Fortress New York

My overall impression was that the city adopted the "massive show of force" strategy. Cops and soldiers were everywhere, and at least every fifth one was carrying what looked like an M-16. I was a little bummed out that I couldn't make the demonstration--I was watching the MSNBC coverage on JetBlue as the plane took off--but at the same time I'm glad I was able to get out before the true craziness began. Lord only knows what this week will be like.

I forget the names of the correspondents, but they were such goddamned tools. The fifty or so arrests--in a crowd of what looked to me like a quarter million--is remarkable, and speaks well of those of us who are sick and tired of the Bush lies. Then there was the surreal commentary about the "fire," which turned out to be paper-mache flambe. Ridiculous...

As for pre-convention stuff--well, there were plenty of folks around who have no use for the Bush in the White House, and it showed. As noted above, among other things, I managed to make it over to The Experimental Party Disinformation Center to see the Propaganda Hospitality Suite. This was small, but very good. Otherwise, I was on a culture trip, and there's nothing wrong with that--I could spend hours in museums, if it wasn't for the curse of work.

But I've gotta catch up with what I missed. Apologies for not making my regular rounds on the internet last week--access was extremely limited. And, to be honest, I chose to invest time on non-internet stuff--after all, I don't get to the big city all that often.

Back in a bit...