Over 100 people were arrested Thurday night in St. Paul, after being cornered by police on the Marion bridge over I-94. Journalists from at least 2 major local news stations were detained and put in plastic handcuffs, as well as medics and legal observers. Smoke bombs, pepper spray, and tear gas were used heavily on the group, who were not declared by the police to be violent in any way; they were guilty of unlawful assembly. Those carrying kerchiefs with vinegar for protection from tear gas may now be charged with federal conspiracy to commit riot charges, again with no evidence of commited violence, destruction or provocation. There were hundreds of cops swarming the area with the arrestees sitting on the ground, blocked in on both sides of the bridge. While everyone seems to be obsesseing over another unwed teenage pregnancy, the GOP turned St. Paul into a "non-lethal" militarized zone.

The master of the catty (but content-free) comeback, Iokannan, has gone suddenly quite now that he/she's confronted with strong evidence of how Obama's past is about to rise up and sink him.

The only thing I see 'rising' here is nonsense. And, like the overwhelming majority of Americans, I have a job that requires I get a few hours sleep.

I leave it to you and Knows(no)Better to fill the air with fresh dross in the meanwhile. It'll give those better suited than I something to discuss while I'm out.

was only 'literally spoken' but you'll got that already - i mean who wants to kiss heru - but there is man with a sign FREE HUGS walking through our city and i could sent him over to UT.

McCain has certainly done his part to help the Democrats win the WH. Not just a poor speech, and poorly given, but one that can be ripped apart by responders.

The only obstacle now to a Democratic Victory are the Democrats.

A formidable barrier.

But the primary source for the information about Obama and Ayers comes from Steve Diamond, a self-professed leftist and labor organizer.

http://globallabor.blogspot.com/2008/08/authoritarian-radicals-barack-obama.html

Actually, that's your only source, and a questionable one at that.

Ayers continues to be a non-issue as (a) he's at best an acquaintance from Obama's busy past, and (b) he's engaged in smaller-scale but positive work these days.

Consider this: if you're going to tar Obama for his past acquaintances, McCain comes out looking even worse for his current ones.

But yours is the usual response: change the subject, resort to ad hominem attacks, and call people names.

The first two first two are your providence, the last is just Biblical justice.

Should have nominated Hillary when you had the chance.

And things would have been different how? We'd have an abundance of sexist code being tossed versus racial code. That's it.

Obama is exposed as (a) the liar he is and (b) the exremist radical he is.

-- Knows Better

Journalist Stanley Kurtz knew that Obama had served on the board of the Annenberg Challenge along with Ayers. In fact, that stint was listed as one of his qualifications when he ran for the Illinois legislature. Kurtz wanted to get access to the records of the now defunct Challenge, which were being stored at the University of Chicago, but they repeatedly stonewalled until Kurtz sued.

You want to hang your hate on the "National Review"? That's rather like asking the KKK for input on racial issues.

Actually, given who founded it and why, its exactly like that. Never mind Kurtz doesn't exactly enjoy a stellar reputation.

That said you have the essential players right, but the whys and wherefores are open to interpretation. If you go looking for bad motives you're sure to find them, irregardless of everything else.

As an aside, the GOP's speech was a bomb as judged by such 'liberal' journalists as Toobin, Gerson, Gergen, Maddow, and Williams, as well as pretty much anyone else who tuned in (which wasn't a lot). It reminded me alot of Bob Dole's speech back in '96, and look how well that turned out.

For this Canadian observer of US politics the most baffling failing of the US press in recent memory is not the passivity in defending liberties, or the lack of concern about torture, or the lock-step Soviet promotion of an illegitimate war, or the obvious blackballing of discussion surrounding Israel, but, High Borderism.

Forget Clinton's rightward drift and the obvious surrender of the recent Democratic-led congress; after watching these two conventions gavel to gavel, I'm am at a loss to explain how anyone with even a morsel of intelligence and integrity could assign blame for partisan fighting to the Dems. Setting the fires of these class/culture wars (which has more than anything divided the US and caused this partisanship), has been the sole the design of the Republicans.

Judging from his most recent column, even Joe Klein is almost there. Now, if he could lead the charge and begin to tell the truth to the people, we might just have some sort of turning point. The people deserve to know who's ruining America.

As someone once advised me when I was in office. "Not everyone can help you get elected. But anyone can hurt you." Even Flakes with an axe to grind.

-- rphillips111

And you must have done a pretty piss poor job at that. That job usually doesn't have a very high turnover rate.

There's been an unspoken agreement that neither party use 9/11 footage in its campaign ads and films; this is only right and just, given the magnitude of the tragedy.

At 7:40 CST yesterday, the RNC broke that agreement and reduced the worst terrorist attack on US soil to a reel of war porn, displayed in slow motion to its delegates.

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/09/the_death_of_a.html

Also included were still from the Iranian hostage crisis, the Beruit bombing in 1981, the damage to the US Cole, and the usual stock footage of 'Islamofascists'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDx80bnFrVs

They've gone beyond the pale and no longer deserve even the most nominal grace of respect.

Derision, mockery, and public shaming are their only deserts.

Let it start here.