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Wednesday, September 1
NYC Police Action Gets Out of Hand
by
Linda Thieman
on Wed 01 Sep 2004 04:17 PM CDT
 NYC Police Action Gets Out of Hand
Outgunned, Outmatched
AlterNet.org
The
NYPD protester strategy on Tuesday was akin to the U.S. military's
display of overwhelming and sometimes unnecessary force in Iraq
Tuesday,
August 31 – The day protesters had designated as "direct action" day
certainly lived up to its billing, but not as they had planned. As the
second day of Republican convention speeches dragged on a few blocks
away at Madison Square Garden, an extremely aggressive New York Police
Department pre-empted protest actions, trapped marchers in no-escape
cul de sacs, and surrounded groups and individuals in orange netting as
though they were capturing schools of fish. Police arrested hundreds
(the New York Times reports at least 900), perhaps more than 1,000.
Most of the arrested were young people who were merely exercizing their
right to free and peaceful assembly.
Early
police skirmishes broke out on the steps of the Public Library at 42nd
street and 5th Avenue at around 5:45 PM. This spread to Herald Square
in front of Macy's, to Union Square and to areas around Madison Square
Park near 26th Street and Park Avenue. In some cases, cops arrested
large numbers, while in other cases they kept protestors hemmed in,
immobile, for hours. Sometimes dispersal warnings were given; often the
police didn't bother before pulling out the handcuffs.
(more)
Protesters Play Hardball
AlterNet.org
Arrests, agent provocateurs, and a wide mix of protesting hit New York's Herald Square
The
protests had been fairly peaceful, and the police had been fairly...
fair. That all changed at an ad hoc protest on Tuesday evening in the
busy shopping district around Herald Square in Manhattan, where dozens
of arrests involved, at times, the unnecessary use of force. It began
with just a handful of protesters shouting at an outdoor taping of
MSNBC’s Hardball in the square at around 6:30 pm.
According
to witnesses, police began to fence off every street corner in a three
block radius worried that these MSNBC hecklers and others would focus
their attacks on a group of RNC delegates en route to the convention.
This created paths that only delegates were permitted to use. The
arrests and senseless shows of force started when protesters got stuck
behind the netting.
According
to Al Bond, a 43-year old professor from Oregon, two girls jumped the
police fence to cross the street. Bond said, "Police caught up and
tackled them to the pavement. One girl was so small, and she fell face
first against the pavement. She must have broken her jaw. The cops
didn’t have to do that."
(more)
News and Notes from Deanland and DFIA
by
Linda Thieman
on Wed 01 Sep 2004 01:02 PM CDT
New Book Out Soon: “The Tea Is In The Harbor”
Scott
Goldstein, a DFA 2.0 intern, and active member of Generation Dean, has
announced that his new book, “The Tea Is In The Harbor,” will be out in October.
“The Tea
is in the Harbor” discusses the fight for Democracy in America, the
role of the Howard Dean Presidential campaign, and the work still ahead
to take back our Democracy. The book begins with the history of
Democracy, coming from the system first used by the Ancient Greeks, and
how the Americans came to adopt and change that system.
Click here to buy the book.
Dean Gets Some Props re Dean Dozen
Howard
Dean recently received some props for his creation of Democracy for
America and for the effectiveness of his Dean Dozen program.
Click here to read the article from “The Nation.”
From NPR: "Former Democratic
presidential candidate Howard Dean is proving to be a highly effective
fundraiser and campaigner for Democrats running for state and local
offices across the country. Dubbed the "Dean Dozens," these candidates
have so far received some $300,000 from Dean's political action
committee."
Click here to listen to the NPR story about DFA and Howard Dean.
Darrell Lewis and DFIA Host Parties September 12
In case you missed the announcement, DFIA will be hosting two parties in Iowa City on September 12.
The
first is a fundraiser for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and
the party that follows directly afterwards will be sponsored by DFIA in
order to introduce our candidates to the gay community.
For details, click here.
Five-month Anniversary of Blog for Iowa
My how
time flies. Today, Blog for Iowa is five months old. In
spite of the fact that we didn’t have any big events (such as the
Democratic State Convention in June and the Democratic National
Convention in July) that created spikes in our readership as in
previous months, we still broke our record
with 35,527 page views in
August.
I’d like
to take this opportunity to thank the many, many contributors to Blog
for Iowa, without whom I’d just be sitting at my computer, posting into
the ether.
CNN Refuses to Air Gay Republican Ad
by
Linda Thieman
on Wed 01 Sep 2004 10:01 AM CDT
CNN Refuses to Air Gay Republican Ad
ChicagoPride.com
Log Cabin Republicans will not endorse Bush re-[s]election bid during convention
ATLANTA,
GA - CNN has informed the Log Cabin Republicans that it will not air
their new television advertising campaign, which is a response to the
politics of fear and intolerance.
Unlike CNN, other broadcast outlets are airing the ad. CNN claims that images in the ad are "too controversial."
"We are
deeply disappointed that CNN has refused our voices the opportunity to
be heard. Last week we told the Republican Party that you cannot
sugarcoat the vicious and mean-spirited platform, today we want CNN to
know that you cannot sugarcoat the politics of fear and intolerance
that lead to hate," said Log Cabin Executive Director Patrick Guerriero.
The
30-second commercial is being broadcast during the Republican National
Convention in New York City and on other cable stations nationwide. The
ad begins with footage from President Ronald Reagan's 1992 speech at
the Republican National Convention in Houston. President Reagan said,
"Whatever else history may say about me when I'm gone, I hope it will
record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears." The
commercial offers a clear choice for the GOP: follow President Reagan's
lead by uniting Republicans on common beliefs or follow Jerry Falwell,
Pat Buchanan and Rick Santorum's lead by dividing the GOP with an
intolerant social agenda based on fear and exclusion. The ad closes
with images of Fred Phelps holding a sign that reads "God
Hates F---," at the funeral of hate crime victim Matthew Shepard.
The ad can be viewed at www.logcabin.org.
(more)
Scandal Rocks DFA: Some Calling It TieGate
by
Linda Thieman
on Wed 01 Sep 2004 05:01 AM CDT
Scandal Rocks DFA: Some Calling It TieGate
By Linda Thieman
It was reported yesterday on Blog for America
that DFA Communications Director Laura Gross is thisclose to losing her
job over the disappearance of Gov. Howard Dean’s favorite tie.
Gross
went public with the fiasco just last night, but the tie actually went
missing the week of August 2nd while Gov. Dean was hosting “Topic A
with Tina Brown” in a New Jersey studio.
Gross
claimed she had been put in charge of four ties that day so that the
former Vermont governor could try several alternatives to see which one
looked best on camera.
 
Dean wearing the tie in question (left) and
the $65 replacement suggested by the Crushies.
The tie
in question was a sentimental favorite of Dean’s, having been a gift
from his mother AND the tie that he wore when he gave his speech at the
Democratic National Convention and in all the Democratic presidential
debates.
The missing tie was dark blue with a small whale pattern.
Authorities,
suspicious that only the whale tie went missing, suspect something
fishy – perhaps a right-wing conspiracy - and in spite of retracing
Gross’ steps, came up with nothing but a cold, wet, slimy theory.
The Crushies for Dean,
on the other hand, jumped into action and found a reasonable facsimile
of the tie for sale on the web. The fact that the copy is silk
makes it pretty pricy, but the Crushies intend to put up a bat to take
up a collection to replace the missing cravate.
One
Crushie, sensing a golden opportunity, asked Gross if it would be
possible for her to also lose the Governor’s other favorite tie, the
red one with the jelly beans on it. Gross has declined to comment
on the request.
TieGate has replaced the Republican National Convention as the top
story on every newscast and on the front page of every newspaper in
America, while CNN has shown photos of Dean wearing the tie some 697
times in just under 12 hours.
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