I took a walk to the Civic Center today so that I could see what the Occupy San Diego protests have evolved into.  Gone were the tents that I saw a week ago.  The police requested that those be moved, and the protestors complied.  I asked a couple of police officers about how the crowd had been acting, and they said "they've been cool."  They will require the crowd to move tonight, and I said hopefully they'll comply and you won't have to pepper spray them again.

You'll remember that there were cops who were seen bragging about how their nightsticks would get a workout in New York.  Not here.  These cops said they really don't want a confrontation and that they want everyone to move peacefully.  The San Diego police and the protestors seem to have a mutual respect for each other and it's preventing, for the most part, the ugly scenes we've seen in other cities.

There were flareups, but it resulted in a couple of people being arrested and the police offered to let them go if the protestors would break down the tents.  There's a huge difference in attitude here and it's something the police department should be proud of.

There have been many criticisms of the protestors, ranging from slams against them as stoned hippies and people who aren't willing to work hard to calling them confused and labeling them socialists or communists.  Most of these amount to little more than name calling.

However, there was one legitimate criticism of the movement.  The movement was expressing a lot of anger, which more enlightened financial sector leaders understood.  But complaining about a problem is one thing.  Suggesting a solution is something completely different.

Now, they have.

You can see the signs there.  Obviously, you can't read the text.  But I obtained a copy of the requests.

What do the people at Occupy San Diego want?  Here's the list.

• Passing HR 1489, which would reimplement many of the restrictions of the Glass-Steagall Act. 
• Full investigation and prosecution of those who broke laws and created the financial crisis of 2008
• Legislation to reverse the Citizens United decision
• Enactment of a tax system similar to that which Warren Buffett advocates
• An overhaul of the Securities and Exchange Commission
• Limits on the influence of lobbyist that prevent lobbyists from writing legislation
• Legislation to prevent federal regulators from leaving the government to go to work for the companies they regulated
• Elimination of corporate personhood.

One of the few valid criticisms of the Occupy movement has now been eliminated. 

These are not radical requests that would destroy capitalism like many allege.  Some of them are clearly pipe dreams.  For example, the problem with the second request is that most Wall Street firms, even though they took the world to the edge of financial ruin, did not break the law.

But others are things that mainstream politicians and think tanks have pushed for, such as bringing back the regulations of Glass-Steagall.

 Now let's see what criticism will be leveled at the protestors.  It ought to be good.