I was there tonight. First, formalities.
I saw Pat Buchanan at the MSNBC booth. I gave him a shout out.
I saw "Peoples" from the film Shaft (he also stars in "W." starring the ultra-hot Josh Brolin: billboards over the city of DENVER advertising
this).
ru.youtube.com...
(I remember him as the guy who stabbed himself and screaming down the street in Shaft. Today, he was much more calm, just talking on his cell phone
and walking down the sidewalk.)
I also met the woman from Democracy Now!
Here's the meat of the story, somewhat out of order. I stopped and talked to these 2 guys, and I asked them if they were Secret Service because they
looked the part, like G-Men of some sort or something. "They're not Secret Service" a girl called out behind us, "they don't have ear pieces!"
The men were nice, and talked to me, but denied knowing anything. They looked so out of place! So the woman from Democracy Now walked up with a
camera man and those 2 whoever they were, ran off like vampires. She had scared them off.
She asked me a question and I was like, "You're that woman from Democracy Now!!"
She replied "I know who I am, what do you know about Iraq Veterans against the war?"
I didn't know anything, at least not first hand, so she walked away.
What happened prior was on Speer and Auraria Parkway. Cops were ready. Cops on horses. Cops on boom-lifts. The sun was going down, there was
something in the air. Someone with a blow-horn warned "take out your contact lenses...they will arrest you if you are standing in the street".
Very tense. The crowd was chanting "yes we can!" and when they were done and walked 50 yards away from the blockade to the Pepsi Center--per the
police request--they chanted "yes we did!".
When it was all over, no one got arrested, no tear gas was thrown. From what I gather the vets got police permission and crossed the barrier line
earlier in the day, defying everyone. It must be respect. And thank God. I could've been in that fracas.
[edit on 28-8-2008 by pluckynoonez]