Lice, Scabies and Hipsters -- Oh My!

The medieval hipsters who wore out their welcome in Zuccotti — or as Dennis Miller put it on Fox last night, Biscotti — park are now fanning out and “occupying” New York’s subways and donning suits to try getting inside the stock exchange itself. There’s nothing like pestering people on a subway to ramp up a movement’s popularity. Here’s a live video stream fromTheOther99, the same guy who was endlessly streaming his quest for bananas and batteries a couple of days ago. You get to see the hippies without actually smelling them.

The story linked above gives a bit of the inside story of why NY Mayor Mike Bloomberg finally, after several weeks of doing basically nothing, decided to oust the campers from Zuccotti Park.

An administration source insisted that Bloomberg gave the go-ahead to roust the protesters because of “an accumulation of things” — including concerns that the park became a firetrap and that protesters were planning to build wooden structures to prepare for winter.

But sources familiar with Bloomberg’s decision said he also was concerned with public health.

Scabies and lice recently cropped up among those sleeping in Zuccotti Park — and there were concerns that the infestations would grow even worse, said a law-enforcement source.

There also was an increasing numbers of lung ailments caused by constant smoking and the chilly nighttime temperatures, medics who worked on the scene confirmed.

And Hizzoner didn’t like being called out by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani for his inactivity.

Woot, Iron Mike! Seriously, I wonder how much trouble Bloomberg could have prevented for other cities by setting a stronger example against these lawless layabouts earlier on.