Video: Andy Thayer, who is under investigation by the FBI for possible terror ties, speaks at OccupyChicago

Thayer speaking at City Hall

RebelPundit reports that two men under investigation by the FBI, anti-war activist Andy Thayer and SEIU Local 73 executive board member Joe Iosbaker, marched with yesterday afternoon's Occupy Chicago march on City Hall.

Last fall the home of anti-war activist Andy Thayer was raided by the FBI, in relation to an investigation on "material support for terrorism."

Watch as Thayer, after a brief introduction, lets loose on Chicago's new mayor, Rahm Emanuel, in a pre-march pep talk yesterday, in this exclusive Marathon Pundit video.



Thayer is right about one thing: the 75 year contract for Morgan Stanley to manage Chicago's parking meters is a horrendously bad deal for the city's taxpayers. I'm unclear what the meter privatization has to do with Emanuel--the deal was closed in 2008 while he was serving in Congress and the North Sider had his hands full successfully running the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2006. But Emanuel did receive campaign contributions from Morgan Stanley while he served in Congress. See the connection? I don't. Thayer says Emanuel was "a leading proponent of the Iraq war." Although he was a war supporter, Emanuel was not sworn into Congress until 2003, after the joint Congressional resolution authorizing that conflict had passed.

I have to keep asking: What's with the finger-waving thing going on while these Occupy Chicago people give speeches?

Emanuel does have some redeeming qualities, I learned. Thayer says that when Emanuel was a deputy at the Chicago Housing Authority, he "presided over the massive destruction of public housing here in Chicago." Those slums never should have been built, Thayer. And the activist is angry with Emanuel because he was a "point person for President Clinton the North American Free Trade Agreement--NAFTA." That legislation was a multinational job-creator.

And I'm always accused by the left of attending these protests with a closed mind.

As for Occupy Wall Street, it is real mainstream. Not.

Earlier posts:

Chicago OccupyCityHall protest pics
Video: OccupyChicago anti-Israel rant

Related post:

Scrubbing SEIU from the stories on the FBI terror-ties raids in Chicago

Technorati tags: Politics Chicago Illinois illinois politics occupychicago left wing extremists current events socialism occupywallstreet chicago politics Rahm Emanuel SEIU labor unions organized labor Democrats terrorism trade NAFTA