I thought I would post a little fun for those (alas few) who have been following my diaries about the RNC protests and their aftermath.
While there are some important things going on in St. Paul, sometimes we just have to laugh.
So, from the Counter-Propaganda Carolers, I bring to you The Twelve Days of Protest.
To take us back to that fateful time, here is a report filed by Eugene Mirman who shows us, quite graphically, what living in a police state can mean to your lemon herb chicken:
If anyone is interested in any of the serious stuff going on, The Heffelfinger/Luger report on RNC policing was mandated to be released on December 15th but failed to materialize.
Word is, it will be released after the holidays.
Just a few days after the RNC dust settled, it was announced that the City of St. Paul hired former U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger and former assistant U.S. Attorney Andy Luger to review police plans and how they were carried out during the Republican National Convention.
What became immediately clear was that the independent review would not be a fact-finding mission to explore allegations of police wrongdoing or violations of people's rights but a look at the City's security plan, how it was implemented, and whether it reflected what Heffelfinger described as "best practices" (Star Tribune, September 9th, 2008).
As to the RNC Public Review Safety Commission, well:
- No Commercial Publicity for Commission
Despite a declared $100,000 budget, there were no advertisements in the local media concerning the existence, mandate, nor any submission information for the Commission. If encouraging people to testify to the Commission was important to the Commission this would not have been the case.
- No Publicity on Official State Communications Media
Similarly, any search on the City's website, at www.stpaul.gov returns no results for the "RNC Commission" or related search terms. "heffelfinger", luger" and even the submission address "lucie.passus@stpaul.gov" are all conspicuously absent from the site.
The City Attorney's "RNC Update" page found at http://www.stpaul.gov/... says nothing about the Commission despite its latest update being as recent as November 12th. Of course, www.stpaul.gov also hosts the official website of Mayor Chris Coleman who called for the RNC Public Review Safety Commission.
- Late Publicity for Commission Deadlines
Where there were brief press reports about the Commission in the two main local papers, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press, these both were published on October 31st. The public hearing was just one week later, and the final deadline for submissions was just two weeks later.
Continues here.....
But, to lighten the mood, how about some Christmas fun poking at O'Reilley?
Roy Zimmerman sings the opening number to O'Reilley's Christmas special, It's Christmas, Shut Up!
I'll leave you with another from the Counter-Propaganda Carolers, Protest Time In The City.