Let The Festivities Begin

Seen down the street, in a duplex usually clogged with Hamline University kids whose yard has been slathered with hand-drawn “STOP THE RNC” placards for the past week; five mohawked, black-in-head-to-toe clad college kids with black and red “Anarchist” flags staggering out into the street, milling about…

…and climbing into a late-model minivan.

21 thoughts on “Let The Festivities Begin

  1. Hey, maybe they’re cops – St. Paul P.D. has been cruising around the Smith Avenue “protest staging area” in minivans for the last few days and nights.

  2. The Bill Ayres wing of the left is at it again, attempting to plunge a nation (Iraq) into repression and civil war. Because if democracy doesn’t yield the results you desire, then democracy has to go. Fascists.

    As of 1:45 p.m., authorities reported five arrests, all stemming from property damage at Smith and Grand avenues. Five people were arrested for lighting a dumpster on fire and pushing it into a police car, said police spokesman Tom Walsh.

    http://www.startribune.com/politics/27736044.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUX

  3. From the Instapundit:

    RAN INTO JIM HOFT OF GATEWAY PUNDIT on my way into the Xcel Center. His bus was attacked by protesters who dropped sandbags from an overpass, but he was unscathed.

  4. Terry-

    Sandbags have a PERFECTLY LEGITIMATE household function, don’t you know? They serve against Mississippi River floods, after all! There’s no need to suspect these protestors of anything but law-abiding free-speech activities, even if they have manifestoes, YouTube ™ statements, flyers plastered on local colleges…nope, no reason at all. I’m sure the pampered darlings would never think to damage property in their exercise of their Constitutional right to protest.

  5. “…black-in-head-to-toe clad college kids with black and red “Anarchist” flags…”

    Fox News reports about Monday’s “activities”:

    “The violent demonstrators were mostly dressed in black and described themselves as anarchists. Most of the violence occurred in pockets of a neighborhood near downtown, several blocks from the Xcel Energy Center, where the convention was taking place.”

    Nearly 3/4 of a century before Jonah Goldberg wrote “Liberal Fascism”, F.A. Hayek wrote “The Road to Serfdom”, stating nearly the same theme. Fascism is dangerous, & our so called “Progressives” are truly infatuated with its methods.

    In the late 1920s & early 1930s, when it was Hitler out making inspiring & mesmerizing oratories to tens of thousands of spell bound people, there was a group of thugs called the “Brown Shirts.” They roamed the streets, violently impressing their views upon those they thought stood in the way of the National Socialists.

    Could it be that we are witnessing the rise of the Black Shirts?

  6. From the NY Times:

    In one of the most chaotic moments, members of the Republican delegation from Connecticut said they were shoved and spat upon by protesters near the convention hall, according to the state party’s executive director, Heath Fahle. He wrote an item on the party’s blog describing a “human chain” of protesters who tried to block Republicans at a security perimeter near the convention site. Besides the shoving and spitting, the protesters shouted epithets at the dozens of delegates, Mr. Fahle wrote.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/us/politics/02protest.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

    The best in the article is yet to come:

    Not everyone followed the rules, however. Near the start of the march, two women and a young man secured themselves with chains to a car that obstructed traffic.

    “I would like a world of direct democracy,” said one man, who gave his name as Alex, as he was led away by officers.

    Let’s be clear. These fascists want nothing to do with ‘direct democracy’. In their world every political decision (eg public policy decision) has been already been made, it merely needs to be implemented. They are doing their best to defeat direct democracy. They want to control the wealth the workers have produced and direct it towards realizing their own goals, not the goals of the workers.
    They deserve the contempt of everyone who believes in that in America the people should choose their government. Hopefully they will at least get a few hours in jail.

  7. “…black-in-head-to-toe clad college kids with black and red “Anarchist” flags…”

    Fox News reports about Monday’s “activities”:

    “The violent demonstrators were mostly dressed in black and described themselves as anarchists. Most of the violence occurred in pockets of a neighborhood near downtown, several blocks from the Xcel Energy Center, where the convention was taking place.”

    Nearly 3/4 of a century before Jonah Goldberg wrote “Liberal Fascism”, F.A. Hayek wrote “The Road to Serfdom”, stating nearly the same theme. Fascism is dangerous, & our so called “Progressives” are truly infatuated with its methods.

    In the late 1920s & early 1930s, when it was Hitler out making inspiring & mesmerizing oratories to tens of thousands of spell bound people, there was a group of thugs called the “Brown Shirts.” They roamed the streets, violently impressing their views upon those they thought stood in their way. Hitler claimed to have no control or connection to them, but their agenda clearly followed that of the National Socialists.

    Could it be that we are witnessing the rise of the Black Shirts?

  8. Well, if only more people had shown up with Col. Joe’s signs, none of this would have happened.

    How many of you made it? I only counted 15, but I’m sure there were others milling about somewhere.

  9. I was there about 5 hours, I think we probably maxed out at about 150. Wish Mitch could have made it, but understandably family comes first. My impression of the protestors? Young foul mouthed and dirty. Slogan chanting sheeple who were shocked and offended that people didn’t share their opinions. I was flipped the bird several times by dirty little cretins who would have cleaned up nicely.

  10. Sorry for the double post y’all! my 2 year old Compaq occasionally has issues here… I should have posted from my 8 year old Apple G4, which still kicks my PC’s ass!

  11. “I only counted 15, but I’m sure there were others milling about somewhere.”

    Discordianstooj= Peev? Trying to sound like you have personal experience in something you know nothing about? Totally Peevish!

  12. Take a picture of it, including the license plate, send it to St. Paul’s finest. Might help put an end to this kind of nonsense.

    Even better, if it were possible, would be to send a picture to the owner of the van, who might decide that he wasn’t going to fund Junior’s political activism any more. But I don’t think you can search vehicle registrations unless you’re an officer or detective, can you?

  13. Mr. Shirt = Asshole? Calling people a liar without knowing who he’s talking to? Totally asshole.

    I’m a Minneapolis cop who was on bike patrol in St. Paul during the march, which means I was mobile. I was seriously looking for signs. I was then stopped by Mickey’s Diner during much of the march, which is were I saw several Support Our Troops signs, and was where I thought you would be standing.

  14. If true, please accept my sincere apology. (honestly, not sarcasm, I’m sorry)

    The photo posted of the protesters has 17 people in it two of which are hard to see, leaving 15. Apparently just a coincidence.

  15. http://apnews.excite.com/article/20080902/D92U955O0.html

    My emphasis:

    Members of the Connecticut delegation said they were attacked by protesters when they got off their bus near the Xcel Center, KMSP-TV reported. Delegate Rob Simmons told the station that a group of protesters came toward his delegation and tried to rip the credentials off their necks and sprayed them with a toxic substance that burned their eyes and stained their clothes.

    One 80-year-old member of the delegation had to be treated for injuries, and several other delegates had to rinse their eyes and clothing, the station reported.

    Five people were arrested for lighting a trash bin on fire and pushing it into a police car, St. Paul police spokesman Tom Walsh said. Authorities didn’t have immediate details on the other arrests.

    The antiwar march was organized by a group called the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, whose leaders said they hoped for a peaceful, family-friendly event. But police were on high alert after months of preparations by a self-described anarchist group called the RNC Welcoming Committee, which wasn’t among the organizers of the march.

  16. Now with more emphasis!
    http://apnews.excite.com/article/20080902/D92U955O0.html

    My emphasis:

    Members of the Connecticut delegation said they were attacked by protesters when they got off their bus near the Xcel Center, KMSP-TV reported. Delegate Rob Simmons told the station that a group of protesters came toward his delegation and tried to rip the credentials off their necks and sprayed them with a toxic substance that burned their eyes and stained their clothes.

    One 80-year-old member of the delegation had to be treated for injuries, and several other delegates had to rinse their eyes and clothing, the station reported.

    Five people were arrested for lighting a trash bin on fire and pushing it into a police car, St. Paul police spokesman Tom Walsh said. Authorities didn’t have immediate details on the other arrests.

    The antiwar march was organized by a group called the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, whose leaders said they hoped for a peaceful, family-friendly event. But police were on high alert after months of preparations by a self-described anarchist group called the RNC Welcoming Committee, which wasn’t among the organizers of the march.

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