RNC 8-23-2012 Here we GOGO!

So, I've been in Tampa now for nearly 3 days. It's definitely hot, hot, and hot. I was told today it hasn't been close to as hot as it gets. That's a nice little wake up call to know it's only gonna be hotter. I spent most of this morning trying to find a place to shower. A colleague and I roamed around looking for a gym to see if we could pay a little to use their showers. The answers were  no. So, no shower, but I'm looking forward to the next rain and I plan on getting out in it with some soap and using natures open air shower to get myself feeling a little cleaner.

Other news, when I was closing my eyes last night the headlines were being over run with threats: http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/22/politics/conventions-anarchists/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 Why I find this frustrating is the article starts with this claim, "The bulletin, which was obtained by CNN, says that anarchists could try to use improvised explosive devices." This claim being given it's own paragraph and space amongst the whole article before diving into the explanation of the piece. What's frustrating is that the article follows up with what it calls Anarchist tactics:"During past national and international political and economic events, anarchist extremists have blocked streets, intersections, and bridges to disrupt or impede local business operations and public transportation access and, in some instances have initiated violent confrontations with police, the document states." 

So the claim given so much space, and which forms the rest of the article is followed by what  the FED's say Anarchists have done in the past. Which doesn't sound much like IED use. It sounds more like non-violent blockades of streets to disrupt an event that folks didn't agree with. Shit, you know those folks in the civil rights movement? The ones who sat at the white only lunch counters. They might have just been disrupting businesses, and those tactics would have fit into that  neat followup paragraph.

The article then uses this:  "Law enforcement officials cite the arrest in late April of five Ohio men for allegedly plotting to blow up a bridge over the Cuyahoga River near Cleveland. Authorities said at least three of the men are self-proclaimed anarchists who had considered "a series of evolving plots over several months." The article absolutely forgets to mention that the Cleveland five were provided logistics and given resources by...(drum roll it!!!) the FBI!  http://articles.latimes.com/2012/may/02/nation/la-na-nn-fbi-stings-20120502 This article shows the FBI being the folks who gave the plotters the materials to pull off the  threat.  The Eric Mcdavid case during the Green Scare is pretty much explain the FBI's standard operating procedure for this sort of actions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_McDavid (Yeah it's wikipedia , but check out the source material in at the end.)

So, my beef with this CNN article is that it lays the framework for some impending disaster, props it's argument up with the past non-violent actions that have been documented, and then uses the sensational Cleveland 5 debacle which was orchestrated by the FBI as is finale. You see how all the pieces fit together. Shit, do you see how they were all built to fit together.

Regardless, my real beef is that I'm staying at Romenyville. With a collection of folks from everywhere who sat through a meeting that explained to them that the Police might use pepper spray on them. They didn't run, or get upset, just a little lady in maybe her mid 40's, sunburnt, asked what that would do to her if she had asthma. 

She's planning on marching on the RNC and planning to probably clap her hands and let folks know that she's here, and tonight I'm gonna spend my time learning about these people. These people who've come to stay in an open air camp. Who are baking in the sun, and preparing to march. People  should start flooding in soon, and  each one of them has come here for their reason, and I want to learn why. 

It's like the new's agency sometimes forget we've been at war for more than a decade, people's homes have been taken from hands, and their families dispersed across the face of this country. All the work in the world doesn't seem to buy enough food for their families, and sometimes thats enough to get a person to get together with some strangers and get ready to march their feet to let, not only the RNC, but the world know their grievances.

"They say get back, we say fight back."

all love,

Uneditedcamera