There will be a different story this week at the Republican convention in St. Paul. With Hurricane Gustav preparing to ravage the gulf coast, the surprise and skepticism surrounding the Palin pick, and protesters planning to make a scene throughout the week there will be plenty of news to be found at the RNC. The Republican party will work hard to appear excited and unified, and will likely spend a good deal of time attacking the Democrats. They will discuss the inexperience of Obama, and then tell the nation how Sarah Palin is ready to lead. They will discuss how McCain is a maverick and represents change, and at the same time try not to tear down their current leader George W. Bush. Last week was exciting and refreshing, this week should prove to be interesting, but not necessarily because of the success of the convention.
Below are some articles that will give a taste of some of the headlines coming out of the RNC this week.
Seth Lovell
Today's March Still On
By Mara H. Gottfried and Bob Shaw - Pioneer Press Protesters hoping to sponsor one of the biggest marches in state history today say police raids in the Twin Cities and a hurricane on the Gulf Coast won't stop them.Despite the absence of two key members of their target audience — President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney — the march will go on, protest organizer Jess Sundin said at a news conference Sunday.
She predicted 50,000 protesters from 125 local and national groups would march to protest the war in Iraq. Speeches and events begin at the state Capitol at 11 a.m., and the march starts at 1 p.m.
"This is the time, this most important time, to be in the streets," said Sundin, an organizer with the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War. "The eyes of the world are on St. Paul tomorrow."
Today's events at the RNC have been slashed to about two hours, and McCain spokesmen said Sunday the rest of the convention is in limbo.
Will that diminish the impact of the protest?
"Not at all. We have been planning this for two years. We have 200 volunteers," Sundin said. "If you want to see what the democratic process looks like, look at the streets of St. Paul tomorrow."
They planned the protest for Labor Day, so thousands of people could join them without skipping work, which is why it's impractical to postpone it.
Other, smaller protests will continue through Thursday, conducted by the coalition's member groups.
Meanwhile, the Ramsey County sheriff's office confirmed a
sixth person had been arrested Saturday in its investigation into the RNC Welcoming Committee, an anarchist group. On Friday night, the sheriff's office raided a center used by the group in St. Paul and raided three Minneapolis homes Saturday.
Sheriff Bob Fletcher said there were weapons and material recovered that could be used in the group's planned "tactics to blockade and disable delegate buses, breaching venue security and injuring police officers." Among the items found were sharp objects to puncture bus tires and buckets of urine to throw at police officers, he said.
On Sunday, protesters blasted the police actions.
"This is wrong," Sundin said. "This is designed to make us afraid."
Instead of frightening protesters away, Sundin said, the arrests will galvanize community support against police and against the war in Iraq.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the National Lawyers Guild filed motions in Ramsey and Hennepin district courts Sunday, seeking the quick return of some of the "First Amendment-protected literature" that had been seized, said Chuck Samuelson, ACLU of Minnesota executive director.
There were fliers and banners taken in the searches, mostly from a St. Paul center used by a number of groups, that people had planned to hand out or display at today's march, Samuelson said. They aren't asking for the return of "any of the materials that are related to the prosecution of the crimes for which people were arrested," Samuelson said.
A judge Sunday reviewed the cases of the six people arrested and determined there was probable cause to continue to hold them in the Ramsey County Jail. Later, one of the arrestees, 23-year-old Monica Bicking, was released pending further investigation.
The Ramsey County attorney's office has until noon Wednesday to charge or release the five others. Garrett Scott Fitzgerald, 25; Luce Guillen-Givens, 23; Erin Chase Trimmer, 23; Erik Charles Oseland, 21; and Nathanael David Secor, 26, were arrested on suspicion of three conspiracy counts — to riot, to commit civil disorder and to damage property. Fletcher has described the arrestees as leaders in the RNC Welcoming Committee. The National Lawyers Guild has said the confiscated materials were common household items and that the RNC Welcoming Committee's Web site has never stated or discussed plans for violence during the RNC, including against law enforcement. Also Sunday, Communities United Against Police Brutality President Michelle Gross released video of the first seven and a half minutes of Friday's raid. She was at the center and was ordered to the ground with the other people inside. She said sheriff's deputies turned off her video camera. "We document these incidents and then to have them pick up and then turn off the video camera ... is grotesque," Gross said. "More than that, though, this was only the latest in a salvo of several incidents involving police attempting to block people from telling the story of what they're doing. Her organization and the National Lawyers Guild filed a motion Saturday in Hennepin County District Court asking a judge to stop police from seizing video equipment and cellular phones used to document officers' conduct and cited other examples of it happening. Fletcher said Sunday that deputies would have turned off Gross' camera because law enforcement has "the right to control the scene of anybody who is inside a search warrant. If she's out in the public, it's a different thing; but she was inside the scene."
Veterans protest against Iraq war at RNC
By Brian Bakst Associated Press
About 100 veterans marched in formation to the site of the Republican National Convention today, hoping their experience would lend credibility to their anti-war message.
Many members of Iraq Veterans Against the War were in uniform as they pressed for a meeting with the presidential campaign of presumptive nominee John McCain. They want McCain to back additional services for military veterans.
Marcher Carlos Arredondo of Boston pulled a flag-draped casket carrying the uniform and boots of his son, a Marine killed in Iraq. Arredondo says he feels it's his responsibility as an American to participate in the march.
Another veteran, Army Specialist Vincent Lenart of Gary, Indiana, says combat veterans have more credibility than other anti-war protesters because they were in the armed forces.
Ron Paul Follwers Gather
By Suzanne Gamboa
WASHINGTON (AP) — There's no room at the Xcel Energy Center for maverick Ron Paul, so his acolytes have packed their cars, hitched rides on "Ronvoys" and will pitch tents at Ronstock '08 in defiance of next week's GOP convention in St. Paul, Minn.
Almost 9,800 tickets had been sold for the Rally for the Republic, being held in Minneapolis, which seeks to bring together activists who are anti-war, anti-government regulation, anti-immigration, anti-taxes, anti-Federal Reserve, anti-outsourcing, pro-individual liberty, pro-civil liberties and pro-Paul.
The Ronvoys — fleets of buses and vans carrying Paul's loyalists — were to begin arriving Saturday. A few rally-goers planned to walk from Green Bay, Wis., and join up with Paul for the final miles of their Walk4Freedom. Other attendees are driving, carpooling or flying in for the convention alternative.
Paul, a Texas congressman who failed in a bid for the Republican presidential nomination, considers the rally a celebration of traditional Republican values of limited government — and a poke in the eye of the GOP. They don't plan to crash the Republican party, but to show they and their Campaign for Liberty are not going away.
"No matter how much our message is ignored or ridiculed, as was done in the campaign, no matter how much they did to us, it only energized our grass roots," Paul said.
The rally builds on Paul's presidential bid, in which he set a record for single-day fundraising on the Web and touched a nerve with some disaffected voters, largely in the Republican Party.
In a few Western states, Paul was a serious contender for votes, placing second ahead of Republican John McCain in Nevada and Montana. He drew 14 percent from McCain in New Mexico, a battleground state.
But Paul has no speaking role at the GOP convention. He said his staff made overtures to the party, but nothing came of its efforts.
Republican Party spokeswoman Joanna Burgos said she had to research whether Paul was invited to speak when asked about a convention role for Paul.
"Our focus is really on this side of the river," Burgos said. "We think there's enough excitement and energy on this side." McCain's campaign spokesman did not return a phone message.
Paul's faithful still hope to permeate the ranks of the establishment by winning local and state races and pulling in disenchanted party members. There are a couple dozen Paul delegates attending the GOP convention, though some loyalists say there are more delegates who support Paul.
Meanwhile, their focus is on their own political convergence in Minneapolis.
"We only want to cause noise in the sense of letting people know there are other movements out there that other people believe in," said Kathleen Buchholz, 28, of Denver. Unable to take time off from school for the rally, Buchholz is attending Tuesday's events, when Paul will speak. She's bypassing sleep to save on hotel costs and flying out early Wednesday.
Rally organizers reported last week they sold all 500 tickets priced at $85 each for their Real Politics Training School scheduled for Sunday. Attendees will learn political-organizing skills and "how to compete and win at the political game," organizers said on the rally Web site.
Speakers at the Paul rally include former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, tax activist Grover Norquist, former California Rep. Barry Goldwater Jr., political commentator Tucker Carlson, former two-term New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson and the baby-delivering doctor supporters call Dr. Paul.
A few entertainers also are joining in, such as country star Sara Evans; pop singer Aimee Allen, known for the song "Cooties" from Hairspray but whose favorite song among rally-goers is "Ron Paul Anthem"; and Texas blues guitarist Jimmie Vaughan.
Paul backers who aren't staying at the Minneapolis hotel or a budget motel for the rally planned to bunk in group cabins at Camp Ihduhapi on Lake Independence, park RVs or pitch tents at campgrounds. Many others also prepared to head to a Goodhue, Minn., dairy farm for Ronstock '08, an imitation of the 1960s Woodstock counterculture festival; organizers there say a neighbor of the farm's owner is donating a cow to feed the flock.
Sonny Thomas of Springboro, Ohio, plans to drive 12 hours to attend the rally, leaving Sunday. He was offering in a Web posting to fit one or two others in his car.
"I feel as one person who stands up, I have a voice and letting it be heard sends fear to the establishment," said Thomas, a gas station manager who was laid off a previous job.
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