Occupy Wall Street

Occupy Denver: Independent monitor criticizes police, Department of Safety over protest tactics

Occupy Denver may no longer be making headlines, but at least one city official is still talking about the protesters -- specifically law enforcement's role in a violent confrontation. A recent report from the Office of the Independent Monitor, the city's official watchdog, says Denver Police and th ... More >>

Occupy Wall Street enters the classroom at UCD next semester

Hey, remember Occupy Wall Street? The almost-revolution that rallied Americans to address our ever-widening income gap, yet ultimately splintered into obscurity due to idealistic infighting? Yes, that one. While the movement is mostly behind us, it played a major role in the last election. And that' ... More >>

Paris Calling

16th Street Mall's 30th birthday not exactly celebrated by the New York Times

Every party has a pooper, and in the case of the 16th Street Mall's thirtieth anniversary party, that would be the New York Times, which published an article on Tuesday's celebration -- both online and in print -- that some boosters think made the event look a lot like Mayberry, BFD.

The director of Occupy Unmasked talks facts, bias and the future of the movement

Occupy Wall Street celebrated its first birthday this week. In the past year, the young political movement has inspired laws, riots and several retrospective glances, not the least among them the new documentary Occupy Unmasked. Directed by conservative filmmaker Stephen K. Bannon, the piece stays t ... More >>

On Occupy Denver's first birthday, we count the ways it drove us crazy

Occupy Denver: A photo guide to the national movement's one-year anniversary

Occupy Denver took the city by storm last year. Six days after Occupy Wall Street's September 17 launch in New York, the local branch placed its finger on the city's political pulse. In the twelve months since then, the movement gained a reputation for sound, fury and controversy as it turned its at ... More >>

The new Flobots album, The Circle in the Square, celebrates worlds big and small

See also: - Remembering Sandy Widener - Flobots ink deal with Shanachie Entertainment - Q&A: Jonny 5 of Flobots on the Occupy Movement - Q&A: Jonny 5 of Survival Story Sometimes Denver can feel like a very hip Mayberry. While waiting to meet the founding members of Flobots at the Denver Bike Cafe, ... More >>

Photos: Police brutality march inspired by Kevin Ryberg, Amelia Nicol

Approximately fifty people gathered last night at La Alma Park to protest against police aggression. This is the latest in a string of anti-brutality rallies in recent months, though this march focused predominantly on the death of Kevin Ryberg, who was shot by police while in custody on July 31, an ... More >>

Freethought Film Festival brings disbelief to Denver

Andrea Steele, founder and director of the International Freethought Film Festival describes herself as: "an agnostic atheist with secular humanist tendencies." Like sexuality, comics and Occupy Wall Street, there are endless subgroups within the cultures that don't believe in god(s). And whether y ... More >>

Reader: DU Occupy the Honor Roll event fails as satire and on the facts

A recent Kelsey Whipple post focused on DU's Young Americans For Liberty and an event dubbed "Occupy the Honor Roll," in which participants equated Occupy Wall Street's calls for greater equity with the redistribution of smart kids' GPA to dumber ones. Which didn't tickle one reader's funny bone.

DU's Young Americans For Liberty extend the Occupy meme with 'Occupy the Honor Roll'

If you've ever heard an "Occupy your mom" joke, you'll know that Occupy memes have gone just about as far as the national movement's politics. But the University of Denver has jumped on the bandwagon: The twenty or so members of the school's Young Americans For Liberty took on wealth redistribution ... More >>

Meet Colorado's activist medics, a rogue band of good Samaritans

Reader: Occupy Denver's election of Shelby the dog as leader marked day I stopped caring

Kelsey Whipple's post in which Mayor Michael Hancock shared his view that the public no longer cares about Occupy Denver attracted numerous comments from supporters disputing his conclusion. But there was also this take from someone very much on Hancock's wavelength.

Occupy Littleton launched with five-person general assembly

On Sunday, at 2 p.m. in the Bemis Public Library, five people gathered to launch the first general assembly of Occupy Littleton. If the idea that democracy takes time ever needed proof, this would be it. One person shy of a round half-dozen, the group appeared dwarfed in the city library's largest m ... More >>

Occupy Denver: What local artifacts would make it into museums and history books?

Occupy Wall Street became an unofficial part of history the moment it spread to all seven continents, but now it's becoming one for the books. At least six big-name museums and cultural organizations have launched quests to gather evidence, ephemera and relics from the movement for future collection ... More >>

Reader: "Kenny Be's holiday greeting cards were laugh-out-loud funny"

Occupy Denver: The injuries and memories behind three months covering the movement

On December 23, Occupy Denver quietly celebrated three months of loud, tense and occasionally fiery statements downtown. In that time span, the local chapter of the national movement has kept busy -- and kept Westword busy -- with stories that change not just daily, but hourly. If you've been follow ... More >>

Occupy Denver: Why did city not cite conference call about occupiers in open records request?

Michael Hancock.​Update: Westword recently received a copy of Kilmer, Lane & Newman's updated CORA request from investigator Christopher Dodd. The document is blunt: In it, Dodd references the existence of an Occupy movement-related U.S. Conference of Mayors conference call involving Mayor Mic ... More >>

Kalyn Heffernan and Wheelchair Sports Camp on the cover of this week's Village Voice in NYC

Jason Paul RobertsKalyn Heffernan of Wheelchair Sports Camp​ Massive props are due to Kalyn Heffernan and Wheelchair Sports Camp, who have earned the rare, career defining distinction of being on the cover of our sister paper, the Village Voice in New York City. The cover, of course, advances ... More >>

Occupy Denver: Dog leader Shelby would approve of these Constitutional amendments

If Occupy Wall Street is easy to criticize, it's also a movement with which many politicians can find common ground. In the past month, Democratic Representatives Jim McGovern and Ted Deutch have introduced drafts of amendments to the U.S. Constitution that reflect the ideals of the 99 percent with ... More >>

Reader: How can Occupy Boulder obey the rules if Boulder can't get the rules straight?

Occupy protesters kept occupied over Thanksgiving week. While Occupy Wall Street crews prepared to descend on Black Friday shoppers, Thunderdome supporters greeted Governor John Hickenlooper and Mayor Michael Hancock at the Denver Rescue Mission...and Boulder cops had their own welcoming committee f ... More >>

Jonny 5 of Flobots reflects on the Occupy Movement and talks about the act's new album

Emily Crenshaw, Mary Grace Legg, Sole

Molina and Diles drop "Stacks of Bills" track in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement

The Occupy Wall Street movement has been inspiring almost everyone to speak up and speak out, whether in favor of the abstract movement or against it. Local hip-hop artists have gotten together to release a series of three tracks in support of the movement. Activist and MC Molina kicked off things w ... More >>

Occupy Denver: Students at Wesleyan revoke Governor John Hickenlooper's degree

Occupy Denver's sphere of influence (and the bad PR it occasionally invites upon city officials) has traveled well beyond Colorado borders, and its most recent stop earned it a spot in Connecticut. On Thursday, students at Governor John Hickenlooper's alma mater of Wesleyan University took official ... More >>

Occupy Denver: 11 of 20 weekend arrestees have no criminal record outside of OD protests

​November 17's a day of action for Occupy Denver, which is marking the two-month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. That could mean more arrests, and more suggestions by critics that the protests are dominated by longtime criminals. But a report about the arrest records of OD types busted this ... More >>

Occupy Denver marks two-month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street with peaceful first march

​Today's initial celebration of Occupy Wall Street's two-month anniversary ended with the largest display of honks from passing cars the local movement has heard in a while (at least without a ticket). The day has been designated a national cause for action for occupations across the world, an ... More >>

Occupy Denver dog leader, Shelby, only the latest real political animal in Colorado

​Occupy Denver is the first of the Occupy Wall Street camps across the country to elect a leader: Shelby, a Border Collie mix seen here, who was anointed after a long meeting Sunday night, and has already requested a meeting with Governor John Hickenlooper. Beyond that, Shelby doesn't have mu ... More >>

Occupy Denver: Ideological split spurs idea for Liberate Denver to fight oppression

​Recent divisions inside Occupy Denver have led to the ideological creation of Liberate Denver, a related but completely separate entity much like the Thunderdome. Although the idea has spread through the ranks for a while, it solidified on Sunday afternoon during a general assembly devoted to ... More >>

Occupy Denver: Read what the 99 percent would change about the world, courtesy of Twitter

​If you're not paying attention to Occupy Denver news on Twitter, you're missing some of the strongest and most readily available social commentary on the movement. (You're also, of course, missing a great deal of infighting and Internet trolling.) This week, Occupy Denver asked Twitter follow ... More >>

Boulder backs Corporate Personhood: Message similar to Occupy Wall Street's, says councilman

​Among the more unusual ballot items approved in Colorado's election yesterday was Boulder Question 2H, which calls for a constitutional amendment to declare that corporations are not people. And Boulder City Councilman Macon Cowles, one of 2H's most vocal backers, believes voters sent a messa ... More >>

Occupy Denver gets national platform during Jeannie Hartley interview by Keith Olbermann

Video below.​Occupy Denver may not be among the largest of the Occupy Wall Street spinoffs, but increasing violence and the growing number of arrests have gotten the national media's attention. Witness the appearance last night on Countdown with Keith Olbermann by Occupy Denver's Jeannie Hartl ... More >>

Top five reasons why people should get to buy fast food with food stamps

​Yum! Brands -- parent company of such fast-food chains as KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell -- is currently lobbying the Kentucky state government to allow people to use their food stamps in its restaurants. Is this an example of unabashed corporate greed trying to divert state benefits from buyi ... More >>

Wall Street financial-collapse tale Margin Call is too late to succeed

MC Sole on what the Occupy Denver movement represents and the solidarity it has fostered

Jenn Wohletz​The Occupy Wall Street movement is loosely modeled after the "Arab Spring" wave of demonstrations that swept through the Arab world. Immediately based upon civil resistance, civil disobedience and the overall right to general assembly, these protests have been sweeping the nation ... More >>

Occupy Facebook: The five worst anti-protest memes

​So, if Facebook is the future of social discourse, it should be no surprise that it's been a forum for Occupy Wall Street discussions and visual arguments. Pictures, cartoons, graphics -- anti-Occupy Facebookers have taken to the virtual streets of Zuckerberg's city to fight Occupy Wall Stree ... More >>

Occupy Denver and Tea Party protests make Denver America's angriest city, says Daily Beast

​There are plenty of differences between the Occupy Wall Street and Tea Party movements, as cartoonist Kenny Be pointed out in his post "Occupy Wall Street vs. the Tea Party: A visual guide." But their members' shared sense of dissatisfaction inspired The Daily Beast to use them as a barometer ... More >>

Occupy Denver: Mainstream media outlets aren't always taking the movement seriously

Video below.​Occupy Denver protests present a challenge for mainstream media outlets. The local version of the Occupy Wall Street movement can't compare in size to the largest assemblies in the U.S. or internationally -- at least not yet. But it's still one of the biggest ongoing stories in th ... More >>

Occupy Denver profile: Special Forces vet Billy Reno is reintroduced to political activism

​Billy Reno's first reaction to the Occupy Wall Street movement was a desire to head to New York. But this was quickly squashed when he stopped by the local movement instead. Tonight, Reno, whose last name is spelled on the knuckles of his left hand with a diamond replacing the O, will sleep o ... More >>

Occupy Denver concert with BLKHRTS, Jonny 5, Sole, Whomp Truck slated for October 22

The BLKHRTS will play the October 22 Occupy Denver rally.​Police may have cleared the State Capitol grounds this morning, but Occupy Denver will live on at least a week longer with a concert slated for Saturday, October 22 at Veterans Memorial Park. Occupy Denver volunteer Michelle Lessans is ... More >>

Hair strikes a chord with a new generation

Reader: Tea Party cartoon belittles sacrifices made by the Greatest Generation

​Yesterday, cartoonist extraordinaire Kenny Be presented an illustrated comparison between Occupy Wall Street protesters and the Tea Party. One reader found his depiction of an elderly Tea Party supporter to be less than respectful.

Occupy Denver considering Occupy Wall Street platform of demands: Read the rough draft

Occupy Wall Street has been taking flak for being vague about its mission and not having a concrete platform. But the growing protest in New York is currently working on a document that will outline the organization's demands. Because the movement is democratic, with no specific leader, the list is ... More >>

John Hickenlooper: Occupy Denver protesters can't stay overnight, deciding how to evict them

​The tent city that sprang up in relation to Occupy Denver, the local version of the Occupy Wall Street protests, can't become a permanent fixture at the State Capitol, Governor John Hickenlooper said today -- and the Colorado State Patrol confirms that discussions will be underway soon to det ... More >>

Occupy Wall Street vs. the Tea Party: A visual guide

Full diagram below.​Editor's note: Much has been written over the past few days about similarities between Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party movement of a few years ago. Some, like Fox News, argue that the two are not the same thing, while others claim they may have more in common than firs ... More >>

Occupy Denver has an on-site kitchen: Welcome to the Thunderdome

People driving by the Capitol building at Broadway and Colfax will notice many things about the Occupy Denver demonstration site, including energetic protesters chanting and waving signs, a Hooverville-style collection of tents and tarps for the 24-7 campers and, right in the middle of this organize ... More >>

Occupy Boulder -- make that one of the Occupy Boulders -- hopes solidarity will help movement

Given its demographics, Boulder would seem to be the ideal spot for a local version of Occupy Wall Street to flourish. But while Occupy Denver appears to be building momentum, a similar movement is just getting started in Boulder -- not due to a lack of interest, but because so many different organ ... More >>

Occupy Denver video collection chronicles ongoing protests

Those who figured the Occupy Wall Street protests (like the one at the Colorado State Capitol this past weekend) would be a soon-to-vanish blip on the radar were wrong. Support appears to be growing for Occupy Denver, which is chronicling its actions on a comprehensive website complete with meeting ... More >>

Occupy Denver prepares for the cold with donated supplies

The Occupy Wall Street movement is, in many ways, a numbers game. The same is true of its Denver affiliate, where the numbers might be smaller but the fervor for the cause -- the causes, really -- maintains a strength in direct proportion to its national parent. During a three-hour span this afterno ... More >>

Photos: #OccupyWallStreet on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol

About 200 people brought their voices to the steps of the Colorado State Capitol, starting at noon on Saturday for the Denver version of the Occupy Wall Street ongoing protest that originated -- where else -- on Wall Street in New York. Photos continue below.