On assignment.

Some people who have been active in Occupy Portland are being harassed, intimidated, and occasionally violently abused by agents of the State--police, Homeland Security agents, or "plain clothes" detectives who appear to be packing firearms. These representatives of the State detain activists, question them, and threaten them, reminding them that they are being watched. Nothing of the kind has happened to me, but I suppose gray-haired white women are less likely to be harassed than other people.

Today there was a meeting about this, for which I'm writing a story tonight, including an explanation of what people's rights are, what constitutes lawful (as opposed to consensual) search and seizure, and who has to show what to whom, and when. So I'll be brief. If I finish the story I'll come back for more comments. Meanwhile, here's the view from the Red & Black, a worker-owned vegan restaurant and coffee shop where the meeting took place.

For background material I'm consulting a brilliant new book called The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander. She chronicles the ways the so-called "War on Drugs" has given power to the State to detain, search, and imprison (mostly Black) people on suspicion of drug dealing. Add to that the so-called "Patriot Act" and "War on Terror," and you get a whole lot of State power. With all that State Power rattling around, it's too bad that power is not being used to protect the planet, educate the children, and provide health care and social services to people.