I appreciate your take.

The difference between cynicism and realism is that cynicism fosters the notion that nothing works, while realism is merely that things are often difficult. One discourages hope, the other encourages accomplishment.

These people sound just like the provocateurs the nazis used to post letters in newspapers, plant in crowds during speeches, etc.

I think they should be sent to Gitmo to see how their govt works and (as the Capt'n said in Cool Hand Luke), "get their mind right".

No - I'm hoping to join the crowd of super-sophisticates now by talking about how hopeless everything is, how nothing can be changed, how all is lost, how it's all pointless, how only the naive and foolish would care.

I think it is hopeless but I care a great deal, the two attitudes are not mutually exclusive.

I assume you have no direct descendants to worry about since you are not a breeder. I do have descendants and I care one hell of a lot about what kind of world they will inherit because I love them more than my own life.

This image pretty well sums up my attitude to the way things are right at the moment.

http://www.ussschenectadylst1185.org/media/LastGreatActOfDefiance-1.gif

The Sherriff is Bob Fletcher, a former Republican City Councilman.

Is it odd that the Sherriff's office conduct these raids, and not the Minneapolis police?

the Republican National Convention Welcoming Committee was not advocating violence, but rather, blocking traffic and other forms of civil disobedience. How does that justify sending paramilitary units to aim semi-automatic weapons at them and arrest them before they have actually blocked any traffic?

Most protesters, left and right, go limp during episodes of civil disobedience and the cops simply carry them away when the disobedience actually occurs. In the U.S., we don't preemptively send militarized police to detain them, remove their personal belongings such as computers and diaries, and harass them beforehand. Until now.

BTW, the fact that so many municipal police departments and county sheriffs depts are armed to the gills and have para-military SWAT units, is a direct result of the so-called War on Drugs. That's why these deployments were possible. (Until the WoD, SWAT teams were far fewer and used for rare instances such as violent criminals taking hostages.)

I gave my metal tub to your tinfoil hat committee.

For those of you who haven't watched the video with the Democracy Now reporter that Glenn links to in the 3rd or so update you should.

Police come to "wrong" address, then leave. They go to "right" address and conduct raid. Then, in the mean time, they return to "wrong" address house, burst into "wrong" address house by climbing the roof and coming in through the attic. Then 20 or so more armed raid cops rush into "wrong" address house to complete raid on journalists residing in "wrong" address house.

When you see how dangerous the Democracy Now lady being interviewed looks you'll understand why all those cops were needed to subdue the dangerous criminals in the "wrong" address house.

Welcome to the decline and fall of the United States.

Hell, they got their tactical manual from Ernst Röhm....

"Warrants? We doan need no steenkin' warrants...."

Cheers,

They're refusing to make the warrants public.

Is that legal?!?!?

Shouldn't a lawyer for the parties charged be able to get that as a matter of course?

Cheers,

...they were trying to set the stage for Armageddon (just imagine it happening at the RNC Convention, where it could even upstage Gusav!), except that I also wonder if Rove whispered in someone's ear, I don't think he really "believes" in the Armageddon scenario.

Even "advocating" violent revolution -- let alone "advocating the physical disruption of someone's event" -- is protected First Amendment activity and isn't the slightest bit illegal and can't be.

So now you say inciting people to riot is protected speech? That's good to know. Then I guess we'll see if it comes to pass. Can I presume that guarding one's property from intrusion is still legal? I'm looking forward to seeing some rock throwers tasered.

On top of that, most of the people targeted have nothing to do with the group "advocating disruption," so your defense of the Police's behavior isn't only based on total ignorance but also outright lying.-- GlennGreenwald

Wrong. I didn't defend the cops actions. I said....

advocating the physical disruption of someone else's function is not acceptable or legal behavior.

If said people behave themselves, I'm sure they'll be fine. Meanwhile, regarding the Supremes ruling that the KKK spouting off is protected, perhaps you can tell us why burning a cross isn't.
http://tampa.fbi.gov/dojpressrel /2006/crossburning081606.htm
Possibly you're not telling the whole story? Hmmmm?

The pigs have gotten totally out of control when it comes to 1st Amendment rights. From "Free Speech Zones" to busting pewaceful protesters, this is not the United Sttes of America any more.

Fuck the police.

Waiting to confront a large mob that [allegedly] has violence in mind is the height of stupidity and dangerous to all involved. Which I think is what you have in mind. Tsk.

Hey. Makes just as much sense as the "pre-emptive" war against Iraq.

We in 'Merkuh have always been in favour of preventive detention, and prospective "justice"....

But JOOC, Sh**ter: Shouldn't they have warrants for all this ind of stuff? And wouldn't you say that the home-owners should have a right of "self-defence" against attack?

Cheers,

These idiots who say that they don't have to worry because they are law-abiding citizens are not only stunningly selfish but apparently don't read the papers and haven't heard of Cheye Calvo, the respectable middle-class law-abiding white mayor of Berwyn Heights MD.

He hadn't done anything wrong, either, but the county police broke into his house, shot his dogs, and held him and his mother-in-law at gunpoint. Why? He had taken a package from his porch into the house, a package containing drugs that the police had delivered to his house.

That's an extremely clear illustration that a violent raid can happen to anyone in this country.