It's bringing up the rear of the parade - a 70 foot octupus to symbolize corporate greed. Not very original. And it violates the strict rules governing floats in the parade which must be completely covered in natural materials like flowers, bark, and leaves. The Occupy crew is covering their float in plastic bags.

But who cares about rules? Not the police - or the parade officials - who have been working with the Occupy group after the protestors threatened to disrupt the parade.

So they will get their little demonstration. We can only hope that television coverage has the good sense to go dark when they show up.

LA Times:

"Our goal is to put Occupy's best foot forward," Thottam said, adding that activists expect more than 1,000 participants. "We recognize that this is a historic, iconic event geared toward middle America and the family."

The group says the protest will be "G-rated" and will stick to nonviolence in expressing Occupy's messages against income inequality and corporate power.

Though the Occupy movement is leaderless, it has taken some organization to get ready for Monday's event.

During the rehearsal Thursday, activists were assigned roles, such as working with an Occupy peacekeeping team or carrying the plastic pipes that will support two large replicas of the preamble to the Constitution. Each replica - one with the words "We the People," one with "We the Corporations" - requires dozens of people to hold up. Maneuvering the octopus "human float" took some practice in coordination. Protesters spun in circles, moving it through the park. Each tentacle will have several protesters lifting it.

Not very imaginative. But the media will no doubt cover their float and activities rather than concentrating on the real floats that volunteers have been building for many months.