Wonkette and Washingtonsblog.com (have) reported that the Mayor of Oakland acknowledged that the Department of Homeland Security had participated in an 18-city mayor conference call advising mayors on "how to suppress" Occupy protests.
For the DHS to be on a call with mayors, the logic of its chain of command and accountability implies that congressional overseers, with the blessing of the White House, told the DHS to authorise mayors to order their police forces -- pumped up with millions of dollars of hardware and training from the DHS -- to make war on peaceful citizens.
| It doesn't mean that congressional overseers had anything to do with it. DHS and its Secretary, on direction and orders of the White House, could do this all on their own. |
Journalist Chris Hayes reported on a leaked memo that revealed lobbyists vying for an $850,000 (federal) contract to smear the Occupy Wall Street movement.
The Guardian assumes this is because congress objected to OWS "exposing" corrupt financial dealings. However, OWS has been withering and becoming a laughingstock, not getting out any message other than filthy chaos, and its promulgators have been complaining that it lacks 'outrage photos', that would result in public anger and support for OWS, as well as considerably more public disruption. In other words, the White House created OWS, and they want results, even if some useful fools get beaten up in the process. |