Occupy violence may hurt Democrats in elections

Occupiers are anarchists, not Democrats.

Occupy protesters celebrated May Day, the traditional labor and communist holiday, with spasms of violence across the country on Monday.  According to Buzz Feed, “Black Bloc” protesters in New York, the cradle of the Occupy movement, attacked photographers and tried to take their cameras.  The New York Daily News reports that the NYPD arrested 86 protesters on charges “ranging from disorderly conduct to assaulting cops.”

On the West Coast, there was even more violence.  In Oakland, police used tear gas and “flash bang” grenades to break up demonstrations and arrested at least 25 protesters according to CBS News.  In Seattle, the violence seemed to be the worst as Occupiers dressed in black broke windows, vandalized cars, blocked traffic and did extensive damage to the federal courthouse MSNBC reports.

 

Read this article on Examiner.com:

http://www.examiner.com/article/occupy-protests-pose-election-year-liability-for-democrats

Roe v. Wade and the global war on girls

Harald Kreutzer/Wikimedia

In the 39 years since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade, abortion has resulted in a holocaust of unborn babies, not just in the United States, but around the world.  One of the great ironies of the abortion debate is that what its proponents tout as “a woman’s right to choose” has resulted in a genocide against baby girls in many countries.

The root of the problem is that abortion is being coupled with sex determination techniques in many parts of the world.  In many countries, it is considered more desirable to have a boy than a girl.  In some cases, they are patriarchal societies with a bias against women.  In other cases, the reasons are more practical.  Boys can help work the fields and will be better able to care for parents in their old age than a girl who will likely marry and move away from home.  Boys are also needed to maintain the family lineage.

 

This article was first published on Examiner.com:

http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-atlanta/occupy-atlanta-back-woodruff-park

Occupy Atlanta back in Woodruff Park

The new encampment in Woodruff Park (David W. Thornton)

Four months after Atlanta police evicted Occupy Atlanta protesters from Woodruff Park, they are back.  With apparently little to no fanfare, a small number of Occupiers and less than ten tents have again taken up residence the downtown Atlanta park.

The new encampment is a far cry from the group that was evicted in October.  In mid-October, the activists had set up a thriving hamlet within the confines of what they called “Troy Davis Park” in a nod to the convicted cop-killer who was executed by Georgia in September.  At that time, the activists in the park easily numbered more than 100 and scores of tents filled the park.  There was a “free store,” a medical tent, and a “free child care” tent.  Signs proclaiming “we are the 99 percent” littered the grounds of the park.  Visitors were welcomed at tables under a large canopy.  The sound of drums permeated the air and protesters marched up and down the sidewalks at intervals.  (View photos from the October occupation here.)

Read the rest of this article on Examiner.com:

http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-atlanta/occupy-atlanta-back-woodruff-park

Wisconsin-style protests unlikely in Georgia

As the country watches the protests unfolding in Wisconsin over Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to remove the right of government employee unions to bargain collectively, many Georgians are probably wondering whether the Peach State might see a similar revolt by teachers over attempts to cut pay and benefits. Many states share Wisconsin’s problem of deficit spending due to the recession and falling tax revenues, as well as expensive contracts with state government employees.

While Georgia has shared Wisconsin’s budget problems over the past few years, it does not have Wisconsin’s problem of out of control public employee unions. In Wisconsin, all teachers are required to be members of the teacher’s union. The government deducts union dues from each teacher’s paycheck and funnels the money directly to the union. In return, the union funnels a portion of the money back to politicians, usually Democrats, as campaign contributions. These politicians then negotiate sweetheart deals for the union members when it is time to renegotiate their contracts, often neglecting to fund promised items such as pensions. In the current crisis, fourteen state senators, all Democrats, have fled the state to avoid giving Gov. Walker the needed number of votes to pass the law. Essentially, the senators are thwarting democracy to keep the system alive.

Continue reading on Examiner.com: Wisconsin-style protests unlikely in Georgia – Atlanta Conservative | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-atlanta/wisconsin-style-protests-unlikely-georgia#ixzz1FOsNLJwB

Wikimedia Commons/ Justin Ormont

Democracy protests spread through Middle East

Protesting Libya outside the White House (http://www.flickr.com/people/22526649@N03)

Over the past few months, democracy protests have broken out across the Muslim world. In December 2010, protests broke out in Tunisia following the police abuse and subsequent suicide by immolation of a street peddler. Less than a month later, Ben Ali, Tunisia’s dictator fled to Saudi Arabia.

From Tunisia, the democratic protests spread to Egypt. Protesters crammed the streets of Egypt’s major cities demanding the resignation of Hosni Mubarak. As the Egyptian army looked on, Mubarak announced that he would not seek re-election this September and promised reforms. On February 11, President Mubarak finally stepped down and handed over control of the country to the military.

The protests do not stop there.

Continue reading on Examiner.com: Democracy protests spread through the Middle East – Atlanta Conservative | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-atlanta/democracy-protests-spread-through-the-middle-east#ixzz1EiaZ4AG3