Signs Of The Season: Denver's Civic Center Lighting Ceremony

Brought the cameras and it started snowing, ever so lightly at first, and then proceeded to heavy, wet flakes that forced my Nikon back into it's bag, and out with the point-and-shoot.

We were wished Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, both appropriate and welcome for such an event. The featured acts heavily favored more religious carols--Silent Night, O Holy Night, Little Drummer Boy--and had a good mix of more secular songs as well.

Only criticism of the night--need a better sound system for a large public event such as this. I blame Mayor "Teflon" John Hickenlooper. And Barack Obama . . . where were his sound guys at?


The soft glow--courtesy of the first significant snowfall in Denver this season.


Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Peace on Earth, Happy 150 Years! (Denver)



And now for some fisheye:




I'm still fooling around with the fisheye lens, and had to put the camera away when the flakes really started to fly. Hopefully I can get back down to the Civic Center with a tripod and capture a good 180 shot from a closer range.

Barack Obama's Civic Center Adventure; Thoughts On The Obamessiah And Race

Drunkablog waded in to the teeming masses clamoring for the Obamessiah, and has an extensive photo roundup (and snark, of course). El Marco was there as well.

And in case you think that "Obamessiah" is nothing more than derisive rhetorical flourish, just take a look at what one Denver Post columnist believes:

You mark my words, political historians will refer to the period we are living in now as "before Obama" and the period going forward as "after Obama."

Praise Obama!

Not voting for Obama? Yep, you're racist:

. . . Americans are not always what they appear to be. They may say one thing and think another, hold deep-seated prejudices they themselves don't quite understand — or they could surprise themselves and rise above race entirely.

Undecideds don't fare much better:

Those who study the brain say part of the problem may lie there, deep in the cerebral cortex, in a place called the amygdala.

"What's happening right now is that a lot of people have been sitting on the fence and feeling some kind of gut-level unease with Obama," said Drew Westen, a psychologist and author of "The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation."

Brain scans show activity in the amygdala correlates with such emotions as anxiety and fear.

"Studies have shown that a majority of white people, including those who are consciously opposed to discrimination, show activation of the amygdala when presented with a subliminal image of a black man," Westen said.

The gut-level unease, he said, could manifest itself with statements about Obama like "I'm not sure I can trust him" or "Maybe he doesn't love our country."

Over in Denver's northeast neighborhood, Cynthia Gallegos spent a lot of time registering voters and noticed the reactions.

"I never had a person of color say they would not vote for an individual because of his color," she said. "There was more caution from whites, saying that this political process doesn't work. Middle-aged and older white men who'd come to the door were just closed off to politics and political conversation."

And I thought the unease was just a product of Obama's socialist policies.

Nevermind. "Socialist" is just GOP code-speak for "black."

Barack Obama At Civic Center Park And Colorado State University

Parking should be a nightmare as thousands will likely try to cram in early to see the anointed one Barack Obama on Sunday in Civic Center Park:

Sen. Barack Obama will speak in Civic Center park around 11:30 a.m. Sunday, then head to Fort Collins for a rally at Colorado State University.

Tickets are not required for either event, though people are encouraged to RSVP at www.co.barackobama.com. Admission will be first-come, first-served.

Gates will open for the Denver event at 10 a.m.

The public entrance will be near the Greek Theater on 14th Avenue between Bannock Street and Broadway.

Access from Colfax will be prohibited.

The afternoon rally at The Oval on the CSU campus is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m., with public access at University Avenue and West Drive starting at 1:30 p.m.

B-list Hollywood types will be out stumping for Obama in Civic Center Park and at CU-Boulder on Saturday.

Colorado Still In Play: Obamessiah In Denver; **Update--Hillary On Friday

So much for the MSM narrative . . .

**Update 2--to drive home the closeness of the battle for Colorado, Hillary will also be in Aurora on Friday

**Update--Why does Obama need to come to Colorado? I thought his acceptance at the DNC and recent polls just about wrapped it up for him. The appearances of Palin and McCain is understandable given that they trail in a state that has been a "battleground" only recently (2004, 2006), and refutes the notion that they have given up on the state for Electoral Votes in Pennsylvania. Biden's campaign swing can be seen as an effective, if somewhat limited counter, to help keep the local media from blanketing the Republicans. But Obama? Maybe they're not so confident after all . . .

The nomination acceptance speech at Invesco Field will be tough to beat:

Sen. Barack Obama is expected to hold a rally Sunday in Civic Center Park, where two of the last three Democratic presidential candidates to win Colorado held rousing political gatherings.

The campaign today confirmed Obama will be in Colorado Sunday, but did not release a location or other details.

A spokeswoman for the city's parks and recreation department, however, said the campaign had secured a permit for Civic Center.

SP and the Peoples Press Collective will be on hand for coverage. Stay tuned.

Expect a large turnout with the Denver Broncos on a bye week.

Democratic National Convention Countdown, No. 82

Democratic National Convention Daily Digest and Open Thread
Wednesday June 4, 2008--No. 82

MSM:

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper--what to expect during the DNC:

* While there will be some additional screening procedures and security measures in some locations, all downtown residents will be able to access their homes and parking garages. Downtown businesses will be able to remain open with access to employees and customers.

* When people talk about a "security perimeter," what they are really talking about are areas around the Pepsi Center that may require additional screening or security measures. Those areas will be finalized and announced closer to the Convention, but please know that our intention is to minimize any impacts on roadways, businesses and residences. More updates will be provided to businesses and residents near the Pepsi Center - and the general public - over the coming weeks.

* While there will be some modest traffic impacts in the downtown area during the Convention, it will not tie up the downtown. Downtown workers should not have difficulties getting to or leaving work, particularly since the main hours of Pepsi Center activity (4 p.m. to 9 p.m.) do not correspond with standard morning or evening commute times. The bottom line is: Downtown will be accessible.

---

DNCC host committee cancels state delegation parties scheduled around Denver--host comittee's ability to fundraise and bring revenue to city questioned (canceled parties means local service providers lose business)--host committee announces single event to replace individual state delegate parties, commemorating the recovery efforts of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Training company chosen for DNC volunteers.

Company providing DNC gear gets their Roosevelts mixed up--Teddy shows up, not Franklin D.

Blogs:

Drunkablog--Recreate '68 to share Civic Center park with Iranian photo exhibit, as groups agree to joint occupancy August 25 and 26.

---

All previous Daily Digests can be found here.

Recreate '68 Secures State Capitol Permit For Eve Of DNC; **Update: Recreate '68 Claims Talks With City Have Ended

Glenn Spagnuolo of Recreate '68 announced that the group had received permission to protest on the State Capitol grounds instead of Civic Center Park on the Sunday preceding the Democratic National Convention, but the real concern is the number of protestors expected:

Denver City Councilmember Doug Linkhart says he has no good idea just how many protesters will descend into Denver during the last full week of August.

"It's the great unknown," he said.

He says whatever happens, the city will do everything it can to keep its residents safe and simultaneously protect everyone's freedom of speech.

"We can't walk away from this convention having Denver put into a negative light because of how we respond (to the protesters)."

"If we have huge protests and people egging on the police, we're going to do our best to keep it peaceful."

Despite the newly secured permit, Spagnuolo attacked the city:

Glenn Spagnuolo, a Recreate 68 organizer, said Monday the state was "easy to work with" in getting the permits for Aug. 24.

However, he didn't have kind words for the city.

"The state of Colorado has stepped in where the city has refused to and acted in a responsible manner," Spagnuolo said. "If you remember at the end of the lottery process, they promised to work closely with anybody who did not obtain a park to assure their voices were heard. That was a complete lie and fabrication by the city."

Spagnuolo's group released this statement:

Representatives of the Recreate 68 Alliance, which is coordinating demonstrations around the Democratic National Convention, announced today that it had to obtain permits from the State of Colorado for the west steps of the State Capitol Building and Lincoln Park for Sunday, August 24, the day before the DNC, as a venue to stage a massive antiwar protest. This action became necessary because the city of Denver allowed a party organizer for the DNC Host Committee—a private, well-funded organization—to apply for and obtain a permit for Civic Center Park for that date, shutting the public out of the largest public park in downtown Denver. In addition, the City had refused to engage in dialogue with R68 to resolve the issue as promised.

As Glenn Spagnuolo of R68 explained, despite reports to the contrary, R68 has never threatened conflict with the Host Committee. “We only pointed out, based on past experience,” Spagnuolo said, “that the city, by denying us a place to put the thousands of people expected for this event, was creating the potential for conflict. The City promised to work with groups who did not obtain permits to assure their voices are heard during the convention, this did not occur.” R68 asked the city to discuss this situation with them, after being rebuffed, R68 worked with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to try to arrange a meeting. The city refused the requests not only of R68 but of the DOJ as well.

“Our goal from the beginning,” said R68 spokesperson Mark Cohen, “has been to create a safe space for people to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights. Civic Center Park would have been the most appropriate space—public parks are for the public. Since the city has denied its use to the public, R68 has obtained permits from the State of Colorado in order to avoid unnecessary conflict.”

Therefore, to avert conflict and assure that people will be able to safely and peacefully gather to express their concerns about the war, R68 obtained the state permits. R68 members Larry Hales and Carlo Garcia, both of whom have family members serving in Iraq, said that people have not only a right but a responsibility to bring their concerns about the ongoing war to the attention of convention delegates and elected officials. “We have been negotiating with the city in good faith for a year and a half,” Hales said. “We wish we could say the same for them. But we are doing everything in our power to assure people that they can exercise their Constitutional rights.”

There's that "we are peaceful, it's the city's fault if there is any conflict" meme that we have been following.

Meanwhile, Drunkablog carves up a rather long--and by long we mean Biblical--anarchist missive on "mass mobilizations," Recreate '68 (not in a positive way, either), and the relative advantages and disadvantages of protesting the RNC and DNC.

**Update--Denver Daily News says that Recreate '68 claims that communications have been cut off between the group, other affiliated protest organizations, and the ACLU and the city of Denver after the filing of lawsuits asking that the city's police plans for protest parade routes be disclosed--and the new permit for the State Capitol came from the state, not the city, seems to add to that claim. Stay tuned.

---

More on the ACLU's latest lawsuit over detention facilities:

. . . the American Civil Liberties Union said Monday that policies at the Denver jail need to be examined to make sure people arrested during the convention will have adequate access to food, toilets, medical care and lawyers.

The ACLU sued the city and safety manager Al LaCabe over the city's refusal to turn over a copy of its policies at the city jail.

ACLU attorney Taylor Pendergrass said he has serious concerns about complaints and problems concerning operation of the jail, including the death of Emily Rice, who bled to death at the jail from internal injuries after she was arrested for DUI following a traffic accident.

LaCabe said the city has turned over as much as it can without compromising security.

"We have given them those things that we believe are in the public interest and withheld things we believe are not in the public interest that have a lot to do with security at the facility," he said.

Denver's new policy requires an arrest if related to protests, not a "cite and release" plan preferred (for obvious reasons) by the protest groups:

Last summer, in view of the many expected arrests of demonstrators at the convention, Pendergrass said the ACLU asked Denver police to handle minor violations with a summons or notice to appear in court.

But he said police refused, saying that current policy requires officers to make full arrests, including detention in the city jail, for even minor violations connected with protests.

"It is difficult to comment on this other than to say that it's important that we fully identify and process all people that we arrest," LaCabe said.

"Many of these people may be from out of town and we don't know about their identify, so all those things pose issues that make it necessary to stay with our normal procedures. There are many other reasons that I cannot comment any further on."

Pendergrass said the ACLU is concerned that jail staff will be overwhelmed by the volume of arrests during the convention.

Mark Cohen, a Recreate 68 organizer, said they would prefer to have a cite and release plan in place for the convention and claimed a long, drawn out process where people sit in jail waiting to be bonded out takes away their right to free speech during the event.

Sunday Night Quick Hits

Drunkablog has a trifecta--News columnist thinks a Recreate '68 redecoration of Civic Center Park will actually be an improvement, Islam Awareness Week begins at CU-Boulder this week, and a "little boidie" (a reliable one, though court dates can change) told Drunkablog that Ward Churchill's lawsuit will begin in March, 2009. Chutch wants all the attention that the post-election doldrums will provide.

Recreate '68 To Create "Free City" At DNC, Illegally Occupying Civic Center Park; Update--"Nude-In," "Free Love" To Be Featured

"We will be putting up a tent city here that's going to include space for homeless people, too . . . there will be a "nude-in," in which demonstrators will spell out the word "PEACE," using naked bodies . . . Free City is also free of borders . . . Free City is also going to free for political thought, free of commercialism, free of cages and prisons for political prisoners . . . And yes, one of the most fun ones, there will be free love - as long as it's consensual"--Recreate '68 and allies on "Free City"


Recreate '68 spokesflunky and shameless self-promoter, Glenn Spagnuolo







**Update--The adolescents protestors announced yesterday that "Free City" will include just about everything, from a "nude-in" and the word "PEACE" spelled out with naked bodies, free housing "Tent State," and "free love" (you can't "Recreate '68" and not have free love, man)--and the protestors will also have their own "security force" as well (video):

Spagnuolo and other activists have made numerous comments indicating they will not be placing great significance on who holds permits for which park the week of the convention - including Civic Center Park.

"Regardless of the city's claims, we're going to be having free housing here in the park," said Spagnuolo. "We are going to be having free housing here in the park. We will stay past the curfew, we will enjoy each other's company."

He also said, "We will be putting up a tent city here that's going to include space for homeless people, too."

Spagnuolo also claimed that at some point there will be a "nude-in," in which demonstrators will spell out the word "PEACE," using naked bodies.

The activists said "Free City" will operate based on a 10-point program that supports a life without authority.

Or logic/reason. And I didn't know they could count that high . . .

Other issues to be addressed/promoted/strangled in moonbat central "Free City":

"Free City is also free of borders," said Zoe Williams, a member of a group called Colorado Street Medics. "We welcome all people as immigrants, largely, to this country to be a part of Free City."

Adam Jung, representing the group Tent State, added, "Free City is also going to free for political thought, free of commercialism, free of cages and prisons for political prisoners.

"And yes, one of the most fun ones, there will be free love - as long as it's consensual."

The group said their week at Civic Center Park - or, "Free City" - will feature a free university, 5,000 free meals twice a day for whomever wants them, a free concert, free medical care, and other innovations that won't cost a cent.

Getting anywhere near Recreate '68 and "Free City" will, however, cost you your sanity.

Though the police and Mayor John Hickenlooper were silent, his office did release a statement and Councilman Charlie Brown took the opportunity to razz the protestors:

Police referred inquiries to Mayor John Hickenlooper's office.

Katherine Archuleta, a senior adviser to the mayor, issued a statement about the protesters' "intention to ignore the city of Denver's longstanding prohibition against overnight camping" in urban parks.

"We support and encourage people to express their views safely and in a manner that respects the rights of others along with the laws and ordinances of our city," Archuleta said in the statement.

Councilman Charlie Brown laughed when he heard that Civic Center had been christened with a new name, but then said Denver was going to have to be "firm and strong" with protesters.

"As far as I'm concerned, we're not going to back down," he said.

Brown said he was confident that police, the Secret Service and FBI would be ready to handle "what could be a very serious situation."
. . .
Brown said the Re-create 68 protesters need to grow up.

"They acted like children when they lost the lottery," he said. "We need to let some cooler heads prevail here and perhaps get some adults in on this conversation."

More like spoiled brats, but it is good to see a Denver elected official point out the sheer nonsense spouted by these moonbats.

---

The illegal occupation of Civic Center park will be called "Free City" (via Drunkablog):

A new city is coming to Denver, representatives for Re-create 68 and other anti-war activists announced this afternoon at Civic Center park.

“Free City” as the four activists renamed the park, will attempt to open the Sunday before the 2008 Democratic National Convention gets underway, set up tents and exist all the way through convention week, Aug. 25-28.

The activists briefly set up a sky-blue sign with the words FREE CITY in white. Yellow tulip-like flowers that bloomed in the shape of fists brightened the borders. Within seconds of the four’s attempt to hammer the sign into the ground, wind blew it over.

The residents of “Free City” will attempt to occupy the park beyond the legal rights R-68 affiliates have to the park, Spagnuolo said. Last month, in a blind lottery, R-68 and its affiliates won permits to use the park on Aug. 25 and 27, a Monday and Wednesday. By allowing camping in the park after curfew, Free City will also be in violation of city rules that forbid overnight stays.

R-68’s Glenn Spagnuolo last month angrily charged that Denver had “created a very dangerous situation” when it award a permit for the park – as part of the same blind lottery that gave R-68 its permits – for the Sunday to a party planner for the city’s convention host committee. Today he said Free City would be free of violence.

Ask what Free City would do if police tried to enforce the rules and tried to remove the occupants, Spagnuolo would only say that Free City’s occupants wouldn’t leave.

No, of course not. But that's what all that extra equipment and law enforcement personnel is for, right?

Plans, however, always change, and Spagnuolo and Recreate '68 are hedging their bets:

Spagnuolo has said many times in the past that the largest march of the protesters would be an anti-war march that started Sunday morning at Civic Center and made way for the Pepsi Center, site of the convention hall.

Today he said whatever happened Sunday would be organic and without leaders.

Except Spagnuolo, the symbolic martyr, who is merely a spokesflunky for the group. Drunkablog correctly notes that this is merely an attempt by Spagnuolo to preemptively exculpate himself should things, you know, get out of hand.

More from said spokesflunky (also via Drunkablog):

Glenn Spagnuolo says he and his associates have renamed the park "Free City" and plan to establish a tent city in the park to house demonstrators. He says he and his volunteers will provide free food, free love, free medical care and free housing for anyone who wants it. He also says his group will ignore the city's curfew.

Spagnuolo's group attempted to obtain permits for protest gatherings during the convention. The city set up a lottery process to handle all the groups applying for permission to stage demonstrations. Although Spagnuolo's group received two permits, they were not on consecutive days.

At a news conference in the park Wednesday, Spagnuolo outlined his political views.

"We're here today to formally reject societies and governments that celebrate greed and consumption. We reject a society that oppresses its own members and others and destroys its environment for profit. We reject a government that was built upon and commits genocide," he said.

And in case you were wondering, a political science professor helps distinguish between peaceable and non-peaceable assemblies:

Professor Norman Provizer, of the Metro State Political Science Department, says the Recreate '68 group's message may be a little vague. He looked over their Web site, which urges protestors to gather in Denver for the August convention.

"I think there's a recognition that the right to protest is extremely important. But that comes with limits," Provizer said.

Provizer says the government has a strong interest in making sure protestors do not incite violence or illegal behavior.

"That's why there's a right to peaceably assemble. There's a set of limits placed on that right by the Supreme Court referring to time, place and manner. There is no right to assemble in a non-peaceable manner," he said.

Illegally occupying Civic Center Park may force the protestors into the non-peaceable category, as they have no plans on complying with police orders.

**Update: DNC Permit Lottery Awards Parks; Recreate '68 Whines, Threatens A "Dangerous Situation"

**Update--Recreate '68 organizer Glenn Spagnuolo threatens City of Denver over loss of Civic Center space:

Denver could face a "dangerous situation" on the first day of the Democratic National Convention, war protesters said Thursday, after losing a coveted permit for Civic Center to the convention host committee.

"When things blow up because the police have to enforce a permit that the Democrats got, don’t blame us for that," said Glenn Spagnuolo, an organizer for the Re-create 68 Alliance.

"Blame the Democrats for trying to silence dissent in the city of Denver."
. . .
But when Jenny Anderson, event planner for the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee, won the permit for Civic Center for a kick-off Aug. 24, Spagnuolo accused the committee of creating a "very serious, dangerous situation . . . for everybody."

Re-create 68 - which has promised demonstrations that will rival those at the bloody 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago - will be at Civic Center on Aug. 24, with or without a permit, he said.

The group, which is expecting up to 50,000 protesters from across the country, plans to march from Civic Center to the Pepsi Center, where the convention will be held, on Aug. 24, even though a parade route or a security zone hasn’t been announced.

Thus, the meme of violence and mayhem laid at the hands of the City of Denver--because of a lottery snafu Recreate '68 calls evidence of bias against the group--and the police sent in to enforce permits. Expect a planned occupation of the Civic Center by Recreate '68 and its allies for the duration of the Democratic National Convention, and the moonbats agitating for engagement and media exposure.

Don't be fooled. They want this. Peaceful, boring protests get little or no attention. Recreate '68 (its name should explain a great deal about their mentality) craves the spotlight, and confrontation and mayhem are the best avenue for achieving their moonbat goals.

The Denver Post has more details on the park allocations.

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Glenn Spagnuolo said it was unfair, since the group already had control of the Pepsi Center. He warned that protestors from around the country are coming to Denver and will ignore the permitting process.

He said his group was willing to make Denver "ground zero" for the fight over freedom of speech.

Guess it doesn't always pay to stuff the "ballot box" by submitting multiple identical permit requests in an attempt to game the system (video):

Mark Cohen got there early. He's with Recreate '68 and wanted to make sure everything went smoothly because the group was left out on Tuesday due to a problem with the sorting process.

"We did come early to double check because the last time, the city said they had safeguards in place," said Cohen.
. . .
In all, the city received more than 800 requests from groups who wanted their claim at some 12 parks around Denver for the DNC.

"We're hoping to get Civic Center Park for all the days that we applied for," said Cohen.

About an hour into the lottery, the process appeared to be working as intended, but it didn't all go Recreate '68's way.

The group wanted to hold all of its demonstrations at Civic Center Park since it has the largest capacity, but the luck of the draw only granted them half of their requests.

"That's the problem with this process is a group brings tens of thousands of people and you have somebody who doesn't have an audience who wants to show there art somewhere and they are getting the same amount of space in the city," said Glenn Spagnuolo, also with Recreate '68.

The city says it is willing to work with applicants who didn't get their first pick.
. . .
Recreate '68 says it's been patient and it is going to make a statement, permit or not.

The city estimated that only 50 percent of the dates available would be filled today due to the number of applicants so groups could have a shot at different sites and dates than what they originally requested.

It's called fair and equal access, Glenn, no matter what the size of your group. Quit whining.

Not that you're likely to honor the City's regulations, or properly distributed permits to rival groups, in any event:

Glenn Spagnuolo said it was unfair, since the group already had control of the Pepsi Center. He warned that protestors from around the country are coming to Denver and will ignore the permitting process.

He said his group was willing to make Denver "ground zero" for the fight over freedom of speech.

Meanwhile (via the Drunkablog), the Democrats have declared the Hyatt Regency Denver their official hotel, and the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post will be hosting a "media party" for over 15000 members of the decaying MSM, 6000 delegates, and other Democrat "VIPs":

Held on the Saturday night before the Aug. 25-28 convention, the party kicks off a week of reveling. Denver's host committee is responsible for arranging the fete, as well as parties for the delegations. Private parties also will abound. In all, more than 1,500 parties, large and small, are expected in and around convention week, but none approaching the scale of the media party.

On the other hand, if you are not into Easter, but would still like to go on a "hunt" of sorts, then join "Revo the Rabbit" and Recreate '68 on the "Great Camera Hunt":

Join “Revo the Rabbit” and Recreate 68 as we search downtown Denver for hidden spy cameras that have been installed by the City to keep an eye on activists! Come with a group or join-up with one and see if you can win the Great Camera Hunt! To win, your team needs to locate the most spy cameras in your designated area. Meet back with R-68 at Civic Center Park for a potluck picnic. Celebrate the resurection, the resurection of a revolutionary spirit.

WHEN: SATURDAY - MARCH 22, 2008 CAMERA HUNT 1 - 3 PM
PICNIC 3-5PM
WHERE: STARTING POINT: SKYLINE PARK AT 12:45pm
PICNIC: CIVIC CENTER PARK

All intelligence gathered will be used to develop an
interactive map for the community.

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING AND WE
HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW WHERE!

Photo of flyer swiped shamelessly from the Drunkablog