Bedlam in Manhattan

The day turned ugly. It was chilly, blustery, and rainy. Zuccotti Park was once again a rally point. The organizers had hoped for a crowd 10,000 strong, but they were lucky if only maybe 2000 showed up.

Instead of simply making noise, the demonstrators decided to march down to Wall Street to try and close down the Stock Exchange. The attempt failed. Mightily.

The protestors made scattered attempts to block people from entering their workplaces near the NYSE. Some of the workers, anticipating a delay held up placards of their own. Brothers Lewis and Derek Tobacco, who were effectively blocked from getting to work, held up protests signs of their own -- "Get A Job," and "Occupy A Desk!"

Nearly 200 arrests took place near the famed Bull Sculpture outside of the New York Stock Exchange. Business As Usual, however, was not disrupted.

Several police officers were injured in isolated instances of violence. One officer was slashed by glass, requiring stitches. At least two others were splashed in the eyes with some sort of liquid. While protest organizers claims it was vinegar, at press time medical professionals could not determine the specific chemical composition of the acid used in the assault.

On the legal front, the Occupy Wall Street movement launched a new appeal to Judge Michael Stallman's decision to bar tents, tarps, and sleeping bags from Zuccotti Park. In spite of the unique situation of Zuccotti Park (being a private property subject to extraordinary civil restrictions) legal precedents seem to favor Brookfield Properties, the park's Owners, and the City of New York, the Administrators. The movement faces an uphill battle. As the protestors are hoping to have their case hear before the United States Supreme Court, the highest court of the land, SCOTUS (The Supreme Court of the United States of America) has already ruled that "camping as a protest" is NOT protected under the First Amendment.

In a landmark 1984 case, Clark vs. Community Creative, a community organization attempted to build tents and have a "sleep-in" on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to demonstrate for the plight of the homeless. Interior Secretary William Clark refused to grant them a permit. The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of the Interior Secretary, stating that free speech is subject to reasonable restrictions of time, place, and manner. SCOTUS found that the excessive expense to municipal authorities was prohibitive, and that since the group had other courses of redress, other means to make their arguments heard, that their rights to free speech were not in any danger.