Your 2008 Republican National Convention Thread

Is the 7th St Entry still around? Go get a nice photo by that.

hey ed i'm sure you'll be busy, but if you feel like a drink, i'm sure JJ and i and the rest of the TC kru will be happy to show you around.

the state fair started yesterday, too!

oh wait you quit drinking didn't you.

I started again.

hooray and welcome to st paul

So I am here, there is chaos, and I need a tylenol.

oh hey, Ed. i'm cool to hang out post-wednesday's anatomy exam

chaos? where?

i know bike jerks coming up from CHI to agitate

just general chaos related to producing a major event. I think I have jogged a couple of miles between the various rooms our kit is in.

My seat is about 20 yards behind the podium in what I think is normally the away team dressing room.

Wednesday sounds good for hanging out. All a bit hazy due to not knowing what the schedule will turn out like.

http://www.doverpanel.com/images/Mall_of_america.jpg

keep me posted, brah

"Nearly as exciting" as the Democratic convention.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/25/daily-show-billboard-welc_n_121113.html

http://a330.g.akamai.net/7/330/2540/20080824145503/www.broadcastingcable.com/articles/blog/1380000138/20080824/DailyShowBillboard.jpg

Gbx, I am going to webmail you my cell, FAX ME too. I have realised I have to do this in the morning because by 6:30 I am driven by base desires for beer and fried food. I think wednesday and saturday are my best days (saturday we have to clear out early for the security sweep)

Wow, the podium is taking simple to new heights.

Not a lot going on for me right now apart from sitting in our office listening to WFMU.

For the RNC, there is a lot of freaking out over hurricane Gustav.

There's Gustav and now there's Hanna in the Atlantic.

http://ms2.naplesnews.com/npdn/content/img/photos/2008/08/28/5dayhanna28am_t600.jpg

Haha, so this is the 'portrait of the delegates' for the DNC currently on the NY Times site:

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/08/28/us/voices337.jpg

Get your guesses as to what the RNC equivalent will look like here...

http://www.st-marys.hull.sch.uk/sites/history/images/kkk.jpg

laaaaaaazy

I know.

http://memberpics.lavenderliberal.com/albums/userpics/10002/normal_santorum1.jpg

boy, that picture doesn't run often enough.

What happened to him, anyway -- joined a think tank and then seemed to disappear. You'd think he'd be trying to increase his profile these days with threats about how we're all going to die.

big props to a certain film critic who used "santorum" in his review of Salo, btw

http://syndication.nationaljournal.com/images/romneyfamily.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/w1nt3rmut3/pubs.jpg

did Romney have copies of his teeth surgically implanted into his sons' mouths?

All the same, I'd do the one on the far right (har, har).

http://politicalderby.com/images/GeorgeAllenCofCC.0.jpg

is Reagan dead?

Third-from-right Romneyick = Beau Bridges/Randy Quaid of the family.

So approximately when is Gustav supposed to make U.S. landfall?

I don't wish anyone harm, but I'm betting the Republicans are kinda pissed at Gustav heading toward the Gulf Coast during their convention, and not primarily because it could cause damage or harm to, you know, the residents or anything.

^^^^^this is what drive-by media is hoping for b/c they hate Republicans! They won't cover the Republican convention at all, you will just hear about Katrina 2 and where McCain was the first time.

But this time instead of an incompetent Democrat Mayor, Bobby Jindal will save the day!

Republican convention floor looks like a bunch of converging stylized Wolfsangels

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3105/2806229733_c4f2f4ff78.jpg

So what will your first action in office be?

!!!

to make sure the reese's peanut butter cups don't run out back stage at the next convention.

I judge this to be a noble goal and you have my endorsement.

Are they using the backdrop from the Wheel of Fortune sets?

Can't wait to see Tom Ridge delivering his speech in front of carefree Americans boating.

Test backgrounds. I narrowly missed the chance of having little me in front of big me in that shot.

Another example:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3141/2807109060_8156e125d9.jpg

and in jumbo vision:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3168/2806267415_e8c325bebd.jpg

ok, awesome

All the same, I'd do the one on the far right (har, har).

Alfred, between this and "I WAS GETTING LAID" and "Cokie Roberts will finger herself after this" and "It's better than a dick up my orifice," you've been awfully randy lately.

any chance of getting goatse up there?

The republicans are having their convention in a hobbit house!

Alfred, between this and "I WAS GETTING LAID" and "Cokie Roberts will finger herself after this" and "It's better than a dick up my orifice," you've been awfully randy lately.

I'm trying to shake my mandarin image by actually, you know, having sex. Bad politics -- the great aphrodisiac.

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k69/watertiger/DiscoKen.jpg

an all-american candle-lit path in the forest

I will stop posting these, but this one had to be brought up:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3114/2807308434_66b2b3b205.jpg

Sithy

http://images-srv.leonardo.it/progettiweb/nonsolocritiche/blog/1984-movie-bb1.jpg

Z S photoshop skillz U+K!

Halperin:

White House officials are also debating whether President Bush should cancel his scheduled Monday convnetion appearance due to the hurricane threat.

will Franken's prediction come true?

if only this convention was in the winter. sarah palin and her family could make a weeklong trek by dogsled, pulling right up onto the stage wednesday night in an exuberant burst of snow, sweat and howling huskies.

LOL

can we photoshop Palin in for Ed?

Gustav slowing, not in speed wind speed but in front speed. Looks like it might hit so that McCain will be sharing TV time with reporters being wet and blown over.

Thank-you hulu.com for easing the boredom.

so did nobody mention to anybody that when you put stars in place of eyes, it usually makes the thing you're drawing look dead?

http://www.gopconvention2008.com/images/hp_convention_header1.jpg

So apparently the local cops are raiding the homes of anybody who could even _possibly_ protest.

is this what you're talking about kf?

http://www.twincities.com/ci_10344356?nclick_check=1

Am I wrong in thinking that Minneapolis/St. Paul is about as Republican as Seattle or Portland is?

Republican delegate gaffes are going to be showcased bigtime if/when they're caught.

I mean, Larry Craig, guys.

rolling update of arrests/etc reports from tc.indymedia. http://tc.indymedia.org/

video stuff:http://theuptake.org/ the raided convergence center is about 5 blocks from my house.

BTW, i am making no claim to the accuracy of any of this, per se.

http://wonkette.com/402378/hurricane-will-ruin-entire-gop-convention

Am I wrong in thinking that Minneapolis/St. Paul is about as Republican as Seattle or Portland is?

I know people still see the 1984 electoral map in their minds when they think of Minnesota but it's not as blue as it once was.

If their convention dries up and blows away is that a good thing or a bad thing for Republicans?

I think the ideal thing would be for the convention to be on time so that they can frame Palin to the voters on GOP terms in a well-crafted debut, which would be the first impression of her for almost everyone. More time between now and the convention is more time for the MSM to investigate and report on her, and more time for voters to make up their minds about her.

Am I wrong in thinking that Minneapolis/St. Paul is about as Republican as Seattle or Portland is?

yes

Minnesota itself has highest registered voter percentage turnout in the entire nation and no, Gabb, Mpls/StP is in the cities themselves waaaay like Seattle or Portland.

It's the suburbs that are responsible for Minn's move toward swing state territory.

Outstate Minn. is pretty hardcore blue, because it's the DFL party here, et al.

Yeah, Brits are astounded when I tell them about the diff between Dems in MN and Dems everywhere else.

I'm exaggerating a little bit when I break it down to outstate being "hardcore" blue, but more than you'd expect compared to other rural areas. I maintain it's the sizable soccer mom demographic here that makes Minnesota a competitive state of late.

If their convention dries up and blows away is that a good thing or a bad thing for Republicans?

seems bad to me. obama has an 8 point lead after the convention, the longer it goes before they get their prime time coverage, the longer that lead is going to get entrenched and harder to cut into. I won't even get into how their choosing New Orleans was a stupid idea to begin with, what with McCain getting a birthday cake from Bush the day of the last hurricane.

I know convention protester types are tedious but seizing all their shit on some pretty questionable grounds seems like fucking bullshit to me

Morning all, hurricane Gustav has already made landfall here in the Xcel centre. Schedules mean nothing now.

As someone who is going to be out there over the next few days, I'm sort of all for seizing of gallon jugs of urine.

What you doing here?

I'm exaggerating a little bit when I break it down to outstate being "hardcore" blue

uh, yeah. im not an expert, but i think the iron range is really the only place left where that holds true w/the rest of rural mn voting more and more republican like the rest of rural america.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Bush-Gustav.html?hp

so did nobody mention to anybody that when you put stars in place of eyes, it usually makes the thing you're drawing look dead?

maybe Reps were going for more of a Bootsy Collins thing lolz

Mpls/StP is in the cities themselves waaaay like Seattle or Portland

rong.

sure, every major city is democratic in its urban core, even in Texas. it's a question of degree. sure, the Twin Cities are solidly rather than marginally Democratic. But I think Seattle and especially Portland (one of the most liberal cities in the country) are more Democratic than the Twin Cities. While I can't find city-level election results to compare, I think there's a rough equivalence between the relevant counties that may be a useful indicator of how Democratic the cities themselves are. For instance, compare Hennepin County (Minneapolis and extended burbs, I understand; ~1.1M people over 600 sq mi) to King County (metro Seattle and environs; ~1.8M people over 2300 sq mi). Kerry might have won Hennepin 59-39, but he won much larger King 65-34. Now that may reflect the fact that Seattle's suburbs are more liberal than Minneapolis' suburbs. But compare Ramsey County (St. Paul; ~500,000 people over 170 sq mi) to Multnomah County (Portland; ~675,000 people over 465 sq mi). Kerry won Ramsey 63-33, but he won somewhat larger Multnomah 72-27.

and check out the cross-tabs in SurveyUSA's recent polls of Minnesota, Oregon and Washington. While we don't know the precise boundaries they use, they show that Obama's leading in the Twin Cities by only 46-45, while he leads in Portland 53-40 and in Metro Seattle by 62-33. moreover, the other cross-tabs indicate that he is performing far better in rural Minnesota than in rural Eastern Oregon or Washington.

in any event, this is a fairly moot argument as far as Mackro's question goes - 9/11cryingeagle.jpg, obv, but the Republicans held their convention four years ago in New York City (where Hennepin County is comparable to Westchester, and Multnomah County votes like Brooklyn or Queens)

it is fair to say that in vibe mpls/st. paul (the latter more than the former) has a pacific-northwesterly feel, which is why the voting behaviors described above are often received with surprise by people who've spent time there - like, which of the reasonable-seeming people I know up there seem, by the numbers, to have voted for a second bush term?

reverse former/latter, thx

well i think there is an affinity culturally between the twin cities and portland+seattle. i have heard jokes several times to the effect that there is a high speed underground tunnel from the twin cities to the pacific northwest.

xpost

sorry, I got one of the numbers above wrong. Kerry won Ramsey 63-36, not 33.

http://thepage.time.com/2008/08/31/bush-unlikely-to-attend-gop-convention-monday/

Bush, Cheney OUT

^see NYT AP link an hour ago.

Frankly I'd've thought it would make more political sense for neither of them to show in the first place.

the whole reason for putting them on monday was that they would be buried by people's labour day barbecues.

Hahah, this makes perfect sense now that you say that.

I grew up in Portland, but spent some time in Minnesota in a misguided attempt to find happiness in a small liberal arts college. I was not in Minneapolis/St. Paul, but still, no place in Minnesota has a "pacific-northwesterly feel" imo. God, was I homesick for mountains and forests and people with personalities.

I've posted this elsewhere but what the hell:

After all the geographic gaffes, the snickers, the years of slights, it was a final affront, some who wandered this downtown grumbled this week. Here, on a screaming red sign plastered to the side of the Xcel Energy Center, the Republicans’ convention hall that sits squarely, unambiguously in the city of St. Paul, were these enormous words: Minneapolis-St. Paul.

These were irksome reminders to some locals who have spent years, even generations, trying to convince the rest of the world that St. Paul really is its own separate, legitimate, worthy (perhaps even superior) city — despite what its bigger, more confident sibling to the west may whisper to the contrary.

“The convention is in St. Paul, and we should just say that,” Carol Connolly, St. Paul’s poet laureate, who has lived here all of her 73 years, said firmly. “I think it’s dopey to say anything else, just dopey.”

...

Outside a St. Paul coffee shop, Diane Mast, who grew up here, said she, too, had been put off by the “lumping together” of Minneapolis and St. Paul in so much convention hoopla. It bothers her, she said. How could it not? Many of her friends have moved to Minneapolis. So have their children and grandchildren. She is not going, she said, no matter how many times they ask.

Quietly, Mrs. Mast, 76, offered a confession. Fifty years ago, during her honeymoon in Los Angeles, a manicurist asked her where she was from. She said Minneapolis.

“I guess I wanted to be hip,” Mrs. Mast said. “I don’t know why I said it. I wish I hadn’t.” She said it never happened again.

If you're talking to me, Ed, I'm reporting for a local TV station's web site.

Eric H, I should come and find you at some point.

I won't know which way my head's screwed on, but it's sure worth a try, especially on Tuesday or Wednesday if things are quieter.

man, i was really really looking forward to seeing how bush and cheney would be incorporated into this. in a horribly insensitive way, i can't help seeing this as a free pass for them.

Ed, you and Eric H will need a way to identify one another in the crowds, so you should each wear funny hats.

My funny hat is built in.

I have no idea how they are going to work this but video link up from FEMA control in Baton Rouge, would be one way to spin it.

To jermainetwo, Ned, etc.

In a way, it's a damned-if-you-have-'em-or-not thing, really.

The lack of Bush or Cheney will be just as noticeable as their presence would have been, if you think about it.

At least this time, presumably, Bush and Cheney will be out there rubbernecking Gustav fallout, pretending to be charitable, instead of vacationing.

i think the adminstration started hurricane gustav so that bush had an excuse not to go to the convention. fidel castro says he found some dude's passport.

I feel slimy further politicizing Gustav, especially before it hits but:

* Bush's presence or not is kinda irrelevant now, thanks to the hurricane.
* Hello, Obama campaign, I *really really* hope you do what you can to prepare for and then help the storm victims if you value your chances in November and are, you know, caring human beings.
* The only way the Republicans can politically gain from Hurricane Gustav is if they become caring human beings as well, not just *act like* caring human beings. Otherwise, anything that brings up the word "Katrina" in the news just before the General Election is Republican Kryptonite.

there is rumours of some serious messing down here. Possibly convening then adjourning till the crisis is over.

the Obama campaign has no responsibility to do anything about Gustav; that is the responsibility of the Federal, State and Local governments. i'm sure that they want to do something meaningful to help, and probably will do so, provided they aren't in the way, but i don't think they're going to simply engage in a photo-op

gabbneb otm

My meathead boss: 'they should ship the whole convention down to LA to help FEMA'

xp- Given that the Katrina crisis was still not over, this doesn't bode very well for that plan at all.

"Hi, welcome to the Republican National Convention. Now that there aren't as many deaths as there were during Katrina, let's get started! :-D"

Doesn't really compute

gabb - I never once suggested Obama do a rubbernecking photo-op.

i didn't say you did. but you suggested they had a bar to meet in demonstrating their caring to the public.

No point believing any kind of rumours from in here. I reckon I could start one and it be on some blog in 20 minutes.

I did. And it's a bad idea if they don't - within the boundary of looking like they're trying too hard to politicize the event. I think we're making the same point, but using completely different rhetoric.

xp to gabb

well considering how many staff, Secret Service and reporters in their entourage, going down there to survey the area, it seems to me, they'd just be getting in the way.

My point re: Obama is more of a fiscal charity, i.e. having the campaign help get the word out on fundraising for the inevitable victims -- not being part of the Mile High Rubbernecking Club.

http://thepage.time.com/2008/08/31/obama-to-ask-donors-to-help-gustav-victims/

I ask, I receive. yay obamas

yeah, i was just about to post that:

* Hello, Obama campaign, I *really really* hope you do what you can to prepare for and then help the storm victims if you value your chances in November and are, you know, caring human beings.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080831/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_obama

"I think we can get tons of volunteers to travel down there, if it becomes necessary," Obama told reporters after attending St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Lima, Ohio.

"I think we can activate an e-mail list of a couple of million people who want to give back," he said. Donations could include cash, goods and individual labor, he said.

Obama said he first would ask officials in the affected areas what is most needed, which may not be known for a few days.

"We don't want to solicit a bunch of canned goods that can't get there, or, you know, bottles of water where they already have water," he said.

Obama said he might visit storm-damaged areas once "things have settled down."

"The thing that I am always concerned about in the middle of a storm is whether we are drawing resources away from folks on the ground," he said, referring to the security demands his traveling entourage makes on local police and other officials...

I wonder if somebody points out that that's exactly what happened 3 years when the Official Doofus Brigade went down there, and all the emergency crews had to be diverted due to him being there.

if somebody _will_ point out, rather.

The Official Doofus even pointed it out somewhat by announcing that he would not visit Louisiana this week, so as not to distract resources.

My pool feed monitor flicked over to the press room, we've got a conference scheduled for 3pm here, might no something soon. Would help if we had sound from the pool feed.

Probaly will have to watch it on CNN like everyone else.

Apparently a cop accidentally let of a flash bang grenade during the protest march at the state capitol.

"oops"

any worthwhile Minneapolis or St. Paul based blogs tracking stuff on the street about this?

Btw, thank you, Ed. I'm not sure how excited you are to be here doing this, but your reports are definitely of a rare insider quality wonkette or the kos wish they had.

posted a couple of links in the gap up there for rolling reports mackro

indymedia has nothing past saturday, I guess they are all asleep or in jail.

everything has settled down here now there is a plan.

"It's all...part of the PLAN..."

livewire section at the top is getting updates tho, Ed

went into minneapolis rather than twin cities, d'oh

Famous people seen today:

Fred Thompson
Laura Bush

lol politics nerds

So little is known about what is going on that senior republican people are asking me what is going on and what they should be working on. I tell them that I find out through CNN just like everyone else and that for CNN the only thing happening in the world is CNN hacks getting blown over in southern LA.

So little is known about what is going on that senior republican people are asking me what is going on and what they should be working on.

Ed, you have the power of shaping the free world at your disposal. Use it wisely.

"My friends, the surge is working."

I just had a wrap from the GOP lunch table and it had arugula in it. (also goat's cheese and sun dried tomatoes all wrapped in a spinach tortilla).

Their music for the anthem has the most awful synth horn part on it.

lololol

US conveniently turns over Anbar province to the iraqis, I presume this was for Bush to make a big deal out of this evening.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/middle_east/july-dec08/iraq_09-01.html

twitter hub of info :http://twitter.com/coldsnaplegal

http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/the_night_before

The Stranger's Brendan Kiley sneaks into Southern delegation party in Minneapolis for Sammy Hagar show. Auction for NOLA happens, Republicans too drunk to respond.

Someone's got to stakeout Deja Vu.

A few days ago the queen came down and laid here republican eggs:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3234/2818874528_d820ef6e3e.jpg

Now they have hatched into republicans:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3155/2818028679_a1a70c9d53.jpg

I like the aesthetic of this convention more than the Dem Convention to be honest... then again, the venue itself probably lends a lot to that. Anyway, it looks a lot like Xanadu meets Nashville meets 1984.

game time

then again, "Country First".. couldn't help the Nashville reference there. (And isn't that a country radio station slogan, if mem serves me right?)

LOL, there is a ssombre slowdown in the orchestration of the anthem they are using, and all the delegates tripped on it. Fuck me this orchestration is awful.

Storm's giving an interesting mix-up to the week's events:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080901/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_convention_rdp

The opening day program was shorn of political rhetoric, and trimmed to two and a half hours from an intended seven in deference to the threat Gustav posed to New Orleans and other areas along the Gulf Coast.

Rather than a keynote address or other political oratory, the convention programmers gave McCain's wife, Cindy, and first lady Laura Bush top billing to make televised appeals for help for hurricane victims. The governors of four Gulf states were speaking by videotape.

Aides said they would determine the podium schedule for the balance of the week on a day-to-day basis.

The other business of the convention's opening session was adoption of a party platform, a document that largely sidesteps the national debate about the Iraq War.

"The waging of war — and the achieving of peace — should never be micromanaged in a party platform. ... In dealing with present conflicts or future crises, our next president must preserve all options," it said.

[...]

Obama urged hundreds of thousands of supporters to donate to the Red Cross to help victims of Gustav. In a mass e-mailing — and the same text-messaging system he used to announce his vice presidential pick — he asked them to "please give whatever you can afford, even $10, to make sure the American Red Cross has the resources to help those in the path of this storm."

He scaled back a Labor Day speech to unions in Detroit to keep attention on the Gulf Coast. After stops in Michigan and Wisconsin, he was returning to his Chicago headquarters to monitor the storm's progress and decide his schedule for the rest of the week.

Obama has said he may visit storm-damaged areas once things have "settled down."

Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden canceled plans to march in a Labor Day parade in Pittsburgh to monitor storm developments. "Our focus right now should be on what's happening in the Gulf," he said.

this text to give thing may back fire as 40,000 reply messages come into the hall at once.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/08/31/raids/index.html

and the FBI is there, helping to organize the raids!

was Cindy signifying her solidarity with Palin by wearing a Gorton's fisherman coat? with hurricane victims by wearing a raincoat?

"as John is fond of saying, this is the time when we take off our Republican hats, and put on our jimmy hats"

(sorry)

haha

Man, I would think that tonight would be the perfect time to go to downtown Mpls. bars with a camera and interview drunnk delegates, especially with today's events being truncated and all.

heh. apparently all bridges in and out of STPL from the south have been shut down.

also of note, tom morello is even more terrible and awful as a solo artist.

That's for sure.

Protest march and anarchists in the already confused and fractured streets of St. Paul made for a pretty busy day for me.

Damn. Have been disturbed reading about the Democracy Now! detainees and the heavy-handedness of both Mpls and St Paul police. Especially Mpls. If this were the '80s, it would have been my uncle running the security operation for Mpls and although I never could tell who he voted for (which is how it should be for cops) I'd like to think if these ops were his problem, there would be fewer (if any) problems for those wishing to protest or cover the convention and surrounding hoopla.

Obviously, this ain't the '80s.

I wonder if somebody points out that that's exactly what happened 3 years when the Official Doofus Brigade went down there, and all the emergency crews had to be diverted due to him being there.

-- kingfish, Sunday, August 31, 2008 3:01 PM (Sunday, August 31, 2008 3:01 PM) Bookmark Link

if somebody _will_ point out, rather.

-- kingfish, Sunday, August 31, 2008 3:02 PM (Sunday, August 31, 2008 3:02 PM) Bookmark Link

The Official Doofus even pointed it out somewhat by announcing that he would not visit Louisiana this week, so as not to distract resources.

-- Pleasant Plains, Sunday, August 31, 2008 3:33 PM (Sunday, August 31, 2008 3:33 PM) Bookmark Link

http://www.politickerme.com/jessicaalaimo/2471/rove-obamas-inexperienced-bidens-big-blowhard-doofus

the arrest-them-before-they've-done-anything shit going on is complete & total bullshit and I know it's asking too much but Obama's camp should call it out.

http://twitter.com/NewsHour/statuses/906738095
http://twitter.com/NewsHour/statuses/906738095

Leaving the Xcel for the second time last night I saw 150 odd national guardsmen in riot helmets with baton head out. Texted who I could I hope all are OK although clearly there are plenty who are in Jail or hospital as a result of the excessive police force (and poor tactics by various protest elements).

We have a show here today although we have no idea what it looks like. CNN says we have the preznit by video link up but that hasn't appeared in the schedule. Other Keynotes look like they will be Lieberman and thompson.

Getting into the spirit of the thing we were fed and watered by anheuser busch and defence contractor honeywell. I figure we were given passes because whatever had be scheduled there was cancelled out of respect.

DUDES THEY HAVE NIXED RUDY AND HE IS NOT SPEAKING AT ALL I AM MAD AND UPSET WTF

WHO WILL TELL ME OF THE 9/11S AND HOW TO NEVER FORGET?????????

wow Amy Goodman is PISSED on Democracy Now this A.M.

haha amazing story: i went to an art opening a week ago at the chambers hotel in minneapolis, and ended up in a conversation with the guy who runs it, a scrappy little bastard with a red nose with a passion for the f-word. apparently there's some hot new artwork out based on mimeographed complaint letters to the new york mayor's office, going back to the 1800s. the guy is a huge art fiend (there's a damien hirst cow head in the lobby of this place) and he said he was trying like hell to get a hold of some of these panels to put in giuliani's room, heh.

I know it's asking too much but Obama's camp should call it out.

It is, and why fantasize?

I knew it wasn't a "scaled down" con when I saw a woman in a tiara singing the anthem.

Palin's singing?

no, Miss Minnesota. (She'll probably run w/ Barbara Bush the Younger)

It is, and why fantasize?

That's hilarious coming from you, Morbs.

That's nice.

Preemptive policing, what a concept:

http://www.counterpunch.org/cohn09022008.html

Since Friday, local police and sheriffs, working with the FBI, conducted preemptive searches, seizures and arrests. Glenn Greenwald described the targeting of protestors by "teams of 25-30 officers in riot gear, with semi-automatic weapons drawn, entering homes of those suspected of planning protests, handcuffing and forcing them to lay on the floor, while law enforcement officers searched the homes, seizing computers, journals, and political pamphlets." Journalists were detained at gunpoint and lawyers representing detainees were handcuffed at the scene.

"I was personally present and saw officers with riot gear and assault rifles, pump action shotguns," said Bruce Nestor, the President of the Minnesota chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, who is representing several of the protestors. "The neighbor of one of the houses had a gun pointed in her face when she walked out on her back porch to see what was going on. There were children in all of these houses, and children were held at gunpoint."

The raids targeted members of "Food Not Bombs," an anti-war, anti-authoritarian protest group that provides free vegetarian meals every week in hundreds of cities all over the world. They served meals to rescue workers at the World Trade Center after 9/11 and to nearly 20 communities in the Gulf region following Hurricane Katrina.

Also targeted were members of I-Witness Video, a media watchdog group that monitors the police to protect civil liberties. The group worked with the National Lawyers Guild to gain the dismissal of charges or acquittals of about 400 of the 1,800 who were arrested during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York. Preemptive policing was used at that time as well. Police infiltrated protest groups in advance of the convention.

Nestor said that no violence or illegality has taken place to justify the arrests. "Seizing boxes of political literature shows the motive of these raids was political," he said.

(sorry for the Greenwald/Salon overlap from upthread)

wow that's horseshit

(that that happened I mean)

DUDES THEY HAVE NIXED RUDY AND HE IS NOT SPEAKING AT ALL I AM MAD AND UPSET WTF

-- ice crӕm, Tuesday, 2 September 2008 15:46 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link

WHO WILL TELL ME OF THE 9/11S AND HOW TO NEVER FORGET?????????
Firstly; ROFFFLE & LOL
Second: I think whats going on with the protests is fucking beautiful and also; are we really arresting VEGETARIANS NOW? You know its the vegans that are the mentalists. This political policing has really stepped up a notch tho,over here and in the US.

*I'd like to add; I think the fact that peeps are taking direct action is beautiful NOT the tear gas. That shit pains.

beautiful, wonderful tear gas

thx for the text last night ed, no damages sustained by any of my peeps to the best of my knowledge.

tom morello hurt me

we were a victim of festival scheduling brutality

Did you not get to see RATM? They killed it at the fest over here.

Just saw the McCain campaign plane land at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland from my office window. Hooray.

was anyone thrown under that airbus?

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/3437/palinplanelo3.jpg

is McCain flying around in a european mad e plane.

just met on an escalator: a photojournalist with a massive black eye and cuts courtesy of the StPPD.

e we really arresting VEGETARIANS NOW? You know its the vegans that are the mentalists. This political policing has really stepped up a notch tho,over here and in the US.

-- VeronaInTheClub, Tuesday, September 2, 2008 11:17 AM (59 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

FNB is supposed to be vegan, when they came manage it.

but yeah, arresting a bunch of hippies who hand out free meals to is straight garbage

*CAN manage it

pancakes, did McCain fly in on the FedEx plane? It's the only I can see from where I'm at.

lol, no, but I made that joek -- the McCain plane is a feint, they just stuffed him a box and overnighted him. It's right up against the terminal, you can see the blue and yellow tail.

You aren't in my building, are you? N0rth P0int?

nope, one cl3veland center. half the airport is blocked by Erieview Tower

"lol nice pick, mccain"
http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2008-09/42028654.jpg

lol Roger O. Palin, Pancakes!

http://thepage.time.com/2008/09/02/davis-requesting-more-tv-time/

i believe we call this 'special pleading'

Big party for Tom DeLay in Mpls.

Once known as "the hammer" for his hardball tactics on Capitol Hill, the featured entertainment at DeLay's party was the band Smash Mouth.

Asked his reaction to DeLay's appearance in Minneapolis, Cong. John Mica (R-FL) declined to answer and then head-butted the ABC camera.

WTF joek?

If talked to death, ignore.

Caption this photo:

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/09/02/us/romney_convention_337.2.jpg

My boss, two right of mitt.

Still not managed to get myself on TV although apparently I was on MSN.com for a bit.

Why does Laura Bush get to speak two nights in a row?? Is there no justice etc etc

I wanna see the proud Alaskan grandma-to-be speak!

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/09/02/us/romney_convention_337.2.jpg

Mitt Romney and wacky sidekick running mate Chris "Cabin Boy" Elliot attempt to forecast the 2012 race.

"The sniper fire will come from right over there"

The Mormonian Candidate

hearing these guys try to repeat their talking points is just painful

delegate on NPR says something like "we've got a hurricane, we've got a baby, we're just having fun and waiting to see what's next" *laughs nervously*

ass-rape?

"we've got a hurricane, we've got a baby, we're just having fun and waiting to see what's next"

*throws french fries into the air*

lolol

Hahahah

"Different ISSUES!"

"You can fuck me when you vote for me."

^^^new slogan

the front step of my hotel:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3205/2822050941_befea2ef5e.jpg?v=0

nice hotel

oh yay paultards

why are they keeping Ed in a cage

If Obama's bounce was tempered by the next-day announcement of Sarah Palin as the VP, certainly McCain's will be even more so by the overshadowing of the RNC by Gustav, no? What were the TV ratings like yesterday?

i have to say it's pretty weird to see candid shots of the city(ies) i live in popping up on politics blogs i've been reading for years.

Anyone got any other good RNC photo streams, that was from PBS news hour:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/newshour/

Another caption this photo:

http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/homepage/hp9-2-08l.jpg

"NINE ELEVEN!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaand you're the next contestant on The Price is 9/11!"

"I saw that, jerky"

"Yeah, yeah, I am Batman. Then the mugger, he comes to and he starts choking me. So I'm fighting him off with one hand and I kept driving the bus with the other, ya know. Then I managed to open up the door and I kicked him out the door, ya know, with my foot, ya know, at the next stop."

http://ak.buy.com/db_assets/large_images/927/60032927.jpg

surprise GWB's speech not coming from the whitehouse but airforce one.

"Sarah Pawlenty, our next Vice President"

And once again, caption this photo:

http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/photo/2008-09/42060333-02163424.jpg

I want one of the texans' hats

"We Love McCNN"

Norm Coleman of Brooklyn, my friends

John McCain can turn his face into a heart

"I don't have the credentials to contradict socrates"

http://www.stylusmagazine.com/images/vs/061130-03.jpg

These backdrops really make it look like the little people are coming to nominate mr squirrell for president of tiny town.

what is this speaker on?

ludes

lol just turned it on - who is this crazy person?

She's the one who got chewed up and spit out by Carville (last night?).

wait theres definitely some kind of cocktail going on here xp

i think an intervention might be needed here

omg rock hardy otm - i caught that. i knew i recognized those crazyeyes!

or therapy, at least

And she never ever lost that smile the whole time he was chewing.

waaaait was up w/these white peoples w/brown children

ooooh ok

cindy mccain works w/the poor - she eats their pills

apparently Bachman's not the only one in need of help

CINDY MCCAIN SAVED THOSE 15 CHILDREN...AND THEY HAVE GROWN UP TO BE BEAUTIFUL YOUNG GIRLS

HUG THE BROWN GIRL NEXT TO YOU

uh so the surprise rage against the machine show apparently just got cancelled by riot police and the crowd appears to be marching to the excel center.

oh shit a band

o yah burn that mother fucker down

maybe david brooks will stop talking

http://www.twincities.com/rnc/ci_10364496

ts: joseph lieberman vs. zell miller

i am fairly amused by the description of the band driving vehicles through the crowd in the process of STICKIN IT TO THE MAN DUUUDE

are they going to fight with smash mouth?

So apparently the hot roadie who wanted me to go and see culture last night offered to take me down there and drop me back and my boss only just passed on the message.

haha yes ed burn that motherfucker down ed VENGEANCE

maybe this firefighter will stop talking

on the less funny side of things, the police have informed local hospitals to prepare for incoming and that they are going to use tear gas on the crowd

Who died in Ramsey Jail?

Why does a HISPANIC...democrat...support John McCain?
First because of faith.
No man can support a prisoner of war camp, without God's protection.

No man can support a prisoner of war camp, without God's protection.

Um, wait.

someone who's been paying more attention than me - has Sarah Palin's name been mentioned tonight?

Ctrl+F No.

Although in our crazy software it is ctrl+F3

Sarah Pawlenty was mentioned instead.

FLOTUS will mention her but she isn't in my system.

Lieut. Dan

OH I GET IT. RATM were trying to play the RNC. A bunch of conservatives and journos? Wrong audience methinks? Or maybe it was the right audience.
Aaaah. When I'm good I'm good.
Anyway why are Cheney and Bush hiding? If Eva Longwhoria ain't scared of a 'little hurricane' than I hardly think two grown men should be.

http://news.cnet.com/i/bto/20080830/Palin_270x344.jpg

Life is like a box of chocolates...

Bush is in DC, Cheney is on route to europe.

Thompson will get a bit on palin.

if McCain was really a "maverick" he'd have asked Cheney to deliver the keynote address.

Sycophancy at its best:

As Mark Hemingway points out, Teddy Roosevelt had been governor of N.Y. for two years before being tapped for the ticket by William McKinley. He too was an anti-corruption reformer as NYC Police Chief. I thought of him the other day, because he was well known for spending lots of time in the West, hunting, fishing, leading expeditions... living a very non-East Coast life. I'm sure he would have had a seaplane and a snow machine had they existed. He was a great advocate of the character-toughening rigors of the outdoor life (though he didn't slight intellectual accomplishments).

And, as every school girl (school person?) is taught, the day Roosevelt ascended to the Presidency upon McKinley's assassination, party boss Mark Hanna — architect of the modern campaign, and harsh judge of the stature and qualifications of politicians — famously said, "That damn cowboy is in the White House now." It wasn't a compliment. It certainly implied something unserious, impetuous and unsophisticated. Earlier he had called Roosevelt a "madman."

John McCain looks pretty healthy to me. But Sarah Palin is certainly a cowboy (Annie Oakley in a suit!), and the GOP has often done worse than TR.

hahaha i just read that shit, crazy!

all this recognising is getting Bush dangerously close to being in prime time.

ah laura just mentioned Palin

Actual ad in Craigslist (yo Wonkette again):

Seeking Pig Bottom Republican for a Good Pounding - 33 (St. Paul)
Date: 2008-08-29, 9:25AM CDT

Welcome to the Twin Cities, GOP!

After 8 years of taking a hard pounding from you guys in Washington, it’s time to return the favor!

I’m looking for a Republican delegate to take for a ride like Bush & Co. have been doing to our country since they took office.

Here’s the scene: I come to your hotel room, you’re wearing nothing but your convention credentials. You blow me while I berate you for ruining our economy. Then I flip you over and slam your ass like Hurricane Gustav is gonna do to your news coverage. Then I pull out and cum on your face and you learn the real meaning of Trickle Down Theory.

ME: 6′4″, 220, Blonde & Blue, hairy, with a 9″ uncut viking cock

YOU: Pig Bottom Republican

And last: in lieu of Laura Bush’s party, busting a nut will do.

how can these people say of GWB "he has kept America safe" with a straight face

he protected it from half-Czech John Kerry didn't he?

not doing so good by repping for someone born in panama

he knows what it takes to be president

we need Annie Oakley in a Suit t-shirts pronto.

who's this juggalo who keeps screaming "Yay" at everything?

this is a great speech not

OK Bush just endorsed Palin, so is on tickee for good, yes?

the tear gassing and beatings have started off outside. just in time for king doofus.

Gee, I hope Ed's all right. What a way to kill a thread.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3038/2829843970_77f0a0edfd_b.jpg

Full report tomorrow

bummed i never met you, broski

http://www.twincities.com/ci_10472581?source=most_viewed

GOP delegate's hotel tryst goes bad when he wakes up with $120,000 missing
By David Hanners
dhann✧✧✧@pioneerpr✧✧✧.c✧✧
Article Last Updated: 09/16/2008 09:16:22 AM CDT

He met her in the bar of the swank hotel and invited her to his room. Once there, the woman fixed the drinks and told him to get undressed.

And that, the delegate to the Republican National Convention told police, was the last thing he remembered.

When he awoke, the woman was gone, as was more than $120,000 in money, jewelry and other belongings.

The thief's take stunned cops.

"It's very, very, very rare," Minneapolis Police Sgt. William Palmer said. "I can think of a couple of burglaries where we had that much stolen, but it's the first time I've heard of this kind of deal."

The haul included a $30,000 watch, a $20,000 ring, a necklace valued at $5,000, earrings priced at $4,000 and a Prada belt valued at $1,000, police said.

The victim was identified as Gabriel Nathan Schwartz, 29, of Denver, a single attorney and a fixture in Colorado Republican politics. He was one of the state's delegates to the convention this month in St. Paul.

Reached by phone at his law office Monday, Schwartz said that because the case still was under investigation, "I think at this point, I don't want to make a comment on it."

During the convention, Schwarz wasn't shy about talking to the media. In an Associated Press article about Sen. John McCain's acceptance speech, Schwartz was quoted as saying that as far as oratorical skills go, McCain "has more experience in his little pinkie" than Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

In an interview filmed the afternoon of Sept. 3 and posted on the Web site LinkTV.org, Schwartz was candid about how he envisioned change under a McCain presidency.

"Less taxes and more war," he said, smiling. He said the U.S. should "bomb the hell" out of Iran because the country threatens Israel.

Asked by the interviewer how America would pay for a military confrontation with Iran, he said the U.S. should take the country's resources.

"We should plant a flag. Take the oil, take the money," he said. "We deserve reimbursement."

A few hours after the interview, an unknown woman helped herself to Schwartz's resources.

The theft happened at the Hotel Ivy, a luxury hotel in downtown Minneapolis. (The Colorado delegation was housed at the Four Points Sheraton, several miles away on Industrial Boulevard Northeast.)

The theft occurred early on Sept. 4, hours after Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin gave her speech accepting her party's vice presidential nomination. A police report said Schwartz told officers he met a woman at the bar and took her to his $319-a-night room.

"Victim reported suspect made victim drinks, told him to get undressed, which is the last thing he remembers," a police narrative said. "Upon waking, victim discovered money, jewelry gone; total loss over $120K."

A police report notes the crime occurred between 4:22 and 5:46 a.m., and Palmer said investigators believe Schwartz was drugged, although he declined to discuss details.

Aside from the watch, ring, necklace, earrings and belt, Schwartz also reported a $1,000 purse or wallet, a $1,500 cell phone, $500 in cash and a couple of rings worth $50 had been taken.

Alister Glen, general manager of the Hotel Ivy, called the theft an isolated incident and said no hotel personnel were involved.

"I don't know if I'm at liberty to discuss it," he said. "It's still under police investigation."

Schwartz was a supporter of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, donating $2,300 — the maximum individual donation allowed by law — to his presidential campaign last year, according to records from the Federal Election Commission.

After Giuliani dropped out, Schwartz switched his allegiance to McCain, and records show he donated $2,300 to the Arizona senator's campaign in April.

In biographical sketches of Colorado's delegates published in the Rocky Mountain News, Schwartz said he was single, didn't have any pets and most admired Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman, "as he has served our party for many years and has served in the military."

He said his idea of a "dream ticket" was McCain and Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor.

On the Web site for his Denver law practice, Sandomire & Schwartz, the lawyer describes his experience as a civil and criminal lawyer and points out he is a regular guest on "Colorado State of Mind," a public affairs program produced by Rocky Mountain PBS. The show, according to its Web site, says it gathers "opinionated and passionate people from across the state" to discuss a wide range of issues.

In his interview on LinkTV, Schwartz seemed opinionated and passionate.

He said an attack on Iran was needed to protect Israel, and he offered how it could be accomplished through "strategical airstrikes."

"Hopefully, just bomb the hell out of them from the sky. No troops," he said.

Schwartz was asked if he had a message to the protesters who filled the streets of downtown St. Paul.

"Get a job," he replied.

David Hanners can be reached at xxx-xxx-xxxx.

a+ david hanners!

ps ahahahahaaahahahahahahaha

hahahahahahahahaahahahahahahaahahaaaaaa

GET A JOB

I wish that thief had planted a flag.

Setting aside the fact that this guy is evidently a gigantic tool, I'm still trying to comprehend how someone could be carrying $120,000 on them!

Cocaine isn't cheap.

Rocky Mountain high, indeed.

he's probably trying to pad his tax return "losses"

Anyone who spends $1000 on a belt is clearly a tool. That's just nonsense.

what a heartwarming story!!

http://www.twincities.com/ci_10470772

This really ties it all together.

wau what a fugly jacket

hahahahahahahahaha

yesssssss

god, what a shitheel. do we think the 'burglar' was in fact a prostitute?

Man that makes me happy.

I have been remiss on any convention reports, should do little vignettes rather than long form.

Evan, sorry I missed you too.

John and john's lady, thank you once again for your hospitality and Sara RC, Fluffy Bear, HIDERE And Mrs Hi DERE and supporting cast for entertaining me.