One of the comments at this youtube video says it all: "Of course it was peaceful. The ones causing violence were not there: the cops." The story is here. More and more, we are seeing a militarization of urban police forces--America's military weapons and tactics turned toward her own people who are exercising their First Amendment rights.
With the help of a DI reader who wishes to remain anonymous, I have created the following Declaration for modern Americans to wake up from their delusions. I'd recommend that all adults and school children put their hands over their hearts in the morning and say the following instead of pledging allegiance to the powers-that-be (but see here for an alternate form of the Pledge).
From Democracy Now's Amy Goodman, a discussion with Karen Smith, a retired judge who had served on the New York Supreme Court:
JUDGE KAREN SMITH (ret.): I was wearing—and I brought this—a hat, which says the "National Lawyers Guild Legal Observer." And as you can see, in color, it’s quite bright. And at night— AMY GOODMAN: It’s fluorescent green. JUDGE KAREN SMITH (ret.): It’s fluorescent green. And then I was wearing it, and I had a pad and a pen, and I was there to take down the names of people who were arrested so we could follow them through the system and just observe what was going on. And as I’m standing there, some African-American woman goes up to a police officer and says, "I need to get in. My daughter’s there. I want to know if she’s OK." And he said, "Move on, lady." And he kept pushing—they kept pushing with their sticks, pushing back. And she said—and she was crying. And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, he throws her to the ground and starts hitting her in the head. And I walk over, and I say, "Look, cuff her if she’s done something, but you don’t need to do that." And he said, "Lady, do you want to get arrested?" And I said, "Do you see my hat? I’m here as a legal observer." He said, "You want to get arrested?" And he pushed me up against the wall.
United re:public is a brand new movement with the following motto: "Democracy is Not for Sale." United re:public is comprised of an impressive team, including Josh Silver (former CEO of Free Press) and Nick Penniman (former Executive Director of Huffpo). The group is partnered with Jimmy Williams' group, Get Money Out (which he started with MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan) and 
Lawrence Lessig's Rootstrikers effort. In short, this is a group with immense potential. Here is an excerpt from the "About" page of United re:public's new (but temporary) web site:
United Republic is a new organization fighting the corrupting influence of well-financed special interests over American politics and government. We welcome the energy and creativity of citizens of all stripes – progressive, conservative and independent – who envision a nation where the needs and ideas of the many aren’t drowned out by the influence of the wealthy few.
We believe our political system is dangerously out of balance. Thousands of lobbyists, billions of dollars in campaign contributions, shadowy political attack groups, and career politicians are distorting the government’s priorities at a time of great national need. We Americans no longer have the government or leadership we need to get the country back on the track of collective prosperity and responsibility. The Wall Street bailouts are the biggest example of this problem.
Making matters worse, recent Supreme Court decisions have not only stood in the way of common-sense reforms of the system but have actually knocked down many of the remaining safeguards against large-scale corruption and cooptation of the political process. What results? The kind of overconcentration of power that our nation’s founding fathers repeatedly warned against.
Q: What do those guilty of lying to get food stamps have in common with Wall Street bankers who lie? A: According to Matt Taibbi, nothing at all.