Glad you didn't get tear gassed while in a group of sorority girls and their jock boyfriends; you know, hard core criminals. Not all of us were so lucky.

Glenn (and anyone on the left who is there who will give interviews with the media about this story).

Please do me a favor and don't simply give your part of the story and respond to the questions. Ask the journalists some questions. That is the only way to figure out how they are being spun --unless you see it happening in front of you. We can anticipate these spins but it is useful to know how the right is spinning this so you can call them on it or point out the ridiculousness of their comment.

I'd like you to think about how the right wing republicans will potentially spin this when they are asked to comment, then deposition their comment in yours:

How might Republicans position this? Potential narratives:

• Democrats are rioting like they did in 1968.

• Hippies are at it again!

• It is tragic that while the rest of the nation is worrying about the hurricane the Democrats are rioting in the streets.

• The Republicans didn't riot in the streets in Denver, clearly that is because they are civilized adults.

• Obama can't even control his own people.

• If the adults were in charge this would never happen.

• I believe in people's right to free speech, but when people's lives are in danger then the police have to act.

• There were plenty of peaceful safe places for democrats to protest, but they choose to riot, threaten police and destroy property.

There is a depositioning statement for each of these spins.(See one below I'll put more later)

Next it is helpful to know how and who the Republicans will serve up to respond to this. They will probably talk to convention organizers as well as actual Republicans from the state/city you are in.

1) Ask the press if they are planning to get a reaction from the Republicans, if so, ask them who will provide it.

Ask if their comment was on the record (they love to give Republicans 'off the record' comments even when not necessary). Ask who from the Democrats they have talked to. (off the record?) This is good to know too because sometimes we are being sold down the river by our own side (the press love Democrats who attack Democrats)

2) Find out when they are going to send this story in, you are on the cutting edge of the news and you might be able to provide some new information for them before they file. This is important because the Republicans LOVE to get in the last word, don't let them.

We know how the right will spin this. We know how they will attempt to de-spin our spin. Given the structural hostility of the press to the Democrats, if anyone tries to spin this they will be attacked (vs. the way the Republicans are always given an opportunity to spin bad news and given the benefit of the doubt). My suggestion is that you will be better off attacking how the GOP will attempt to spin this.

You won't know how the journalists you are talking to are going to play this unless you talk to them. Don't talk AT them, talk WITH them. I know lots of smart people who don't bother to ask a few questions before they just start spouting off AT journalists. When you are competing with "the other side" for the frame of the story it is useful to understand where the reporter is in their development of the story.

Give the reporter the best information you can but don't assume the other side is concerned about anything but spin. After the facts of the news, the spin is what the reporter will be covering.

The journalists know they are going to get spin from the Right. I think sometimes they are disappointed that the Democrats haven't figured this out. Journalists no longer feel it is their job to tell the truth, but to just present both sides because as they have been taught "the truth lies somewhere in the middle" (even if it doesn't).

The reason that I want you to think about your response is that this will be a political story. And most people who are arrested aren't always in the best state to think about how to deposition the standard line from a Republican operative when the reporter talks to them outside of jail.

Therefore it is up to people like you Glenn to cut off the RW spin line when they give it.

I know you know this Glenn, but for others who will need to talk to the media these are some things to remember.

Atrios says, "This can only be good for Republicans." when an event that could look terribly bad from Republicans suddenly is turned into a good thing. And the reason is that SPIN is applied to any event right off the bat, unless we can give them a better interpretation, or deposition their BS view of the event, they will WIN the interpretation of event. And as we all know, winning the frame is key.

What could some depositioning/deframing look like?

• Contrary to what the Republicans will tell you, this is bad for them because it shows the world what a police state the Republicans have brought us. They are not focusing on outsiders, but Americans. The right to peaceful assembly, along with other parts of the constitution have been lost under the Bush/Republican/McCain rule.

(Also you may want to point out the deployment of Blackwater to New Orleans as if they are an army attacking a foreign people. New Orleans aren't insurgents they are Americans in a disaster! They need help not hurt." This will make the police state in Minn, argument stronger.)

where *everyone* knows the police are your friend and are only present to serve and protect, by golly.

That's so stupid I have a hard time believing even you wrote it. The very sentence you replied to puts the lie to your statement.

My point being that police in Canada are not nearly as militarized as in "the land of the free" and the Canadian incarceration rate is about one seventh of ours.

Out of control police are hardly a new phenomenon, it's been around for so long there is a Latin phrase describing it.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

I wouldn't be at all surprised to find versions of this meme written in Sumerian cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Positions of power over others attract authoritarian personalities like a black hole. People are people the world around so police works attracts authoritarian bullies in every country, region and locality. Some governments manage this problem better than others but none do so perfectly.

America seems to manage this problem significantly worse than even some developing nations and definitely worse than most of what is sometimes referred to as "the free world".

I think it is about time to revise the old joke about Heaven and Hell.

Heaven Is Where:

The French are the chefs

The Italians are the lovers

The British are the police

The Germans are the mechanics

And the Swiss make everything run on time

Hell is Where:

The British are the chefs

The Swiss are the lovers

The French are the mechanics

The Italians make everything run on time

And the Americans are the police

Although reviewing the list for Heaven I can't find anywhere the Americans fit.