2008 What Happens to a Protest Deferred?
posted by on August 31 at 10:30 AM
A few of the preparations in St. Paul:
Manhole covers near the Xcel Energy Center have been spot-welded into place, just in case anarchists plan on heaving them through expensive plate-glass windows.
A new $3.4 million network of spy-in-the-sky cameras punctuate downtown corners, allowing officers at St. Paul police headquarters to zoom in on everything via eight video screens in Room 540 — the same room once used to store supplies left over from Y2K.
Emergency foster care families have been put on call to care for the children of those arrested.
And the required squealing and skirt-gathering (this from South Carolina Republican Jim DeMint, on the DNC protestors):
And have you seen some of these protesters on TV? They wear black masks, chant “Down with America!” and do their best to intimidate everyone. They argue for more rights for terrorists and less energy alternatives for you and me. They could care less about the high price of gas because most of them like anarchy. It is a pretty frightening sight.
So what will the protestors do if the whole convention is delayed?
From the NYT:
And Senator John McCain, is not ruling out the possibility that the event may have to be put on hold due to the powerful hurricane bearing down on the Gulf Coast.
“It wouldn’t be appropriate to have a festive occasion while a near tragedy or a terrible challenge is presented in the form of a natural disaster,” Mr. McCain said on Fox News Sunday, noting that he was continuing to review the situation and “saying a few prayers too.”
Maybe nobody will get what they want: no convention, no meaningful protests, no nothing. Just McCain slipping quietly onto the ballot.
On the bright side, there are thousands of idle people in St. Paul this week—if the convention is cancelled and the South needs a wave of humanitarian aid, we’re all right here.
This Gustav thing is a gift from God to His Party.
No mumbling embarassing blather from W.
No smirking from the Dark Prince, Cheney.
Just a little flag waving, prayers, and apple pie.
And you never know which Palin is gonna drop a calf....
What's wrong with down with America and terrorist rights? Isn't that what this country is all about?
Why doesn't America have really cool protesters like in The Edukators where they sneak into rich peoples' houses and pile their furniture up?
They would love to cancel their convention. The less people know about them the more likely people are to vote for them.
Are you seriously suggesting that if the convention is cancelled the idle rich will volunteer their time to help New Orleans?
If there is one thing they all learned from Ayn Rand, it is that charity and mercy just fuck everything up for everybody by interfering with the unseen hand of providence in the free market.
Christian Republicans respond to any humanitarian crisis with profiteering. It is what Jesus would do if Jesus had read Ayn Rand.
The idle protesters, on the other hand, could probably help out by teaching the newly homeless about cooking over burn-barrels and squatting in abandoned warehouses, reading passages by Andrei Codrescu.
If the real Jesus was hanging around, which group do you think he would prefer to hang out with? Jesus was a dissident, after all.
Hey Michael, you may want to re-evaluate your statement.
I know you love to say that Republican Christians are all about gaming the system, profiteering off of misery and such, but last I checked, it was Christian Churches, conservative and liberal that led efforts to rebuild NOLA.
Even though a personal anecdote holds no value, most of the conservative Christians I know have actually done charity work in NOLA or Mexico. I don't know any Obama supporters that have.
Beyond that, it's a proven fact that the religious right gives more money to Charity.
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/204/story_20419_1.html
Your statistics must include Unitarian-Universalist congregations and the Ebenezer Baptist church among the "conservative Christians" to arrive at those conclusions.
Among the faithful, but non-Christian, nations, predominantly Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, and secular socialist nations were offering humanitarian assistance during the Katrina fiasco, and their offers were turned away while American citizens waited on rooftops for help that was not forthcoming as a result of Jesus changing George W. Bush's heart.
Everybody knows that all anarchists live in Oregon and Minneapolis/St. Paul is just way too far to go.
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Senator Demint represents Neo-cons doing what they do best: Hate-mongering.
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