Reading this story of how anti-war protesters are abused by the police reminds me of an old cigarette commerical- "We've come a long way, baby, to get where we are today; WE'VE GOT FASCISM, BABY, WE'VE COME A LONG, LONG WAY!!" Steve, USN, WW2

It allows the Rove crew to promote the following themes:

Peace Protesters Riot at the GOP Convention

The protesters included a lot of the usual hippies and peaceniks plus a surprisingly large contingent of several hundred black-uniformed hardcore anarchists who had brought their own gas masks and riot gear. Unlike the bulk of the protesters and in a way contrary to their ideology, the black-shirts were organized and far from peaceful...

A set-up? Sure it was.

Some protesters set up roadblocks to keep the police from interfering, while about 200 black-clad and masked anarchists smashed windows in local stores and a bank, tipped over newspaper boxes, lit a dumpster on fire and pushed it into a police car and flipped heavy concrete garbage bins onto the sidewalk, and scattered bent nails and other makeshift caltrops to puncture the tires of cars entering the area.

Peaceful anti-war protestors don't do that kind of thing - but undercover agent provocateurs just love to.

It really is the Burma "white head monk" strategy in action.

Someone want to explain to me what Amy Goodman was doing taking $150,000 from the Ford Foundation in 2004? The Ford Foundation, it should be noted, is a diehard supporter of the kind of neoliberal economic practices discussed in Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine.

No?

I mean, this stuff is just scripted for the benefit of the Republican Party:

Another group of rioters attacked the Connecticut delegation as they were getting off their bus at the Xcel center, spraying them with a caustic substance and trying to tear up their convention credentials. In the course of this attack an 80-year-old delegate was injured and had to be hospitalized and many others were treated by paramedics. Christopher Healy, chairman of the Connecticut State Republican Party commented: "These knuckle-heads crossed the line. We're for free speech, not free bleach. We respect their right to protest, but do it civilly. Pushing, shoving, spitting, throwing harmful chemicals - it's not the American way.'"

Doin' a heckunva job.

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/09/02/032634.php

Oops, left this out:

"Note that the people in some of these photos dressed all in black with gas masks or bandanas over their faces are anarchist rioters rather than police."

Says the radical right. Take a look at some more "radical anarchists" - at the SPP protest in Canada, trying to whip up some violence:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St1-WTc1kow

Such suggestions must be irrational, huh? I mean, Cheney and Rumsfeld would never, ever set up some re-enactment of the Cointelpro tactics used in the 60s and 70s, would they?

Inconceivable.

The terms peace officer and law enforcement officer do not apply to these scenes.

Riot cops, or better yet, rioting cops, is a better description.

It's quite telling that the corporate media shows up to ask softball questions that help to provide cover for this thuggery.

This creeping fascism began on 09/11/01 and intelligent people need to wake up and revisit what they think they know about that day.

There's an incredible open resource called the History Commons that has a complete timeline of 9/11 - over 5000 articles - all culled from mainstream sources. All the backpage articles that most of us didn't have time or take time to read, and all put in the order that the events occurred. When you put it all together, the story is totally different than the one the national media and the fascists potrayed to us.

It's past time to wake up, but it's better to wake up late than never.

http://www.historycommons.org/project.jsp?project=911_project

History Commons has other timelines and projects too, and since it's open, you can participate.

is very confused now - Hey! Amy is one of 'ours' - you mixed up the blog - you have to go to a block on the wrong (right) side - and then you can come back again saying good things about Amy.

Unless one can specifically identify the instigators as unconnected to the government or the RNC, the story is meaningless. But in the absence of other information the answer should be self evident. Qui bouno?

To them, the Repubs and the police, the existence of some terrorists means that we are all terrorists. We being everyone who does not support the Bush family Republican party mentality and their agenda of hate toward anyone who dares to think differently or desires to protest their unlawful wars of choice.

They have and continue to fracture this nation, and all for corporate profits, especially the Bush family oil company profits. That entire family is a scourge upon this nation. They are consumed by greed and a never ending lust for power. And their religions(theocons) and their neocons are all the same, full of greed and lust. These people suck the life out of everyone.

If all of this isn't an example of terrorism turned inward upon the American people, I don't know what is. They hate terrorists that is clear, but why do they hate 'we the people'. How much can they hate us and for how long does this go on.

They have no patriotism, they have only their own needs that must be fulfilled and at all costs, even the demise of democracy. Robert Reich's point that business hates(I can't remember the word he used) democracy, fits these Rethugs to a tee.

When the Theocons and the Neocons have succeeded in dismantling this nation what will be left. They will then have done Big Fascist Businesses dirty work for them. I don't know which is worse, the lust for power and the greed of Big Religion or of Big Business. I guess right wing religion is as corrupt as right wing business. And my religion, Catholicism, is included in those right wing religions.

When the middle class is dead this nation will be dead. I cannot get my Repub small business owner friends and relatives to understand that choking out the middle class is choking out their customer base, because that is who nearly all small businesses sell their products and services too.

Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap; indeed.