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T U E S D A Y , A U G U S T 1 7 , 2 0 0 4NYC Mayor Threatens Protestorsby Michael in New York on
8/17/2004 09:42:00 AMMayor Bloomberg has been tussling with all sorts of protestors --policemen and firemen have been dogging him for a raise; numerousgroups coming to protest during the Republican Convention arepushing for specific sites to stage their rallies. The group United forPeace and Justice -- an overarching group repping many smallergroups -- has been repeatedly denied access to the Great Lawn for itsrally. The city says the Great Lawn can't handle the expected 250,000marchers; organizers quite reasonably point out the long history offar larger groups meeting on the Great Lawn for rock concerts by PaulSimon, Garth Brooks et al hitting 500,000+ and how the Lawn haseven been rented out for relatively private events like Disney'sPocahantas premiere. (Tickets were handed out to some 100,000 plusNew Yorkers.) The city said the maximum it could handle would be80,000. An Arab American group promptly requested the Great Lawnfor a rally of 75,000 but were promptly turned down as well.Now getting frustrated, Bloomberg said today:"he expected most protesters who come to the event later this monthwould 'be reasonable,' but he warned that 'if we start to abuse ourprivileges, then we lose them.'"Hmm, so political protest is now a privilege? I guess so, when the FBIcomes knocking on your door to intimidate you for daring to take partin a rally.By the way, NYC is anticipating protestors well into six figures andperhaps more than a million to descend on the city. It's sure to be thebiggest convention protest since Chicago in '68. Here's hopingeveryone behaves themselves and it can stun the Republicans intorealizing the passionate opposition they face from mainstreamAmericans and wake up the undecideds. A bad result would be for themedia to focus on the fringe elements that are sure to take part orfor rallies to turn into WTO-style vandalism.
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1 of 64/6/09 8:08 PM
8/17/2004 09:42:00 AMMayor Bloomberg has been tussling with all sorts of protestors --policemen and firemen have been dogging him for a raise; numerousgroups coming to protest during the Republican Convention arepushing for specific sites to stage their rallies. The group United forPeace and Justice -- an overarching group repping many smallergroups -- has been repeatedly denied access to the Great Lawn for itsrally. The city says the Great Lawn can't handle the expected 250,000marchers; organizers quite reasonably point out the long history offar larger groups meeting on the Great Lawn for rock concerts by PaulSimon, Garth Brooks et al hitting 500,000+ and how the Lawn haseven been rented out for relatively private events like Disney'sPocahantas premiere. (Tickets were handed out to some 100,000 plusNew Yorkers.) The city said the maximum it could handle would be80,000. An Arab American group promptly requested the Great Lawnfor a rally of 75,000 but were promptly turned down as well.Now getting frustrated, Bloomberg said today:"he expected most protesters who come to the event later this monthwould 'be reasonable,' but he warned that 'if we start to abuse ourprivileges, then we lose them.'"Hmm, so political protest is now a privilege? I guess so, when the FBIcomes knocking on your door to intimidate you for daring to take partin a rally.By the way, NYC is anticipating protestors well into six figures andperhaps more than a million to descend on the city. It's sure to be thebiggest convention protest since Chicago in '68. Here's hopingeveryone behaves themselves and it can stun the Republicans intorealizing the passionate opposition they face from mainstreamAmericans and wake up the undecideds. A bad result would be for themedia to focus on the fringe elements that are sure to take part orfor rallies to turn into WTO-style vandalism.
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Logged in as AnonymousUser
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Daily KosGoons at Cincinnati "tea party" bullied, intimidatedmedia - WKRC-TV, the CBS affiliate in Cincinnati,reports that in March one of their reporters wasforced to leave a so-called "tea party" protest aftera small ...10 minutes agoThink ProgressSenate Should Ignore Nutty Glenn Beck ConspiracyTheories And Appoint Harold Koh - Our guestblogger is Henry Fernandez, a Senior Fellow at theCenter For American Progress Action Fund. AsThinkProgress recently noted, a small number ofc...14 minutes agoHuffPost PoliticsZP Heller: Why Dr. King Would Break the Silenceon Afghanistan - We must invest in our owneconomic recovery and in fixing Afghanistan'shumanitarian crisis.18 minutes agoFiredoglakeOperation Stonewall Stalls Johnsen and Koh -While we wait for the last ballot count in theFranken-Coleman contest, I thought I'd tie inOperation Stonewall to the Republicans' bizarreand seemingly ...19 minutes agoPaul KrugmanOne more time - Brad DeLong is, rightly, horrifiedat the great Ricardian equivalencemisunderstanding. It's one thing to have anargument about whether consumers are perf...40 minutes agoJ O H N ' S P H OT O S
Show AllA M E R I C A B L O G T V
Thunder Power MegaphonesThe Loudest, Clearest, and Most DurableAvailable. Ships Same Day!www.ThunderPowerMegaphones.comRussian Tea Room WeddingsStorybook New York Wedding VenueCeremony, Reception, Bridal Showerswww.russiantearoomnyc.comNyc Abortion ClinicsNyc Abortion Clinics guides. Find NycAbortion Clinics now.jayde.com
www.BonsaiSandals.comAds by Google
Next 6AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: NYC...http://www.americablog.com/2004/08/nyc-mayor-threatens-prot...
1 of 64/6/09 8:08 PM