Ablogination

9.30.08 Nashville, TN: The Coalition for October Debate Alternatives (CODA) announced today the Presidential Candidate’s Alternative Debate to take place October 6th, in Nashville, Tennessee. The debate is open to all third party candidates for President in the United States as well as the major party nominees. The debate, which is scheduled to take place on the campus of Vanderbilt University on Monday, October 6th will feature several Presidential Candidates who have confirmed attendance including Brad Lyttle of the US Pacifist Party, Charles Jay of the Boston Tea Party, Frank McEnulty of the New American Independence Party and Brian Moore of the Socialist Party. The Constitution Party has also confirmed that Presidential Candidate Chuck Baldwin or Vice Presidential Candidate Darrell Castle will attend the event.

The debate, which is being organized by CODA has been in the making for several months and is scheduled to take place on Monday, October 6th at 7:00pm, one day prior to the Presidential Debates which are happening at Belmont University in Nashville on October 7th. CODA says that many of the Presidential candidates have been excluded from attending the Belmont debate.

In a recent release to the press CODA indicated that is was organizing the alternative debate because it believed that voters deserve to hear from all the candidates if they are going to make an informed choice at the ballot box, ” While we want to hear what the major party candidates have to say on issues related to the war, health care, the economy, gas prices, the future direction of the military, civil liberties and the environment, we do not believe that most issues of concern to American voters will be touched by the Democrat-Republican debate. That is why we are organizing an alternative debate so that voters in Nashville, Tennessee and beyond may be informed of all their choices as they participate in America’s electoral process.”

The general public and the media is invited to attend this event, which will begin at 7pm on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville. The moderator for the event will be Bruce Barry, a professor at the Owen School of Management at Vanderbilt.

Chris Lugo, of the Coalition for October Debate Alternatives, said that the Democratic and Republican candidates have also been invited to the event, but have not indicated an interest in attending, “We believe that voters should make a fully informed choice about who they vote for and we do not believe this is possible if they are only hearing from two candidates. We have invited the Barack Obama and John McCain in the interest of fairness, but we are intending to highlight this alternative debate as the most egalitarian possible event by including all the candidates and promoting this as an event to which everyone is invited.”

Presidential Candidate’s Alternative Debate
Vanderbilt University
4309 Stevenson Center
Nashville, TN 37240

Monday October 6th
Candidate’s Debate 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Light Reception to Follow Debate

For more information visit:
http://calendar.vanderbilt.edu/calendar/2008/10/06/us-presidential-debate-the-alternatives

It’s a beautiful day in Bristol. I was just outside, sitting in my comfy chair, burning a doob the size of a fence post, and I had this rare and fleeting feeling of contentment. Like everything is going to be ok.

It’s been a lifetime since I felt that way.

John McCain is losing this election to Barack Obama. Granted, there’s a lot of time for weird shit to happen. But watching the McLame/Palin ticket fall from the sky like one of McCain’s aircraft provides me with a tremendous calm. A feeling of hope, and a vision of a renewed American dream and a reinvigorated populace.

The end of Right-Wing Fascist influence in our government draws near.

The selection of Sara Palin as running mate hurt McLame and Co. McCain himself, along with his incredulous collection of creepy advisers and lapdogs have told more lies than a water-boarded teenager…but that’s not what turned the McSame compass south.

Thankfully, John McCain was gracious enough to state in public that “the fundamentals of the economy are strong” while the castle was crashing down around him.
That, coupled with the famous McLame quote “The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should", has brought the American people to a realization that if this buffoon is elected America is doomed.
We simply cannot go from eight years of failure to four more years of failure.
The great part of it all? Now Righty is getting hit in the pocketbook (like the Left told them they would four years ago) and they’re all to hell over it.
Sure, they deserve it. But the rest of us don’t.
Republicans are the ones who voted for this economic disaster, not us.

So now, in light of the fact that nothing is more important to the Republican than money, they’re flocking to Barack Obama (a Democrat) to save them.
And he will. Too bad. In order for decent, average Americans to be lifted up the goofballs have to be lifted up as well.
Life is irony, people. Pure irony.

So we begin to witness the downward flat-spin of the Republican hopes of keeping the White House. The McCain Plane is crashing.

Thanx for the help, Commander McCain. Continue crashing. Kona out.

It’s still the economy, stupid.

The world financial markets were rocked to their foundation this week by the news of the collapse of one of the oldest Wall Street Investment firms in American history, preceded by two of the largest bailouts in American history. If that was not news enough, the market was then knocked around again in round two when American Insurance Group (AIG) was given a 24 hours notice to raise $85 billion dollars to cover debt tied to the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Once again the federal treasury decided to bail out another corporation in the name of the American people and the stability of the marketplace. Then the mother of all bailouts was announced just before the close of business Thursday when Secretary of the Treasury announced a $700 billion dollar bailout of all remaining investment firms, banks and insurance groups. President Bush proudly proclaimed that the American people had been saved by the quick thinking and decisive actions of the US Treasury and anticipated quick passage of the trillion-dollar bailout by the House and Senate this week.

The reality of the situation is that the American taxpayers are being held responsible for the irresponsible investment decisions and speculative actions of private corporations and private investors. When the economy was booming and Wall Street was raking in record profits on fraudulent business dealings taxpayers saw none of the benefits, but when it is time to save those same corporations and their investors from the brink of irrelevance then the taxpayers are expected to foot the bill. The end result is that the investors reap all of the profits when times are good but when times are bad the American taxpayers pay the bills. This time the price tag is too high. In addition to the $650 billion dollars the federal treasury is paying annually for the defense budget plus the costs of the war in Iraq, the general public is now expected to foot a trillion dollar bill based on speculation.

Americans do not understand what the cost of the proposed bailout is in real terms, and many Americans do not realize the amount of debt that the federal government has already accrued, which is a burden to be passed on to our future generations. In real dollars, the proposal by the treasury department will cost the average taxpayer five thousand dollars and ten thousands dollars for a household of four. That is ten thousand dollars of debt that President Bush and his cabinet will leave as a legacy to compete with the shared cost of the war in Iraq, which will cost the average household nearly an additional ten thousand dollars in debt. That is a total of twenty thousand dollars in debt per household multiplied by millions of Americans equals nearly two trillion dollars that we are deeper in debt as a result of the war in Iraq and the recent proposed bailout which will in all likelihood sail through Congress this week.

It is time to say no to more corporate bailouts. The United States is already almost nine trillion dollars in debt as a result of decades of over spending on the US military combined with twenty-five years of Reagan era tax cuts for the wealthy and private corporations. Now is the time to invest in real priorities for the future by fully funding health care and education. By saying no to corporate bailouts for Wall Street we will ensure real economic opportunity for Main Street. As a candidate for federal office I oppose further corporate bailouts and I support strict regulation of Wall Street and a federal investigation into fraud and abuse of the trading system, which led to the current financial crisis. The results of decades deregulation and tax cuts for the wealthy and privileged has led to the decimation of the middle class and brought us to the edge of ruin for future generations.

There is hope for the future, and it involves electing candidates who will look out for the interest of working people and the middle class, rather than selling out every federal office to the highest bidder. By supporting campaign finance reform, progressive taxation, universal health care, a drastically reduced military budget and by placing the highest priority on funding education we can begin to move this country in the right direction. Through strict regulation of markets and a tough but conservative approach to finance and investment we can begin to regain the trust of both investors and the general public. By withdrawing our troops from the Middle East and reducing the military budget we will gain the trust and good faith of people around the world. It is time for us to invest in the people and we must begin by saying to to any further bailouts for private corporations and Wall Street and insure that our tax dollars go to real human needs and domestic priorities that benefit everyone

In support of the right to protest.

There is a long and venerable tradition in our culture which has helped to shape the character of this nation. The right to protest and peacefully address grievances to our elected officials, the media, and the general public is a fundamental aspect of American citizenship. The right to peacefully assemble to express concern about all matters of public policy is older than the formation of this country and is the foundation of our Declaration of Independence and Constitution. When colonists felt the burden of excessive taxation during English rule, their first step as subjects of the rule of law of England was to address their concerns to the magistrates and officials of their day. The very act of expressing dissent is a hallmark of an engaged community.

I have just returned from two weeks of expressing dissent to the leadership of the Democratic and Republican parties. My activities, along with those of thousands of other peaceful protesters was aimed at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado and the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. As a candidate who is committed to peace and ending war, I hold both major parties accountable for the hundreds of billions of our taxpayer dollars which have been wasted on war and the senseless killing which has taken place in the name of my alleged freedom. As a citizen, I am outraged at the continuation of policies which have taken the lives of tens of thousands of Iraqis and I hold the leadership of both major parties responsible for this state of affairs.

What I encountered in Denver and especially in St. Paul has shaken the faith of my belief in government. I have always believed that the role of protest was crucial to the American dialogue, and that dissent was tolerated in this country, although not always supported. I understand the resistance to change and the fear that dissenters create in the general public. We have always been only marginally tolerated, from the times of the American revolution to the abolitionists to the suffragists to the unionists, dissenters have always taken risks, but the rewards of their efforts have been to the benefit of all Americans, whether it be the right to vote, the forty hour work week, the end of slavery or the very creation of this country, dissent has always played a fundamental role in the creation of those rights.

In St. Paul, Minnesota, during the week of September 1st-4th the right to protest and peacefully assemble was greatly impinged upon by local, state and federal officials. It was also greatly diminished in Denver, Colorado but to a lesser extent. At the Republican National Convention protests I personally witnessed peaceful protesters demonstrating against war being beaten by police, nearly trampled by horses, dispersed with tear gas and concussion grenades, and everywhere treated as dangerous criminals and as a threat to the government. I participated in a march led by mothers with children in strollers that was blockaded on several occasions by national guard troops in full paramilitary gear. I witnessed homeless people marching for the right to housing being dispersed by security police in riot gear wearing gas masks and carrying beating sticks that were in excess of two feet long. I witnessed journalists and legal observers rounded up by the police and detained prior to mass arrests of hundreds.

A government that cannot tolerate the dissent of its citizens is a terrible burden upon freedom and democracy. The right to dissent plays a healthy, vital role in the national dialogue. It is only through dissent that we can often see the ugly face of actions which the wealthy and powerful would prefer to remain hidden. The victims of war deserve to be heard and the rights of the people should not be infringed upon by any force to express their dissent from policies which are morally abhorrent. It is my sincere hope that I never again witness state, local and federal police and security officials engaging in violent and intimidating gestures against the citizens they are suppose to be protecting and whose rights it is their responsibility to protect.

As a candidate for federal office I do not and will not support such excessive use of force and the wasteful spending of tens of millions of dollars in order to intimidate and suppress dissent. I will support the active and engaged expression of the concerns of citizens which is the hallmark of the democratic process.

for more information and archival coverage of
the DNC and RNC protests please visit:

http://www.democracynow.org/shows/2008/9
http://www.democracynow.org/shows/2008/8
http://mobilebroadcastnews.com/
http://www.youtube.com/chris4senate

The Right Wing marvels at Barack Obama wanting to provide Sex Education for children as young as five years old.

Ever wonder why they have such a problem with teaching kids how to avoid sexual predators?

From the Associated Press:

” Obama has said that means warning young children about sexual predators and explaining concepts like “good touch and bad touch.”

“It is shameful and downright perverse for the McCain campaign to use a bill that was written to protect young children from sexual predators as a recycled and discredited political attack against a father of two young girls,” Obama spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement.

Burton noted that in a recent interview with Time magazine, McCain refused to define ‘honor.’ “Now we know why,” Burton said.”

It’s very sad that Republicans would choose to allow children to be easy prey for sexual predators. But their motivation for that is clear….

* Republican anti-abortion activist Howard Scott Heldreth is a convicted child rapist in Florida.
* Republican County Commissioner David Swartz pleaded guilty to molesting two girls under the age of 11 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison.
* Republican judge Mark Pazuhanich pleaded no contest to fondling a 10-year old girl and was sentenced to 10 years probation.
* Republican anti-abortion activist Nicholas Morency pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on his computer and offering a bountyto anybody who murders an abortion doctor.
* Republican legislator Edison Misla Aldarondo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping his daughter between the ages of 9 and 17.
* Republican Mayor Philip Giordano is serving a 37-year sentence in federal prison for sexually abusing 8- and 10-year old girls.
* Republican campaign consultant Tom Shortridge was sentenced to three years probation for taking nude photographs of a 15-year old girl.
* Republican racist pedophile and United States Senator Strom Thurmond had sex with a 15-year old black girl which produced a child.
* Republican pastor Mike Hintz, whom George W. Bush commended during the 2004 presidential campaign, surrendered to police after admitting to a sexual affair with a female juvenile.
* Republican legislator Peter Dibble pleaded no contest to having an inappropriate relationship with a 13-year-old girl.
* Republican activist Lawrence E. King, Jr. organized child sex parties at the White House during the 1980s.
* Republican lobbyist Craig J. Spence organized child sex parties at the White House during the 1980s.
* Republican Congressman Donald “Buz” Lukens was found guilty of having sex with a female minor and sentenced to one month in jail.
* Republican fundraiser Richard A. Delgaudio was found guilty of child porn charges and paying two teenage girls to pose for sexual photos.
* Republican activist Mark A. Grethen convicted on six counts of sex crimes involving children.
* Republican activist Randal David Ankeney pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child.
* Republican Congressman Dan Crane had sex with a female minor working as a congressional page.
* Republican activist and Christian Coalition leader Beverly Russell admitted to an incestuous relationship with his step daughter.
* Republican congressman and anti-gay activist Robert Bauman was charged with having sex with a 16-year-old boy he picked up at a gay bar.
* Republican Committee Chairman Jeffrey Patti was arrested for distributing a video clip of a 5-year-old girl being raped.
* Republican activist Marty Glickman (a.k.a. “Republican Marty"), was taken into custody by Florida police on four counts of unlawful sexual activity with an underage girl and one count of delivering the drug LSD.
* Republican legislative aide Howard L. Brooks was charged with molesting a 12-year old boy and possession of child pornography.
* Republican Senate candidate John Hathaway was accused of having sex with his 12-year old baby sitter and withdrew his candidacy after the allegations were reported in the media.
* Republican preacher Stephen White, who demanded a return to traditional values, was sentenced to jail after offering $20 to a 14-year-old boy for permission to perform oral sex on him.
* Republican talk show host Jon Matthews pleaded guilty to exposing his genitals to an 11 year old girl.
* Republican anti-gay activist Earl “Butch” Kimmerling was sentenced to 40 years in prison for molesting an 8-year old girl after he attempted to stop a gay couple from adopting her.
* Republican Party leader Paul Ingram pleaded guilty to six counts of raping his daughters and served 14 years in federal prison.
* Republican election board official Kevin Coan was sentenced to two years probation for soliciting sex over the internet from a 14-year old girl.
* Republican politician Andrew Buhr was charged with two counts of first degree sodomy with a 13-year old boy.
* Republican politician Keith Westmoreland was arrested on seven felony counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition to girls under the age of 16 (i.e. exposing himself to children).
* Republican anti-abortion activist John Allen Burt was charged with sexual misconduct involving a 15-year old girl.
* Republican County Councilman Keola Childs pleaded guilty to molesting a male child.
* Republican activist John Butler was charged with criminal sexual assault on a teenage girl.
* Republican candidate Richard Gardner admitted to molesting his two daughters.
* Republican Councilman and former Marine Jack W. Gardner was convicted of molesting a 13-year old girl.
* Republican County Commissioner Merrill Robert Barter pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact and assault on a teenage boy.
* Republican City Councilman Fred C. Smeltzer, Jr. pleaded no contest to raping a 15 year-old girl and served 6-months in prison.
* Republican activist Parker J. Bena pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on his home computer and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined $18,000.
* Republican parole board officer and former Colorado state representative, Larry Jack Schwarz, was fired after child pornography was found in his possession.
* Republican strategist and Citadel Military College graduate Robin Vanderwall was convicted in Virginia on five counts of soliciting sex from boys and girls over the internet.
* Republican city councilman Mark Harris, who is described as a “good military man” and “church goer,” was convicted of repeatedly having sex with an 11-year-old girl and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
* Republican businessman Jon Grunseth withdrew his candidacy for Minnesota governor after allegations surfaced that he went swimming in the nude with four underage girls, including his daughter.
* Republican director of the “Young Republican Federation” Nicholas Elizondo molested his 6-year old daughter and was sentenced to six years in prison.
* Republican benefactor of conservative Christian groups, Richard A. Dasen Sr., was charged with rape for allegedly paying a 15-year old girl for sex. Dasen, 62, who is married with grown children and several grandchildren, has allegedly told police that over the past decade he paid more than $1 million to have sex with a large number of young women.

There’s two kinds of military personnel. “Poor Military” like the average soldier. Then there’s “Silver Spoon Military” which is John McCain and family.

John McSame and his brood are elitists and Megan’s mouth reveals that fact all too well as she disses other military families by by indicating that “no one knows what war is like other than my family, period” during an interview on the Today Show.

“no one knows what war is like other than my family, period” - Megan McCain

The case is weak, but in a Fascist state that matters not. The brave warriors that stood up and made the statement that sent chills of fear down the backs of Righty are being charged with “Terrorism".

Funny, three Nazis get caught in Denver with a room full of weapons and confessed to plotting to assassinate Barack Obama and they get low bail and average crime.

Fuck the Bush Administration, fuck the Republican party.
Payback is coming in November.

The heroic Amy Goodman of Democracy Now has the story. Posted in full just in case…

Eight Members of RNC Activist Group Lodged with Terrorism Charges.

Ramsey County prosecutors have formally charged eight members of a prominent activist group with conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism. The eight members of the RNC Welcoming Committee are believed to be the first persons ever charged under the 2002 Minnesota version of the federal PATRIOT Act. The activists face up to seven-and-a-half years in prison. We speak with the father of one of those charged and the president of the Minnesota chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. [includes rush transcript]

Guests:

Dave Bicking, father of Monica Bicking.

Bruce Nestor, President of the Minnesota chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.
Rush Transcript
This transcript is available free of charge. However, donations help us provide closed captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing on our TV broadcast. Thank you for your generous contribution.
Donate - $25, $50, $100, More…

AMY GOODMAN: Here in St. Paul, Ramsey County prosecutors have formally charged eight members of a prominent activist group with conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism. The eight members of the RNC Welcoming Committee are believed to be the first persons ever charged under the 2002 Minnesota version of the federal PATRIOT Act. The activists face up to seven-and-a-half years in prison.

Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner announced the charges at a news conference Wednesday.

SUSAN GAERTNER: Through this week, I’ve seen much about my great city to celebrate, but it also, in some ways, has been a sad and painful time for my community. We have watched as a few lawless people tried to overshadow the peaceful protests and the exercise of free speech rights by thousands of law-abiding citizens. Some of the people who allegedly planned illegal acts to disrupt the convention and our community were thwarted last week when law enforcement agencies executed warrants and made arrests at several locations. Today, my office has charged eight persons with the felony crime of conspiracy to commit riot in the second degree for their alleged criminal activities as members of the RNC Welcoming Committee. All but one of those persons are currently in custody.

AMY GOODMAN: According to the National Lawyers Guild, the criminal complaints filed by the Ramsey County Attorney do not allege that any of the defendants personally engaged in any act of violence or damage to property. Instead, authorities are seeking to hold the eight defendants responsible for acts committed by other individuals during the opening days of the Republican National Convention.

Most of the activists were arrested over the weekend in preemptive house raids. None of the defendants have any prior criminal history involving acts of violence. Authorities are basing their case on paid informants who infiltrated the group. The eight activists charged are Monica Bicking, Eryn Trimmer, Luce Gullen-Givens, Erik Oseland, Nathanael Secor, Robert Czernik, Garrett Fitzgerald and Max Specktor.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher explained the terrorism charges.

SHERIFF BOB FLETCHER: It allowed us to execute search warrants last Saturday, as you know, on the leadership of the Welcoming Committee. And frankly, that—severing that leadership from the organization skills from that entire process was huge, because a lot of these anarchist groups that came here were supposed to be dedicated to different intersections, different sectors of the city. And by taking those maps away really made it harder for them to coordinate their assault on our city. And we only removed ten percent of the problem, but the ten percent we removed was the coordinating aspect of it.

AMY GOODMAN: Two guests join me here in St. Paul, Minnesota: Bruce Nestor is president of the Minnesota chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, and David Bicking is the father of Monica Bicking, one of the eight activists charged with conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism. David Bicking lives in Minneapolis.

Welcome, both, here to our studios at Saint Paul Neighborhood Network, SPNN, public access. Well, why don’t we start with you, Bruce Nestor? Explain the significance of these charges.

BRUCE NESTOR: These charges are very significant for any political activist or anybody that cares about the right to organize politically or for freedom of speech. By equating plans or stated plans to blockade traffic and to try to disrupt the convention with acts of terrorism, the conspiracy nature of the charge, where you punish people for what they say or advocate, but not for what they do, really creates a possibility that anybody organizing a large-scale demonstration, at which civil disobedience may be a part of it or where other individuals may then engage in some type of property damage, creates the potential that all those organizers can be charged with these conspiracy charges and face significant penalties.

AMY GOODMAN: What does it mean, “in furtherance of terrorism”?

BRUCE NESTOR: In Minnesota, that was a law passed after the attacks in New York on September 11th. It kind of tracks the definition in the federal PATRIOT Act, which is any criminal act, in this case at least a felony, that’s designed to influence or coerce public opinion or to disrupt a public assembly. And so, my guess is that the charge is based upon the idea that there was an attempt to disrupt the RNC, which would be treated as a public assembly, even though they didn’t apply for a permit under St. Paul public assembly laws to do so.

AMY GOODMAN: David Bicking, your daughter Monica is one of the eight. First, can you talk about her, talk about her activities?

DAVID BICKING: Yeah. My daughter Monica is a wonderful person, very concerned—

AMY GOODMAN: How old is she?

DAVID BICKING: —very committed. She’s twenty-three. And she and all the people—I mean, the people they have charged here are not criminals. They’re some of the best people in our society. She’s really dedicated to her activism. She’s experienced activist already. She’s come about this through her own experience in her life over a long time. She is always concerned about the feelings of others.

She has done some travel abroad. And when she was eight, we were in Ecuador for four weeks, and she saw the poverty and the children begging, but also humanized it by playing with the children, the maids in the, you know, inexpensive hotels there. She has—went to Honduras for eight weeks after her junior year to work in a very remote village, humanitarian work.

After high school, she took off a year before college and worked as an intern with the American Friends Service Committee, which is a Quaker peace group. She was based in Chicago and helped in their organizing and their peace work and liaison with other groups.

So she has a lot of experience, and she’s really seen what it means when—you know, the United States’ actions through war, through injustice at home, through poverty and how that’s affected people’s lives. And it’s affected her very deeply. And so, she’s strong. She’ll get through this one way or the other.

AMY GOODMAN: Is she still in jail?

DAVID BICKING: She is still in jail right now.

AMY GOODMAN: When was she picked up? How was she picked up?

DAVID BICKING: She was picked up on Saturday morning at 8:00 in the morning. She was staying in her house, which she had just bought a month before. And there were several roommates there and a whole bunch of people who had come in for the week. And at 8:00 in the morning, they were woken out of a sound sleep. The police came banging through the back door, held everyone at gunpoint. They had automatic weapons, assault rifles, forced everybody—ordered them to the floor, face down, handcuffed them behind their backs and then proceeded to search the entire house, just ransack everything.

When I got there forty-five minutes later, she and her boyfriend Eryn and a housemate, Garrett, were already in one of these big black SUVs they have, you know, and were taken off to jail just after that. And then, for the next hour or so, they released the other people in the house one by one, after photographing them, checking ID and searching them.

Then the search of the house went on for another like six hours probably, as they carted all sort of stuff out of the house. I watched, you know, as they took things out of the garage. There were old tires. I suppose those could be burned someplace. You know, there were just the sort of things homeowners would have, especially people fixing up a house. Many cans of paint, each which was patiently labeled and loaded onto the truck. It was just an absurd, absurd overreaction.

AMY GOODMAN: What is the RNC Welcoming Committee?

DAVID BICKING: The RNC Welcoming Committee is a group that defines itself as anarchist or anti-authoritarian. And she was working with them very closely, as were these other people. They saw their role as facilitating the protests and the actions around the Republican National Convention this week. Their major function was to help other people from out of town come and express what they wanted to express and do what they wanted to do to protest or to resist the convention.

So they spent a lot of time setting up housing, medics, legal support, child care, but, of course, also—and of more interest to the authorities—helped coordinate some strategies, helped people brainstorm about what sorts of things could be done or what would be effective. And so, members of the Welcoming Committee traveled around the country meeting with similar groups around the country to talk to them so that people could, as a whole, come to some agreement of how—not necessarily all use the strategy, all the same tactic, but how their actions could be coordinated, instead of at odds with each other. So, they were not planning the activities of this week, but rather helping others to plan and forming some sort of consensus so that this could all work and people could come here and do what they planned to do.

AMY GOODMAN: How much time do they face?

DAVID BICKING: Up to seven-and-a-half years under these charges.

AMY GOODMAN: Have you seen Monica in jail?

DAVID BICKING: She was released for a few days and then is back in again. So I’ve been able to talk to her about her experiences in jail and talk to her a little bit about all of this, and she could tell me more about how she experienced the house raid and the effect it had on her.

AMY GOODMAN: Her boyfriend, also one of those arrested, he’s in jail.

DAVID BICKING: Yes. Eryn Trimmer, yes. Another fine man. You know, as a father, I couldn’t be happier with her choice of a partner. Very committed individual, also kind of quiet, but very dedicated, yes.

AMY GOODMAN: Bruce Nestor, there have been over 300 arrests.

BRUCE NESTOR: That’s right. A number of felony arrests on probable cause that just started to go—

AMY GOODMAN: Explain what that means, “on probable cause.”

BRUCE NESTOR: It just means that the police officer is allowed to charge someone based upon their description of events. It doesn’t go through a prosecutor or a judge. In Minnesota, that allowed anybody arrested on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday to be held until noon on Wednesday.

AMY GOODMAN: Because Labor Day was Monday, so it goes beyond—it can only be business days?

BRUCE NESTOR: That’s right. And then a judge actually signed an order extending that thirty-six-hour to forty-eight-hour period. A number of the—

AMY GOODMAN: So, ultimately, it just keeps them through the Republican National Convention.

BRUCE NESTOR: That’s correct.

AMY GOODMAN: In jail. I mean, we saw this in New York in 2004, the protests of the Republican National Convention. This was under Mayor Bloomberg. They then—the police there arrested over 1,800 people. Hundreds have been—you know, the charges were all dropped against them, but it was just clearing the streets until afterwards. And then they just—the city dealt with the consequences of having falsely arrested them in the years to come.

BRUCE NESTOR: What we’re seeing here is not quite as widespread, but it’s a similar pattern. The charges started to go through the court system yesterday. I believe about a third of the felony charges were dismissed outright, and then a number of others were reduced to misdemeanor and referred to the city prosecutor for charging. And so, it’s that same type of preventive detention or a sweep where there’s no effort to distinguish between who’s caught up in a mass detention, whether it’s journalists, journalist students from the University of Kansas being detained—

AMY GOODMAN: Kentucky, right. In fact, when I was arrested on Monday, just before the police wagon took off from this parking lot, where the police had arrested so many on these PC riot charges, probable cause riot, a young woman from the University of Kentucky was brought in. And she’s one of those who—they remain in jail?

BRUCE NESTOR: They—

AMY GOODMAN: The two students and their teacher.

BRUCE NESTOR: I believe they may have now been—now been released. But, for instance, my neighborhood hardware store owner, Republican family, his son was out riding a bicycle, got caught up in a mass sweep and just got out yesterday, after being held for almost a day and a half. So not just journalists are being targeted and caught up—also caught up in sweeps, just citizens out in the streets are getting swept up. And there’s no effort or mechanism on the part of the police to distinguish between who do they have evidence against to arrest and try to prosecute, which we can deal with in the court system, or do they just sweep people up and keep them in custody and let it all sort out afterward.

In fact, St. Paul actually negotiated a special insurance provision with the Republican Host Committee so that the first $10 million in liability for lawsuits arising from the convention will be covered by the Host Committee. The city is very proud of this negotiation. It’s the first time it’s been negotiated between a city and the Host Committee. But it basically means we can commit wrongdoing, and we won’t have to pay for it.

AMY GOODMAN: Wait, one more time, explain how the money will work.

BRUCE NESTOR: They negotiated an agreement where the first $10 million in damages arising from any lawsuits against the city related to the city’s actions during the convention will be covered by insurance or by the Republican Host Committee, separate from the city’s own insurance coverage and own—or own financial reserves.

AMY GOODMAN: Last comment: is Monica afraid right now? Is she sorry she was involved with organizing protests around the Republican National Convention?

DAVID BICKING: Absolutely not. She’s going to continue her work, because, I mean, the work she is doing is far more important than, you know, the legal consequences, whatever they may be. So, no, she’s confident, she’s strong, she’s experienced. While this is an outrageous violation of people’s rights, outrageous imposition on people’s lives, it’s nevertheless something which is not entirely unexpected, and she knew that going in.

AMY GOODMAN: David Bicking, I want to thank you for being with us, father of Monica Bicking, one of the eight activists charged with conspiracy to riot in the furtherance of terrorism. Bruce Nestor, I’d like to ask you to stay. When we come back, we’ll be joined by the head of I-Witness Video collective, Eileen Clancy. Her organization, now in town for the Republican convention, has been raided twice in these, quote, “preemptive” raids. We’ll find out the latest.

McCain/Palin is a loser of a ticket if I’ve ever seen one. Seems Republican talking heads feel the McSame way.

‘Nuff said.

Once again the Right feels the sting of the Fighters of Peace. We have been soft and passive for far too long.

It’s about time we struck back.

It’s been a long time since the sixties. It’s good to see that some of us still realize that mud and slime is the only thing Repiglikans understand.

We’ve been peaceful long enough. Change came with the radical element forty years ago, and that’s the only thing that’s going to bring about change now.
Passive is good, but when Righty thinks he can do as he pleases with our rights without retribution, it’s appropriate to remind him that we are generally peaceable by CHOICE. Not because we ‘re afraid to fight for what we believe in. Even Jesus and Ghandi acknowledged the fact that sometimes the enemy won’t settle for anything less than aggression. That’s the way this country was originally liberated, it’s the only way to re-liberate it now.

The time for outreach has passed. Action is the only option we have left.

Keep fighting, martyrs! We will make them fear us.

From the NY Times:

By PATRICK HEALY and COLIN MOYNIHAN
Published: September 1, 2008

ST. PAUL — Thousands of protesters, many of them demonstrating against the war in Iraq, marched on Monday through the streets outside the arena where the Republican National Convention is being held, with some smashing windows and battling with the police in clashes that led to more than 250 arrests.

Although most of the protesters were peaceful, the police used pepper spray and long wooden sticks to subdue some; several demonstrators also said police officers fired projectiles at them.

In one confrontation downtown, as several dozen demonstrators milled around and danced in the streets, police officers wearing helmets, padded vests and shin guards converged on the group. As the two sides faced off and tensions rose, the police squirted pepper spray into the crowd.

“I saw the cops shooting,” said a man who gave his name as Jude Ortiz. Orange foam lay on the pavement, along with a red cloth object the size of a finger that contained beads.

A commander in the St. Paul Police Department, Doug Holtz, said he knew nothing about projectiles being used near Jackson Street, where one of the most intense confrontations took place.

Cops getting asses thoroughly kicked

More later;

Nothing too extreme, but just what the Doctor ordered. It’s time that Americans woke up to the treason, troop-murder and anti-constitutional activities of the Republican party.

….and it looks like we have.

We’ve been quiet way too long. Truth, justice, liberty…all have been violated by an administration, and it’s supporters, to the point of anarchy. Time to fight fire with fire.

From the San Francisco Gate:

(09-01) 19:12 PDT St. Paul, Minn. –

Police used pepper spray and tear gas to quell breakaway demonstrators from an otherwise peaceful antiwar demonstration today outside the Republican National Convention, after the splinter groups smashed department store and police car windows.

At least 78 demonstrators were arrested - including Amy Goodman, host of the nationally broadcast television and radio program “Democracy Now"- as police clashed with roaming groups of protesters. Nearly half of the arrests were for misdemeanor charges.

More than 2,000 federal, state, and local law enforcement officials, many in full riot gear, lined the parade route to keep the estimated 10,000 marchers from straying from their permitted march. Later in the day, police motorcycles escorted buses carrying convention delegates to and from the Xcel Energy Center, as police shut down large sections of the downtown.

Yep, even peace loving Amy Goodman was arrested. What a scene it was. Liberal America is finally speaking out in the tradition of our revolutionary forefathers and we have been heard.

This is how we do it from now on.

“It’s my bike, mine! Waaaaa!”

“No Fucking Way”


“Run! Hippies on the war path!”

Martyr

More later…..