Photos: Occupy DC Turns into Tent City

This past summer I saw tent city protests all over Israel. These mostly young Israelis pitched tents to protest the high housing costs and lack of affordable housing in Israel. Voluntarily living in tents was a powerful symbolic demonstration. Well, the tent cities have come to our shores, at least in Washington, D.C. as part of the Occupy DC branch of the larger Occupy Wall Street movement. But these tents are for more practical purposes -- to protect the growing community of the hunkered-down demonstrators in McPherson Square from the rain and harsh elements as cool fall weather settles in and winter will bring the cold and snow to the nation's capital.

Here are recent photos.

Photos: Occupy D.C.

Occupy D.C. is an offshoot of the larger Occupy Wall Street protest movement taking place in New York City. People are organizing in other cities across the country under the unofficial banner Occupy Together. The demonstrators are encamped at McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza in downtown Washington. Their literature says the participants are "citizens, professionals, students, activists, parents, unemployed workers, voters and the underrepresented who represent the 99%." They are interested in "separating money from politics and improving the country's infrastructure to fix healthcare, education, environment and the economy."

Is this a fad or the foundation of the left's own Tea Party movement? That question has yet to be answered. But right now there is something stirring in cities across the United States of America. And it can't be ignored. Here are photos of some of the signs and the atmosphere at McPherson Square in D.C. this past weekend.