How Will We Help the Homeless Without Government, Which Just Sent Squads of Cops to Destroy "Microhouses" for Homeless on Government Property in Denver?

Denver Post reports calmly:

Denver Homeless Out Loud activists returned Sunday night to a Denver Housing Authority-owned community garden — a night after police broke up their settlement — saying they want to set it up again.

Denver Homeless Out Loud Facebook

But the modular "tiny houses" they used Saturday have been "stolen," they said.

About two dozen activists gathered in the moonlight Sunday at Sustainability Park, the DHA property at 25th and Lawrence streets…

Denver police arrested 10 activists Saturday night at Sustainability Park after they set up tiny houses for use by the houseless and refused police orders to disperse. Those arrested said Sunday that all but one had been released after posting $100 bond each.

The activists are angered by Denver Housing Authority plans to sell land used for a community garden. For the past five years, the land has been the home of the Urban Farmers Collaborative at Sustainability Park….

On Saturday, police gave several orders to disperse before making arrests, police spokesman Tyrone Campbell said. Police said they gave back structures that could be returned…

An account via the Denver Homeless Out Loud group has a different version of the cops behavior and purpose:

Up to 70 officers from the Denver Police and Sheriff's Departments converged on Sustainability Park….

Following orders issued by Mayor Michael Hancock, police officers — including SWAT units with helicopters overhead — stormed the park by 9 p.m. local time to remove the micro-buildings, named "Resurrection Village," due to lack of proper permits from the city. Ten were arrested in the process and charged with trespassing…Denver Public Works then took the remnants of the destroyed homes, threw them into dump trucks and drove them away.

Some Livestream of the raid and aftermath here.

Reason TV on the illegality of "tiny houses":

Comments

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Meh. Want to set up micro-houses for the homeless, knock yourself out. Just do it on your own damn property, or at least on the property of someone who has agreed to it. What they were doing isn't much different than what the Occupy protesters were doing.

[commodious spittoon]

In fairness, they'd likely be raided even on private property for zoning or building violations. It's fine to be homeless outside of a home, but homeless in an inadequately serviced shelter? Not on your life, buddy.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

In fairness, they'd likely be raided even on private property for zoning or building violations.

Probably, but in that case they'd be far more sympathetic. Doing it on property you don't own and don't have permission to use isn't going to endear you with most people.

[commodious spittoon]

Fair point. Would be interesting to hear where progressives come down on an issue like that: social consciousness (yay!) meets private property (boo!).

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Probably depends on how it's framed. Progressives will compromise on any principle if the right principals are involved.

[AlmightyJB]

Property is theft. Am I free to gambol? My spellchecker changed gambol to facebook. Twice.

[Marty Comanche]

Oh, Blanco Indigeno. We hardly knew you. His need to question dead economists about whether he was free to gambol. His steadfast refusal to let us transport him to some remote location where he could gambol to his heart's content. His disdain for fibbertarians. Good times.

[commodious spittoon]

Is that why reasonable has gambol filtered?

[Marty Comanche]

Yes. Yes, it is. If you google, "site:reason.com 'am i free to gambol'", you can find all of the examples that you can stomach.

[Rhywun]

Heh I was going to mention that. I actually removed it from the list cuz WI is long gone.

[Mickey Rat]

Except then the issue would clearly be the zoning regulations rather than the salient fact that this group has no right to homestead this piece of land.

[Hugh Akston]

Yeah, people should respect the government's property the way the government respects peoples' property!

[AlmightyJB]

Welcome to the bizarro world of gentrification guilt, where the man with the gun pointed at you isn't allowed to be "scary" but a weapon with no motive of its own is.

http://nypost.com/2015/10/25/w.....hemselves/

[commodious spittoon]

"cultivated our sense of compassion toward the robber, whom we imagined must have been acting out of dire need."

But not, apparently, dire enough to hock his handgun first.

This piece is leaking pure schadenfreude. Robbery at gunpoint can't have happened to a more deserving group of muppets.

[Brochettaward]

After the robbery at the Lark Cafe, the writers turned to online crowd-funding to raise money for new laptops and quickly had enough to afford replacements.

Apparently, they didn't mind using their privilege here.

[AlmightyJB]

Crowd funding sounds a lot better than begging I guess

[AlmightyJB]

Wonder how much crowd funding they've done to help out their poor neighbors

[Rhywun]

The funny thing, Ditmas Park is NOT a poor neighborhood by any means. It is full of Victorian mansions, as the article mentions. These kids think they're slumming in East New York or something but that is simply not the case.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Hey, I live there.

And, y'know, I wouldn't mind a new laptop...

[Cloudbuster]

The Eloi never resist the Morlocks.

[Sevo]

Mixed feelings here:
"The activists are angered by Denver Housing Authority plans to sell land used for a community garden. For the past five years, the land has been the home of the Urban Farmers Collaborative at Sustainability Park...."
Looks like the DHA was going to turn a commons into a private holding; that's almost always a good move.
Dunno about the 'Urban Farmers' in Denver, but the ones in SF grow a lot of Zucchini and lobbyists; not harvests I want to support on whatever I own of the commons.

[commodious spittoon]

GTFO but leave the zucchini bread.

[AlmightyJB]

I like zucchini bread. Been enjoying several pumpkin products lately. Had these pumpkin-ginger scones that were fantastic.

[commodious spittoon]

DID YOU GET A PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE?

YOU KNOW IT'S PUMPKIN SPICE SEASON, RIGHT?

YOU'VE NEVER HAD A PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE?! OMG!!

[AlmightyJB]

I haven't. Have had a pumpkin ale though. And some realy rich pumpkin cream cake wonderfulness.

[commodious spittoon]

I love pumpkin cake 🙁

I ordered a pecan ale for dinner, but the restaurant was out. I'm curious now 🙁

[AlmightyJB]

Pecan ale? Hmmm.. Gonna have to look for that.

[Heroic Mulatto]

All gourds are fucking disgusting.

[AlmightyJB]

You're not suppossed to have sex with them. But I don't judge.

[Sevo]

Wanna lose friends?
Grow Zucchini and end up leaving it at their front doors since no one will take it from you.

[commodious spittoon]

Are you kidding? I make pounds and pounds of fried zucchini noodles. Between that and spaghetti squash and broccoli and cauliflower I've just about eliminated pasta from my diet.

[Sevo]

You're gonna find a whole lot of new friends. Do you work in an office? Just spread the word.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Do you have a spiral cutter?

[commodious spittoon]

Nah, I've been meaning to pick one up. A mandolin too.

[Swiss Servator]

I have had neighbors flee at my advent... "its that zucchini guy again!"

[Rhywun]

Urban Farmers Collaborative at Sustainability Park

Needs more "People's".

[AlmightyJB]

Everyone knows homeless people are supposed to live in the sewers.

[Quincy.]

Not all homeless are mutants, JB.

[AlmightyJB]

I like to think they are

[Rhywun]

+3 eyes

[Sevo]

Duuno about sewers, but expecting to live in SF with no visible means of support is asking a lot. There are plenty of bums camped out here who are more than capable of earning a living as farm hands, for instance. And living costs are low in the Central Valley or the Salinas Valley.
Why I should subsidize their stay in SF is a mystery to me.

[Rhywun]

SF has perfect bum weather - I have never seen so many of 'em anywhere else.

[Sevo]

And perfect bum gov't.
Mayor Ed Lee keeps giving them money and then wonders why he can't get rid of them. It's not that he's corrupt, it's just an IQ a bit lower than his age.

[EMD]

San Francisco is the most overrated city in the contiguous United States.

[Homple]

Why not? Because illegal immigrants tuk all the farm jerbs in California.

[EMD]

+CHUD

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I've been away for awhile. Has Reason covered the "Halloween Revolt"? Seems like an overreaction that could get some innocent people killed....

Further reading:

The Pants Shitting

Main Stream Media

Calm the Fuck Down

[Brochettaward]

If shitting our pants saves even a single officer's life, it's well worth it.

[commodious spittoon]

What do you want a bet it's a plot fabricated wholecloth by FBI agents themselves who managed to con a couple dimwits and poseurs into making actionable threats?

[AlmightyJB]

Funny:)

[AlmightyJB]

Shits almost predictable at this point

[AlmightyJB]

FBI sting looking to recruit semi-retarded people to do something they never would have come up with on their own in order to arrest them for terrorist plot and to justify more s anti-civil liberties legislation?

[SIV]

It's a sad anniversary for millenial cosmotarians. I'm sure they all remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news

[commodious spittoon]

Yeah, that was a pretty landmark occasion. I finally found out who the hell Lou Reed is.

[AlmightyJB]

Lou Reed died? Why didn't anyone say anything?

[Sevo]

I heard there was a TV show called "Star Hike" or some such. Did you hear about that?

[Wasteland Wanderer]

OT: Anti-rape activists informs prospective boyfriend that "this is what she does", "[she] knows the chief of police", and "not to get creepy"; wonders why he got the fuck out of Dodge.

I wonder if she'd stick around if a guy she just started dating told her that he knows a good divorce lawyer and that she shouldn't steal from him or be a gold digger. I'm thinking no.

[AlmightyJB]

Do you put out? Cause if not I have better shit to do.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

(not pictured: the activist)

[Sevo]

(broken camera)

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

"There was one time, one guy, knowing what I did and what I talked about, he made consent part of foreplay," she reacalls. "You know, very intentionally asking, 'Is this okay? Is this okay?' It was cute. It was great.""

That's fucking gross.

[Heroic Mulatto]

It's almost as if she wants to be a dominatrix, but just can't admit that to herself.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Almost.

[Knarf Yenrab!]

So when neanderthals say "you like that, slut?" over and over, that's enlightened foreplay now?

[Suthenboy]

She told HIM not to get creepy?

Alrighty then.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

http://www.dailybreeze.com/gen.....-off-again

"An investigation is underway to determine the identity of the pilot "and any violations" resulting from the pier-area landing, according to the city."

AKA Fuck the guy for making them look stupid.

[SIV]

lol!

Procedures were followed

[EMD]

Oh Hell No!

[Sevo]

We are going to HEAR about this; take a look at the catalogue cover:
https://www.jmcremps.com/inforequest.asp
Three kids in camo and tin hats, fake weapons, maps, striding along, playing WAR!
To be clear, I hate war; it's the friend of government. But playing war is what kids did when I grew up, and It didn't seem to make any of the folks I knew want to sign up and go 'kill gooks' in VN.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Over 100,000 families already receive this catalogue. Is yours one of them?

[Sevo]

Actually, we did. From what mailing list is a mystery to me.
BTW. did your spell-check flag "catalogue"?

[Rhywun]

I grew up with "catalogue" (upstate NY).

[Sevo]

AFAIK, that is the correct spelling, along with 'gauge', now commonly 'gage'.
Maybe 'get off my lawn', but I was amazed the spell-check flagged it.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I don't spell check. That's not the way I roll.

[Sevo]

Living dangerously?
Hey, I clean closets WITHOUT A DUST MASK!

[EMD]

I refuse to test for colorfastness.

[Sevo]

Yeah, but do you put whites in with reds?!

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Gentrification?

[SIV]

The sub-$5 lunch is exceedingly uncommon these days but today I had a fried shrimp sandwich (3 extra-large shrimp, lettuce, tartar sauce on a hamburger bun, tiny french fries made from golf ball-sized potatoes, cole slaw and a Dr. Pepper for $4.30. It was the "regular price", not a lunch special.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Thanks for not telling us where.

By the way, I had a nice club sandwich, a bowl of French onion soup and a Coke. I think it cost me $15.00.

[EMD]

KFC FIVE DOLLAH FILL UP. LISTEN TO THE "COLONEL."

[SIV]

Dunn, NC. Birthplace of Link Wray.

A couple of miles off Exit 73 on The Great Yankee Migration Route

Been there at least 5 years and almost no internet presence:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/fresh-seafood-express-dunn

[Vampire]

Weather on govt property, or private property, if they are not govt approved homeless, they are violating govt homeless law standards.

Even when folks are looking for an affordable place to live, someone can call their hoa, or state on folks because they might be in some violation.

This results in the state displacing people and fines for the homeowner, even though they engaged in a mutual agreement on not their property owned by the state (which if they can't afford the property extortion rate their "property" will be seized.).

[F. Mattress Boy, Jr.]

OT: At the stroke of midnight on Saturday, I will be pounding away on this very keyboard in observance of National Novel Writing Month. Countdown to Cool Hell will be complete in a month's time; don't know if it'll be worth a damn, but it seems like fun trying to write ~1700 words a day during November.

But the Salon archive says: Fuck you and your fun!

Better yet, DON'T write that novel
Why National Novel Writing Month is a waste of time and energy

Participants agree to start and complete a novel of 50,000 words or more during the month of November. To "win," all you have do is meet that goal, however wretched the result.

You hear that, amateur marathoners and tri-athletes? If your time is woefully short of the pros on TV, it's wretched.

I am not the first person to point out that "writing a lot of crap" doesn't sound like a particularly fruitful way to spend an entire month

YOU RUBES DON'T KNOW HOW TO PROPERLY UTILIZE YOUR SPARE TIME

"Write Your Novel Here" was the suggested motto for an in-store NaNoWriMo event. It was yet another depressing sign that the cultural spaces once dedicated to the selfless art of reading are being taken over by the narcissistic commerce of writing.

"Selfless art of reading"?? When I read, baby seals come back to life and majestic trees of the Amazon are unfelled!

Go on, click the link; there's more than enough derp for all of us.

[EMD]

Salon?

Why would you want to gift them any shred of traffic?

[F. Mattress Boy, Jr.]

For amusement purposes. I was googling links to the event and this one came up on the first page. I expected top-notch derp, and it did not disappoint.

[Knarf Yenrab!]

It was yet another depressing sign that the cultural spaces once dedicated to the selfless art of reading are being taken over by the narcissistic commerce of writing.

If it weren't Laura Miller, I would call this a very funny sentence by a self-aware artist cognizant of her own narcissism and that of writers broadly, who are a hateful species who would be far happier if they didn't spend time in the company of their peers (whom we despise even more than non-writers, who are bad enough as it is).

It is Miller, however, and thus pitifully lacking in self-awareness.

[Cytotoxic]

OT: Is Gavin McInnes of the Rebel Media a troll or a retard?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R5peL26L-U

"This kid was not making a clock and innocently taking it to school. He was committing a crime by deliberately taking a device to school that looked like a bomb. The entire world fell for it including the president of the United States. All they did was pull the guts out of an old alarm clock and throw it in a pencil box. It's the farthest thing from a homemade clock (and not that far from a bomb).

"The more we cower in fear, the more powerful Islam gets. Islamophobia isn't a scourge on Western culture. It's a fake tool used by our enemies to overpower us. We need to stop being afraid of it and accept that being suspicious is part of war."

Irony poisoning labelled with bold.

[Agammamon]

So, the insides of a clock look like a bomb - what if you put a fake bomb inside a clock. Is that a fake, fake bomb? Does that cancel out and make it a real bomb? Could you tell the difference?

[Juvenile Bluster]

Depends on whether the only place you've ever seen a bomb is in the movies. Which is "yes" for most people, seemingly. Bombs are just a bunch of circuits wired to an alarm clock, right?

[Otis B. Driftwood]

I laughed like a bastard at this.

[Agammamon]

You know, if these homes were on wheels - they'd say only white trash live in campers.

Take off the wheels and all of a sudden they're 'microhomes'.

[Knarf Yenrab!]

Tiny houses are mostly on wheels. The ones I've looked at were built on a tow trailer frame. You hitch it up to your truck and haul it around the same way you would if you were hauling hay.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

This is worse that anything Sugarfree has ever written, and it's real:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10.....field.html

[Juvenile Bluster]

Don't encourage him.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

She was a professor of ethics, none of this should surprise anyone.

[Knarf Yenrab!]

''I was raised to believe that I have the responsibility of tikkun olam, repairing the world,''

I'm beginning to see the source of the problem.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

I saw "They Live" not very long ago. There was a scene where cops in riot gear stormed a homeless encampment and destroyed everything. That movie is looking more prophetic all the time.

[Cloudbuster]

I can't imagine what could possibly go wrong with vast urban shanty towns on public property. Who could imagine that the people of Denver wouldn't be thrilled?

[Homple]

"Favela" is not something on the menu of a Brazilian food truck.

[Vapourwear]

Why are these people always giving men fish?

[Suthenboy]

California hippy culture flees the shit-mess they made to Colorado. Colorado becomes a fever swamp of stupid. Who could have seen that coming?

Open borders, people. Open borders.