Team Obama has been working overtime to make OWS's activities illegal, thereby impairing the second stage before the weather warms up.

Let's not predict the Spring weather before it actually comes, or we may end up with another Keystone "victory" -- i.e. rationalizing a defeat. The only way to grow the "blossoms"into flowers is through the hard work of organizing, actually showing up and acting when you get there. It's always been like that and always will be. Plans are necessary to organizing. Announcements are necessary to organizing. Maybe tweets and blogs are too, but the jury is still out on that one. It is only through human engagement, risk-taking and at times some pretty scary confrontational activity that healthy fruit of power is grown.

Great news. In the lull, the occupiers could be buying modern guns while they still can, and learning to use them in self-defense against cons with guns. Notice how nobody messed with well armed Tea Partiers. Politicians are afraid to start a civil war that could cost them re-election.

The cons' worst nightmare is libs and progs with guns. Oligarchy Hollywood propaganda venues have convinced liberals that it is the "moral" thing to remain unarmed, against Washington, Jefferson and other forefather's advice..

It would be a giant public relations coup to announce that the liberal and progressive majority has armed itself well, has learned to use guns, and is prepared to defend itself against conservative abuse and exploitation.

If I were to select a jack-booted group of fascists who are perhaps as large a danger to American society as I could pick today, I would pick BATF [the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms]. -- U.S. Representative John Dingell, 1980

That the said Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United states who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms... -- Samuel Adams, in "Phila. Independent Gazetteer", August 20, 1789

[The disarming of citizens] has a double effect, it palsies the hand and brutalizes the mind: a habitual disuse of physical forces totally destroys the moral [force]; and men lose at once the power of protecting themselves, and of discerning the cause of their oppression. -- Joel Barlow, "Advice to the Privileged Orders", 1792-93

To make inexpensive guns impossible to get is to say that you're putting a money test on getting a gun. It's racism in its worst form. -- Roy Innis, president of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), 1988

I don't like the idea that the police department seems bent on keeping a pool of unarmed victims available for the predations of the criminal class. -- David Mohler, 1989, on being denied a carry permit in NYC

Americans have the will to resist because you have weapons. If you don't have a gun, freedom of speech has no power. -- Yoshimi Ishikawa, Japanese author, in the LA Times 15 Oct 1992

You know why there's a Second Amendment? In case the government fails to follow the first one. -- Rush Limbaugh, in a moment of unaccustomed profundity 17 Aug 1993

When only cops have guns, it's called a "police state". Love your country, but never trust its government. -- Robert A. Heinlein.

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. -- John F. Kennedy

An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life. -- Robert A. Heinlein, "Beyond This Horizon", 1942

The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered Eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so. -- Hitler, April 11 1942

The right to buy weapons is the right to be free. -- A.E. Van Vogt, "The Weapon Shops Of Isher", ASF December 1942

Rifles, muskets, long-bows and hand-grenades are inherently democratic weapons. A complex weapon makes the strong stronger, while a simple weapon -- so long as there is no answer to it -- gives claws to the weak. -- George Orwell, "You and the Atom Bomb", 1945

Certainly one of the chief guarantees of freedom under any government, no matter how popular and respected, is the right of the citizens to keep and bear arms. [...] the right of the citizens to bear arms is just one guarantee against arbitrary government and one more safeguard against a tyranny which now appears remote in America, but which historically has proved to be always possible. -- Hubert H. Humphrey, 1960

No matter how one approaches the figures, one is forced to the rather startling conclusion that the use of firearms in crime was very much less when there were no controls of any sort and when anyone, convicted criminal or lunatic, could buy any type of firearm without restriction. Half a century of strict controls on pistols has ended, perversely, with a far greater use of this weapon in crime than ever before. -- Colin Greenwood, in the study "Firearms Control", 1972

Let us hope our weapons are never needed --but do not forget what the common people knew when they demanded the Bill of Rights: An armed citizenry is the first defense, the best defense, and the final defense against tyranny. If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns. Only the police, the secret police, the military, the hired servants of our rulers. Only the government -- and a few outlaws. I intend to be among the outlaws." -- Edward Abbey, "Abbey's Road", 1979

"To disarm the people... was the best and most effectual way to enslave them." -- George Mason, speech of June 14, 1788

Are we at last brought to such a humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our own defence? Where is the difference between having our arms in our own possession and under our own direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defence be the *real* object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands? -- Patrick Henry, speech of June 9 1788

"Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest." -- Mahatma Gandhi

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government" -- Thomas Jefferson, 1 Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

"The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that's good" -- George Washington

Occupy Movement to Blossom as Spring Approaches And Wilt In November, Roots Dug Up In December and Incinerated In January.

When it comes to arming I'm against non-violent opposition boycotting works if you are strong enough and aggrieved enough to do it.

"Other groups have been hard at work on issues ranging from student debt to alternative banking to worker-owned cooperatives"

This is the big news. This the part that makes the elites shudder. The rest of it makes the elites snicker.

"Occupy Movement to Blossom as Spring Approaches"

And all the while the action ought to be over "the unseasonably warm weather", a.k.a. start-up of runaway climate extreming. But good luck with the actions. They may get to the core problems yet: harmonizing 7 billion people - and no more - with the biosphere of Earth.

"With electronic voting, there are no more check's and balances."

It is true that with voting machines there are no checks and balances. Not so with direct online democracy.

If you can bank safely online, pay your taxes online, buy stuff online, and if corporations, banks, government, defense, and everything else can carry out their business online with proper safeguards, We the 313 million People, should be able to propose laws and vote them up or down online, by phone and snail mail instead of letting 500 sold out, corrupt politicians make the laws to favor the oligarchy banks, corporations and the MIC.

And we can vote on and propose laws continuously at the town, state, country and global level, whenever it concerns us instead of every four years or so, to keep up with rapidly accelerating change.

If direct democracy works well in small countries like Switzerland and Ecuador, with IT it will work well nationally and globally. The digital age means we no longer need obsolete, corrupt and unresponsive government by the few.

Who knows what is best for us than ourselves?

IT produced the OWS, Tunisia and the Arab Spring. It is time to take it to its logical next level, decentralized and direct online democracy.

From the article title you first imagine a "good omen", but as you go through responses, you begin to ask: what is the meaning after all? The spring load-up might thus be one without a vision. But let us hope it might not be so. Visions that blur, impair or confuse cannot remedy the politics of a sinking boat! Cool-headed constructive efforts, capped by progressive commitments, many would agree will be the better candle-light. Politics at this time, for what is awaited of 2012 in the US needs among others the candle-light! And under the tense political atmosphere that candle-light has its meaning in well-made policy-plan priorities hence a choice of where the Occupy Movement is and no matter its structural diversity, what it however stands for meaningfully. Otherwise it will only be a disappointment and an instrument to create more chaos than the good - if ever there was such: an original source for motivation. Talks therefore about where to occupy and not occupy must make sense. On NATO, Transatlantic Community Organization youths, have done interesting work to capture NATO policy-makers' attention. It could be nice for occupy-planners to go to that website for their latest. In that case have a greater appreciation for works done to strengthen the grounds for informed progress. I personally have commented the integrated editorial of the youths and wherever the comments can be found, my hope is that any planned occupation of NATO meeting venue should be well re-thought, to allow youths' perspectives have the peace that would be appreciated if concerns are shown for their feelings. The result of which is they will at the end enjoy a peaceful process bridging the age-gap between professional adults, politicians and adult youths: a situation politically and psychologically necessary for managing complex military and diplomatic, as well as internal and foreign policy challenges of today and tomorrow. Let OCCUPY use the time to get the right bits and pieces in place in order to do a good work and not bring about unnecessary chaos. GOOD LUCK and let us hope the Spring weather will be predictable and favorable: not one with rains, tornado and storms!

I am heartened that the Occupy Movement continues. On the other hand, I don't want the organizers and the occupiers to all be locked up in Guantanamo for the rest of their lives because they protest at the Democratic or Republican party conventions or other conventions that it would make big sense for occupiers to go to. Whoever it is that decides how the police and/or military will behave in cities across the nation will not hesitate to brutally and violently do physical damage to the protesters and also to arrest them for the maximum possible offense and to inter them for the maximum length of time, etc. Our government, our courts, our media, and our police do not want to see what the public is thinking or feeling and they are ready to silence us ----whatever it takes. I am worried for the lives of occupiers this spring. I think it will be much harder for us than it was in the fall.