In 2008 at the St. Paul Republican Convention, police arrested 818 protesters, which was less than half of the number arrested at their 2004 convention. Minneapolis had more than 3,700 well-trained, well-armed police officers on the street, and police and FBI raided suspected anarchists prior to the event.

In 1968 at the Chicago Democratic National Convention, police arrested 589 protesters and it was all over the news for days and weeks, and is still be written about as an historic "event" of the '60s.

There are a number of national and internation press outlets that seem to think it's actually news, including The Sydney Morning Herald in Australia, and Reuter's UK, but the American press seemed to ignore or bury it.

I don't get it. I know '68 was a year filled with political insanity on a number of levels, but when 10,000 people take to the street in protest in any city in the world, it's news—big news. Especially when there's a concerted, armed police response.

Previous Comments

ID

135476

Comment

Oops, Ronni: the convention was in St. Paul. I know, they look so much alike! :P To me, a lot of stories are being buried this election cycle by the press, but the word is still getting out thanks to blogs and YouTube.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2008-09-08T15:22:54-06:00

ID

135480

Comment

Right you are, L.W., I'm so used to referring to them together (as in the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport) I used the wrong city. But they are two cities--right next to each other.

Author

Ronni_Mott

Date

2008-09-08T15:43:28-06:00

ID

135481

Comment

They have bought out (with good money) the whole press and news media. They will never buy me, though. I ain't for sell! I'll eat feces and bark at the moon before that happens. I'll drank muddy water and sleep in a hollow log before I give in. I'll sleep with snakes and eat fat rats before I sell out to corporations. I'll eat earth worms and drink sewage water before I sell my soul to the devil. They'll have to crucify my body and bulldoze my guns from my sturdy and able hands before they close my mouth and get me to give in to the corporate and devilry overthrow of the United States of America.

Author

Walt

Date

2008-09-08T16:06:21-06:00

ID

135482

Comment

MSNBC fired, replaced, reassigned or tried to silence Keith Olberman and Chris Matthews today or some nearby time after their good coverage of the Democratic and republican conventions. Could MSNBC be on the take too? I'm not selling out. They will have to shoot me in the temple and cut my throat to close my mouth. THE CAN"T HANDLE THE TRUTH!

Author

Walt

Date

2008-09-08T16:14:58-06:00

ID

135483

Comment

Just in case you're wondering what Walt is talking about, here's the story. I guess MSNBC felt that they weren't impartial during the conventions. I watched C-SPAN, so I don't know how they acted first-hand.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2008-09-08T16:39:02-06:00