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Evan's RNC Diary
Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace:
Poverty, Income, and Health Insurance: What to Expect and Why It Really Matters
Jared Bernstein
Democracy and Elections:
Troops Abroad Donate 6:1 to Obama Over McCain
Luke Rosiak
DrugReporter:
Unlocking the Power of Art to Counter Injustice
Anthony Papa
Election 2008:
I Spent Years as a POW with John McCain, and His Finger Should Not Be Near the Red Button
Phillip Butler
Environment:
Why T. Boone Pickens' 'Clean Energy' Plan Is a Ponzi Scheme
Scott Thill
ForeignPolicy:
Russia and Georgia: All About Oil
Michael T. Klare
Health and Wellness:
Medical Tourism Is Great -- for Those Who Can Afford It
Niko Karvounis
Hurricane Katrina:
From the Bayou to Baghdad: Mission Not Accomplished
Amy Goodman
Immigration:
American Legion Immigration Report Replete With Falsehoods
Sonia Scherr
Media and Technology:
Communication Breakdown: How Cell Phones Hurt Communities
Benjamin Dangl
Movie Mix:
Protest over Use of the Word 'Retard' in Stiller's 'Tropic Thunder' Misses the Target
Annabelle Gurwitch
Reproductive Justice and Gender:
Why Obama Should Pick Hillary
Lanny Davis
Rights and Liberties:
Who Will Crash the Democratic and Republican Conventions?
Michael Gould-Wartofsky
Sex and Relationships:
The Things Women Go Through to Attract Men ...
Cheryl Saban
War on Iraq:
Robin Long, War Resister Deported from Canada, Faces Trial This Week
Sarah Lazare
Water:
Water for All: The Leaders of a New Revolution
Jay Walljasper
*************************
Sept. 2
3-5pm Up and down 7th ave and back again.
Trolling the streets for a pass to the RNC's final evening in the supersaturated afternoon heat reminds me of something. When I was a kid we'd run around my small suburb looking for vacant backyard pools. Hours of searching followed by a dip in the warm, dirty, petri dish covered with an unsavory layer of gooey, decomposing leaves. In other words: the treasure ain't worth the voyage.
Still, I give it a go for several hours. It proves an excellent opportunity to speak with volunteers, press, and guests, but curiously few delegates deign to respond. And who can blame them? "Excuse me, I'm looking for the California delegation so I can get a pass..." They spy my gingham shirt and, perform, no doubt some intricate Republican calculus, determine that I'm not kosher – except they probably don't think the word "kosher" – and write me off.
The best reaction by far didn't involve delegates at all. After spouting my spiel to a dressy couple with rolly suitcases, the woman turned back and screamed, "What, you thought we were one of them?! We would never go in there! How dare you!"
Am I supposed to tell Republicans by their horns? I thought so much of what was odious in the Republican lifestyle had to do with its discrimination based on external cues, characteristics, and qualities. Too often those who don't look right or present properly but are otherwise huge bastards are excluded from that mix.
***********
2 pm Union Square
Question:
Why don't black helicopters work as the official vehicle of The Conspiracy Theory anymore?
Answer:
Because they don't provide any space for advertising. But the Fuji blimp fills that role, because it's doubling as an NYPD surveillance vehicle. As I entered Union Square, I did noticed an older bearded man pointing at the sky. Or, no, he wasn't pointing, he was giving it the finger. I asked why he was giving the Fuji blimp the finger and he giggled. "Look real close and you can see the NYPD lettering on the side." He went on: "They can see your socks! Well, not yours, your jeans cover them but mine, they can see mine."
The revolution-smashing will be televised. And sponsored. It's becoming clear who the real beneficiary of the convention actually is: Poland Spring. On Sunday, bottles of Poland Spring water were distributed to marchers. Today, I watched as police distributed the very same little bottles of Poland Spring amongst themselves. If they're a publicly-traded corporation, you'll find me buying in.
****************************
September 1
29th st. and 6th ave – 12 PM
The perfect metaphor unfolds.
The cops have been, for the most part, individually, extremely kind and human. When you look into their eyes you can tell they understand, if not the anger, then the fact that protest is natural, human. Several days ago I questioned some officers standing next to a group of Anarchists calling them alien fascist pigs. The cops didn't just spout rhetoric about free speech and tolerance, they spoke of it warmly – like they would about a relative or a puppy.
This same police force, however, has tackled young girls to the pavement, wrongfully arrested dozens of people, and harrassed numerous protesters and citizens whenever Republicans are near. I experienced this myself while simply interviewing people on the street. I've been threatened with arrest for taking photos. One undercover cop told me that I didn't have a right to stand on the street.
And while trying to figure out how to capture all this, I went and stood near some Republican volunteers. Most of them were kids, not fooled by me for a minute. Despite my shiny new spats, it was crystal clear that I was not of them. No matter, if Bush can say some of the things he says – on national TV no less – I figure these kids might be brazen enough to give me a juicy quote.
Their conversation was as dull as the music being piped out of the convention – until one girl approached a nearby cop.
He smiled at her, and in earshot of fifty people, out of nowhere as far as I was concerned, she yelled: "Do a dance for me!" He smiled and looked around sheepishly. It was clear that he wanted to, but he was too shy.
He needn't worry. The cops have already danced admirably for the Republicans.
*******
August 31 –
Sotheby's, 72nd Street and York Avenue – 4:30pm
Outside the RNC today there was Johnny Cash and nothing else. Just kidding. But consider it for a moment. It's a nice thought.
The story goes like this: property from the estate of Johnny and June Carter Cash will be auctioned off at Sotheby's sometime in the near future. Some convention planning committee thought it'd be nice for the delegates from Tennessee to spend some of the precious few hours they have in New York City to trek uptown to Sotheby's for a sneak preview of the goods of a genius forever associated with, umm, Tennessee.
Johnny Cash fans on the political left do not, it is now abundantly clear, take kindly to their musical hero being exploited for political gain. He's not 9/11, for chrissakes.
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| More News and Analysis: | ||
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Who Will Crash the Democratic and Republican Conventions? Democracy and Elections: As a new generation of activists gears up to take to the streets in Denver and the Twin Cities, can they create democracy from outside? By Michael Gould-Wartofsky, The Nation. August 21, 2008. |
Russia and Georgia: All About Oil ForeignPolicy: This struggle started when the former Soviet republics began seeking Western customers for their oil and natural gas. By Michael T. Klare, Foreign Policy in Focus. August 21, 2008. |
Poverty, Income, and Health Insurance: What to Expect and Why It Really Matters Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: Going back to the 1940s, we've never completed an economic expansion where the middle-class family income failed to regain its prior peak. By Jared Bernstein, Huffington Post. August 21, 2008. |