So this is what America has come to? I showed video on the ustream stream this morning of this man (at the time, I believed it to be a woman). When the Oakland PD fired teargas grenades at the crowd, it scattered. A few people noticed someone lying unconscious on the street. He had obviously hit by something…. When a group of them went back to help the injured person, one of the cops took aim directly at them.
There are a number of videos showing the incident. By the way, the guy lying wounded in the street who was shot – now twice – by the police: US Marine, Iraq War Veteran Scott Olsen. Here are more pictures and a description of what happened to him.
Now for the videos… if you can stand them. Seriously, I can’t believe this is happening in the USA.
This one from Think Progress clearly shows the Flash-Bang Grenades hitting the protesters:
And another view, with slow motion… there’s no question about what happened here:
I’m late in posting today’s show and blog, as I was just on the phone trying to get the condition of Scott Olsen. They won’t tell me anything, as I’m not family. However, I was told he was still in the ER… I just saw a post that said he’s in ICU. I’ll pass along any info as soon as I get it. What I do know is that the City of Oakland has blood on its hands. Keith Olbermann just tweeted that he’ll have a special comment about what’s happening in Oakland tonight.
***Update – Scott Olsen’s status is serious but stable. According to @AdamGabbatt, a journalist from the Guardian living in NY, these tweets:
Scott Olsen’s roommate, Keith Shannon, just told me Olsen has “skull fracture, swelling of the brain”.
Scott Olsen is sedated and “waiting assessment by neurosurgeon”, to determine if he needs surgery bit.ly/vUcqgT (end of update)****
This morning, the show began with a call from Van Jones, and a 40-minute conversation that touched on the American Dream movement, the Occupy Wall Street movement, the police brutality against the protesters and, of course, the contract for America.
I also spoke with Will Bunch. The Philadelphia Daily News and Attytood Blog writer, author of Tear Down This Myth and The Backlash has just released a new e-book called October 1, 2011: The Battle of the Brooklyn Bridge about the day that will likely be remembered as the flashpoint of the Occupy movement. (At 45 pages, it’s shorter than a book, but longer than a magazine article… Amazon has it as a “Kindle Single” for 99 cents). We talked about more than just the 700 arrests on the Brooklyn Bridge that day, but the entire #occupywallstreet movement to date.
On Wednesdays, I speak with my friend Jeremy Koulish at Main Street Insider, talking about this week’s 90 second summary. This week, it was Herman Cain’s 999 Plan….
Tomorrow on the program, the one and only Jim Hightower will be my guest in the first hour. Don’t be late!