Samantha Bee Exposes Republican Hypocrisy Over "Choice"

There are plenty of reasons Samantha Bee is a part of the Best F*cking News Team, here's one of them:

Four Nights Of RNC Trickery And Delusion Are Over

Last night John McCain gave a forty-five minute speech and said absolute nothing. In fact, all of the speakers at the Republican convention said nothing. Sure, words came out of their mouths and people heard them, but still, they said nothing. While the Democratic party showed emotion, compassion and the substance of their platform, all we heard this week was more of the same. The same emphasis on fear, the same emphasis on hate, the same overwhelming hypocrisy of the GOP and the same lies that they told four years ago and eight years ago.

I could delve into specifics from McCain's speech last night and write volumes on them. The topics are diverse, such as lying about Palin's record, his time as chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, the fact that he has helped lead the herd of special interests and employs lobbyists on his campaign and the fear campaign he especially has going on Barack Obama. The way he talked the corrupt nature of Washington, I could have sworn there was a mirror in those teleprompters and he was just talking to himself.

So yeah, there's plenty of hypocrisy in what he says, but for a while he was dubbed the Straight Talk Express and the media thought he was a nice, honest guy. Now he is hidden away and won't even allow the media to interview his new VP nominee. Frankly, she is a political prop and a gimmick that gave his campaign some life-blood, but that only applies to his base and is exactly why he won't let the rest of us see the real Palin in action. Her scripted speech was full of lies and childish attacks, which is great at the RNC but does no one any good if godforbid she got to live at the Naval Observatory next year.

I will admit though, they did put on a good show. Even Romney's use of red meat on Wednesday night and Giuliani's background of New York was good messaging to the Republican horde. Yet that is exactly what all of that was, a show. They are good at tricks and deluding their followers. The line about reforming Washington sums it all up. They have been running Washington for several years now and have created one of the greatest messes our country has ever seen. We are in more debt, our troops dying in unnecessary wars, the Constitution in tatters and the rich get richer while the rest of us get screwed. For the last four nights Republicans have offered change, their way. In two months time, we are going to get change but instead of it being a political gimmick, President Obama will make it real.

Watching To See McCain Fall On His Face Tonight? Join Fellow Liberals At The Tank

Are you in New York City? Are you watching television tonight in hopes of McCain screwing up his biggest speech of the year thus far? Well if you answered yes to both and do not want to risk throwing things at your television, come downtown to the Tank and watch with a few dozen or even a few hundred of your bestest liberal friends, including a special guest, DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas.

From The Tank:

Thu, 09/04/2008 - 7:00pm

$0

Special Guest Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, founder of Daily Kos, will be on hand to comment on the GOP nominee’s address (and sign his new book “Taking on the System”) – and drinks will be on hand to help wash McCain’s speech down…as Drinking Liberally offers a drinking game to toast the end of Convention fever.

Tonight is the last night of the convention and then we have a lot of work to do. McCain and Palin must not be allowed to come even close on election day and it'll take millions of us to get it done. But for now, come down to 87 Lafayette St (at White St. just south of Canal) and join us for a lot of fun. Oh and get your signed copy of Markos' new book too!

Civil Liberties Under Attack At RNC, St. Paul Police And City Council Disrespect First Amendment

Today is the last day of the RNC and hopefully the brutality shown by St. Paul's police force will end before McCain's last lying remark of the night. Ever since last week, a police state has enveloped the Twin Cities and threatened the rights of Americans to protest their government and those that wish to tear it asunder. Now it seems that local City Council wants to get involved in the process, for better or for worse.

From The Pioneer Press:

The St. Paul City Council issued a joint statement today condemning "an organized group of self-proclaimed 'anarchists' who have come to St. Paul with disruption of our city as its stated goal."

The council also said, "we regret that some peaceful demonstrators got caught in the middle of criminal actions and law enforcement activity trying to stop this activity."

Council members Pat Harris and Dan Bostrom, whose son is in charge of RNC security for the St. Paul Police Department, did not sign the statement.

The council will ask police for an explanation of recent clashes between law enforcement and protesters that have roiled the first two days of the Republican National Convention.

City Council President Kathy Lantry said she will request that St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington address the council, likely sometime this month. Lantry said the topics could include everything from intelligence that led to raids on several Twin Cities home prior to the start of the convention to crowd-control tactics used by police.

Actual anarchists are one thing, but those that wish to assemble and protest must be free to express that right. The Council is right to demand an investigation into the thuggish brutality that their police department has shown those that do not possess RNC credentials. The notable arrest of Amy Goodman made some headlines, but for the most part the media has ignored the problem of abusive police tactics.

Instead of reporting what goes on outside the hall, the traditional media has played off the "terrorism" charges that have been levied at groups that have organized protests and marches. That isn't keeping the peace, it is the use of fear and intimidation, just as the Republicans inside the hall speak out for night after night at the Xcel Center, since the campaign season started and years before that as well. If it weren't for independent reporters, bloggers and YouTube, none of this information would make it past the police barricade line.

Palin Puts On A Show, But Its All Smoke And Mirrors

Last night the Republican convention and those watching at home were given quite a large dose of what it means to be a conservative in 2008. All the surrogates hit Obama and tried really hard to sell Sarah Palin and John McCain to the voters. It was a valiant effort filled with lies and innuendo, but nothing did more to their third night than Sarah Palin herself. She really does sum things up for the GOP and what they have been reduced to.

The speech was meant for Mitt Romney or Tim Pawlenty and you can hear where they made the changes (i.e. Alaska and Palin). For the most part though, the twenty minutes or so was filled with partisan hackery, blatant lies and a terrible disdain for people that try to make their communities a better place to live.

The lying without a care in the world as she read off that teleprompter was just as funny as it was sad. Some of things mentioned contradict the facts, including the top ten things you might not know about her. Of course, facts never got in the way of a good time at an RNC function. The thing that got to me, well OK two things was the repeated attack on community organizers and the blatant use of newborn Trig Palin as a political prop, I honestly lost count on how many times the cameras went to the cute little baby. Most likely because there was no way to show a diverse crowd like the cable news producers could at the DNC.

Finally, it was that lack of diversity that loved Palin's speech. It has been compared to a student-council rant that goes off on the big meanies across the stage. She threw huge chunks of red meat at the crowd, but no real reason that made it clear she was capable of being Vice-President or god forbid, the President of the United States. She was put there solely for political reasons and nothing more. Frankly, that is all the GOP cares about, pure politics. Leadership is merely a catchword, not something you actually embrace and use to guide the country. We've been flying blind for the last eight years, now it is time for someone to take our hand so we can soar again.

Republicans Forget About Bush

President George Bush got his nine minutes yesterday at the RNC Convention in St. Paul yesterday, even though he was speaking from the confines of the White House. He got some applause, cheers when talking tough against Democrats and for McCain, then he was done and the delegates went back to other speakers. Those other speakers though, couldn't for the life of them remember that dude on the screen, because his name wasn't mentioned at all. Nope, not even once.

From ThinkProgress:

Not only did the speakers during last night’s Republican National Convention fail to discuss the economy at all, they never once mentioned President Bush. TPM Election Central searched the texts of the speeches and found no mention of the words “Bush” or “president” when connected to Bush. It also notes, “The GOP’s page of speeches, which included the orations of a bunch of unknowns, didn’t even bother including the speeches given by the president or Laura.”

Wow, not even Laura? Man, that is cold. Despite Republicans championing their way of doing things and blaming the Democratic party for everything under the sun, they conveniently forgot who they helped put in the White House for eight tiring, torturous, tenuous but certainly not tranquil years.

Convention Envy?

From the mouths of babes (technically in the singular form here), and with a lot less bias, narrative-seeking and ego:

RNC Co-Chair Shows Her Disdain For Palin

Republican Party co-Chair Jo Ann Davidson probably didn't mean to, but it doesn't take Sigmund Freud to understand what happened here:

First Amendment Restricted To A Zone At RNC

If you wanted to speak out at the RNC and utilize the right to assembly afforded to you by the Bill of Rights, remember that things aren't as simple as they were when our liberties were written out. The framers mostly likely assumed that those rights were meant for use within the boundaries of the country, but now it is where the police decide.

Here are some scenes from one of the protests:

What Is The World Coming To When Amy Goodman Gets Arrested

It is a sad day for journalism and our democracy when one of the most fair and objective members of the media is arrested for merely reporting on the RNC Convention.

Hurricane Gustav Changed Nothing At The RNC

If you thought that a Hurricane would change the Republicans' mood at the 2008 RNC in the Twin Cities this week, think again. Everything has remained the same and the things that wanted accomplished are right out of the old Rovian playbook. Supposedly this was going to be a somber event where Republicans would just raise money for victims of Gustav and nothing more. Obviously this didn't turn out to be the case, the attendees were only reminded to look sad and mute their festivities, not to stop them entirely. The real motivation for the somber plan was to make the party look like it cared, but in the end it was nothing more than a lesson in self-congratulation.

From The NY Observer:

ST. PAUL—The latest word is that Hurricane Gustav has been downgraded to a Category 1 storm and that water levels in New Orleans are receding – strong and encouraging signs that the Crescent City and the rest of the Gulf Coast will be spared tragedy and destruction on the scale of Hurricane Katrina.

And now, at the Republican National Convention, the effort is underway to portray this good news as a triumph of Republican leadership.

Just before 5:00 p.m. (E.S.T.), with the scoreboards in the Xcel Energy Center prominently displaying the words “Country First,” First Lady Laura Bush was called to the stage, where she spoke of the human toll that the storm threatened to exact and the need for support from all Americans for any recovery effort.

She noted that all of the governors of the affected states are Republicans, prompting loud applause from the delegates.

Excuse me while I gag on that while choking on what followed. There wasn't as much that went on as originally planned, but to the GOP, Gustav wasn't about the people affected by the Hurricane, it was only a political opportunity to repair damage done to their brand when they purposefully ignored those who were slammed by Katrina three years before.

With that, the opening day of the G.O.P. convention came to an end. On Fox News, anchor Brit Hume quickly segued to a piece about the various ways in which delegates have put politics aside these past two days to focus their thoughts and efforts on helping the people of the Gulf Coast. On television, one woman noted that her delegation had turned its morning meeting into a prayer session.

But if last night is any indication, not every Republican has gotten the memo.

Damn Sammy, you are truly pathetic...and you fit right in up there in St. Paul.

St. Paul Police Must Be Bored

On Monday the 2008 RNC Convention is set to begin, that is if it isn't postponed. For nearly two years everyone with a stake in it have been getting ready, from the Republicans in D.C. and the Twin Cities to the police and the protesters. As Gustav strengthens and churns northward towards the Gulf Coast, the actors in and around the RNC are not backing down from their self-important roles. Take the police for example, who have been training for Armegeddon while protesters are readying themselves to take advantage of the First Amendment and specifically the right to assemble. Well those two prerogatives don't exactly match up and what you get is a curtailment of civil liberties in the process.

From CNN:

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) -- Police raided a rental hall used by a group organizing protests at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Friday.

The RNC Welcoming Committee, which describes itself as "anarchist/anti-authoritarian," accused St. Paul police of trying to disrupt their protest planned for Monday, the day the GOP convention is set to begin.

While no one was arrested, the group said police temporarily detained and photographed at least 50 people who were inside the building.

St. Paul Police spokesman Tom Walsh said they were executing a search warrant.

"The cause for the search warrant is not public at this time," Walsh said.

As many as 30 police officers entered with guns drawn, according to witnesses in the building.

Damn, there must have been some serious terror-inducing planning going on to provoke that sort of police response, right?

"The convergence center is simply a gathering place and is not used for illegal actions -- it is a place for workshops and trainings," a statement from the protest group said. "Tonight, we were watching films and sharing food."

"We are now accused of a simple fire code violation," the statement said.

Oddie Miller, a 19-year-old from Fort Collins, Colorado, said it was "just a space to get food, free Internet, community organization."

Having free food, watching television and surfing the web may sound innocent to most of us. But to the police in the Twin Cities, it warrants dozens of guns drawn while busting through the doors, wetting the pants of at least a few hard core anarchists.

Will Bush Use Gustav In Order To Get Out Of Speaking At RNC?

Last night Bill Clinton delivered an impeccable speech to the DNC at the Pepsi Center and indeed to the millions of people that watched across the country. With all of the Clinton-Obama controversy diminishing with each passing day at the DNC, Republican hopes of capitalizing on it are vanishing into thin air. George Bush must have been banking on that so he'd at least have something to go on when he spoke in Minneapolis on Monday, conveniently on the first day and meaning to avoid contact with his sidekick, John "McSame" McCain.

To make matters worse, Tropical Storm Gustav is set to become a Hurricane and is currently aiming for the Louisiana coast and striking at about the time he is set to speak. So we have yet another reminder of Bush's failure of a Presidency when it comes to taking care of our citizens struck by disaster. So what will he do to prevent Americans from making the connection they already know about?

From ThinkProgress:

President Bush is scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention on Monday, but with Tropical Storm Gustav expected to hit Gulf coast, the White House is beginning to hint that President Bush might not speak that day. Fox News’ Bret Baier reports today that there “are conversations underway” at the White House about whether Bush “will in fact speak on Monday.”

Well my question is, if he won't speak Monday and the Hurricane lands on Tuesday...would McCain let him speak Wednesday? There is no way they want the two men anywhere near each other, so this could get interesting. The sitting President might not show up at his party's convention for the first time in quite a while.

DNC Reminds RNC Attendees McCain Is More Of The Same

While there will be decidedly more Republicans than Democrats coming into Minneapolis for next week's convention, that doesn't mean they get a free pass on who and what their nominee represents. In fact, they'll be reminded of it over and over again as they travel around the Twin Cities.

NY Videographers Are Harassed At RNC, Even Before It Starts

The Glass Bead Collective may not be a household name, but a video it got out a few weeks ago showing an NYPD Officer maliciously body-slamming an innocent cyclist certainly made waves in the press. Well now that you know the connection, GBC is gearing up to show us a side of the RNC next week that CNN or Fox News would never dare. Unfortunately, the Twin Cities police have not taken kindly to their mission.

From The Gothamist:

Late Monday night three videographers from the New York-based Glass Bead Collective were detained by Minneapolis police officers, who spent about an hour questioning them and searching their belongings. In the end, they were released without charges, but they say officers confiscated a number of personal belongings, including their video and computer equipment, cell phones and clothing.

According to the group's lawyer, they were walking from a bus stop to the place they were staying in Northeast Minneapolis around 2 a.m. on Tuesday when two Minneapolis squad cars stopped them. They were first told that there had been car break-ins in the area, then the officers frisked them, photographed them and questioned them individually about their travel plans and what they intended to report on. “We kept saying we do not consent to any search,” Anita Brathwaite told the Twin Cities Daily Planet. To make matters worse, the group claims that police refused to give them a receipt for their equipment and personal belongings.

I can't imagine this year's RNC being any worse than four years ago in NYC, but if we are seeing the police state bulge to this degree a week before it starts....we might be in for even greater 'fireworks.' Thankfully this year, I hope, that collectives like Glass Bead is able to disseminate information regarding abusive police tactics that may occur in the Twin Cities next week.