I mean: we’re CODEPINK. We’re going to crash your media party. Don’t like it? DON’T HAVE A MEDIA PARTY.

And while the ladies of CODEPINK were busy goofing of with Uncle Sam and the Statue of Liberty, local reporter Jeff Guntzel (a former compatriot of mine from Punk Planet, now with various news outlets including Electronic Iraq) was busy whopping it up with the Minneapolis Chief of Police. 

And by whooping it up, I mean, grilling him incessantly on police brutality in the Minneapolis area surrounding the RNC. Jeff’s questions were pretty much along the lines of: Is that acceptable behavior from the police? ‘Cause I live here, and I think that’s pretty weird.

And his responses? You gotta look at who put them into those situations. They brought it upon themselves.

Jeff’s follow-ups: Really? ‘Cause one of those kids was five.

New stories are here, here, here, and here. (that last one is not a link.)

CODEPINK to “raise a ruckus” at Republican National Convention in St. Paul!

WHAT: CODEPINK to bring peace message, hard questions to RNC
WHEN:  Aug. 30 to Sept. 4
WHERE: Republican National Convention, St. Paul. CODEPINK meeting space: The Black Dog Cafe, 308 Prince St., St. Paul

ST. PAUL/MINNEAPOLIS – For the past five days, the leading anti-war group CODEPINK made headlines from The Denver Post, Salon.com to the Washington Times with their vivacious, creative peace message  at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. At this week’s Republican National Convention in the Twin Cities, nearly 100 members of the women-initiated group will make more headlines with vibrant demonstrations, creative costumes, songs, banners and hard questions for delegates and politicians gathered there. Some of our major events include:
On Sunday, Aug. 31:
*From 1 to 2 p.m., CODEPINK members will march, ride pink peace bikes, sing and rally down Nicollet Mall to Loring Park in Minneapolis, in the Liberty Parade 2008, a nonpartisan musical celebration of shared values – liberty, freedom, justice and free speech. (For more details, visit http://www.libertyparade2008.com/site/).
*From 5 to 7 p.m. they will host the “Reclaiming the Constitution” event at the RNC’s Civic Fest at the Convention Center at 1301 2nd Ave. S. They’ll carry an enormous paper Constitution – carried by several people at once — and celebrate freedom of speech by saying “Dissent is Patriotic!” “We Want A Peace Candidate!” “Close Guantanamo!” “Restore Habeus Corpus!” and “I Miss America!”
*At 9 p.m. CODEPINK will host its “They Spy, They Lie, We Pay, They Profit!” protest outside the AT&T  Salute to Screen Actors Guild at the Fine Line Music Cafe at 318 First Ave N. Minneapolis. We’ll protest Republicans passing of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillence Act (FISA) that gave telecoms like AT & T (unconstitutional wiretapping and access to our communications without a warrant. (We’ll host this again 8 p.m. Weds. outside an AT & T event at Brit’s Pub at 1110 Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis).
On Monday, Sept. 1:
* At 7:30 a.m., CODEPINK will “drop” huge banners with “Build Bridges, Not War!” messages off of the overpasses over highway 94E and 35E, perfectly timed for when Republican delegates are bussed through to St. Paul to the Excel Center.
* At 11 a.m. CODEPINK will host the a “Pro-Life, Pro-Democracy” pink rally within the anti-war march and rally at the Assembly at Cass Gilbert Memorial Park (at Cedar St and Sherburne Ave.) in St. Paul. They will march to the Xcel Center at 1 p.m. Their parade will be non-confrontational, with puppets, colorful props and banners meant to inspire curiosity and hope for change.
On Tuesday, Sept. 2:
*At 7:30 a.m., CODEPINK will “Pink Slip” McCain on Wabasha bridge in St. Paul.
*At 9 a.m., the “Peace Builder” team in hard hats and tool belts will construct” a cardboard and fabric platform for peace and security. They’ll carry it down Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis.
*At 7:30 p.m., they will stage a protest with the Rainforest Action Network, Oil Change and other groups outside a Big Oil fundraiser at Epic Entertainment, at 510 1st Ave. N Minneapolis, to demonstrate against the Republican’s devotion to the interest of Big Oil companies instead of the American people. Wearing yellow “Support Our Oil Companies” ribbons, waving “Freedom Flags” (flags with the logos of the major oil companies) and showering our fellow delegates with millions of “Oily Dollars, ” CODEPINK will mock Republicans support for more oil wars, surging gas prices and obscene profits for Big Oil, drilling everywhere regardless of consequences, and “no” to clean and renewable energy funding.
On Wednesday, Sept. 3:
*At 10 a.m. Wednesday, in full costume, CODEPINK will host a “Women Say No To War Pageant” at 5th St. and Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis, right outside the Republican National Committee’s “welcome rally” for John McCain.
On Thursday, Sept. 4:
*At 1 p.m., wearing in pink police uniforms, peace “gardeners” gear, “pink slips,” and formal “I Miss America” gowns, CODEPINK will raise a ruckus to “Bust McCain” around Peavey Plaza, near the delegate hotels.
*At 5:30 p.m., CODEPINK members and friends will form a human peace sign in Harriet Island Park (Plato Blvd.) in St. Paul, to be photographed from the sky as a beautiful, living art image. It’ll be as powerful as our “Make Out Not War” image created at the DNC (view it here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/codepink-dnc-make-out-not_b_121533.html).

For more CODEPINK RNC events, and to check for updates, please visit our online DNC and RNC calendar, updated frequently, here: www.codepinkalert.org/conventioncalendar

Desiree and Nancy, a San Francisco organizer, posted to-do lists and calendars to the wall, placed little sacks of candy on each of our beds, and set out an incredible Middle Eastern spread with baklava, hummus and pita, and fresh fruit. After a week eating at the Merc, albeit seriously incredible organic food, it felt SO lovely to nibble and gab in a warm, homey kitchen again.

But the candy, the fancy pastry and the now-dark crystal lake outside (didn’t cha know it’s the land of the 10,000 lakes?) — the sweetness stops there. It’s RNC mode, baby. No more Misses Nice Ladies. We can be openly pissed at the past eight years without raining on an Obama parade. Big Oil, AT & T, Halliburton, Republican hawks — our bull’s eyes. A bit more sarcasm, a bit more anger, a bit more calling out. Here in the Twin Cities, if dissent is patriotic, we’ll be the biggest flag wavers in the bunch.