More depressing shit from MN.

I can't bring myself to read or watch re-caps from the "official" events that went down last night at the RNC. I'm still reeling and trying to stay on top of the aftermath of the unconscionable police brutality and suppression of Constitutional rights that seems to have been the seedy underbelly of what I assume was an otherwise candy-coated political spectacle. Quite frankly, I don't care what Sarah fucking Palin or the (chuh) "Maverick" had to say (since I doubt I agreed with any of it, anyway)...unless they dressed down the agencies whose members were attacking peaceful protesters. Which is about as likely as a snowball fight between Mother Teresa and Mahatma Ghandi in Satan's backyard.

More information about what's gone and is going down in the Twin Cities:

• "Logical Consequences", a nice summation by Bob Keohler.


• Another re-cap, complete with protestations that pre-emptive arrests made for less violence once the protests actually started.


• Astonishing! Apparently the city of St. Paul made the GOP cover the professional liability insurance needed to cover police forces' potential for excessive use of force during the RNC. If (hahaha) any brutalized protesters file suit, the damages wouldn't come out of taxpayers' pockets. Smart on St. Paul's part...not so much on the GOP's part. (Although - because it's what I do for a living and all - I'm wondering if $10 million plus expenses is a high enough limit.)


• The ACLU renews their call for an investigation.


• "RNC 8" charged under the (so-called) Patriot Act.Because Food Not Bombs organizers are totally the same fucking thing as terrorists.


• HuffPo talks about how the media (and St. Paul's mayor Chris Coleman) isn't talking about the trampling of the free press.


• Accounts from the arrested Democracy Now! journalists.


• Get the latest from Twin Cities Indy Media. Demonstrations, legal efforts, and crazy crackdowns continue today.

The world is filled with violence and political oppression, I know this. I know that this sort of thing is a regular occurrence in so many parts of the world, and the illusion that America is somehow exempted from this fact is one that could certainly be dispersed to the benefit of people everywhere. I know that police beating the shit out of a man for no reason other than he was in front of them can't even begin to compare to the genocides going on around the globe every single day with just as much broad governmental support.

What makes this so bitter for me is the fact that it flies in the face not only of the high-falutin' patriotic rhetoric of an election season, but also of the actual values and ideals that underlie that rhetoric. If the "American Dream" ever had a single drop of truth, if this really ever was the "land of the free," why is this situation so fucking unremarkable that it's not being shouted from the rooftops? Is the power structure and the free press that's supposed to be the people's watchdog....is it all so bought-and-paid-for that come corporate or political puppeteer is pulling the strings and keeping the focus on the courageous cops who keep defending the Fair Citizens of St. Paul from Those Crazy Anarchists?!

Is the Bill of Rights a joke? I feel like this bullshit is a punchline, but I'm not laughing.