I haven't read all the comments because there are just too many so if anything I'm saying here has already been covered, please excuse me.

Here's the thing(s):

1. We already have confirmation that left-leaning opposition groups are being targeted by the FBI for pre-emptive action.

2. We already have confirmation that these groups have been targeted for infiltration by the FBI and local authorities.

3. We have a long history now of FBI and other federal agencies using agent provocateurs to push their targets in illegal directions, often initiating illegal acts themselves, in order to help effect arrests. Just look at the many bogus "terror plots" they've "uncovered" for evidence of that.

Wouldn't we be a bit naive to not think that at least some of the criminality being reported here is a bit on the artificial side? False flag operations and agent provocateurs are not a new or exotic thing. It's been done in this country before and it's what our govt's intelligence agencies do in other countries literally all the time.

Knowing that our government has announced it's practice of turning those intelligence capabilities inward on American citizens, is it so unreasonable to believe that in the process they're using the same tactics they've always used? I mean, it's not as if there any law or constitution left to stop them or anything or, even if there were, that they'd feel in the least bit compelled to head any of it?

-ep

Imagine what this protest would have been without the anarchist contingent. The police overreaction is infuriating, but it's also infuriating how a small group of immature young people managed to co-opt the entire protest - our protest. I marched near them Monday - they were easy to identify because they carried a banner, dressed in similar clothes and wore bandannas around their faces. They were also all young and obviously much taken with the romance of revolution. I estimated maybe 75 to 100 individuals. Every few blocks they'd stop, blockade the street so that everyone behind them had to stop, then after a minute break into a run, shouting slogans. It was a clever way to attract attention, but only part of what they did, as the photos of people breaking windows show. 99.999% of the marchers were like me - peaceful, law-abiding citizens of Minnesota who wanted to express our opinion. We could have been controlled by a handful of unarmed traffic cops. The riot police were there almost solely because of that tiny handful of immature young people. Most of the media coverage focused on the actions of that tiny handful of people. Their behavior, and the fear of what they might do, is responsible for the millions of dollars spent on security, the gestapo-type behavior of the local law enforcement (who are normally quite calm and reasonable), and the media perception of the whole event. They of course understand this, but I'm angered that we have all (on all sides) been suckered into making this event about them.

Be prepared to be called a "troll" and have your integrity and honesty questioned.

To the rest of you: You all will here more of this in the coming days. Enjoy the crow.

My 11-year-old son and I traveled from our beautiful gulf-side city in Florida to attend the DNC last week. On Wednesday afternoon, we unexpectedly found ourselves in the middle of the peace march that turned out, apparently, to be the largest organized protest in Denver. We ended up joining the march for a few blocks, chanting "This is what democracy looks like." and "There ain't no riots here, take off all that silly gear." Although there were a startling number of police lining the march way, it didn't seem to interfere with or dampen the enthusiasm of the protesters and we weren't the only ones who joined in along the way. The next night, at Invesco, when Senator Obams said "Change doesn't come from Washington, change comes to Washington," I was able to draw the parallel for my son that the march from the day before (including the meeting at the end between the representative of the veteran's group leading the march and the Obama campaign) was a small but important way that change comes to Washington: voices of dissent get heard. What are the moms who are in Minnesota going to tell their children? Run for your life? The Democratic Party is far from perfect on constitutional issues (and thank you Glenn Greenwald for your good work on keeping us aware) but the contrast has never been more stark nor the choice more clear: our children are counting on those of us who love the constitution to stand up and bring change to Washington.

in the most kindly way.

I hear it goes down well with a big gulp of swallowed pride.

;-)

Rudy has been dropped as keynote speaker at RNC tonight.

Why? He's so-o-o-o-o adorable with that cute little speech impediment, perennial sneer, false teeth and those fascist bromides we have all grown so fond of.

Lieberman is going to speak...

"Anyone here want to revisit my comment about how left-wing nuts can't be trusted to be civil?"

Why be civil to those who invade sovereign countries and use massive force to bend people to their will?

It seems to me that you and your fellow warhawks could learn a lesson about civility before you accuse others of lacking it.

Having said that, here's a civil response for you Shooter. I hope that your retirement portfolio crashes and that you and your entire family spend your last years begging for food, shelter, and the mere necessities of life from those in your party to whom those things are merely something with which to keep score. I hope your wife gets callouses on her knees from washing floors with a scrub brush and that your kids and grandkids are able to eek out a living picking vegetables for Bird's Eye. May the Gods bless you with an abundance of cardboard with which to build a home under a bridge and that the weather is kind to you.

I also hope you live a long time and get to watch it happen.

All the above was civil. Heh