It's currently being reported that the RNC convention may be converted to some kind of fund-raising telethon in support of those effected by Gustav.

That could potentially save them some embarrassment since there would otherwise be *somewhat* less then 85,000 in attendance.

Happy Labor Day, douchebag.

Yes, Obama and Ayers have been planning this since when little Barry was a wee 8 years old. Obama and his Black Panther backers.

Try again.

Republican's gonna lose this year! *does a dance*

PS - All those perks you have in your job? It was the LABOR MOVEMENT that made them happen. I hope you remember that on Monday, and pay your respects.

Thanks to GG & Salon for bringing attention to these abusive actions. I followed some protest groups in Denver before and during the DNC. Food Not Bombs cofounder Keith McHenry told me that one of the local women for that group was also "visited" by cops just prior to the Convention in Denver. I didn't get the impression from him that it was any where near as forceful or abusive, but I never had a chance to interview her directly. McHenry is regularly harrassed, has served time in prison, and is on a terrorist watch list. All this for being a modern Dorothy Day.

Here's a post from the DNC:

http://www.playboy.com/blog/2008/08/denver-food-not-bombs-1.html

Having just suffered a week of surreal bicamerality--what the networks and large newspapers reported vs. what we were all experiencing on the ground, especially outside the DNC security zones--I know that reporting like yours is more vital than ever. Thank you.

turning the convention into a Gulf Coast fundraising effort, while simultaneously violating civil rights in Minnesota.

What would that look like? I can't even imagine...

In a statement, Sheriff Bob Fletcher said authorities moved to head off planned illegal acts.

“These acts include tactics to blockade and disable delegate buses, breaching venue security and injuring police officers,” Fletcher said.

The bigger the asshole you are and the more retarded you are, the more likely you are to advance in modern day law enforcement.

Here's more:

Walsh, the St. Paul police spokesman, said city officers helped the county carry out a search warrant as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.

“We’ve known all along that there are people coming to our city who are not planning to conduct themselves in a lawful manner,” Walsh said. “This is an affirmation of that.”

Yes, the rest of the world is jealous of all our freedoms.

camera and a laptop might do the nation good, right now, if they had the time and wherewithal to jump in a car and head for the convention. It’s hard to dismiss all this as the work of “anarchists”, “weirdoes” and “drug addled Commie freaks” when you can see it up close on YouTube.

Greenwald: you’re having much too much fun. I’m jealous. A suggestion, however. I’d donate to a fund to get you (and any hordes of helpers you might like to employ) better recording and video equipment (it doesn’t cost all that much) so that the world might see more. Blow the MSM away altogether.

Fess up. Are you responsible for Palin? Quite a coup if you are. I maintained you're not because I thought Adam Brickle seemed a lot smarter than you.

If all they do is protest, carry signs and shout slogans, whose rights are they violating? After all, the Constitution (Remember that handy little document? We discuss it often here) provides a right to peaceful assembly. Until they unpeaceably assemble, protesters -- even if others consider them obnoxious -- are within their rights. The mere belief they may be disruptive is not a crime.

Just imagine how many people we could imprison if we start arresting people who we assume may someday commit a crime. And who would be the lead investigator, Nostradamus?

Hey Elephant Dung

Fess up. Are you responsible for Palin? Quite a coup if you are. I maintained you're not because I thought Adam Brickle seemed a lot smarter than you.

-- Retired Military Patriot

Who could resist answering friendly question like that?

But back on topic, are you going to be the guy to break it to Glenn Greenwald that practically every weapon that the police might consider using is a "semi-automatic weapon"? Everything from Glock handguns to AR-15's. They are basically all semi-auto. In fact, a SWAT team armed with Remington 870's and Model 700 sniper rifles (pump-action and bolt-action, respectively) would probably scare the bejeezus out of Glenn and his pals every bit as much as any weapons with semi-auto operation. But it just sounds so butch when you can say, "semi-automatic" doesn't it?

I don't imagine, between weekend trips to Brazil and investigating the telecoms, Glenn has much time to visit his local gun range.

As we learn more about who were the "guys behind the front men" part of all this it should prove interesting to see how they justify this steep abuse of set law and due process and this steep police "terror and intimidation" styled conduct.

For as many years as Americans have been in Iraq since March 2003 there have surely been several hundred,several thousand similar events taking place in Baghdad,other large and small Iraqi cities,villages and hamlets by American troops against Iraqi civilians.

American sponsored terror in Iraq is a daily component of Americans being in Iraq. One can extrapolate that if Iraqis are seeing what we are seeing now in the Twin Cities with these "raids" happen to hundreds of Iraqis week in and week out how it must seem quite unlikely for many Iraqis to think or believe Americans are in Iraq to "help Iraqis discover democracy".

Hardly a wonder Maliki is throwing wrenches into American desires to be in Iraq for a long time and be able to roam Iraq without facing any consequences for bad,wicked or just damn evil conduct.

Are there any Blackwater people in Twin Cities?

Seems lots of "national security money" is sloshing around and there must be plenty spilling out here and there. Outfits like Blackwater follow this kind of easy to pocket "security" funding readily.

Whatever Hell On Earth Americans have been raising up in Iraq we may well see more of it drifting back here.

So who was the judge who greenlighted any of this? Who knew what was going to happen,when it would happen and where was there any public governance review record and paper trail put in place?

If one month from now there still is no public disclosure of who put this in place and did the plan outs and gave the greenlights it will surely show how far things have tumbled regarding who can act like this and suffer no consequences for doing so.

Finally--Nancy and Harry and Steny and Rahm and Pat and Chuck and Charlie and Henry and Barack and Joe--have anything to say? You all perform the function of the "opposition" to this kind of conduct do you not?

Well...do you not?