Category Archives: Nightly News

The St. Paul 396

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396 people involved in Thursday’s Anti-War Committee protest were arrested after the group’s protest turned into an attempted march on the Xcel Energy Center when the group’s permit expired. A heavy, and highly-organized tactical police response anticipated the protesters, perhaps as a result of a press conference last July where Katrina Plotz of the AWC promised a more militant, less family-friendly protest for September 4. Strangely enough, Plotz also had a speaking part in the Strib’s account of yesterday’s action:

“They’re trying to steal our protest — we have to ignore the police intimidation,” Katrina Plotz, an organizer with the Anti-War Committee, hollered from a stage in front of the Capitol steps.

The AWC came to St. Paul in the grandiose hopes of stealing or shutting down the RNC through violence and intimidation, only to be out-maneuvered and out-intimidated. How did that song go a few years back — “Isn’t it ironic?”

Police Chief Marlin Perkins…

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The Strib story detailing the post-concert exploits of Rage Against the Machine fans and the Minneapolis police included this phrase:

87 people were brought in, tagged and released…

I couldn’t help but get a picture in my head of some wild child being hit with a tranquilizer dart, taken down in the street and then a police officer named Jim affixing a tracking tag to a part of the dude’s body not already obscured with tattoos and piercings, then moving off to a safe distance as the kid staggers back to rejoin the herd. The tag, of course, would be in the hopes of future arresting officers calling in to report the location of the bust, providing important scientific data about the migratory patterns of this species.

Perhaps I watched too much of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom when I was a kid.

Going for a new record — perhaps a criminal one

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Every four years, people who have been dedicating months, even years of their life in preparation come together in front of the TV cameras to live their dream in front of a world-wide audience. Of course I’m not referring to the Olympics but to protesting the presidential conventions. To be fair, there was a Mount Olympus feel to Sen. Obama’s dais during the DNC, while the poo and urine-flinging anarchists in the streets of St. Paul for the RNC suggest that a rerouting of the Mississippi River through downtown, alá Hercules’ method for cleaning the Augean Stables, might be necessary. While there were a lot of different costumes seen among the protesters, I don’t remember any togas though.

The protesters and anarchists weren’t the only ones who were busy preparing for their time in the spotlight, however. The authorities were also at work with plans of their own, and launched preemptive raids (with search warrants) on known anarchist hang-outs Sunday night before the convention started, capturing bolt cutters, sling shots, six throwing-style knives, smoke bombs, machetes, caltrops (for disabling tires and vehicles) and other devices for blocking traffic or damaging property. It was also reported that several buckets of urine were also confiscated, no doubt for testing to see if the wild ones had been taking steroids in preparation for their protests. A lot of buttons and propaganda were also taken into custody, and the pro bono lawyers who came to town with the protesters were in court Tuesday, demanding the return of all materials. District Judge Kathleen Gearin, however, denied an emergency motion brought by the plaintiffs to have some of the items seized by police returned to them.

“Who should we return the urine to?” Gearin asked.

I think it’s only fair that the buckets be returned full, and with triple damages.

Oh well, God love ’em, I can tolerate and only shake my head in amusement at most of the fey activists. The protests so far have generally been non-violent and even kind of amusing in a precocious way with strange dancing, crude (in craftsmanship and language) signs and trite slogans that perhaps suggest what the TV writers were doing last year in their spare time while they were on strike. At least these folks were willing to show their faces and even to be arrested.

Some, however, dressed oh-so-chic in black garb, masks and hoods, came with the intention of doing property damage, busting windows in a police car and running away; bashing in several storefront windows and running away; one even took a run at cop trying to drag a protester away, knocking the officer down and then running away. These true believers, of course, had to keep their faces covered so that “the Man” couldn’t identify them because, you know, civilized cultures have things like “laws” and consequences, which really frosts the anarchists. At least there’s a precedent in America for people hooding their faces while committing acts of terror in the name of some hateful cause. Before, though, those hoods were white.


(Photo from WCCO slideshow.)

Update:

Related News Stories:
Anatomy of anarchy: Militant protestors meet police on St. Paul streets
Anarchists damage property, block traffic, attack delegates with bleach
St. Paul protest play out on streets, online

Stay classy, Green Bay

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by the Night Writer

Some bad reps are hard to shake. For example, Cleveland will always be remembered as the city who’s river caught on fire, Philadelphia fans will always be remembered for booing Santa Claus and Green Bay will always be remembered as the town where someone killed the coach’s (Dan Devine) dog during a bad year. Like Brett Favre, however, Packer fans are apparently interested in an encore, as Aaron Rodgers is (unpleasantly) learning.

Favre fans have not just been supporting Favre with their words; they’ve been going after Rodgers. And many haven’t minced words.

After the morning practice Friday, Rodgers talked about some of the abuse directed at him.

“I understand it to some point if I put myself into a Favre fanatic’s shoes,” Rodgers said of getting booed. “The things I can’t understand, the things I really take personally, is when I’m driving up to the (parking lot) gate and punching in my punch code and somebody says (expletive) to me. That kind of bothers me.

“Or when a little kid is yelling swear words at me. That kind of gets to me. They expect a high level of play and they miss Brett Favre. I understand that. But the (expletive) and the little kids saying swear words to me, I don’t understand that.”

Actually, Rodgers should have been able to understand the kid, who was likely using small words. Of course, being Green Bay, the kid was probably drunk and that may have made it harder.

Taking their best shot

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by the Night Writer

LZ Granderson has a great article on ESPN.com today about the members of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) that is competing in shooting in the Olympics.

Glenn Eller is a lanky, baby-faced 20-something from Katy, Texas, a cushy suburb outside of Houston.

He is friendly, quick to laugh and has an odd affinity for Oreos topped with Cheez Whiz.

He’s single.

He’s looking.

And when he leaves Beijing after competing in the Olympics, he’s going back to Georgia and his day job: teaching other baby-faced 20-somethings how to shoot and, if necessary, kill people.

Walton “Glenn” Eller III — that is, Army Spc. Eller — is a marksman trainer in Fort Benning, Ga. And he’s one of six members of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) that is competing in shooting in the Olympics.

It’s not among the sexiest events to watch, so you probably won’t catch him on the tube. But just because shooting doesn’t make for good TV doesn’t mean it’s lacking in drama.

Not when you consider that our nation is at war.

And members of our military are competing against military personnel from countries we have strained relationships with.

And we’re competing in a country with the kind of human rights record that forced the Olympic torch to be hidden from protesters.

So while the latest incarnation of the Dream Team has garnered the most attention, the 14 Olympic athletes in the U.S. military — six of whom are in the USAMU — likely feel the most tension.

Then there’s this uncomfortable truth: During times of war, a lot of people die. It’s up to military trainers, like Eller and fellow Olympians Maj. Michael Anti and Staff Sgt. Libby Callahan, to help make sure the American casualty numbers stay low.

Not to take anything away from Michael Phelps — whose surgeon-like focus has received a lot of ink recently — but the word “focus” takes on a whole new meaning when you’re not only representing your country but also juggling life and death to protect that country.

I suppose some might question whether shooting is an appropriate sport in games that are supposed to support peace and brotherhood, forgetting that events such as the javelin, pentathalon and decathalon are rooted in demonstrating military prowess. The article is an interesting take on a sport that probably won’t receive a lot of attention. It’s worth a read.

Update:

Glenn Eller sets Olympic shooting record in winning gold medal.

They couldn’t print it if it wasn’t true

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From the front page of today’s StarTribune:

“Squeezed by a smoking ban and higher costs, beer sales in British pubs have fallen to Depression-era levels, and 1,400 pubs have closed.”


The Telegraph had more to say.

UK beer sales have fallen through the five billion litre mark for the first time since 1975 as the consumer downturn and smoking ban continue to hit Britain’s pubs and brewers.

News that annual beer sales have slipped below 50m hectolitres will come as a further blow to an industry already suffering as pubs go out of business and brewers are forced to consolidate.

Figures released to the brewing industry by the British Beer and Pub Association, and seen by The Sunday Telegraph, show total UK beer sales fell 1.7 per cent in the year to the end of April.
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The effect of the decline in consumption, combined with rising utility and commodity costs, an increase in beer duty, and the impact of the consumer downturn and smoking ban is having a catastrophic impact on Britain’s pubs.

Pub closures are running at 27 a week, according to the BBPA, amounting to some 1,200 that have been forced out of business over the last 12 months.

To be fair, a 1.7 percent decline in beer sales this year doesn’t sound like enough to drive pubs out of business, even if linked to a smoking ban. The article also states:

That came as the volume of beer sold through pubs hit its lowest level since the Great Depression of the 1930s, with sales in the whole of the UK beer market down by 22 per cent since 1979.

If beer sales have been dropping since 1979 it doesn’t sound as if a smoking ban was the root cause. Still, it couldn’t have been helpful, especially when combined with other factors, including additional government handicaps in the form of increased duties.

Meanwhile, The Guardian had this report:

Pubs have sold 175 million fewer pints in the past year as a direct result of the smoking ban, according to market analysts AC Nielsen.

Jake Shepherd, marketing director AC Nielsen, said: ‘The winter months were particularly bad. Sales fell nine per cent through November to January when smokers would have been reluctant to stand outside in the cold to have a cigarette.’

Sales of wine were not hit as hard, dropping four per cent after the ban. Shepherd said: ‘Wine has held up somewhat better than other drinks, benefiting from the increasing importance of food and women to the trade.’ Cigarette sales have dropped 6 per cent since 1 July last year with smokers buying 2 billion fewer cigarettes between 1 July 2007 and April 2008.

The decline in beer sales in England, however, is consistent with the experience of Scottish pubs. Scotland instituted a nation-wide smoking ban in March of 2006, a year ahead of the rest of the UK, and saw a 7 percent decrease in pub beer sales in the ensuing 12 months according to AC Nielsen in an article in The Independent.

It would seem that in a down economy it is easier to push a margin-intensive business over the edge, especially when the government adds the extra burdens of increased taxes and a smoking ban. Increase taxes and institute a smoking ban? I’m certainly glad that that couldn’t happen in Minnesota.

Wait a minute…

Some things I just don’t understand

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[Closed circuit to the Reverend Mother: this is one you’re not going to want to read.]

This is a pretty grim topic, but I saw a stunning story on CNN today about a man who beat a toddler to death as onlookers tried unsuccessfully to get him to stop; ultimately the man had to be shot and killed by police called to the scene. Further details from later reports indicated that it was a 27-year-old Turlock, California man who beat, kicked, shook, threw and stomped on his two-year-old son.

The first people who came upon the scene were an elderly couple in their 70s who couldn’t physically intervene though they tried to confront the man. Another man who drove by on the rural road was a 52-year-old volunteer fire fighter, who said he was pushed away by the father. Someone called the police and a helicopter happened to be already in the air in the vicinity and it landed in a cow pasture near the assault. Unfortunately the chopper landed on the wrong side of an electrified and barbed wire fence. A deputy who got out of the helicopter was able to get within 10 feet of the attacker and ordered the man to stop. When the man gave the deputy the finger and continued to kick the boy the deputy shot him in the forehead.

The story is certainly bizarre in terms of the savageness of the attack, but there are other unusual circumstances as well. The place where this occurred was on an a rural road, late on Saturday night. Police said it was unusual so many cars drove by the rather isolated spot, and I have to wonder how common it is to have a helo already up and in the area when the calls came in.

I think just reading this has to leave you shocked and outraged so I have to imagine that those on the scene had to be especially off-balance and sickened by what they were seeing. I want to be clear that I place no blame or criticism on anyone but the “father” in what happened, but I also can’t help but wonder what could possibly have kept me from rushing in and using whatever force I could muster to stop such an onslaught. Of course, most of us will never know how we’d react in a sudden and desperate situation unless we were suddenly dropped into it. I know I’ve been in my share of scrapes and physical confrontations in my life in which I’d gotten pretty angry, but nothing near as dire as this. I know I’d been in a crisis situation before and had kept my head, but never in circumstances so evil.

When it comes down to it, I can’t say what I would have done in this situation. I know what I would have liked to have done, however.

Motels, salesmen and alcohol don’t mix

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An AmericInn in Moorhead, MN ended up unexpectedly hosting a “convention” of cleaning products salesmen who thought, perhaps, that they were rock stars. From the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

Moorhead motel boots 40 salesmen for ‘very, very rude behavior’
Associated Press

MOORHEAD, Minn. — About 40 traveling salespeople were thrown out of a Moorhead motel for “very, very rude behavior,” a motel manager said.

The salespeople, mostly in their mid-20s, were peddling cleaning supplies, but they sure left a mess behind, said Derek Crockett, front desk manager at the AmericInn Lodge & Suites.

Crockett’s staff started getting complaints about the guests less than two hours after they checked in Monday night. The guests were drinking, partying and smoking in nonsmoking rooms, he said.

When staff told them to leave, they “just started getting a little irate” and made threatening comments to housekeepers and security staff, he said.

Police were called but just went there to keep the peace and made no arrests, Deputy Chief Bob Larson said.

Crockett said the guests also punched holes in the walls, ripped a toilet paper holder off the wall and pulled out a couple of window screens. The rooms were still closed off Tuesday so the staff could assess the damage, he said. The guests will be charged for the rooms and the damage, he said

“It’s going to be over $1,000,” Crockett said.

It kind of reminds me of a true story my grandfather wrote involving a couple of salesmen, the Hotel Madison in Madison, WI, too much alcohol and a strong-willed goose. Not for the squeamish.

Paging Janet Reno

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Another great one from Scrappleface yesterday:

Feds to Raid Isolated, Black-Robed California Sect
by Scott Ott for ScrappleFace ·

(2008-05-16) — Federal agents and National Guard troops surrounded the gleaming white temple-like San Francisco enclave of an isolationist sect after the black-robed “high priests” of the group yesterday declared themselves to be above the laws of the state of California.

In a move reminiscent of recent raids on polygamist compounds elsewhere, authorities prepared to seize documents and computers, and to rescue any young interns or clerks who might have fallen victim to the cult’s bizarre, extra-legal rituals.

Yesterday, the “Supreme” leaders of the sect briefly emerged from hiding to issue a declaration overriding two state laws and loosening the definition of marriage to include “any practice or lifestyle the prohibition of which might make one feel discriminated against.”

“We’d like this siege to end peacefully,” said a Justice Department spokesman, “but these people need to know that this is still the United States of America. You can’t set up your own sovereign nation within its borders, and make up your own set of rules that counter the will of the people and violate the law of the land.”