Occupy Atlanta has hefty price tag

Occupy Atlanta didn't come and go without a price.

The city is saying that Atlanta taxpayers will pick up a $451,691 tab for more than two weeks of  a dispute between the city and Occupy Atlanta protesters, with nearly three-quarters going to police overtime, according to an article published in the AJC. 

The taxpayers are probably irate.

The whole Occupy movement in my view is a bit misguided. Yes, it's sad that people are unable to find work and are unemployed, but what is the purpose of this protest?

Do protestors just want to hang out until things get better? Do they think that the banks or big businesses will cave into their requests because of their sit in?

I think something else was going on in here. Instead of a protest, it seemed to be more like a gathering of kindred spirits -  those unemployed Americans, who quite frankly wanted to make a statement. There was no clear end goal, but a sense of wanting to belong.

I think that point gets lost in the details and in a lot of the media articles that are floating about. People are hurting, and this Occupy movement - well maybe it gave some a sense of belonging to a workforce and a culture that rejected them.

It's just sad that Atlanta is picking up the price tag though.

Citizen Cain

The Herman Cain saga continues to get interesting by the hour. The Associated Press is now reporting that a third woman considered filing a workplace complaint against Cain over what she deemed aggressive and unwanted behavior when both worked together during the late 1990s, the woman told The Associated Press on Wednesday. 

The AP article states that the accuser said Cain's behavior included a private invitation to his corporate apartment.

Cain is of course denying any wrong doing, but at this point he's waffled and went back and forth so many times, that it's really hard to believe anything that he says. 

I think the real issue with Cain isn't that these alleged incidents happened years ago, but the fact that he initially denied the existence of  the complaints and now  keeps repeatedly changing his story. 

Look, everyone has skeletons in their closet and has been accused of doing something that they aren't particularly proud of. But to hide these accusations when you're questioned on them in such a public arena, in this day and age, is an invitation to court disaster. 

A little honesty would have gone a long way in securing confidence in this troubled time,  that many of Cain's supporters demonstrated during his recent surge in the polls. 

Let the Mud Slinging Begin

Sexual harassment and Herman Cain are two things that really don't seem like they belong in the same sentence, or the same blog for that matter.

 

But it seems as if  two female employees of the National Restaurant Association, which he headed back in the 90s, had indeed made some sexual harassment allegations and there was a settlement.

In an interview with Greta Van Sustren on Monday night, Cain went into detail about the complaint. Here is some of what he said below:


"She was in my office one day, and I made a gesture saying -- and I was standing close to her -- and I made a gesture saying you are the same height as my wife.  And I brought my hand up to my chin saying, 'My wife comes up to my chin.'"  At that point, Cain gestured with his flattened palm near his chin.  "And that was put in there [the complaint] as something that made her uncomfortable," Cain said, "something that was in the sexual harassment charge."

Doesn't seem like much does it. Maybe it's much to do about nothing. Anyhow Cain should be sort of happy that this came out. It shows that he's a serious threat and a candidate not to be taken lightly. Time will tell if he can overcome this.