Forget that some of them may be idealistic. Forget that their goals may not be attainable. ARE THEY RIGHT?
Is there too much corporate influence on our politics?
Citi Group announced really large profits today. Good for them, but they are still too-big-to-fail. If they get in trouble, we have to bail them out again. Don’t you want that fixed? We need to break-up the big banks.
Avser Bastian
October 18th, 2011
1:57 pm
WHITES AREN’T WELCOME IN AMERICA ANY LONGER !!! WE DON’T NEED YOU ANYMORE !!! OUT OF AMERICA WITH WHITES NOW !!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xGfYOAydjw
OR
http://www.youtube.com/user/BostjanAvsec
OBAMA’S HEALTH CARE RECORDED LIVE IN 2009. Facts about lunatic Obama/Bush’s twilight zone administrations(HORROR) or genocide against white population.
RGB
October 18th, 2011
1:58 pm
Decisions such as this one are the reason Mayor Reid will be unable to reach higher political office–save for a congressional seat perhaps where he would have a built-in, gerrymandered district.
When the going gets tough, the freaks turn pro.
Avser Bastian
October 18th, 2011
2:00 pm
WALL STREET PROTESTS AREN’T ANTI WALL-STREET AT ALL, BUT INSTEAD RACIALLY MOTIVATED AGAINST WHITES !!!
THEY WERE MURDERING YOU WITH AND INSIDE OF THEIR CORPORATIONS FOR OVER 66 YEARS !!! THEY HAVE CLOSED DOWN ALMOST EVERY SMALL COMPANY(FARMS) IN UNITES STATES OF AMERICA AND NOW, THEY WANT YOU TO GO OUT THERE AND PROTEST FOR THEM AGAINST WALL STREET(because corporations = Wall-street) !!!
http://multiculturalismisterrorism.blogspot.com/.
Corporate Greedy
October 18th, 2011
2:06 pm
ARE THESE PROTESTERS RIGHT?
Are corporations too powerful? Do they affect policy here in Georgia (think Georgia Power and why we are paying for a nuclear plant long before the first watt is put on a wire)? Do they affect policy in Washington (think tax breaks that make it so a hedge fund manager pays a lower tax rate than a school teacher)?
THESE PROTESTERS ARE RIGHT!
RGB
October 18th, 2011
2:10 pm
Corporate Greedy,
I think you should protest corporations by refusing to purchase anything made by them.
No food, cars, gas, clothing, electricity, medicines, medical care–nothing at all–if it is made by a corporation.
Who owns corporations by the way……?
DirtyHipster
October 18th, 2011
2:27 pm
Yeah, man. Let’s END these evil corporations by not buying any of their products. I am going to post an update about it on my Facebook page from my Dell laptop, then send out a mass tweet vilifying the 1% with my Apple iPhone. If the news cameras ever show up, I’ll be over here in my REI tent and North Face sleeping bag. Ciao!
Self_Made
October 18th, 2011
2:30 pm
None of these people (these serial posters who seem to be able to post all day while amassing their fortunes) want to discuss the merits of the protest. They are just repeating their same old tired mantra of “anybody who doesn’t hate Obama and the government is a lazy, shiftless, socialist”. They let corporations dictate their politics (the Tea Party movement is a classic case of Corporate TAKEOVER), barely understand the nuts and bolts of tax policy and government finance, and simply repeat the bumper sticker “common sense” they are fed. My dread is that they are as loud and motivated as they are ignorant and misled.
Self_Made
October 18th, 2011
2:35 pm
It doesn’t matter that real people own SHARES (or partial shares) of coporations, Mitt Romney wannabes. What matters is that corporations have only ONE motive…PROFIT. And unlike EVERYDAY PEOPLE who have families and futures to worry about, which tempers their choices and causes them to realize that others have the same rights as they do, corporate self-interest does NOT account for human beings and their rights…ONLY property rights. Allowing corporations to exercise the same rights as individuals UNDERMINES the Constitution and what it was meant to establish and protect. Catch a clue.
Aboli
October 18th, 2011
2:41 pm
Klan rally and free camping in Atlantas parks. Thanks OWS and Mr Mayor. You have really set us up now.
Pardon my blog
October 18th, 2011
2:44 pm
What Reed and the rest of the Democrats don’t understand is that most of these “Occupy” people want to do away with capitalism and the freedoms and move to a communist society or at the very least a socialist society where the government dictates every aspect of your life. Is the reason Obama is backing them because they reflect his true ideals? Is this the true mandate of Reed and his minions?
DG
October 18th, 2011
2:49 pm
Protests are legal and we should do everything to allow them to take place. Camping out on public or private sites without owners approval is illegal. These treaspassing events should all be shut down immediately. We had a bombing during the Olympics and this type of illegal activity could lead to the possiblity of it happening again (with even greater distruction and death). Who knows what is in the backpacks, tents, hand bags, or inside of the garments of both the protesters or spectators. We spend lots of time and money at airports etc. to prevent unwanted distruction. Why, for policitical correctness, do our leaders insist we allow these events to continue to go on without any consideration to innocent by-standers. Stop these illegal happenings before bad things do happen.
Michael McEachin
October 18th, 2011
3:02 pm
Mayor Reed should instruct the police to enforce the law rather than violate it through executive orders.
Mayor Reed needs to be voted out of office.
Drew
October 18th, 2011
3:15 pm
I think I’m going to protest ParkAtlanta by Occupying several parking spaces downtown for a month or two. I’m sure the Mayor will side with me.
Ghostrider
October 18th, 2011
3:39 pm
How many do you think will leave tomorrow with the Temps in the 50’s and raining….
RealTalk
October 18th, 2011
4:09 pm
Reed is a Loser and this proves it. Period. Do your Job! Those Protesters are losers and the New Flea Party. Send them to Cuba.
Corporate Greedy
October 18th, 2011
4:24 pm
Wow, not one person has a “real” response to the issue at hand.
Is it good for our democracy that politicians have to beg for money from corporations and the wealthy?
Obama’s goal is to raise $1 billion. Is that a good thing?
David M Howell
October 18th, 2011
4:30 pm
I am a local resident of Midtown Atlanta and I am deeply concerned about the recent Executive Orders (2011-2 & 2011-3) issued by City of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. My concern stems from questions regarding the legality of these executive orders when being issued consecutively in order to bypass the duration limits imposed by City of Atlanta ordinance.
The power to issue executive orders is granted to the Mayor in city ordinance 2-182 of the City of Atlanta municipal code. The ordinance specifies certain criteria for executive orders which limit the duration as to prevent an executive using this power to implement long term legislation without a vote by the city Council. City of Atlanta Code 2-182 (b) grants the Mayor the power “To issue executive orders which may apply to events of short duration, including, but not limited to, the temporary exercise of extraordinary police power in times of emergency, such action to expire at the next meeting of the council subsequent to the issuance thereof unless ratified by a majority vote of the council present and voting;…”. Executive Order 2011-2 expired at the close of the City Council meeting held on 10/17/2011 when the full council declined to ratify the existing order. By issuing Executive Order 2011-3 consecutive to 2011-2 Mayor Reed is circumventing the legislative intent of Section 2-182 and violating city of Atlanta ordinance. This clear violation of the limits of Mayoral powers must be opposed in order stay within the bounds of the City of Atlanta charter which states that “All legislative powers of the city are hereby vested in the council…”.
As I am sure you are aware, the City of Atlanta has a strong Mayor form of government. By consecutively using the Executive Orders power the Mayor is implementing long term legislation without the consent of the council. This action clearly violates the spirit of the City of Atlanta charter and oversteps the bounds set forth in Section 2-182 of the City of Atlanta Code of ordinance. By letting the Mayor override existing legislation in this fashion the council becomes weaker and the executive office becomes even stronger. Given the broad powers granted to the Mayor by Section 2-182 it is imperative that the city council enforces compliance with the duration limits of the executive order power to limit the Mayor from implementing long term legislation without council approval.
Do we have standing to go for an injunction in Fulton County Superior Court?
Self_Made
October 18th, 2011
4:40 pm
Corporate Greedy…it’s like speaking to the wind, isn’t it? They won’t get it until they’re begging for scraps with the rest of the “socialists”.
Not in Tea Party
October 18th, 2011
5:50 pm
…Greedy,
If the protestors are “right” as you write, then all debt should be forgiven. Exactly how do you propose to enact the logistics on such a decision?
If the protestors are “right”, then every person deserves $20 per hour (for 40 hours?) whether they work or not. Will this money suddenly appear or do you suggest another tax surcharge on the wealthy to cover the cost?
By the way, as a means to measure this idiocy, if you confiscated the entire net worth of the 100 wealthiest Americans, the result would not cover the Obama deficit for one year – and then there would be no income to tax from these 100.
Is there a possiblity that some of the “occupy” rants have a legtimate aspect or two? Yes, but taken as a whole the demands are nothing more than the rantings of Liberal Loons.
mum
October 18th, 2011
5:51 pm
@td, so you think those out of work and in financial trouble weren’t personally responsible? The people I know who are struggling did everything right and are now unemployed, can’t even get an interview because they are considered way too old, and not currently employed. But of course, it’s their fault right?
td
October 18th, 2011
9:08 pm
mum
October 18th, 2011
5:51 pm
Is it all their fault? Maybe not, but can you tell they did not take every step to be prepared? If they are that old then why do they still have a lot of debt? Why did they not buy a house that one person could pay for if the other got laid off? If they are that old then they should have quiet a nest egg laid aside for retirement. Did they? We have all been told for years to build an emergency account and to not count on SS but to put money back for retirement. Do I have enough put back? No but if this happened to me I would be able to survive for a couple of years until the market picked back up without working at all and if I worked part time then I could survive for four or five years.
Betty
October 19th, 2011
7:34 am
Mayors who take oaths of office don’t ignore their responsibility to ALL citizens in favor of a small group of protestors unless they (a) agree with their agenda or (b) fear taking a stand.
I, too, am confused about what the protestors want. I don’t make $250k a year, but I do work for a living. Should I hand over half of my earnings to them because they want it and need to buy a better plan for their cell phones?
TakeBackAtlanta
October 19th, 2011
8:11 am
Very good point on the Mayor’s use of Executive Order to usurp the standard legislative process, David M. Howell.
It’s a shame that local “news” agencies didn’t think of that, or haven’t bothered to look into it….
Self_Made
October 19th, 2011
11:45 am
@td…that’s the point many of us are trying to make. A fair number of unemployed people did EXACTLY what you outlined. However, their incomes have been FLAT for over ten years. Property taxes and other costs have RISEN…in other words, they would have had issues keeping up even with continued employment. NOW retirement accounts are depleted, savings are dried up, and still…no jobs on the horizon. We have experienced an economic CATASTROPHE, that has been exacerbated by misguided responses by the federal government. I think its ludicrous to believe that the average person going to work everyday and following the script (meaning they go to work, raise their kids, spend what they must and save what they can and don’t hang out on financial websites and political blogs all day) should have been watertight ready for what has happened over the last 3-4 years. THAT is the Republican/Tea Party kool-aid that free thinking people not blinded by hatred of the “evil government” aren’t sipping.
Little Engine
October 23rd, 2011
9:24 am
We all know they have the right to free speech. I may even listen when they quit peeing in our public park and treating it like a toilet. Just a little dignity please.
Police patrol Woodruff Park perimeter; Mayor’s office denies Occupy Atlanta ordered to leave
October 23rd, 2011
6:52 pm
[...] Insider: Why Mayor Reed cut protesters some slack [...]